The Main Office

Office Hours:         8.15am - 4.00pm

 

Parents should always make contact with the Main office when visiting the college. 

 

Office Staff:

Buisness Manager:     Theresa Jarvis

Accounts:                  Roseann Bivens                        

                                Pauline Horbaczow

Reception:                 Eftalya Coskun

First Aid:                   Donna Azzopardi

Term Dates 2024

MABO           - Mr Hammond/Ms Go
COWAN         - Mrs Andrew/Ms Witt
CHANG         - Mr Roberts/Mr Amante
BLACKBURN  - Mrs Rentzis/Ms Farrington-Williams

Secondary Junior Leader    Mr Roberts

Secondary Senior Leader    Mr Hammond

Assistant Principal ( Year 7-12)   Mr Oke

To Speak to or book an appointment with a coordinator, College Leader  or Assistant Principal please contact the main office.

Primary Contacts 2024

Assistant Principal: Mrs Beauchamp-Wylie

Primary Leading Teacher: Mrs Beauchamp-Wylie/Mrs Elias

 

To speak to or book an appointment with a class teacher, leading teacher  or  Assistant Principal please contact the main office.

 

PrepM              Mrs McPhie

PrepC               Mrs Colman-Hrissinis

1A                   Mrs Abraham

1/2O                Ms Oxley

2G                   Ms Gardner

3W                  Mr Wixon

3/4P                Ms Pritchett

4/5B                Mrs Bishop

5/6T                Ms Brady

5/6K                Ms Kavanagh 

Bell Times

All students are expected to be punctual and regular in attendance. After each absence, a note of explanation, dated and signed by the parent/guardian must be brought to the school or absences can be monitored and/or approved online via compass. 

College Map

Lost Property

Lost Property is located in Sickbay. If your child has lost an item please call or see Nurse Donna in Sickbay.

Uniform purchase 


Sustainable School Shop: 
Second Hand Uniforms & Second Hand Books

The College is conscious of the need to provide an efficient process for families to be able to buy and sell second hand uniform.

We are happy to announce the sustainable school shop website that Carwatha College P-12 has previously directed parents to use for second hand books now offers buying and selling of second hand uniforms.

Please go to

 www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au

For the best results:

• Register on the Sustainable School Shop website
• List your second-hand uniform items for sale
• List wanted ads for those items you are looking to buy
• The College’s uniform lists are loaded into the system to make listing ads easy
• The system matches the ads of buyers with sellers and notifies the buyer via email
• Buyers contact sellers and arrange where and when to trade.
• The school is not involved in the transaction
• Parents are well supported via Sustainable School Shop’s telephone (0438 743 444) and email help lines
• The system is simple and easy to use - If you don’t have a computer, internet access or an email address, please call the Sustainable School Shop for assistance.

Follow Us:

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What a term it has been. I would like to acknowledge all the hard work from our teachers, parents, and students. We continue to set high targets for our students, and they continue to achieve. Early analysis of NAPLAN and PAT data indicates that our students are growing in their learning.

We have completed the Attitude to School Survey with our students, and the data I have received so far shows improvement from last year. If this proves to be the case, it will be most pleasing as we were already performing well above the state average in this survey.

Next term will see the school undergo our review. The school review happens every four years in line with our Strategic Plan. It is an opportunity for the school to analyse how it has progressed during the past four years and to set targets for the next four.

Three key questions sit at the heart of effective self-evaluation:

1. How well are we doing?
2. How do we know?
3. How can we improve things further?

At the time of writing this report, our confirmed enrolment for Year 7 is 70, and we continue to receive enquiries about our school and potential Year 7 enrolments for 2025 and 2026. In 2025, we will have four Year 7 classes for the first time in over nine years, a very exciting outcome.

We hope to have over 80 Year 7 students next year, which will be a significant increase from the 36 we had seven years ago. Most pleasing is the fact that we have 40 enrolments from outside of our school, and these students come from nine different primary schools. I believe that people in our local community are increasingly seeing us as a school to consider. Last year, we only had 24 external enrolments, and the year before, only 18.

Another pleasing aspect is that only one student from our Grade 6 cohort is leaving to go to another school. Enrolment numbers continue to grow across all year levels. This year, we have had over 60 students enrol since Day 1. We are the only school in the City of Greater Dandenong that has grown by over 5% in enrolments in the past three years, and we have grown by over 35% during that time. The hard work is paying off.

Overall, it has been a very busy but extremely productive first semester at Carwatha. We have continued to make excellent progress in terms of the goals in our Strategic Plan. We have just finished our preparation for our mid-cycle review and appear well on track to meet all of our targets.

Next term, we welcome back Esme Howell (Wright), who will be returning to work in a 0.6 role, and we welcome Krystal Herridge, who will be replacing Monique Hofman and Courtney Witt, who are leaving us to begin their families.

Pat Mulcahy - College Principal

 

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As we look back on Term 2, it’s clear Cowan House has been buzzing with energy and effort from our students. From the get go, our students settled in with a sense of purpose. With goals high, they threw themselves into their learning, tackled assessments with resilience and supported each other in their studies. It’s been great to see the love of learning and the vibe around the Learning House.

Throughout Term 2, Cowan students have had many opportunities to build pride in their House. Fun and interactive activities have helped to build relationships and a sense of belonging among peers.

One of the highlights was Mabo Week, where our school celebrated Indigenous culture and history. Students participated in educational activities and discussions to learn more about Australia’s Indigenous culture. Career planning sessions also helped our students gain valuable insights and guidance as they plan for their future.

This term we say goodbye to two of our beloved Home Group teachers, Ms. Witt and Ms. Hofman, as they go on maternity leave. They will be missed but their love and care has left a lasting impact on our students. We wish them all the best. At the same time we welcome back Mrs. Howell, who brings her energy and passion back to our home groups. She will no doubt continue to inspire and support our students.

As we head into Semester 2, Cowan House is gearing up for academic excellence. Our students are looking forward to getting into their studies with renewed enthusiasm and building on the good work from Term 2. The term ahead has lots of exciting events, including Multicultural Day, where we celebrate the diversity of our school community.

The Athletics Carnival will be a fun day of competition and team spirit and the intra-house cup will see Cowan students show off their skills and sportsmanship. There will also be many more opportunities for our home groups to make memories together.

In summary Term 2 has been about resilience, friendship and learning in Cowan House. As we head into Semester 2 let’s keep the momentum and the sense of community going. Here’s to another term of growth, success and fun for all Cowan Learning House.

Mrs Andrews, Ms Witt & Mrs  - House Leaders

It is hard to believe we are halfway through the year already! Another term of events, excursions, learning, activity and achievement for students in Chang, from Prep to Year 12.

Our main house event this term was Mabo Week, where there were competitions, fundraising and a focus on reconciliation. Our students participated well and took Chang to victory, being announced winners of the week!

For our secondary students we’ve had an in-depth look at our futures this term, with all students developing a career action plan during Home Group time. Those in Years 7 & 8 were thinking about who they are, what they like and what they think they might like to do in the future. Our Years 9 – 12 students start looking into specific careers and potential courses that can help them get there. This will help as they plan their subject selections early next term.

As always, Chang students have shown our College values and exceeded in different ways, many acknowledged through being awarded house points by their teachers.

For Term 2 the following students received the most house points in Chang:

Primary students – Evelyn Sullivan, Giselle Luga, Jana Gavrilovic, Ysobel Luga, Oscar Nguon, Ratanaksethika Phan, Aiden Rayner.

Secondary students – Andrew Souvatzis, Chloe Furian, Michael Harding, Victor Hong-Aung, Totem Kamoe-Okotai, Szandro Luga.

We look forward to Term 3 as we plan and run Chang Week!

We hope all students enjoy their mid-year break and come back ready for a successful term.

Mr Roberts & Mr Amante - House Leaders

In Mabo Learning House, we've just wrapped up an exciting Mabo Week filled with activities and camaraderie. This year, we organized a successful fundraiser for Clothing the Gap by selling delicious chicken and chips, raising over $1000 to support this worthy cause.

Throughout the week, students also participated in a variety of competitions, showcasing their talents and teamwork. Ultimately, Chang Learning House emerged victorious, clinching the top spot by a mere 10 points over Mabo. Congratulations are also due to Blackburn and Cowan for their commendable 3rd and 4th place finishes respectively. It's been a fantastic display of enthusiasm and community spirit from all houses involved!

 

As we reflect on a busy term filled with sports events, excursions, and engaging incursions, we eagerly anticipate the upcoming Term 3 activities. Get ready for thrilling athletics carnivals where our students will showcase their athletic prowess.

We're also gearing up for camps that promise unforgettable experiences and more enriching excursions that will expand our students' horizons. It's sure to be another term packed with learning, growth, and plenty of memorable moments. Stay tuned and get ready to make Term 3 even more exciting than the last!

Mr Hammond and Ms Go - House Leaders

In 2024, our Year 9 students are taking part in a range of workshops and opportunities that help develop their understanding about how they can contribute positively to those around them, and give them the confidence to do it!

Students have begun taking up volunteering opportunities to use their skills and time to benefit others. It has been great to see so many of them thriving in different environments and with different people.

So far students have helped out with Open Night, supported Primary Gala Day and Primary District Cross Country, cooked with the Grade 5s & 6s, mentored Wallarano Primary Students through a Maths & Science Project, and prepared food at a charity kitchen. We’ve seen them gain skills and confidence in different ways through these opportunities and are proud of the way they’ve represented our College while volunteering.

Our Year 9s also led an initiative throughout the school to collect student ideas and priorities to improve the school. These were shared with Mr Mulcahy and some of their recommendations will be worked towards in the coming months.

We look forward to sharing more opportunities with our Year 9s in Term 3!

Mr Roberts

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Prep C have had a fun-filled and exciting term 2!  We have done loads of learning and produced some outstanding work. Over the last term, we have achieved a great number of things together. In Reading, we read lots of different stories, practised stretching out our words and learnt some new reading strategies. We even got the chance to be critics and form opinions on the texts we have read.

Olivia- I like stretching out my words and using chunk the skunk and blender bear.

Nikita- I like the stories we read.

Kassandra- I love reading because it is fun, and I like all the stories.

We wrote narrative stories and did lots of research on our favourite animals to write information reports. We even got a chance to make some jelly so we could write a step-by-step procedural text.

Hesadi- I love drawing and writing, they are my favourite.

Paris- I love writing, it makes my hand feel strong.

In Maths, we practised counting to 100, adding collections and even got to practice subtracting with M&Ms. We also learned about 2D and 3D shapes.

Bamboo- I like counting to 100.

Eric- I love counting by 1s and 10s to 100.

Meea- I loved learning about shapes and finding different shapes around the school.

Zhavia- I love writing my numbers and learning about shapes.

In History, we explored our personal history and how things have changed over time. We went to Coal Creek to explore how we used to live in the past. We looked at some old houses, and even got a chance to experience going to school in the past.

Kayla- I liked visiting Coal Creek!

Hunter- I loved going on our excursion to Coal Creek

Jigme-  I loved making my Me Box and sharing it with the class.

In term 2 we celebrated MABO week and got to wear lots of green. We were also very excited to participate in Simultaneous Storytime and read Bowerbird Blues at assembly. Prep C also invited their Mums to join us for a special Mother’s Day pamper afternoon in our classroom. What an eventful Term 2 we have had! We are looking forward to the many exceptional things we will do next term!

Mrs Coleman - Class Teacher. 

We have had another busy term.

We have been learning many things and the students have been excited to participate in all activities.

Here are a few comments about the term from the students…

In Reading lessons, we have been focussing on characters, the setting of the story and what happens at the start, middle and at the end. Students have also been working through all the different reading strategies to help us work out unknown words and understand what we are reading.

Khitam - I love learning the alphabet to help me read.

Taylin - I love reading about Spiderman.

Muhammed - I love looking at the pictures to help me read.

Asees - I love the alphabet books in the classroom! Learning can be fun!

Jakob - I love learning my Magic Words and moving to the next reading level.

Every student has tried their best to write about our weekend and holidays. We have been writing stories about robots and monsters.  We have been learning about different types of punctuation. Also, we have been writing reports about Australian animals; recording where they live, what they eat and what they look like.

These students love writing about…

Jordan– I love writing and drawing the pictures.

Maja – I love writing new words.

Arlo –  I love writing about my long weekends.

JoHana –  I am learning to write on the line and using spaces.

Madison – I love to write using my Golden words.

In Maths, we have been counting to 100 and skip counting by 2’s,5’s and 10’s. We can recognise the odd and even numbers when we count. We have focussed on recognising and drawing 2D and 3D shapes. We have also worked hard to add and subtract numbers. Everyone has enjoyed using location words to describe where things are and use mapping skills to show the position of various items.

What we love about Maths…

Celina – I love playing the position game.

Alex –  I like to add and take-away.

Ella -  I like to make pictures using all the shapes

Lexi – Shapes are my favourite, I love 2D and 3D shapes.

 We have enjoyed many special events, including the Simultaneous reading session about ‘Bowerbird Blues’, where we all wore a splash of blue. We also celebrated our mums for Mother’s Day and pampered them with massages, manicures, and mindfulness coloring. We have also enjoyed having special lunches with our Grade 6 Buddies. Our history excursion to Coal Creek Historical Village was also a highlight. We learned about the olden days, attended a 1900’s school room and learned about what people wore and how they lived. We saw firsthand what we have been learning about all term.

Hunter- I loved painting my mums nails pink, she loved it too!

Jovan – I like learning about the olden days, it is cool!

Shakira – I love giving my mum massages with a warm towel on her shoulders.

Happy holidays everyone!

Thanks for your support throughout another fabulous term of fun and learning together.



Mrs McPhie - Class teacher. 

What an exciting end of Term One for 1A! We wrapped up Term One with an amazing display of Easter hats, making scrumptious chocolate balls and of course our lap-a-thon. We would love for you to see us in action, so keep watching!

In Term 2, we celebrated Mother’s Day. We made ‘Thank You’ cards and bought presents at the Mother’s Day Stall.

Our Integrated Studies lessons were so interesting. We shared our ‘Me Boxes’ and we learnt so much about each other. We really developed our confidence speaking in front of an audience. We also created our timelines and our family trees.

We are so proud of our efforts in Reading, Writing and Mathematics this term! We have made remarkable progress!

We’re also looking forward to our excursion to Coal Creek.

Thank you, parents, and carers, for your continual support in our learning programs and activities. We’re really looking forward to many exciting activities and learning next term.

Enjoy the term break!

Mrs Abraham - Class Teacher.

1/2O have had an amazing first semester this year! They have shown great interest and engagement in their learning and have begun to grow as learners and as members of Carwatha College P-12. It has been amazing to see how hard everyone has been working this term!

This Term, we have achieved a great number of things as a class. We have been building positive relationships, working hard every day on our reading strategies, and in Writing we have completed some incredible information reports, engaging recounts and have been practicing letter writing.

We have been doing some fantastic work in Maths, learning about addition, subtraction, location, and number patterns. We have also been continuing our Mandarin lessons, where we have been learning about the different colours. In Integrated Studies, we have been learning about history and we loved seeing all the personal history shared with the Me Boxes.

In addition to all our hard work in the classroom 1/2O have also been working hard in all their specialist classes. We have also had an amazing excursion to Coal Creek to help see how life has changed over time.

What an eventful term we have had! We are looking forward to the many exceptional things we will do next term.
      

Miss Oxley - Class Teacher.

2G have had a wonderful Term 2! They have continued to show our school values of respect, teamwork, commitment and excellence throughout this term. They also worked incredibly hard in class and continued to develop their literacy and numeracy skills.

In Reading, students have learnt to use and search for information, make predictions, make connections to texts, and improve their inferring skills. Students have also created some amazing writing this semester. In the first few weeks of term, we focused on information report writing.

Students were able to demonstrate their understanding of facts versus opinions and create information reports. Personal writing was another focus this term. Students learnt how to create recounts, letters and autobiographies. To end the term, we revised how to write narratives, allowing students to express their creative ideas.

We explored a range of topics during Mathematics this term. We started with addition and subtraction strategies, focusing on friends of 10, the jump strategy, and partitioning. Students also learnt about the properties of 2D shapes and 3D objects, transformation, number patterns, and locating objects on maps.

Integrated Studies was especially exciting in term 2, as we were exploring History. Students had the opportunity to share their me box, filled with information about their own life. The students loved seeing photos of their classmates when they were younger. It was also interesting to hear about each other’s families.

To further explore history and the way things have changed, the grade 2s went on an excursion to Coal Creek. It was exciting for students to see what classrooms and school life were like in the past.  

2G should be very proud of their hard work throughout this term. I can’t wait for what next term brings!

        

Miss Gardner - Class Teacher.

We are excited to share the amazing progress our students have made during Term 2! The class has been working incredibly hard on improving their reading and writing skills. It's wonderful to see the enthusiasm and dedication each student brings to their learning every day.

In Integrated Studies, we've been diving into Australia's fascinating history and the many changes it has undergone over time. The students have enjoyed exploring the stories and events that have shaped our country. Their curiosity and eagerness to learn have made our lessons both fun and engaging.

In Maths, our Grade 3W students are showing great growth in their understanding of shapes and number patterns. They have been using manipulative devices like blocks, beads, and counters to help them visualize and grasp these important concepts. It's impressive to see how confidently they demonstrate their knowledge and apply it to solve problems.
We also welcomed Mr Wixon's new baby Emily into the grade for a meet and greet.

We are very proud of the progress our students have made this term. Keep up the fantastic work, Grade 3W!



        


Mr Wixon - CLass Teacher.

Term 2 has come to an end and some amazing things have happened and been achieved in 3/4P.

Our Integrated topic for this term has been ‘History’. Students were lucky enough to go on an excursion to the Melbourne Museum to help consolidate and expand their knowledge in this curriculum area. This was definitely a highlight of the term for our students.

All students have worked really hard during our Literacy and Mathematics lessons to develop skills and confidence in many different areas of the curriculum. We have had a focus on addition, subtraction, shape, angles and number patterns during our numeracy groups. During Literacy, students have been writing formal and informal letters, autobiographies, information reports and narratives. They have also been developing strategies to help them understand a range of texts such as inferring and making connections.

Students from 3/4P have had a lot of to say about this term:

• CFC has been the best part of term- Christian
• I love CFC and it is really fun- Kuda
• I like writing narratives because you get to come up with your own ideas- Lisa
• I liked the Melbourne Museum excursion because I got to see dinosaur bones and I had never seen them before - Dhiren
• I really like school because I learn lots of new things -Stephanie
• Our excursion with all the 3/4s was really fun -Sasa
• I love school because I get to do CFC. I really like soccer -Arthur
• I like to play with my friends at recess and lunch time -Allira
• I like coming to school because my friends are here. It makes me really happy - Mariel
• I like doing Maths, especially patterns and algebra -Ezarae
• I like the fun things we get to do at school like our excursion to the Museum -Atilla

          


Ms Pritchett - Class Teacher.

It has been a busy term for 4/5B. The students have all been working hard and should be very proud of all they have achieved this term.

In Numeracy groups this term, students have focused on Addition and Subtraction and Patterns and Algebra. They have also been participating in lots of hands-on activities to help them learn different Shape and Geometric Reasoning concepts.

There has been a strong focus on reading and comprehension skills and students have learnt about writing letters, autobiographies, information reports and narrative stories.

“We like the times tables ladder because it’s fun!” Sachin

“I like the times tables ladder because it helped me remember all of my times tables!” Amalia

“I like to write narratives because I can write using my imagination!” Arielle

“CFC has been my favourite thing this term!” Arjen

“My favourite thing this term was going on an excursion to the Melbourne Museum. It was really fun and my favourite part was when I saw the bugs!” Millie

“My favourite thing this term was the CFC Cup!” Hendrix

“My favourite thing this term was having our class reward. We got to play games on the computer!” Krishna

“ My favourite thing this term was when we had the First Aid Incursion and the Careers Expo!” Emira

       


Ms Bishop - Class Teacher.

We have had a fantastic and exciting Term 2 in 5/6K! This term in Integrated Studies, we were learning about the Colonisation of Australia and the impacts it had. We went on a great excursion to the Old Treasury Building in the city and explored Fitzroy gardens, walking past Captain Cook’s Cottage. We also participated in another fun Gala Day at the beginning of term, a day that is always a hit!

During Literacy this term, students have learnt how to write detailed narrative pieces, using a creative image to build an exciting story that leaves readers wanting more. In our Reading lessons, we have learnt to use clues in images and text to make educated guesses about settings and characters.

In Maths, we have worked with the topics of shape, patterns and algebra. We explored how to create 3D shapes from a 2D net and learnt how to measure angles using a protractor.

5/6K have had another great term and we all can’t wait for Term 3!

Ms Kavanagh - Class Teacher.

Well done to all students in 5/6T on their hard work during a long term, and especially for their flexibility whilst our classroom was out of action! We have had lots of fun events happening this term. Our excursions to The Old Treasury Building in the city, Gala Day, and District Cross Country for some students, have been highlights. Students have also participated in multiple exciting events at school, including Mabo Week, and the Careers Expo. The grade 6s have also been busy showing off their new jackets!

During Literacy this term, students learnt how to write interesting and well-structured reports, including information reports and scientific reports. We also completed personal writing, where students selected an Australian Olympian competing at Paris 2024 and wrote an autobiography and a letter to be sent to them. Fingers crossed for some replies! In our Reading lessons, students began looking beyond the text, making connections and predictions to help them better understand it.

In Numeracy, students have practiced a range of strategies to add and subtract numbers efficiently. They explored the world of shapes, investigating their properties and how to measure angles, and learnt how to represent patterns using numbers.

 

5/6T have had a fantastic Term 2 – enjoy the well-deserved break!

Ms Brady - Class Teacher.

What a term! We looked at the features of fiction and non-fiction texts. We learnt all about animal habitats, diets and appearances. We highlighted details in information reports and then recorded information in a lot of different graphic organisers.

We celebrated our learning with a trip to Healesville Sanctuary to see so many of the animals we had been learning about. It was cold and wet, but we had a fantastic time! So much excitement and wonder. The platypus was everyone’s favourite animal. We loved seeing the koala jump from branch to branch and were slightly intimidated by the size of the kangaroos. We loved listening to the different birds and spotting them in the trees.

In Maths we have learnt lots of measurement terms through hands on activities. Weighing and comparing objects with the scales was a popular activity. We also spent time looking at the language in word problems, further extending our mathematical skillset.

In Art, we designed and made our own cushions and in STEM we learnt about heat sources. Listening to, looking at and reading books in the beanbags in the library is our favourite time of the week! Some of our friends are ‘graduating’ from the PLC at the end of this term and we wish them well as they continue to learn English in their mainstream classrooms. We look forward to welcoming new friends to the PLC in Term 3.



        

Mrs Clarke - Class Teacher.

Term 2 in STEM: Exploring the Physical World

Term 2 in STEM has been a bustling period of discovery as students delve into the mysteries of the physical world around us.

Prep Students: Our Prep students have been busy exploring the fundamentals of motion. They've learned that objects can move through various means such as spinning, sliding, rolling, and bouncing. Moreover, they've witnessed the idea that the size and weight of an object influence how fast and how far it will move.

Grade 1 and 2 Students: Embarking on an exciting journey into the realms of light and sound, our Grade 1 and 2 students have made intriguing discoveries. Did you know that light is a form of energy, while sounds are a form of vibrations? Witness the magic captured in the photos as students observe the sprinkles vibrating in response to their humming beside the bowl.

Grade 3, 4, 5, and PLC Students: Delving deeper into the study of heat, our Grade 3, 4, 5, and PLC students have been exploring fundamental questions. What exactly is heat? How does it conduct between objects? And perhaps most importantly, how can we manipulate heat to control its movement? These questions have sparked amazing discoveries among our students.

Ms Brybon - STEM Teacher.

Grade 3W have studied the use of colour, shape and pattern in mandalas.  Then, were asked to design and paint their own radially symmetrical design.

Grade 4/5B chose an underwater animal to draw and paint onto calico – with a few Sponge Bob’s creeping into the mix, as technically he lives under the sea too. With Mrs McAleers assistance, they created a pillow out of their artwork.

  

    

Mrs McAleer - Art Teacher.

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A Poem:

The Library

 
                 

During most of Term 2 the library became a classroom housing the grade five and sixes.  It was filled with students learning, tasks big and small.  Loud times and quiet times.

This term creative activities were done mostly with Jenni and her team – Earth Day, Anzac Day, Mother’s Day, Mabo Week, and the National Simultaneous Storytime reading Bower Bird Blues
             


Our past student Molica Silk kindly donated Carwatha two of her art pieces to hang in the library

You can see more work from Molica at – https://minimoli.bigcartel.com

    

Library monitors have been chosen – Mason Galluccio, Dominic Galluccio and Jana Gavrilovic.  They have been busy making book marks.

Enjoy this newsletter and our photos

Mrs Naylor - Library Manager

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