Dear Families,

I am finalising this newsletter with joy in my heart after our wonderful annual Multicultural Supper. I am again grateful for the community spirit here at St Lawrence, the heavy rain did not stop us coming together to have an uplifting night, sharing food and catching up with one another. It was also wonderful to have one of our grade 2 students, Andre Dela Cruz perform a beautiful Filipino song for us. Thank you so much Andre!

As the sacred season of Lent progresses, we are reminded that our Lenten journey is especially meaningful as we celebrate the Jubilee Year—a time to embrace faith, love, and unity within our school and the wider community.

The theme for this Jubilee is Pilgrims of Hope, reminding us that our Lenten journey is not just a personal one but one we share together. Through prayer, acts of kindness, and generosity to those in need, we walk side by side, uplifting and supporting one another.

During this season, our students will take part in special activities that encourage them to grow in faith and compassion. I am always inspired by the generosity of our community, especially in supporting the Caritas appeal and offering prayers for those in our community and beyond. Many of our community are also practising fasting by giving up sweet treats—an act that helps them reflect on those who go without and deepens their understanding of sacrifice and charity.

I also want to take a moment to share that I will soon be embarking on a special pilgrimage, In the Footsteps of St. Paul, with 23 of the Western Zone Principals. This journey is an opportunity for deep prayer, learning, and faith enrichment as I visit the places where St. Paul preached and spread the Gospel. It will be a time of spiritual renewal for me as a faith leader, and I look forward to returning with fresh inspiration to share with our school community. I will be away from Wednesday, March 26, until the end of Term 1, and during this time, Brooke Taylor will be stepping in as Acting Principal.

I am truly grateful for your prayers as I take this journey and for the continued support you show to our incredible staff and students at St. Lawrence Primary School.

God Bless,

Trish Mulhern

Catholic Education Week, a special time to recognize the importance of Catholic education in shaping our students' faith, learning, and sense of community. This year’s theme, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1), calls us to be lights in the world, sharing God’s love through our words and actions. Throughout this time, students will participate in activities that deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith, and how God shows love and compassion in our world. We will be sharing knowledge and experiences from other faiths to enrich our understanding of each other's backgrounds and strengthen the bonds of our St Lawrence community. Through scripture, the students will be learning about the three pillars of Lent - prayer, fasting and almsgiving, as well as visiting the sacred spaces around our school on a class Prayer Pilgrimage. Catholic Education Week runs from Sunday 16 March to Sunday 23 March.

As part of our Lenten journey at St Lawrence PS, we are supporting Project Compassion, an initiative of Caritas Australia that helps communities in need worldwide. The 2025 theme, “Unite Against Poverty,” reminds us of our responsibility to care for those who are less fortunate. Through our collective efforts, we can help provide essential resources such as food, clean water, education, and healthcare to those in need.

Families are encouraged to donate through the Project Compassion boxes sent home or via online contributions by using the QR code below. Every donation, big or small, helps transform lives.

Thank you for your generosity and support as we work together to build a more just and compassionate world.

With wholehearted gratitude,

Ms Severo

Please add the following dates to your family calendar:

March

Sunday 16 March - Sunday 23 March Catholic Education and Cultural Diversity Week

Thursday 20th March - Multicultural Supper 6.30pm-8.30pm

Friday 21st March - Assembly in the school hall 2.45pm (families welcome)

Monday 24th March - Staff professional learning - Literacy - SCHOOL CLOSED

Tuesday 25th March - School Advisory Council 7.00pm

Thursday 27th March - Friday 28th March - Author visit for grades Prep - 3

Thursday 27th March - Grade 2-6 Maths Family Learning Night 6.00pm

April

Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd April - Reconciliation Masses 5:30pm St Peter Chanel Church

Friday 4th April - Final day of Term 1 (1.00pm finish)

School Holidays - Saturday 5th April - Monday 21st April

Tuesday 22nd April - First Day Of Term 2 : Wear your Easter Bonnet for our Easter Bonnet Parade

Thursday 24th April 9am Classroom Helper Trainiing Session 1

Friday 25th April - Anzac Day Public Holiday - SCHOOL CLOSED

Monday 28th April School Closure: Review Preparation - SCHOOL CLOSED

Tuesday 29th April School Advisory Council 6.30pm

May

Friday 2nd May - Fun Run

Tuesday 6th May - 9am Classroom helper Training Session 2

Tuesday 6th May - First Eucharist Family Formation evening 6.30pm

Wednesday 7th May - Prep on-site 'Camp'

Friday 9th May - Mothers' Day mass 9.00am (families welcome)

Friday 9th May - Mothers' Day breakfast and gift stall

Monday 12th May - Teeth on Wheels onsite

Tuesday 13th May - Grade Prep - 1 Maths Family Learning Night 6.00pm

Tuesday 13th May - Teeth on Wheels onsite

Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st May - Author visits for all classes

Tuesday 27th May - School Advisory Council 6.30pm

Wednesday 28th May - Grade 3 on-site 'Camp' Breakfast, afternoon activities and dinner

June

Wednesday 4th June - Grade 2 on-site 'Camp' Breakfast, afternoon tea and activities

Friday 6th June School Closure - Team Teach - SCHOOL CLOSED

Monday 9th June Public Holiday - Kings Birthday - SCHOOL CLOSED

Friday 13th June St Lawrence Athletics Carnival

Tuesday 17th June - School Advisory Council 6.30pm

Tuesday 17th July - Tuesday 24th July Parent Support Group Meetings (PSGs)

Friday 20th June - Winter Appeal Mass 9.00am (families welcome) 

Saturday 28th June - First Eucharist Masses

July

Friday 4th July - Final day of Term 2 (1.00pm finish)

 There are eleven Child Safe Standards that guide schools with deliberate  actions to keep all our students safe. 

Each newsletter we will share with you one of these standards and how we are implementing it here at St Lawrence Primary School.

Parents in Partnership and St Lawrence Primary School are calling on our community to support our fundraising event at Bunnings Caroline Springs on Saturday, March 22.  Funds raised from this event will be used to create new playspaces behind the portables and near the basketball court. 

If you are able to help, please complete the form via the link below by selecting an area and time slot where you would like to help out. 

https://forms.gle/kmAPXfMpFABnfm2w5

Children under the age of 18 are not permitted to attend/assist at this BBQ.

Please Note: 8am set-up session will include BBQ set up and some lifting.  

8am - 11am & 2pm - 3pm are usually the quieter time slots with times between 12pm and 2pm being the busiest times for sales.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Our first Parent's in Partnership meeting took place on 6 March 

Attendees:

In person: Marianne Gilbert, Linda Clutterbuck, Sylvia Tarabolsi, Billie Kovacevic, Chris Tingli, Jasmina Nikolovski, Rob Tierney, Rose Mengler, Fiona Redding, Jackie Neves, Abby Masangcay, Trish Mulhern, Mel Pedulla

Online: Michelle Sargeant-Dingli, Aliece Lopez, Chantelle Yates

Apologies: Dijana Ortiz, Ashley Dale

Trish welcomed attendees and opened the meeting by inviting attendees to share why they are part of our Parents in Partnership. Common themes across the team were that our children are the motivation for joining and to provide more opportunities for special events and fun activities for the childrens e.g. lunch orders, discos etc as well as helping out at school.

Trish explained that the role of this team is to engage, empower, and encourage parents in the community to lead events that focus on fundraising – Colour Run, Mother’s Day & Father’s Day stalls/breakfasts, Special lunch order days, Second hand uniform stalls etc. Our meetings are hybrid (take place both online and face to face) on afternoons at 2:15pm,  twice a term. Trish expressed her appreciation of the 2024 team in supporting the school and in providing opportunities for fundraising during 2024, which supported the school to purchase and install the Climbing Frame for our grade 3-6 students.

At this meeting we discussed fundraising events for 2025; the Multicultural supper, second-hand uniform sales, our first Bunnings Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser, Easter raffle, Colour Fun Run (2 May), Mother's Day breakfast and gift stall- Friday, May 9 as well as special lunch order days. This year all fundraising efforts will go towards the development of a new play area between the basketball court and the portables.

We were delighted to welcome new members to the team, as well as existing families. If you wish to be a part of this team our next meeting will take place in on Wednesday 30 April, at 2:15pm in the Planning Room. Hope to see you there either online or face to face! Please chat to Mel in reception if you have any questions about this group.

St Lawrence Swimmers Shine at the Division Championships!

A huge congratulations to our St Lawrence Swimming Team for their outstanding performance at the Division Swimming Championships! Our swimmers gave it their all, and we are proud to share their incredible results:

11-Year-Old Girls Freestyle –  1st Place: Izzy Z
11-Year-Old Boys Freestyle – 1st Place: Nisal
11-Year-Old Girls Breaststroke – 2nd Place: Izzy Z
12/13-Year-Old Girls Breaststroke – 1st Place: Bella D
11-Year-Old Boys Butterfly – 2nd Place: Nisal
12/13-Year-Old Girls Butterfly – 2nd Place: Bella
12/13-Year-Old Boys Backstroke – 3rd Place: Jordan

12/13-Year-Old Girls Medley Relay – 2nd Place: Bella, Ola, Izzy, Jamie
12/13-Year-Old Boys Freestyle Relay – 2nd Place: Noah, Nisal, Jordan, Cooper

And making St Lawrence history, our 12/13-Year-Old Girls Freestyle Relay team—Bella, Ella, Jamie, and Izzy—took 1st Place and have qualified for the regional finals!

A huge well done to all our swimmers for their hard work and dedication. We are so proud of your achievements and look forward to cheering on our relay team at the regional finals!

The G6 Art Team would like to congratulate our first 'Artists of the Week'.  These awards will be presented each week.  Please check the notice board at the rear of the administration building for the talented recipients.

Our first School Advisory council meeting for 2025 took place on Tuesday 25 February at 6:30pm. We had fulll attendance of council members:

Chantelle Yates, Chris Dingli, Debby Kalalo (secretary), Father John Sang Pham, Monaliz Abella (chairperson), Natalie Penza (staff representative), Trish Mulhern (principal) and Warren Brooks. Father John opened the meeting with the Jubillee Prayer and we discussed the meaning of the Logo.

Trish delivered the Principal report:

• There will be a teacher and student free day either before or after a two night camp, for the year level who have been on camp, i.e. grade 5s and 6s. This is due to a large number of students taking a day off after camp due to tiredness, in previous years. This day off will also help to reduce TIL hours for teachers and staff at camp and allow them to rest as part of wellbeing management.
• Second hand uniform sales: We will continue to support our community by hosting second-hand uniform sales each term. Our first sale will be held Tuesday 4th March. We are thankful to the famileis who donate their used, good quality uniforms to support the St Lawrence Community.
• Update regarding organisation of Multicultural supper.
• Shrek musical production: CCCC is yet to confirm auditorium availability for the proposed dates of 10th and 11th September.
• School Review: end of term 3 and beginning of term 4.

The council spoke about the goal for our work together in 2025. We have decided to Focus on further enhancing our Catholic Identity, with a lens on being Pilgrims of hope. The council is aiming to plan a community Pilgrimage this year.

School Advisory Council Dates for 2025:

25th March
29th April
27th May
17th June
29th July
26th August
14th October
11th November (AGM)
2nd December
All meetings will start at 6.30pm going forward.

Our Grade 6 Student Wellbeing Team has been working on promoting our Buddy Bench and teaching students what it is used for.

Look out for regular newsletters from out Student Wellbeing team which include resources that align with our Student Wellbeing initiatives, special events and information about the learning that children are doing in the classroom. It also includes a 'Student News' section created by our Student Leadership Team. To see the most recent newsletter please follow the link below:

Student Wellbeing News

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school every day, for the whole day.  Attending school every day enables students to participate in the school’s educational program as well as develop their social skills.

Missing school can have a major impact on a child’s future – a student missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year. A child who is 15 minutes late each day will miss over 8 full days of school in one year. There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.

It is expected that families ensure that childen attend school at all times when the school is open, unless exemption from attendance has been granted by the principal. For absences due to illness, medical appointments or bereavement, families must promptly provide an explanation on each occasion.  This includes for late arrivals or early departures. Explanations can be provided via Compass, by calling the school office and dialing 1 to notify of an absence or by responding to the absence SMS sent on the day.  If no explanation is received within 10 days the absence is recorded as unexplained.  MACS Attendance Policy requires the school to respond to absences once 2 days of absence is recorded in a 12 month period.

Families wishing to take their children out of school for family holidays during term time must apply for an exemption by emailing the principal at principal@slwderrimut.catholic.edu.au.  If exemptions are not requested prior to the absence, the absence is recorded as unapproved.

If you’re having attendance issues with your child, please let your classroom teacher know so we can work together to get your child to school every day.

We’re excited to announce that Teeth On Wheels will be visiting our School, starting on May 12th 2025.

Teeth On Wheels is all about making dental care fun and stress-free while teaching children the importance of oral health. They specialise in working with children, offering services such as check-ups, cleans, and more—right here at the school. The team is specially trained to provide compassionate and tailored care for neurodiverse patients, ensuring a respectful and supportive experience for everyone.

If eligible under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS), your child may even receive FREE dental care. 

To participate, simply complete the E-form by the cut-off date of May 6th 2025:

Don’t miss this opportunity for your child to receive high-quality, educational dental care. Submit your form today, and the Teeth On Wheels team will be in touch to schedule your child’s appointment.