Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

This weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, drawing on the Gospel of Luke. In this passage, we hear four familiar and powerful words: took, blessed, broke, and gave. These are the same actions Jesus performed at the Last Supper—and they continue to shape how we celebrate the Eucharist today.

These words are not just liturgical actions; they reflect Jesus’ life and mission. He was taken, blessed, broken, and given—offering himself fully in love and service. These actions remind us that the Eucharist is not a gentle story, but one of deep sacrifice and profound generosity. The blessing follows the taking, and the sharing follows the breaking.

As a Eucharistic people, we too are called to be taken, blessed, broken, and given—for one another and for a world hungry for compassion, hope, and justice.

Jesus, be our strength and our compass.

May the Eucharist we receive move us to live with compassion

Make us your presence in the world.

Make us one in heart, one in mission, one in love.

Celebration of First Eucharist

We continue to joyfully celebrate the Sacrament of First Eucharist with our Year 4 children at this weekend’s Parish Masses. A heartfelt thank you to Julie and the Year 4 teaching team—Jordan, Lucy, Michael, Cyndie, and Sydney—who have lovingly prepared the children for this second Sacrament of Initiation into our Catholic faith, following their earlier Baptism.

Last weekend, the prayerfulness and reverence shown by the children as they participated in the liturgy with their families and the wider Parish community was a beautiful expression of the Clairvaux spirit. It was moving to witness how fully our families embraced the sacredness of this milestone and the deepening of their children’s spiritual journey.

Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ through the Eucharist is a profound moment of grace. The joy of God is always with us, and through the Eucharist at Mass, we are spiritually nourished and called to grow ever more in the likeness of Christ.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, bless this child as they receive You for the first time in Holy Communion. May this be the beginning of a lifelong journey of faith, filled with Your love and grace. Guide them always on the path of righteousness, and may they always know the joy of Your presence in their lives. Amen.

Year 5 Excursion to Melbourne

What an amazing experience our Year 5 students had during their two-day excursion to Melbourne! With 76 children in attendance, the excursion was a great success thanks to the incredible organisation by Kat B and the dedicated Year 5 team – Vicki, Jake, Trinity, Lauren – along with our fantastic Learning Support Officers: Lizzy, Matt, and Mel.

Throughout the trip, our students truly epitomised the high expectations we set for behaviour and respect. This was clearly evident over both days, and we were proud to receive many positive comments from members of the public across the city.

Well done to all involved for making this a memorable and enriching learning experience!

As We Approach the End of Term

With just a fortnight remaining in the term and the winter chill settling in, let’s finish the semester with a shared commitment to maintaining our high expectations for the learning and growth of our children.

Over recent weeks, our teachers have been diligently conducting assessments and are now preparing mid-year reports ahead of our Parent-Teacher Interviews in the final week of term.

The upcoming break will be a valuable time to rest and recharge, but in the meantime, let’s remain dedicated to strong attendance and focus through to the end. Every day of learning counts.

Prep Year 6 mass

Dear Prep & Year 6 Families,

You are invited to attend our special Prep / Year 6 Buddy mass around the theme of ‘Creation.’

St Bernard’s Church
Thursday 26th June 2025
at 9.30 am

You are welcome to stay on for a chat to catch up with other Prep and Year 6 families. A coffee van is booked for after mass. Looking forward to seeing you there. The Prep & Year 6 teams

Celebrating Consistency, Collaboration, and High Expectations

At our school, it’s often the quiet, consistent efforts that have the biggest impact—and this week, we’re proud to shine a light on just that.

A big thank you to Michael and Cyndie, whose classes have been moving through the school with calm, focus, and purpose. Their commitment to upholding our entry and exit routines is clearly visible and sets a strong standard for our learning community.

During the recent Year 5 camp, Kat B shared how impressed she was by the way our students carried themselves while touring the city. Their respectful and safe behaviour reflected the same expectations we embed in our daily routines—another powerful testament to the consistent modelling happening across classrooms.

We also extend a heartfelt thank you to Molly, Cyndie, Andy, Isabelle, and Elly for opening their classrooms to Yolanda from Knowledge Society. Yolanda was genuinely impressed by what she saw. Her feedback was a welcome reminder that the excellent teaching and learning happening here is no accident—it’s the result of deliberate, collaborative work by a committed team.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
– Vincent Van Gogh

Thank you all for continuing to bring excellence to life through the small, daily choices you make.

Bianca Middle Learner Leader

Our Shared Mission: Meeting Challenges with Purpose

At Clairvaux, we are deeply committed to our mission as a Catholic primary school: to provide every child and family with access to a high-quality, faith-filled education that nurtures the whole person.

As a school community, we recognise that the challenges we face are not unique to us—they reflect broader systemic issues within education today. According to the Australian Early Development Census, one in four children begins school developmentally vulnerable. This early data speaks to the growing inequities, increasing wellbeing and behavioural needs, and rising administrative demands that schools across the country are navigating. These challenges are further exacerbated by limited resources for early intervention and support.

Despite this, at Clairvaux we remain resolute in our purpose. Through our strong focus on a well-embedded behaviour curriculum, an explicit and effective instructional model, and the dedication of our high-quality teaching staff, we are ensuring that every student is supported to thrive. Our approach is grounded in clarity, care, and high expectations—and we are seeing the impact in the growth and engagement of our learners.

Primary education is foundational. It is in these early years that learner identity, confidence, and possibility take shape. When we get it right—and we believe we are—we don’t just prepare children for academic success. We set them up for lives of meaning, contribution, and connection.

At Clairvaux, we are proud to walk alongside our families in this important work. Together, we are building a community where every child can flourish.

This week at our school, we've taken some powerful and visible steps forward on our journey of reconciliation, honouring the rich culture and wisdom of our First Nations peoples.

A beautiful First Nations painting has been installed outside the Prep classrooms, with another to follow outside the Year 1 and Year 3 rooms. These stunning artworks were designed by BJ, a talented local First Nations artist. BJ also created the decorative bollards placed throughout the Woodlands, which many of our students admire and walk past daily. These artistic pieces are more than just decoration—they are reminders of the deep spiritual connection between Indigenous people and the land, and symbols of storytelling, identity, and culture.

Last week, our Year 5 students attended Mass with Fr Tho, reflecting on this year's National Reconciliation Week theme: Bridging Now to Next. This theme speaks of the ongoing connection between past, present, and future—encouraging us all to learn from the past as we look forward, walking together into a future built on truth, justice, and hope.

As part of our school’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation, Julie, our Religious Education Leader (REL), created and shared powerful slideshow resources for all classes. These included songs, prayers, and historical information about Sorry Day and past referendums. These resources have helped bring important conversations into our classrooms—not just this week, but for use throughout the year as we continue learning and growing together.

We also shared the following prayer in last week's newsletter, written by Aunty Di Langham. It remains a moving reflection of our hopes for unity, healing, and understanding:

In the front foyer /  display  cabinet we have framed information of the Bollards and our Wadawurrung coastline.

Visual Art:

'This term in Visual Art, Year One students explored both traditional and contemporary Australian Aboriginal art, focusing on its cultural significance and sacredness within First Nations communities. They learned about the importance of Aboriginal art as a means of communication and storytelling, particularly through the use of symbols.

To consolidate their understanding and develop their artistic skills, the students created an Aboriginal-inspired artwork influenced by the story My Little Barlaagany. This book, written and illustrated by Melissa Greenwood—a proud Gumbaynggirr woman—features a Dreamtime story that follows a mother and her baby’s journey throughout the day, told through poetry and vibrant illustrations.

As part of their creative process, the students explored the Art Elements of shape, colour, and space, and worked with the medium of acrylic paint. They used these skills to create their own vivid representations of Aboriginal-inspired symbols, including the sun/sunshine (barlaagany), moon (giidany), and stars'.

Sacrament of First Eucharist

Congratulations to our Year 4 students!

Over the last two weeks of June, our Year 4 students received the Sacrament of the Eucharist for the first time at St. Bernard’s Parish - a joyful and scared milestone in their faith journey.

We are incredibly proud of each and every one of them.  May receiving the Eucharist deepen your relationship with God and continue to guide you in love, faith and community.

A heartfelt thank you to Fr Tho for leading our celebrations. We are grateful for his spiritual guidance and continued support,  making these occasion even more meaningful for our student and their families.

A special thank you also goes to our Year 4 teachers and parents for their dedication in preparing the children throughout the term for this important day.  

Please enjoy the photos of each group (at the end of this report) as they celebrated the special moment together.
       

Sacrament of Confirmation

The Year 6 students of Clairvaux and St. Bernard’s Parish will be commencing their preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in Term 3.  Confirmation is the final Sacrament of Initiation to be received in the Catholic Church - the others being Baptism and Eucharist.  Confirmation is administered by the Bishop by the symbolic traditions of ‘laying-on of hands’ and anointing with chrism (oil).  Selecting a saint name and sponsor are also significant decisions to be made by the candidates. The Sacrament of Confirmation gives strength in faith and helps us to live our lives as ‘Spirit-filled people’

A note was sent out yesterday to all Year 6 families regarding Confirmation.

                            Please check your emails!

IMPORTANT CONFIRMATION DATES:

• Family Faith Evening - Wednesday 13th Aug   6.30 pm  
• Presentation masses - Sat 16 Aug 6pm, Sun 17 Aug 9am, 10.30 am

Sat 23  Aug 6pm, Sun 24 Aug 9am, 10.30 am

• Preparation Day - Wednesday 10th September
• Confirmation Masses - Sun 14th Sept 1pm & 3.30 pm    

Tues 16th Sept 6.30 pm

More information to follow next term regarding stoles, saint names and sponsors.

Please direct any questions regarding the sacrament to jroutley@ccsbelmont.com.au or your child’s classroom teacher.

Year Level Masses

Year 6 / Prep buddy mass - celebrating Creation

Last week, our Year 6 students and their Prep buddies came together to celebrate a beautiful mass centred around the theme of Creation, which has been a focus in Religious Education for our Prep students this term.

The Mass was a touching reflection of the special bond between the older and younger students.  Our Year 6 students demonstrated wonderful leadership as they gently guided their Prep buddies through the celebration, showing care, maturity and encouragement.

We were also delighted by the fantastic turnout of parents whose presence highlighted the strong sense of community that enriches every part of school life here at Clairvaux.

Year Level Masses - TERM 3

• YEAR 4 Feast day of Mary McKillop   Tuesday 5th  August   12 noon
• YEAR 1  Grandparents Mass Tuesday 12th August  12 noon
• ST. BERNARD’S DAY Monday 25th August  9.15 am

Whole School Mass and Lapathon

Refugee Week

A sincere thankyou to the Clairvaux community for your generous support during Refugee Week.

Through your donations to the Assylum Seeker Food Bank @ The Welcome Place,  you have made a real difference to the lives of local refugee families.  Your kindness and compassion reflect important ‘touchstones’ of our school - where faith, community and service come together to support those in need.

Thankyou also to Marg Mahoney, the Social Justice CSC group and the Year 6 students for organising and promoting this worthy cause.  

Yvonne Paturzo who generously volunteers her time with the organisation, spoke to our Social Justice group and Year 6s, demonstrating the essence of a true ‘Spirit-filled’ person in our community.   We received a lovely letter from her in response to our donations. 

An excerpt from the letter…

‘The Wesley Asylum Seeker Welcome Place was delighted to receive your school’s very

generous donation of hundreds of non-perishable grocery items for our Food Bank last

week. Our shelves are now very well stocked, and we wish to express our thanks to the

Clairvaux Catholic School community for your kindness and concern.’

Photos from Refugee week and celebration of our Clairvaux cultural diversity…

                           


NAIDOC week - The Next Generation :

Strength, Vision and Legacy

Next week , July 6 - 13, we acknowledge NAIDOC week 2025, a special time to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The 2025 Theme, “The Next Generation; Strength, Vision & Legacy,” celebrates not only the achievements of the past but the bright future ahead, empowered by the strength of our young leaders, the vision of our communities and the legacy of our ancestors.  At Clairvaux, we honour the Traditional Custodians of the Land and continue to learn, listen and grow in our understanding and respect of our First Nations people.

Lia Rizzi, one of our talented Art teachers has taken inspiration from Indiginous Artists with students from Year 4 and 6 creating some amazing pieces.

Year 4 - Contemporary Indigenous artists: Bronwyn Bancroft and Jimmy Pike.

Bancroft has illustrated over 40 children's story books, including Colours of Australia, Patterns of Australia and Shapes of Australia. All three books combined create the book, Art in Country. 

Jimmy Pike's bright and colourful works focus on the repetition of line, surrounding the indigenous symbol for waterhole. Many of Pike's works feature 'Jila Japingka,' a major waterhole, around 400 kilometres south of Fitzroy Crossing, in the Great Sandy Desert, near where he was born.

Year 6 - Albert Namatjira, Australian watercolour landscapes

Namatjira was a pioneer of  Indigenous Australian art that was influenced by western art. This made him the most famous Indigenous Australian of his generation. Namatjira primarily painted the landscapes of Central Australia, specifically the MacDonnell Ranges region. His works often depicted the rugged terrain, vibrant colors, and expansive skies of the outback.

Eucharist 2025

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Refugee Week is on 15th to 21st June and is a time to celebrate the rich cultures of refugee communities in Australia. We celebrate the ways in which people from refugee backgrounds enrich our communities and culture and we work towards understanding  the many challenges they face. 

To recognise Refugee Week at Clairvaux we will be supporting St. Bernard's parish food bank, which supports refugee families in our community. Each year level can bring in non perishable food for a ‘Food Drive’ and further information about the types of food to donate will be posted on ‘Seesaw’ in the coming week.  We will also be having a ‘Cultural’ dress up day on Monday 16th June.  Students can dress in costumes that reflect their family’s culture or the colours of that country's flag.  

Below is a link to a slideshow that you can view.

https://youtu.be/5icWpo_qqIc

If your child rides their bike to school could you please have a conversation with them about bike safety and expectations in the school yard. We love seeing children being independent but ask that they be respectful of after school crowds particularly along the path to McDonalds Reserve and around the Church car park. We also do not allow any scooters or bikes to be ridden in the school yard.

We welcome parents into our yard after school however ask that toddlers and all school children are not on the play equipment. We kindly ask this from a risk point of view in regards to accidents, supervision and children who should be waiting at gates for their parents to arrive.

With the weather cooling down we also remind parents to please ensure their children have a jumper/jacket to put on if they require. We understand that there can be conversations at home where children do not want to wear another layer - however ensuring there is an option in their school bag is the next best thing!

On the flip side - with the recent spell of unseasonably warm weather, we’ve taken the opportunity to review and strengthen our SunSmart policy to ensure we’re keeping all students safe during outdoor activities.

Our current policy requires that all staff and students wear hats during Term 1 and from September (Week 7, Term 3 2025) through to the end of Term 4 whenever they are outside. To ensure consistency, there will be no grace period in Term 3. We will send reminders to both students and families the week prior to implementation so everyone is well prepared. If a student does not have a hat they will need to sit in a designated shaded spot in the yard for the duration of the play time. Please ensure hats are labeled (along with all your other uniform pieces).  

Students are expected to bring their own sunscreen each day. While we do keep a small supply at school for emergency use, we encourage all families to provide sunscreen and to instill daily application habits. Students are reminded to apply sunscreen at the first lunch break, which typically provides coverage for the afternoon. Additional reminders may be given at the second lunch, depending on the daily UV index. This has been communicated in our back to school information and previous newsletters.

That said, fostering lifelong sun-smart habits is a shared responsibility. We encourage parents to support this message at home by reinforcing the importance of wearing hats, applying sunscreen, and practising general sun safety throughout the year.

We have also noted that UV levels in April (often the start of Term 2) can be unexpectedly high. As such, we are reviewing our policy with the intention of extending our ‘No Hat, No Play’ rule to cover all of April. Similarly, (from 2024 onward), all of September has been included in our hat-wearing policy to ensure we are capturing as many high UV days as possible.

While it is not always feasible to manage sun safety on a day-by-day UV basis in a school of our size, we believe these changes will provide broader protection. We also encourage students to keep their hats at school year-round, as UV spikes can occur between May and August as well.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us keep your children safe in the sun.

Year 1 Dives Into Swimming Fun!

Last week, our incredible Year 1 students made a big splash at their swimming program and what a whirlpool of fun it's been! From bubble blowing to big kicks, water safety to freestyle strokes, our learners have been busy turning into confident little swimmers.

Each student bravely tackled new challenges, grew their independence, and built water confidence. We’re so proud of the courage, resilience, and enthusiasm they showed both in and out of the pool!

A huge wave of thanks goes out to our amazing parent and carer volunteers, Year 1 team and Simone Seagrave (Sports Coordinator). Your support, smiles, and helping hands played a key role in keeping each session smooth and safe. We couldn’t have done it without you!

I asked some of our Year 1 swimmers to reflect on their aquatic adventures:

• What was your favourite part of the swimming program?

Adeline Kelly (1EH): My favourite part of swimming was when we did the sinkies. They are toys that sink to the bottom of the pool and we had to dive under and collect them

• What new skill did you learn in the pool?

Monty Furtulla (1LB): I learnt about survival backstroke. It was really hard to do.

• If you were a swimming superhero, what would your power be?

Elsie Spolding (1EW): My power would be diving so I could jump off the very high diving blocks. 

• What would you say to a friend who is nervous about swimming?

Daisy Priddle (1HB): It’s really fun and you’re there with all your friends. 

Bianca Giampaolo

P- 1 Middle Learning Leader

In the last week of this term we will be holding our ‘Mid Year Parent Teacher Chats’. These conversations will be held either in person or via a phone call made to you from your child’s teacher - your child does not need to be available to participate in the conversation and you will have the opportunity to select an option when you book. Meetings will be held on:

• Monday 30th June (12:10 pm - 6:30 pm) - (PLEASE NOTE ALL STUDENTS WILL BE DISMISSED AT 12 MIDDAY ON THIS DAY - YOU WILL NEED TO ARRANGE FOR THEM TO BE PICKED UP AT THIS TIME) Kelly club will be open from midday.
• Wednesday 2nd July  (3:40 pm - 7:40 pm)PLEASE NOTE:

  3ST and 4CM will also be holding some interviews on Tuesday 1st July (2:10 pm - 5:30 pm)

These interview times are scheduled for after you receive your child’s report so teachers can talk to the report and you can ask any questions. Reports will be sent home via PAM on Friday 27th.

Our reports do not have comments - only progress marks, so the interview times are a very important part of our reporting process and allows the opportunity to provide further information about your child's progress. Thank you to those who have already made a time to meet.

Please visit: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/tqxvy


The code needed is: tqxvy if you are prompted.

This term in the Library, we will be hosting a Gigantic Book Fair!

It will be held during Week 9 and 10. (16 - 27/6/25)

During Week 9, the children will have the opportunity to view the Book Fair and create a "Wish List" should they choose. Purchases are NOT available this week. As always, I will stress to the children that there is absolutely no obligation to purchase. Should you choose to buy, a percentage of sales is returned to the Library in the form of rewards that I use to buy many New Release books. You are welcome to come in and have a look before and after school this week.

Week 10 is purchase week. Again you are welcome to come in before and after school to purchase or you may choose to use the online feature. All online orders come directly to me, and I generally fill them on the same day so that your child can take them home immediately. Online and card purchases are preferred.

Thank you for your continued support of Literacy at Clairvaux.