Newsletter Term 3 Week 1 (Wednesday 19 July 2023)

Our Front Page with Mini Vinnies

Rug Up, Snug Up

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From our Faith Leaders

On Tuesday the 18th July, St Brigid’s held a rug up snug up mufti day, where students came to school in warm winter clothes and brought in gold coin donations for hot cocoa. The money raised goes towards Mini Vinnies and the St Vincent De Paul society which helps to buy food, new clothes and other resources for people in our local community. Donations of warm winter clothes, like beanies, jumpers and scarves, that we no longer wear, were brought in to give to vinnies for the less fortunate. It was good to see everyone come together as a community with the donations, serving in the canteen and participating in the mufti day. Many wore beanies, scarfs, long pants, and jumpers, we even had some people bring their Oodies. Teachers also joined in the day by coming to school in cosy clothes and overall today was a big success with the school raising a total of $196.50 and collecting lots of donations for the St Vincent De Paul society. 

Rachel & Aleyah

Faith Leaders

Our Gospel Reflection

Taken together, the parables found in Sunday’s Gospel offer both a sobering reminder about the Kingdom of God and words of encouragement. As the wheat and the weeds must grow together until the harvest, so we may not know whether our actions contribute to God’s Kingdom until God’s final judgment. With this word of caution in mind, we act always in prayer that our actions will be consistent with God’s plans. In the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast, we hear words of encouragement. God can bring the Kingdom of Heaven from even the smallest of beginnings. Thus, we ask God to work through us for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Set aside some time this week to make bread with your family. Show the amount of yeast that is required to raise an entire batch of bread. Observe that little things can go a long way. After the bread has been baked, gather together as a family. Read together Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 13:24-43. Reflect together on what Jesus means when he teaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed and like yeast. In these parables, Jesus is teaching us that God can work wonders from even the smallest beginnings of the Kingdom of God. This means that even the little things that we do can make a big difference in the lives of others. What are some of the little things that we can do in our family that help to make things better for others? Decide on one action to take together. Pray that God will use your action to make a difference in the world. Pray together the Lord’s Prayer.

From Our Principal

Welcome back to Term 3! I hope everyone had a restful break and that you were able to get out and about to enjoy the holidays?

We welcome Mrs Jansen back to St Brigid's following a term of touring through Europe with her husband Boud visiting many family and friends on their travels. It is wonderful to have you back here at St B's.

We extend a warm welcome to Lexi and her family who has commenced at St Brigid's in Year 5. We are so pleased to have you with us here at St Brigid's and do hope that you enjoy what the St Brigid's School Community has to offer. 

This term is already shaping up to be a busy one with the children taking part in a variety of activities to complement the wonderful work happening within the classrooms of St Brigid's.

Also there are a number of whole school masses and liturgies this term celebrating different feasts such as the Feast of St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop (Tuesday 8th August), the Feast of the Assumption (Tuesday 15th August) and next Wednesday 26th July, the Feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim the Grandparents of Jesus.

Our Grandparents celebrations will begin with a liturgy at 12:15pm followed by an opportunity to share lunch with your grandchildren. The Book Fair will be running to allow grandparents and grandchildren the wonderful opportunity to share in the love of books. 

World Youth Day

As has been notified in earlier newsletters, our Assistant Principal Mission, Miss Kelli-Ann Bugden was successful in her application to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon Portugal with 33 other pilgrims from the Diocese of Lismore. We congratulate Kelli-Ann on this once in a lifetime opportunity and thank her for helping put St Brigid's on the World map through her attendance.

Oliver Rixon, a former student of St Brigid's who completed Year 6 in 2017 will also be a member of the Lismore WYD pilgrims.  The group will be leaving this Sunday and will be away for three weeks, traveling through Spain and Portugal with WYD.  This enriching experience will no doubt strengthen Kelli’s faith life, opening up so many opportunities for reflection and faith formation.  We wish Kelli-Ann and all pilgrims from around all of the dioceses in Australia God’s Blessings as they journey through this pilgrimage. 

Miss Emma Davis has been appointed as Acting Assistant Principal Mission to replace Kelli-Ann in her absence. To allow Miss Davis to attend to the APM responsibilities, Mrs Erin Anderson will be taking Year 2 each Thursday and Friday for this term. We thanks Mrs Anderson for taking this role on in our school.

School Uniform

Thanks so much to all families who have ensured that their children have returned to school in fully black shoes. I greatly appreciate your support with this and it looks so good seeing the children in full and correct school uniform. If your child is not wearing the correct school footwear they will be given a uniform note as a reminder. As mentioned earlier if there are difficulties in acquiring the correct footwear please do not hesitate to sere me and so that we can assist.

Stars of the Week

Last term we introduced this new Attendance Award as we do want all of our students to be here at school for as much of the time as possible. Only sickness and extreme emergencies are accepted as legitimate reasons for students not to be at school. Our winning class for the last week of Term 2 was Year 1 with an average of 94.3%. We will be conducting this weekly competition again this term and hope that we can build towards our Whole School Goal of 90% attendance. 

The classes with the best average attendance will receive an invitation to attend a Principal's picnic at a time and day to be advised. The classes with the best attendance last term were Year 4 (89.2%) and Years 1 and 3 (87.5%).

I would also like to acknowledge Georgia Pratt and Eamon McCormack who both achieved 100% attendance for all of Term 2. These two students will also be going on our Principal's picnic.

Remember our whole school goal is 90%. The whole school average weekly attendance for last term was 84.5%. Let us hope that as we move inot the warmer months it will assist with the clearing up of chesty coughs, sniffly noses and sore throats. 

It is essential that every student is at school on every day as attendance matters to support your child's learning. 

Assistant Principal News - Learning

We are delighted to inform you that St Brigid’s will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS competitions again this year for students in Year 2-6.

What is ICAS? 

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals. 

How to participate in ICAS 

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please: 

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas) 
2.  Go to Parent Portal here: (https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps) 
3.  Enter our school’s access code – ERU246
4.  Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment. 

After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records. We will notify you of the date(s) that we run ICAS at the school and when your child’s ICAS results are ready. You and your child can access the results once released via the Reports Portal using the TAP ID and pin found on the back of the ICAS certificate. 

Please reach out to me if you need help in any way.

Vanessa Walters                                                                                                                                                                              Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching

Assistant Principal News - Mission

Stage 2 Mass

All are warmly invited to join our Family Mass on Sunday at 9am. Stage Two students will be leading the mass. Join parishioners and our school community for a cuppa and morning tea after Mass. 

Mini Vinnies Acts of Mercy

This term Mini Vinnies members of Stage 2 and 3 will be participating in fortnightly visits to Whiddon Care, Kyogle as a part of their Acts of Mercy. Students will play lawn bowls, golf and build relationships with residents. Notes have been sent home with students this week, those students who return notes will be placed on a roster for the term.

NAIDOC Day celebrations 

The school community is invited to join us for our NAIDOC Day celebrations this Thursday 20th of July beginning at 12:20pm in the Hall beginning with a liturgy. Students will then spend the afternoon participating in cultural activities. 

Grandparents Day Celebrations

Families are invited to our Grandparents Day celebrations on Wednesday 26th of July. The celebration will begin in the hall at 12pm with a liturgy. Families are then invited to bring a picnic lunch and share lunch with students in the playground. A coffee van will be available for purchases. The Scholastic Book Fair will also be running on the day for purchases. We look forward to welcoming our Grandparents into the school. 

Emma Davis                                                                                                                     

Acting Assistant Principal - Mission

Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L)

Focus for Week 1:  I know teacher expectations and class routines so that I can have a great day of learning.

From the Wellbeing Team...

This week’s strength is SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Social Intelligence describes the strength of being aware of the motives and feelings of ourselves
and others, and of knowing what makes others tick. Social Intelligence is a particularly handy strength when we are gathered together in groups of people. This strength can help us to have more effective and enjoyable interactions with others at home, school, work and in the community. Is Social Intelligence a particular strength that belongs to you or to someone close to you? Take a moment to acknowledge the strength of Social Intelligence in yourself and those around you, and consider how it enriches life for you and many others.

Sports News

Next  Thursday 27th July, the Zone Athletics Carnival is going ahead at St John’s College Woodlawn. For your child to attend this event, permission and payment must have been given on the Compass event. It is extremely important that the information in this event is read as we will be departing school before the bell to allow us the appropriate time to get to the venue. Any children in the 1500m Event will require private transport as this event is run early on the day. If your child is unable to attend, please decline the event or let Mrs Love know. We wish all students representing our school all the very best for an enjoyable day of competition and safe travels.

Happy Birthday to You

Wishing the following children all the very best for their special day this week and over the school holidays:   

July 

21st - Eliza Knight

24th - Frankie Lindsay

26th - Alaska Argall

Student Awards - Term 2 Week 10

Congratulations to the following students who have shown tremendous effort and were presented with their awards at our assembly last Friday afternoon:

Kindergarten:- Niarah Walker, George Marychurch

Year 1:- Emma Nugent, Eliza Knight

Year 2:- Angus Walters, Ryder Newman

Year 3:- Caius Dowd, Summer Duley, Ruby Farrah

Year 4:- Isaac Beetge, Ted Standfield, Mia Glover

Year 5:- Yari Howes, Beau Dever, Tahnesha Walker

Year 6:-  Van Smith, Ella Jones

Principal's Awards:- Caius Dowd, Eedie Batson

Upcoming Dates

July

19th - Parent-Teacher interviews - Year 5 only

20th - NAIDOC Celebrations

24th/25th - Parent-Teacher interviews - K to 4 & Yr 6

26th - Grandparents Day Liturgy 12.15pm Parish Hall

27th - Zone Athletics

31st - Stage 2 Camp Tallebudgera

August

11th - Year 3 Showcase @ 2.15pm