No 13. Term 3 Week 3, 27th July 2022

Principal's News

How good is it to be in the full swing of life in a school community. Over the last couple of weeks there has been so much going on. So much to be excited about and so much to be grateful for. Some of our highlghts include:

• Family Week Mass
• Our Preps and Year 1/2s engaging in fundraising drives for our partner school in the Philippines.
• All classes participating in online Cybersafety  workshops.
• Children from Goodstart Kinder on Coral Drive came to visit us and spend time with our Preps.
• Confirmation Family Activity Night
• Family Literacy Night for Prep - Year2
• Year 1/2 Excursion to Moonlit Sanctuary
• Prep Flying Bookworm Incursion

With all this happening just in the last two weeks, life at school is certainly exciting! Amidst all of this activity though, it is important to acknowledge those students who achieved a major milestone in their faith journey last weekend.

So, CONGRATULATIONS to our Year 4 students who received the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist for the first time. The two Masses last Saturday evening were beautiful faith filled celebrations that showed just how much our students have grown in their spiritual relationship with Christ. Thank you to our staff, parents, Fr. Anil and Fr. Des for supporting the students to achieve this wonderful milestone.

Our Sacramental focus now turns to our Year 6s who in two weeks will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Please keep these children in your prayers as they undertake their final preparations.

For all our children, no matter their age, we can work together to support them to understand the importance of their relationship with Jesus. Prayers are valuable, but regularly attending Mass with their wider parish family each weekend also helps because attending Mass is our loving response to the God who has loved us first. It is an active choice of the will to give of our time, knowing full well it will never amount to the sacrifice endured by our Saviour.  

We have such a wonderful school at St. Kevin’s and I am privileged to lead our team every step of the way to ensure every student can flourish. Please always email me or make an appointment if you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s learning. 

Jason Micallef,
Principal

Congratulations Year 4s on receiving the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist

Congratulations to our Year 4 students who made their Holy Eucharist on Saturday 23rd July 2022. Families and teachers worked together to prepare students to learn about the tradition of the celebration of the Eucharist which began in the words and actions of Jesus at his Last Supper. At Mass, we offer the gifts of bread and wine as a symbol of giving ourselves to Jesus in the hope that we can be like him, and in return, Jesus gives us his Body and Blood as spiritual food so that we have the strength to be like him and to love like him. We are extremely proud of our students who demonstrated great initiative by participating reverently and showed true knowledge of what they were committing to when receiving their first Eucharist. We thank all the parents and teachers who supported the students in their sacramental journey.

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Mask wearing for the rest of Winter

The below information is from a letter sent to families from the Victorian Department of Education and Training, Catholic Education Commission of Victoria and Independent Schools Victoria.

The Victorian Department of Health strongly recommends that face masks are worn in indoor settings.

As a result, we are asking all students aged 8 and over and all staff in all schools across Victoria to wear masks when in class (except where removing a mask is necessary for clear communication) from now to the end of winter.

Students won’t be required or expected to wear masks when outdoors, and this expectation won’t stop student participation in the full range of school activities, including music, sport and performances.

We are asking for your support in explaining to your child or children the importance of this simple step that will help keep our schools as safe as possible.

We also ask that you make sure your child (or children) takes a mask to school (and wears it if they are travelling on public transport) or collects a mask when they arrive at school.

We all appreciate how important it is for students to be back at school. This action will help make sure as many students and staff as possible are protected from COVID and other winter illness.

Thank for your help with this collective effort to keep our communities safe and healthy.

Family Week

Wonderful to hear about the great times our families have been spending together this week as part of the suggested Family Week activities. Our Prep students put in a fantastic effort to prepare, contribute and read at our Mass on Tuesday. Thank you to all of our families that were able to attend. Don't forget to send in any photos of your family joining in some of the activities to Mrs Gage rgage@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au for sharing on our Facebook page.

Farewell and Good Luck Mrs Eades

This week way say a fond farewell to our friend and colleague Mrs Eades as she begins her maternity leave. Mrs Eades has been a a much loved teacher at St. Kevin's for almost 8 years. While we will miss her greatly, we are also filled with joy as she enters this new adventure called parenthood. We will be sure to keep our community updated when her amazing bundle of joy enters the world. God bless you. Mrs Eades.

Literacy Family Night for P-2

Earlier this week we invited our Prep and Year 1/2 families to join us at school for an informative and hands-on demonstraton of how we are teaching our children to read. Over the last few months we have been implementing a new approach based on global research that shows just what we need to do to make a big difference to the way children develop these vital literacy skills. The results we are already seeing after only six months of implementation are very exciting!

We hope that families found the night beneficial and can't wait to see the results of our continued partnership with you.

2023 Prep Enrolments

If there are any families who have a child starting school next year that have not handed in an enrolment form, it is very important you make contact with the office.  Places in next year's classes are almost full and we want to make sure that our current families have a spot for their child.

New Policies and Annual Report

Counselling and Psychology Services

Did you know that St. Kevin's has specialised wellbeing support services available to students?

Our counsellor, Maureen Flanagan is available on Mondays and Wednesdays and is a vital member of our team who checks in on students who we know need a little extra support. She even works with some children with a more therapy-based approach. Maureen is also available to speak with parents who may need advice or who have questions about their child or parenting issues.

Another important member of the team is Katelyn O'Donohue, a fully qualified Psychologist who is also available for students. Katelyn sees a range of students during school hours for both short term and long-term therapy based support.  

If you would like any further information about how to access these services, please call the office or speak to your child's teacher. Please be assured that all matters related to family and children's needs are treated with the utmost respect and their privacy protected within the limits of the law.

Senior Lote

Parents and Friends

Our Parents and Friends have been busy behind the scenes with our second hand unform stall. There's been lots of stock coming in being processed ready for sale. If you would like to assist with some of the tasks involved in the uniform stall (process the stock, manage the payments, contact people to collect their profit as well as open the stall to sell to parents) and are available on any of the following times - Monday afternoon 3:00-3:45, Tuesday afternoon 3:00-3:30, Wednesday morning 8:45-9:30 and Friday morning 8:45-9:30   - please email Rebecca Gage at rgage@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au

Father’s Day is just over a month away and it’s time to organise our traditional Father’s Day Stall. Help is needed on the following days and times:

• Friday August 26 2:30-3:30 to set the stall up 

• Monday August 29 9-11am for sales to all classes and stall pack up

• Tues 30/08, Wed 31/08, Thurs 01/09 9-9:15 for follow up sales 

If you can assist, please email Rebecca Gage at rgage@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au

Wonder Recycling Rewards

Safe Around Schools - July Update

This month, with the commencement of the new school term, the City of Casey, Safe Around Schools Team are focusing on our School Crossing, being the safest place to cross roads.

We also encourage families to take a couple of minutes to watch the Road Safety Education Animation - School Crossing and listen to this important information that will make a big difference to the safety around your school community. 

JOURNEYING TOGETHER- Online Sacrament Series

Dear Parents,

We have this fabulous opportunity on offer where families can engage in at home learning about the sacraments. This is through a program called "Journeying Together" Online Sacrament Series. This is an easy to use resource that will complement the children's sacramental preparation provided by St Kevins School and Church.

Information

- The Confirmation and Eucharist modules are currently available, with Baptism and Penance to follow.

- Each module consists of four sessions, which follow a process that assists parents and children not only to explore the meaning behind the elements of the sacrament, but also to grow in the Catholic faith through a spiritual encounter with Jesus.

- Each session will take approximately 45 minutes and, as a guide, the module could be fully completed over a four-week period.

- Parents, teachers and catechists can find further details on the module sessions at https://sacraments.melbournecatholic.org/parentInformation.

Contact/Enquiries- For all enquiries, please contact Ms Lisa Heffernan, Team Leader, Catholic Mission and Identity, on 9267 0228 or lheffernan@macs.vic.edu.au.

Upschool by St. Kevin's

Two more Upschool by St. Kevin's videos have been published to our Facebook Page since the last newsletter. In case you missed them, here they are for your viewing pleasure.

In these videos, Mr Micallef explains to us the four goals of inappropriate behaviour and the difference between management and support in developing positive behaviours.

Sacred Heart Girl's College

We warmly extend an invitation to St Kevin’s families to attend one of our Open Mornings before the closing date for Year 7, 2024 applications on August 19, 2022.  Limited places are also still available for Year 7, 2023.

Our production of Beauty and the Beast is on 12th & 13th August. Tickets will be available from Monday, 18 July at 9.30am and can be booked directly through Monash University Performing Arts at: https://www.monash.edu/performing-arts-centres/event/beauty-the-beast/.