Dear parents and carers,

There is real wisdom, Lord, in the saying,
'It is always Springtime in the heart that loves God.'
Springtime is a season of optimism and hope,
and the Christian lives a faith centered on hope.
Winter, with its cold and dark days, has gone,
just as Good Friday passed to Easter and beyond.
We live a resurrection life,
reflected in the new life springing up around us.
Thank you, Lord, for the hope that you bring,
the renewal that you bring,
both to this world and to our hearts and lives.

Amen

Carpark Safety

Safety in our school carpark has been raised in recent communications and unfortunately it needs to be raised again as we continue to see behaviours that are impacting the safety of all. Please drive slowly within our carpark and only use designated routes. We have had a few close calls in the last few weeks! Children learn from what they see. By consistently using the pedestrian crossing we can demonstrate safe behaviours that the students will emulate. Thank you for considering the role you play in keeping our school community safe.

House Point Recycling

Next week we will have our final recycling challenge for Term 3. Each House is allocated a day to bring in 10-cent recyclable cans and bottles. The points for this term are extremely close with only 457 points separating 1^st and 4^th place. Your contributions could help put your child’s House in the lead!

Recycling Days:

Unexplained Absences

Today, reminders were sent via Compass regarding unexplained absences for Term 3. If you received a notification, please head to the Compass Parent Portal to update your child’s attendance within 7 days. If you have a query regarding unexplained absences, please contact me via email and I will investigate and update accordingly. Often the reason for discrepancies is when students arrive late (after 8:50am) and have not been signed in at the Front Office by a parent or guardian.

Child Safety

Yesterday, all students participated in Australia’s Biggest Safety Lesson run by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. The focus of these sessions was on consent, with students learning strategies they can use when they need to seek, give or deny consent.

Communicating about consent in a respectful way can help children assert their right to stay comfortable and enforce their right to stay safe. These sessions aligned with content descriptors from the new Australian Curriculum (Version 9). The topics covered included:

• What is consent? (permission)
• Why do we ask for consent?
• How can we ask for consent?
• How can we say no?
• How can we hear no?
• How can we say yes?

Further information can be found here Parent Information about Australia's Biggest Safety Lesson.

Today, students in Years 3 to 6 participated in Think You Know sessions. These sessions were run by ACT policing to build positive engagement between children and police while equipping students with the knowledge and skills to be able to take actionable steps to always maintain their online safety. Please follow the link for more information about Staying Safe Online.

I encourage you to have follow-up conversations with your children at home regarding the important safety messages they have learned in the last two days.

Thank you to Kirstie Buckley, our Child Safe Advocate for organising these invaluable sessions.

Have a wonderful end to the week!