Dear Families,

This week we posted on Facebook a photo of our Bulbs of Hope:Daffodils that we planted way back when Remote Learning 1.0 was announced.  At the start of Autumn our bulbs were planted and since then we seemed to have stop-started our way through the school year.  With this weekend being our last weekend of Winter we can look with joy to nature to inspire us as it brings the excitement of warmer days, buds in bloom and new life.  We look with hope towards the improving health situation across the state and wait patiently for directives to when we can eagerly get school life (and home life) back to normal.

Each day I have the privilege of floating through the various classroom Google Meets and thoroughly enjoy seeing the faces of our students, though I can't wait to see them all interacting in the flesh.  Across the past few months I'm sure your friendship interactions have changed too.  Friends who I would regularly see locally I'm disengaged from, while I have reconnected with some acquaintances from the past or from distances away.  It really has been interesting reflecting on the how COVID has impacted this.  Attached to this newsletter is a reflection simply titled FRIENDSHIP written by Jim Quillinan.  Jim is a well respected, wise man of the diocese who contributes a month reflection to the community.  His reflection this month is well worth the read.  There is information of the link to his previous articles if you are interested.

So as we close this week down, we look forward to the surprises that lay ahead next week as we celebrate the arrival of Spring.

Have a great weekend and rest up!

Take care - Dave

We offer of prayers for those who have died, their families and the sick.  We also give thanks for the skills and knowledge of those leaders and scientists who guide us in this time, especially those leading the medical research to deal with this crisis.

Our Lady Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia:  Pray for Us

Saint Mary MacKillop: Pray for Us

Saint Luke, Patron Saint of Doctors:Pray for Us

Saint Agatha, Patron Saints of Nurses: Pray for Us

The Pope communicates with the world through his daily interactions with YouTube posts and tweets - he has the ability to connect ancient wisdom with our modern times so simply.  As you work your way through Netflix during lock-down you might easily flick past two shows about Pope Francis.  'Two Popes' is a film about the abnormal transition from Pope Benedict to Pope Francis, while 'A Man of his Word' is a documentary about Pope Francis.  Both give a sense of how Pope Francis is determined to link our faith to the joys and challenges of our times.  The documentary has plenty of subtitles which makes it heavy going, while the movie stars Anthony Hopkins with the German and Argentinian Popes speaking perfect English to make things easy!

In the documentary hear Pope Francis asking parents, 'Do you play with your children?' and 'Do you lose time with your children?'.  He repeats the same message in this YouTube clip where he prays for families throughout the world.

We pray that we take advantage of the TIME and OPPORTUNITY presented to us as parents to connect with our chidren.

Due to our current lockdown restrictions, we are going to do Book Club Issue 6 a little differently. You will still be able to place your order via: https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx

Orders will need to be in by 1/09/2020.  We will offer a contact-free pickup at school when the orders arrive.

Thank you to all our current Lumen Christi families that have submitted their enrolment forms for Prep 2021.  This term we begin liaising with DOSCEL to construct our 2021 School Budget so we appreciate your support in confirming enrolments as this helps shape our financial planning.  If you know of other new families planning on joining us next year please encourage them to make contact with us.

At present we are not able to host onsite transition opportunities due to the COVID-19 restrictions.  Once we have a confirmed return to school date we can commence reconfiguring our transition plans for our Prep 2021 class to maximise opportunities for them and their families to interact with the school and each other.

This year all enrolments will be completed on documentation provided by Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited [DOSCEL].  This support from DOSCEL enables all catholic schools to have a level of consistency but more importantly meet all legislative demands.

These forms are available online via the school website, and can be completed online PDF.  If you require further support or access to the forms for 2021 Prep Enrolments please contact the office.

Click here - ENROLMENT DOCUMENTATION

Google Meets are serving a dual purpose.  They are an instructional time where teachers are able to provide deeper explanations of the the work set each day and also provide students the chance to asks clarifying questions. 

The other role they serve is to provide wellbeing support.  By hosting a daily Google Meet the teachers are able to provide a familiar school routine to the students while also allowing for informal interaction for the children with the staff and their peers.

The whole school Google Meets allow another opportunity to contribute to enhancing student wellbeing by providing a connection point to the school community.

The structure for next week's meetings will be:

-Daily 9am Meets for each class

-Wednesday 2pm: Whole School Catholic Identity Google Meet for Father's Day

-Friday 2pm: Whole School Assembly Google Meet

Our Year 4/5 & Year 5/6 are also trialling an afternoon check-in to assess it's impact on learning.