No 4. Term 1 Week 7, 17th March 2023

Principal News

Hey families! I wanted to tell you how much we appreciate the respectful and responsible nature of our students here at St. Kevin's. Our students bring such positivity to our school community that as parents, you need to know that is mostly due to the great parenting that goes on at home, and we are grateful for your partnership in creating an environment that fosters such positive behaviours.

That's not to say that we never have to deal with conflict or inappropriate behaviour. Of course, we do. Conflict is normal and natural, because well, we are human. When conflict happens though, our goal is to remain true to our values by using Restorative Practices. This approach helps our students to develop problem-solving, conflict resolution, empathy, and active listening skills. These skills enable them to understand and appreciate the perspectives of others and to work towards repairing the harm caused by their actions.

At St. Kevin's, we view harm as a violation of relationships rather than rules and where the desired 'social order' is the authority, not the adult. We aim to create a safe and inclusive environment where every student feels valued and heard. So when we guide our students through a structured 'Restorative' conversation, we encourage students to take responsibility for their actions, repair the harm caused, and build stronger relationships with their peers.

Restorative Practices - another tool in our school's chest allowing us to achieve our mission to educate the whole person while fostering a strong sense of community and compassion for others.

Thank you for entrusting us with the education and wellbeing of your children. It is an honour to call them 'our kids'.

Jason Micallef,
Principal

Would you like to learn more about Restorative Practices?

Check out Restorative Schools Australia

Farewell Fr. Des

As announced last week, the Archbishop has appointed Fr Des to a role that sees him responsible for the ongoing formation of clergy within the archdiocese. This is a great honour for Fr. Des and deserves our congratulations. We are saddened though, that it also means Fr Des’ journey at St. Kevin’s is coming to an end in mid-April. We at St. Kevin's School would like to wish him well and recognise and thank him for his steadfast leadership and contributions to the growth and sustainment of our school and parish community for the years he has been our Parish Priest.

The parish our organising a fitting event to say Farewell and Thank you to Fr. Des on Sunday the 16th of April at the 3:00 pm Divine Mercy mass, followed by fellowship in the School Hall. All are invited.

Important news about coming changes

Changes to our school's daily attendance times are coming. We encourage ALL families to view the video below and reach out to the school if they have any queries or concerns.

School Advisory Committee

The School Advisory Committee (SAC) is an important group made up of representatives from the school, parish and parent community and meets regularly to provide a forum for consultation. This year I am pleased to introduce two additional members to our SAC, Amenda and Joseph. This means that we now have a full contingent of parent representatives to join our ongoing members; Mr Micallef, Fr. Des, Miss Rowlands and Mrs Gage.

Please feel free to approach any of the SAC members for advice and guidance. They are not a decision-making body but as an advisory committee, they aim to represent you and they are keen to ensure the perspectives of all parents are considered when decisions are made by school leadership. Feel free to speak to them directly or you can email the School Advisory Committee by sending your message to sac@skhamptonpark.catholic.edu.au.

Australia's Best Teachers Campaign

You constantly tell me about the amazing teachers we have here at St. Kevin's. Now you have an opportunity to tell the world! (Well Australia at least)

Stories of our country’s most inspirational, innovative, and talented educators will be shared each Sunday until May, in print and online, to show how the passion and commitment of individuals are transforming education in Australia.

Readers can nominate their favourite teachers using the nomination form.

Parents and Friends Association

We would like to remind you to complete the Operoo form to indicate if you want to join one of our fundraising teams. This is an excellent way to get involved and make a meaningful impact on our school community. We also have an upcoming meeting, which will be held via Zoom next Tuesday March 21st at 7:30pm. Please see SZ App for the message being sent out on Tuesday for the link. We encourage all interested parents to attend. This is a great opportunity to connect with other parents and learn more about the PFA's ongoing initiatives to support our school.

Speaking of initiatives, we have several exciting fundraisers currently underway, including our Easter raffle tickets, Easter Egg donations, and Hot Cross Buns. These events are essential to the success of our school, and we are grateful for your continued support.

As always, we appreciate your ongoing support and involvement in our school. We look forward to seeing you at the PFA meeting and working together to make a difference for our students.

School Tours and Prep Enrolments for 2024

To all of our existing parents, if your child turns five by April 2024 and you are intending for them to commence Prep next year, we ask that you please complete an enrolment form and return it to the office ASAP. The forms can be either downloaded from our website or you are welcome to collect a hard copy from the office. Thank you! 

Also, below are the dates of our Group School Tours for this year.  As I have mentioned in previous years, although we are very strategic with our marketing approach, the best possible marketing strategy is happy St. Kevin's parents telling others about our marvellous school. Please keep getting the word out there.

Harmony Day, Tuesday 21st March

Harmony Day is a celebration that recognises our diversity but brings us together in a way that also celebrates all the commonalities we share, like belonging to a fantastic school community. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.​

To participate, we encourage students, staff and parents to wear orange to show your support on Tuesday, March 21.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀🇮🇪

We are proud to share these photos of our School Captains and Social Justice Leaders who represented our school at the St. Patrick's Day Mass at the cathedral earlier today. It was a beautiful celebration of our Irish heritage and a reminder of the importance of community and coming together to celebrate our shared values.

We are grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of such a special event, and we look forward to continuing to promote social justice and inclusivity within our school community.

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this day possible. We hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

Student Wellbeing - Peer Support

Hey, have you heard about our school's Better Buddies program? It's such a cool initiative where our senior students take on the responsibility to support our younger students by helping them to feel more comfortable in the schoolyard. The program promotes kindness and inclusivity and helps create a positive school culture. It's been a big hit with the kids and the teachers alike!

Marvellous Mathematicians in 3/4 DC & FO

We are learning to solve a number of different Mathematical computations in our classroom. We used the Jump Strategy, Split Strategy and Picture Strategy to solve our worded problems.

We first restate the problem.

Then we select the strategy to use and apply the necessary steps to work out a solution. 

Finally, we check our solution and make sure our calculation is correct. 

We are mighty proud of our problem solving skills!

Ride2School Day, Friday 24th March

Community News