Issue 18 2015
Term 2 Week 7
10th June 2015
www.hccs.sa.edu.au
Some PARENT REFLECTIONS from the Year 8 Fiji Mission Trip
Our trip to Fiji gave us a life changing opportunity to share far more than
words can ever adequately articulate. We shared experiences, laughs,
tears and an array of emotions.
There are a few universal feelings that we all need.....love, praise,
acceptance and appreciation. For me, our trip to Fiji, gave me all of this
and so much more. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to
accompany HCCS. I'd return in a heartbeat! I loved every minute and
the new friendships made! Cheers! Lee-Anne
*****
The experience was better than I could have ever imagined! The people of Fiji were incredibly friendly and welcoming in
every regard, and if possible, the more remote the visit - the friendlier they were. There were so many highlights and I
could easily fill the newsletter with them all, but here are just a few: the Year 8s were just amazing, I was so proud of all 19
young men and women and felt privileged to get to know them better – they are great kids; the staff and accompanying
parents/grandparent are just terrific people and again a privilege to share this time with
them, stress free; how generous all the Year 8 and HCCS families and community
were when we laid out the donations as a collective. It was overwhelming! Aliti’s smile
when we saw her for the second time at her School was delightful; but the one thing
that sticks most in my mind was how I felt leaving Vaturu District School with the kids
chasing the bus down the long driveway. I put my face in my hands and sobbed –
these kids had so little, but were so happy and we shared so much fun – one of my
best days ever! I can’t wait to go back in 2017 with Alicia – thank you HCCS for the
opportunity – it is a good and worthwhile mission. Robby
*****
I am still feeling very emotional, overwhelmed and on a high ...words just cannot describe this amazing experience and
opportunity that we were given.
To know that wherever we go in this big wide world and no matter how different our cultures may be or our looks or our
language barriers, God is our strength and the common connection in all of us. Connecting with some of the beautiful Fijian
and Indian friends felt like my own little love story. I cannot stop thinking about them and praying for
their health and well being. They are forever in my heart.
The Fiji Mission Trip has certainly rattled my world and my thinking and made me want to give, give,
give, love, love, love, laugh, laugh, laugh and live, live, live more than you can ever imagine.
I felt so proud of our Year 8 students and how they embraced Fiji, its culture and people so easily
and also each other too. Their manners were impeccable....you should be very proud of your
children, Year 8 parents! Kerry x
'A Christian school community, helping children learn and grow to achieve their potential'.
Playgroup ~ Early Learning Centre ~ Primary ~ Secondary
PO BOX 120 VERDUN SA 5245
Email: enquiries@hccs.sa.edu.au
Phone: (08) 8388 7811
Fax: (08) 8388 1308
Prayer & Praise Points
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thank God for the most amazing Year 8 Mission Trip
to Fiji and the difference it made to the people of Fiji
and the way it touched the HCCS students and
adults that went
thank God for a successful Year 7 trip to Canberra
and the Year 10 Bushwalk last week
pray for the Quiz Night on Saturday; may it be a fun,
community filled successful night
pray for all those struggling with winter illnesses
thank God for the gorgeous weather over the long
weekend
SRC Germany Day
(Deutscher Tag)
ENROLMENTS FOR 2016
HCCS is blessed by the continuing
support of current and past families who
recommend our School to friends, family
and neighbours.
Please let your network know that if
they are considering HCCS, we are
‘nearly full’ in most classes including
the ELC and Reception. Have you
enrolled siblings?
If you know your child/ren will not
continue at HCCS in 2016 an early
indication will assist the School with its
planning please. We are already putting
some families on a wait list. Thank you!
FRIDAY JUNE 19TH
Milkshakes and Hot Chocolate
It would be wonderful to see students dress up in
German folktale style dress, otherwise come in
Casual Clothes.
PLEASE BRING A GOLD COIN DONATION for the
day as SRC is hoping to raise money for Nature Play
and the development of the ‘Rivermont’ property.
THIS FRIDAY, JUNE 12TH
ONE DAY ONLY! $3 per item
Raising money for the ANZAC Grove trees.
Order forms have been sent home.
HCCS HALL, VERDUN
BYO food and drinks
FREE Tea and coffee
THIS SATURDAY
JUNE 13TH
6.30pm—10.30pm
Tickets: $15
Have you booked your table yet?
OR
told the Front Office that you would
like to be placed on a table?
This is the school’s MAJOR
FUNDRAISER for 2015!
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
GREAT PRIZES TO BE WON!
SILENT AUCTION and GAMES!
Lots of FUN! FUN! FUN!
The
last
Quiz
Night
was
SO
SUCCESSFUL
because
so
many
families in the HCCS community
donated PRIZES which became Auction
items, Silent Auction items or ‘Winning
table basket’ items. Please let the Front
Office know if you intend to donate a prize.
As a reward for reading this Newsletter, we
have included ANOTHER ANSWER to one
of the questions at the HCCS QUIZ
NIGHT:
Q.
In Eurovision 2015,
country came second?
A.
Russia
which
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Voluntary Building Fund
HCCS is blessed with our strong facilities
and, in the past, generous giving to the
HCCS Building Fund has made some of
these possible. In recent years we have:
 bought
9 acres for Nature Play,
environmental studies and the Year 7
Centre
 built our wonderful Hall and 4 classrooms
across Sandow Lane
 replaced our computer suite
 replanted our oval and built a shelter
 extended our Administration Building
Our Building Fund enables HCCS to vision
future projects and assist with the repaying
of significant bank loans for our recent
facilities.
Please give generously and access the TAX
DEDUCTION attached to the HCCS
Voluntary Building Fund before June 30th.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU to Pastor Clayton Fopp from
Trinity Hills, Mt Barker Church for delivering an entertaining
and strong message about God’s great love for as at
Monday morning Devotions. I am sure it is one the children
will remember for a long time!
Quiz Night Class Bonus!!!
AT THIS STAGE, it looks like the extra
Casual Day will be going to Mr Carters'
class unless an other class would like
to try and beat them?
The parents of the Year 1/2
class have booked 2 tables for
the Quiz Night this Saturday.
There is still time to beat them
— see what you can do!
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
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A Very Proud Teacher!
Wow! Our Year 8 students once again acted in a way
that all of the HCCS Community would be proud of
them. They willingly accepted everyone they came
across and engaged with them to make them feel
special and worthwhile. We received many
compliments about our students’ manners and good
behaviour. Thank you to the HCCS community who
donated gifts and upheld us in prayer. Thank you also
to everyone who made sacrifices to enable the Year 8
students to be in Fiji for eight days. Many 'seeds of
service' were planted in our students’ hearts and we
ask God to help these to grow. Well done Year 8
students for your service to others! Michelle Bull
Flights to Fiji
Adelaide Airport: We arrived at the airport tired of course
due to the very early start, but excited about the great
adventure that was about to begin. The airport was not like
I’ve seen it before because it was empty and only the
people that were boarding our plane were checking in.
Nadi Airport: We arrived at the airport at 4:00pm. As we
walked out of the plane, the humidity hit us with a BANG!
Within a few steps I was already sweating, and from that
moment I knew that it was going to be a hot sweaty week!
As we walked into customs there was a ukulele band
playing a song called Bula Bula [Hello Hello]. It was a great
welcoming. We got through customs with no hassle but
the hotel bus hadn’t arrived yet. When it did arrive, half an
hour later, the bus was too small so there had to be two
trips to the hotel and to make it even longer, there were
road works. And to make it even longer again, it was peak
hour traffic! In the end we all got to our hotel safely for
dinner! Will Peter
YEAR 8 MISSION TRIP
Treasure House Orphanage
Before going to Fiji we were given a child from the
Orphanage to get a gift for. The gift we brought had to
be wrapped ready to take to Fiji and given to the
children when we went to the Orphanage. All the
children appreciated their gifts and loved the fact
they had something of their own. Even though they
got their own gift they would still try to take other
children’s gifts, so we had to be careful. The youngest
child there was only 3 months and the oldest was about
18 years. After the kids opened their gifts we all started
playing games with the children; we all enjoyed that.
I had a 5 month old boy that even I wanted to take
home! He liked what we got him and I became great
friends with the girl who looked after the young boy,
Joel. After a few hours we had to say goodbye. This was
hard if we had bonded like a lot of us.
I really enjoyed the day and would take any opportunity
to go and see these children again. It touched me to see
the young children in the Orphanage and I hoped
they would soon be adopted. Caitlin Lamerichs
McDonalds for lunch
We took the Treasure House orphans to McDonalds for
lunch — OUR TREAT!
All the kids loved the
playground! You could see by the look on their faces
that they were having so much fun! A lady that worked
at McDonalds brought out some face paints and did
free face painting for all the kids. She even offered for
some of us to have a turn at painting their faces.
Everyone really enjoyed going out for lunch and I
thought it was so cute sitting with the little kids while
they ate. I really liked taking them to McDonalds; it
was heaps of fun! Victoria Wright
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
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Laloma
Laloma was very scary at first. I was very shy but once
you got to know some of the kids it was just amazing.
The children suddenly had smiles on their faces, being
interactive with us and wanting to play. To start with,
some of the children were shy, then, once they got in and
started playing they just wouldn’t stop their smiles. It was
amazing to see. I could really understand because I felt
the same.
My favourite part of the whole thing would have to be
when Mrs Saldanha announced to one of the leaders that
we were giving them $1000. That leader had just said
that they were low on money and needed extra for their
land. That just made her day and everyone’s day
because the face that she made was so happy and she
was hugging Mrs Saldanha so much! I could feel the
love and the appreciation. Griffin Jarvis
Vaturu District School
When we arrived at Vaturu District School we were
greeted by a sea of smiling faces! We sat down in front of
everyone and had students come up to us and tie floral
leis around our necks. They performed to us for about an
hour. In their performance there was a Kava Ceremony,
dances, songs, and at the very end of the welcome
ceremony they invited us up to dance with them. Once
the performance was over we presented them with a pile
of donations. There was lots of sports equipment, school
supplies, and books. Throughout the whole day we had
kids hanging off of us and you wouldn’t see anyone
without a massive smile on their face. I had a fantastic day
and it was by far the best day of the trip. Eilish Horsfall
MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN FIJI
“We were greeted by a sea of smiling faces!
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
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Food in Fiji
From my point of view the tropical fruits in Fiji were straight
from the tree/bush which made them fresh. It also meant
the fruits were juicy and full of flavour. For most
nights our wonderful parent helpers cooked dinner for us,
which was super handy because most times we had all just
come back from a long day of spending fun time with the
kids. We all put money in so the parents could buy all the
ingredients they needed for tea and this money lasted us
three nights of delicious meals. These included Spaghetti
Bolognese, Curry and then leftovers. For dinner other
nights we all went to a restaurant called Anna’s who served
us with pizza, chicken, fried rice, beef and pork. For
breakfast we were able to buy our own food and make
whatever we wanted. Zachary Kuiper
Christian School Sports
We went to Nadi Christian School to do some sports.
When we got there we split into groups of 4 or 5 to join
up with the Christian School students. There were 5
sports which included basketball, volleyball, soccer,
sprints and futsal. They each went for 10 minutes.
After the 40 minutes, we went back to the hotel and
went in the pool, which was really nice because it was
hot. Mitchell Kohlhagen
Parent Reflection
Special School
Visiting the Special School really touched me because
although we catch on to learning new things quite easily
these children do not. I really loved this experience as
we were allowed to help the children learn and play
with them before their lessons. As we walked through
their oval, we were greeted by many children who
immediately ran up to us, held our hand and started
showing us around everywhere. One boy who made friends
with me wanted me to go to his classroom, as he pulled
me towards where he learns I saw what they were
learning. They were learning how to do long
multiplication and we had the chance to help them. By
the end of it they really were catching on to it quite well.
Isobel Kuiper
I left for Fiji thinking I would witness first hand a group of
young people experiencing valuable life lessons, giving themselves to serve children
from another culture, realising they didn't need possessions to be happy, and that
those who had little were the happiest of them all. I certainly wasn't disappointed with
our ‘AWESOME' Year 8 class. What I didn't expect, was the impact the Mission Trip
would have on ME! I went along happily as a parent helper and passenger and
came home feeling so very different. Thank you for the opportunity. Ali Peter
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
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Church in Fiji
Church in Fiji was really different to church in Australia.
First of all, the music was different because in Australia the
music is upbeat and really loud for so little people. Second
of all, they asked the crowd lots of questions and we had
to answer so in a way they were testing our knowledge of
the Bible. All these things were good and challenging and
that’s why I liked it so much. Its nice to know there are
Christians all over the world. Caleb Stewart
St Mina School
When we got to our hotel in Fiji, Mrs Bull found out that
there was a new foster home for children before they
have a home to stay in across the road called St Mina.
The Director (Michal) said that the kids are cold at night
time because the weather is colder than usual. We
straight away went to the local shop and bought
them blankets for their beds (we bought them from
the money raised with the chocolate boxes so thank you
if you bought a chocolate.) We also bought a high
chair, cooking pots, rice cooker, tarps and brought
books and clothes over for them. As soon we walked
through the gate of the foster home a little boy latched
on to me like we were family. I walked around with
him in my arms and he nearly fell asleep. Zac Speet
Vunisamaloa Sangam School
We went to the Ba schools on the fifth day. The first
school we went to was called the Vunisamaloa Sangam
School. We were given flowers and coconuts when we
arrived. We took our gifts out of the bus, and gave them
to the school. We then got a quick speech about the
school, students and teachers. After we gave our
prayer, we went out to their oval and played a bit of
soccer. They were really fun to play with but their
teacher took the game very seriously. We were then
given lunch which was an assortment of food including
rice, potato plant and a very nice lolly called Jelly Meat.
We then went around the School and talked to the
students. They had a very nice playground which all the
students loved very much. Overall, the day was very
enjoyable and I feel like the students were blessed to
have us. Rhys Bevan
Donations
From all of the chocolates, lollies and entry tickets for the
Movie Night we raised over $1,000 for Fiji which we
were able to spend on blankets, food, clothes and toys
for all of the children in the schools and orphanages that
we visited. When we gave them all of the gifts, their faces
lit up with smiles. Nicole
THANK YOU HCCS COMMUNITY!
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
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Buses
Souvenir markets
Going to the souvenir markets was one of the most
hilarious days. We had to barter and argue and refuse
like crazy! Because they wanted to get as much
money from us as possible, we would walk into their
shops and they wouldn’t let us leave, no matter what!
This one lady would trap you in the back of her shop
and would block the only exit (don’t worry the parents
and teachers were close by) and wouldn’t let you leave
until you bought something or she had enough of trying
to get you to buy something. It was very funny! When
we were there we had the chance to buy presents for
family and ourselves. There were a few different things
you could buy, like wooden decorated axes and musical
instruments and jewellery. It was interesting and a lot of
fun! Thomas Harrison
The buses were interesting and almost all the public
buses we took had no windows. A way to let the driver
know that you wanted to get off the bus was to pull a
cord strung all throughout the bus. There was no
electricity so when you wanted to get off, all you had to
do was pull on the string and a bicycle bell would ring.
The buses ran by Fiji time, and in some of the buses, the
driver wouldn’t drive if anyone was standing up.
Often we would sit next to one or two people that we
didn’t know at all. In Australia, that would normally mean
an awkward and quiet bus trip, but in Fiji we were talked
as if they had known us for years. We kept being asked
about what we were doing. The atmosphere was really
positive. Caleb Griggs
Shastri Memorial School
When we arrived at the School on the Tuesday afternoon
we were greeted by some of the girls who had necklaces
made out of flowers. They put them around our necks
and gave us fresh coconut with coconut milk. We then
went into one of the classrooms and the girls said a prayer
and handed the microphone over to the leader of the
School who told us our plans for the rest of the day which
included going outside and socialising with the kids. We
found ourselves being led out of the building by an ocean
of kids and split up to our different activities. Most of the
boys played soccer against the bigger kids and some of the
girls went off and played with the little boys and girls.
Supper was made up of muffins, cakes and drinks and all
of the students from H.C.C.S would talk about their day.
After that we said our farewells and headed back to the
hotel for a swim.
Overall, going to the Ba School was a wonderful
experience for everyone. Bailey Fleming
Fiji Activities and Sports
After the welcome we got at Vaturu we got to go and play
games with the kids. It was great fun and everybody had
a great time. I was with a group of boys playing rugby as
it is very common to do so in Fiji. There were lots of
different groups all playing games with the children.
There was soccer, rugby, duck duck goose, volleyball,
dancing, racing and talking going on in numerous
groups of people. I loved how the kids were SO HAPPY
TO SEE US there and treated us like we were their
LONG LIFE FRIENDS.
One of the kids drew me an amazing picture of a man
riding a horse. It is one of best pictures I have ever seen
in my life and he is in Year 7! It was really nice of him to
give it to me because it made me feel special but the way
he gave it to me was great because we were sticking our
arms out to say goodbye and hi fiving the kids when he
came out of nowhere and gave me this piece of paper
and I opened it to find the picture. It was one of the best
days of my life and I would definitely do it again. And
for the future students who will go to Fiji, don’t be afraid
to go straight in and play with the kids because they will
want to play with you and you will get so many benefits
from doing it. Josiah Shillabeer
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
“I have had one of the best days of my life!” Josiah
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South Sea Excursion
For a treat, Mrs Bull took us to South Sea Island on a small
cruise boat. When we got on the island we had the
opportunity to swim in the pool, go on a glass bottom boat
and snorkel. There were hammocks and sun lounges, but it
wasn’t a tropical island without the music and the traditional
dancing. When I went snorkelling I saw a ton of fish and I
almost touched a parrot fish. Overall, the island was a great
treat even though the island was half the size of a football
oval it was probably the second greatest thing on the whole
trip. Nicole Bond-Wallner
Thanks Parents!
While we were away in Fiji, the parents made a
fantastic effort in making sure that no one got lost,
all stayed safe and ate appropriately. Each night
the parents would be around the pool watching us
cool down after a long day. The mums worked
extremely hard to prepare dinner for us for many
nights and Lee-Anne Horsfall especially, worked
extra hard to care for several medical issues
amongst us. Thanks to all the parents and
grandparents that came along with us to Fiji and
made sure it was a huge success. Without them, Fiji
would not even be a possibility. Melinda Mead
A Very Proud Deputy Principal!
Flights Back
to Adelaide
We were driven to Nadi Airport and had to go through
customs. We boarded the plane at 3:00pm and took off
at 3:30pm. Midway during the flight a lady on the plane
fell sick and was in shock. One of our parents, Lee-Anne,
went immediately to the lady’s aide and for the rest of
the flight Lee-Anne was helping this lady. The pilot
announced over the microphone that we were going to
do an emergency landing at New Caledonia but in the end
we flew on to Brisbane instead of Sydney as planned. We
arrived at Brisbane airport and were quickly ushered off
to get ready for the Adelaide flight home. We found out
when we were on the plane that we had held the flight
up for 30 minutes and it was waiting just for us.
We arrived at Adelaide Airport at 11:00pm and met our
families there. We were all happy to see each other.
Bailey Fleming
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
What an amazing experience we had in Fiji — truly lifechanging and perspective-altering. Memories of this
trip will stay with the students, parents and staff for a
very long time. I can personally say that it was one of
the top highlights of my teaching career.
We can all be very proud of our Year 8 students who
gave an excellent account of themselves in all
situations. I can't remember being more proud of a
group of students in my time as a teacher.
THANKS to Michelle Bull, Deb Frahn, Desley Saldanha,
Chris Riemann and many others who have helped
organise the trip, which provided so much enrichment
to our Year 8 students and is now firmly part of the
Secondary School culture.
THANKS to the parents and grandparent who came
along and worked so well together towards helping
make this such an amazing, memorable experience.
THANKS to you, the School Community for supporting
the Fiji trip with your kind donations and buying
sausages and chocolates. Donovan Shaw
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HOTELS IN FIJI
Our hotel rooms had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a lounge
area, 2 bathrooms and a dining area where we had
breakfast. The dorms weren’t as big as we all expected, but
they still were okay. A fantastic thing was the room
cleaners who made your beds every day which was really
nice of them. It wasn’t the best room service when you
rang up the counter and asked for something. For
example: when you rang for some blankets they would
come the next day and you had to go through the night a
little bit chilly. Our hotel had a pool right outside of our
dorms. The pool came in use when we had been out all day
in the humidity and hot sun, but to the Fijians it was a
coldish day. Some people were up 2 or 1 storeys high, so we
were all spread across the whole building.
One afternoon, when we got back to our dorms, we saw
some water dripping over the balcony. We all ran up there
and saw water running out of Mr Shaw’s, Bailey’s and
Thomas’ room. Bailey looked through the kitchen window
and saw the whole floor flooded about 3cms high of water!
Rhys, Caleb S and I sprinted down to Mr Shaw to let him
know what had happened. He was stressed!! We opened
the door and water poured out. Guess what caused this?
The washing machine hose wasn’t in the sink while the
washing machine was on getting rid of the excess water
from the machine. Their clothes were left on the floor so
they were drenched, their suitcases were drenched and the
bottom of their couches were wet. We were all helping get
the water out of their dorm by flushing it out with bath
towels, brooms, feet and hands until 11:00pm . That sure
was a long day! That’s a lesson—NEVER leave your washing
machine hose out of the sink. Lily Hannaford
2015 DATES TO REMEMBER
JUNE
Fri 12th
Sat 13th
Mon 15th
Tues 16th
Wed 17th
Thurs 18th
Fri 19th
Mon 22nd
Wed 24th
Fri 26th
Mon 29th
Tues 30th
HCCS Playgroup 9.30am —11am
AHC Mobile Library
Milkshakes and Hot Chocolate
Year 3 and 4 Footy Clinics
Assembly 2.50pm - Yr 3 Team
HCCS Quiz Night
Devotions 9.05am — HCCS Secondary Yr 8
Year 1 and 2 Learning team to Bunnings
Winter Concert POSTPONED—new date to be advised
Winter Concert POSTPONED—new date to be advised
Reception Orientation
Second Hand Uniforms open 8.30am—9.00am
Meet The Writers - Adelaide Convention Centre
HCCS Playgroup 9.30am —11am
Deutscher Tag’ - Germany Day
Year 3 and 4 Footy Clinics
Assembly 2.50pm - German
Casual Day (Primary /Secondary)
Second Hand Uniforms open 8.30am—9.00am
Devotions 9.05am — Yr 6 & Anthony Risson
Reception Orientation
Board meeting
HCCS Playgroup 9.30am —11am
AHC Mobile Library
Year 3 and 4 Footy Clinics
Hot Pasta Lunch (Primary) has been CANCELLED
Assembly 2.50pm - Rec/Yr 1 and Yr 1 Team
Devotions 9.05am — Yr 1 & Matthew Carratt
ELC CAFHS Screening
ELC Orientation Visit 1
ELC Parent Orientation Meeting
JULY
Wed 1st
Thurs 2nd
Fri 3rd
ELC Orientation Visit 2
Year 5 Camp Illawonga
ELC Orientation Visit 3
Year 5 Camp Illawonga
HCCS Playgroup 9.30am —11am
Year 5 Camp Illawonga
Assembly 2.50pm - Yr 7
Last day of Term 2
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to these people having birthdays
THIS WEEK:
Elsie Burvill, Ari Cradock, Deegan
Dealtry, Giana Guglielmucci, Matilda Holman, Angel
Hugo, Georgee Jones, Max McGowan, Oscar Mayne,
Louis Moran, Mili Murphy, Micah Shillabeer, Zac Speet,
Madeline Stevens, Rachel Stewart, Hugh Watson, Bryce
Yeager.
THERE WAS LOTS OF LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
Faith ~ Nurture ~ Community ~ Learning
When your child is going to be ABSENT from School:
Please advise the Front Office by email or sms if possible by
9.00am!!
Email: enquiries@hccs.sa.edu.au
SMS: 0400 738 405
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