Netball Gala Day Update

Unfortunately, our Netball Gala Day has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. The event was rescheduled by the organisers following recent wet weather, and the new date now coincides with our whole-school dress rehearsal for the upcoming musical production.

As this rehearsal involves all students and staff, it is a key part of preparing for what promises to be a fantastic performance. We appreciate your understanding as we balance these important opportunities for our students.

To ensure our netball players still have a chance to enjoy a special experience, we are currently exploring the possibility of hosting our own Gala Day at the local netball courts in Term 4. We're hoping to make it a memorable event by including a food truck and ice cream truck, and we’ll be looking for volunteer umpires to help run the day.

Grandparents Day – Friday 17th October

We are delighted to invite all grandparents and special friends to join us for Grandparents Day on Friday 17th October, beginning with a liturgy in the Church at 9:10am. This special gathering is a chance to reflect, celebrate, and honour the important role grandparents play in the lives of our students.

Following the liturgy, grandparents will be welcomed into their grandchild’s classroom for some shared fun and learning. Grandparents will have the opportunity to teach their grandchild how to play Bingo, and then enjoy learning a game in return, as students take the lead and teach their grandparents something new!

As part of our classroom experiences, we’ll come together to enjoy dances from both the past and present, celebrating the joy of movement across generations.

To finish off the morning, we invite families to join us for a BYO picnic morning tea/lunch at 10:45am. Please bring along something to share with your grandchild and enjoy a relaxed time together in the school grounds.

We look forward to welcoming our wonderful grandparents and sharing this special day with you!

Celebrations

As we approach the end of Term 3, we would like to give families advance notice of some important dates and activities that will be taking place in the final week of Term 4. This is a special time for our students, staff, and families, and we warmly invite you to join us in celebrating the achievements and milestones of 2025.

Further details will be shared in upcoming newsletters, so please keep an eye out and mark your calendars—we look forward to celebrating together!

End of Term 4 Events

• Swimming Carnival – Friday 12th December

Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will participate in our annual Swimming Carnival at Speers Point Swim Centre, commencing at 9:45am. Families are welcome to attend and cheer on our students.

• Captains’ Speeches, Guitar Performance & Nativity– Monday 15th December At 12:00pm

Our prospective school captains will present their speeches in the school hall. This will be followed by a performance from our talented Guitar Group at approximately 1:00pm. At 1:30pm, we invite families to join us for a picnic on the synthetic grass, where you’ll also have the opportunity to view our new playground.

• Bump It Up Day & Christmas Craft – Tuesday 16th December Students will enjoy a day of engaging activities, including our Bump It Up Day and Christmas Craft sessions. In the afternoon, we will announce our 2026 School Leaders via Compass.
• Final Day of School – Wednesday 17th December

Activities for our final day of school commence with a Liturgy at 12:30pm in the church, including a light ceremony to hand over student leadership to our incoming Year 6 class and 2026 Student Leaders. This will be followed by a free BBQ lunch. At approximately 1:45pm, we will hold our End of Year Awards Presentation and Farewells, concluding with the Clap Out of our 2025 Year 6 class at 2:45pm

God Bless

Kim Hogan

Co-Principal / Assistant Principal

Musical Update

All of our students have been working incredibly hard on perfecting their lines, refining their dance moves and tuning their singing voices in preparation for our school musical. If you haven’t purchased your ticket yet, please click on the link below. The tickets are going fast!

School Music Tickets on Sale NOW!

Please use the links below to purchase tickets for our upcoming school musical "Campfire Stories". We have 2 performances Matinee 1pm -2:30pm or evening 5:00pm-6:30pm. There are a variety of ticket types - Tier 1- Tier 4 (governed by proximity to the stage). You can purchase a ticket including meal - this includes 2 x sausage sizzle and a drink. Do NOT purchase a ticket for your St Kevin's school age children. St Kevin's students will receive a free sausage sizzle and drink. Pre- school age students can attend free (without meal) if you are happy for them to sit in your lap. If you want a seat for your pre-school age child you will need to purchase a seat.

Matinee performance

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/camp-fire-stories-matinee-tickets-1678240224689?aff=oddtdtcreator

Evening performance

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/camp-fire-stories-tickets-1677888833669?aff=oddtdtcreator

School Uniform Update

We are now in the transition stage with regard to uniforms. It is either ALL SUMMER or ALL WINTER uniform, no “in betweens”. Please ensure that all shoes, socks, head pieces are neat and tidy also.

PB4L - Positive Behaviour for Learning

St. Kevin’s is a PB4L school which means we have a focus on the promotion of positive behaviours.

Our PB4L focused are based around our four main rules:

1. We are Respectful
2. We are Responsible
3. We are Safe
4. We are a Learner

Under each of these rules we have behaviour focuses. These are specific areas to help children understand what is expected when following that rule. Our rules and behaviour expectations are displayed in posters around the school.

For the rest of the term we are continuing to work on: Following instructions in a timely manner.

Please see the photo to see how we are going in attempting to reach our goal.

Child Protection Week

This week St Kevin's  took the time to recognise Child Protection Week. During this special time the diocese encourages schools to recognise the important messages associated with Child Protection and decorate a gate or space with reminders about agencies and initiatives to promote child protection and wellbeing throughout our diocese. This year’s motto “Every Conversation Matters’ Shifting Conversation to Action” promotes the importance of regular open and honest dialogue and taking action as a result of conversation to support child protection initiatives.

Many parents would have noticed our decorated front gate promoting the importance of conversation and action on child protection initiatives. Thanks to Mr Moulder and children from Year 6 for creating our gate decoration. A great job!

Below are some pictures of our students wearing it blue in support of Child Protection Week:

Enjoy the holidays!

Mr Garnsey

Acting Assistant Principal

Kaayi (Hello – Awabakal)

Yaama Ngindaay (Hello everyone - Gamilaraay)

Nungamanladi (Hello - Bardi)

Worimi (Hello – Dharug. Pronounced ‘Wurramee’)

Here are two excellent digital well-being resources for parents. SMA4DeadlyDads has very useful information for new dads and dads to be. It’s worth a look at the site even if you’re a dad with older children, and non-Aboriginal dads will find the hints and tips useful too.

https://www.sms4dads.com.au/deadly-dads/

The second one is WellMob. This has social, emotional and cultural wellbeing online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, and well worth a look for non-Aboriginal people also.

WellMob was developed by eMHPrac (e-Mental Health in Practice) in collaboration with the Australian Indigenous HealthInfonet.

https://wellmob.org.au/

I highly recommend both of these culturally sound and informative digital resources to help with our understanding of health and related issues. 

Finally, an upcoming free event sponsored by Lake Macquarie City Council. Together In Culture - Tuesday 30^th September at Speers Point Park from 10.30am to 2.00pm. All welcome.

32187_Together_in_culture_Day_A4_vs2.pdf

32187_Together_in_culture_Day_A4_vs2 _pdf 1.23 MB

Wishing everyone a safe and happy school holiday break

Yaluu

Phil Taylor

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Teacher

Singing Achievement - Arabella (Year 5)

I am Arabella and I was chosen to sing the national anthem at Polding Athletics. The ASPIRE creative arts program chose me as I am a representative and I participated in the production, The Rise of Bozz. I sang the first verse and the chorus of the anthem. I received a certificate which gave me the title of ‘National Anthem Singer.’ Before I sang, there were two other students reading the Acknowledgement of Country and an opening prayer. After, there were announcements and the rules were stated. It was then my turn to sing. I felt very proud that I was selected out of all of the students in Aspire. 

Cheer Competitions - Elanor (Kindergarten)

Over the last two weekends, Elanor has competed in the Cheercon and AASCF cheer and dance state championships.  She is co-captain for Mini Elite, the mini novice dance team, and was recently asked to join the mini level 1 cheer team, MiniKatz. 

The Cheercon States and World experience competition ran from 5th to the 7th Sept.  Ela and her teams were awarded state champions for their jazz and cheer and also won 3rd place for their lyrical. 

The AASCF States competition ran from the 12th to the 14th Sept. Ela and her teams won state champions in the mini novice lyrical division and placed 3rd for cheer and jazz. 

Elanor has been working very hard, especially over the past couple of very busy weeks and weekends, and the divisions they competed in were big divisions with some very good teams competing. She should be proud of the hard work she has put in and what they have achieved!

Congratulations to both Arabella and Elanor. St Kevin's is very proud of you both! 

Mini EV Challenge 

The Hunter Mini EV challenge is a fun and exciting challenge for the students in the Hunter. In the EV Challenge, the students must build a miniature solar-powered car and/or boat. The students have 9 weeks to build a fully functional solar-powered car. On the race day, which is held at Tighes hill Tafe, the first races that the students compete in is the straight track races. When a student loses, they can compete in the second-chance track race, and then you have a chance into the main race. Once there are three teams left, three of the winners compete from the second-chance race to compete against each other for 4^th place. This year, 3 teams from St Kevins made it through all six rounds and took 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd place, in the primary division Straight Track. Various High Schools also participate in High School races. There were 6 rounds all together not including the second chance races. In between the races there are interesting things to do like using a hand crank to generate power.  We also competed in Pursuit.  This race is a “roundish” track. 2 cars compete against each other on one track.  The cars are positioned on opposite sides of the track and when the starter calls go they try to catch each other.  The first car to do this is the winner. All but 1 of our teams made it through to round 2 and the same for round 3, wherein there are only 25% of the teams are left.  Our best result in this event was 6^th place.

Over 100 teams competed on the day.

Straight track

1^st place : Evie, Ella and Essie (Year 4)

2^nd place: Joseph Z, Aria, Esan and Brighton (Year 4)

3^rd place: Callan (5) and Lukas (6)

Pursuit

6^th place: Callan (5) and Lukas (6)

EV_Challenge_Experience_Evie_Essie_Ella.pdf

EV_Challenge_Experience_Evie_Essie_Ella _pdf 60.39 KB

EV_Challenge_Plan.pdf

EV_Challenge_Plan _pdf 103.31 KB

Greaky Gremlins Ev Challenge  

We did not go that well, but it was still fun because of the activities! Even though we didn’t win it felt to me we still did because of the adventure of making the car , it was all trial and error . Greaky Gremlins forever!!! .IT WAS FUN!   Henry 

We were a bit unlucky we were told to change our car around and that caused it to not work on the straight track. When we went to the circle track we thought we were good but they changed it back around we were cooked but thanks to Joeseph Zillioto for fixing our car we were not so cooked but we unfortunately only made it to Round 2. But other than that it was pretty fun. Noah 

At the Ev challenge their was about 4 science stalls and 1 of the stalls it gave you 1 serve of mini M&M’s. in the pursuit track my team made it to the second round by default because we moved a quarter of the track while the other car barely moved. Alistair 

Kind Regards,  

The Greaky Gremlins 

Thank You for Supporting Our 'Oodies and Hoodies' Initiative

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the parents, caregivers, and members of our school community for your generous support of our recent Oodies and Hoodies initiative. Thanks to your contributions, we raised nearly $200 and collected a variety of long-life food items, all of which will go directly towards supporting local families in need.

We are pleased to share that St Vincent de Paul has expressed sincere gratitude for the donation, acknowledging the kindness and compassion shown by our school community. 

As part of the initiative, students participated in a powerful learning experience by spending the day without classroom furniture, placing themselves in the shoes of those who face homelessness or hardship during the colder months. This act of empathy helped deepen their understanding of the challenges many people endure, especially in winter.

A special thank you goes to our Mission Team for thoughtfully organising such a meaningful and impactful event. Their dedication ensured that the initiative was not only successful in its outreach but also rich in learning and reflection for our students.

Together, we have made a real difference. Thank you once again for your generosity and support.

Kind Regards,

Miss Brownlow & The Student Mission Team

Thank you to all those families who have either finalised their 2025 school fees or are continuing to make regular fee payments. Fees are due to be finalised by the 30th November 2025, this leaves 11 weekly payments, 6 fortnightly payments or 3 monthly payments. Please check that your payment amounts will cover the balance by the due date and make any adjustments necessary. 

If you have entered into an agreed payment plan with the school, there is an expectation, that the plan is adhered to and regular payments are made. Any family who is experiencing genuine financial hardship, are encouraged to contact the school on 49540036 to arrange a confidential meeting with the Principal. Please do not wait until the fees are due to have this conversation.

With the change of seasons, there is a mountain of lost property in the school hall, including many jumpers, lunch boxes & drink bottles. Please ensure that your child's name is on ALL items. We cannot return items if there are no names on them!

We have also had many reports of children being unable to find their hats, surprisingly, there are no hats currently in lost property. Please check that your child has the correct hat, and if they have accidentally taken anothe person's hat home, return it so that it can be given to it's rightful owner.

ASPIRE 2026 Auditions

 250904_ASPIRE_2026 PERFORMER Auditions V3.mp4

Action is required for students with BYOD Windows 10 devices as Windows 10 will soon no longer be supported by Microsoft. 

To ensure your student device security you should upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as possible. 

Microsoft has announced that support for Windows 10 will end on 14 October 2025, meaning it will no longer receive critical security updates. 

To stay protected and ensure optimal performance, it is strongly recommended that all students with BYOD Windows 10 devices follow Microsoft’s instructions and upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as possible. There is no charge for this upgrade. 

Why this matters: 

• Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 10 from 15 October 2025. 

• Upgrading to Windows 11 helps reduce security risks. 

• Student Work Protection: Staying current helps safeguard assignments, projects, and personal data. 

Ways to install Windows 11 - Microsoft Support 

Upgrade to Windows 11: FAQ - Microsoft Support 

Read our FAQs for more support: 

How do I check what version of Windows am I running? 

Select Start > Settings > System, then select About. You then see Edition, Version, and OS Build information. 

We encourage all families with Student Windows 10 computers to begin the upgrade process now to avoid last-minute disruptions. If you need assistance or have questions about upgrading, please reach out to the IT support team in our school. 

What if my device can’t upgrade? 

If a Student’s BYOD laptop is running Windows 10 and can’t be upgraded to Windows 11 (usually due to older hardware), Microsoft is offering a free security update program to help keep the device safe for one more year. 

The Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program is designed to keep your current Windows 10 PC protected after support ends, helping you stay secure during the transition. 

How to Join Microsoft’s ESU Program 

Microsoft has made it easy to enrol directly from the laptop: 

• On eligible computers, a setup wizard will appear in Settings > Windows Update. 

• There are three ways to enrol: 

1. Free – Sync your settings to the cloud using Windows Backup. You must be logged in as administrator and with a Microsoft account. 

1. Free – Use 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. 

1. Paid – Buy a one-year license for $30 USD (families cover this cost). 

Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10 | Microsoft Learn 

SPECIAL REPORT: Parenting Styles

There's no such thing as perfect parenting. But by understanding different parenting styles, we can better support our children in healthier and more effective ways.

Most of us parent as a blend of our own upbringing, lived experiences and external influences such as books, podcasts or parenting websites. And while parenting is always a challenge, it can become even more complex through divorce, separation, blended families, trauma or bereavement. Not to mention life's many other hurdles.

The concept of "parenting styles" was first introduced in the 1960s by Diana Baumrind, a clinical and developmental psychologist. She identified four main categories of parenting. Each style shapes a child's development in different ways and comes with both strengths and challenges.

Although well-intentioned, each parenting approach can have drawbacks in a child's development. Every child is unique, and their needs change as they grow. An authoritative style may suit younger children, but teenagers often require a greater balance of guidance and independence. The goal is to create a secure environment where children feel respected, heard, and supported.

By learning more about the different styles and how they influence children, you can make informed choices about the approach that best suits your family. And remember, styles are not fixed. They can evolve over time as your child grows and their needs change.

We invite you to watch this Special Report and complete the quiz to discover your own parenting style. You might also like to compare your results with your partner's and reflect together on the different approaches you each bring to parenting.

See the link below for this special report.