Term 3, Week 2 2022

Dear Community Members

Welcome to the new School Term. I hope that the term break gave you some down time or change from the school routine in some way.

Term 3 is going to be another eventful term and I ask that you refer to the school calendar to ensure that you are aware of all that is happening.

This term we welcomed 9 new Reception students to Dominican School. Welcome to Isaiah, Aoife, Patrick, Georgia, Mack, Zack, Everley, Amelia and Jed. We wish these students all the very best as they begin their learning journey with us.

During the school holidays I was fortunate enough to travel to Brisbane to participate in the ‘Leading with Integrity for Excellence; Governance for Catholic Schools National Program’. This was an excellent opportunity to join with 50 other Catholic School Principals from around Australia  to further explore the nature of leadership, stewardship and ethical decision making in the Catholic context. As educators we hold a special place in society . We hold the hopes and dreams of parents, caregivers, students and even the wider local community. It is important for us to be clear in our deliberations and to articulate our purpose to all stakeholders. As a Dominican community I believe we do this extremely well as we continue to achieve new levels of excellence.

Our building program is in its final stages of completion and our hope is that our 4 junior primary classes will be in their new learning spaces in Week 6. The finished product is very impressive and I look forward to sharing these new spaces with you as soon as possible.

We look forward to celebrating St Dominic’s Day tomorrow and welcoming all of our ‘VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE’ to our school. This will be a great occasion for our community and I know the students are excited about sharing their learning with their VIP’s in the morning.

A reminder that the Living Learning Leading (LLL) survey is still active and will close on Friday 12 August. I strongly encourage you to complete this survey as it will enable us to continue to drive change within our school community. Please see the link provided in today’s newsletter.

Have a great week and stay well and safe.

Kind regards,
Phil

Phil Holmes
PRINCIPAL

Welcome to Term 3 at Dominican School
A special welcome to our new students and families
Blessings to you all…

ST DOMINIC’S DAY CELEBRATION

Today Wednesday August 3 is the Feast Day of St Dominic, our Patron Saint, and this FRIDAY AUGUST 5 we will celebrate ST DOMINIC’S DAY.  To mark the occasion, students are invited to come to school dressed in our Dominican colours of black and white, and to contribute a gold coin donation to support the work of the Sophia centre established by the Dominican Sisters.  We will host a special morning for VIPs to gather in prayer, visit classrooms, and share in morning tea.

This day provides us with a special way to honour and give thanks for the life of St Dominic and the way we live his mission today through our Dominican Pillars of Prayer, Study, Community and Ministry.  We look forward to celebrating Dominican School as a place of great faith and learning where we live VERITAS with Hearts of Hope to grow in God’s Love. 

We are pleased to be able to once again share in the CELEBRATION OF MASS with our school and parish communities.  This term we will gather for whole school masses at Sacred Heart Church at 12.00pm on the following dates:

• FRIDAY AUGUST 5 – ST DOMINIC’S DAY
  ​Led by R-6 students (Reception & Year 6 VIPs invited to attend)

• MONDAY AUGUST 8 – ST MARY OF THE CROSS MACKILLOP
  ​Led by the Year 3-6 classes (Year 3-6 families invited to attend)

• MONDAY AUGUST 15 – ASSUMPTION OF MARY
  Led by the R-2 classes  (R-2 families invited to attend)

For all Masses, students will walk to and from the Church supervised by their teachers. Teachers will inform families of rehearsal dates and times in preparation for these celebrations.

These celebrations provide us with the opportunity to gather in faith, hope and love, and we look forward to sharing our Masses with Father Roderick, parishioners and families.

MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD (MITIOG) is the curriculum for teaching human sexuality education in South Australian Catholic Schools. It is grounded in the Catholic understanding that all humans are made in the image of God, deserving the utmost dignity and respect, and that sexuality is a fundamental dimension of the human person.

From Weeks 6-10 of this term the MITIOG Human Sexuality Curriculum will be taught in your child’s class. Two weeks prior to the commencement of the teaching program, you will receive an overview of the content specific to your child’s year level.  You are encouraged to discuss any queries or questions with the class teacher, as well as any ideas about supporting your child in this area.  We look forward to working in partnership with you.

Alison Tanti-Clark
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL RELIGIOUS IDENTITY & MISSION

CONGRATULATIONS to our certificate recipients for Week 10, Term 2:

STUDY

Angus Dunlop RN
For excellent efforts with reading and writing and for sounding out difficult words

Leo MOUVERI 1/2AB
Great improvement in reading and writing

Annabelle SUMNER-EMERY 1/2AB
Showing effort and persistence in writing your narrative

Isobel WAKEFIELD 1/2S
For displaying persistence in all of her learning tasks

Jackson PFITZNER 5/6K
For showing excellence in multiple learning areas this Semester and attempting more complex challenges

Remmie BIRRELL 5/6K
For showing persistence and dedication to her learning. Ensuring that she attempts all tasks to the best of her ability

Scarlett MILLER 3/4S
For her impressive focus in her learning group and her friendliness to all

Addison DAVEY 3/4S
For seeking ways to extend and challenge her learning

COMMUNITY

Sasha EVANS RN
For being helpful in class and for being a positive role model

Matilda HOLT 1/2S
For supporting her peers during classroom activities

Elijah WATTS 3/4L
For being a positive member of 3/4L and always encouraging others

Grace BLUTE 3/4L
For applying a growth mindset and using feedback to improve her writing

Jacob BORG 5/6OK
By being an outstanding leader for our school community and the world God desires by initiating the lunch time Games Club and promoting this within our school community.

Jacob WHITTEN 5/6OK
By being an outstanding leader for our school community and the world God desires by initiating a new Recycling Program and promoting this within our school community.

Lachlan WHITTEN 5/6OK
By being an outstanding leader for our school community and the world God desires by initiating a new Recycling Program and promoting this within our school community.

Congratulations to Nate and Maverick who have been selected to represent Port SAPSASA
and Dominican School at the State Soccer Carnival on 22nd – 24th August.

Good luck boys!

Martina Kovacev
PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

Families are kindly asked to contact the school office by 9.30am if your child will be absent or late. Please leave the students name, class and the reason for the student’s absence.

You can do this by:

• Phoning 8114 3636 (select option 1 and leave a message)
• Emailing absent@dominican.catholic.edu.au

Please don’t email teachers directly or use Seesaw for absentees as quite often these are not checked by teachers at the beginning of the school day. If an absence is unexplained an automatic SMS message will be sent to parents requesting confirmation of an absence.

If a student arrives at school after the 8.50am bell they must sign in at the Front Office.

If a student leaves the school before 3.05pm dismissal time they must be signed out in the Front Office by an adult.

Communication with the classroom teacher is required when a student needs to leave before dismissal time, is going on a family holiday or any other pre-arranged absence.