Newsletter August 27th, 2019

Prayer

O Almighty God, the Father of all humanity, turn, we pray, the hearts of all peoples and their rulers, that by the power of your Holy Spirit peace may be established among the nations on the foundation of justice, righteousness and truth; through him who was lifted up on the cross to draw all people to himself, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Dear Parents,

Again you outdid yourselves with all of the fabulous costumes that were on display at our annual Book Week Parade. Your capacity to create wonderful costumes from very little never ceases to amaze me. All of the students looked amazing as can be seen by the gallery of photos. The students all enjoyed an opportunity to work in family groups engaging in activities related to the books nominated for the Children’s Book Awards. A fantastic effort by everyone - great job.

Our next event is our Father's Day Pie Night, being held this Thursday. If you have not yet replied to our Father’s Day event, this must be done ASAP for catering purposes.

Our school concert is also fast approaching. Dont forget to purchase your tickets from the office. Tickets are available now.

To date we have had 20 students volunteer for our Sleepout on Thursday 5th September which is a truly inspiring effort.  These students are raising funds and other donations which will be handed to St Vincent de Paul as part of their Winter Appeal. Parents are also very welcome to join in the sleepout as part of our awareness raising campaign, concerning the homeless and those less fortunate than ourselves. Even if you do not have a family member participating we would love you to put some non perishable goods in our box in the office area. 

Thank you to those families who confirmed/updated their email addresses with us via our last newsletter. The response was fantastic. What a great tool this new newsletter is for interacting with our school community quickly and conveniently. Keep an eye on your email over the next week as your PAM accounts/login details are rolled out.

School fee accounts are presently being sent out to all families.  At this stage of the year we still have a large number of outstanding fees.  All school fees include the camp fees for Years 3 -6. We thank the many families who have honoured their commitment to this aspect of our school, however we do have a significant number who at this point are well behind with their fees.  If you are experiencing any difficulties in regard to payment it is vital that you contact us as soon as possible. Fees at our school are a fact of life and furthermore as we have stated many times before it is a justice issue. It is not fair or right that some families ensure their fees are paid in a timely manner, while others choose to ignore requests for payment or at the very least a conversation about your situation in regard to fees.  Please give this matter your urgent attention.

Thank you to the many families who took the time to respond to our survey in the last newsletter regarding our Semester One reports. Overall the feedback indicates that parents were very happy with the changed format. Some of the responses included:

"I loved the reports so much more personal and about the child. Easy to read"

"I felt like the report was much more personal. Great improvement"

"I found the report more relevant to my child’s learning"

"It's great to see a section written by the kids themselves"

Our school is in a very exciting time as we continue to prepare for our school review next month. Every five years all schools work through a process to reflect on the last five years - achievements and future challenges. All of our staff have put a great deal of time, energy and thought collaboratively to create our self-reflection report and priorities for focus over the next period of review. 

Some of the Year 5 and 6 students will have the opportunity to engage in conversations with the external review panel. Parents are invited and encouraged to consider meeting with the panel on Monday September 16th at around 2.20pm. If you are interested in supporting this process please send an e-mail via administration@sbballan.catholic.edu.au and let us know by Friday 6th September.

Could all parents please check their child/ren’s jumpers to make sure their child has the right jumper. Please return any jumpers to the office that may not be yours. Thank you.

Mrs. Kennedy would greatly appreciate the assistance of two parents to cover new books for our Library. The books may be covered at school or at home. If you are interested, please visit the library between 8.30am and 9.00am this week to discuss.

A reminder that all students arriving to school after 9.00am MUST be signed in at the office by a parent/guardian before heading to class.  A reminder also that whenever anyone visits our school (including parents, grandparents, friends etc) you must first come into the office and sign in - this includes even very brief visits such as dropping off forgotten items or lunches.

Please find following information regarding upcoming Enrolment Information Sessions and Open Mornings for Year 7 2021 enrolments.

Fr Shane's Farewell

A combined Farewell Celebration for Fr Shane will be held on Sunday 15th September, commencing at 12.30 pm at the Bungaree Community Centre. All parishioners welcome. Please see the following invitation details.

Families rostered on for the current periods are: