Lord, at this moment, what the world needs is people with vision, with insight, with compassion, with energy to engage, and who are deeply responsive to the spirit of Jesus. 

The world needs leaders. 

We pray for our own community so that we can be messengers of hope and compassion for our world.

Celebrating Our Distinctive Community

In recent weeks, I have found myself reflecting deeply upon what makes our school community so distinctive. There is a unique energy at Clairvaux, and this past week offered several beautiful reminders of why our school is such a special place to belong.

At times, the challenge at this time of year is that our attention naturally shifts to what is still unfinished. Our mid-year student reports are currently being compiled and finalised, and we are preparing for our parent-teacher conversations next week. Amidst this busy end-of-term rush, it is vital to pause and celebrate how far we have come.

Learning on Display: Our Open School Event

This week, we opened our doors to celebrate the incredible learning our children have achieved this term. It was wonderful to see so many parents moving through the classrooms, witnessing firsthand the high quality of student work on display.

This success is a direct reflection of the dedication of our teaching staff and Learning Support Officers (LSOs). Their meticulous planning and commitment to explicit teaching were evident in every room.

A Note to Our Parents: The opportunity for you to be present at school alongside your children cannot be underestimated. When you attend these events, your presence validates their hard work and reinforces in their minds the immense value we all place on education. Thank you for partnering with us.

Commitment to Excellence: School Review Mode

Behind the scenes, we are also in "school review mode." Continuous improvement is built into our fabric, with a team of  teachers consistently reflecting on and refining our curriculum review processes. We are keenly awaiting the insights and results from our external review, which will take place later in Term 3, as we continue to strive for educational excellence.

Nurturing Our Faith Journey

The faith dimension of our school was beautifully alive over the weekend as we celebrated the First Eucharist for 100 of our children.

As a Catholic school, we proclaim the Gospel in our own unique way, and sacramental moments like these nurture all of us on our faith journeys. I was incredibly proud to hear from many parishioners who commented on the deep prayerfulness and reverence our children displayed during the Mass.

Looking to the Future: Welcoming Our New Preps

Our standing in the Geelong area remains highly valued, and we are thrilled to announce that we will be welcoming 100 new Prep children to Clairvaux next year. Remarkably, 50% of this intake represents entirely new families joining our community. We look forward to welcoming them into the Clairvaux family!

Prep Alphabet Celebration with Milo Monkey!

What a truly special day we had in Prep! Our school came alive as the children arrived dressed up as their chosen Milo Monkey alphabet letter.

A huge thank you to all of our wonderful parents for your incredible effort in helping your child dress up as a character. Your creativity made the day so memorable!

We also want to extend many thanks to our amazing Prep team. Thank you for bringing so much energy and enthusiasm to ensure today was a highly successful, happy, and fun-filled event for everyone.

Year 5 camp

Professional learning 

Collaborative Learning: Deepening Our Indigenous Perspectives

• NAIDOC Week: Developing a deeper understanding of NAIDOC Week and sharing engaging student activities. Since NAIDOC Week falls during the holidays, our school will be celebrating and focusing on it during our first week back in Term 3!
• Cultural Protocols: Connection to Land, Water and Sky -Class Activities
• Enhancing our knowledge Term 3 Unit Support: Exploring meaningful ways to authentically weave culturally appropriate content and Aboriginal perspectives into our upcoming units.

Sports Desk: Year 6 Success

Finally, a massive congratulations to our Year 6 girls who recently competed in the district sports competitions! They showed fantastic sportsmanship and skill, finishing third in netball and second in soccer. Fantastic effort, girls!

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Important school Infrastructure & Works Update

Due to the age and deteriorating condition of our current underground pipes, a complete replacement of the sewer infrastructure is required. This is a shared project between the St Bernards Parish and Clairvaux and a major, high-cost undertaking. We are working closely with the Parish to share the joint costs of this essential project.

Following a competitive tender process with multiple submissions, Hungerfords Plumbing Contractors has been awarded the contract. We have a tight window to complete these extensive works. We are crossing our fingers for clear skies so that rain doesn't disrupt the timeline and everything can be safely wrapped up before the children return.

While the pipes are being replaced, we are also taking the opportunity to refresh our grounds. The artificial grass located between the basketball courts and the large turf area will be completely replaced, ensuring a safer and more vibrant play space for the students next term.

As many of you know, we have faced ongoing water infrastructure challenges for a number of years. Addressing this will be a significant future cost.  Tender quotes have been issued and returned, and we are currently awaiting further detailed information and guidance from our engineers before moving forward. We will keep the community updated as this project develops.

Regular school maintenance is essential; as it represents a vital investment in the long-term safety, comfort, and future of our school community.

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This is the final newsletter for the term.  Can I thank everyone for their dedicated support for our Clairvaux school.

Have a great term break.

Brendan

Introducing the New Religious Education Curriculum

At Clairvaux Catholic School, Religious Education is at the heart of who we are and how we live our faith as a community.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) has been developing a new Religious Education (RE) curriculum in response to the 2023 Review of Religious Education. The curriculum aims to deepen students’ understanding of the Catholic faith, strengthen their knowledge of Scripture and Church teachings, and help them recognise how faith connects with their everyday lives.

At its heart, Religious Education is about more than learning about religion. It is about creating opportunities for students to encounter Jesus, explore their faith, ask meaningful questions and discover how they can live out the values of the Gospel through kindness, compassion, justice and service to others.

Clairvaux’s journey with the new RE curriculum

Throughout 2026, Clairvaux has been actively involved in the development of the new RE curriculum. Our Foundation (Prep) team has participated in the trial-based learning teams, exploring and implementing draft units of work. Teachers in Years 1, 3 and 6 have also contributed to developing and evaluating draft units, helping to shape the curriculum and ensure it supports meaningful learning at each stage of students’ primary school journey. 

This work is part of a broader process overseen by the Religious Education Reference Group, established by Archbishop Peter Comensoli (Archbishop of Melbourne), with MACS supporting the writing, resourcing and development of the curriculum.

What does this mean for our students?

The new RE curriculum (still in its draft form) will provide carefully developed units of work to support engaging, meaningful and age-appropriate learning. Students will continue to explore key aspects of the Catholic faith, including the stories of the Bible, the life and teachings of Jesus, prayer, liturgy, Catholic traditions and how we are called to care for others and our world.

As we continue this journey, our goal is to nurture students’ knowledge and understanding of their faith while encouraging them to reflect, wonder, question and put their learning into action in their daily lives.

As Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, Catholic education offers students an opportunity to “encounter the living God” and discover a life shaped by all that is beautiful, good and true.

We look forward to continuing to strengthen Religious Education at Clairvaux, supporting our students to grow in faith, hope and love and to become people who make a positive difference in the world.

Advent: A Time to Prepare for Jesus

Our Prep students are currently exploring the Foundation RE unit  Advent: A Time to Prepare for Jesus , learning that Advent is a special time of waiting and preparing our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus through prayer and acts of kindness. They are also discovering how Mary was chosen by God and how her courageous “yes” teaches us to respond to God with love and put our faith into action.   Yesterday they opened the special Advent box…

Preparation

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School Attendance Monitoring & Communication of Semester 1 Attendance

At Clairvaux, we understand that there are many valid reasons why children may be absent. Whether it is due to family holidays, prolonged sickness, or specific Individual Learning Plans, we recognise that life and health sometimes take priority over school hours.

At your child’s parent-teacher meeting, you will also be able to check on your child’s attendance percentage. This number is based on class time minutes and may differ slightly from the number reported in your child’s report card, which is based on full and half days absent.

Families who have a child with an attendance percentage of less than 90% for the semester (indicating approximately 2 weeks or more of absences), in line with MACS policy and direction, will be emailed directly to alert you.

To support our students' academic and social development, we are committed to transparent communication regarding attendance.

You can monitor your child’s overall attendance via PAM. Please note that our records include a culmination of:

• Full and half-day absences.

• Late arrivals: Our school day begins at 8:50 am. This is when children enter the classroom and begin their day.

• Early pick-ups: Leaving before the final bell.

Guided by MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools), we inform families of their child's attendance via school reports, PAM and updates when attendance percentages fall below certain percentages.

• A Communication of Awareness: This is a duty of care and a courtesy to help families see the cumulative impact of "missed minutes."

• No Formal Explanation Required: These notifications are not intended to question the reasons behind an absence. We understand that attendance may be lower due to planned holidays, medical recovery, or ongoing arrangements. You do not need to explain time away that has already been communicated.

• Acknowledging Prior Communication: If you have already spoken to your child’s teacher, please do not feel this automated update is sent without consideration of your previous messages.

Even small amounts of time away, arriving late, leaving early, or missing just one day a fortnight, can add up over time and affect learning progress. Our goal is to work together to promote consistent attendance, which plays a key role in each child's academic and social development.

• The School Office: Please notify the office or via PAM by 9:00 am if your child will be absent or arriving late.

• Teachers: While teachers appreciate being informed of planned absences and will endeavour to touch base during extended periods of sickness, official notification must still be provided to the office.
  
  Our Year Level Semester 1 attendance percentages are as follows:

  Year Level		School Attendance Percentage
  Prep		94.18%
  Year 1		90.67%
  Year 2		92.34%
  Year 3		91.79%
  Year 4		91.55%
  Year 5		91.90%
  Year 6		90.72%
  		91.88%

This term in performing arts has been full of joyful learning, exploring concepts such as pitch and melody in Music. For preps, this has been about moving their bodies to show high and low pitch and listening to music such as Elgar’s “Fairies and Giants” to find the higher and lowers sections. In Year one, the children have been using our special music words (solfege) like do, mi, so and la to accurately sing songs and sing solo responses to questions such as “Why won’t the cuckoo come out of the clock?” Some of their creative responses are “because he is working on his laptop” and “because he is making potions”. The older children from year two to year six have been learning songs and games from countries around the world and also including our own Indigenous Australian culture. 

Drama this term has been full of wonderful experiences like playing drama games and performing short plays all aimed at developing drama skills such as using our bodies and voices to portray a character. The year sixes will perform “The Gruffalo” for younger students which is demonstrating their acting and performance skills such as voice, position on the stage, learning lines and back stage craft like costumes and sets. 

Another term in performing arts where the children have explored their creativity, learnt new skills and discovered the joy of learning these special subjects with enthusiastic and passionate teachers. 

By Sarah Ferguson, on behalf of the Performing Arts team:  Bonnie Whiting, Julie Routley and Allison Jerabek.  

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have recently had a large number of parents reporting missing school clothing, particularly jackets and jumpers.

Our school lost property box is currently overflowing with items. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these pieces either have no name or have faded names on the tags, making it impossible for us to return them to their rightful owners.

To help us reunite your child with their belongings, we kindly ask that you take a few moments this week to check their uniforms:

• Clearly Name All Items: Please use a permanent fabric marker or clothing labels on all items of school clothing, especially outerwear, hats, and drink bottles.

• Update Second-Hand Uniforms: If you have purchased or inherited second-hand items, please cross out the previous owner's details and rename the item with your child’s current name.

• Check Faded Tags: Names can wash out over time. Please double-check that your child’s older uniforms are still clearly legible.

Our Golden Rule: Items will always find their way back to their owner if they are clearly named!

If your child is missing an item, please encourage them to check the lost property box or feel free to pop in and look yourself.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us keep our school tidy and saving you the cost of replacing lost uniform items!