Newsletter Term 1 Week 2 (Wed 9th February 2022)

Our Gospel Reflection

Our Gospel this Sunday from Luke is the beginning of what is often called the Sermon on the Plain. It offers a contrast to many of the messages we hear in our society today. If we were to accept uncritically the “get ahead” messages of our culture, we would think that happiness means having money, being successful, and having many possessions. In this way, we are not unlike the people who heard Jesus teach on the day that he taught the Beatitudes. They too associated happiness with possessions and success. The report of the Beatitudes in Luke's Gospel, however, takes things one step further. Not only will we not find happiness through the “get ahead” messages of the world, but relying upon these messages will cause us harm. The warnings spoken are particularly challenging because they suggest that our way of life must change if we are to gain the lasting happiness of eternal life.

Talk together as a family about what society tells us makes a person successful. Make a list of the traits that you associate with a successful person. Then read together Sunday's Gospel, Luke 6:17,20-26. Reflect on Jesus' description of blessedness in the Kingdom of God. Then consider the warnings. Why are these surprising and challenging? What, then, is the measure of success in the Kingdom of God? Together write prayers of petition based on your discussion. Pray these prayers together, asking God to help your family seek the blessings of the Kingdom of God.

From Our Principal

A big welcome to 2022 and a new year of living, loving and learning in Christ. As we begin 2022, the parish community welcomes our new families and staff who are joining our school this year. I wish them a rewarding and fulfilling experience at St Brigid’s. At the start of any new year we are filled with anticipation of what this year will deliver and hope that prosperity, love and success is abundant.

We welcome the following new members of staff to our school: -

• Miss Kayla Robertson has been appointed as our Year 5 teacher.
• Mrs Lani Campbell has been appointed as our School Admin Officer
• Mrs Ashling Aherne has been appointed as one of our Teacher Assistants in Stage 2.
• Mrs Kylie Myers has been appointed as our Teacher Assistant in Stage 3.
• Mrs Bronwyn McNulty has been appointed as our School Counsellor

 I welcome these people to St Brigid’s and the skills and qualities that they will all bring to our school community.

As we embark on a new year let us be challenged to use our special gifts to:

• Laugh often at the joys of life
• Pray daily, giving thanks for what we have received
• Never turn away someone in need
• Continue to read and learn throughout life
• Pass on the stories of history and life with those we love
• Take time to enjoy God’s creation through gardening, bushwalks, ocean swims
• And of course...always be ready to greet someone, shake hands and smile.

May 2022 be a year of fulfilment and joy for our community as we grow Strong in Faith. Be secure in the belief that we will continue to keep God’s kingdom alive here at St Brigid’s Primary School.

I encourage parents to become involved in school activities this year after the interrupted years we all experienced in 2020 and 2021. We have a very active Parent Forum who are always looking for more team members. An opportunity to join one of the many teams will be available as we head up to the AGM of the Parent Forum to be held in March. Though small in numbers at times, the Parent Forum achieve much for the school. Please refer to the Term Calendar for the upcoming meetings.

Take care for the week ahead,

Tony

Welcome Our Newest Students

Our newest and youngest members of our community began school this week. Their happy faces and excitement bubbled over as they walked through the gates carrying their school bags and wearing their uniforms with such pride. The children settled into school routine very quickly and they have certainly enjoyed their first few days of school. Well done to our Kindergarten students.

We also welcome Lila Standfield (Yr 6), Makayla McGlashan (Yr 4), Ted Standfield (Yr 3), Fletcher Cameron-Keed (Yr 2), Byron Cameron-Keed (Yr 2) and Mabel Standfield (Yr 1) to our school.

My New Gallery

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Welcome our Prac Students

We welcome Mrs Lena Llewellyn and Mr Anthony Purcell who are completing their teaching placements here at St Brigid's as a part of their university studies in becoming a qualified teacher. Mrs Llewellyn will be in Year 2 for all of Term 1 and Mr Purcell will be in Kindergarten for the first 4 weeks of this term. It is great to have Lena and Anthony with us and to experience the beginning of a school year and all it entails. 

Covid Updates

Thanks so much to all families for collecting your Rapid Antigen Tests last week during the MAI and Best Start Interviews. We have received our stocks for Weeks 3 and 4 and these will be distributed to all students on Friday so please check your child's schoolbag when they get home. 

When there is a positive case of Covid in the school community we will notify the respective classes of this via our Skoolbag App messaging service. This is another reason it is vital that all families have access to our main form of communication.

Please find attached a very helpful flyer for parents. The information sheet guides parents through the steps that need to be followed before your child returns to school following a positive case.

Our School Community

Our parents’ support is valued and appreciated and we encourage all to join in where you can! Communication is the key. If you have any concerns about school life, it is important to deal with them as soon as possible so that your concern does not become a big problem. You can email me at: tony.hunter@lism.catholic.edu.au if that is easier. Make an appointment to discuss any issue or concern with myself or our Assistant Principal, Mrs Condon. Always approach the class teacher first if it is a concern relating to a class issue or academic progress. Teachers can often correct relatively quickly what might appear at first to be a big issue. We have a tremendous staff here at St Brigid’s and with a wonderful parent body working with the school we can accomplish much. Our Parent Forum AGM will be coming up in March along with other opportunities as listed below. These meetings are a great way to support your school and to get to know other parents.

Maths and Best Start Interviews

Thank you to all Parents, Grandparents and Carers who brought their children in to complete their one-on-one Mathematics and Kindergarten Best Start assessments. This is a time-consuming process and very difficult to complete during school hours. The information gathered is invaluable in getting to know your child’s level of competency in counting, place value, addition & subtraction and multiplication and division by using an interview process rather than a standardised test under test conditions. For those students who missed out, teachers will complete the assessment within the next two weeks.

Opening School Mass

Our Opening Mass to commence our school year will be held on Tuesday 15^th February commencing at 9:30am in Our Lady of Sorrows Church. At this liturgy we will be welcoming our Kindergarten students and inducting our school leaders for 2022 who will be presented with their Leadership badges. All are invited to come along and celebrate with us as we get our school year underway. Look forward to seeing as many as possible at our first liturgical celebration for the year.

Mums@Mass

Please find attached an invitation from our Leader of School Evangelisation, Mrs Vanessa Walters to our wonderful mums, grandmas, aunts and friends to come along to the 9am Parish Mass each Friday and follwed up with a cuppa in the Parish Meeting Room.

New Play Equipment

With the start of a new school year it was fantastic to be able to see the students on our new playground equipment. We owe an extreme debt of gratitude to Mr James Dowd and Mr Ben Harris who were instrumental in co-ordinating thousands of bits n pieces into the structure that it is today. This new equipment will be for the use of students in Years 3 to 6. The older equipment will be for the sole use of students from Kindergarten to Year 2. 

My New Gallery

IT and Library Upgrades

During the holidays the first phase of our Library upgrade was undertaken with the laying of new carpet and installation of new blinds. This has certainly made an immediate impression on this area in our school. We extend our thanks to Simon Tough and his team at Kyogle Home Living for the efficient manner in which this was all completed. We are now awaiting on new furniture to complement the library upgrade. We are expecting this to arrive in the next week and until then the library is out of action until Week 4.

Our school has made a huge investment in the IT facilities that our students will have access to. All students in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 will have access to their own Ipad for class work and extension. The students in Years 3 to 6 will have access to their own Chromebook and a greater number of Ipads per class. We were expecting the Ipads to be in the school by mid January but with all things, Covid has interrupted with stocks, stores and deliveries. We hope that these will not be too far away and that we can then have them available to students to support their learning.   

Congratulations Lawson

We extend a big congratulations to Lawson Alder (Year 5) who was recently nominated as the Junior Sports Person in the recent Kyogle Shire Australia Day Awards. This is a credit to Lawson on his involvement and commitment to sport especially in the area of tennis.

Lawson represented St Brigid's at the Diocesan Tennis Trials yesterday (Tuesday 8th Feb) in Ballina competing against students from all over the Diocese. Though Lawson did not gain selection to the next level, he certainly gave it his best shot and played some remarkable tennis. This is all great experience for when Lawson has another go at the trials at the end of this year. Well done Lawson!!

Bunnings BBQ

Many thanks to the parents and family members who have nominated to assist with our first fundraiser for this year. Our school will be running the Bunnings BBQ on Sunday 13th February. 

Please find attached a copy of the BBQ timetable with still a few spots to fill on each timeslot. If you are able to fill in on any of the areas please contact Lani at school on 6632 1988 or message our Fundraising Co-ordinator, Tara Laarhoven on 0422 634 127.

Student Support Services

We are very proud of our Welfare Team here at St Brigid’s that are on hand to assist parents and students of our school community with their various expertise. It is wonderful and very reassuring to have a strong Welfare Team with Mrs Morabito, Mrs Bronwyn McNulty, Mrs Wendy Jansen, Miss Sereena Zanuso and Mrs Jessica Rixon working here. Unfortunately, Mrs Wendy Jansen will only be with us until the end of this month before she takes on another role within the Social Futures Team. We hope to be in a position to announce our new Family Program Support worker in the next couple of weeks. We are not in a position to have these people in our school on a full time basis, except for Mrs Morabito. Please find below the days when these people will be working and available at St Brigid’s in 2022:-

Mrs Bronwyn McNulty (School Counsellor) – Every Wednesday and Thursday.

Miss Sereena Zanuso (Student Support Worker) – Every Wednesday and Thursday

Mrs Wendy Jansen (Family Program Support) – Every Monday

Mrs Jessica Rixon (Speech Therapy) – Every second Monday.

Richmond Zone Swimming

We wish all the very best to our 23 students who will be representing our school in the Richmond Zone Swimming Carnival next Monday 14^th February at the Lismore Pool. Thanks so much to all parents who are accompanying the squad for the day and who are assisting with the transportation of students. Have a great day one and all and we look forward to hearing of your results. Please find attached the program for the day.

Drop Off and Pick up Zones

In Groom Street the following sign appears along the streets. This sign means that in the direction of the arrow you are not allowed to stop your vehicle in the hours of operation. The restrictions apply for the times stated. This sign means you must not stop for more than two minutes in a No Parking area. You must remain in or within three metres of the vehicle. At St Brigid’s Primary School this is a Kiss & Drop Zone in the morning and a Pick Up Zone in the afternoon. This sign means that in the area in the direction of the arrow you must not stop your vehicle at any point on the road or kerb, unless there is a medical or other emergency. Please be considerate of our neighbours in adjoining streets and do not park in driveways.

Many thanks for your anticipated co-operation with this important safety routine for the benefit of our students.

2022 Family Meet n Greet

With the ongoing restrictions in our school community it is very difficult to be able to hold our Meet n Greet Evening on the School Grounds. This year we invite all of our school families to come along to our Zoom Meet n Greet Night on Tuesday 22nd February from 6pm to 6:30pm. During this session we will introduce all staff to you as well as highlighting our school and the services that are available for all families here at St Brigid’s. All families in attendance will have the opportunity of winning $100 off their school fee account for 2022. Look forward to seeing all of our families at this gathering.

Parent School Forum

The Parent School Forum is a group of parents and teachers who come together twice a Term (Tuesday of Week 3 and 7) to discuss issues within the school and give support and assistance about the direction the school is heading. It is open to all parents who wish to attend and it is a great way to find out more about how the school is run. There are several smaller groups and committees within the school who have representatives who come along and present to the forum on their respective progress and seek assistance if required. In the past, the PSF has taken part in the school review process and had input into the development of the five year school plan; discussed various ways we can encourage more parent involvement in the school; helped organise events such as our Fun Festival, discussed learning ideas; organised Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day stalls; and developed education programs for parents with help of the Parent Assembly. This is an excellent way to be part of the school and work together with staff to create a great learning environment for your child. To find out more come along to a PSF meeting. The next general meeting is on Tuesday 15th February at 5:30pm in our School Library and the AGM and will be held on Tuesday 15th March at 6pm in the library.

School Canteen

Our Canteen Day will be Monday. This will start from Monday the 14^th of February. If you are able to assist in the canteen on a Monday please let Lani in the Office know or contact our Canteen Co-ordinator, Mrs Krystal-Lee Hyde.

To place a Canteen order, students are asked to have written on a plain brown paper bag their name, class, order and how much money is in the bag. When students arrive at school on Monday morning they are to place their canteen order into the tubs that are placed outside of the canteen.

Our Year 6 students run a mini canteen each recess on Tuesday to Friday. They have packets of chips ($1) and Zooper Dooper iceblocks (50 cents) for sale. Our recess runs from 10:45am to 11:05am.

The School Canteen is run on a not for profit basis and is here as a service for our students.  Please find attached the Canteen Menu. 

Term One Calendar

A copy of our Term One calendar was sent home with the youngest member of the family today. Please ensure that you place this in a prominent position in your home and refer to it as the term progresses. 

Homework

Our school policy on Homework is very simple… We believe that students do enough learning during the day. What they do after school can be diverse, dependant on family interests and circumstances. After school activities we know about for our students include sports training or competition, dance, gym, karate, music tuition, horse riding, drama class, speech therapy etc. Our decision on what is essential from our point of view is based on the concept that if parents try to ‘teach’ their children after school it should be in things they want. The only extra we expect from EVERY child is nightly reading. If parents truly believe they want to add to this, we encourage them to buy a NAPLAN type text book and work through this at home. All Stages will update families each Term on what will be studied during the Term if you are keen to do further research. From our experience, students really don’t have the energy to complete much of a night if they have worked hard during the day. Staff taking precious time to prepare homework for 3% of students can only seem like wasting their time. I can hear Stage 3 parents saying “what about preparing for High School?” Once again research tells us that we are not here to “prepare students for high school by giving home work but rather to give them the necessary skills to manage the next phase of learning.”

Happy Birthday to you......

Wishing the following students a very happy birthday for their special day of days celebrated in the month of January:-

1st - Christian Hoffman                   5th - Piper Marychurch

13th - Brooklyn Stubbings               14th - Landan Faulks

16th - Elliarna Devenish and Harlow Schneider

19th - Tess Cannington and Chloe King

23rd - Ruby Farrah and Yari Howes

25th - Myah Gordon

Uniform Shop Hours

Many thanks to Kathryn Gill and Ali Lewis for taking on the role of Uniform Co-ordinators. The Uniform Shop will be open each Monday from 2pm till 3:10pm. If you require uniform urgently please let Lani in the Office know and she will arrange to have it sent home.

Home Details and Contacts

If over the holidays you have changed address, phone number or emergency contacts, it is essential to let Lani know in the Office so that we can keep these all up to date. This is especially important in the case of an emergency and we need to contact families urgently. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.

Community Tennis Programs

Please find attached information relating to 2 upcoming tennis programs to be run at Kyogle Tennis Club starting 24th February. The first is a free 6 week program for Indigenous students and the second is a multicultural girls program offering free group tennis lessons. Please refer to flyers for further information or contact Tylah Robinson on 0422 253 387 or tylahrobinsontennis@gmail.com