Dear Parents/Caregivers,
Dominican is definitely a thriving school community that is filled with learning, good friends and a focus on continuous improvement and I feel extremely blessed to be a part of this community.
HARMONY DAY
Last week we celebrated Harmony Week. As a school, students wore either a splash of orange or their cultural national dress and participated in a special Harmony Day activities led by our Harmony Day committee of dedicated staff. The week of activities, as well as our beautiful Liturgy which was led by our Rec, Year 1 and Year 2 students, highlighted the fact that we are all different and unique, and despite our differences we are equal and loved. On this day, cultural diversity of our nation and how to be inclusive of all was highlighted. We are certainly a diverse community.
LEARNING CONVERSATIONS
“As partners in the education of their children, parents work collaboratively with teachers and staff” (Charter for Parents in Catholic School SA).
Family School Partnerships are integral to our Dominican School Community. Every child matters. We know parents are the first and most important educators of their child. As teachers, it is vital we work together with parents, carers and families to enable high student wellbeing and academic achievement.
The learning journey of every child at Dominican is of paramount importance to us all. Research strongly supports the notion that working in partnership with school and home greatly increases the learning outcomes of students.
This week parents, students and teachers took part in Learning Conversations. These are a great opportunity for students to be active agents of their learning by sharing their goals and aspirations. Thank you to all families who took time out of their busy schedules to take part in these important conversations and thank you to our dedicated teachers for their open communication and support of all students in their care.
NAPLAN
During Weeks 7 and 8 most of our Year 3 and 5 students completed their NAPLAN testing and I would sincerely like to congratulate them all on their efforts and perseverance.
NAPLAN is a window into how our students are doing, and even more of a window into how the school is doing. As a school we rely on the data from other assessments that are conducted throughout the year, as well as NAPLAN, to guide our next steps in teaching and learning for each child.
I would also like to thank Mr Ryan for co-ordinating this testing period and to all other staff for their continued support.
SCHOOL BOARD
Our AGM was held in Week 8 where we welcomed the following Board Members who were both elected and re-elected for an extended tenure: Vicki Barnes, Kelly Lennon, Jack Fawkner, Henry Klis, Angela Petts, and Greer Tappert. The following member will continue as part of our 2024 School Board: Ben Evans, Kevin Blute, Lisa Osborne and Fr Roderick O’Brien.
We would also like to sincerely thank the following board members whose tenure has finished: Katy Tatrai, Sara Thompson, Sam Whitton, Chris Russell and Kathleen Connellan. They have all been an asset to our school community and have helped lead and support many school initiatives.
WELLBEING AT DOMINICAN
Wellbeing and Mental Health for our students and staff has been and will continue to be a focus at Dominican, as there is strong evidence to suggest that whole-school approaches to promoting wellbeing can have a positive effect on academic attainment as well as other educational outcomes including:
- mental health
- self-esteem
- self-efficacy
- motivation
- behaviour
Last year we were lucky to receive support from the Commonwealth Government with a one-off Wellbeing Boost funding to assist with initiatives that promote and support student mental health and wellbeing. At Dominican we used this ‘Boost’ funding to get a Wellbeing Dog, as well as to initiate a whole school approach to using the Grow Your Mind(GYM) wellbeing and mental health program. The GYM program supports the work we are already doing with our Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) and Courtney Quigley (PIP Wellbeing Leader) and Lisa Osborne (School Counsellor and School Wellbeing Leader) are working closely with both our staff, student and parent community to ensure we are all informed and working collaboratively to support our students to ‘be the best they can be.’ We would also like to acknowledge the assistance from Blair Boyer, Minister for Education, Training and Skills, for his ongoing support in ensuring all students have access to the best education in order to thrive.
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER
As Holy Week unfolds and Easter draws near, I find myself reflecting on the profound significance of this sacred time and the opportunity it presents for spiritual renewal and deep reflection.
Holy Week is a time of solemn remembrance, a journey through the final days of Jesus Christ's life, culminating in his resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is a time for us to pause, to contemplate the immense sacrifice made for our redemption, and to rekindle the flames of hope and faith that burn within us.
In the midst of our busy lives, Holy Week offers a precious opportunity to slow down, to turn inward, and to connect with the spiritual essence that lies at the core of our being. It is a time to seek forgiveness, to extend compassion, and to embrace the transformative power of love and grace.
As we approach Easter Sunday, I want to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt wishes to you and your families. May this Easter be a time of joy, renewal, and abundant blessings for you and your loved ones. May the spirit of resurrection fill your hearts with hope and your lives with meaning and purpose.
In the spirit of this holy season, let us also remember those who are less fortunate, those who are suffering, and those who are in need of our compassion and support. May we be beacons of light and agents of healing in a world that is yearning for love and redemption.
Wishing you a blessed Easter filled with peace, love, and the joy of new beginnings.
Angela Scodella
PRINCIPAL
SACRISTANS & ALTAR SERVERS
This term we have welcomed thirteen Year 4 - 6 students to serve as Sacristans and Altar Servers for our Friday Parish Masses. These students have engaged in training with Bernadette Smith (Parish Associate and Sacramental Coordinator), to prepare for this ministry. We commend Grace, Jenny, Marley, Elijah, Emma, Macy, Amelia, Sean, William, Tiger, Angelique, Angela and Matilda for their faith-filled commitment to serving our school and parish communities in these important roles.
FAMILY FAITH FORMATION
Students and families in the Sacramental Program, thank you for your participation in our Reconciliation Family Workshop last week. As you prepare for the Sacrament of First Reconciliation, it is a time where you can reflect and celebrate God’s love and forgiveness through this sacrament of peace and healing. Our school community keeps you in our prayers as you get ready to celebrate your First Reconciliation next week.
PALM CROSS MAKING
Last Friday, we welcomed Kim and Bernadette from our LeFevre Catholic Parish, who volunteered their time to work with every class to create Palm Crosses. The Palm Cross is used for Palm Sunday celebrations before Easter to remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem just a few days before His Crucifixion. We thank Kim and Bernadette for leading us in this valuable learning experience and for working alongside us to deepen our school and parish connections. We also thank Fr Roderick for initiating this opportunity and for his ongoing support of all at Dominican School.
HOLY WEEK & EASTER
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 have celebrated these significant events by sharing in this story through prayer, reflection and action with Holy Week Liturgies:
Palm Sunday Liturgy, led by our Receptions on Tuesday 26 March.
Holy Thursday Liturgy, led by our Year 1/2 classes on Wednesday 27 March.
Good Friday Liturgy, led by our Year 3/4 classes on Thursday 28 March.
And following Easter weekend, our Year 5/6 classes with lead us in our Easter Liturgy.
All of our liturgies are being held in our MFC at 11.40am.
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 now and ‘for all future generations.’ 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 Tuesday 2nd April.
For information regarding Parish Holy Week Celebrations, please see this newsletter for dates and times.
We thank our loving God for the gift of His Son Jesus, 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.
Martina Kovacev
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION COORDINATOR
WHEN, WHO AND WHAT WITH YEAR ONES
In Year One, we have been learning about recount writing. We have been planning our recounts by using ‘when, where, who and what’ and have been writing about our weekends. We also went on an excursion to Semaphore beach and did a treasure hunt and drew our own mandalas in the sand.
Chelsea Fiore
YEAR 1 CLASSROOM TEACHER
GROW YOUR MIND @ DOMINICAN
Our next animal introduction is the Elephant.
The Elephant helps us understand the parts of the brain by relating them to animal characters. The Elephant who tries hard to remember (hippocampus) functions best when our Guard Dog (amygdala) is calm. It stores information and helps us to retreive it when we really need it. The elephant also helps us to lock in memories. Check out the poster below for more ways to wake up your Remembering Elephant.
Lisa Osborne
STUDENT COUNSELLOR
As promised we are excited to provide more information on the Dogs Connect Program and the introduction of our new wellbeing dog, Molly.
Molly will be officially introduced to the community in the coming weeks. In early Term 2 we will distribute a Family Considerations checklist to assist in the program's facilitation. For now please watch this introductory video with your children from the program founder.
SACPSSA SWIMMING CARNIVAL
On Tuesday 26th March, 14 students ranging from Years 3-6, represented our school at the annual Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival at the George Bolton Swimming Centre, Burnside.
The students competed against other Catholic schools in the metropolitan area in the strokes of freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke.
Well done to Jaeda B, Alyssa H, Iris S, Emma W, Imogen M, Estelle F, Angela H, Ella Y, Maddison Y, Elijah W, William G, Kyan J, Sophie M and Tejus S. They represented our school with pride and were successful throughout the day placing in numerous individual races. Thanks also to Troy Jamieson and Seamus McCarthy who volunteered their time to help with timekeeping and officiating throughout the event.
SAPSASA REPRESENTATION - SWIMMING
Congratulations to Autumn M, Ella Y, Iris S and Isabella H who have been selected in the Port District SAPSASA Swimming team. We wish these students all the best for their upcoming carnival.
Matthew Annetta
PE TEACHER AND SPORTS COORDINATOR
FEE PAYMENT PLAN
A payment plan should now have been set up for every family’s 2024 school fees. If you haven’t completed a 2024 payment plan form please do so immediately and return to the school office or via email to accounts@dominican.catholic.edu.au
Jo Freer
FINANCE OFFICER
All School uniforms should be clearly marked with your child’s name and students are responsible for their own items of clothing. If uniforms have gone missing, there is a lost property basket that is kept at the front office. Please check this regularly, as there are quite a few items in there.
Just a reminder that shirts must always be tucked in.
All uniform requirements are available from Hambours Uniform Shop
2 Wilson Street Royal Park
The shop is open:
Monday to Thursday 9:00am -12:30pm and 1:00pm – 5:00pm
and Fridays 9:00am – 12:30pm and 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Uniform items can also be purchased online: http://dominican.hambours.com.au
Children’s University is BACK for 2024!
This year we are very excited to announce that we will once again be involved in ‘Children’s University Australia’.
Children’s University Australia aims to provide high quality out of school hours activities, engaging the wider community as learning partners in this process. It fosters wellbeing by promoting 'free range learning', encouraging children to try out new activities, discover new passions, visit new places and above all, have fun! Participation is voluntary and it is intentionally something other than school. Activities take place outside the normal school day during lunch, after school, on weekends and during the holidays.
Participating students are issued with a ‘Passport to Learning’ which records their individual learning journey. After 30 hours of learning, the children are rewarded for their participation with certificates at a graduation ceremony to be held at the University of Adelaide.
We are very excited to be involved in such a fantastic learning opportunity for our students and look forward to seeing where our students take their passion and learning.
For further information you can visit the Children’s University website:
https://cuaustralasia.com/get-involved-learners-and-families/
Registration forms are available from the front office and must be in by the end of this term. No late registrations will be accepted.
Kim Murphy
CHILDRENS UNIVERSITY COORDINATOR
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