As we approach this mid-semester break it is time to plan for the extra time that holidays present to be with family and friends. These opportunities are great learning experiences for children and young people. They particularly learn about relationships during ‘down time’ spent with family and friends. They observe, listen, and mimic adult interactions as a way of developing the skills of making and maintaining relationships as well as negotiating con-flict. My very best wishes to all our families this Easter. I trust the Easter story of Hope brings you renewed faith in our loving God.

The approaching holiday is also time to remind ourselves of the importance of consistent high attendance at school. Best practice in education dictates short planning cycles for our units of work. Shorter planning cycles mean we are reflecting on and assessing student progress more frequently to better plan for meeting their needs in the next unit. Shorter planning cycles mean that the mid-semester and mid year breaks no longer mark the end of a learning episode. More and more teachers and students will be mid-unit of work when the break occurs. It is vital then that families consider this when making decisions about extending holidays beyond the official break dates. New work in all subjects has been introduced or progressed this week, as it will be in the first week of Term 2. Success in learning depends on high attendance.

Our St Eugene community has achieved some significant milestones in Term 1 of 2019. We welcomed, for the first time, four classes of Prep students; participated in our first SECA Carnival with outstanding results; the St Eugene CAFÉ (Connecting & Achieving through Family Engagement) was launched and conducted their first in a series of parent education sessions; plan-ning for the St Eugene Fair is in full swing; enrolments for 2020 are almost complete; and our students have achieved with ex-cellence in sport, social justice action, academically, STEM, Chess, debating and The Arts. My sincere thanks to all students, staff and families for your efforts this term. I hope the holiday period brings some rest and that we all return energized for Term 2.