Newsletter 5 – 9 April 2025

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

It feels like only a few weeks ago that our students returned to school after their summer break and yet here we are, in the final week of Term 1. Time certainly passes us by incredibly quickly. Over the course of the term our students had the privilege of having the Indigenous All Stars visit, they had swimming lessons and their faction/interschool swimming carnivals, the school disco, cricket carnival, NAPLAN, as well as various incursions and excursions, including our Year 6 Canberra Camp. Today, our Kindy students will be dancing the afternoon away during their Boogie Woogie incursion. Tomorrow, our Year 5 class will be leading us through a dramatization of the Stations of the Cross which will assist us in centring our hearts and thoughts on Christ in the lead up to Easter.

ASCS Cricket Carnival

The before school training sessions clearly paid off this year, with our girls’ team coming away with the champion trophy and our boys narrowly missing out on first place. As always, our students did our school, themselves and their families proud by displaying sportsmanship and our SEARCH values throughout the day. A big thank you to Mr Cooper and Mr Stone for giving up their mornings to coach the students and to Miss Cohen and the parents who assisted on the day of the carnival. Despite it being a scorcher of a day, a great day was had by all.

Kindy Farmyard on Wheels Incursion

Our school oval was transformed into a mini farm last Wednesday morning. Not wanting to miss out on all the fun, I made my way down to meet and greet the repertoire of cuddly farm animals. It was such a joy to watch our Kindy students faces light up as they held the cute, fluffy chicks, fed the baby lambs, patted the rabbits, geese, pony, sheep and goats.

Year 6 Assembly

Our Year 6s presented a vibrant recount of their educational, fun filled camp in Australia’s capital, Canberra. They cleverly re-enacted the flights and various camp experiences, capturing the rich learning and engaging opportunities they were graced with. Ava and Eloise looked the part, dressed in real air hostess uniforms and even mastered the way they speak. The re-enactment of passing a Bill role play in parliament house was both

comical and factual. Well done, Year 6s on an exceptional Assembly item. You continue to shine brightly, reflecting the diverse gifts, skills, knowledge and positive relationships you possess.

Parent-Teacher Interviews

This Friday, our teachers will be facilitating parent-teacher interviews. This is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to be able to showcase the learning and progress your children have made in the past term and to highlight some short-term goals for them to work towards in the coming term. We hope you find the meetings to be valuable and insightful.

Stations of the Cross

Tomorrow morning, our Year 5s will be leading us in the dramatization of the Stations of the Cross. Parents and grandparents are invited to come along. The Stations of the Cross serves as a great reminder of the sacrifices Jesus made for our sake and for our salvation. Whatever difficulties we may be going through in our lives, we are united with Jesus, who too carried heavy burdens out of love for us. We can rest assured that in carrying our own crosses in this earthly life, we are accompanied by Jesus and, as a result of his death and resurrection, will have eternal life in heaven.

Lent

These past few weeks have afforded us quite the spiritual journey. In the first week of Lent, we spent time in the desert with Jesus, free of distractions, reflecting on our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. In the second week, we climbed the summit with Peter, John, and James, beholding the majesty of Christ, recognising Jesus in the events and people in our lives. In the third week we listened to the parable of the fig tree, recalling God’s love, compassion, and patience as He tends to each of us like a loving gardener. In the fourth week of Lent, we heard the parable of the prodigal son which provoked us to recognise the brokenness in our own relationships and in ourselves, thus prompting us to turn to God for healing, forgiveness and guidance. In this fifth week of Lent we are cautioned against judging the souls of others and reminded that the devil condemns whilst God convicts. Condemnation fosters shame and compels people to stay in the darkness of their sinfulness, devoid of hope. Conviction, on the other hand, fosters guilt which is a catalyst for repentance, conversion and hope.

Toy Swap

The excitement has been building for our sustainability team’s ‘Toy Swap’. After weeks of eyeing off toys and making mental wish lists, our students were finally able to trade their preloved toys for new ones. Our undercover area was a hive of activity this morning as the students buzzed from table to table, discerning what toys they should choose next. Thank you to our parents for getting behind the Toy Swap and to Mrs Sanchez, Mrs Lina, Miss Sinclair and Mrs O’Neill for coordinating this wonderful initiative. It is important we teach our children the value of rehoming and reusing items so to reduce the drain on our earth’s resources. We all need to play our part in preserving God’s precious creations and reduce wastefulness.

I wish all our families a blessed Easter and a restorative break from school routines.

God bless,

Melissa Vranjes
Principal

Lacrosse Clinic with Gecko Sports

Our Pre-Primary to Year 6 students had an exciting opportunity to participate in a Lacrosse Clinic led by Gecko Sports! This was a fantastic introduction to the sport, and the students had a blast learning new skills. They worked on scooping, throwing, and even took part in game simulations. It was an enjoyable experience for everyone, and many of the students are now excited to try lacrosse again! A big thank you to Gecko Sports, particularly Coach Liam and Coach Tammy, for providing such engaging and fun sessions.

Year 5 and 6 at the ASCS Cricket Carnival

Our Year 5 and 6 students recently participated in the ASCS Cricket Carnival, and despite the heat and the adjustment from 6-ball overs to 4-ball overs, they had an amazing time! The enthusiasm and sportsmanship displayed were outstanding. A special congratulations to the Division-A Girls team, coached by Glenn Ranger, for winning the Division-A Girls trophy! Well done to all our students for their efforts and dedication throughout the day. A big thank you to Mr Stone, Miss Cohen, Mr Ranger, and Mrs Lumsden for assisting with the teams on the day and to those parents who came down and supported the teams!

Mr. Caleb Cooper
Physical Education Teacher

The Year Twos have had an adventurous time this term! Our focused literature featured sloths, and their various adventures. We did an amazing sunrise art activity,  learnt about shadows and art, as well as creating these very artistic clocks featuring MAB block numbers.

Ms Christian
Year 2 Teacher