No 3. Term 1 Week 5, 2nd March 2022

Principal's News

Hello lovely families of St. Kevin's. Did you know that the Church year is different from the calendar year?

The Catholic Church divides the year into what it calls Liturgical seasons or we might say worship seasons.

Throughout the Liturgical calendar, we focus on the life and work of Jesus and on the beliefs and mysteries of being a follower of Christ.

Just as in the calendar year there are certain things people do, it is the same for Christ-followers who follow the Liturgical Calendar as it causes them to focus on the actions of Jesus, who He is, and the beliefs we have. It is not just about remembering all that God has done or simply remembering the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, rather it is for people to encounter these realities anew and, therefore, grow deeper in their relationship with God as they encounter God’s love and plan.

Today is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of a very important season in the Liturgical calendar, called Lent. Ash Wednesday gets its name from the traditional blessing of the ashes taken after the burning of Palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations. In our tradition, we use the ashes to draw a cross on the head of people to mark the beginning of their Lent preparations. The drawing of a cross is often done while repeating the words “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15) or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

Lent is about what God has done and about God being alive in us now and lasts for the 40-days that lead up to Easter. Lent is a time when we take stock of our life with God, we seek forgiveness for our wrongdoings and renew our commitment to God. It is a time of renewal and discovering God anew. A very special time indeed. 

While traditionally, we might give up or abstain from something in our lives to symbolise our committment to becoming better Christ followers, I like to think of proactive, positive things that will help me to grow and feel the Spirit alive in me. For example:

• Commit to reading 10 articles or books that help to grow my mind or better my relationships
• Commit to actively reaching out to friends, family, colleagues or acquaintances to check in or help out where needed
• Paying more attention to my health and doing things like walking to places instead of driving or riding
• Volunteering once a week at a charity service or school
• Making time to engage in prayer every single day

These sorts of activities are good for us all, Christians and non-Christians alike. I wonder how you might use the Lenten season to grow as Christ-like followers?

I am looking forward to doing Lent 2022 with you.

God bless.

Jason Micallef,
Principal

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Upcoming School Closure Days

Don't forget, there is no school for students next Thursday March 10 and Friday March 11 as staff will be participating in important Professional Development activities. There is also no school on Monday March 14 as this is the Labour Day Public Holiday.

Happy TWOsDay!

A once in a lifetime date could not go by unnoticed. What a terrific opportunity to have a bit of fun. The staff dressed in Tutus and the children had fun in their classrooms experimenting and playing with the number 'two'.

School Photos

School Photos will be held on Friday 18th March. Order envelopes have been sent home with your child and need to be returned on photo day. Spare envelopes as well as sibling photo orders are available from the office.

Full school uniform, including black school shoes needs to be worn on this day.

PFA - Uniform Stall

Our PFA will open the second-hand uniform stall TOMORROW Thursday 3rd March from 2:30-3:15pm. All purchases need to be paid for with cash.

Parents wishing to provide uniform for sale need to make sure it is clean and in good condition.

Season of Lent

The season of Lent is fast approaching and begins this Ash Wednesday, March 2nd 2022. 

Lent is a time when we can transform our lives like no other time during the year as we prepare to remember the death and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. 

Staff and Families are invited to register with Bruce Downes to support them on their Lenten Journey. 

LENT 2022 WITH THE CATHOLIC GUY BRUCE DOWNES

Be inspired, Be refreshed, Be renewed!

For 40 days you will receive a short, practical and inspiring video in your inbox every morning to help you make this Lenten journey more powerful and prayerful. 

This program is FREE and you can sign up here:  https://BruceDownes.org/Lent22

Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection

The Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection (the Collection) informs Australian Government school education policy and helps ensure funding for non-government schools is based on need basis.

St. Kevin's is therefore required to provide the department with the relevant information about each student at the school.

Parents and Carers are not required to do anything as the school is responsible for providing the requested details to the department; however, we do ask you to ensure that we have the most up-to-date and correct details for your family.

For further infromation regarding the collection of this information, you can read the Collection Notice for parents/guardians 2022 Student Residential Address and Other Information.

Upschool by St. Kevin's

Over the last two weeks, we have shared two short clips on Facebook of our very own Mrs de Reus sharing information with families about school life. In case you missed them, here is Mrs de Reus speaking about:

• What type of food to pack in your child's lunchbox.
• Questions to ask your child at the end of the day.

Altar Servers Training 27th March

Monash Health Vaccination Clinic

St Kevin’s Primary School will host a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinic where students aged 5 and above, family members and school staff can get vaccinated in a safe, welcoming environment. The local community can also attend at a later time.  

The vaccination clinic will be operated by Monash Health who will bring their Vaccination Bus and set up a pop-up clinic in the school.

Opening hours

Monday 7 March, 2:00pm to 7:00pm

General public can attend from 4:00pm

Vaccinations available (Pfizer only)

• Children aged 5 to 11 years
• People aged 12 years and older
• Third dose (booster) for people aged 16 years and older

How to participate

Bookings are not required, just walk in. Interpreter services available.

Parents or guardians are required to attend with their child. Please bring a Medicare card or ID if possible for parents/guardians and the child.

A guide to conversations with your child about the Russia-Ukraine war.

Without a doubt, our students are discussing the war on the playground and sharing stories, mistruths and even describing the footage they’ve seen online. To help support parents, carers and teachers in opening up healthy conversations to help keep our children safe, you can view this short (30min) presentation by Inform & Empower for some tips and ideas. Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/informandempower YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/InformEmpower

Dream & Lead Conference

The House Leaders for St Kevin’s were invited to attend a leadership conference called Dream and Lead on Monday 28th Feb. Dream and Lead was a one-day, highly engaging event designed to support primary school students in discovering their leadership potential, whilst providing them with strong foundations to succeed. Throughout the day, students participated in purposeful activities developing their problem-solving skills, and increasing confidence and independence. It was facilitated by internationally-trained young leaders, and the students were taught about the impact they can create as a young person.

The conference was the best experience I had at school. It was so inspiring and I learnt a lot there. What I liked the most was how the speakers Heather, Tari, Will, Morgan and Nas all had something interesting to say like what they did from a teenager to now. I believe that it was so inspiring to everyone that was there to do what you love and focus on your goals. Some of the quotes that I wanted to share were “Leaders lead from behind”, “Embrace our differences”, “Do what you love” and “to fulfill your destiny”. They taught us a lot of what a leader should do and how to help others even when they don’t ask. We took lots of photos of our amazing experience and we wish all of you guys were there to have the same experience that we had. - Jordan (5/6 CR)

When we went to the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre, we learnt things like how to be an inspirational leader from people like Wil Massara, Morgan Hipworth, Nazir and Tari and Heather. Morgan taught us to go for your passion and your dream and don't let anyone judge you and that if you find a job that you love you will never have to work again. Nasir taught us to realise your gift and use it for the benefit of others. Wil Massara told us that "your age does not determine your ability to achieve extraordinary things”. Tari and Heather taught us that what others say doesn't matter and how all the rude things others say can make you stronger and a better leader. At the end we got autographs from all the inspiring leaders that convinced us to be a better leader and to make a change today. - Sheryl 5/6 SP

Monday was amazing. It was my first time at the Melbourne convention centre and it was inspiring. I learnt a lot when I was there. There were 5 speakers. Tari and Heather, who started us off, Will who went after them and then Morgan and Nass who went in the middle of the day. It was an amazing experience and I hope to go again! - Nadine 5/6 MB

I loved how the speakers were all kind and they were really colourful and they were never boring. They also had very cool stories that they told and it was really fun to be there and I felt really lucky. They each had unique businesses and were all very young so it was really inspiring, and getting the booklet signed and getting photos also felt really cool. I loved how fun the bus ride was as well and I loved the big cinema-like room we were in. - Charlie 5/6 DR

I had experienced one of the most exciting days of my life learning more about leadership. I learnt how to have a growth mindset and heard from some guest speakers on the day. We also know that we would need to have good body language, sitting up tall and making good eye contact when speaking to others and if you can everyday, do a random act of kindness to a person you don't know. Nothing in the world can stop you from achieving your dreams even your age, size or anything else you think that will stop you. - Kevin 5/6 MB

Student absence from school

The last couple of years have posed many challenges. One of the greatest of which were extended periods of time away from school. Naturally, we all did the best we could and minimised disruption to learning by implementing a robust and balanced Remote Learning Program, but it goes without saying that you just can't beat being physically at school.

Whilst it is completely understandable for families to want to take some holidays during the school term, now that we are back at school, we must be mindful of following the correct processes for ensuring that taking time off school is an approproriate decision for your child.

If travel during school term is necessary, this needs to be discussed with your child's teacher and Mr Micallef, the principal. Depending on your intentions, an Application for Extended Leave may need to be completed. Parents should also note that absences relating to travel will be marked on the roll and therefore contribute to your child's total absences for the year.

Visual Arts

“Are we to paint what’s on the face, what’s inside the face, or what’s behind it?” Pablo Picasso.

This year the middle and senior school students are exploring portraits. We will be investigating what a portrait is, their purpose in general and portraits by other artists. 

The theme in the Art Room this year is “Free to be…ME!” The children are encouraged to be creative risk takers and express themselves through their art in the safety of the Art Room. It does promise to be an insightful and fun term ahead.

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