Newsletter Term 4 Week 6 (Wednesday 16th November 2022) -

Our Front Page with Year 4

Year 4 had an amazing time last week while at camp in Tallebudgera. We were blessed with fantastic weather which allowed us to take early morning walks along the beach and the river. The children enjoyed a plethora of activities which included beach games, catapult building and the giant swing. Their favourite activity was bodyboarding and they were lucky to spend 3 hours in the ocean, with lifeguards nearby on watch. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world! A big thank you to Mr Hunter for making our camp possible.

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Our Gospel Reflection

This weekend as a Church, we conclude our liturgical year and celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The Gospel we proclaim shows the great mystery of our faith: In the moment of his crucifixion, Jesus is shown to be King and Saviour of all.

Understanding Sunday's Feast of Christ the King may be particularly challenging. While we may not have a direct experience of kings or royalty, we have some sense of their meaning. We know that members of royalty have sovereignty over their kingdom. We know that those who are subjects to royalty offer them allegiance and honour. Christ is King in a way that is different from traditional understandings of royalty. Christ's kingship extends to all places, all people, and all times. Christ manifests his kingship through his death on the Cross, in which he offers salvation to all.

Recall with your children stories that you may have read about royalty. Talk with your children about what they have learned from these stories about what it means to be a king. Talk about what they have learned from these stories about what it means to be a subject.

Tell your children that this Sunday is the last Sunday in the Church Year, and on this Sunday, we celebrate a special feast called the Feast of Christ the King. Read Sunday's Gospel from Luke 23:35-43 and reflect together on how the various people in this Gospel respond to Jesus on the Cross. Who in this Gospel recognises Jesus as King? (The thief). What does Jesus promise the thief as a result? (The thief will be with Jesus in paradise).

Talk about how your family will recognise and honour Christ the King. Pray together the Lord's Prayer and ask God to help your family to act in ways that show you recognise and honour Christ as King.

From Our Principal

Once again we say how difficult it is to believe that our year is passing by so quickly. Hard to believe that we are past the half way mark of this term. I thought that this may be an opportune time to remind all in our school community about some very important events coming up:

Family Fun Night - Thursday 17th November

Come along to the Kyogle Pool on Thursday evening from 5pm to 7pm for a social gathering and BBQ. Please refer to further details in this newsletter. 

Year 6 Graduation Liturgy and Dinner - Wednesday 30th November

This year’s students in Year 6 are a wonderful group and it will indeed be sad to see them leave St Brigid’s. These celebrations will commence at 6pm with a liturgy in Our Lady of Sorrows Church followed by dinner at the Kyogle Bowling Club. This promises to be a very special occasion for our graduating students and their families. 

2023 Step Up Day - Monday 5th December

This is a time when all students will be able to spend time during the day with their class teachers for 2023. Please ensure that your child is at school on this day to assist with transitioning to their new class environment.

Year 5 Leadership Speeches - Tuesday 6th December

Our current students in Year 5 are busy preparing their Leadership Speeches which will be delivered on Tuesday, December 6, commencing at 9:45am in the Parish Hall. All welcome.

Christmas Pageant - Wednesday 7th December

After having to cancel our Pageant last year, it is with great pleasure that we welcome back this very special event on our school calendar. The Pageant will be held in the school grounds commencing from 5pm. Stay tuned for further details.

2022 Swimming Carnival - Thursday 8th December

Looking forward to a wonderful day of swimming and fun. Primary students are using the time during Sport on Friday in preparation for our Swimming Carnival. More information regarding the day will be shared in the coming weeks.

Semester 2 Reports - Monday 12th December

Student Reports for Term 2 will be delivered on this day via Compass. Families will not receive a hard copy of their child's report as has been the case in the past, but rather will be able to access their report through the Compass App initially and at any time in the future.

End of Year Mass and Awards - Tuesday 13th December

We will celebrate our School Year with mass commencing at 9:30am in Our Lady of Sorrows Church followed by the presentation of Class Awards. Further information will be available in future newsletters.

Rewards Day and Last Day for Students - Friday 16th December

As you can see there is a lot happening before we get to this point. Further information on this day will be issued as we get closer to this event.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of our school staff should you require further information at this stage on any of these upcoming events.

Take care and have a wonderful week,

Tony Hunter - Principal

Covid Update

You may be aware of an increased number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the broader community. Please be reminded that students and staff CANNOT attend school if they are showing any symptoms of Covid 19. 

Students who are unwell

If a student is unwell, displaying any COVID-19 or cold and flu-like symptoms at any time, they CANNOT attend school and should undertake a rapid antigen test. 

If the rapid antigen test is positive and the student is unwell and/or experiencing any symptoms, they CANNOT attend school.

If the rapid antigen test is positive and the student is not feeling unwell and not displaying or experiencing any symptoms, they CAN attend school under the following conditions:

• the school office is informed of the positive test result, AND
• the student (over 12 years old) wears a mask for a period of 7 days in all indoor settings.

Should you require any RAT kits please contact Lani in the School Office and these will be sent out to you.

Family Fun Night

At the last Parent Forum Meeting it was decided to have a Family Fun Night at Kyogle Pool on Thursday 17th of November from 5pm to 7pm. There will be a big inflatable slide in the pool and a sausage sizzle going all the time. Families are invited to come down and spend the evening with other families from our St Brigid's community. The inflatable slide will be open to the public until 6pm and then from 6pm to 7pm it is for the exclusive use of St Brigid's families only. This should be a fun social evening for all. The only cost is to get into the pool. A reminder that glass bottles are not permitted into the pool grounds, only plastic containers and cans. Please also note that the supervision of children is the responsibility of parents and carers. Looking forward to seeing as many families as possible on the 17th.

Library Help Needed

Thank you to those parents who have offered their assistance in covering our new library books.  The books will be available for collection after 11am on Tuesday 29th November.

If you would still like to assist, please contact our Library Team representative, Rebecca Walters, on 0408328773.  Lee Love and Steph Barsby can also help by answering any questions you may have regarding this task. Many thanks for your anticipated support.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Every year as a school community we like to support the Kyogle branch of the St Vincent De Paul Society with items for their Christmas hampers. These hampers go to people in the local area who are experiencing hardships during the Christmas period. Please refer to the list below and many thanks for your support again this year.

St Mary's Catholic College - Reach Out

Thank you to the staff and students of St Mary's Catholic College who visited our school last Wednesday and Thursday, as part of their Reach Out Days.

The students did a great job assembling a change-table, arranging our poppy display for Remembrance Day, and cleaning and organising our costume room. We appreciated your support very much.

ICAS

The ICAS certificates will be presented this Friday at the Kindergarten Showcase, 18th November, starting at 2:15pm. Due to the fact the Primary students attend swimming on this day, we are happy to hold onto the certificates and send them home on Monday so that they are not ruined in their bags next to their wet swim gear.

Bus Travel Information

Transport for NSW information and application portal at transportnsw.info is designed to help families find all their travel information in the one place.
SCHOOL TRAVEL APPLICATIONS FOR 2023 ARE NOW OPEN: Parents are asked to plan ahead and make sure their child has a valid School Travel Pass from the start of the 2023 school year.
 A new application will need to be submitted if students are applying for a school travel pass for the first time or if they are requesting an additional travel entitlement as a result of a new shared parental responsibility situation (eg joint custody). Students who need a school travel pass for 2023 can  apply now.
 Students who change address or school, should update or renew their details before the end of Term 4, (eg progressing to Year 7). This will ensure that schools can endorse applications and current entitlements are updated and remain valid. All students in Kindergarten to Year 2 are eligible for free bus travel. If a student’s distance eligibility has changed based on their Year, (eg progressing to Year 3), the system will automatically update their entitlement if they meet the new criteria. If they do not meet the new eligibility criteria, they will receive an expiry notification via email.
 Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition that is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.
 Students living in rural and regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the start of the new school year from their nominated transport operator. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students/parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.
 For some families, last minute changes to school enrolments mean they may not have a Travel Pass for the start of the new term. In this instance, parents should contact their local bus operator to discuss their travel needs. Bus operators are flexible and understanding, particularly at the start of the school year, and will ensure students can travel safely to and from school. To best support bus operators, we encourage all students to have a valid travel pass, as early as possible, from the start of the new school year.

CompassTix

Year 6 families will have received the link to purchase Graduation Dinner tickets through the CompassTix portal. Ticket sales will close on Friday 25th November.

Year 5 families will soon receive a Compass message relating to the purchase of 2023 Year 6 polo shirts. This will also be managed through CompassTix.

Compass Tips/Tricks

Compass Credit - If you have had to cancel a canteen order - the amount can not be refunded to your card, but stays within your compass wallet. When you go to pay on the next occasion, where your credit card details appear, use the drop-down arrow, which should bring up 'Compass Credit' and the available amount.  If this doesn't appear and you know you should have credit, please contact the Office. 

Positive Behaviour 4 Learning

Focus for Week 6: We treat everyone with respect during outdoor games and remember to keep our hands to ourselves because Jesus always treated others with kindness and love. 

2023 Enrolments

Enrolments for any class for 2023 are currently being finalised. Please, if you know of anyone intending to join the St Brigid's community for 2023, ask them to get their enrolment applications in now! 

Our staffing allocation is based on our enrolments at Census, taken at the start of August. Please do not hesitate to contact our Principal, Mr Hunter, if you have any questions or would like to enquire about enrolling here at St Brigid's for 2023 or even sooner.

Sports News

This Friday we will continue our Swimming for Sport for Years 3 to 6, which should provide extra practice in the lead-up to our School Swimming Carnival on Thursday 8th, December 2022. 

We wish Lawson Alder the best of luck for next Tuesday 22nd November, as he attends the Diocesan Tennis Trials at Lismore.  

Happy Birthday to You

Wishing the following children all the very best for their special day this week:-

16th November - Michael Walker

18th November - Ben Price

Student Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have shown tremendous effort and were presented with awards at last week's  assembly:

Kindergarten:- Nicholas Stubbings, Kirrah Lees

Kindergarten Transition: Harper Grieve, Ayla Anderson, Chloe Ellis

Year 1:- Tom Booth, Frankie Lindsay

Year 2:- Eloise King, Danny Kennedy

Year 3:- Ayce Harley, Wyatt Brown

Year 4:- Away at Camp

Year 5:- Chelsea Hyde, Carter Dowd, Eamon McCormack

Year 6:- Evie Howes, Billy Kennedy, Cruz Newton, Murray Doman

Principal Awards: Chance Flanagan, Abi Allen

MJR Awards: Not presented

Upcoming Dates

NOVEMBER

Thursday 17th - Family Fun Night - Kyogle Pool

Friday 18th - Kindergarten Showcase 2:15pm

Friday 25th - Year 3 Showcase 2:15pm

Sunday 27th - Stage 3 Family Mass, 9am

Wednesday 30th - Year 6 Graduation Liturgy & Dinner, 6pm

DECEMBER 

Monday 5th December - Class Step Up Day

Tuesday 6th - Student Leadership Speeches, 9:45am

Wednesday 7th - Christmas Pageant

Thursday 8th - School Swimming Carnival

Tuesday 13th - End of Year Mass & Awards, 9:30am

Thursday 15th - Year 6 Showcase

Friday 16th - Rewards Day / Last day of the year for students