Monday 26 May
Dear Families,
In 2025, National Reconciliation Week will be held from May 27 to June 3, with the theme "Bridging Now to Next". This important week invites all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and the ongoing journey toward healing and unity. It follows National Sorry Day on May 26, a time to reflect on the experiences of the Stolen Generations and to acknowledge the strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Year 4 First Eucharist
With hopeful hearts and empowered minds, we celebrated one of the most treasured milestones in our students’ faith journeys—First Holy Communion. It was a privilege to witness this sacred moment yesterday, as our Year 4 children reverently received Jesus for the first time.
Congratulations to all the students and their families on this special occasion. The children were a credit to their families, beautifully prepared and fully present in the ceremony. We pray that through the Eucharist, they continue to grow in love, forgiveness, and a spirit of service, following the example of Jesus.
We sincerely thank Miss Anne De Cata, Mr Michael Gonsalves, Fr James, and the Parish Sacramental Team for guiding and supporting the students so faithfully throughout their preparation. A special thank you to Miss Gabby Lo Castro for her exceptional attention to detail and organisation behind the scenes.
The Mass was a true reflection of our shared faith and commitment, and we are grateful for the support and prayers of our entire community during this meaningful time.
Thank You to Our Wonderful Volunteers!
Last week we celebrated National Volunteers Week, a special time to acknowledge and thank the many generous volunteers who support our school community in countless ways. Whether it’s, our amazing P&F, assisting with excursions, helping out in the school canteen, assisting with hot food days, supporting events like athletics day, or lending a hand behind the scenes, your time, care, and commitment make a real difference. We are truly grateful for all that you do to enrich the lives of our students and contribute to the warm and welcoming spirit of our school. Thank you!
Assembly (This week)
A reminder to all families that our whole-school assembly will be held this Friday at 2:50pm. During this special gathering, we will commemorate Reconciliation Week- an important time in our nation’s calendar. We warmly invite you to join us in prayer and celebration as we acknowledge the many achievements of our students and reflect on the significance of reconciliation in our community. We hope to see you there!
Have a great week.
Delfina Pieri
Principal
principal@sopascoevale.catholic.edu.au
Calendar Update – Term 2 & 3
Please note the following changes to our school closure dates:
Monday 26 May will now be a regular school day. The school closure day has been rescheduled to Thursday 19 June.
Monday 18 August will now be a regular school day. The school closure day for staff professional learning is now Monday 11 August.
What's coming up this fortnight...
Sun 25 May: Year 4 First Eucharist
Mon 26 May: National Sorry Day
Mon 26 May: Year 2G & 2R Excursion - COMO House
Wed 28 May: 2026 Prep Interviews
Thu 29 May: Year 2A Excursion - COMO House
Fri 30 May: Interschool Sports - St Oliver's vs Coburg North (Away)
Fri 30 May: Assembly - 2:50pm - parents welcome
Mon 2 Jun: P&F Winter Warmer St OPPS Beanie - orders close
Tue 3 Jun: Class Mass 4D & 4G - 10am (parents welcome- new time)
Tue 3 Jun: Year 4 Eucharist Lunch
Wed 4 Jun: Division Cross Country
Fri 6 Jun: Interschool Sports - St Olivers vs Antonine (Away)
Fri 6 Jun: P&F Winter Warmer St OPPS Beanie - delivered
Term 2
Tuesday 22 April- Friday 4 July- 1pm dismissal for students
Term 3
Monday 21 July- Friday 19 September- 1pm dismissal for students
Term 4
Monday 6 October- Tuesday 16 December- 1pm dismissal for students
2025 Sacraments
Reconciliation (Year 3)- Wednesday 12 November @ 6:30pm (Church)
2025 School Closures
Thursday 19 June: Professional Learning Day- No school for students
Monday 11 August: Professional Learning Day- No school for students
Friday 28 November: Professional Learning Day- No school for students
Public Holidays
Monday 9 June: King's Birthday
Tuesday 4 November: Melbourne Cup
Time In Lieu Days
Monday 3 November: School Closure for staff and students
2025 Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thursday 23 October: Parent/Teacher Progress Meeting- 1pm finish for students
2025 Celebrations of Learning
Term 2: Wednesday 18 June- 9-11am: Literacy Focus
Term 3: Wednesday 17 & 18 September: School Production
Term 4: Thursday 20 November- 9-11am- Mathematics Focus
Term Two
Week 8
Mon 9 Jun: King's Birthday Public Holiday - No school
Wed 11 Jun: SAC Meeting - 7pm - members only
Thur 12 Jun: Class Mass: 1B & 1H - 10am
Fri 13 Jun: Interschool Sports - St Olivers vs Pascoe Vale North (Home)
Fri 13 Jun: Assembly - 2:50pm - parents welcome
Week 9
Tue 17 Jun: Prep Fire Education Session 2 - 10am
Wed 18 Jun: Celebration of Learning: Literacy Open Morning - 8:50am to10:50am
Thurs 19 Jun: Staff Professional Learning - No school for students
Fri 20 Jun: Interschool Sports - BYE
Fri 20 Jun: P&F Winter Warmer - Cheer Toastie/PJ Day
Week 10
Wed 25 Jun: P&F Fundraiser Tony's Pies - orders open
Fri 27 Jun: Assembly - 2:50pm - parents welcome
Week 11
Thur 3 Jul: St Oliver Feast Day Mass- Whole School Mass 12pm - parents welcome
Thur 3 Jul: St Oliver's Feast Day Celebrations
Fri 4 Jul: End of Term - 1pm finish
Thank you to all our parents that have been able to complete the following permissions. If you missed this in the busyness of Term 1, please take a moment to read and complete the following permissions for your child via Google Form:
⭐️ ICT: Chromebook, Photography & Seesaw - this permission covers a few important areas. (Parents of students in Years 3–6, please review the Chromebook Agreement with your child to ensure a shared understanding of responsible use).
⭐️ Sunscreen Application Consent
If you are unable to access Google Forms, please contact our school office for assistance.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Second Hand Uniform Store Will Open This Week!
Our Second Hand Uniform store will open this week (28 May & 29 May) and run every fortnight (on even weeks - 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) at the following times:
Wednesday morning: 8.35am – 9.00am
Thursday afternoon: 3:20pm – 3.45pm
All items cost $10 each. Cash payments only at this stage.
DONATIONS:
If you have any good quality school uniform items that your child/children have outgrown and you would like to donate to our Second Hand Uniform Store, please drop them off at our school office.
Carol Leone/Katherine Darmanin
Office Administration
We are very excited to inform you that we have launched the Extend Squad Winter Holiday Program for your school.
Families who are registered with us have received communication that bookings are now open.
This is for parents who are not registered with us and will help families access care for their children, who aren't registered with Extend.
Please click the links below to download your tailored holiday program timetable, newsletter flyer, and social media post.
Thank you for helping your families be informed about their child care options this coming holiday period.
Always Learning and Always Evolving
Extend's valuable and informative monthly publication, 'The Link - Community Hub', has just released its latest edition. It provides interesting articles, reviews, and ideas for our community to read and share!
Please click below to download the latest edition
Winter Warmer St OPPS Beanie Drive
Our P&F Committee have organised an amazing Winter Warmer St OPPS Beanie Drive.
We will be donating $2 from every sale to MND!
Keep our kids nice and warm this winter with the St OPPS Beanie - soft, stylish and perfect for the cold Melbourne weather.
Beanie Order Details:
💰: Price $22.50 each- $2 from every sale to MND!
📩: Order via Compass Canteen - select 6 June
📕 : Orders Close Monday 2 June - 3:30pm
🚚: Beanies delivered Friday 6 June
Thank you for your continued support!
Looking for Parental Volunteers!
If you would like to volunteer at the following P&F fundraisers, please use the link below to sign up.
Term 2
Winter Warmer hot lunch distributors - Friday 20 June
Term 3
Father’s Day Stall - Friday 5 September
Volunteer here - volunteersignup.org/CE9T7
Thank you for your time and contribution.
Calling all local businesses!
Want to be a part of our Mother's Day Stall this year?
We're looking for amazing local businesses with gifts perfect for the St Opp's community. If you think your products would be a great fit for our stall, we'd love to hear from you!
Register your interest here!
We'll be in touch soon to discuss how we can partner together for a successful Mother's Day Stall.
Term 3 Canteen Volunteer Roster Now Open!
Hello everyone
Volunteer opportunities for "Term 3 2025 Canteen Volunteer Roster" are now open.
Please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet:
To sign up, just follow the instructions on the page. It only takes a few seconds to do.
Thank you for volunteering!
Awards will be printed in Monday's newsletter. Please be on the look out for your child's name.
Two children from each class will receive awards for displaying the below dispositions in their learning. They will receive their certificates at our fortnightly assembly on Fridays that take place on even weeks Week 2, 4, 8, 10 at 2:50pm.
Parents are welcome to attend our fortnightly assemblies.
Risk Taking Russ Resilient Ruth Self Motivated Sally Reflective Rita Persistent Pete Curious Carter Collaborative Cody
Year Prep
YEAR PM
Nina C for being a self motivated learner as demonstrated by the way she always has a go at sounding out her sounds to support her in writing new words.
Santi Torres for being a collaborative learner as demonstrated by the way he worked effectively with his teammates to create a fire station for our classroom community map.
YEAR PV
Aviana M for being a self motivated learner as demonstrated by the eagerness she shows to identify tricky words (e.g., the and is) throughout the day, not just in stories.
Jacob P for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by his ability to complete tasks to the best of his ability even when faced with challenges (e.g. sounding out simple words to read).
YEAR PW
Elise C for being a risk taking learner as demonstrated by the way she confidently participates in all class chants such as counting forwards and backwards.
Oliver G for being a self motivated learner as demonstrated by his willingness to extend his knowledge when learning about numbers.
Year One
YEAR 1B
Christina T for being a risk taking as demonstrated by the way she challenged herself to write interesting short persuasive texts.
Lilliana S for being a resilient learner as demonstrated by how she senses her friends emotions and uses kindness to support them.
YEAR 1H
Phoenix A for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by his efforts to sound out words when reading.
Joseph T for being a resilient learner as demonstrated by his positive attitude and determination when completing writing tasks. .
Year Two
YEAR 2A
Mietta C for being a reflective learner as demonstrated by the way she uses positive feedback to improve her work to reach her learning goals in writing.
Cleopatra C for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by her high concentration levels when completing maths tasks using number lines.
YEAR 2G
Panos C for being a self motivated learner as demonstrated by the amazing travel journal he kept during his family holiday.
Georgia D for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by her hard work in maths in the classroom and with Miss Beth this year.
YEAR 2R
Joseph M for being a curious learner, as demonstrated by his growing confidence in stepping out of his comfort zone, enthusiastically raising his hand to ask thoughtful questions.
Ralphie P for being a resilient learner, as demonstrated by his ability to find the positives in everyday moments, sharing what he is grateful for and always doing so with a big smile.
Year Three
YEAR 3L
Millea H for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by the effort she puts into achieving her learning goals in Maths and gives challenging tasks a go.
Aria S for being a resilient learner as demonstrated by the way she finds the positives in everything she does and spreads kindness to her classmates.
YEAR 3P
Jude M for being a curious learner as demonstrated by the way he engages in problem solving in Maths and builds on his knowledge by completing extension tasks.
Liana C for being a reflective learner as demonstrated by the way she has taken on teacher feedback to improve her narrative writing.
Year Four
YEAR 4D
Oliver C for being a reflective learner as demonstrated by the way he listened to feedback, analysed his work and made adjustments to improve his writing.
Imogen T for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by the way she has persevered with tasks in Maths even though she found some challenging.
YEAR 4G
Antonia F for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by her efforts to focus on and independently tackle tasks in Mathematics.
Lucas S for being a resilient learner as demonstrated by the way he shows kindness and empathy to others on the yard and in the classroom.
Year Five
YEAR 5JL
Zayne A for being a curious learner as demonstrated in RE lesson. When reading Scripture about justice, you thoughtfully explained that ‘cleansing’ could also mean helping, healing, and curing others. Your insight supported a deeper understanding of the text for others. Thank you Zayne!
Mia R for being a self motivated learner as demonstrated in class discussions. You have made an effort to work towards your personal goal of contributing by answering questions during learning time. Although it can be challenging, you approached it with determination this week. Well done!
YEAR 5M
Emily G for being a risk taking learner as demonstrated by her enthusiasm to give every activity a go while at Weekaway Camp. Excellent Emily!
Milly M for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by her ability to problem solve converting and comparing challenging fractions during Mathematics.
Year Six
YEAR 6F
Marcus L for being a collaborative learner as demonstrated by the way he ensured that everyone in his group was included in the camp activities.
Ollie M for being a risk taking learner as demonstrated by the way that he is sharing his ideas in classroom discussions, particularly in Literacy.
YEAR 6N
Mason A for being a persistent learner as demonstrated by his ability to persevere with challenging literacy tasks, expanding on his ideas and justifying his understanding.
Sofia S for being a curious learner as demonstrated by her ability to take responsibility in asking questions that strengthen her understanding in all subjects.
Our School Community Notice Board acknowledges special Staff or School Family News. It allows us to be connected through prayer while we are apart and it is something I would really like to continue when we are back together again. If you have a particular event happening in your life e.g. birth or death and would like us to acknowledge this event please email me. We as a school community would love to offer prayers and thoughts to you during times of great joy or sadness.
principal@sopascoevale.catholic.edu.au
Our school community wish you all the love and cherished moments in the days ahead. God bless you and your family.
A heartfelt thank you to Trinity Switchboards for another generous donation of Chromebooks, headphones and document cameras - to enhance student learning and empower teaching.
We are truly grateful for your commitment to education and community. Your contribution plays an important role in supporting both our students and teachers as we continue to grow and learn together.