From the Principal

Dear Families,

It has been wonderful to be back onsite this week, reconnecting with the students, parents and staff. I have had the opportunity to spend some time in classrooms watching exciting STEM projects take shape, students engage in challenging Maths problems, students producing some exciting writing pieces and I have observed our Year 6’s preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Yesterday we welcomed an external reviewer, Gavin Healy to Galilee. Gavin has been assigned to review Galilee focusing on the school operations, procedures, policies and classroom practice. Yesterday was his first day onsite and he commented on students' evident connection to the school community. He spoke of our vibrant parent community, particularly when standing at the front gate, first thing in the morning, and enthusiastic staff who have a passion for teaching students. Next week, we will welcome Gavin back onsite to meet with students, staff and a small group of parents as well as spending some time in classrooms. Gavin will report back his observations and make suggestions about the priorities he thinks we need to focus on to continue to improve what we do at Galilee. We look forward to sharing his findings in early Term Four.

This week, Galilee received a 1st Place award at the STEM Mad Student Showcase. Dave McLeish, our STEM leader, entered two Year 5 STEM projects. Students who created the STEM projects presented their work to a panel of judges and showcased their work to over 200 people who attended the day. All students involved did an exceptional job. The group that created a Vision Vest, to improve the life of someone who is vision impaired, won their category. They have been invited to showcase their work at STEM National, where students from around Australia will display their successful STEM projects. 

         

It has been pleasing to see the progress that has been made on the Building Project over the past seven weeks. The flooring of the basketball court is complete, the upstairs classrooms look fantastic and the finishing touches are being made in the Maker Space and STEM room. Over the next few weeks we will see increased activity outside the building as external stairs and pathways go in. We anticipate that we should be able to start using the new building in the coming weeks.

Today, I had the pleasure of joining a number of parents, grandparents and students at the Year 6 STEM Exhibition. The students proudly displayed a prototype of the playgrounds that they designed. It was impressive to see how many groups had included electrical circuits to either light up their playground or make equipment within the playground move. The playgrounds had been well researched and were inclusive. The students confidently spoke about their playgrounds and it was clear to see that they not only learned lots during this project, but they also loved every minute of it.
         
                         

This afternoon I was able to tour Star of the Sea College in Brighton. Galilee has recently become a feeder school to Star of the Sea College. It was wonderful to see some of Galilee’s alumni thriving there.  Star of the Sea offers girls at Galilee a wonderful Catholic education. They pride themselves on educating young women spiritually, academically, physically and creatively in a compassionate Catholic context. We encourage families to consider Star of the Sea when deciding on a Secondary education for their girls. 

We have a number of upcoming events to look forward to:

• Tomorrow, Friday 12th August, our Preps and Year 1 students are off to The Melbourne Zoo as part of their learning about sustainability and the environment. 
• Next Friday, 19th August, our Year 6 students will be going to the Mary McKillop Centre in East Melbourne as part of their learning about the Sacrament of Confirmation. 
• On Monday 22nd we will commence Book Week celebrations at Galilee, where the students will view performances, focus on the shortlisted books, work with an illustrator, attend the Book Fair and dress up as their favourite book character on Friday 26th August.
• On Monday 22nd August, we will celebrate Grandparents and Special Persons Day at Galilee. The celebrations will start with a School Mass at Sts. Peter and Paul at 12noon. An afternoon tea will follow Mass, in the school hall, where Grandparents/Special People will also have the opportunity to visit their grandchild’s classroom.
• On Thursday 25th August, we will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation at Sts. Peter and Paul Church at 7 pm.