Dear Parents & Guardians,

It is almost a wrap on a very busy term! Term 3 has held so many wonderful experiences for our students - it is a time to consolidate their learning so far for the year but has also been supported with many excursions, events and opportunities. 

I extend our thanks to David Morris who has worked in Grade 4 Blue for Terms 2 & 3 and Naomi Marantelli who has worked in Prep Blue. We look forward to welcoming back Brent Pearce (4B) and Lisa Cooper (PB) at the commencement of Term 4 following their periods of leave.

One of our CatholicCare counsellors, Sam, will be finishing at the end of this term. We welcome Ashleigh who will be replacing him. Ashleigh will work with us on Wednesdays and Thursdays from the start of Term 4 onwards.

What a fabulous event our Dance Review was last week! The students were so engaged and enthusiastic and loved the opportunity to perform for the younger grades and their families throughout the day at the three performances. A very big thank you to Miss Hailey Peters who choreographed and taught the dances to our students and Mr Ben Johnson for his organisation of the events and support of the program through Health & PE lessons. 

The disco last Friday night was a great way to finish the week! Thank you to our Grade 6 parents who did a fantastic job manning the BBQ. It was wonderful to hear the feedback from the Gr 6 parents - they wanted to ‘commend the outstanding manners shown by all of the children who came and purchased items. They were an absolute credit to the school and parents on their beautiful manners!’ It was a great addition to the night. Thank you to the following groups/people for your donations for the BBQ:

• Bakers Delight, Claremont
• All Upright Scaffolding
• Glenorchy Cricket Club (Tim Spotswood)
• Plus the parents of Grade 6

I had the pleasure of attending Grade 4 Camp this week at Dodges Ferry. Camps are such a wonderful opportunity for the class to be together outside of the classroom. They were a fabulous group to take away and should be very proud of their participation and the way they looked after each other. Thank you to the staff who attended - Angela Spotswood, Adrienne Reeve, Ben Johnson, Danielle Previdi, Cam Clark and Nicole Taylor. 

We have been blessed with many wonderful opportunities this term. We hope all our families have a wonderful break and we look forward to seeing you back for Term 4 on Monday 16th October.

Kind regards

Susan McGann

On Sunday 17th September the following students celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation at St Bernard's Church, celebrated by Archbishop Porteous.

At Holy Rosary Catholic School we are committed to a Family centred, Parish based, School supported Sacramental Program. We believe that the Sacraments of Initiation are part of a process that takes place over many years. They begin with Baptism and include First Communion and Confirmation. The sacrament of Reconciliation is also celebrated during this time.

There are many people who play a role in this process, the children themselves, their parents, catechists, teachers and parishioners.

We congratulate the following students who attended preparation sessions throughout Term 3 concluding with the Celebration of Confirmation: Addisyn Chiffey, Ben Maynard, Izzie Tuttle, Lara Preddy and James Wise.

We thank Fr Suresh, Mrs Jenny Ploughman and Mrs Libby Piesse for the continued support and preparation provided for these students and their families.

Please continue to keep these students in your prayers as they travel on their Faith Journey.

Week 8 of Term 3 saw Grade 5 head to Orford for camp at Spring Beach. It was a great opportunity for everyone to come together to try new things, hang out with mates and learn more about ourselves.

We had great fun at the beach, shell collecting, fossicking in rock pools and playing beach cricket. Back at camp we conquered the commando course, unleashed our inner Robin Hood with archery, and took on new challenges like indoor cricket and street hockey.

We finished up with a day on the green at Orford Bowls Club and a quick visit to historical Richmond (and its legendary lolly shop!). Congratulations on a great camp Grade 5!

After five weeks of toil and hardship the School Dance production returned to the school grounds and St. Bernard’s Hall where we embarked on our biggest show yet! We kicked off the review with a welcome to country and a smoking ceremony in the presence of Uncle Rodney Dillon whose words reminded us of the importance of sharing culture and coming together for events like this. I'm sure if Sam Newman was there, he would've loved it! 

We then followed the Grade 3’s and the rainbow serpent to Melah Sawford whose outdoor solo performance was not only technically excellent but incredibly courageous as 500+ people over the day crowded around to watch! 

The performances across the day and evening truly were a celebration of talent, creativity, and dedication. The afternoon and evening sessions were nothing short of awesome as teachers, parents and the local community came together to celebrate our student's collective dance brilliance!

From the graceful ballet performance of Mabel Akmentins to the high-energy hip-hop routine from Grade 5B, the dance production showcased the incredible diversity of dance excellence that permeates through our school. The hall had never seen anything like it! Our collection of solo dancers led by the remarkably talented Addy Chiffey and Zali Goss were easily some of the most talented performances our school has seen. Well done to all of our solo dancers! 

I would like to personally thank every single person who threw their $5 in and reserved a ticket and came along and supported our students. The experience and confidence they gained from performing in front you was just amazing! 

To Miss Hailey Peters, your choreography, teaching craft and patience with our students was exceptional, especially from someone who was born just before Essendon won their last final! 

A big thank you also has to go out to the technical production team led by Damian Riza and Adam Taylor and of course a big thanks to all the staff at Holy Rosary, thanks for your flexibility over the last 6 weeks! 

I'll finish with a quote from my old PE teacher that sums up the production for me: 

'In a world that can sometimes be chaotic, a school dance production serves as a reminder of the beauty and harmony that can be found through the art of dance. It celebrates not only the performers but also the transformative power of the arts in our lives'  

Amen to that!

Mr. Johnson

As we conclude term 3 we also wrap up our annual Grade 5 & 6 Friday sport. All children in these grades are given an option to play netball or football for the term, giving some of them an opportunity to try something new and some of them the chance shine in their chosen sporting field. 

For this school roster to be a success we rely heavily on our volunteer coaches. We would like to thank Emily Rossendell, Taya Webb & Bianca Hoggett for their support at netball. We would also like to thank our staff who also coach and support the teams each week at both netball and football including Chelsea Browning, Olivia French, Patrick O'Brien, John Rickwood, Brad Hastie, Camden Clark, Matt Luttrell, Libby Piesse, Ben Johnson and our leadership team.