Term 4 Week 10 December 8 2021

Our Front Page With Year 6

What a wonderful evening of fun and celebration acknowledging the students of Year 6 at their Graduation Dinner and Liturgy last Monday night.

Year 6 Graduation 2021

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Our Gospel Reflection

This week is the 3rd Sunday of Advent and our Gospel reading from Luke tells of how John the Baptist teaches the path of repentance and announces Christ.

The theme of the season of Advent is sometimes described as a period of waiting for the birth of Jesus. However, Sunday's Gospel reading suggests something different. John the Baptist did not tell the crowds to wait for the Messiah. He told them to prepare for the Messiah through acts of repentance. If Advent is a time of waiting, it is not the sitting in the doctor's office kind of waiting. It is a busy time of preparation, more like the waiting we might do when preparing for dinner guests. Our challenge is to not make this season a frenzied time, but rather a time of joyful anticipation and making ready for God who comes to dwell among us and changes our lives with the gift of salvation.

As you gather as a family, talk about the preparations your family is making during the season of Advent. Reflect together on these activities, not only on what you are doing but why you are choosing to do these things. Read together Sunday's Gospel, Luke 3:10-18. Consider how Advent is a time for making ourselves ready to receive Jesus in our lives. Could your family make some changes in your Advent activities so that each person is well prepared to celebrate the gift of salvation at Christmas? Conclude in prayer together that your family will be able to live the spirit of Advent. Sing together an Advent song, such as “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” or pray together Sunday's second reading, Philippians 4:4-7, as you light the third candle on your Advent wreath.

From Our Principal

On Monday night we had the wonderful occasion of celebrating the Graduation of our Year 6 students with a liturgy, followed by a dinner at the Kyogle Bowling Club. It was a terrific celebration acknowledging the journey of the students as they prepare to finish primary school and get ready to embark on their secondary education path. The ambience of the evening was a true indicator of what a great group of young people our Year 6 students are.

The list of speakers spoke of the resilience, fortitude, determination, kindness, and commitment of these young people. They are very unique, special and have rolled with the punches all year despite the constant disappointments that were littered all through the year. This is going to set this group up as a very determined group that will be able to deal with life when things get very challenging.

Thanks so much to all our parents and family members who were able to come and celebrate on Monday evening. I am certain that you all would have been extra proud of your children. They have done so very well!

Thanks so much to all who contributed to the evening and to Miss Bugden, Mrs Wake, Miss Macdonald, Miss Robertson, and Mrs Newton for all of the organisation involved. What a delicious dinner was had by all courtesy of Tara Laarhoven and her wonderful team at The Blooming Cakery. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Tara, Amanda Garred, Tilly Beetge, and M'leigh Edwards who ensured that the Kyogle Bowling Club looked an absolute treat for the evening. Everyone’s contribution added to such a special evening for our Year 6 students and their families.

Tony Hunter

Principal

Families Leaving

At the Year 6 farewell we acknowledged those families whose connection with St Brigid's is very quickly coming to an end. Thank you so much to the following families whose youngest child will be finishing their connection with our school. We truly appreciate your support and assistance given to the St Brigid's community over so many years: Chalmers Family, Davis Family, Francis-Standish Family, Harley Family, Moore Family, Royal Family, and Walters Family. We also bid farewell to the Potumuthu Family who are heading north to the Gold Coast.

Families Leaving

2022 Student Leaders

Our Year 5 students certainly spoke very well last Monday and showed the school community that they are ready and capable to be given a role as a student leader at our school. Congratulations to the following students who have been elected to a role as a School Leader for 2022 – Murray Doman, Fred Fowler, Lilly Hudson, Billy Kennedy, Cruz Newton, Maggie Pearson, Jarrod Rixon, and Ruby Witchard. The positions of these students will be announced at the Thanksgiving Liturgy and Awards Ceremony to be held this Tuesday 14^th December commencing at 10 am in Our Lady of Sorrows Church.

End of Year Liturgy and Awards Presentation

As the year draws to a close we invite all family and friends to our End of Year Liturgy to be held at Our Lady of Sorrows Church commencing at 10am on Tuesday 14th December. At our liturgy we will give thanks for another wonderful year at St Brigid's and also acknowledge our Class Award winners. Also at the liturgy we will present our new Student Leaders for 2022. It would be wonderful to see as many as possible as we celebrate the achievements of 2021 together. Please note that this has been moved to the Church from the scheduled venue, the Parish Hall, to allow our families to attend. We hope that you are able to celebrate with us.

ICAS Results

ICAS certificates for Science and English have been awarded today at the Year 6 Assembly. Parents and students can access individual reports evaluating their performance in the student section of the Results Portal. The TAP ID and PIN can be found on the back of their certificate. All ICAS results have now been determined. Due to the late sitting period for these assessments, outstanding certificates may yet arrive in the mail. These will be distributed immediately. If not received before the holiday period, the certificates will be handed out at the start of 2022. If you are leaving our school, please make sure you provide us with a forwarding address and we will post them to you.

We congratulate and recognise the achievements of our students. Well done on accepting the challenge and striving to do your best!

Please log in to view the student results using this link: https://orti.icasassessments.com/ortistudent

National Wakakirri Awards

Well done to all who participated, coordinated, and assisted with our Wakakirri entry for 2021. The National Award Ceremony took place last week and the entry from St Brigid's School again performed extremely well.
One of the panel members, Will Tran, had this to say about our school performance: ''Great presentation, fantastic costumes and the most important component to your piece was the earnest joy I felt you all had while watching. The moment of celebration at the end was most memorable and you have all done a superb job!''

Our entry also received the following performance and production awards highlighting the top 5 areas of our presented story:

• Excellent soundtrack mix
• Best direction: Overall
• Excellent polished performance
• Amazing finale
• Excellent overall costume design                                                                                                
  Every school receives a Story Award to acknowledge a school's efforts in exemplifying the Wakakirri ethos ‘Great Stories Inspire Change'.  St Brigid's received the following Story Award: Highly Commended Best Adapted Story Award! Thank you everyone from St Brigid's for taking part in Wakakirri 2021!
  

2021 Swimming Carnival

Our Swimming Carnival for 2021 is set down for this Friday 10th December at the Kyogle Pool. Should the Carnival be postponed due to poor weather, the back up date is Wednesday 15th December (last day of school).

All students from Year 2 to 6 will proceed down to the pool after the rolls are marked on the Carnival Day. Students in Kindergarten and Year 1 will go down to the pool at 11:30am in time for their novelty events and BBQ lunch.

All students were issued with information on Tuesday 30th November, outlining all the details of this year's event. By now all nominations for their respective events should have been returned so that the program can be finalised. It is important to note that children enter the age group events that they will be turning next year. That is, if a child is turning 10 next year, they enter the Under 10 events. All students will be competing to represent St Brigid's Primary School at the Richmond Zone Carnival to be held at Lismore Pool on Monday 14th February 2022.

During 2021 we have had so many events that families have been unable to attend but the carnival is an exception as it is off school grounds. Please come along and support all the students in their respective events. If you are able to assist on the day please refer to the notes attached to last week's newsletter and put your name down for a particular role. All hands on deck make it easier for all to enjoy the day.

MAI and Best Start Interviews

As advertised previously all students will be involved in Numeracy and Literacy assessments to commence the 2022 school year. Students in Years 1 to 6 will have an MAI on either Tuesday 1st, Wednesday 2nd, or Thursday 3rd of February 2022. The first day of school for students in Years 1 to 6 will be Friday 4th February.

Students in Kindergarten will undergo their Best Start and Maths Assessment Interview on one of the following days: Tuesday 1st, Wednesday 2nd, Thursday 3rd, or Friday 4th February. The first day of school for Kindergarten will be Monday 7th February.

These bookings are now open for all students (Kindergarten to Year 6) and have been since 8:30 am on Wednesday 1st December.

Each assessment for students in Years 1 to 6 has been allocated a 45 minute timeslot. The Kindergarten Best Start Assessment has been allocated a 60 minute timeslot.

To book online please follow the following steps:

1. Go to schoolinterviews.com.au
2. Enter the code: nddde
3. Enter your details
4. Select your child’s class teacher
5. Select the appointment times that suit you best
6. When you click FINISH, your interview timetable will be emailed to you automatically. If you do not receive your email immediately – Check your junk mail folder AND make sure you have spelled your email address correctly

You may change your bookings, any time prior to the closing date Friday 4th February 2022, by re-visiting the www.schoolinterviews.com.au website, and using the event code. Remember to use the same name and email address you used when you made your original booking. Parents and carers who do not have access to online facilities can ring Di in the office at school (6632 1988) and she will make the bookings for you.

2022 School Fees

The Diocesan School Board has endorsed the School Fees for 2022.
Please note the School Building & Maintenance Levy & Information Technology Fee are payable for ALL families regardless of the length of enrolment. The Tuition Fee is a pro-rata fee. All fees are expected to be met as a condition of enrolment. If you feel you may need support, it is expected that you will make an appointment to discuss this with our principal, Tony Hunter, early in the new year. Please do not put off this conversation, as Mr Hunter is happy to discuss this earlier rather than later and to support all families. A schedule of 2022 fees will be sent home with next week's school newsletter.

2022 Uniform Shop Opening Times

Children must be in correct school uniform at ALL times. This supports us in maintaining the tone of the school and can develop in children a sense of pride in their appearance and in their school. All items of our school uniform are available from the school uniform shop. When looking into purchasing new school shoes for 2022, we ask that you purchase the full black leather school shoes. There are many substitutes on the market that are popular and carry well-known brand names, however, for student safety, comfort and adherence to our uniform policy we ask that you refrain from these brands and purchase the correct black leather shoes. Scarborough’s here in Kyogle has an excellent selection of proper school shoes.

Uniforms can be purchased from school on the following days

• Any Monday this term from 2pm to 3pm
• Monday 24^th January 2022 from 9:30am to 11:30am
• Friday 28^th January 2022 from 11am to 1:30pm
• Wednesday 2^nd February 2022 from 9am to 12 noon

Canteen

A big THANK YOU to Krystal-Lee Hyde and the volunteers for running the 2021 canteen.

Next week the school's canteen will be on Tuesday 14th December, due to Rewards Day being on Monday of that week.

Breakfast on Tuesday will still be running by Krystal-Lee and then she will have the canteen open. Please note - there will not be any salad items on the menu for Tuesday.

School Holidays Contact

Our school office will be open next Thursday 16th (8:30 am to 12.30 pm) and Friday 17th (8:30am to 1pm). If you need to contact the school during the holidays please do not hesitate to email our principal at tony.hunter@lism.catholic.edu.au

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to:

Emma Farrah, Danny Kennedy, Billy Kennedy, Indigo Dowd, Emerson Harley, Hannah Kennelly, Allie Walters, Kinsley Whiting, Judah Marychurch, Alyanna Clark, Shekinah Howes, Nidhi Mudunuri, Scarlett McShane, Lucy Wake, Ryder Newman, Haven Capps, and Heidi Rixon.

Newsletter Sponsors

We thank the 2021 sponsors of the Newsletter - McKid Medical, Dave's Bakehouse, Stuart Bros Butchery, Kyogle Early Learning, Summerland Vet Services, Elite Lash, Oaten & Hoffman, and Andrew Rogan Fencing.

We wish all of our sponsors a very Merry Christmas and a successful New Year.