Term 3 Week 3 Newsletter- Monday August 4

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the traditional owners, the Gunditjmara people, on whose land we learn, work and play. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their elders- past, present and emerging believing that we can walk together for a better future.

All Saints Parish School Vision

Principal's Message

Term 3 has certainly begun in a very busy fashion. There has been lots going on already in the first 3 weeks of term.

On Monday July 21 staff began our Laudato Si' Action Planning journey with Sarah Page, Social Justice Education Officer, from the CEB Catholic Identity and Mission team. We looked at Pope Francis’ encyclical: Laudato Si’ – On Care for Our Common Home. A Laudato Si' Action Plan is our school’s commitment to act towards achieving the Laudato Si' Goals. Based on our school’s particular requirements and objectives, the action plan is specific to our school.

Thank you to all families who came to celebrate your child's learning at our 3-way Learning Conversations last week. There is so much to be proud of. If you didn't have the chance to make an appointment please contact your child's classroom teacher to arrange a time to share the fantastic achievements with your child.

This Friday we celebrate the feast day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. We will have mass at school in the hall at 10:00am and invite families to join us for this celebration. We will then have a sausage sizzle for lunch before we participate in some fun activities in our house groups after lunch. 

Monday August 18 will be a Student Free Day. Please add this date to your calendar. Staff will be participating in some professional learning with a focus on Maths. 

Don't forget our Book Week dress up day is on Friday August 22. 

We are Respectful! We are Responsible! We are Safe! We are Nurturing!

Regards

Jamie  

Catholic School Culture

Sacrament of Confirmation

Our thoughts and prayers are with Rose M, Harriet H, Theo D, Elodie T, Lance C, Olivia J and Thomas J as they begin their preparations for the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend.

Over the next 5 weeks these students and their families will participate in mass with members of the parish and work with staff to prepare for the sacrament on August 13.

Assembly Timetable

Assemblies commence at 2:30pm every second Friday afternoon.

Assemblies for Term 3

Week 4: Indonesian & Art (August 15)

Week 6: 3/4KD (August 29)

Week 8: Science & Phys Ed (September 12)

School Closure Days

Please add the following dates to your calendars. There will be no school for students on these days.

Term 3

Monday July 21 - Faith Formation & Religious Education: Laudato Si' Action Planning (completed)

Monday August 18 - Curriculum Day- Maths 

Term 4

Monday October 6 - Structured Literacy

Monday November 3 - Report Writing & Assessments

Important Dates

Term 3 

Week 3

Tuesday August 5 - SAC meeting in the school library

Friday August 8 - Feast of Mary MacKillop

Saturday August 9 - Commitment Weekend for Sacrament of Confirmation

Sunday August 10 - Parish Mass to celebrate 150 years of Loreto

Week 4

Monday August 11 - Friday August 15 - Dental van @ All Saints

Monday August 11 - Friday August 15 - Bullying No Way Week

Tuesday August 12 - FAMPA: Family Maths Night Yrs 3-6 families- 5:30pm-7:00pm

Wednesday August 13 - Thursday August 14 - Early Career Teachers Retreat in Halls Gap. (Miss wood & Miss Mall)

Thursday August 14 - Friday August 15 - DLG Leadership meeting in Horsham- Jamie away

Friday August 15 - Science Games Day @ Heywood & District Secondary College (for selected students)

Saturday August 16 - Confirmation Dismissal @ 6:00pm mass

Week 5

Monday August 18 - Friday August 22 - BOOK WEEK - Book an Adventure!

Monday August 18 - Student Free Day - No school for students!

Monday August 18 - Tayla Marra Placement Techer commences in FCL

Tuesday August 19 - Friday August 22 - Australian Catholic Education Conference- Jamie away

Friday August 22 - Book Week Dress Up Day

Saturday August 23 - Confirmation Dismissal @ 6:00pm mass

Week 6

Monday August 25 - Wednesday August 27 - PSGs

Wednesday August 27 - Music Festival 7:00pm-9:00pm

Saturday August 30 - Confirmation Dismissal @ 6:00pm mass

Week 7

Friday September 5 - Father's Day Breakfast 

Saturday September 6 - Confirmation Dismissal @ 6:00pm mass

Sunday September 7 - Father's Day

Week 8

Wednesday September 10 - PHDSSA Basketball Tournament- Girls

Wednesday September 10 - School Concert Dress Rehearsal Day

Thursday September 11 -  CONCERT DAY - All Saints Colour Fest

                                                  - Matinee @ 12:00pm

                                                  - Evening Show @ 6:00pm

Saturday September 13 - Sacrament of Confirmation @ 6:00pm mass

Week 9

Monday September 15 - VRQA Compliance Audit

Wednesday September 17 - PHDSSA Basketball Tournament- Boys

Friday September 19 - Last Day of Term 3- 2:15pm finish.

Learning & Teaching

From the 5/6 Pod

This week, our Year 5/6 students attended a special NAIDOC Week celebration where we came together to learn about and honour the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We learned about the power of cultural identity, the importance of truth-telling, and the ongoing journey toward justice and reconciliation. It was a meaningful experience that inspired us to listen, learn, and stand together with respect.

Here are some of our reflections from the day…

“On Friday 25th of July all of the schools in the area came together at secondary college for NAIDOC week celebrations. I really enjoyed the really cool dancing” - Nevaeh

“The theme for this year's NAIDOC week celebration was The Next Generation. Vision. Strength. I enjoyed the some of the Gunditjmara people performing some of their cultural dances” - Ayden

“As we walked in we were welcomed by the warmth of the Bayview band singing the song Riptide” - Cassie

“We listened to many people talk about what NAIDOC means to them. Then some Gunditjmara people showed us a few important dances to their culture” - Grace 

“Aunty Dulcie, a proud Gunditjmara elder, did the welcome to country and started the whole event. The dancing was incredible, there was a dance about lighting a fire and celebrating light” - Thomas 

“Some local Indigenous people did some traditional dancing and it was amazing. The dance group was called Yrkeen Karweeyn and was led by Troy Lovett”- Ivy

“In the future I hope we can all walk together and make the world a better place for the next generation.”- Varia

“I feel like NAIDOC lets us discover and learn about their ways so then we can walk together in equity”- Edward 

“Naidoc is a time to reflect on the past and think about what we can do better in the future” - Ashlynn

Students of the Week

SWPBS- School Wide Positive Behaviour Supports

School Wide Expectations

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support is: A multi-tiered framework for establishing the social culture and behaviour supports needed for a school to achieve behavioural and academic outcomes for all students.

Each  newsletter we will share one aspect for each of our school wide expectations. We will focus on these at school and they may present an opportunity for some discussion with your children at home. You may ask them when they demonstrated one of the expectations or a time when someone displayed the expectation towards them.

We are RESPECTFUL! - Allow others to play.

We are RESPONSIBLE! - Wear the correct uniform with pride and care.

We are SAFE! - Watch out for others and community members.

We are NURTURING! - Offer support to adults and peers.

Leadership & Stewardship

Student Attendance

Daily school attendance is important for young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don’t fall behind both socially and developmentally. Young people who regularly attend school have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher incomes across their lives.  

We understand that there are times when your child will need to miss school but to ensure minimal disruption to their education, please consider scheduling family holidays or medical/dental appointments outside of school time. If your child is well enough to attend but is worried about friendships, schoolwork or exams, please encourage them to come to school. Avoiding school can make these feelings worse and can create a negative pattern of behaviour.

If your child is having difficulty attending school, talk to their teacher or School leadership about getting support.

We know that parents and carers can be juggling challenges daily to get your children to school. If your child must miss school, notify us as soon as possible via PAM so we can work together to support them.

Remember, Every Day Counts.

A reminder to all families that is a requirement of the Victorian State Government for parents to report reasons for school absence. 

2025 SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Our 2025 SAC members are: Bonita Silva, Cam McCallum, Tam Jennings, Shannon Thomas, Stacey Tait, Chris Watson and Alyssa Bicknell.

If you have anything you would like raised at a SAC meeting please contact one of the SAC members or the school office.

Community Engagement

Year 3-6 Family Maths Night

Next Tuesday evening, August 12, we will be holding a Family Maths night for our families in years 3-6. Families are invited to come along for a night of fun maths activities with a football theme. We invite family members to come along dressed in your favourite Aussie rules, soccer or rugby gear and join us in a variety of different football based maths activities.

Please see the flyer below for more information.

2025 School Concert: All Saints Colour Fest

The countdown is on and preparations have begun! Put the date in your diary!

Thursday September 11 is our school concert at the Civic Hall. The 'All Saints Colour Fest' matinee will be at 12:00pm and the evening show will begin at 6:00pm. 

More information will be shared closer to the date.

Child Safety & Wellbeing

Bullying No Way National Week of Action: August 11-15

Bullying No Way Week is Australia's key bullying prevention initiative for schools. It provides an opportunity for schools to create a shared understanding about bullying behaviours and share their bullying prevention policies and strategies.

The national week of action unites government, Catholic and independent schools and their communities across the country. Together, we can foster practical approaches to prevent bullying in Australian schools.

2025 theme

The theme for 2025 is 'Be bold. Be kind. Speak up.'

It takes courage to spark change.

Bullying is everyone's responsibility. It takes a community to be brave and address bullying behaviours, within and beyond the school gate.

Students can be bold, kind and take a stand to support others being bullied. While parents and teachers are there to support children and young people learn how to behave in a positive way.

In our community and in our school, we want a place where everyone can belong, a place that celebrates everyone, and where bullying is never accepted.

This Bullying No Way Week, we're asking students, schools, families and communities to be bold and say something, be kind and support someone, and be proud to take a stand against bullying.

For some ideas of what you can doe as a family please check out the following links:

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/ 

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/support-and-advice/for-families 

What does it mean to be bold, be kind and to speak up? Check out the 2025 Bullying No Way Week campaign video. 

Parenting Support

In today’s world, life presents many challenges, and being a parent or carer is certainly among them.

If you are finding any aspect of parenting or caring particularly challenging right now, or if you would simply like some advice, please refer to the attached flyer for available support. You are also very welcome to reach out to us at school for a conversation—we’re here to listen and explore ways we might be able to assist. If you have a specific need or concern, please let us know, and we may be able to arrange sessions that could also benefit other members of our school community.

We are grateful for the ongoing support of CatholicCare Warrnambool and our school counsellor, Rachael.

From the eSafety Commissioner

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) is the Australian Government’s independent online safety regulator. 

Our purpose is to help safeguard Australians at risk of online harms and to promote safer, more positive online experiences. 

As the first agency of its kind in the world, eSafety is at the forefront of preventing online risks, reducing the impacts of harms and building safer digital spaces.

Please find some links below from the eSafety website that you may find helpful or just keep them for future reference.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people

https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids 

https://www.esafety.gov.au/first-nations 

SchoolTV - Wellbeing Platform

Because parenting doesn’t come with a set of instructions, SchoolTV is a wellbeing resource that can support you in the challenges relating to modern-day parenting.

This award-winning resource helps build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers to navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people. It can assist in starting conversations on topics that are sometimes awkward or difficult to tackle.

Below is a URL link to the All Saints SchoolTV platform. 

All Saints Parish School’s ‘School TV’ can be accessed using the following link: https://asportland.catholic.schooltv.me 

In this edition of SchoolTV - Sibling Relationships

Sibling relationships are often a child's first and longest-lasting social connection. These bonds can offer companionship, support and opportunities to develop important life skills such as empathy, negotiation and conflict resolution. However, like all close relationships, sibling dynamics can be complex. Differences in temperament, age, needs and parental attention can all contribute to tension or rivalry. It's not uncommon for children to compete for attention, especially during times of change or stress.

As a parent or caregiver, your role in shaping the tone of sibling relationships is vital. Creating a home environment that celebrates each child's unique strengths and avoids direct comparisons helps reduce rivalry and fosters mutual respect.

By listening without judgement, teaching emotional regulation, and supporting each child's individuality, you can create a family culture where siblings feel secure and valued. This edition of SchoolTV offers insights to support young people in developing positive, lasting sibling bonds that can remain strong well into adulthood.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Sibling Relationships edition of SchoolTV
https://asportland.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sibling-relationships-au

Happy Birthday

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

STUDENTS:  Isla L, William K, Robby R, Bridget A, Ollie R, Ayla G, Nina M, Hailey S, Lachlan W, Tannah I, Jaxon K, Adelean H, Scarlett K, Masie T, Hunter S, Ollie I, Noah K, Laura W, Theo D, Amith-Beth S, Esme-Davina M, Max L, Tully D, Adalynd W

STAFF:  Mrs. E, Miss Dart, Julie K, Mr. White, Mrs. Levings, Mr. Staples

Praying With Children

Praying with Children resources offer an insight into the scripture readings from mass on the weekend. It is a wonderful opportunity for families to discuss the Gospel stories and complete some related activities if they wish.

Please click on each of the links below to access the activities.

Our Diocesan Community Magazine

COMMUNITY NEWS