Dear Parents, Friends, Staff and Students
Here we are – the end of another school year and just 17 more sleeps until Christmas. It is a busy, but wonderful time of the year. We have enjoyed seeing the children and staff coming in to school this week with reindeer ears, elf hats, Christmas shirts, glittery headbands and lots of Christmas cheer.
As the year draws to a close I take this opportunity to thanks our staff, families, friends, supporters and students for their contributions towards ensuring another successful year of learning and growing together. This has been a memorable year with many successes to celebrate.
I have no doubt that our Year Six students take with them many memories of their time at Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School. I am sure you join with the staff in wishing them all good luck as they move on to their respective high schools. We are confident that they take the Matthew Gibney Spirit with them and are well prepared for the challenges ahead of them.
We offer our best wishes to those families who are leaving Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School this year. We have a number of families leaving after many years of association with the school. We thank all our departing families for their contributions to our school and wish you well as you commence new journeys in 2022.
A special thank you to all our volunteers this year, especially our regular canteen volunteers and those who assist in the classrooms and with the weekly exchange of reading books. Your assistance and generosity of time is always appreciated.
We farewell Mr Battistessa and Mrs Neal. We wish them well in their new endeavours and thank them for their contributions to our school community in 2021. We send our very best wishes to Mrs Power as she prepares for the birth of her first baby in 2022.
Finally, I thank our dedicated staff. The staff at our school are a professional team who work together in the best interests of every student at our school. I thank them, on your behalf, for their commitment, care and genuine desire to do the best job they can, every day, for every child.
During the third week of Advent we focus on “joy.” We are encouraged to find “joy” as we wait in expectation for the great feast of Christmas, and celebrate the birth of Jesus.
God of Joy,
Your love brings us joy during this Advent season as we await the birth of Jesus.
We pray for our sisters and brothers around the world who experience poverty, that we may work together as a global family so that they may have what they need.
Even as we face hardships, may we look to you daily.
May your joy illuminate our homes and families and workplaces, that we may then share it with our neighbours, both local and global.
In your name we pray. Amen
I wish all our families and friends a most happy and holy Christmas and a safe and enjoyable holiday. Enjoy the special time with your family. Create those memories that are so important to our family histories. Enjoy the time to slow down, relax and be with those who you most love.
Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.
Warmest regards
Therese Hussey
Principal
The Parent Information Evening for the start of Term 1 2022 will be held on Wednesday 2nd February. This is our first week back at school. Please add the date to your calendar. It is important that at least one parent from each family attends.
The annual P&F Welcome Picnic and Disco for 2022 will be held on Friday 25th February at 5.30am. Please save the date as this is our main event for Term One and we would love everyone to come along.
At Assembly on Monday, we thought about the many things we are grateful for over this past year – our friends, our teacher, our families and our wonderful school. 
The third Advent Wreath Candle which will be lit on Sunday (Gaudete Sunday), is known as the Joy Candle. The word Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin. 