St Luke the Evangelist School Newsletter

Hello Families and Friends,

I trust you have had a lovely week. Melbourne in February, March and April can be quite beautiful- l hope you are enjoying the weather, the opportunity to be out and about but relaxing on the weekends. I think we all need to chill out this weekend after a busy week with some hot days to end it.

ASH WEDNESDAY: All children attended the whole school parish mass on Wednesday to receive the ashes and to begin the start of our Lenten season. Fr Gerard spoke about how each one of us can grow and change this Lent by working to the Three Pillars of Lent- fasting from things or activities that consume our time or energy, praying each day that others might realise and experience the Kingdom of God and , giving of ourselves more readily, in service to others who might need it. The Project Compassion boxes have been sent home- please add all your loose change to it each day. This money will go to Caritas who work so closely with the marginalised, the oppressed and communities who require lucky countries like Australia to support them as they build up infrastructure to allow them to live with dignity.

TWILIGHT SPORTS: What an afternoon we had. A perfectly organised event- thank you to Micaela Debney, to the staff and to our volunteer parents and carers who did such a great job. A perfect day- our moons were aligned once again and it worked really well having the children sit undercover on the seats at different times. And perfect children!  Our children ran, jumped, threw, rolled and cheered the whole afternoon. Their sense of sportsmanship, friendship and courage were obvious and staff and families alike were so proud of every individual and collective effort. Well done!

Thanks to our families who came along to cheer, to chat and to offer some cool treats to their kids. Congratulations to BLUE HOUSE who won the 2023 Twilight Sports. Hannah, Maddie, Xavier and Lachie did a great job leading their team and spoke very well in their joint victory speech.

The Fr James Staunton trophies went to Maddie and Lachie. Cogratulations to you both. Make sure you scroll through the photos later in this newsletter.

FAITH, MISSION &  THE SACRAMENTS: We are very excited to be piloting a new format for our families involved in the sacraments this year. On Tuesday afternoon, parents will have an opportunity to share a cuppa and listen to a presentation by Fr Gerard and Robin Smith. Our children in Year 3, 4 and 6 will simultaneously be working on a sacrament based activity in class. At 3.20pm, for those parents who can, child (candidate) and parent will meet up to walk to the church for a short reflection.

• If your child is celebrating Reconciliation for the first time, look out for the booking information that will come your way in the upcoming week.
• There will be family workshops for Confirmation in Term 2 and First Eucharist in Term 3. Dates and details will follow.

There are many families who have not RSVP'd yet. Please do so via your Operoo communication TODAY for catering and seating purposes.

SCHOOL TOURS- thanks to James and Emily, Iris and Leah who have helped me on a number of school tours. Our visitors have been so impressed with the confidence you have demonstrated and your engagement and interest in their child as we have walked around. Please spread the word about why we believe St Luke's is the best school around... for all of our local kinder kids. Tell any interested parents that all they have to do is ring the office to arrange a personalised, informative and engaging tour with me and some of our student leaders

PREP ENROLMENT is happening NOW! Do you have a child in 4 year old kinder? If you do, we need their enrolment form completed and submitted asap. Please contact Deb in the office to get copy sent home. 

INTRODUCING OUR STUDENT LEADERS... Make sure you look out for some great snapshots of who our student leaders are in the upcoming newsletters. They are an impressive bunch and we couldn't be prouder of them

SRC 2023: Congratulations to the following children who have formed our SRC this year along with Pauline Answerth. They are excited to be a voice for their peers and have already shown great commitment and enthusiasm towards their roles. Mason and Noah, Hamish, Sophia, Georgia and Katia- we know it will be a great year ahead with you working towards making St Luke's the wonderful school it is.

SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC): Thank you to the following members of our parish-school community who will represent you on our School Advisory Council: Nader Mitri, Hon Yeung, Bianca Brocchio, Simon Meehan, Julie Inglese, Fr Gerard Johnson and Clare Ryan. The year ahead is sure to be exciting and interesting and l think we will have a broad range of topics to discuss to ensure St Luke's is constantly evolving as the school where our children want to be.

SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES- A reminder that our school assemblies each Monday at 3.10 pm are open to all our families and toddlers. You can enter by the side gate (remote) and we'll normally be in the Discovery Centre.

Oh no, it's another long message but there is so much going on and so much to share. Please make sure you have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing you next week.

Clare

Last Wednesday (22nd) was Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the Lenten Season.  Our school attended Mass and Ashes were distributed on our foreheads, reminding us of our mission ‘To be the Good News.’  Ash Wednesday begins the forty day season of Lent that leads to Easter.  On Ash Wednesday, we come together to remind ourselves that we don’t always follow God’s ways and to ask for continued guidance and forgiveness. 

We invite all families to complete an enrolment form for our Prep 2024 intake.  Please either visit the school office for a hard copy or contact Debbie via email schooloffice@slblackburnsth.catholic.edu.au for a digital copy.

If you know of family or friends who are looking to move into the area OR are considering moving schools for their child OR want to  commence their child at a great primary school, please encourage them to come by for a tour. A quick phone call to Debbie in the office or email via our website will get the ball rolling. 

I am not sure about you, but I am still buzzing after a fantastic day on Tuesday at our St Luke’s Twilight Sports Athletics carnival.  The weather was perfect and everything ran smoothly.  Thank you to my wonderful colleagues for your flexibility, diligence and sense of fun!  I know there were many emails lighting up your inbox in the lead up!  A huge thank you to the parents who gave up their time to help.  It is just not possible for the teachers to supervise and score every event, and the children adore seeing their special people out on the track in their roles.  I am grateful for the community spirit and to all those families who cheered and supported our students throughout their events and their fabulous dance routines.

Congratulations to Blue House who collected the most overall points and took home the winning shield on the day.  I was very proud of the speeches made by Blue House leaders Lachie, Maddie, Xavier and Hannah, who were humble and courteous in their victory.  A further congratulations to Maddie and Lachie - our 2023 Year 6 Father James Staunton 200m race winners.  Enjoy your trophy as a memento of your performances today!

Watch this space as I will soon be announcing the students selected to represent our school at the Syndal District Athletics Carnival on Friday 31st March.  Enjoy the photos from Tuesday! 

Micaela Debney - Physical Education Teacher

If children arrive after the Gate and Student Entry doors are locked, Parents/Carers are required to walk their child/ren to the school office and sign them in on the VPass iPad.

If leaving early (before the end of the day), Parents/Carers are required to sign their child/ren out on the VPASS iPad.

2023 School fee statements have been sent home via email.  Please check your SPAM/JUNK folder if you have not received your statement.

Various payment option are available, with our preferred method of payment being BPAY, please see the bottom of your statement for your BPAY details.

Families with a health care card may be eligible for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF), provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF.  A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

If you wish to apply for CSEF please contact the school office to request an application form.   All completed forms must be returned ASAP.

Health care card holders are eligible for the MACS fee concession, application forms are available from the school office.

Please ensure that your child/ren have their school hat (no caps) with them each day in Term 1 2023, as they must wear it outside during breaks, sports and if lessons are held outside.  If they forget to bring their hat it will be No Hat No Play.

It is school policy and child safety requirement to wear hats in Terms 1 and 4

If your child has lost their hat or it is damaged, you can purchase them along with other uniform garments from Spartan School World (https://www.spartanschoolworld.com.au/collections/st-luke-the-evangelist).  With Click & Collect, Home Delivery or School Delivery options.