Dear Parents and Guardians,

As I begin to draft this newsletter, I am amazed at how quickly agendas begin to compete with each other as we become somewhat manic moving to that deadline that everyone wants things done by, Christmas Day!

At the moment, teachers are trying to finalise assessments that inform reports and commence the drafting process for reports.  In addition to this, I personally have many meetings to attend and evenings that require my presence. I must admit, whilst accepting that end of year reporting is important, I get somewhat overwhelmed knowing there are 615 reports to be read at a time when we are becoming more tired by the day.  I’m sure parents feel the same as we battle to try and fit everything in before that magic date!

One example of this is our Christmas Carols night.  We really struggled to find a date that would not impact in a significant way on the teachers and their commitments as well as you, the parents.  There are dates in the evening to do with principal events that I must attend, two concerning the retirement of our Director Mr Peter Turner.  Mrs Martin, who leads us so well on this very special evening, also has commitments that “locked out” some dates. We tried to stay clear of Fridays because of work and staff Christmas parties as well. Unfortunately, even with the best efforts and intentions, the only date that could work for the staff and I was Friday 13th December. I am very much aware that this will not suit all, but know that we have tried to come up with an alternative.

The theme for the Christmas Carols night is “The Spirit of Christmas”.  The story looks at the materialistic things of Christmas, such as candy canes, and explains the real symbolism in the christian way whilst still telling the Christmas story.  Each grade is allocated a song. 

The gates will open at 5.15pm.  The P and F will run a barbecue from 5:15-7:00pm. The performance will commence at 6.15pm starting with the St Paul’s dance group and concluding with a whole school sing-a-long .

It will be a different performance as it won’t be on the Assembly stage (Area 3), but on the portable stage to be set up on Area 2.  The stage will be in the centre of the area. It will be Christmas carols in the round so that families are not placed at the back of the area and therefore more included.

I hope this new format will bring families closer to the action and so, enjoy things much more.

Kind regards,

Michael Reardon
Principal