Dear Parents, Friends, Students and Staff
It was my pleasure to join the Year Five students as they gathered together this week, with parents, visitors and Father Joseph, to celebrate their class Mass. During the Mass Father Joseph talked to the students about the Good News of Jesus and he challenged them to be the Good News to all those they meet, both at home and at school. What does it mean to be witness to the “Good News”? Witness – that means to stand out; people see who we are, what we are, what we stand for and what we say and do. The Good News is the love of God, made clear to us in the person of Jesus. We witness the Good News when we love others by showing forgiveness, kindness and compassion. The Good News message links to our Making Jesus Real Value, introduced earlier this week. Our value for the next two weeks is, Giving. We are “giving” when we are generous in sharing our time, our ideas and our things with others. To be “giving” is to be thoughtful to the needs of others. Jesus was always thoughtful to the needs of others. When we demonstrate “giving” we are witnessing the Good News as God intended us to do.
May our lives reflect our faith,
Being generous in giving,
Grateful in receiving
And being a blessing as we are blessed.
Bunnings Sausage Sizzle
Sincerest thanks to our parents who have generously volunteered their time for the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle on Saturday. Please come down to the Midland Bunnings on Saturday, if you are able to, to say hello and support the P&F with this fundraising initiative.
Smart Watches
An increasing number of students are coming to school wearing Smart Watches. Smart Watches are expensive items and it is up to the students wearing them to make sure they are not damaged at school. Smart Watches have a number of applications, not all of which are suitable for accessing during the day at school. Smart Watches can be a great distraction for the children and it is important that they are used for checking the time only. Please ensure Smart Watch applications are not active at school. Watches will be confiscated during the day if they are not used appropriately. I am grateful to our parents for their support with this issue.
Student Achievements
Our students have various achievements outside of school that we would like to acknowledge and celebrate. Please let me know if there is an achievement for your child that you would like acknowledged on our social media pages from time to time.
Open Day and School Tours
Please promote our Open Day and School Tours on Thursday 27th August to family, friends and neighbours. School tours will be available between 9.30-10.30am and 4.30-6.00pm. In particular, we are promoting our Pre-Kindergarten Program. The Pre-Kindy, for children once they turn 3 years of age, is a quality program and an affordable alternative to day care. We have some places available in the Kindergarten in 2021 and in a variety of other classes throughout the school. We rely on our parents to assist us with enrolments and appreciate your positive comments about the school to family and friends.
Scholastic Book Fair
We look forward to the annual Scholastic Book Fair to be held in the Library from 28th August to 1st September. A colouring competition sheet for students from Kindy to Year Six was sent home on Thursday 20th August. Please look out for this in your child’s school bag. The colouring sheets need to be completed and returned to school, with the child’s full name and year level, by Thursday 27th August for entry into the competition. Please return entries to the administration office for collating and collecting. Purchases for the book fair can be made using EFTPOS or cash. A credit facility will also be available for parents to use at home for pre-purchasing. Details about the credit system will be made available to parents via the class Facebook pages. Sincerest thanks to Marnie Hughes for organizing the book fair once again this year. The Scholastic Book Fair is a great way to generate interest in reading for our children and is also a great way for parents to begin their Christmas shopping.
Father’s Day Breakfast
An invitation and ordering form for the annual Father’s Day Breakfast has been sent home this week. Please get your orders in as soon as possible so the parents have plenty of time to get organized for feeding a large number of people at the breakfast on Friday 4th September.
Parent Survey
A parent’s survey to gauge interest in a Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School Out of School Hours Care facility has been made available to parents this week. The survey also has a question about online canteen ordering. The survey is very short and should only take a few minutes to complete. Please assist us in our planning for the needs of the school by completing the survey before it closes on Thursday 3rd September.
Thank you to Miss Martinz and Mrs Moore for preparing the Pre-Primary Assembly this morning. The presentations were excellent!
I look forward to welcoming parents to the Year Three Class Liturgy at 9.00am on Wednesday 26th August. We also welcome parents and students to the Year Four First Eucharist Workshop on Wednesday 26th August at 4.30pm. Please join us for the Year One Assembly next Friday 28th August commencing at 9.00am. The Year One class have been working hard to prepare for the assembly.
Best wishes for the week ahead.
Therese Hussey
Principal