Another busy week has passed. I would like to thank the school community for supporting us as we have various changes to staffing across the school over the last couple of weeks. Whilst it can be unsettling to some students, staff have worked extremely hard to ensure routines, structures and procedures remain as consistent as possible. 

It was communicated to 1/2W on Friday, however, Yvette Whalan has had to take some time off for the rest of this term for medical reasons. We wish Yvette all the best and can't wait to see her back at school soon. During her absence Natasha Kapantais will be taking lead on 1/2W with Jo Krippner, Damien Webb and myself supporting.

To be transparent and upfront, moving forward, it is becoming more challenging to access casual teachers to replace our staff when they are absent. Like any work place, staff are entitled to leave, and given the profession we are in, I encourage staff to take leave should they need, especially for sick and medical reasons, as we want to make sure we are all 100% when at school to support our students. With the difficulty with obtaining replacement teachers (common across Canberra), there are times when classes are required to be split. We are fortunate to have not had to do a lot of this over this term and really not much last year at all, however, chances are this will have to occur in the coming weeks and months. We do our best and cover classes as best we can from within our own staff but this is not always possible. 

Again, we thank you for your support regarding this and please know that I am aware and check in frequently with all classes throughout everyday, to ensure a smooth day of learning is occurring. 

Rainbow Award

On Friday we will present our first 'Rainbow Awards'.

As you would remember, we phased out the 'gotcha' system as it was not valued by students, outdated, inconsistent and placed a heavy emphasis on extrinsic reward. We have moved toward a term award which will be presented to 2 students from each class. These students have been nominated by their class teachers for consistently displaying our school values. At the end of the year, the 8 students from each class who have received a Rainbow Award, will have a special afternoon with Mr Webb and myself. 

Rotary Club - Belconnen

We would like to thank the Rotary Club of Belconnen for their kind donation of $400.  Every year the Rotary Club supports our school by giving a generous donation to assist families in our community that need a bit of extra help with school payments.

During Lent, I am reminded to reach out to those in need. There are people within our community who are having a rough time or struggling at present. I would firstly ask you to keep them in your prayers, and secondly, over the next few weeks of term, reach out and connect to someone new, a new parent or family perhaps. This small act of kindness can make a massive different in someone's life. 

Catholic Schools Week Community Breakfast

It is that time of year again when we are planning for Catholic Schools Week. For new families, every year we hold a Community Breakfast and invite all those businesses, politicians, friends and Catholic Education staff to celebrate with our school community. This is a catered family event, so please rsvp numbers attending. 

Enjoy the week ahead.

Be Kind.

Regards,

Pat Ellis

Principal