Dear Parents and Carers,

Our teachers have been busily finalising assessments and preparing Semester Reports for distribution tomorrow via the Compass Parent Portal. A reminder that our Parent-Teacher Conferences for next week are also currently available to book via the Compass Parent Portal. We have 353 conferences booked for next week, which is outstanding!

The 15-minute interview will replace comments on the Semester Reports and will focus on areas of strength, opportunities for growth and future goals. Students are not required to attend this interview which will be conducted in your child's classroom. If you cannot make an appointment time, contact your child's classroom teacher directly to organise an alternative arrangement. A reminder that if you are unwell, you should not attend and reschedule your interview. Interview bookings will close at 4 pm Sunday, 26th June. 

Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, the interviews for 1 Kanbi have had to be postponed to next term. Please see the communications that have been emailed to parents in this class today.

Community Council Fundraising

Our community council has been planning a bunch of fundraising initiatives and currently are holding the Cookie Dough drive. This was very successful last year and is proving very popular again. A reminder that orders close on 1^st July.

Fete

On the topic of fundraising, our first Fete committee meeting is scheduled for Next Wednesday 29^th June at 6 pm in the staffroom. The meeting is open to all in the community who would like to come along and help. We would typically have started the planning process this in Term 1, but we were unable due to Covid restrictions. Given the short turnaround to the Fete, we will need many volunteers to ensure we can run the Fete this year. 

This will be the first major community event we have organised in over 2 years and promises to be a fantastic community-building opportunity after such a long period of forced isolation. If you are interested in volunteering but unable to make the initial meeting, please email tiffany.reedy@cg.catholic.edu.au Funds raised from the Fete will go to the replacement of our Jnr and Snr playgrounds.

Protected Industrial Action

You may have seen in the news the intention for strike action across the ACT and NSW on Thursday next week. It is unclear what impact this will have on normal school operations. I will email the parent body as soon as I know more. A range of options have been listed in the Director's letter sent out to all parents yesterday.

Unwell at School

We are still asking parents to keep their children at home if they are presenting flu-like symptoms; these include a sore throat, headache, coughs etc. If your child is experiencing these symptoms, please keep them at home. We will isolate students who develop symptoms at school and contact parents for them to be collected immediately. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Pupil Free Day

As communicated at the beginning of the year and in line with other schools across the ACT, the first day of the school term is a designated staff development day. The first day of Term 3 is Tuesday 19^th July. Staff will be continuing Professional Development in Reading and Spelling at Merici College on Monday 18^th July. Don't hesitate to contact BASCA if you require care on this day.

Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Survey

This survey closes tomorrow, and to date, we have 60+ responses. We would love more, if you have not yet completed the survey, I encourage you to please do so. The Leadership Team uses the survey results to inform our strategic direction in the school and is a vital tool for us to receive feedback from the parent community. For parents with more than one child in the school, you can complete the survey more than once to reflect on the experiences of each of your children. The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You can access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below: http://tellthemfromme.com/stfacalwell2022

Farewell to Lisa Conroy

A farewell is being planned for Lisa Conroy early next term with a community mass to be conducted in the school hall, followed by light refreshments. More details will follow next week. We recognise that Lisa has touched many people in the community in her 22 years as a Leadership Team member and Classroom teacher. To capture these voices, we would like to invite members of the school community to submit messages and or artworks to be collated into a memoir book for Lisa. If you would like to submit a message or artwork, please email it to jo.grogan@cg.catholic.edu.au.

Blessings and good wishes for the week ahead.

Sean Rutledge

Principal