Dear Parents & Guardians,
We have nearly reached the end of a very busy term and I have no doubt that the children (and our staff) will be looking forward to a well-earned holiday.
As a school, we try to be innovative. As a staff, we spend a lot of time and effort future planning, working out ways we can do things more effectively so we can better meet the needs of the children in our school.
In the current climate, perhaps our greatest challenge is finding teachers for our growing school community; not just any teachers, but great teachers who can contribute positively to our school. If I’m honest, this is the thing that keeps me up most at night! As someone (if you haven’t already guessed) who is deeply passionate about teaching and totally in love with my job, I still find it hard to understand why more people are not choosing teaching as a career of choice. Given the critical importance of educating our young people and setting them up for success throughout their lives, it does make me wonder (and sometimes quite frustrated) why more is not being done by those in all levels of government to make teaching more attractive.
This is where you can help. There is no way around the fact that, like a lot of schools across Melbourne but particularly in our local area, we are finding it really difficult to attract teachers. I know, as you do, that we have a wonderful school community – it really is a great place to work. We are blessed with supportive parents and guardians and fantastic children. I count myself lucky every day to be working at St Lawrence of Brindisi.
The more positively you promote our school, the more you engage with your social networks to promote our school community, the more chance we have of making a potential teacher think, ‘St Lawrence of Brindisi sounds amazing – that is somewhere I think I would like to teach!’ If we can get the message out, for example by sharing the positive messages on our Facebook or Instagram feeds, the more chance we have of getting applications from really good teachers. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated!
2024 PREP TRANSITION & PARENT & GUARDIAN PREP INFORMATION NIGHT
The leadership team at St Lawrence is working hard to plan for 2024 and are in the process of working out the teacher allocation for next year’s classes, making sure that we use the varied skills and levels of experience within our staff group to provide the best possible outcomes for your children.
Most teacher allocations will be announced next term, noting that we are still seeking teachers for our growing school community, and this will potentially impact on the structures we are considering.
I am mindful, however, that our 2024 Prep Transition process has begun and it is appropriate that the teachers who will be teaching Prep next year have a chance to build relationships with the children in their class and their parents and guardians. This is also impacted by the fact that one of our fabulous Prep teachers, Annabelle Zekic in Exploration 2 will be starting her maternity leave at the end of the year. Annabelle will be a big loss to our Exploration Learning Community in 2024.
With this in mind, I can announce to the school community that the proposed teaching team for our 2024 Exploration (Prep) classes next year will be:
Exploration 1 Exploration 2 Exploration 3
Skylah Ball Renee Clapton Grace Barrowcliffe
I have long said that teaching Prep is a very particular skill set. It takes a very certain type of personality and ability to do well. I am confident that these teachers possess these skills and capacities and will be a really positive team that will become a great asset to our school.
All parents and guardians with new children starting at St Lawrence of Brindisi in 2024, must attend an information session on Tuesday, September 12 at 6.00pm which will be led by our new Exploration Learning Community Team. This is a required event for all parents and guardians involved in enrolment, even if you are an existing parent or guardian.
Can I please request that parents and guardians do not engage in speculation regarding where the rest of the teachers might be placed and the reasons for these staffing decisions. There are a lot of factors that are considered when making these decisions and they are never taken lightly. Incorrect assumptions can lead to rumour and can cause distress to staff which is not helpful and should not be something accepted in our school community given it does not reflect our Catholic values of respect, compassion, and justice.
BEFORE SCHOOL SUPERVISION
Thank you to those parents and guardians who clearly read the bulletin last week and heeded the message about dropping children off at school before 8.30am. There has been a noticeable reduction in the number of children who are turning up at school before the gates open at 8.30am
If you missed that message, a reminder that we have now taken the decision to close the gates to the courtyard from 8.00 – 8.30am. If you are dropping your children off at Kelly Club after 8.00am you will still be able to get access to the school, though you will need to call the KellyClub staff to open the gates.
If you need to drop your children early at school on a regular basis, please contact KellyClub to book a placement. Our administration team can provide the contact details for KellyClub.
LEARNING WALKS
We have had an incredible response to the offer to parents and guardians to participate in a series of learning walks next week. While we want to try and accommodate as many parents and guardians as we can, there are limitations on how many we can accommodate on each walk and make this a valuable experience for those involved.
Our Administration Team will be sending out a link for parents and guardians to make a booking, noting that we will need to limit numbers so the quicker you book, the more likely you are to get a place on the Learning Walk. We don t want to discourage anyone, so we will endeavour to organise another set of learning walks in Term Four for those parents and guardians who miss out.
The walks will be led by Education Consultant Tony Dalton and myself on Tuesday, September 12 at:
- 9.15am
- 11.15am
- 2.10pm
SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL & SCHOOL COMMUNITY TEAM
A reminder that we are always looking for parents and guardians who would like to be part of our School Advisory Council or School Community Team. This is particularly important at the moment, as they are working on some really vital initiatives and getting the input from engaged parents and guardians would be really helpful. Please let me know if you are interested.
SCHOOL DROP OFF AND PICK UP & PARKING AROUND SCHOOL
A final reminder to those parents and guardians using the Kiss n’ Go, particularly at the end of the school day. You must park to the side of the road when waiting to enter the Kiss n’ Go. Parents and guardians waiting in the road proper are causing a traffic hazard and are potentially leaving themselves open to receiving a fine for a traffic infringement as has happened to a number of our parents and guardians.
BRICK LAYER or LANDSCAPER NEEDED
We are in need of a bricklayer or landscaper for a small project at the school. If you have these skills and are available to do this work, please call the school and speak to the admin team for more information.
R U OK ? DAY
Thursday September, 14 is our national day of action when we remind Australians that every day is the day to ask, ‘are you OK?’ and start a meaningful conversation whenever they spot the signs that someone they care about might be struggling. The students are asked to wear a “touch of yellow” on Thursday (wearing full uniform but with a little bit of yellow for example a ribbon, wrist band, beanie).
FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM COLOURS
We will be celebrating the end of the AFL season and ask the children to wear their favourite sports team colours next Friday September, 15 and donate a gold coin.
EARLY DISMISSAL
The students will finish school at 1:30pm on the last day of the term Friday September, 15.
God bless,
Bill Hill.
PRINCIPAL