Week 8 Term 3 2022

This week, a community information session was held to hear and ask questions about the proposed development at Rosary School.

From what we heard, the key interests in the proposal are:

• The method of development assessment and how the proposed redevelopment follows the guidelines of the Planning and Design Code including zoning and character overlay of the area
• Potential to exacerbate existing traffic, on-street parking and pedestrian movement issues along Staples Court resulting from an increase in student numbers
• Historical significance of the school, including Rosary Hall
• Impacts to traffic movement arising from the proposed new kiss-and-drop exiting to Staples Court
• Projected student enrolments and how they have informed the need for the redevelopment
• Amenity of the new building, particularly related to the proposed 2-3 storey height and the small building setback from Staples Court
• Removal of Rosary Hall and reinterpretation of the space including reuse of materials
• Security, amenity and use of staff carpark proposed to be relocated to the western side of the site
• Construction management including timing and staging of works
• Commitment to deliver what is proposed.

You can read more about the proposal in the attached information sheet.

In making a decision, the Council Assessment Panel will have regard to the provisions of the Planning and Design Code, along with both positive and constructive feedback received through its public notification process.

Susan Hennessy

Click below for more:

Rosary Information Flyer.pdf

"There is a growing sensitivity to the environment and the need to protect nature, along with a growing concern, both genuine and distressing, for what is happening to our planet… Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it." (Laudato Si #19)

In the Catholic Church, the Season of Creation commenced on September 1 and ends on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. St Francis is the Patron Saint of Animals and Ecology.

During the month-long Season of Creation, Christians come together to raise universal awareness of the damage being done to our Earth.

The theme of the Season of Creation 2022 is 'Listen to the Voice of Creation' and the burning bush is the symbol for the Season of Creation 2022. As we have experienced the devastating impact of fire in Australia in recent years, it has been all too stark for us, for other creatures and our environment. The focus of the Season of Creation in 2022 is very much on the devastating effects that climate change has on the most vulnerable of our planet.

As APRIM at Rosary School, I work very closely with our Faith & Social Justice Leaders. This group is comprised of very articulate and principled young people. They are passionate about many issues at our school and one issue that particularly interests them is our environment and what we can do, as a community, to address these issues.

One very practical and sensible initiative that our leaders have instigated over the last week is clear labelling and posters in proximity to our bins at school, to try to ensure that staff and students are placing the right items in the right bins. Our Faith and Social Justice Leaders were conscious that a certain degree of complacency was setting in and members of our community needed reminders about being conscious of our environmental responsibilities. Our leaders have also delivered this message to our whole community at school assemblies.

I am sure that similar conversations are happening at home and that we are being jointly educated by our young people with regards to appropriate care of our environment

This term has been filled with exciting learning opportunities for our Year 1 children.

In English, we have been learning about the features of Narratives by exploring traditional fairy tales. The children have enjoyed small world play at our story table in class and creating their own short narrative stories and books. We have been able to integrate visual art opportunities into our literacy experiences where the children created their own ‘mini me’ book week characters and clay fairy tale characters.

In Digital Technologies, our class have been developing their beginner coding skills while using the Blue Bots. The children had time to explore how the technology functions and then used their mapping skills to create their own map for the Blue Bot to operate on. The children used positional language to write instructions for a partner to follow. These learning experiences involved a lot of collaboration, problem solving and fun!

In Science, the Year 1’s have been learning about weather. The children have been exploring weather symbols, discussing seasonal temperature changes and journaling about the weather we experience each day. We conducted a ‘cloud in a jar’ experiment which allowed the children to work in small groups to hypothesise, follow step by step instructions, use observational skills and share their results. The children were so excited to see that they could make their own rain!

We have warmly welcomed April O’Brien to 1AH and Hayley Jackson to 1EF. April and Hayley are in their final year studying a Bachelor of Education and completing their placement with us this term. We thank April and Hayley for their contribution to our school community and wish them all the best for their future teaching career.

We would like to inform you that we are in constant communication with the project manager to confirm a completion date for the resurfacing of the courts. Unfortunately, the foundation is too damp to proceed at this stage. The children have managed the situation very well with increased access to the big oval, thanks to the generosity of Prospect Primary School. We will keep you informed of any developments.