Newsletter Term 3 Week 5 (Wednesday 16 August 2023)

Our Front Page with Year 1

Year 1 has been exploring the equal sign for maths and recognising that equal means the same. They have discovered that when something is balanced, it means it is equivalent or the same as. 

Our Gospel Reflection

This weekend we move ahead in our reading of Matthew’s Gospel. Last week we read about Jesus walking on water and the disciples’ confession of faith that Jesus is the Son of God. A woman, who is not Jewish, approaches Jesus, requesting that he heal her demon-possessed daughter. At first Jesus ignores her; he says nothing. The disciples ask Jesus to send her away, and Jesus agrees, remarking that he was sent to minister to the Jews alone.

The woman persists, paying homage to Jesus, and yet Jesus denies her request again. He even insults her, using a Jewish word of derision for Gentiles, “dog.” But the woman cleverly turns Jesus’ insult into an affirmation of faith. Only then does Jesus grant her request and heal her daughter.

Even when spurned by Jesus, the faith of the Canaanite woman makes her bold enough to argue and ask again for what she needs. Her persistence and great confidence that Jesus could heal her daughter reminds us of the confidence with which our children bring to us their own needs. In their faith and trust we can find modern examples of how we might approach God in prayer.

As a family recall some times when a request for something was presented by one family member to another with confidence and persistence. If the request was denied, talk about why that was so. If the request was eventually granted, talk about what led to the change of heart. Then read together Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 15:21-28. Was anyone surprised by Jesus’ response to the Canaanite woman? Why or why not? What makes Jesus change his mind and heal the woman’s daughter? When we pray, God wants us to be as confident in his mercy. Invite family members to identify the things that they most need from God. Pray these prayers of petition together as a family, confident that God will hear and answer your prayers.

From Our Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is hard to believe we are now almost at the halfway mark of Term 3! There is plenty of excitement building as we head towards the second half of this term with Book week and Father's Day celebrations coming up very quickly.

Yesterday, as a whole Parish community we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. The assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven has long been held as an important Catholic belief. The belief was not defined as dogma, however, until 1950 by Pope Pius XII. The dogma teaches that Mary, who was without sin, was taken, body and soul, into the glory of heaven. It was wonderful that Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett was able to lead our mass as we honoured this important day in our Catholic faith tradition.

2024 Planning

After completing our 2023 census a couple of weeks ago, and now into our interviews with those wishing to enrol into Kindergarten for 2024, we are already putting consideration into our planning for next year. To help us with this process, we ask that if you know your family will not be attending St Brigid's in 2024 to please contact the school office so that we can produce accurate class projections. Also, if you know a family that wishes to enrol their children into our school for 2024 to also contact the office so that this process can get underway.

Book Week

Next week is Book Week! As is our tradition, the annual Book Week Character Parade will be held in the Assembly Area on Thursday 24 August at 12 noon. All parents and family members are invited to join us for what is always a fun time. Any pre-schoolers are also very welcome to join in the dress ups and parade with us!

Father's Day Breakfast

Looking forward, the annual Father's Day Breakfast is being held on Friday 1 September from 7:30am. An invitation is extended to all dads, stepdads, grandads, uncles and special men in our lives to come in and have a great start to the day with breakfast with your child(ren).

Stars of the Week

The Stars of the Week is presented to the class with the best average attendance for the week. Last week the winning class was Year 2 for the very first time this year with a weekly attendance average of 93.7%. The great news is that our whole school average was 92.5% and we had 5 classes record an average weekly attendance above 90%. Keep up the great work everyone and thanks so much to families for the way in which you are encouraging your children to attend school.

Remember our whole school goal is 90%. The whole school average weekly attendance for this term is as follows:

Week 1: 89.6% - Year 3 (97.6%), Year 6 (93.6%), Year 1 (91.8%)  

Week 2: 87% - Year 3 (97.6%), Year 6 (92.7%), Year 2 (90.4%)

Week 3: 87.5% - Year 2 (93.7%), Year 3 (93.4%), Year 6 (90.1%)

Week 4: 92.5% - Year 3 (95.2%),  Year 4 (95.0%),  Year 2 (94.5%)

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

Have a wonderful week and take care,

Tony Hunter

Assistant Principal News - Mission

Feast of the Assumption of Mary:

Yesterday we joined parishioners in celebrating Mary's assumption into heaven. Bishop Jarrett shared with the students an artwork- Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is a very famous artwork that depicts a miracle that occurred in 1531.

The Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Juan Diego a humble Mexican Indian peasant, instructing him to tell the local Bishop of her desire for the construction of a new basilica dedicated to her. Begging for a sign to convince the Bishop, Saint Juan Diego was told to climb to the stony summit of Tepeyac where he would find miraculously blooming roses he was to gather in his mantle (or tilma) and take to the Bishop. Opening his mantle to show the roses, all were astonished to see the Virgin Mary's colourful portrait miraculously imprinted on the coarse fabric of Saint Juan's mantle. This tilma has been preserved to this day in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Bishop Jarrett pointed out the stars of the Southern Cross in the artwork and explained to the students that he believes this is a nod and sign that Mary is acknowledging Australia. 

It was lovely to celebrate the Assumption mass with students and the community of Our Lady of Sorrows after returning from my pilgrimage which was centred around Mary. I have learnt so much about Mary over the last few weeks and it amazes me that Mary, human like us was chosen to be God sharer and God bearer. I particularly loved seeing so many artworks, statues and depictions of Mary 'being mum' to Jesus. A reminder that we are all called to be disciples and Mary became the very first disciple when she trusted God's plan and said YES! 

Kelli-Ann Bugden

Assistant Principal, Mission

From the Wellbeing Team...

This week’s strength is PERSPECTIVE.

Perspective describes the strength of being wise, and of being able to take the “big picture” view of things. People who have a strong sense of perspective might ask themselves and others, “Is there another way of looking at/thinking about this?”. Having the strength of Perspective also describes being able to provide wise counsel (in other words, being a good person to talk to when someone is seeking advice or a wise opinion on a particular situation or dilemma). Is Perspective a particular strength that belongs to you or to someone close to you? Take a moment to acknowledge the strength of Perspective in yourself and those around you, and consider how it enriches life for you and your friends and family.

Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L)

Focus for Week 5:  I know how to treat my friends respectfully and take responsibility for my own behaviour. 

Before & After School Care Kyogle

We are so grateful to have Rainbow Region Kids conducting Before & After School care at Kyogle Public School. Their hours of operation are 7am-9am and 3pm-6pm. Educators/Teachers will walk children between care and School. If you wish to enquire about this fantastic service please contact them on 66217397 or email rrkassist@nrcg.org.au  

Sports News

Last Friday Stage 3 attended two different gala days in Lismore,13 students attended a soccer gala day at the Thistles Soccer club competing against other schools in the Lismore Diocese. Although we didn’t make the finals, all students had a fantastic day. 

The rest of stage 3 attended a Multi Sports day held at Hepburn Park and were involved in 30 min rotations with development officers from a range of sports. Table Tennis, AFL, Rugby, Cricket, NRL, Football (soccer) and Hockey. These development officers took students through a range of skills and drills to promote their chosen sports. A great day was had by all.

Yours in sport

Lee Love

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Parent Assembly News

Family Faith Retreat

The Catholic Schools Office Parent Assembly Team will be facilitating a retreat for parents and families on Saturday and Sunday 9th & 10th September. The retreat is held at Tyalgum Ridge Retreat Centre and is open to all families with children in Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lismore. The retreat is fully funded by the Catholic Schools Office and is a terrific opportunity for families to connect with each other and to enliven their faith lives. Please see the flyer below with details for registering.

Online Webinar

The Diocese of Lismore Parent Assembly is advertising the upcoming webinar hosted by the NSW Council of Catholic Schools Parents in collaboration with eSafety as noted on flyer below. The Online relationships and consent: Sending nudes and sexting will be held on 15 August 2023. This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary school.

It will cover:

• the impact of sharing nude images without consent.
• practical suggestions for starting the chat about respectful relationships, consent and pressure to send nudes.
• where to get support for a young person who has experienced abuse.
• the impact of sharing nude images without consent.
  

Happy Birthday to You

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

August

19th - Beau Dever

22nd - Rylie-Jayne Rankin

23rd - Elsie Laarhoven

Student Awards - Term 3 Week 4

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

Kindergarten -  George Schottelius, Layla O'Neill, Tessa Stubbings, Jahlissa McCormick

Year 1 - Harlow Schneider, Braith Roberts

Year 2 - Emily Kennelly, Gloria Rogin

Year 3 - Lola Lindsay, Ruby Hunt, Judah Marychurch

                                                              Year 4 - Alyannah Clarke, Harry Nugent, Ayce Harley

                                                              Year 5 & 6 - Absent due to Gala Day. 

Upcoming Dates

August

24th - Book Week Parade

September

1st - Father's Day Breakfast

21st - Last day of term for students

22nd - Staff Development Day / Pupil Free Day