No 5. Term 1 Week 9, 31st March 2023

Principal Update

As we come to the end of the first term of the school year, I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all of you who have contributed towards our success.

This term has been one of joy and excitement, as we have welcomed our newest students, the Preps, into our school community. It has been a delight to see them settling into school life, making new friends, and exploring new ideas and experiences. Their enthusiasm and curiosity have reminded us all of the wonder and magic of learning.

I also want to express my deep appreciation for the meaningful partnerships we have been building with the families of our students. Your support, engagement, and collaboration have been essential to our success this term. We are grateful for your trust and confidence in our school, and we look forward to continuing to work together to help your children grow and thrive.

As we finish this term, we also lead into Holy Week and Easter. This is a time for reflection, renewal, and gratitude. It reminds us of the power of hope, faith, and love, and the importance of coming together as a community to support one another. Please see the St. Kevin's Parish Holy Week and Easter Mass and Services Timetable at the end of this newsletter. There are many opportunities during this time for family participation in the Easter ceremonies it would be great to see some of our students at the Holy Week and Easter ceremonies.  

So, as we prepare to enjoy a well-deserved break, I want to wish you all a happy and peaceful Easter. May this season bring you joy, hope, and renewed energy for the next term. Thank you for all you have done to make this term a success. I am honoured to be a part of this wonderful community and look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday 26th April for the beginning of yet another jam-packed fabulous term.

God bless

Jason Micallef,
Principal

END OF TERM 1

Term 1 Ends

Thursday, 6th April 

at 3:30 pm

Term 2 Commences

Wednesday, 26th April

Change of Attendance Times

Student-led Liturgies

At St. Kevin's we have a beautiful tradition of marking key events in Holy Week with student-run liturgies that the whole school attends. Parents are most welcome to attend and take part also. This year's liturgies will take place at the following times:

• Palm Sunday, led by the Preps - Friday, March 31st at 2:50 pm
• Holy Thursday , led by 3/4s - Monday, April 3rd at 9:15 am
• Good Friday, led by 5/6s - Tuesday, April 5 at 2:50 pm
• Easter Sunday, led by 1/2s - Wednesday, April 26th at 2:50 pm (Term 2)

Farewell Fr. Des

There are two opportunities for families to participate in farewells for our dear Father Des. 

Tuesday, April 4th, 9:15 am

Whole School Mass in the church followed by formalities in the hall

Sunday, April 16th, 3:00 pm

Parish Mass in the church followed by fellowship in the hall.

City of Casey Leaders Reception

Last week, all of the House Leaders attended an excursion at Bunjil Place and had an amazing time. All of the House Leaders received a small showbag with a pamphlet showing the leaders in our community. We learnt so much about everyone's journey through life and their experiences.

Here are some of the highlights of the day from some of the House Leaders:

Martha: During this experience, I have learnt that if you aspire to be something, the journey won’t always be easy - there will be some ups and downs, but you'll always make it through. We were taught that everybody's story is different and that if you want to make a difference, you should make a move.

Shevon: I enjoyed the front row experience at the Bunjil Place. I learned that when you're very close to giving up, don't, because there are so many things in the future which are unexpected and can change your life. “Your past does not make your future”. We also learned about other leaders' life stories and what they suffered/went through to become the great leaders that they are now.

Ruvimbo: We enjoyed the lifestyles that all the presenters had. The dance at the start was so detailed and the food was yummy. The experience was interesting and a great reminder that everyone has a chance of being an individual. 

Chanelle: I enjoyed the experience and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to come and see this amazing presentation! There were many different people with amazing things to share about their lives and their experiences. They had unique motivational words to share with us and I found this experience really entertaining. I know everyone enjoyed this experience. 

Adele: The trip was an amazing opportunity for the House Leaders to attend. We heard about the troubles and trials many youth leaders have been through during their lifetime. We learnt how to overcome trials when we come face to face with them. 

Melanie: The excursion was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the many qualities of leadership. I have been inspired by the amount of young adults who give up their time to help small communities. Their courage has given me more confidence to be able to speak up more and to be a good role-model to everyone at St. Kevins.

Nearra: I would love to say thank you for the amazing time that was given to all of the House Leaders. I enjoyed every single part of the day that was presented in the theatre, especially hearing about Nathan Hulls' story. It reminded us how life isn’t always perfect and how everyone has their own story. This was a really fun and exciting day to experience. 

Miya: The excursion was a great opportunity to learn about the challenges of others.  We were reminded that a lot of people face challenges in their life, but if you keep believing in yourself, you can do it. They were also saying there are ups and downs in life but it is important that you don’t give up. 

Thank you to Mr Micallef and Mrs Sugirth for taking us to this fun experience. We are looking forward to using our leadership skills at St. Kevins to make it a better learning space for our students, teachers and families!

Sustainability Leaders Excursion

Our Sustainability Leaders attended the International Flower and Gard show this week. It was a wonderful experience for our students! They had the opportunity to learn about different types of plants and gardening techniques from experts in the field. The students also enjoyed the beautiful displays and interactive activities. It was a fun and educational day for all who attended.

STEM Biomimicry Excursion

On Tuesday March 28th, 19 grade 5/6 students attended a Biomimicry Bootcamp excursion at the Royal Botanic Gardens in the city. We caught a train and a tram which was very fun for the students.

Biomimicry is the study of how nature can inspire engineering and design solutions.

Students learned about different plants and their amazing features, like the grass tree. Did you know that the grass tree produces resin that protects it from the intense heat of a bush fire?  Did you know that oak trees develop branches in a way that best utilises the opportunity for its leaves to harness the sun in order to photosynthesise? We learned about all of this and more. 

Parents and Friends

We want to take a moment to express our gratitude for the continued support of our Parents and Friends Association (PFA). Your contributions and efforts have helped make our recent fundraisers and events a success, and we appreciate everything you do for our school community.

For those who missed our PFA meeting last week, the minutes are now available and can be accessed below. We discussed a range of topics, including upcoming fundraisers and events, as well as opportunities to get involved with the PFA.

We also wanted to remind parents that we have a Facebook group that is open to all members of our school community. This is a great way to stay up-to-date on PFA news and events, connect with other parents, and get involved in our initiatives.

If you have not already joined our Facebook group, we invite you to do so. Simply click on the link to Facebook, request to join the group and answer the questions to help us know who you are. We would love to have you be a part of our online community.

This week a huge thank you to Natalie our president who is currently coordinating our Mother's Day fundraising which will launch in the first week of second term. We also thank Rheannon for her help with packing the Hot Cross Bun orders and Caryn, Nancy and Ayg who have been running all that is involved with the second-hand Uniform Stall.

Once again, we thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our school. We look forward to continuing to work together to make a positive impact on our students and community.

Easter Raffle



Thank you all so much for the generous response we have had to the donations for this year's Easter Raffle! It’s great when we have lots of prizes so lots of students have an opportunity to take something home.

Key dates for the Easter Raffle are: 

Monday, 3rd April 9am – Final Day for Easter egg donation

Wednesday, 5th April 9 am – Final Day for the return of raffle tickets

Thursday, 6th April – Raffle drawn 

Easter egg hamper wrapping will take place in the Welcome Centre at 2.30 pm on Monday (3rd April). If you are available to come in and lend a hand it would be much appreciated. Remember, many hands make light work!!

All proceeds from the raffle will go toward purchasing a portable stage to be used in the hall.

Many thanks and best of luck!

St. Patrick's Day Mass

On Friday 17th March our Social Justice Leaders and School Captians, Mrs Bruhin and Mrs Sugirth journeyed into St Patricks Cathedral to attend the St Patricks Day Mass celebrated by Archbishop Comensoli. This special Mass, complete with Irish pipers, an orchestra, choir and banner procession, was a thrilling event to be part of. Schools from across the Archdiocese of Melbourne were represented by over 2,000 students. After the Mass the lucky Year 6s  celebrated in the sun with all the other students at a party held especially for them in Treasury Gardens.

Grade 2 Indonesian

The Grade 2s have been learning Parts of the Body in Indonesian this term and what better way to connect their learning with a song they are already familiar with (Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes).
As we know, songs are a great and fun way to help us remember or memories words/lyrics as studies have shown that music produces positive effects on a human's body and brain. It activates both the left and right brain at the same time, and this can maximise learning and improve memory.

Ride2School Day!

What a fabulous turn out for RIDE2SCHOOL DAY last Friday.  

233 students at St. Kevin's either walked, scooted, skated or rode to school last Friday! This is a huge improvement on the number of students actively travelling to school. 

Perhaps you could make this part of your weekly routine...choose one day a week to walk instead of driving or park a few streets away from the school and walk a shorter distance. 

Anzac Day Dawn Service

The Hampton Park Progress Association cordially invites members of the St. Kevin's community to take part in the Anzac Day Dawn Service to be held at 6:00 am on Tuesday 25th April 2023 at Arthur Wren Hall 16-20 Stuart Avenue Hampton Park.

We encourage students and their families to participate and represent our school at this important event. Attendees are asked to please arrive no later than 5:45 am.

School Athletics

Our school athletics for students in years 3-6 is taking place the first Friday of next term, Friday 28th April. It's important that students arrive at school on time as we will be leaving on the bus as soon as possible.

Please make sure that your child wears their sports uniform and house colours for the day. Additionally, please ensure that they dress appropriately for the weather, especially if it's cold.

Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to a fun and exciting day!

Wonder Recycling Rewards for Schools

This year, St. Kevin's is taking part in the Wonder Recycling Rewards Program.

Collect any brand of bread bag and drop them into the boxes in the school office.  The more bags we collect, the more sports equipment we can earn! 

What is a bread bag for recycling purposes? The rule of thumb is that if it has contained bread of some sort and is a soft plastic, then it’s a bread bag. If it hasn’t contained bread, then it’s not a bread bag.

How clean do the bags have to be? Bread bags should be free from crumbs to ensure no contamination during the recycling process but they do not need to be washed. 

Count frogs for Frog Census | Melbourne Water

Would you like to become a frog monitor, but don’t know where to start? Look no further than the Melbourne Water Frogging 101 video playlist.

Learn the basics of finding and recording frogs in your local area to help track the wider health of our wetlands and waterways. 

Join the City of Casey for some fabulous frogging events. Help us carry out some very important monitoring to record which frog species are calling our wetlands home. 

Links are posted below, if you have any questions, please email rharris@casey.vic.gov.au

Banjo Patterson Reserve Wetland tickets

Frog Hollow tickets

Melbourne Water activies, creating a frog friendly habitat

Foil chocolate waste

These holidays add the aluminium foil from your eggs to your recycling. Don’t just throw them into the bin  as they are too light - collect and scrunch them into a golf ball the same way you do with cooking foil. Take and share a photo of your Easter egg foil ball on our Green Living Facebook page to show us your skills.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/greenlivingincasey/

https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/how-get-rid-waste-unwanted-items/aluminium-foil%C2%A0

City of Casey School Holiday Activities

Sacred Heart Girl's College

Holy Week and Easter Timetable