Term 2, Week 2 2022

Dear Community Members

Welcome to Term 2. I hope that the school holidays gave you the opportunity to rest, relax and recharge in readiness for another busy term ahead.

We welcome Alison Appleby and Kim Murphy to our Dominican Community this term. Alison is the Executive Assistant and will oversee enrolment processes and will provide executive support to the leadership team. Kim is the Office Administrator and will be our first port of call supporting our community with the day to day functioning of the school. I am delighted to have Alison and Kim with us.

Our building program continues to make good progress and is certainly taking shape. I would like to invite you to a ‘building site tour’ for those of you who would be interested to see the development in action. The tour will be held on Thursday 26 May at 2:30pm. Please RSVP to Alison or Kim at the front office if you would like to attend.

As we continue to face COVID restrictions here at school our hope is that after Week 3 of this term there may be further restrictions eased allowing us to have whole school assemblies, Masses, etc. I will keep you informed as new information comes to hand.

Our Year 3 and Year 5 students have been extremely busy participating in NAPLAN this week. This is only one way we assess student learning here at Dominican. We wish these students all the very best as they strive to be the best they can be. I would like to thank the Class Teachers of these Year levels, Alison Tanti- Clark and Nick Ryan for their excellent leadership in administering these tests.

Our Strategic Plan for 2022- 2025 is now live on our school website. I encourage you to have a look at this plan to see the strategic actions that we are focusing on to continue to develop the school in all aspects of school life.

I look forward to another school term of rich learning experiences for all in our community.

Have a great week.

Kind regards,

Phil Holmes
PRINCIPAL

Birthday Wishes for Fr Roderick
Best wishes to Fr Roderick who celebrates his BIRTHDAY next Friday May 20.  As a school community, we are blessed to have
Fr Roderick as our leader of faith who guides us to live with God’s love. Fr Roderick celebrates Mass with us and helps us to learn more about God, Jesus and our Church. We extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Fr Roderick for his ministry to our school community as our Parish Priest.

Preparing for Confirmation 
This Saturday May 14 the students in our Sacramental Program will gather for a FAMILY WORKSHOP at Our Lady of the Visitation School from 2.00 – 4.00pm.  This will have a focus on Confirmation and the Holy Spirit: Life in the Spirit – The Sacrament of Confirmation. 

We pray for Elijah, Emma, Jaeda, Jenny, Jessica, Marley, Sean and William who are preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. May they receive the fullness of God’s Spirit.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK

Catholic Education Week is being celebrated in Catholic schools throughout South Australia from 9 – 15 May 2022.  During Catholic Education Week we say THANK YOU to our dedicated staff for their hard work, support and care in Raising the Hearts and Minds of our young people and for making Dominican School such a special place of faith, learning and love for our students and families.  Join us on social media this week in sharing a ‘thank you’ post to our staff using the hashtag #LoveMyCatholicSchool.

Alison Tanti-Clark
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL RELIGIOUS IDENTITY & MISSION

In Week 1, Term 2, we learn about Children’s Day in Japan. Children’s Day is one of the national holidays in Japan, which happens on the 5th of May every year. (In Japan, people also celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May, but it is not a national holiday.)

Y1/2 students enjoyed colouring Koinobori (carp streamer). Carp is considered a symbol of success in Japan, and it is the fish to celebrate children’s success on Children’s Day.

Y3/4 students made origami samurai helmets. The Samurai helmet symbolizes strength, and it is often decorated in Japanese households to wish children strong growth.

We learn how to respect cultural perspectives during Japanese lessons by noticing similarities and differences among people.

Mayumi Wong
JAPANESE TEACHER

We are now in our second week of the Premier’s Be Active Challenge!
The Challenge plays an important role in promoting healthy and active learners.

The Challenge: ​60 minutes of physical activity, on at least 5 days of the week, for at least 4 weeks.

Please note: From weeks 1-4, students will complete their 60 minutes of physical activity throughout the school day. If your child/ren would like to do the 10 week challenge, please use the 10wk log sheet which can be found at the following link: https://pbac.sa.edu.au/resources/

The first four weeks will be completed at school and the remaining six weeks will be your responsibility to complete at home after school.

Have fun and enjoy the challenge!

Martina Kovacev
PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

Congratulations to the following students that have been selected to represent Port SAPSASA and Dominican School at the following SAPSASA State Carnivals:

SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS – 9th May
Jaeda, Luisa, Maya, Caitlin, Remmie, Shea and Jacob B.

FOOTBALL CARNIVAL – 25th to 27th May
Aitana, Maya, Caitlin, Paige, Molly and Lachlan B

CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS– 9th June
Remmie, Maverick, Maya, Dlila and Lachlan B.

A jam-packed holiday program was squeezed into eight days.  The first week involved an Easter egg hunt, the movies to see Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Master Chef day and ANZAC Day cooking and craft activities.

The second week involved Wheelie Day, Dance party, music and singing, science fun with experiments and once again, the movies watching Bad Guys 2.

I would like to thank all of the OSHC staff team for collaborating to make the Vacation Care program so enjoyable.

Thank you to Scott, Taylor, Nichola, Nyree, Saxon and Eliahn for making the program such a success.

I would also like to thank all the families for sending their children to OSHC.  The children were so well behaved, you should all be so proud of them.

Many thanks,

Paula Northeast
OSHC DIRECTOR

Next Friday 20th May is National Walk Safely to School Day, where primary school aged children are encouraged to walk with their parents or caregiver to school. This encourages healthy habits as well as teaching vital road safety skills. 

National Walk Safely to School Day is a community initiative that aims to raise awareness of the health, road safety, transport and environmental benefits that regular walking (especially to and from school) can provide for the long term wellbeing of our children. 

This year Dominican School will have three ‘walking buses’ leaving from three different locations. 

Bus 1 will be driven by Mrs Kovacev and leave from the intersection of Hart St and the Esplanade.  

Bus 2 will be driven by Mrs Siviglia & Mr Ryan and leave from the intersection of Semaphore Rd and Woolnough Rd. 

Bus 3 will be driven by Mrs Nofi & Ms Brogden and will leave from the OTR on the corner of Military Rd and Wills St.  

Please note that for duty of care purposes, parents/guardians must remain with their children for the duration of the walk. Upper primary students who usually walk to school independently are welcome to continue to do so. 

All buses will leave their respective starting points at 8.15am and arrive at school by 8.30am. Our fabulous Breakfast Club will be available to the students on arrival. 

Prams, scooters and dogs on leads are most welcome. If more convenient, you are welcome to drive to one of the meeting points, leave the car there and join the walking bus.  

We hope to have you all join us for National Walk Safely to School Day! 

Martina Kovacev
PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

STARTING SCHOOL

Does your child turn 5 before 31 October this year? They may be eligible to start school in Term 3, 2022. We still have vacancies for our 2022 Mid Year Intake. 

ALL students who commence at Dominican School for the Mid-Year Reception intake receive FREE Term 3 and Term 4 Tuition.

ENROLMENTS FOR RECEPTION 2023

We are currently finalising our interviews for 2023 enrolments. If you have a child due to start school in 2023 please complete an Enrolment Form asap to ensure a place. Please note that siblings require an enrolment interview.

For more information regarding enrolments, please call in to see me in the Front Office or send me a quick email.

Alison Appleby
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT | ENROLMENTS & LEADERSHIP SUPPORT

Families are kindly asked to contact the school office before 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:

• Emailing absent@dominican.catholic.edu.au
• Phoning 8114 3600 (select option 1 and leave a message)

Please don’t email teachers directly or use Seesaw for absentees. 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:

• Is going to arrive at school late, due to a pre-arrangement
• Needs to leave before dismissal time
• Is going on a family holiday
• Any other pre-arranged absence.

We acknowledge that we are on the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains. We recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. We acknowledge that they are of continuing importance to the Kaurna people living today. Approved by Kaurna Elder Uncle Lewis O’Brian 2004