PRINCIPAL - PAULA MACKENZIE

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Mothers are a special gift from God to our families. I pray that this Sunday will be a time of rejoicing and happiness as we stop to thank our mother’s for all they have given to make are lives enriched. Our Mass on Sunday will be a time that we can prayer for our Mother’s and remember how wonderful these special women truly are. I look forward to hearing from our students all the wonderful ways they celebrated Mother’s Day with their Mums. Have a sensational day Mums, and enjoy every moment with your families.

MOTHER’S DAY BREAKFAST

Thank you to all our wonderful Mothers who joined us on Wednesday morning for breakfast. This was our way of showing our appreciation for all you do in our school community. The staff were delighted to serve you on the morning and we were so pleased with the wonderful turn out on the day. Next year we hope to see even more Mothers this is going to become one of our special events each year.

 

MOTHERS DAY STALL

Congratulations to our wonderful P & F mothers for once again running the Mother’s day stalls for our children. It is awesome to watch our children as they chose that special item for their mums and the joy it gives to them. There is such a sensational array of gifts it makes choosing the right gift so much fun.

P & F MEETING

Please come and join us next Tuesday 14th May at 9.00am in the Board Room for our next exciting P & F meeting, everyone is welcome and it is a great opportunity to see what is happening in our school.

INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Our children participated in the Interschool Swimming Carnival on Thursday and I must say what a fantastic day it was. Mr Harris, Mr Sibbald and Mrs Deans escorted out children to the pool along with a great group of parents. The support was wonderful and our children swam so well on the day. We saw a sea of blue as our children proudly wore our school colours and impressed us with their swimming. They were determined and proud and swam so well. So congratulations to each and every one of you.

NAPLAN TESTING

From 14 May, as part of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), national tests will be held in Literacy and Numeracy for all students in Australia at Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

The national tests assess student achievement in Literacy and Numeracy. Students will be familiar with the test formats and the type of questions they are required to answer. The main difference is that all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 at schools across Australia, complete the same tests on the same days.
Students will have their skills assessed in Numeracy, Reading, Writing, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar.

National tests will provide information on how students are progressing, and support improvements in teaching and learning.  These tests will make it easier to monitor student performance in Literacy and Numeracy across the nation. Over 1 million students from 9,000 schools across Australia participate in the National tests.    This information will be used to evaluate what students can do and how they perform against the national benchmarks. You can help your child by talking about these tests as a means of showing what they know and can do at this point in their schooling. Ease any anxiety by explaining that everyone in Australia will be doing this test at the same time and the testing process is an integral part of their school life. Please ensure that all students in Year Three and Five are present all of next week. This year all tests will be online.

KINDERGARTEN AFTERNOON TEA

It was a magical afternoon watching our Kindergarten children host an afternoon tea for their mums. I noticed some beautiful macaroni necklaces and some great decorating biscuits along with a lot of laughs and fun playing games.

A THOUGHT ABOUT THE CREATION OF MOTHERS

I would like to share with you a beautiful prayer that I think sums up mothers most beautifully. It is entitled Mothers and gives us a little snap shot into these incredible people in our lives.

By the time the Lord made mothers, He was into the sixth day working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

The Lord answered and said, "Have you read the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not elastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart; and have six pairs of hands."

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No way!" said the Angel.

The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!" "And that's on the standard model?" the Angel asked.

The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head is to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair is here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."

The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish." "But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger mince and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower."

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord." "She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?" asked the Angel. The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate." The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak." the Lord objected. "That's a tear!" "What's the tear for?" the Angel asked. The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."

The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything for this one. You even created the tear!"

The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are wrong again. I created the woman, but she created the tear!"

 

May God bless and enrich your lives daily. Have a peaceful and happy Mother’s Day

                                              

Paula MacKenzie
PRINCIPAL

 

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - MIKE SIBBALD

FIRST RECONCILIATION

Tuesday evening was a very special time for the thirty-two children who made their First Reconciliation and for their proud parents and family too! Congratulations to the children on your wonderful preparation and participation. Thank you to their parents and family for your pleasing support now and into your child’s future sacramental participation. A sincere thank you to their class teachers, Mrs McDonnell and Ms Taddei, for your excellent preparation of the children and fantastic assistance with the liturgy. Thank you also to Mrs Shirren for your pleasing help with the PowerPoint presentation and music. We had a wonderful team of Priests including Fr Anand, Fr Thomas and Fr Benny to assist us and I would like to thank and acknowledge them for their important religious leadership. May the peace of our Lord remain with you all.

PROJECT COMPASSION

Congratulations to all who contributed to our Project Compassion Boxes. We raised $801.20, which is a truly wonderful result. This money will now be sent to Caritas Australia to assist those in need. You generosity is very much appreciated!

 

SACRAMENTAL DATES 2019

Year 4 FIRST EUCHARIST – Sunday 23 June 2019 (11.00am)

Year 6 CONFIRMATION – Sunday 8 September 2019 (11.00am)

 

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - LUKE SHAW

READING AT HOME

Students in Years Three and Five will sit for various NAPLAN tests from Tuesday 14 May to Wednesday 22 May. Our finalised NAPLAN timetable is below. It is important to note that testing will take place prior to recess, with all tests commencing at 9.15am. It is very important that students are here on these days. Please make certain that there are no dentist, doctor or other appointments at this time. Please note that all testing will be online, with the exception of Year 3 Writing – this will remain in paper form. If you have any questions regarding NAPLAN testing, please see your child’s teacher.

Tuesday 14 May: Writing – Years 3 & 5

Wednesday 15 May: Reading – Year 3

Thursday 16 May: Reading – Year 5

Friday 17 May: Conventions of Language – Year 3

Monday 20 May: Conventions of Language – Year 5

Tuesday 21 May: Numeracy – Year 3

Wednesday 22 May: Numeracy – Year 5

 

READING AT HOME

Over the next few weeks, I will be including some tips that may support you with home reading. Nightly reading forms an important part of homework here at St Brigid’s and research strongly supports fostering a love of reading at home. It is important that children are listened to when reading and also read to by an adult or more capable reader.

Read together every day

Read to your child every day. Make this a warm and loving time when the two of you can cuddle close.

Give everything a name

Build your child's vocabulary by talking about interesting words and objects. For example, "Look at that airplane! Those are the wings of the plane. Why do you think they are called wings?"

Say how much you enjoy reading

Tell your child how much you enjoy reading with him or her. Talk about "story time" as the favourite part of your day.

Read with fun in your voice

Read to your child with humour and expression. Use different voices. Ham it up!

Know when to stop

Put the book away for a while if your child loses interest or is having trouble paying attention.

Be interactive

Discuss what's happening in the book, point out things on the page, and ask questions.

Read it again and again

Go ahead and read your child's favourite book for the 100th time!

Talk about writing, too

Mention to your child how we read from left to right and how words are separated by spaces.

Point out print everywhere

Talk about the written words you see in the world around you. Ask your child to find a new word on each outing.

Get your child evaluated

Please be sure to see your child's paediatrician or teacher as soon as possible if you have concerns about your child's language development, hearing, or sight.

SCHOOL NEWS

 

CPSSA INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL 2019

Yesterday, our talented Interschool Swimming Team travelled to HBF Stadium to compete in the CPSSA Swimming Carnival for 2019. Our team had put in great deal of effort throughout the Term One, and were excited to test their abilities against the best that our association had to offer. The focus of the day was for our students to do their best, to have fun and to represent our school with pride, which our students did consistently from start to finish.

The competition was fierce and our students competed against some talented and experienced swimmers, however, at no stage did they doubt their own abilities or worry about the result. I feel that a number of our students had built self-belief through their tireless efforts at squad training in the lead up to the competition, as well as a number of swimmers training throughout the holidays or in their own time away from school. I am extremely proud of our Interschool Team, and I know that going forward, we will continue to improve, do our best, and have fun whilst we compete and train. Well done to you all!

I would like to thank all of our parents who were able to support the team in the lead up to the carnival and on the day itself. Our students really lifted with your support and your cheers and encouragement are the part of every carnival which students remember most. I would like to extend a special thank you to all of the parents who rotated through different roles throughout the carnival and assisted in the school’s assigned roles. I hope that you enjoyed the carnival, and it was encouraging to see some new faces who assisted at their first interschool event.

Thank you to our amazing swimming coach Mrs Deanna Kingma (Deejay) for all of the hard work and effort she has put into our swimmers in preparing them for this year’s carnival. Her commitment to the squad has been something which the school values greatly, and the entire school community and I appreciate all of her work and dedication. The swimming culture at St Brigid’s is continuing to strengthen and this is a testament to all of the effort Deejay has put in over the past couple of years. I would also like to thank her assistant coach, Miss Stephanie Brooks, who is a former St Brigid’s student, who has been working with our students each morning and has passed on some of her swimming knowledge to our students.

Thank you also to Mrs Deans and Mr Sibbald who assisted myself and our team on the day. Your support and encouragement ensured that our team was well prepared before and throughout the carnival.

Thank you also to Mrs Mackenzie, who managed to come and support the team on what was a busy day for herself and the school. Our students and I really appreciated the support and it was a great opportunity to see our students having fun and doing their best.

I look forward to seeing our community at our upcoming sporting events this term and I am excited to see our students compete at these upcoming events.

Mr Samuel Harris

Physical Education Specialist

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 Parents and Caregivers

If you are having a clean out of your board games over the holidays I would gladly like to take them off your hands.

In Term Two I will be visiting Matrix Illam Orphanage in Tamil Nadu India and would very much appreciate to take some games over to the children in the villages.

A labelled box will be in the office for your kind donations of complete games.

Many thanks

Cheryl Harris

 

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DONATIONS FOR PP

Pre Primary are seeking recycled goods for their tinkering trays. Items needed include margarine containers with lids, ice cream containers , bottle tops from milk bottles and orange juice bottles, lids from any type of jars, old computer keyboards, small cuts of plastic pipe , cuts of a hose, off cuts of material, the rolls found inside glad wrap/alfoil and sticky tape, unwanted CDs, 600ml and 300ml bottles. Your trash is our treasure. Thank you.  

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PLAYGROUP

Just a reminder Playgroup has started and it is every Friday 9am – 11:30am. Breakfast is offered in the morning. We are operating in the Early Childhood Room (next to Kindy). We have had a lot of kiddies join us in the past two weeks and that is lovely to see. So if you are a parent, grandparent, aunty or uncle of a child aged 0-4 yrs please come and join us.

Remember to bring a water bottle, a piece of fruit and a hat!

 

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CANTEEN ROSTER

Monday 13th May        HELP NEEDED PLEASE

Tuesday 14th May        H VRANJES

Wednesday 15th May   S SOEMYA

Thursday 16th May      P DELLA

Friday 17th May          C KIRBY

 

 

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR CANTEEN MENU                                                

 

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ST BRIGID'S SWIM SQUAD Come along and join the St Brigid's Swim Squad.  Training takes place every Thursday morning at Swan Active, Morrison Road, Midvale, commencing at 7am.  Entry is $3.30 (no spectator fee for parents).   Swim Squad is for students in Yrs 2 to Yr 6 whom are at swimming level 5 or above.  Students can then take advantage of Breakfast Club at school which commences at 8.15am in the MacKillop Hall.  If you have any queries, please contact Deanna (DJ) on 0419 943 901.  

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FOR SALE

Extra Large Trampoline.

Vuly 14ft Classic. Good Condition.

Can be delivered and assembled locally for a family of the school.

Only $250-  over $1000- New.

Please call Mr Peter Constable 0412 980 004.

 

 

SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

MOTHER'S DAY BREAKFAST

 

 

 

 

 

 

P & F NEWS

St Brigid’s Parents and Friends Association

WOOLWORTHS EARN & LEARN

The Woolworths Earn & Learn program gives schools and Early Learning Centres around Australia the chance to earn amazing school equipment.

Between 1 May and 25 June 2019, collect as many stickers as you can from your Woolies shop, stick them on the sticker sheets and give them to your school or drop them into a collection box in store.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

• P&F Meeting Tuesday 14 May at 9am

All are welcome, including young children. Mrs McKenzie has a wonderful box of toys for the little ones to play with!

• Disco: Friday 24 May 2019

• Cross Country Coffee & Cake Stall: 26 June 2019

• Bunnings Sausage Sizzle: 19 October 2019

  

P & F CONTACT INFORMATION

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Karryn - 0409 293 198

Joanne - 0418 954 821

 

SCHOOL COMMUNITY NEWS

HELPING HANDS

 BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE 

 

 

UNABLE TO MAKE IT IN TIME TO PICK UP YOUR CHILDREN? 

BOSS ASKED YOU TO STAY LATE OR COME IN EARLY? 

NEED TO HAVE SOME TIME FOR YOURSELF? 

Parents, we are here to support you and your children in before and after school hours! We offer a secure, safe and exciting environment for your children to thrive and be a part of a socialized group while you are busy. 

Please note an enrolment form and 1 days' notice is to be given to make your casual bookings for your children. 

We are here to help! Enrolment forms are available from the Education Support Room.  During out of school hours and weekdays. 

Vacancies Available Now!

P: 0484302073

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

COMMUNITY NEWS