As we come to the end of the term, I wish all families a very happy Easter and a restful holiday break.

Passive play space - playground update
We have had a number of companies come out to measure and advise us on our final ‘concrete’ play space in our playground - the area at the back of the school near Bardwell gate.  Students have many active areas in our playground and have expressed the need for a more ‘passive’ space where they can play board games, draw, colour or just sit.  At the moment the area is not very inviting so we plan to install artificial grass, some chess board markings and chalk boards to enhance the feel of the area.  This should make a big difference for the students who do not want to play ball games or run around during lunch. 

We have now chosen a company and are awaiting timing which will hopefully be early next term.

Thank you to the P & F, as money raised will go towards funding this upgrade.

Staff Development days
This Friday our staff are attending professional learning network days at various Sydney Catholic Schools.  Our Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 teachers will participate in professional learning focussed on Mathematics at Leichhardt, our Year 3 and Year 4 teachers will focus on the new curriculum during their learning at Lane Cove and our Year 5 and Year 6 teachers will attend the network day at Woollahra with a focus on English.

The following Friday we combine with teachers from Blessed Sacrament for our staff development day with a focus on planning using the new English Syllabus and units written by Sydney Catholic Schools.

These days form part of the required professional learning for teachers based on the Australian Standards for Teaching.  We look forward to the time to learn, collaborate and to plan the learning for all students.  

Zing Activ Interschool Dance Challenge is next week - Tuesday 8 April
We have 124 students attending the event and they are very excited.  Students have been honing their dance skills ready for the night.  Zing has advised that there will be no teacher dance this year - so you won’t get to see the teachers amazing skills!

A reminder that your child should wear two outfits - one is worn underneath the other.  

1. A white t-shirt with denim shorts (or skirt).  This will be for the showdance.
2. Own choice - Over the top of their white t-shirt and shorts, the students may wear their own choice of clothes.  As there are no change facilities, students just take this layer of clothing off once the partner dances are finished, to be ready for the showdance. The choice of clothing might include:

• Buttoned shirt (over the white t-shirt)
• Long pants (completely optional over the shorts as some children like to cover the denim)
• Dress (would cover both the t-shirt and shorts)
• blouse (over the white t-shirt)
• Skirt (completely optional over the shorts as some children like to cover the denim)