Gratitude, the dictionary meaning for gratitude is the quality of being thankful, the readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Often the English language is inadequate in articulating an experience that becomes drenched in emotion. This is what I have experienced over the past four weeks, while recovering from surgery. More specifically, the gratitude I felt towards the medical team who have gifted me with my hearing (or the return of) and my ability to fully breathe has been overwhelmingly indescribable.

Initially I thought hearing with one ear would be manageable, but that was not to be the case. Isolation and frustration were regular unwelcomed guests to my soul. It was four years to the day, that my hearing was "switched back on" and the feeling is  nothing less than remarkable. We take so much for granted, myself included, these last few weeks have been a wake up call to me. God has gifted us with a sacred temple, so finely tuned and balanced. Our bodies are our gift and our gratitude can be expressed to God by our love, respect and care for each and every part of our being. My prayer for you is that your eyes are open to the gift of your temple and that the gratitude you may show for material things is also shown for your body.

Many thanks to Beck for stepping into the Principal role in my absence. The lack of relief teachers made staffing particularly difficult for Beck, yet she consistently kept the students learning at the fore front of her decision making. I personally thank Beck for her leadership and know you join me in acknowledging her great work. As well I would like to thank all of Team Trinity for stepping up in support of Beck to cover the many facets of school life.

At the end of last term staff completed an evaluation of success, and areas to focus on from the Annual Improvement Plan. One of the areas that became a priority is student absentism. Our target for absentism is to reach what Catholic Education call "regular attendance". Regular attendance constitutes students attending school 90-94.9% of the time, this equates to 2-5 days absence in a term. I have a legal duty and pastoral obligation to encourage attendance and respond to absenteeism. Frequent absences are detrimental to a child's education and indicate the need to provide support and or pastoral care to enable children to attend school. If your child is absent from school  please contact the school to let us know. You can expect your child's teacher to contact you in regards to repeated absentism. Please note Trinity are bound by Catholic Education to follow the Attendance Policy, including taking action when repeated absentism is occurring. 

From time to time the comment "I was unaware of ........" is communicated to front office staff and or teachers. The forum for communication at Trinity is Compass. This is a system wide platform and we are choosing to channel all our communication through this one portal. You will receive school reports, parent teacher interview bookings, excursion notes and permission slips, flyers, event notices, messages from your class teacher, myself, the librarian and front office staff, all through Compass. You will receive two forms of notification from Compass letting you know there is correspondence; email and a message on the app, either way the message is the same. Please ensure you are informed of necessary information by regularly reading the communication from Compass. 

On Saturday night, members of the community, including Trinity staff will attend the Harden District Education Fund Trivia night. The Trinitarian community have generously donated an auction item - a Romantic Getaway to Canberra, package worth over $600. This gesture is a small way of showing our gratitude to Harden District Education Fund for their continual financial support. Thankyou for your generosity.

Yours in gratitude,

Caz Perryman

Leader Team Trinity