The countdown has begun to our first day of school!
And, as you might expect, we have heaps of news...
- First day of school
- Full primary offering for boys
- Planning permit obtained for Narre Warren North
- Site works commenced
- Temporary site for Term 1 - Mater Christi in Belgrave
- Orientation day for 2016 families
- Uniform
- 2017 enrolments
First day - Wednesday 3 February 2016
How amazing!
We are full of joy and gratitude as we eagerly await the very first day of our brand new school, which will be Wednesday 3 February.
We can't wait to capture happy snaps of our first families and staff on that long-awaited day, and we look forward to sharing them with you.
Full primary offering for boys
As you are no doubt aware, the PARED model of education offers coeducational classes from Foundation to Grade 2, after which time boys and girls are taught in separate schools until Year 12. There are very sound reasons for these arrangements, which include the ability for each school to cater its teaching and learning style more closely to the student body.
It is usually the case that one school opens first - in our case, the girls school - and the other follows a few years later. However, two circumstances have caused us to investigate other possibilities - first, the size of the site that we have obtained in Narre Warren North, and secondly, the presence in our school community of families with sons who would love to receive more than three years of education before we can reasonably open a second full (boys) school on its own site.
Therefore, the Board of PARED Victoria began several months ago to investigate the feasibility of continuing to offer education to boys, in these first few years, up to the end of primary school. In consultation with the PARED Foundation in Sydney, and Opus Dei which provides chaplaincy to over a hundred PARED-style schools world-wide, we have arrived at the conclusion that we can indeed offer a full primary education which is faithful to the PARED model, to both boys and girls. Depending on numbers and resources, the boys will separate into a class of their own in either grade 3 or 4 and will continue on a separate part of the site until the end of grade 6. During this time, the Board will be actively working to acquire a separate site for the boys school (continuing to year 12), and the students will transfer as soon as this is practicable. Boys who finish grade 6 before the independent site is open will move to secondary school elsewhere, as is usually the case for students attending schools that offer only primary education.
We are very pleased to be able to offer these extra years to our families, a decision which is also a recognition of their commitment to and enthusiasm for our school.
Planning approval obtained for Narre Warren North
After a huge amount of paperwork, consultation, negotiation and plain old hard work, the City of Casey granted our planning application on 8 December, for our site in Narre Warren North.
It is no coincidence that this date was also the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and we thank all of you who joined us in a novena for this intention. The decision was made in our favour without the need for any discussion amongst the councillors - a testament to the work put in beforehand, and the gentle guiding hand of the Blessed Mother.
Site works commenced
Another tangible milestone! This week, works began at the site, making way for our portable buildings, accessways and services.
Another tangible milestone! This week, works began at the site, making way for our portable buildings, accessways and services.
Whilst the portable classrooms that we will use on the site initially are easy to install, the driveway, car park and connection of services will require more time. So a bit more hard work and inspired initiative has resulted in our acquisition of a temporary site.
Temporary site for Term 1 - Mater Christi in Belgrave
We are very grateful to Mater Christi, a Catholic girls secondary school, which has kindly made available to us a boarding house located on their site in Belgrave, for use for Term 1 of 2016. It is separate from the rest of the Mater Christi school and has everything we need for the opening weeks of our first little class.
Temporary site for Term 1 - Mater Christi in Belgrave
We are very grateful to Mater Christi, a Catholic girls secondary school, which has kindly made available to us a boarding house located on their site in Belgrave, for use for Term 1 of 2016. It is separate from the rest of the Mater Christi school and has everything we need for the opening weeks of our first little class.
Orientation day for 2016 families
We enjoyed another milestone in December - which was to formally welcome our 2016 parents and students, and inform them of all the practical details for the coming year. It was exciting to gather together the official founding families!
For those of us who have been working toward this school for many years, it was very moving to see our first class interact together and with their teacher, Miss Watson, in an educational environment for the first time. We were struck by the conviction that they have a truly unique opportunity, in this tiny class, to learn and grow within a school community which can focus on each individual so personally, addressing all their academic and emotional needs.
It will be a very small class for this first year, and in time when the school is much bigger, we will reflect fondly on these tiny pioneers!
Uniform
The full uniform was also presented at the orientation day. For your interest, we post some photos of various items of the uniform, featuring one of our eager 2016 students, Claire Burger.
2017 enrolments
Always looking ahead, we are now open to expressions of interest for enrolments in 2017. Please contact us for information about the enrolment process.
We look forward to being in contact shortly with further announcements and photographic evidence of our long-awaited first day of school!
Warm regard and best wishes for you and your families in 2016.
