Hello Frances,
Hope you are well. I am so sorry I missed your call yesterday.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for calling and checking on us. I was nearly in tears when I was listening to your voicemail message, thinking that no one has ever done this to us before.
We are doing well and all healthy from our end. Our son seems to be doing well during home-schooling. There are times or days when he does feel a bit down, missing his friends and just being at school but other times he was having a great time doing the online study, and talking to his teacher and friends.
He enjoyed a lot of the online activities like the Kahoot quizzes and the banking game that they were doing. He loves doing that.
And other times he is also busy with other homework like doing his programming with his dad, piano lessons every day, and Khan Academy maths homework which keeps him more busy. So we are just trying to keep him busy as best as we can. But again there is nothing that he wants other than being back at school with his friends so hopefully they are able to do that soon. :)
Thank you so much for everything that you and the staff at St Kevin’s have done for our kids.
I was telling all my friends and family how happy we are that we made the decision to move our son from his old school to St Kevin’s. It was the best decision we have ever made.
The support, love and care from you and the entire school has been a blessing to us and we cannot thank you enough.
Our younger two children will definitely be going to St Kevins! One of our daughters is in Kinder at the moment and by 2023 she will be in Prep. We are so looking forward to 2023!
Hope you are keeping well and everything is good at your end.
Again, thank you so much and much appreciated for dropping by on the phone to call us.
Hope you have a good day and are enjoying the sunshine today.
Regards,
Good morning Con, Eva and Jarrod,
With another term drawing to a close, I wanted to express my thanks for creating an engaging and varied learning experience for the students. The additional social connection has been a great initiative; it has encouraged my daughter to reach out to a couple of friends and I have also heard her making more contributions to discussions.
The Rube Goldberg machine challenge lesson was a great experience - my daughter enjoys construction and it was a wonderful opportunity to display perseverance; we lost count of the number of trials to actually get the balloon to burst and water the plants when intended (we did have an accident early in the piece!).
My daughter enjoyed the cooking class and has modified the brownie recipe - decreased the chocolate and added cacao and nuts. She is planning to refine the recipe!
The newsletter excerpt about lockdown children being ahead really resonated with me as it is so true. Often linked to what has been learnt in class, we have also had laser obstacle courses, a desire to learn volleyball, a foray into learning the periodic table, construction of tents, Kahoots, sea monkeys, learning strategies to better track tasks to be completed and a whole host of other activities.
At the heart of what I am really trying to say is that even with an extended lockdown and with remote learning starting to feel like the norm (did I say that??!!), the link my daughter has had with you and her classmates has made for a smooth-running, enjoyable and rewarding remote learning experience for her. Her independence has increased and she has not been discouraged or frustrated or refused to complete work or join Google meets with extended remote learning (albeit she will sometimes forget tasks and I have a sneaking suspicion she could put in a bit more effort). As a consequence, remote learning has been a pleasurable experience (even while working part-time) and to you all, I owe an enormous debt of thanks. THANK YOU!! I really do not know how you keep upbeat and deliver such high-quality experiences, although I imagine you must be exhausted.
I genuinely hope you all have time over the holidays to take care of yourselves and your families and we hope to see you in person sometime next Term.
Take care, stay well and stay safe.
As a visiting professional, I am captivated by St. Kevin’s primary school.
St. Kevin’s exudes a quiet caring/professionalism and elegance. Nestled in a quiet street in the heart of Templestowe, the natural landscape blends seamlessly with attractive, purpose-built classrooms and spacious, manicured surrounds.
Once inside, I am struck by the exceptional learning spaces. Clearly no expense has been spared to create a truly awe-inspiring student experience. From forming friendships and learning together, to realising and pursuing interests, these insightfully crafted facilities encourage children to discover who they are and what they can become. The school’s enticing array of spacious, light-filled learning areas, including formal classrooms, can only inspire a love of the entire school experience, particularly learning. Versatile design and state of the art facilities enable quiet, independent, active and collaborative learning. Contained within each learning space are outstanding cloakroom facilities that provide comfort and safety; and facilitate student organisation and independence.
My teaching experience has taught me however that the real difference to a school is its people. St. Kevin’s is truly blessed with its people. Informed by a level of teaching acumen that years of caring and commitment cultivates, a sense of the personal is palpable, in that every student matters. No amount of time or effort is spared in nurturing the educational journey of each student. As my working knowledge of the school grows, it is unsurprising to discover students who feel valued, understood, safe and inspired to be their best, both academically and personally.
I believe that St. Kevin’s is a jewel in the Templestowe crown. It is a school where students flourish - they enjoy their day, develop positive identities as learners, connect meaningfully with others and demonstrate a deep appreciation of and respect for their teachers.
Hi teachers,
I hope you are keeping well and managing to find some space for yourself during this time. I think you are doing an amazing job under trying circumstances. Thank-you.
I wanted to express my gratitude to you for arranging the Lizard Wizard online animal excursion session this morning. Watching my daughter on the computer, she had a big smile on her face and thoroughly enjoyed the session. It was just the pick me up she needed today. She even wants a turtle!
Thank you for being so aware of the children's needs during remote learning. We are so lucky to be part of such a wonderful community at St. Kevin's.
Take care of yourself,
I started in Year 4 at St Kevin's. Being a new kid, I immediately felt out of place and was concerned with how I would fit in. Still to this day, almost 9 years later, I keep in contact with several of my peers. St Kevin's changed my life. They welcomed me in, in so many ways I could not have begun to explain. Every year, I volunteer back at the school. It is the only way that I can think of to say thank you, to give back some of my time. I can only hope to impress upon, not only current students but future and past, just how once you're a part of the St Kevin's community, no matter what you do or where you go in life, you will always be a part of it and will be welcomed back with smiles and open arms, just like I was, all those years ago as a stranger.
St Kevin's Catholic Primary School is an inclusive, caring community. Together, the staff and parents have created a big family feel, where care is abundant and from the heart. As a community, the parents are generous and committed to both their children and the school which is shown in so many ways from crazy days, special school events, to busy working bees.
As a Parish leader, I have the privilege of seeing the professional team at St Kevin's care and make each day at school enriching, fun and nurturing.
On behalf of all at Doncare, please accept our sincere thanks for the generous donation of fresh fruit and vegetables for our Information and Emergency Relief Program. Please extend our thanks to everyone involved in the tending and harvesting of the crops.
The Information and Emergency Relief Program's resources are stretched to the limit and your donations will help us to assist those people within the City of Manningham who are experiencing financial difficulties. With government funding tighter than ever, and a growing demand for assistance from clients, we are constantly in need of community support, and your contribution of fresh produce will make many families very pleased.
The following is a comment from one of our clients who accepted the food today:
"Doncare is a fantastic service and has helped me put food on the table for my family when I had no money in the bank. The fresh food allows me to cook some meals for my children that they can enjoy. I appreciate the assistance from Doncare and the workers are always friendly and caring." LK
We are truly appreciative of your generosity and look forward to working together into the future.
Yours sincerely
Dear Frances,
We write as an 'past family' of St Kevin's. Our son Joshua attended St Kevin's in Grade 6 and Katelyn from Grades 4 to 6. We had only moved to Victoria from WA.
Last year Katelyn graduated from high school. This gave us pause for reflection, particularly on the effect Catholic education had on our children and on us as a family. For background perspective, please know despite being active Catholic parishioners, choosing a Catholic primary school wasn't a default action. Joshua and Katelyn had had a satisfactory foundational experience at a Catholic primary school in WA, however now given the opportunity to explore options with a better understanding of our children's needs while choosing a school that we felt best enhanced the values that we were trying to teach as a family, it was some time before we chose St Kevin's.
At the time, the educational systems between WA and Victoria were quite different. Joshua and Katelyn thrived at St Kevin's while we adjusted to this new methodology. It was exciting for them to be a part of a pedagogy that valued gifted and talented education. St Kevin's values of acting justly and walking humbly with God have contributed to Joshua and Katelyn's growth and development. Both of them are smart, caring, emotionally and intellectually intelligent global citizens.
We are unsure of how many 'original staff' are still at St Kevin's that may have interacted with Joshua or Katelyn; however we wanted to write to say thank you. St Kevin's was a great school and we, as parents are grateful for the challenges and opportunities it gave to Joshua and Katelyn in many forums over their time there. Certainly they came to know, that being gifted or talented was a value to cherish.
Joshua is currently completing his third year of Bachelor of Biomedicine at Monash University with the strategy of going on to study medicine and specialising in Third World Medicine. Katelyn has begun a Bachelor of Science at Deakin University and wants to specialise in Marine Biology. Both of them have a strong commitment to social justice and have undertaken immersion trips to the Philippines, East Timor and Northern Australia in line with these values.
We hold St Kevin's in high regard for developing the values of justice, compassion, excellence and service in our children. For this, we are very thankful.
Thank you
Thank you for giving me such good support and help during this unit. I have been really enjoying it. One reason why I have been enjoying it so much is because you're always there, whether it's to give feedback in saying what I can do better with, or what I have done really well with. Also because you always give us a chance to express ourselves, and show what we can really do.
I will keep working on my goals, thank you.