Newsletter July 27th, 2022

Mary MacKillop is not only the first Australian to be recognised by the Church as a Saint, she is truly a very Australian saint. She characterises the spirit of the Australian mythology. She was a prodigious hard worker who put the needs of others before herself. She exhibited something of the larrikin spirit: constantly in dispute with authority but pressing on, regardless. She used the strengths of others but also didn’t tolerate those who were not genuine. Her commitment to the schooling of children from poor and rural communities established a model of Catholic education that continues today.

A Saint for and of Australia! - by Greg Sunter

Dear Members of our St Brigid’s Community,

 “Never see a need without doing something about it”

Yesterday was the Feast of St Mary of the Cross (Mary MacKillop) - Australia’s first saint of the Catholic Church. Mary MacKillop’s legacy continues today in countless ways. Education in its many facets is still a strong ministry for the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

New ways of living the charism have emerged through chaplaincy, pastoral work and a myriad of ways of bringing healing and hope through spirituality, counselling, supervision and mentoring.

Mary MacKillop has shown us how to forgive and how to be compassionate; she teaches us about sanctity and is a saint for all of us today.

A very big thank you to you all for your enthusiasm in attending the 3-Way Conferences that have taken place over the last two weeks. The conferences were a wonderful opportunity for our students, parents and teachers to actively reflect on the learning that has taken place and discuss future goals/targets. Thank you to our wonderful children, parents and teachers for your participation in the conferences.

Finally, congratulations to our wonderful Foundation children who celebrated their 100 days of school on Friday! The children had a wonderful day and looked amazing in their outfits!

Have a wonderful week,

Jayne Bosworth

Principal

'Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.' Excerpt from St Brigid's Prayer

Parent/Teacher Conferences will now be referred to as 3-Way Conferences. A 3-Way Conference actively involves parents, students and teachers reflecting on student growth as a learner, while acknowledging the most important participants in the learning process – student, teacher and parent. The student facilitates the conference and is supported by the teacher when needed.

3-Way Conferences will take place onsite this term on Monday 1st August and Monday 8th August. Given the nature of these meetings, it would be wonderful if students could attend with parents. All families can book a suitable time through PAM/SIMON Everywhere. Bookings will be made available from Thursday 14th July. If you need any assistance with making a booking please contact the office.

The Classroom Helper Information Sessions are for members of our community who would like to be involved as ‘Classrooms Helpers’. These sessions will cover aspects of English and Mathematics and provide helpers with important information required prior to supporting in classrooms.

Please note:

• If you are interested in becoming a Classroom Helper, you will need to attend one of the Classroom Helper Information Sessions.
• A valid ‘Working with Children’s Check’ is required prior to commencing classroom support. Office staff require a copy of ALL cards prior to commencement.
• You will be required to read and sign a St Brigid's volunteer application form and the DOBCEL Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct prior to commencement.

Our final Classroom Helper information/training session will take place tomorrow at 9:00am via Zoom.  Please click on the following link to access the meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89567502543

Congratulations to Karen and Alan on the birth of their beautiful granddaughter, Ava Rose. We are very much looking forward to meeting Ava and hope that mum, dad, big sister Chelsea and Ava have settled in well at home!

As per communication circulated last term, our school will close on Friday 12th August and Monday 15th August for the DOBCEL Circuit Breaker long weekend. Subject to numbers, on these days, Big Childcare are planning on facilitating two days of fun filled activities at St Brigid's! Please call 0434176872 or email stbrigids@bigchildcare.com if you are interested in registering your child.

Along with Bee awards that align with our Behaviour Matrix, this term we are going to introduce classroom awards that align with our Learning Dispositions - bravery, curiosity, collaboration, perseverance and resilience. Award recipients will receive a certificate presented at fortnightly assemblies.

Learners at St Brigid's show bravery, collaboration, curiosity, perseverance and resilience.

We have high expectations for all learners and believe that all our children can learn, improve and succeed. We want our learners to know how to take charge of their own learning and to ‘know what to do when they don’t know what to do’. To support this we have identified five learning dispositions which are explicitly taught at Saint Brigid's.

We encourage all our families to continue to partner with us in developing our children to be brave, collaborative, curious, perseverant and resilient learners.

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.

Term 3:

All students should now be wearing winter uniform.  Please ensure that your child is wearing the correct winter uniform, as per the letter sent to families last term. Children are able to wear sports uniform each Wednesday and on classroom nominated sports day as directed by your child’s classroom teacher.

We appreciate any donations of the St Brigid's school uniform to our secondhand supply. Please ensure that donations are in very good condition, do not have stains, tears or rips and are in acceptable condition for future wear. 

This term, we are very excited to welcome families back to our fortnightly assemblies in the Multipurpose Room. Each fortnight a class will present a small item at assembly (please refer to timetable below).

We look forward to seeing you at our assemblies!!

Please find below Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on school students with disability information sheet from Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) for your perusal. 

Lunch orders are due in no later than Wednesday afternoon and are to be placed in the blue lunch tin in the main school foyer.

Please write your child’s name, class and lunch items on a brown paper bag, and enclose money. Any change will be taped to the paper bags. Please remember, two bags are required if having a dessert item as well.

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 Arts night is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday 7^th September, 2022.

More information to follow!

Mass Times:

Korobeit Sat 6.30pm ~ Creswick 8.45am ~ Daylesford 10.30am

The read the lastest Gordon Parish News please click on the link below: