Newsletter July 28, 2020
A Prayer for Hope
Heavenly father, I am your humble servant,
I come before you today in need of hope.
There are times when I feel helpless,
There are times when I feel weak.
I pray for hope.
I need hope for a better future.
I need hope for a better life.
I need hope for love and kindness.
Some say that the sky is at it’s
darkest just before the light.
I pray that this is true, for all seems dark.
I need your light, Lord, in every way.
I pray to be filled with your light from
head to toe. To bask in your glory.
To know that all is right in the world,
as you have planned, and as you want
it to be.
Help me to walk in your light, and live
my life in faith and glory.
In your name I pray, Amen.
Dear Parents and families,
I’m sure we are all dealing with a range of feelings and emotions as we continue to traverse a path through the COVID-19 situation. For some, work commitments mean the need to be travelling to Melbourne and its surrounds very regularly, and so they could feel very vulnerable and at considerable risk. There are others who just want their lives to return to normal, and so are perhaps not taking adequate precautions. We are all feeling somewhat anxious, and frustrated about the present situation and part of the reason for this is that we are no longer able to control everything that happens and the direction many aspects of our daily lives are taking. However what we can control is our response to the present situation. It is important that we continue to check in with our friends and family, and most particularly our children. Listening to their concerns is vital at this time. It is also important that we remain honest with them. Our world is very different at the moment and we cannot prevent this from happening.
At this point of time there have been no changes to the current measures we have in place to look after the health and safety of staff, students and the wider community. Thank you to those who have informed us of any parents, students or family members who have had a coronavirus test. Thank you also to the families who are keeping their children at home if they are at all unwell.
The following online tools are available on the DHHS website to help people determine if they should get tested for COVID-19, along with clinic details, and FAQ's which includes the definition of a close contact and isolation/quarantine, as well as a range of other information.
A reminder to all families, that Physical Distancing remains a very high priority in our collective fight against Covid-19. It is important that we continue to remain 1.5 metres apart especially when dropping off and collecting our children each day. Unfortunately this is also not an opportunity to stand around chatting and catching up with others. We all need to remain vigilant and so we appreciate everyone’s support in this endeavour.
Welcome to Finian Violet Pearce, daughter for Elizabeth Lakey and Jacob Pearce. All doing well according to doting siblings Quinn (Yr 6 ) and Aiofe (Year 3).
Thank you to those families who continue to support our school expectations around wearing the school uniform correctly and proudly. However, we are concerned about the increasing number of students who are choosing to wear runners each day - regardless of whether it is their sports day or not. A reminder that runners/sneakers are for sports day only and black school shoes are for every other day.
We are also amazed at the amount of money sitting in the lost property cupboard. The challenge here is that as many of the items have no names on them, so they cannot be returned to their rightful owners. We are all happy to hunt out lost property, but can’t do this without items being correctly named.
Over the last few weeks we have had a number of outbreaks of nits and lice across the school. When all know that such discoveries can means a somewhat frustrating and tedious process in order to ensure complete elimination. It is important that we all share responsibility for this problem and so we all need to undertake regular checks of children’s hair.
Please be rest assured that fee relief is available for families requiring genuine fee support.
Please see the attached letter outlining the fee relief available, along with a Covid-19 Fee Relief Request Form and the Catholic schools Family Fee Assistance Scheme brochure for families holding a means tested Health Care Card, Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran Affairs Pensioner Card.
Please return the form and/or a copy of your valid card to the office. Please contact Gabe or the office should you wish to discuss this further.
Enrolments are now open for Prep 2021. Please feel free to share this flyer. Enrolment forms for siblings of currently enrolled children are available from the office.
Attached to the newsletter is the latest drawing for the updating of our outdoor area. While the project has been delayed by challenges around both COVID 19 and budget, we are still very much working to a design that will improve the safety of our playground in a very significant way. This first stage includes: the removal of the large trees behind the church, excavation of the area, installation of significant retaining walls, repair and extension of the basketball court area, new fencing, repair and possible extension of the adventure playground and landscaping including tree planting of the upgraded space. Such steps will certainly improve not only the safety aspect of the grounds but the overall aesthetics of the space. Once these important safety aspects have been addressed we intend to develop a more complete Master Plan which will potentially include aspects such as upgrading the oval area and the installation of further shade sails all being future possibilities.
President Deryk Carruthers said the ongoing impact of coronavirus and recent outbreaks in Victoria had convinced organisers that running the festival at any time this year would be an unacceptable risk to locals.
“We are disappointed because the Autumn Festival is certainly the biggest trading day in Ballan’s commercial year, but safety comes first – no question about it,” he said.
Mass Celebrations
Currently, due to the recent increase in reported cases, places of worship can only open for the celebration of mass for up to 20 people in a single undivided space and this will stand until further notice. Therefore, if you would like to be one of the 20 attendees it is important that you register your name with the Parish Secretary on 0491 601 162 to book your place. Thank you to those parishioners who have embraced this routine by registering your attendance at each mass. We hope you are continuing to keep connected, safe and healthy and that we can all gather together as one community in the not too distant future.
Sacramental Program 2020
The Sacramental Program for the children of the Gordon Parish has been postponed for 2020. The Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation will be set to commence for all children in Year 4 and above in 2021. All forms and payments will be transferred to next year's program and dates for each of the Sacraments will be confirmed towards the end of 2020. Original baptism certificates can be returned on request or kept with the enrolment forms for next year. We are looking forward to continuing our Sacramental program in 2021.