Newsletter 20 - 8 December
Principal's Page
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As this is our final newsletter of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our families at St Lawrence's a very happy and Holy Christmas. Take care over the summer break and enjoy the time spent with your families and loved ones.
I will be heading home to Sydney for Christmas to spend some time with my parents, siblings and extended family. I am looking forward to bringing my parents back in early January to show them around our amazing city and incredible surrounds.
Stay safe and God Bless
Staffing News
Congratulations to Danika Groom who will return to St Lawrence's as a part time teacher in 2023. Also to Kate Snow who will join our staff as a part time Education Assistant in the Kindy area.
2023 Class Splits
During this term teachers will be reviewing class splits for 2023 using their professional knowledge and expertise in meeting the educational needs for all students. Considerations are taken for the academic, social/emotional, behavioral and cultural needs of all students in a year level cohort with the intention of creating well– balanced, vibrant and positive learning environments. Whilst parental issues and concerns are valued, the best judgements of professionals will form the basis of classes for the next educational year.
Carols on the Green
Thank you to the sub-committee of the P&F who put together a fabulous and festive evening of Carols on the Green last Thursday evening. Congratulations if you were one of the lucky 70 who won a raffle. It was terrific that Santa was able to make a guest appearance. Thank you to Mrs Hart and the choir for keeping us entertained..
To all of those involved - what a great community event. Thank you.
Graduation Ceremony
Congratulations to our Year 6 students who graduated on Tuesday evening. It was a lovely evening full of prayer, songs, awards, dance and many acknowledgements.
Special congratulations to our award winners:
Christian Witness Award – Edie T
Sr Marie Citizenship Award – Olivia P
St Lawrence’s Overall High Achievement Award – Bianca B and Shaylan S
Happy Days,
David Tunchon
Principal
Religious Education
Advent Appeal: Advent Gift Giving
Thank you for your generosity in donating hamper items for Centacare – an amazing effort that they are most appreciative of.
CEWA End of Year Message from Debra Sayce
Administration News
Semester Two Reports
Semester Two reports will go live this afternoon via SEQTA Engage. If you encounter any problems, or have forgotten your log-in details, please contact the office on 9968 2000 and Louise will be happy to assist.
Year 6 Student Reports
A reminder to parents of Year 6 students to please download copies of any reports you require from SEQTA Engage, as when the end of year student processes are completed you will no longer be able to gain access to their reports. We strongly encourage parents to access and download your child's report as soon as possible.
Year 6 Graduation Photos
Year 6 Graduation photos are available now. If you would like a copy, please bring a USB to the office and we will upload them for you.
P & F Annual Community Meeting
The P & F Annual Community Meeting is being held on Monday 13th February. Nominations to join the P & F will be made available.
2023 Term dates
Term 1: Wed Feb 1- Thurs April 6
Term 2: Wed April 26- Fri June 30
Term 3: Mon July 17- Thurs Sept 21
Term 4: Tues Oct 10- Fri Dec 8
2023 Pupil Free days
Term 1: Monday 24th April
Term 2: Friday 2nd June
Term 3: Monday 21st August & Friday 22nd September
Term 4: Monday 9th October
2023 Bell Times
In 2023 we will be adjusting our bell times to meet CEWA policy requirements. The new times will be as follows for PP-6:
8.30am - Classrooms open
8.45am - Learning starts
3.00pm - School concludes
2023 Book List Pick Up
If your family chose School Pick Up for Book Lists, please see the dates and information below:
Pick up Point: Allendale Primary School.
Dates & Times: 13th Jan 2023 (4pm-6pm) 14th Jan 2023 (9:30am-2:30pm)
2023 Year 6 Camp Dates
The Year 6 camp for 2023 will be in Term 2, Week 2: 1st - 5th May.
Launch of Student Code of Conduct
After a long consultation process with our Year 5 & 6 students from 2021 and 2022 the Student Code of Conduct was officially launched last week by our Head Boy and Girl. Thank you to our senior students for their commitment to completing this important task.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the following students who will be celebrating their Birthday over the Christmas holiday:
Nate H, Sabre H, Hugo C, Maddi K, Huey A, Jesse C, Elora B, Archie S, Cohen D, Abbi F, Milla S, Lillian K, Isabella S, Flynn T, Flynn G, Evie H, Maddison P, Finley S, Derek G, Mikayla R, Josephine R, Shaylan S, Finn S, Ellis M, Jasper T, Logan M, Lahni P, Mila P, Cayden B, Matthias S, Dash K, Luca D, Ashton H, Cooper D, Jaxon C, Diesel C, Matilda C, Ryan C, Cora G, Stella B, Harlen G, Knox W, Ryley W, Cadeon M, Brydee W, Joli K, Aiden H, Ivee H, Tyde F, Blake R, Samson G, Mabel T, Memphis W, Dakota S, Lola M, Tessa S, Aj G, Lucy H, Eamon C, Elainey T, Henley F, Ruben C, Oscar H, Max I, Flynn L, Ruby B, Maisie D, Kaya H, Charlie J, Jonathon M, Jorja R, Evie A, Charlotte E, Alexandra T, Lylah W, Abel W, Myla H, Payson H, Prada P, Sanaa B, Sofia C, Alijah A, Ilana A, Felicity B, Layla R, Alby W, Cominic Q, Roisin L, Cassidy M, Lenny M, Abigail T, Cruz M, Coco M, Miley K, Josephine M, Annie E, Parker R, Millie M, Alice W, Brody F, Frankie O, Miriam F and Ashanti C.
Community Notices
P & F Update
Carols on the Green – What a night!
The 2022 Carols on the Green was again a huge success as our last fundraising event for the year. We were very lucky this year with the weather and the absence of the wind made for an enjoyable event for all who came along. On behalf of the P&F I would like to thank everyone who made the effort and came out on Thursday evening and so generously supported our annual Carols on the Green. We are excited to announce that we raised just over $8,000 for our school.
Successful events such as the Carols on the Green don’t just happen it takes lots of time, effort, commitment and teamwork from a subcommittee to achieve it. I would like to acknowledge the work over the last few months of the subcommittee made up of these very skilled parents:
The Raffles Team: Katie Kingdon, Sarah Murray, Melissa Smith, Dee Watts, Sally Marshall, Kylie Springett, Monika Proudlove, Amber Gratte, Georgie Thomas, Christine Harvey, Marnie Bell, Ashe Murdock and Sarah Emmott for the coordination, procurement of prizes and beautiful display of the 73 raffle prizes.
The Popcorn and Lolly Stalls: Sam Heirich and Clare Bickers for keeping our taste buds tingling with freshly cooked popcorn all night; Vanessa Heinrich, Lara Campbell and Trish Civilo for coordinating and organising the array of lollies at the ever popular Lolly Stall, again a sellout. A very big thankyou to Genine and Ryan Dieters of Sheetmetal Co, for sponsoring this stall, your generosity never ceases to amaze us.
The Craft Stall: Marissa Drummond for overseeing the Craft Stall and preparing with her daughter Josie, 200 lucky dip bags for our children to enjoy.
The Sausage Sizzle: Ashe and Matt Murdock for coordinating the sausage sizzle and thankyou to ‘Team Benzie’ - Ashe’s Mum and Dad, for being involved. Over 600 sausages were cooked and prepared for the crowd. Thankyou to Dan and Sarah Murray of Geraldton Dental Care again for your generous sponsorship of this stall.
The Choc Luck Stall, the most popular stall on the night was coordinated by Amy Campbell. There was so much fun at this stall and it was really nice to see everyone encouraging each other with their $1 throws to win a chocolate prize. A very big thankyou to Nagle student Macey Hadley for her assistance with the stall and her kind words of encouragement for the younger children as they had a turn.
Another popular stall was the new Basketball Hoops Arcade Game. Thankyou to Dario Heirich and Kurt Bickers for manning this stall all night, there was certainly no down time as the children lined up to make the free throws for the free bag of popcorn!
Thankyou to Margaret Devine for managing the drinks stall as well as enacting her role as our Treasurer managing the finances for the event.
It was fantastic to see our Nagle Catholic College Year 7, 8 and 9 students returning to ‘give back’ to their old primary school and gain hours to contribute to their Christian Service Learning requirement. Thankyou to our Year 7s: Liam M, Arlo M, Tyson O, Maveric H, Jake R, Paige H; Year 8s: Macey H, Lewis O, Maddy M, Shae Band Year 9 Billie M. We really value the contribution you make to this event.
We trialled another new look for the Carols on the Green this year and feedback suggests that this may be our best yet. The trailer stage was hired from the Pollinators with the set up completed by volunteers. Thankyou to ‘Fish’ for delivering and setting up the stage to suit our timelines. The marquee was hired from Party Hire and many thanks to Jock Campbell for his advice and assistance with setting up our new look.
The wonderful entertainment provided by Mrs Hart and members of the Junior and Senior Choirs made for a fun and festive atmosphere. Thankyou to all of you, especially Mrs Hart for being so generous and willing to share your talents with us.
Thank you to Ash Campbell and Leigh Jones for giving up your day and arriving early Thursday afternoon to setup. Your commitment to ensuring nothing had been overlooked so our event ran smoothly, was very much appreciated. Thankyou also Leigh for lending us your radio voice as MC for the evening – you are truly the Master of the Microphone. Your production of the videos from the evening are a wonderful opportunity to reflect and look back on the night. You can find them as a ‘watch’ on the school facebook page.
The P&F along with Leisa Canny, would like to thank the school community for their support of local business ‘Get Grazey’, with the grazing boxes. 106 orders were placed where $2 from each box was donated back to the P&F. Leisa wanted to thank everyone for their support and with her staff, were happy to be a part of the wonderful atmosphere our school community created.
Final thankyou is to you Santa for dropping in to see us again, and you didn’t disappoint. You certainly looked at home on the stage and it’s official, you have gained ‘rockstar’ status at St Lawrence’s. And thanks must go to Mr Issac Hood for ensuring Santa was where he should be on the night.
Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the donations and generosity of all the local businesses, individuals and families who supported the Carols on the Green in anyway. We could not do what we do as a P&F without your support. A list of our major sponsors for the raffle prizes is included below and we ask that in return our school community consider supporting these individuals and businesses in the future. Congratulations to all the lucky raffle winners.
Due to the success of our fundraising at the Carols on the Green, the P&F along with the Administration have decided to go ahead with the purchase of a second sound system. We had always intended to purchase another from Opus to assist with large events like the Carols. The sound system will be delivered to school by the end of this week. Thankyou so much Ash at Opus Music for supporting us with this purchase.
If after Thursday night you are inspired to be involved in the P&F and think you would like to be a part of the Carols on the Green subcommittee in 2023, please get in touch.
Recycling of Uniforms – Final Update
The boxes of donated uniforms have been packed and removed ready for transport to Perth to Clutterbug. Heidi Teakle is finalising the transport company and the related costs currently. The boxes will still be available this week for last minute donations of uniforms. Once school finishes tomorrow, a box will be available in the front office while it is still open on Monday and Tuesday, allowing time for laudering of the uniforms before donation. It is intended that the boxes of uniforms will be sent to Perth by 17th December. If you are still holding uniforms, it is the last chance to donate them for recycling. I would like to acknowledge the work of Heidi Teakle in her coordination of the recycling program and Bella Hainan for your support with the process.
Year 6 Big Day Out Gift
Passed at a meeting earlier in the year it was decided to gift to the Year 6s a Leavers Lunch of their choosing. This year they have decided on Pizzas, Iceypoles and drinks at the Foreshore after their movie day. Thankyou to Nicola Tropiano for coordinating this along with the Year 6 teaching staff. The P&F would like to wish the Year 6 Leavers all the very best for the future and every success with their transition to high school. We hope you have fun time with your friends and make special memories on your last day of primary school.
Changes to P&Fs in CEWA Schools – Special Meeting
In September this year the Catholic Education Commission of WA approved a single model of operation for P&Fs in CEWA schools. This means that the P&F operates as a committee of the school, and governed by consistent Terms of Reference and common financial practices.
On Monday 5th December a Special Meeting was held at St Lawrences to commence the transition to this model of operation. A motion was passed to adopt the Terms of Reference and prepare to become a committee of St Lawrence’s Primary School. All unincorporated P&Fs will be operating under these Terms of Reference from January 2023. If you would like to view a copy of the Meeting Minutes, then please contact the Administration and they can be made available to you.
Under the new model, an Annual Committee Meeting (ACM) has been scheduled for 13th February 2023. At this meeting the current P&F Executive will step down from their positions, for the 2023 office bearer positions of Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary and Treasurer to be elected. Nominations will be open for all positions at the commencement of the new school year. If you are considering an office bearer position, a nomination form needs to be completed prior to the meeting and will be available when school reopens in the last week of the January holidays. More information will be distributed prior to school commencing. Please keep a lookout on the school facebook page and through SEESAW.
The new Terms of Reference for St Lawrence’s Primary School Bluff Point is available now for the school community to view, via the link included in this newsletter.
On behalf of the St Lawrence’s P&F Association I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our school community for your support of our events throughout the year. The St Lawrence’s school community are so generous and the students at our school so lucky to be the benefactors. To the outgoing families, all the best for your new chapters in life and may you remember fondly your time at St Lawrence’s. Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday and a very Merry Christmas.
Kind regards,
Julie O’Malley
P&F President
