PRINCIPAL - PAULA MACKENZIE

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This weekend many of our students will be receiving Jesus for the first time as they celebrate the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. This is a very special step in their faith journey and that of the family. We believe that in Holy Communion we are united in a special way with Jesus Christ.

At his last supper, Jesus said of the bread that he shared among his followers, "Take and eat, this is my body." When we receive Holy Communion, we believe that in a mysterious way we are sharing in the body and blood of Christ.

Holy Communion and the whole celebration is also known as Eucharist, from a Greek word meaning thanksgiving. First Eucharist is a special occasion - a further step in becoming one with Christ and united with the People of God.

Our beautiful students will celebrate this wonderful Sacrament on Sunday 23^rd of June at 11.00am in St Brigid’s Church, Midland.

 BLESSING OF SPECIAL EDUCATION UNIT

On Monday 1^st July we will be celebrating our blessing of the Special Education Unit here at school, the choir will be singing and we welcome parents to join us at 9.30am for the blessing and a small service.

BREAKFAST CLUB HELPERS

Breakfast club has been running in our school for the past 7 years and thanks to our staff volunteering it has been running smoothly. We are now asking for parent help so that we can continue to offer this service. Ideally we would love three volumeters per day to replace staff, so that they are able to return to their classrooms to prepare for the day. If this is not possible even one parent a day would be of great assistance. If you are able to help please let the front office know, so far we have one lovely mother volunteer and this is wonderful. If you can help out from 8.00am until 8.30am please let us know.

CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL

The children are busily preparing for their Cross Country Carnival which will be held on Wednesday 26^th June weather permitting. Mr Harris is highly organised and has everything in place for an exciting day. We will see our students from Kindergarten to Year Six race around the course. As we are in winter we will be looking closer at the weather patterns if we expect bad weather the carnival may need to be moved. We will keep you posted.

SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

Schools are always a busy place with so many things happening. You may have been aware that our Library is undergoing a transformation. Robin Dalziell and Mandi Darling have been working hard on going through our books and adding new books to shelves. We have many new books coming into our school and we would be most grateful to any parents who could help cover them. The sooner the books are covered the sooner they can appear on the shelves.  If you have time to spare please make contact with Mandi in the library.  Presently our team are creating a junior primary area within the library.   This is very exciting and I know the children can’t wait until the whole plan is shown. It is a slow process due to lack of finances we are indeed grateful to our P & F who help us out in this area. Once the junior area is complete we will begin to transform the middle and upper area of the library. We want to make the library a thriving place of interest as well as an important part of our school. Much work is being completed behind the scenes and our teacher resource space has undergone radial improvement. Keep watching this space.

School fees are an important part of making things happen with in our school and we thank all our parents who are working towards paying their fees so that we can improve so many areas within the school. Not only is the library being reborn but we would like to begin to refurbish our Kindergarten and Pre Primary outdoor centres as well as restock resources in our junior grades.

This year we have seen the introduction of our Three Year Old Programme and this has been welcomed into our school. It is an exciting and thriving learning environment under the direction of our fabulous Mrs Gabrielle D’Agnone- Doyle and Mrs Leanne Bailey. This year our Board was able to purchase the resources for this programme in terms of furniture and consumables through school fees.

This year we have also undertaken to replace the interactive Smart Boards in our junior years, music room and Special Education Room again this has been undertaken by using our funds. It was unfortunate that the Smart Boards that were in these classrooms were old and have been breaking down during the past two years. We have valiantly tried to keep them going but at last they have become too old to fix and so the Board made the call to replace them so that our students can benefit from the new technology.   

 
We want to ensure that our school thrives and that we are able to resource the school fully to meet the needs of our students. 

 

MATHEMATICS IN OUR LIVES

Mathematics is important in daily living; almost every one of us uses some form of mathematics each day. We repeatedly count, measure, carry out simple calculations and estimate. We use spatial awareness and measurement skills to read maps or to find our way around in new locations. In order to understand weather forecasts, news reports, opinion polls and bank statements we use our knowledge of chance, data and statistics. This knowledge is also applied when we make decisions about loan repayments, superannuation, insurance and buying the weekly lotto ticket.

Our homes are the site of many mathematical decisions and activities that occur regularly. Buying and cooking food, rearranging furniture, building sheds, sewing or knitting garments, paving, administering medications; the list is endless!

Families can take an active role in their children’s mathematical development by:

• Taking opportunities to practise real-life mathematics learning in the home.
• Encouraging them to talk about what they are learning in mathematics at school.
• Listening carefully and asking questions when children are explaining their mathematical understandings.
• Reassuring and encouraging their children when they face difficulties.
• Engaging children in discussions about the useful aspects of mathematics in the home and at work.
• Talking to teachers about their child’s progress in mathematics.

Many jobs require mathematics, but the kind of mathematics people needed fifty years ago is now inadequate. The rapidly changing nature of our jobs and their mathematical needs mean that our mathematical learning does not end with formal schooling. We all need to continue learning for life.

EARN AND LEARN

Thank you all for participating in the Earn and Learn programme that is currently running. Woolworths are giving one sticker for every ten dollars spent and these stickers are then turned into maths equipment for our students, it is a very well run programme and we are excited by the equipment we will be able to purchase. 

This is the very last week for this great programme it will finish on the 25^th June. Our target goal is 20,000 and presently we are sitting on 15,022. So if everyone could help us out and shop this weekend it would be gratefully accepted. We are looking forward to being able to purchase new Math’s equipment for our school. Just remember to bring in all your stickers next week.
Thank you once again to everyone who is helping out and extended family as well.

May God bless you with an abundance of love and compassion.

                                               

Paula MacKenzie
PRINCIPAL

 

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - MIKE SIBBALD                               

FIRST EUCHARIST

This weekend is a very special time for our First Communicants. On Sunday, 44 children will make their First Holy Communion. Mass begins at 11.00am on Sunday at St Brigid’s Parish Church, Midland. Our professional photographer will be available to take family photos from 10.00am. We pray that our Lord will bless each one of our First Communion Children as they receive Jesus for their first time.

FAMILY MASS AT ST BRIGID'S PARISH 

Thank you to our fabulous Year Five children and their Teachers, for hosting last weekend’s Family Mass at St Brigid’s Parish. Your reading was beautiful and the Choir sang wonderfully! Thank you also, to the many parents who supported us with this lovely celebration.                                                                                                          

SACRAMENTAL DATES 2019

Year 4 FIRST EUCHARIST – Sunday 23 June 2019 (11.00am) 
Year 6 CONFIRMATION – Sunday 8 September 2019 (11.00am)

 

YEAR SIX SCIENCE INCURSION 

A special thank you to retired Professor, Dr Russell Waugh who delivered two amazing Chemical Science Presentations to our Year Six Classes on Monday. The students were thoroughly engaged and were left wanting more at the conclusion of each session! We congratulate Dr Waugh also, for recently receiving an OAM in this Year’s Queen’s Honour Awards.

 

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - LUKE SHAW

SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Teachers are currently working on the completion of semester one reports. This week, I would like to share with you some information on the curriculum within Catholic schools, and ways parents can support their children through school.

As has been highlighted many times before, collaboration between home and school is vital in providing our students at St Brigid’s Primary School with the best possible educational advantages and it is an area that we are always endeavouring to improve.

The curriculum is the program of teaching and learning that leads to desired educational outcomes. Catholic schools follow the same curriculum as government schools; however, there is a religious dimension in everything that is taught in a Catholic school. This creates the additional and most important learning area of Religious Education.  

How is the Curriculum Organised? 

St Brigid’s Primary School implements the Kindergarten to Year 10 Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Guidleines to meet the learning needs of all students. The Western Australian Curriculum is based on the Australian Curriculum. It has been designed to meet the specific needs of students in Western Australia. Subjects are grouped in key learning areas and teachers within our Catholic schools refer to the Western Australian Curriculum (English, Mathematics, Science and HASS) and other documents to develop their teaching programs. Schools and teachers are responsible for organising student learning. To effectively deliver the curriculum, teachers respond to their students’ needs and interests, which inform their approach to teaching, learning and assessment.

How does the Pre-Primary to Year 10 curriculum work? 

Schools use the Western Australian curriculum for Pre-Primary to Year 10 to: 

• plan student learning programs, 
• assess student progress, and
• report student achievement to parents. 

The Western Australian Curriculum outlines the content for students to be taught each year. It is designed to be coherent and comprehensive. Achievement standards describe expected student performance in relation to the curriculum content for each year level.

The curriculum is organised into nine learning areas. Each learning area contains a year-level syllabus. This syllabus includes a year-level description, specific curriculum content and the Achievement Standard for each year of schooling, from Pre-Primary to Year 10.

Outcomes 

Subjects and courses taught in schools today are outcomes based; that is, they are given direction by clear descriptions of what students should know, understand and value and be able to do as a result of the learning experience provided by the teachers at the school.

Outcomes are explicit statements of what students must demonstrate to show they have achieved the required knowledge and skills. Each learning area lists specific outcomes that students must cover over the years of K – 12. Teachers then use a range of fair, valid, explicit and comprehensive assessment processes to inform and evaluate the progress of student learning against the outcome prescribed for the particular learning area. This is how the student’s achievement levels are determined for each learning area. Teachers also make comments on the effort a child has applied to their learning for a particular learning area.

SCHOOL NEWS

A Message From The Uniform Shop........

If you have any Communion Dresses/Suits that you no longer need please consider donating them to the School Uniform Shop. 

With thanks,

Mrs Jo-Anne Vellis

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 CANTEEN ROSTER

Monday 24th June          HELP PLEASE

Tuesday 25th June          H VRANJES

Wednesday 26th June    S SOEMYA

Thursday 27th June       HELP PLEASE

Friday 28th June           K PURCHASE

 

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR CANTEEN MENU      

 

 SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE CANTEEN  

AS THERE IS A WHOLE SCHOOL MASS NEXT FRIDAY 28th JUNE, THE CANTEEN WILL NOT BE OPEN FOR RECESS. STUDENTS WILL STILL BE ABLE TO ORDER LUNCH.

PLEASE CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING IN THE CANTEEN AS A THANK YOU, LUNCH AND ENDLESS CUPS OF TEA/COFFEE ARE ON US........

 

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Netball Club News

Thank you very much to the St Brigid’s Netball Club Co-ordinators for the write up below.

On Sunday the 16th June. Three teams from St Brigid’s netball club competed in the South Midlands District netball carnival in Gingin. The teams competed against district teams from as far as Lancelin; Quinn’s Rock and Belmont and school teams including Mary’s Mount. All three teams were very competitive with the year 5s narrowly missing out on a place in the 12 and under division final by just one point.  The club is so proud of all players for their excellent behaviour; sportsmanship and never give up attitude on the day.

Inter-House Cross Country Carnival 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

Details for this year’s Inter-House Cross Country Carnival are as follows:

Date: Wednesday 26th June 2019 (Term 2, Week 9)

Time of Carnival: The race schedule that has been provided below is an estimated time line for the day. Races may be altered to run earlier or later depending on the weather situation. The first race begins at 9:00am. Each event should take between 10-20 minutes to complete. In the case of extreme weather, the carnival may be rescheduled. Parents will be notified immediately if this occurs.

RACE	DISTANCE
1. Kindy Girls	0.2km
2. Kindy Boys	0.2km
3. PP Girls	0.2km
4. PP Boys	0.2km
5. Year 1 Girls	0.8km
6. Year 1 Boys	0.8km
7. Year 2 Girls	0.8km
8. Year 2 Boys	0.8km
9. Year 3 Girls	1.5km
10. Year 3 Boys	1.5km
11. Year 4 Girls	1.5km
12. Year 4 Boys	1.5km
13. Year 5 Girls	2.0km
14. Year 5 Boys	2.0km
15. Year 6 Girls	2.0km
16. Year 6 Boys	2.0km

Uniform: All children are to wear their correct school sports uniform. That is their coloured polo shirt, blue shorts, white school sport socks and sneakers.

Things to Bring: All children should bring a packed lunch, snacks and cold drinks (no sport drinks). Students are encouraged to pack a spare set of school clothes and a towel for wet weather.

Students who suffer from Asthma will need to ensure they have their medication with them on the day. If students do not have the suitable medication they will not be able to participate. Parents and carers should also use this opportunity to update their asthma emergency plans with the administration.

Kind regards,

Mr Samuel Harris

Physical Education Teacher

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Reminder for Term 3 Week 6 
- Monday the 26th of August is a Catholic Day ( Students to stay home from school)
- Tuesday the 27th of August is a Professional Development Day ( Students to stay home from school)
- Wednesday 28th of August all Students required to attend school as normal.

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Netball News

 Well done to all of our St Brigid’s netballers who participated in the South Midlands District Carnival in Gingin last weekend.  It was a great day and you made the club proud with your skills, sportsmanship and stamina on the day.

 

 

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PLAYGROUP

Takes place every Friday 9am – 11:30am. Breakfast is offered in the morning. We are operating in the Early Childhood Room (next to Kindy). 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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ST BRIGID'S RUNNING CLUB

WHEN: EVERY TUESDAY 3.15PM - 3.45PM

WHERE: ST BRIGID'S PRIMARY SCHOOL

YEAR GROUPS: PRE - PRIMARY - YEAR 6  

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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.  

 

P & F NEWS

St Brigid’s Parents and Friends Association

 

Woolworths Earn & Learn

FINAL WEEKEND TO COLLECT STICKERS

Thank you so much to all of our wonderful community that have supported the Woolworths Earn and Learn drive so far.

We have had just over 15,000 stickers earnt since the start of this promotion,
and our target goal is 20,000. This is the final week that we can collect stickers
– with the promotion ending on the 25^th June. Let’s see if we can do this!!!
For the next week, if we can all make the effort to do some shopping at our local Woolworths store and collect as many stickers as possible, it will help us to get some valuable new maths resources. What a great benefit this will have on all of our students. Maybe even ask your family and friends if they can collect for our school also. There are collection boxes at Midland Gate Woolworths, Centrepoint Woolworths, and inside the office.

Upcoming Events

P&F Meeting – 2^nd July 2019  - 9am, Board room in the office. Children welcome.

Hair accessories – We have joined with Ponytails and Fairytales – a beautiful company that stock school uniform hair accessories. An amazing range at an amazing price.. We will be sending out some information and order forms for anyone wishing to purchase some beautiful hair accessories for their children in school colours – please show your support not only for our school, but also for this gorgeous local business. 

 

Other ways you can support our school

Please remember that by using the following stores for your daily or weekly shopping – you are in turn helping to raise funds for our school – which in turn help benefit our awesome students.

Midland Supa IGA                            Athletes Foot – Midland Gate                            Gilberts Fresh

 

 

Thank you as always for your ongoing support of our P&F.

Karryn Purchase – 0409 293 198

Joanne Johnson – 0418 954 821

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SCHOOL BANKING

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 School Office.

Vacancies Available Now!

P: 0484302073

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COMMUNITY NEWS

ST VINCENT DE PAUL WINTER APPEAL

Over the coming weeks, we are asking the children to bring in non-perishable food items that can be donated to the St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal.  Please place your donations into the baskets provided in the Front Office. Thank you for your support.

 

 

 

 

WOMEN PROMPTING CHANGE in the CHURCH - WEDNESDAY JUNE 26, 6-9pm
Catholic women are warmly invited to a free panel discussion with: Theologian Dr Margaret Scharf OP;
Anglican priest Rev Tess Milne; and Religious Studies scholar Scilla Stack discussing the role of women
in the Christian Church and their thoughts on the way forward, followed by an open discussion.
Date: Wednesday 26 June from 6.00 - 9pm. Light refreshments served from 6 - 6.30pm.
Venue: Gibney Hall, Trinity College, 2 Trinity Ave Perth (parking available, Red & Yellow CAT buses travel to Hale St).
RSVP by 23 June to Kerry ph 08 93975988 or SMS to 0400 886 835 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.