Newsletter September 10th, 2019
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Principal's Message
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Concert
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Sleep Out
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Recent Events Photo Gallery
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Ballan Jockey Club Catering
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Lioness BBQ Fundraiser
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School Review
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Parent Access Module (PAM)
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School Fees
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Late Arrival to School
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Library Book Covering
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Year 7, 2021
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Parish News
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Mass Times - Gordon & Bungaree Parish
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Hot Lunch Roster
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Maintenance Roster
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Birthdays
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Community News & Events
Prayer for Spring
For the cycle of life
which brings death and rebirth
A. We rejoice in the promise of Spring
For lengthening days
and sunlight's warmth upon the soil
A. We rejoice in the promise of Spring
For a snowdrop's beauty
reflecting its Creator's artistry
A. We rejoice in the promise of Spring
For new born lambs
their joy and exuberance
A. We rejoice in the promise of Spring
for all of creation
and the majesty of its Creator
A. We rejoice in the promise of Spring
Amen
Dear Parents,
United in the courage and warmth of Brigid and with Jesus at our heart, we aspire to be an inclusive learning and faith community who nurtures life long learners inspired to connect with the world.
I think over the last week of school we truly witnessed and experienced our vision statement being lived out in so many ways. What a busy but inspiring week it has been.
Our Year 3 and 4 students headed to Ballarat for their social skills excursion - a truly brilliant concept and thanks to the very effective planning by Leela and Chelsea - a most very successful outing and most importantly a great educational experience.
Thursday saw the unfolding of the the long awaited Sleep Out - what a success! Again thanks to the meticulous planning and organisation by Chelsea, Therese and the social justice team, the event ran without a hitch. The learning gained by all regarding the plight of the homelessness will not be forgotten by those who attended - a truly inspiring event - well done - you are to truly be congratulated and thanked for your commitment to a cause and your drive to have a vision and see it through to its fruition - great job. Thank you to everyone who so willingly supported the sleep out - from those who gave of their evening to stay overnight - to those who did breakfast runs and generally kept us all awake and going on Friday. A real team effort.
And of course on Friday our Preps stretched their learning with a train ride and a visit to the Aquarium - again the organisation and planning was completed to perfection - well done Emma.
Each of these activities were designed carefully to provide our students with valuable opportunities to connect with the world. They also encourage the students to become life long learners by exposing them to new and different experiences which hopefully will inspire them to continue to make new discoveries.
This week also sees the culmination of much hard work by both the students and teachers with the presentation of “Story Time”, our bi-annual school concert. The concert will take place on Thursday evening at 7.00 p.m in the Ballan Mechanics Hall. Entry is $5.00 per person (no charge for pre-school or primary aged school children). Pre purchase of tickets would be appreciated. The children will be heading down to the hall on Wednesday for their final dress rehearsal. We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday evening supporting the creative work of the students.
Can I particularly acknowledge and thank the staff who all gave so willingly of their time to participate in the sleep out - without such support and commitment such events could never be undertaken. As an interesting aside we recently heard a community member refer to the over time teachers would be paid as a result of events such as our pie night, the sleep out and the upcoming concert. Just to set the record straight teachers are paid a salary that does not include any additional payment for attendance at event outside of school time!
Congratulations to the members of our Social Justice Team: Niamh Mauriks, Cora Houston-Connellan, Georgia Primerano, Presley Duncan, Johl Porter, Jack Hollitt and Nardia Marinovic who worked so hard to increase our learning and understanding of the plight of the homeless. They devoted so much of their own time (lunch times and at home) to ensure they were well prepared for the sleep out - Well done to each of you - you are stars!
Help Required
Helpers Required
Next Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th September we will welcome to St Brigid’s our review panel:
- Malcolm Joseph - External Reviewer
- Tony Perkins - Educational Consultant
- Andrew Watson - Educational Consultant
- Leigh Bradshaw - Principal, OLHC, Wendouree
Members of the panel will meet with staff, students and parents to learn more about what St Brigid’s has achieved over the last five years and support and assist the school in setting strategic direction for the next five. We welcome the panel to our community and look forward to working with them to continue to map the St Brigid’s journey. A reminder that all parents are welcome to participate in the parent panel meeting which will take place at approximately 2.40pm on Monday afternoon. Please email the office if you are interested in attending.
Last week an email was sent to each family, with login instructions for PAM accounts. Thank you to the families that have followed the prompts to validate their account and completed their child/ren's medical profiles.
Please note, it is imperative that families complete this before the end of Term 3 (Friday 20th September, 2019) as PAM will be the home of your school related, student information starting from Term 4. This will include medical profiles, excursion/camp permissions, parent teacher interviews, reports, absences and daily messages.
If you are experiencing any difficulty with the set up process, or did not receive your initial account setup email, please contact the office.
School fee accounts have been sent out to all families. At this stage of the year we still have a large number of outstanding fees. All school fees include the camp fees for Years 3 -6. We thank the many families who have honoured their commitment to this aspect of our school, however we do have a significant number who at this point are well behind with their fees. If you are experiencing any difficulties in regard to payment it is vital that you contact us as soon as possible. Fees at our school are a fact of life and furthermore as we have stated many times before it is a justice issue. It is not fair or right that some families ensure their fees are paid in a timely manner, while others choose to ignore requests for payment or at the very least a conversation about your situation in regard to fees. Please give this matter your urgent attention.
A reminder that all students arriving to school after 9.00am MUST be signed in at the office by a parent/guardian before heading to class. A reminder also that whenever anyone visits our school (including parents, grandparents, friends etc) you must first come into the office and sign in - this includes even very brief visits such as dropping off forgotten items or lunches.
Thank you to Caz Cragill for donating her time to cover over 40 books for our Library. What an effort! Mrs. Kennedy would still greatly appreciate the assistance of another parent to cover new books. The books may be covered at school or at home. If you are interested, please visit the library between 8.45am and 9.00am this week to discuss.
Please find following information regarding upcoming Enrolment Information Sessions and Open Mornings for Year 7 2021 enrolments.
Fr Shane's Farewell
A combined Farewell Celebration for Fr Shane will be held on Sunday 15th September, commencing at 12.30 pm at the Bungaree Community Centre. All parishioners welcome. Please see the following invitation details.
Thanksgiving Mass with Bishop Shane Mackinlay
Bishop Paul Bird CSsR has invited Fr Shane to return to the diocese and celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving after his episcopal ordination: St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat, Wednesday 13th November, 7.00pm, followed by supper.
Bishop Paul has advised that Fr Des FitzGerald CSsR will be resident priest at St Michael’s, Bungaree, providing sacramental ministry in Bungaree and Gordon parishes from 10th October 2019 to 13th January 2020. Bishop Paul is planning to write to parishioners in the next week or so to elaborate on his plans for the parishes.
Saturday14th September | Springbank | 6:30pm |
Sunday 15th September | Bungaree | 8:45am |
Sunday 15th September | Ballan | 10:30am |
Saturday 21st September | Dunnstown | 6:30pm |
Sunday 22nd September | Gordon | 8:45am |
Sunday 22nd September | Ballan | 10:30am |
Friday 13th September | Hayley Plageman & Gyorgyi Gorman |
Friday 20th September | No Hot Lunches - last day of term |
Families rostered on for the current periods are:
Monday 2nd September-Sunday 15th September | Heafield/Joshua Mullane/Closter |
Monday 16th September-Sunday 29th September | Forde/Letcher/Ozimek |