From the Principal...   

This Week’s Gospel -  John 3: 14 - 21

Can you believe we have reached the half-way mark of Lent? This weekend, our Church robes herself in rose, the colour halfway between purple and gold. How are you going with your Lenten promises? I know, for me, that I have been challenged by the busy-ness of each day, to ensure that I stay committed to mine. It is worth it though. 

John’s Gospel reminds us of the love and grace that God extends to all humanity through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through belief in Him that we find eternal life and redemption. Let us strive to be like the light. Let us be examples of truth, kindness, and compassion in all we do. As we face challenges and obstacles, let us remember that God's love surrounds us, and His light shines even in the darkest moments. 

Opening School Mass

We recently held our Opening School Mass where we inducted our Student Leaders for 2024. It was a joyful and prayerful Mass and we thank Fr Henry for celebrating with us all. We look forward to a wonderful year ahead.

Our School Captains are Chidindu and Audrey and our Vice Captains are Jacob and Lara

Our House Captains are Divine and Joshua, Chrisanne and Summer, Xavier and Aria, Alison and Leo

We are also very proud of our Year 6 Leaders who have committed themselves to their leadership teams for 2024.

Finally, we congratulate our 2024 SRC. They help us by being the voice of their classes in making decisions to make our school the best it can be!

Diocesan Education Mass

Each year the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Wollongong hosts a special education Mass. Hundreds of staff across our diocese attend. This year, I received a special invitation because I am a newly appointed Principal. Audrey and Chidindu, our School Captains, along with a large number of our staff and my husband Paul and three sons Darcy, Owen and Flynn, also attended this special evening. 

Mass was celebrated at St John Vianney Co Cathedral in Fairy Meadow by the Bishop of Wollongong, Bishop Brian Mascord. I was very humbled to be commissioned to my new role and I am so grateful to be leading our wonderful school.

Communication

We are working hard to improve communication throughout the school. We have received feedback that not everyone is able to read the newsletter. We have also sought feedback from our Catholic Education Office regarding how to improve our newsletter. So, over the next few newsletters, you will see improvements in the way the newsletter is presented. We have also trialed a term overview of events that is printed out and sent home for your fridge - have you received yours yet? I hope this is helpful!  If it is, we will endeavour to send one home each term. 

Homework Policy Update

Thank you to those of you who were able to provide feedback regarding homework at Holy Family. We have analysed your feedback and along with the teachers’ feedback have started to draft a policy, which we hope to finalise this week. We will continue to keep you posted and we thank you for your patience.

Kindergarten Update

Please enjoy this video of our wonderful Kindergarten students enjoying their first term of school at Holy Family.

https://youtu.be/B3LJ9HyqNO0

Whole School Evacuation and Lockdown

Yesterday we held our whole school evacuation and lockdown drills. I am pleased to say that our whole school evacuated the school site calmly and safely and followed our whole school plan. Our lockdown drill was also completed very well. I was very impressed with our community. Evacuation and Lockdown Drills are an important element of our safety procedures as they ensure that everyone is aware of the response required in the event of an emergency.

P&F Executive 2024

Last Friday, a large number of parents attended our Annual General Meeting either via Zoom or in person. It was a great opportunity for everyone to come together to begin the new school year. Following the Diocesan P&F Constitution procedures, the following parents have accepted the following P&F Executive Roles:

President: Mrs Joanne Highfield

Vice President: Mrs Jessica Rappo

Secretary: Mrs Joyce De Guzman

Treasurer: Mrs Roxan Del Rosario

We look forward to a wonderful year ahead, but also thank the outgoing P&F Executive who did a wonderful job in 2023:

President: Mrs Glacel Zabat

Vice President: Mrs Esmeralda Rosales

Secretary: Mrs Sharon Heginbotham Day

Treasurer: Mr Recto Orpia

For all things at Holy Family, give thanks!

Mrs Amy Smith

Principal  

2024 Consent for the use of student’s image and/or work – Consent required for every student

Each year parents are asked to give consent in relation to taking and using photographs, video, audio and other media of your child/ren and their school activities. 

If you can access Compass and see the link “Insights Cycle Open” on the homepage, or depending on the device, you might need to click on More, Insights - Please select Yes or No in regards to your consent.

If you can’t see anything in this section the consent will need to be given by the other parent as only one parent will have the access to do this.

This consent is required by the end of February.

2024 Acceptable Use of Technology – Action Required by parents of students in years 4-6 

If you can access Compass and see the link “Insights Cycle Open” on the homepage, or depending on the device, you might need to click on More, Insights - Please select Yes or No to confirm you have read and discussed the acceptable use of technology agreement with your child/ren.

If you can’t see anything in this section the confirmation will need to be given by the other parent as only one parent will have the access to do this. 

This consent is required by the end of February.