Newsletter April 16, 20024

St Brigid's Primary School Ballan wishes to acknowledge respectfully the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work, learn, play and gather.

Dear Members of our St Brigid’s Community,

Welcome back to Term 2!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Easter break with your loved ones. We were very excited to welcome all children back to school yesterday as we commenced Term 2.

In week 3, Catholic Education Week will take place and on March 30, 2024, The Diocese of Ballarat will turn 150.

It was on March 30, 1874, that Pope Pius the Ninth issued a decree that marked the beginning of the Ballarat Diocese.  Bishop Paul, in his message about the anniversary, said, “Our 150th anniversary will be an opportunity for each community throughout our diocese to remember those who have gone before us, those who have laid the foundations of our parish and school communities and the social services and health care that are provided in our diocese today. The anniversary will be an opportunity to review our history, acknowledging both strengths and weaknesses, celebrating the achievements and recognising the failures to live our Christian faith to the full. It will be a chance to take stock of where we are now and look ahead to how we can live as a truly Christian community, sharing the good news of Christ, in the years to come.” (ODC July 2023)

In recognition of Catholic Education Week, we will be hosting a special celebration at school from 9:00am - 11:00am on Friday the 3rd May. Our celebration will commence with whole school prayer/assembly at 9:00am at St Brigid’s Church, followed by activities in family groups and a special morning tea for our adults.

On Friday March 10th, we are excited to welcome special women in our lives to our Mother’s Day Breakfast and Liturgy. We will commence our celebration with breakfast from 8:30am in the Gathering Space (mother’s grandmother’s and special women), followed by a Liturgy with the children at 9:00am at St Brigid’s Church.

We look forward to working in partnership with you to ensure that your child has a successful and enjoyable term ahead. Together, we can support your child to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. Thank you for your continued support, and we wish you and your family all the best for the term ahead.

Take care and God bless,

Jayne Bosworth

'Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.'

Excerpt from St Brigid's Prayer

Last term, each year level facilitated Holy Week liturgies leading up to Easter Sunday.  On Friday 19th April at 9:00am, Year 3/4 will facilitate the final Holy Week Liturgy focusing on Easter Sunday.

Hot lunches will resume again from Week 3 via the online ordering system - Spriggy Schools.

Please see the brochure for information regarding the Spriggy Schools App.

Please note we are currently working on a new menu and it will be uploaded to app within the coming week.

Volunteers

This term we will re-introduce a roster to help prepare and serve lunches on each Friday. If you are available to help out on a Friday between 11.30am-1.00pm please contact the school office (valid Working with Children Check is required).

The children really enjoy hot lunches and this can only happen with the help of volunteers!

Our next P&F meeting will take place on Thursday 2nd May from 3.15pm - 4.00pm in our school Library. An active P&F committee allows families the opportunity to play a valuable part in providing social and fundraising activities.  Please attend this meeting if you are interested in joining our P&F committee. Any help would be greatly appreciated as all funds raised contribute to resources and materials to support your children in their holistic development.

Assemblies have commenced this term. As we now have specialist classes on a Friday afternoon, we will need to move assembly to Friday mornings from 9:00am - 9:20am. 

Assembly Schedule Term 2

On Assembly days, members of our St Brigid’s community are invited to meet at the front gate at 8:15am for a leisurely walk. This will be a great opportunity for you and your child to connect with other members of our school community. This walk will include stopping at a local cafe for a hot or cold drink! Our first Step, Sip & Socialise event was a huge success.

All of the timetabled events (to date) for the school year can be found on our school calendar which can be accessed through PAM and via this newsletter.

SZappp Mobile Application is a fantastic way for communicating and making information or resources available to our St Brigid's school community. 

Please follow the instructions in the below guide on how to install the SZappp and register an email account for communication.