From the Principal's Desk

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students,

Welcome back to the start of Term Three. I hope you had a well-deserved break; I certainly did. It gave me the opportunity to recharge my physical and emotional batteries.  As always, we have a busy term ahead and already things are happening at full pace. With so much happening around the school, it is good to keep a regular eye on the website calendar so you are fully informed and aware of the many things that our students are involved in each week.  As a staff we meet on a regular basis to articulate the common vision we have for the children in our care. The rich educational experience that is offered at Liwara can only be enhanced by the wonderful energy, enthusiasm and commitment demonstrated by the staff in all our discussions.  As always it is a pleasure to see the children back from their holidays, happily catching up with their friends and the staff.

TERM 3 WHOLE SCHOOL MASS - Today we gathered together in the All Saints Church to celebrate the beginning of a new term.    We took the opportunity to present the Values award for Respect which was put on hold at the end of last Term.  The students were once again applauded by Fr Elver for their reverence and participation and the singing led by our school choir was extremely melodic and pleasurable. It was wonderful to have extended family members attending the Mass too.

NAIDOC DAY CELEBRATIONS - On Wednesday 11 August @ 9.00am we will be observing NAIDOC Week to celebrate the history culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  Once again our vibrant GECKOS Team have planned lots of fun filled activities for the children as well as a very special ‘Welcome To Country’ by Jonathon Garlett who will also be running the Aboriginal dance workshop.  Prizes for the student winners of the NAIDOC colouring competition will also be awarded at the ceremony. The main ceremony will be taking place in the open space below the Bush Tucker Garden and there will be seating available for visitors.  An invitation will be sent out to all families via Seesaw so please RSVP by the due date so we have enough seats organised.

YEAR SIX BALLROOM DANCING – Our Year Six students have just begun their ballroom dancing lessons in preparation for our senior students’ end of year extravaganza! The students will be participating in Ballroom Dancing as part of their Class Sport time this term. They have a wonderful teacher named Lana who is teaching them everything from Samba to Hip-Hop!”

FOOTSTEPS DANCE LESSONS - The ever popular Footsteps dance classes for 2021 will be  commencing for our student from Pre Primary to Year Five in Week 3.

PRINCIAL’S CONFERENCE - I will be attending the Catholic Primary Principals Conference next week and all Assistant Principals have been invited to attend on the first day, as we have Pasi Sahlberg as our Key Note Speaker on day one.  Pasi is a Finnish educator and author. He has worked as a schoolteacher, teacher-educator, researcher, and policymaker in Finland and advised schools and education system leaders around the world. One of his most recent books "Let the Children Play: How more play will save our schools and help children thrive" (2019, with William Doyle), has been a guide for us here at Liwara.  Due to the recent changes in border restrictions Pasi will be presenting via Zoom as he currently works at the University of New South Wales in Sydney as Professor of Education Policy.

The following day we have Glenn Mitchell, former ABC TV/radio sports commentator and a mental health advocate presenting to principals.  After overcoming his personal troubles and reshaping his life, Glenn now aims to try and prevent others from enduring the torturous path he did by candidly speaking about his own journey.  The third session will be presented by Karl O’Callaghen, former Western Australian Police Commissioner.  He will share practical examples of how trust, ethics and understanding of constant stress in dealing with regular crisis situations inter-played to bring policing operations in the 21^st century under Karl’s watch.

KINDY 2022 ENROLMENTS – It is the time of the year which I keenly look forward to, as I get to meet our future Kindy students and their families,  as we engage in sharing information and stories about their precious little ones. If you know of any families who are looking for a vibrant and community spirited school, direct them to our school website or give them our enquires@liwara.edu.au email and Karen Rosser, our Enrolment Officer will contact them personally.

ATTENDANCE ROLL  - A legal requirement of the school is to ensure that Class Attendance Rolls are completed each school day.  As part of this process, it is imperative that parents/carers provide the class teacher with appropriate correspondence regarding their child’s absence within 7 days. If this is not forthcoming the student will be marked as an Unexplained Absence. I need to stress the importance of having this information to the school as quickly as possible. This is also a good opportunity to encourage all parents to ensure that your children arrive at school at the correct time. Classes commence each day at 8.40am and students should be ready to start the day promptly.  If the student is late they need to go to the front office to obtain a late note.

Wishing you God’s blessings

Andrea Millar