From the Principal - Ashley Keane
Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe that we are halfway through May. I hope all of our families had an enjoyable school holiday break and it been great to see the children settling back into school routines.
A new leader for our Catholic Church
On Easter Monday the 21st of April, The Catholic Church and the world mourned the passing of Pope Francis, who died peacefully at the age of 88 in Vatican City.
Throughout his twelve-years as the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis became a symbol of pastoral leadership. He had a strong focus on caring for those who were poor and marginalised. He repeatedly called for mercy over judgment and had an unwavering commitment to caring for the environment. He was man of compassion and humility whose leadership of the Catholic Church was respected by many. May he rest in peace.
Last Friday the 9th of May, 133 Cardinals elected a new Pope. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the 267th Pope. Taking the name of Leo the XIV, Robert Prevost is 69 years of age and was born in Chicago. He is the first American to become the Pope. We offer our prayers for Pope Leo XIV as he embarks on a very important mission of leading and uniting a Catholic Church which is built around a spirit of love, faith and hope.
Sports Day
At the end of last term we had an amazing Sports Day event at Bridgestone Arena. It was a very warm day, however despite the warmer weather, the school community gathered together for a wonderful celebration of teamwork, light hearted competition, school spirit and fun.
A special congratulations to our amazing Year 6 student leaders, who did a fantastic job preparing the chants and leading their teams with passion and pride. The chants they prepared for the day and the way in which they all led their teams was outstanding. Their enthusiasm helped set the tone for a day filled with encouragement, healthy competition, and fun.
I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated staff whose tireless efforts made the day run so smoothly. I would like to especially acknowledge Angelo Zamparelli and Cassandra Figg for the enormous amount of work that they put in behind the scenes in order to make sure that the day was a great success.
Congratulations to St Mary the blue team, who were awarded the Cooperation Shield, a true testament to their teamwork, respect, and sportsmanship throughout the day.
And a big round of applause for St Brigid the green team who took home the Sports Day Trophy! Their outstanding performances and spirited participation earned them the top spot for the 3rd time in the last 4 years.
Thank you to everyone who came along to Sports Day and made the day such a wonderful community event. Thank you also to those parents who participated in the hamstring handicap. I know the children get a real kick out of parents joining in on the day.
Thank you to our Wonderful Parent & Friends Committee
Over the last couple of weeks our Parents and Friends group have been very active in supporting our school community. On Saturday the 3rd of May a group of dedicated parents gave up their time to prepare and host a sausage sizzle at the school’s election polling booth. This event was a fundraiser for our school’s wellbeing program and the money raised will go towards resources and games that the children can use in our school library at recess and lunch time.
Last Friday we had a number of volunteers who helped at the P&F Mother’s Day stall. The children all had the opportunity to purchase for their mums, grandmothers and other special people in their lives. The volunteer work of the P&F make these events possible and benefits all of the children in the school. I would like to offer a sincere and heart felt thank you to all of the volunteers who supported the P&F with both of these events.
Building Update
If you were at our Mother’s Day breakfast, you may have had the opportunity to look through our new Library and Inclusive Education spaces. These spaces are now in full operation and we only have a few minor touch ups to complete. We are now looking at fixing up the area outside the new staffroom which was used as the builders entrance whilst the building project was taking place and making this a usable space again.
We are well advanced with our planning for our next building project which is the erection of a shelter over the basketball courts and the re-surfacing of the court space. We had hoped that this project would already have started, however we are still working with the council to finalise the approval process. Once approved, we will make a start on this project and it is my hope that we will have this completed by the end of this year. I will keep you updated on proceedings.
Mother’s Day
Last Friday we celebrated Mother’s Day with a special breakfast and open morning. It was wonderful to see so many mums and special visitors attend this breakfast. I know that the children really enjoy having their mums visit the classrooms. I would like to thank all of those people who were able to attend the breakfast and I hope you enjoyed the morning. I would also like to acknowledge all of the staff who supported the event. Many staff were here early in the morning setting up for the event or cooking the breakfast and it was the combined effort of the staff that makes the Mother’s Day breakfast possible.
Disco
On Friday the 13th of June the P&F are hosting a school disco in the Hall. The Junior Primary disco will commence at 5:30pm and the Year 3-6 disco will commence at 7:00pm. Further information about this event will be sent out in the coming weeks.
Dates for Diary
Thursday 22nd May: School Assembly @ 9am hosted by Year 4.
Friday 6th June: Pupil Free Day
Monday 9th June: Public Holiday – King’s Birthday
Friday 13th June: School Disco
Thursday 19th June: School Assembly @ 9am hosted by Year
Friday 27th June: Year 3-6 Netball Carnival at Priceline Stadium.
Friday 4th July: Last Day of Term 2 – School finishes at 3:00pm.
Monday 21st July: First day of Term 3 – Students return.
Monday 21st – Wednesday 23rd July: Reception swimming program @ Arc – 3 days.
Monday 21st – Friday 25th July: Year 1 swimming program @ Arc – 5 days.
Friday 1st August: Whole School Italian Day.
Jokes for the week
Excuse me sir, is your fridge still running?
Then you better go and chase it.
By Bella in Room 3.
What is a dentist’s favourite time of the day?
Tooth-hurty (2:30)
God Bless
Ashley Keane