Hi everyone.

I can’t get my head around the fact that we have already had 7 weeks of the first term. I just can’t keep up! Thank you so much for parking so beautifully. I really, really do appreciate it!

As you know, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. Fi had to take family leave, we had a trainee teacher in the water, we welcomed Megan as our relief teacher, and now we will be saying goodbye to Liz – but only for term 3, thank goodness. Fi returns next term and Megan will continue to provide relief for Liz while she recovers from an operation

So, news for the remainder of the term:

Week 8: Please complete the re-enrolment form in the changing room (whether you are returning or not, I need to know, please). Please also let me know if you would like a certificate for your child this term. These are a lot of work to produce, so we only offer them in terms 1 and 3.

Week 8: Some of you may have met my year 12 daughter, Abigail. She has been chosen as only one of 12 students from the whole of Australia to take part in a UN Youth Australia project in Timor Leste in late June. This is a huge achievement but comes with a fundraising price. In order to help her raise the $6,000 required, I will be raffling off the chance to win next term’s swimming fees free of charge! First prize will be the full term (worth $200), Second prize, $100 off the fees and third prize with be $50 off. Cost of the tickets will be $10. Please support her cause (more info will be in the changing room). This raffle is only available to existing students, so you have a very good chance of winning 🙂

Week 9 (1-5 April), sees Water Pixies Underwater Photography (https://www.waterpixies.com.au/whatwedo) visiting the swim school. There is no obligation to buy a photo, but I do recommend you take part. I still treasure the underwater pictures I have of my own kids as babies!

Week 10 (8-12) April will be Boat Safety week. Of all the water safety themes we do, this is always by the far the most popular. The kids get to try out lifejackets and go in a real life (inflatable!) boat. They talk about it for months afterwards! Please remember that this is a goggle-free lesson and I encourage them to wear clothes over their bathers. I am very passionate about water safety and believe that the more we can safely expose our kids to different scenarios, the more tools they will have to respond to a real-life scenario. Having no goggles and clothes on is especially important so children know what it feels like, so they don’t panic should this occur to them elsewhere (heaven forbid!).

Finally, I always welcome feedback from my swimming families. I am enormously grateful (and blown away), by how much you support me and my team. I also know I want continuous improvement in our school so please do let me know how we are doing.

With very best wishes and happy swimming,
Cathy and your STSS team

P.S. Do you like my Facebook page? It’s where I post reminders of things happening at the school, so it’s a great way for you to keep up to date, too. Here is the link to the page:
https://www.facebook.com/seaturtleswimming/