Dear Parents and Carers

I returned last week from some Long Service Leave which I spent, with my family, in the north of Australia. I had a wonderful trip, and very much appreciated the opportunity to visit the community where I first begain teaching, some 25 years ago.  I would like to record my thanks and gratitude for the great work and leadership of Carmen Myles and Susan Magyar, in their roles as Acting Principal and Assistant Principal. They both did a great job and made being on leave a great deal easier.

Parish News
Many of you would know that Fr Drinkwater is now living in a retirement village. I had the good fortune to visit him last week and he is well and in good spirits, although unsurprisingly missing both the parish and our school enormously. Fr Drinkwater is very happy to receive visitors if any parents would like to visit. Fr Tom Thornton has been appointed Parish Priest for St Thomas Aquinas and will start in late September, effectively the end of Term 3. I look forward to Fr Tom’s arrival and the opportunity to work with him.

The Ordination of Deacon Alex
Many of you would be aware of the fact that for the last few months we have had the good fortune to have our own home-grown Deacon working in the parish. Alex Osborne (the son of Peter and Sylvie, parishioners) is due to be Ordained a priest on 30 August 2019. I look forward to attending Deacon Alex’s ordination and I encourage any parents, who are in position to attend, to please consider doing so.

BGA Application
In other very exciting news, I have had written confirmation that our Block Grant Authority application for funds to build a new ELC has been approved. This means that a new ELC will be built (tentatively scheduled for next year) for our beautiful ELC students. The existing ELC will be turned back into classrooms. This is courtesy of the ACT Government and the Catholic Education Office, and I appreciate their support very much. I will keep the parent community informed of developments as they come to hand.

Sports News
A reminder for our 3 – 6 parents that the Oz Tag Gala Day has been rescheduled to this Friday. My thanks to Kelly Scanlan for coordinating our involvement. The Belconnen PSSA Athletics Carnival is this coming Monday and we have many children attending – over 50. I will be attending on the day, assisting with supervision. Again, my thanks to Kelly for her tireless efforts in the area of sport.

Staff Professional Learning
Recently, we have been fortunate in that we have been able to work with Petra Cole, our Literacy Coach. We have identified a requirement to address some needs in the area of spelling and our work with Petra, among other things, has involved rejuvenating our approach to spelling. Our data is already showing great growth in the children’s spelling ability. This week, we welcome back Leonie Anstey, who is working with us in Maths. I would like to thank Carmen Myles for coordinating Petra’s visits and Susan Magyar for coordinating Leonie’s visits.

Confirmation Program
Our Confirmation program has begun for our students in Year 6 who are preparing to receive the Sacrament later this term.  A reminder that this Wednesday there is Q & A night for parents and students, at 6pm in the library. My thanks to our REC Anne Gowen, our teachers Michelle Mason, Ashleigh van Kemenade and Sharne Vickers; and Sr Colleen from the parish, for their great support of our students and families.

Have a wonderful fortnight with your children.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns
Principal