Newsletter No. 38 | Term 4 Week 11 | Thursday 15th December 2022
Principal's Message
Dear Families and Friends,
Thank you to everyone for your support throughout 2022. It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to spend another year with the children, parents and extended community of St. Brendan’s School.
On behalf of the staff I would like to wish you all a joyful Christmas and a wonderful year ahead.
To the families who will not be returning in 2023, we say thank you again for all that you have done in your time at St. Brendan's. We wish you all the best and hope that we will still see you around the place from time to time.
There are just a couple of things before I sign off for the year:
End of Year Excursion
A reminder that our end of year excursion to Camperdown is tomorrow (Friday).
We request that children wear their sports uniform, school hat and carry a backpack if possible. We will be supplying chips for lunch and will also take some bread (and sauce) in case the children like to have a chip sandwich! If your child will not eat chips, please send something else along for lunch. They will also require something for fruit break and playlunch, as well as water.
The bus will be leaving school at 9am and will return by 3pm. Feel free to pick your child up at any time from 3pm. Buses will be running at normal times.
Vinnies Donation
Thank you to everyone who donated to our Vinnie’s basket. Our Social Justice group; Abbey, Annabelle, Jasmine and Maverick came into Colac with me to drop it off this morning. The people at Vinnie’s were very appreciative of our contributions.
One of the workers, Adrian, was an ex-St. Brendan’s student. He told us how he used to walk the 1½ miles from Michael’s Corner to school. He also asked if we still used the cane at school. I assured him we didn’t!
School Closure Days 2023
DOBCEL Student free guidelines and procedures
Student free days are days where students do not attend school within the gazetted attendance period, but are designated for staff professional development, school professional development activities, planning and/or report-writing. Each year the first day of term one and the last day of term four, will be a student-free day in all schools.
A request will be made to the Governing Authority (DOBCEL or RI / MPJP), regarding the scheduling of up to six student-free days each year to meet local school needs, based on the school’s annual School Improvement Plan, which must include a day with a Religious Education or Catholic Identity theme.
The school closure days for St. Brendan’s School in 2023 area as follows:
Term 1
Monday 30th January: School Vision and Mission Statement
Thursday 2nd March: Mathematics with guest presenter Michael Minas
Term 2
Monday 24th April: AusLan
Term 3
Monday 7th August: Religious Education
Term 4
Monday 6th November: Report Writing Day
Wednesday 19th December: Staff Planning Day
Playground Maintenance
During the holidays there will be some work done on the adventure playground area. The soft fall area will be extended and a border will be placed around the edge to define the area. This will hopefully delay weeds coming through to the soft fall area for a bit longer. New soft fall will be put down before the children return to school.
If anybody is able to come up to school early in January and help to remove the existing bark chips under the playground and move them to surrounding garden beds eg the cubby, along the hall wall or under trees it would be a great help! If we all do a little bit, it will be done in no time!
We advise any families that without soft fall under the play equipment, the playground will not meet safety regulations. Please be mindful of this if you are at school over the holiday break.
New Staff Member for 2023
I wish to advise you that our new chaplain (pastoral care worker) for 2023 will be Sue Bath. Sue works at a few different schools in the surrounding areas; Beeac, Birregurra and Sacred Heart. She will be at St. Brendan’s on Fridays and is very much looking forward to getting to know our students, staff, families and staff.
We look forward to welcoming Sue to our school.
Name Changes for Teachers
In 2023, we will be moving to all staff members being called by their first name. Currently, the LSOs and Gracesyn are called by their first names but not teaching staff. This inequality is just one reason for the change.
It is not uncommon for teachers in Australian schools to be called by their first names. Research suggests that this fosters a more personal relationship, puts students in a better position to take charge of their own learning, makes them more open to trusting adults and also more confident to question adults.
At St. Brendan’s, a major focus is to promote student voice and encourage children to speak up. Encouraging children to speak up is also a major component of the Child Safe Policy. We will do everything we can to create relationships with our students that build positive relationships and trust. Calling teachers by their first name is just one strategy.
Some people worry that if we don’t call teachers by a title that the children will not respect them. However, respect does not come from a title. Respect comes from the relationships we create and our interactions with the children.
This may take some getting used to for some of our students but I am sure it will become like second nature in no time!
Swimming
Our five week Swimming Lesson Program will begin on the Friday of the first week of school. For new families, this means that we will bus the children into Blue Water, Colac for their lesson. More details will be provided in the first week of school.
Surfing
Over the last few years we have taken the children surfing in Term 1. In 2023, the Surfing Excursion will be in Term 4 and will also double as our end of year excursion.
Front of School Facelift!
Last year students, staff and families brainstormed a variety of ideas, focused on various aspects representative of St. Brendan’s school. We are excited to announce that the final artwork, based on everyone’s thoughts and ideas, has now been completed and is displayed on the exterior of the front office. It looks amazing!
We extend a BIG thank you to local artist, Renee Carpenter, who created the final designs. Renee did all of this work free of charge. We are extremely grateful for her generosity and we are absolutely thrilled with the final results.
We also thank Rod Kluver (Allira’s Dad) who donated the ends of wine barrels to the school. They were perfect for our project.
Come and take a look. Can you work out what each picture represents?
Happy Holidays!
Leanne Eastman
principal@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au
Acknowledgement of Country
At St. Brendan’s Primary School we pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Gulidjan people and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.
We will respect the land, animals and waterways, from the roots of the earth to the tops of the trees. Through the example of our first Australians, we understand that if we look after the country, then the country will look after us.
About Us
School Vision: 'For you I have a destiny and a hope.'
PARISH PRIEST: Fr Michael O’Toole PRINCIPAL: Mrs Leanne Eastman
SAC CHAIRPERSON: Ms Gayle McNabb CHILD SAFETY OFFICER: Mrs Leanne Eastman