School Uniform Update

Last week, Lowes officially took over our uniform contract. They are currently sorting through the stock collected from Whytes, and once everything is tagged and on the shelves, the online store will be ready for you to access. We know this transition has had a few bumps, but we believe that once everything is in place, it will be a smooth and cost-effective system for all our families.

You'll notice some slight changes as the current stock sells out and new items arrive:

• The Summer short-sleeve shirt will now feature a navy blue line across the pocket and sleeves, with the logo on the pocket.
• The Winter long-sleeve shirt will have the logo on the pocket and a line across the top of the pocket.
• All socks for both girls and boys, to be worn with summer and winter uniforms, will now be navy. This means no more white socks for girls with summer dresses or grey socks for boys with shorts – this change helps us simplify our uniform options. Sports socks will remain white.

While these transitions take place we understand students may be in varying uniforms. Once the store is up and running and families have had time to purchase uniform items we will return to full uniform expectations. Students in year 6 will not be expected to update their socks at this point in time. From 2026 all students will be required to wear navy socks. 

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Parent Forum Update

A huge thank you to all the parents who attended our recent Parent Forum! It was a truly valuable evening, and I'm so grateful to both our parents and staff for their participation. On the night, I shared the feedback from last year's forum and provided an update on our progress in implementing suggestions or continuing with existing successful initiatives. Here are some of the key points we discussed:

• From this year, all children will complete one formal public speaking assessment tailored to their age and stage. Year 5 and 6 students will use Diocesan set topics, with two students elected to attend the Diocesan Public Speaking Competition.
• Beginning this year, all children will complete a cross-curricular Creative Arts and Religion task that unpacks scripture and allows students to interpret it through art and writing. Year 5 and 6 will continue this as part of their Advent and Christmas Religion Units, and three students from each grade will be chosen to enter their works into the Diocesan competition.
• Every second year, Stage 3 students will enter Wakakirri as part of their stage excursion, incorporating creative arts and English. In the alternate year, they will visit Canberra.
• From this year, each class will take turns leading prayer at assembly and sharing what they are learning.
• The Book Parade will now be held during Book Week, and the Book Fair will take place in Term 4 around Grandparents' Day.
• We've developed a parent sporting committee to help support the organisation and communication around school sporting events.
• We've successfully partnered with CatholicCare to provide families with access to counselling and workshops on supporting children with emotions and wellbeing.
• The P&F held their first after-school event for adults, a trivia night, which was a huge success!
• Harmony Day is now a permanent fixture on our school calendar and our fourth key celebration, aligned with the value of Community.
• We'll be offering opportunities for groups to attend Soccer Gala Days.
• We joined the Council Christmas Carols at the end of last year and hope to continue this tradition.

We also shared the work we've done on developing our respect rubrics and Amy Berry's work on student engagement. We'll be sharing a Google Form in the coming weeks to gather feedback from families who weren't able to attend the forum.

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Assistant Principal Appraisal

Simon Farrugia will be undergoing his appraisal for his first contract as Assistant Principal. We encourage you to take a few moments to complete the survey and provide feedback for Simon. This feedback is invaluable as it helps shape the goals for his next contract term. It's a truly affirming process that allows leaders to focus on their strengths and identify areas for growth.  Survey to come soon.

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What to Do When Your Child Comes Home Upset

It's not unusual for children to come home from school feeling upset. They might report being physically hurt, left out of a game, or simply frustrated by something that happened. The most important first step is to validate their feelings. What they are feeling is very real to them.

Once you've acknowledged their feelings, gently inquire (don't interrogate) into why they're feeling this way. Ask open-ended questions about what they've told you. For example, if they say they were "punched," you could ask: "Can you tell me what that looked like? When did it happen? What game were you playing? Who did you tell?"

We recently had an example where a child said they were "punched in the head." Upon inquiry, it turned out they were playing a chasing game and as one student tried to take another's hat, their hand accidentally hit the child's head. While not exactly accurate, it was still upsetting for the child!

If they say they were left out of a game, find out if they asked to join, what happened, who they spoke to, and most importantly, what they plan to do about it the next day. As parents, we naturally want to make our children feel better, but sometimes we need to step back and allow them to solve their own problems. This teaches them invaluable independence and resilience.

If your child comes home upset, encourage them to brainstorm some solutions for how they can handle it the next day, and then check in with them to see how it went. It's also absolutely fine to email their teacher to let them know something has occurred. Teachers can't see everything, so a little heads-up is always appreciated, and it allows us to support your child in resolving any issues they might be having.

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System Professional Learning Day

On Monday, June 16th, Katie Browne and Simon Farrugia will be attending a system Professional Learning Day. Sandra Hogan will be the Relief Principal on site.