Dear Families

Welcome to Term 4 Fabulousness! … and that was the first slide I shared with staff at our professional development on Monday. It really will be a fabulous term. I hope you all enjoyed a restful holiday break and are ready for the final term for 2022.

Whilst many of you enjoyed the break, the school was abuzz over the October school holidays. We had the Vacation Care Program operating for our ELC - Year 2 children for the two weeks and our Year 3-6 children had the opportunity to join Safari Camp in the second week. A huge thank you to Daniel Hannigan and Chris Boden for working in the school holidays to provide such a wonderful experience for our children. Each day both Chris and Daniel were joined by either myself, Heather Wood, Hannah Pickett, Bron Greaves or Inge van Rens. This shows the dedication and flexibility of our staff who wanted to be part of this experience. The highlights for me, and no doubt many of the children, were meeting a leopard seal on our beach walk following snorkelling off Port Noarlunga Jetty, watching the birth of a baby giraffe at Monarto Zoo which even caught the Zookeepers off guard, kayaking around Port River, and a sleepover at Monarto Zoo. When experiences like these are tailored to a group of children, and run by teachers or school staff, they have the potential to become once in a lifetime experiences and I am sure that this is the case with events from Safari Camp.

This term we have so many opportunities for celebrating as we continue to bring our community together. Whether it be Junior Primary Sports Day including all R-2 children now belonging to their House and wearing their House colours, or the Tarrkarri Building opening, which will be a major social event in our School calendar on 25 November. This event will also be a wonderful way to celebrate our School’s vision, thank our generous donors and celebrate our School community. As it is the official opening, we will have all the fanfare that goes with such a significant building opening. Additionally, it will be Luke Ritchie’s first social event as part of his transition to School Principal in 2023. I hope to see you all at this special celebration.

There are also many other events planned in Term 4, including Junior Primary Carols, Year 4 Market Day, ELC Christmas Picnic and Carols Night, Speech Night, our first ever Year 2 sleepover and more. I would like to remind parents to add events relevant to your family to your diaries now.

As we begin our final term of co-curricular activities, it is timely to remind families to ensure that their children are registered for Camp Australia. At times, for various reasons, children may be collected late from their activity and duty of care then becomes a priority. We can support children who are registered with Camp Australia to be cared for until parents pick up, but if a child is not registered, it then becomes the duty of office staff or myself, to care for a child until a parent or carer can collect them as Camp Australia is not licensed to care for unregistered children. While we always ensure the safety and care of children, we are mindful that at times due to our other commitments, caring for children who are picked up later than their co-curricular finishing time, can be difficult. To register for Camp Australia, please click on the link below. While you may never need this service, having peace of mind for your child’s care and safety is a priority for all of us.

Click here to register for Camp Australia OSHC

This term we welcome Ms Carly Schwerdt to our teaching and support team. Some families may already know Carly from her days of running Nest Art School. Carly joins us with a degree in Teaching as well as Visual Arts and will be supporting our Art Department with Fiona Brady and Catherine Puckridge, as well as Chris Boden, as a Creative Design Assistant. Welcome to St Andrew’s School, Carly.

We are currently in the early stages of arranging classes for 2023. While this is a long process, we have appreciated information from parents which helps us in this planning. Classes will be finalised before the end of term, in order for children to spend time with their 2023 teachers and peers as part of a transition program. Please notify us immediately if you have any updates for 2023 you would like us to consider.

We are also looking at calendar dates for 2023 and I am pleased to announce that we intend to bring back Grandparents and Older Friends Day. It is such a lovely way to include people who are special to our children, in a positive and community minded way. Please look out for diary dates to be included soon, to assist with you own planning for this day.

I am looking forward to the term ahead and all the wonderful events, experiences, and activities we have to offer. My small collection of photos below, are some of my favourites from Safari Camp and Vacation Care.

Have a lovely fortnight everyone.

Cathie Egarr

Interim Principal