Term 1, Week 10 2021

Dear Community Members 

Welcome to Week 10! 

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of Term 1! 

We have achieved so much this term and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students, the staff and all of our families for traveling with us on our journey. It has been a privilege to lead such a supportive and vibrant community. 

Pedagogical Coach 
Mr Nick Ryan will join me on the front gate next Tuesday morning and he is certainly looking forward to meeting the students and families as they arrive at school. We welcome Nick to our Dominican community in Term 2. 

New School Website 
On Thursday will be having a professional photographer visit Dominican School to take some photographs of our school in action which will then contribute to the launch of our new school website early in Term 2. I would like to thank Siobhan Evans for her excellent skills and her generous time in assisting us in the development of this work. Siobhan has been working quietly in the background and the new website is really  taking shape. Watch this space! 

DISA Survey and Pupil Free Day 
Thank you to everyone for participating in our DISA survey. The data collected will give us such a strong direction and we have now commenced the analysing of this data so that we can continue to be the best school possible. In order for this to happen we will be having a Pupil Free Day on Friday 21 May (Week 4, Term2) so that the whole staff can unpack this data and set future directions for Dominican School. OSHC will be available on this day. 

Sports Day
We are looking forward to our 2021 School Sports Day next Friday 9 April. Information was sent home yesterday with all the finer details. I look forward to enjoying the day with students, families and staff. Thank you to Martina Kovacev and the Sports Day committee for their excellent organisation. 

My sincere hope is that you all get to experience a change in pace during the term break and that the Easter Season will provide some special time with family and friends. 
Thanks again for all that you bring to our Dominican Community. I know that Term 2 will continue to achieve great things for all of us. 

Kind regards 
Phil Holmes 

This week is Holy Week, the most important week in our Church year.  It is the time when we remember and celebrate the last days of Jesus’ life, before his death and resurrection.  We recall and honour the rich and powerful gospel stories that take us from Jesus being welcomed into Jerusalem on Palm  Sunday; to the sharing of bread and wine with his disciples at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday; to Jesus’ suffering on his way to the cross and his crucifixion on Good Friday; and finally to his joyous resurrection on Easter Sunday.  
As a school community, we celebrate these significant events by sharing in this story through prayer, reflection and action: 

• Holy Week Liturgies… With our R/1 classes leading us in a Palm Sunday Liturgy, our Year 2/3 classes in a Holy Thursday Liturgy, our Year 4/5 classes in a Good Friday Liturgy, and our Year 5/6 classes in an Easter Liturgy.
• COINS 4 CARITAS DAY… Next Wednesday April 7, our Justice Leaders have organised for our school community to take part in this day to raise awareness and funds for CARITAS Australia.  All students are invited to wear a SPLASH OF YELLOW for a gold coin donation to support this year’s Project Compassion Appeal to BE MORE.  Classes will visit the Chapel to place their gold coins on a Coin Cross, share in prayer and engage in a BE MORE reflection to place on the sacred space.

As we continue on our Lenten journey to Easter, we are reminded to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with God.  Our support of Project Compassion is one way of putting our faith in action to support the most vulnerable in our world to ‘be more’.  Thank you for your generosity in donating to this year’s appeal. 

It would be much appreciated if all Project Compassion boxes are returned to the Front Office by Thursday April 8. 

We thank our loving God for the gift of His Son, Jesus, for through his death and resurrection, we have received new life.  May our Risen Christ inspire us to be truly Gospel people, bringing the love of Jesus to all. 

Wishing you and your families all the blessings of a joyous Easter filled with love, peace and hope. 

Alison Tanti-Clark 
Assistant Principal Religious Identity & Mission