Friday, 4 November 2016

Official opening at Narre Warren North

We have arrived!

And what a story we could tell!  

About the miracle of finding ourselves in possession of such a beautiful site in Narre Warren North, about thousands of hours of meetings to obtain council permission and plan our buildings and facilities, about the hospitality of our hosts in Belgrave for these first three terms whilst we finalised our site, about the generosity of so many families at successive working bees - painting, weeding, planting, cleaning, feeding hungry hordes... And so much more.  In summary - a huge amount of hard work, a truly edifying amount of generosity, and key moments of divine intervention (no doubt, more than we know).

We cannot express how pleased we were to open the school at Narre Warren North for Term 4.  Most importantly, the children are settled and happy - enjoying the playground, the grass and the brand new classroom.

Official Opening - all invited

We would be pleased if you would join us for this celebration.

DateSaturday 5 November 2016
Address: 20 A'Beckett Road, Narre Warren North
Time2-4pm (please arrive at 1:45 for a 2pm start)

The day will include an official ceremony (three short addresses, raising of the Australian flag, a concert by the school children etc) followed by afternoon tea, a jumping castle and face painting for the children.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Information session upcoming

We remind you about our final information session for 2016.  

These sessions are intended to be small and intimate.  We welcome both those who are making their first enquiries and those who are already familiar with the school and would like to know more, or have specific questions they would like to ask.

RSVP via our Contact page.

Tuesday 15 November at 7:30pm
To be held at a family home in Endeavour Hills.

Orientation Day for 2017 Foundation families - Saturday 3 December

The College will host an orientation day for children enrolling at the school in Foundation in 2017 and for their parents.  Invitations for each family will be forthcoming.

This is always an exciting day for our future students, and will familiarise them with the school and their teacher.  The Principal will hold a concurrent information session for parents.

We note that families still considering their enrolment for 2017 are also welcome to attend.


As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the School Board, or to contact us via our Contact page.


Parenting tips

In a previous update, we announced the extra tab added to our website - "Parenting Tips" - featuring a series of articles with sound advice on a variety of parenting topics.  We intend to include a teaser of one in each email update, with a link to the full article.

The articles are generously provided by Dr Andrew Mullins - you can see more excellent material on his site, Raised to Love: www.raisedtolove.com.

Rafael Pich on Parenting

Rafael, father of 16, spoke twice to the parents of the PARED schools in Sydney during the 1990s. His warmth and advice were unforgettable.
On Family Life
"We need to rediscover intense family life."
Promote common family projects and interests. Share happiness and sorrows. Share the work. Do good deeds together for neighbours.
On Attitudes to Work
"The family is the first school of work."

On giving children responsibilities when they are young
"Children have the right to be taught to solve their own problems."
Beware of raising children who do not have the resilience and responsibility to cope in the adult world. Don't raise children who are "meringues". Be affectionate but demanding on your child at an early age...how ironic for a "monopolistic mum" to do practically everything for her child when young, and then to complain when, as a teenager, the boy or girl doesn't help around the home.

...
For more, including suggestions re friendships, service to others, dealing with things that go wrong, etc see here: www.harkawayhills.vic.edu.au/parenting-tips.html.