Dear Parents

We have had an exciting couple of weeks celebrating a range of special occasions in our school. On July 25th we celebrated Grandparents Day as this is near the Feast Day of St’s Anne and Joachim (Jesus’ Grandparents). We had a beautiful Liturgy in the Church, followed by a visit to the classrooms where our Grandparents had the opportunity to see the impressive work their Grandchildren had created. The morning finished with a morning tea in the hall for all of our Grandparents, sharing a lovely spread that our wonderful staff had provided. This was a very special celebration for our students and their families and we were amazed at how many Grandparents came to celebrate this special occasion with their Grandchildren.

We had a very moving Smoking Ceremony yesterday to celebrate Aboriginal Children’s Day. Our school children participated in the ceremony with Michelle leading the Welcome to Country and explaining to the children the importance of the Smoking Ceremony for Aboriginal people both historically and today. We thank Michelle for providing us with such a beautiful ceremony.

Today, during our assembly, our Year 3/4 students presented a beautiful Liturgy to celebrate the Feast of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop. The children did a wonderful job with singing, movement, readings and prayers. We thank our Year 3/4 children and their teachers for creating this moving tribute to St Mary of the Cross Mackillop for us and we also thank the many parents who attended.

We are also preparing to celebrate Book Week next Thursday, combining the day with our Pyjama Day as the theme for Book Week this year is ‘Dreaming with Eyes Open’. This will be an exciting day with a range of activities centred around the short-listed books for this year. A reminder that you are asked to send your child with an item for our hampers for the fete. Children are encouraged to wear either a costume or their pyjamas.

A reminder that you have a long weekend this weekend as the staff of St Mary’s are having a Professional Development Day on Monday. These days are a requirement for staff as they spend time together to further their learning so we can ensure our children are being provided with the most contemporary, valuable and rich learning we can offer.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Stay well and warm!

Kind regards

Lisa Broeren