Dear Parents and friends,

A world of stories...

Each year, Refugee Week is celebrated around the world. This week, at St Brigid’s, we have joined with many other schools and organisations in recognising the courage, resilience and valuable contributions that refugees have made to Australian society.

We are encouraged to consider the importance of refugees being able to share their stories, sometimes very unique but always revealing the real and human face behind each one. The story, if we really listen, can help us to better understand the courage of the refugee’s journey, but also the contribution they could make to their new home.

At St Brigid’s this week, we have focused on being mindful of the beautiful and blessed country that we call home. Australia is comprised of and strengthened by an amazing variety of  cultures and people from all around the world. During Refugee Week, we have once again been reminded that we are asked to welcome and appreciate those who have come to us for safety and a new home.

Jesus, our leader and teacher, reminds us to invite the stranger in:

For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat;

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink;

I was a stranger and you invited me in;

I needed clothes and you clothed me;

I was sick and you looked after me;

I was in prison and you came to visit me.

(Matthew 25: 25-36)

Yours in Faith, Justice and Learning

DISCO

What a fabulous night we had last Friday at our annual school disco. Thank you very much to our resident DJ, Claude Spinelli, who compiled a fabulous selection of music for the students, parents and teachers to boogie to. Thank you also to Marie Linnehan who did a lot of work in preparing for the disco and who coordinated a large band of parents to assist on the evening. All round it was a great team effort. Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers.

VINNIES WINTER APPEAL - GOLD COIN DONATION DAY

Wear your favourite team jersey on Thursday 4 July 2019 and bring a gold coin donation to help raise money for those in need this winter.

PRINCIPAL AWARD

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY

Monday 22 July 2019 will be a pupil free day at St Brigid's as the staff will spend a Professional Development day in the Maker Space at the Univerity of Wollongong Innovation Campus developing their skills and knowledge of the integration of STEM across the curriculum.

ST BRIGID'S SCHOOL BAG

Late last year we introduced a St Brigid’s school bag. This heavy duty, ergonomic backpack also comes with one main compartment for easy access, double zip enclosure, padded laptop/ipad pocket and features our school logo. 

We have had a very positive response from our students, teachers and parents regarding the quality, size and comfort of the backpack.

If you are interested in purchasing the school bag for 2020, please place your order on Qkr! by 8.00am on Wednesday 26 June 2019. The cost of the bag is $50.00.

CAR PICK UP ZONE - RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

• Do not park in the pick-up zone before 3.10pm as the children are not brought around until the 3.10pm bell. There is a fine for staying longer than 2 minutes in a no parking zone. The school is not responsible for any fines incurred by parents.
• Join the end of the pick-up queue, do not ‘cut in’.
• Enter the pick-up zone in Vickery Street.
• Please do not make a U turn.
• Queue safely and legally until your car reaches the footpath at the front of the pick -up zone. 
• If your child is not ready and waiting to enter your car, you will be required to leave the pick up zone and drive around the block and re-join the queue.
• Please place your Family Name Sign on the passenger side visor of your vehicle to assist staff managing students.
• Parents and carers must remain in the driver’s seat, they can’t get out to put bags in the boot of the car.
• When leaving the zone, parents need to use their indicator and look for cars before pulling out into traffic.
• Please be respectful of other drivers and staff if you use this service.

UPCOMING EVENTS

25 June 2019	Netball Gala Day	All day event
26 June 2019	Kindergarten 2020 letters of offer posted	All day event
26 June 2019	Last week with Sydney FC	All day event
28 June 2019	Learning Logs sent home	3.10pm
28 June 2019	Special Food Day- Burritos	Lunchtime
4 July 2019	Jersey Day for Vinnies Wimter Appeal	All Day
5 July 2019	Athletics Carnival	8.00am for 800m & 200m 9.00am for all other events

SCHOOL RESUMES FOR TERM 3 ON TUESDAY 23 JULY 2019

SEMESTER ONE INTERVIEWS

Don't forget that the Compass Portal is now open to book Parent Teacher Child Interviews. The portal will close on Friday 28 June 2019 at 5.00pm. All appointments must be made through the portal before the closing time.

Interviews will take place in the Hall during Week 10 (Monday 1st - Thursday 4th July). Please log in to Compass to make an appointment.

YEAR 1 A-E REPORTING MEETING

In order to understand the way the grade scale works I will be offering an information session to discuss the elements of the report.

Date:            Tuesday 25th June 2019

Time:            2:30 -3:00pm

Please note this meeting is OPTIONAL for Year 1 parents that wish to more fully understand the process of reporting using the A-E grade scale.

LANGUAGE BACKGROUND SURVEY

A language background survey was sent home last week for all families to complete. This survey has been developed by the Catholic Education Office to help support the development of sustainable, school based processes to meet the needs of individual students.

This survey will help us to collect data on key languages spoken at home and the English language proficiency of each student according to the ACARA EAL/D Learning Progression Phases. Please ensure all surveys are returned to school by Friday 28 June 2019.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Our school Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 5 July 2019 at Beaton Park. In order to complete all events in time available we require all children to be dropped at Beaton Park by 9:00am. At the conclusion of the carnival all students will walk back to school with their teachers.

All 800m and 200m events will be run at 8.00am this year and it is the responsibility of parents to have students participating in these events at the carnival ready to go at 8.00am.

Please complete all permission notes and primary competitor nomination forms (800m and 200m events) and return to the school office no later than Monday 1 July 2019.

MACKILLOP CROSS COUNTRY

Congratulations to Celeste C who participated in the MacKillop Cross Country Carnival last Friday at Eastern Creek. Celeste placed 2nd in the 12 year girls event.  She will now participate in the State Championships at Eastern Creek. We are extremely proud of your achievement. Well done Celeste!

SPECIAL LUNCH DAY

The Canteen Committee have organised a special BURRITO lunch day for Friday 28th June 2019. The cost of the meal deal is $9.00. This includes a burrito of choice and a popper.

All burritos will include rice, cheese and choice of filling (chicken, beef, mince, pork, barramundi or veggies). If students are interested in ordering a Burrito meal deal please place all orders on Qkr before Wednesday 26th June 2019 at 8.00am.

OFFICIAL ST BRIGID’S FACEBOOK PAGE

St Brigid’s have launched a school based Facebook page that will regularly post announcements about school events, share good news stories and promote upcoming events. The page can be accessed using the following link: 

It is important that all parents are familiar with the Diocesan Social Media Policy and comment and contribute as per the guidelines.

WOOLWORTHS EARN AND LEARN

Thank you to all the families who have been sending in their Earn and Learn stickers. We are certainly collecting lots of stickers to earn new resources. The promotion runs until the 25 June 2019 so please continue to send in your stickers.

NAIDOC WEEK

NAIDOC Week 2019 will be held nationally from Sunday 7 July 2019 and continue through to Sunday 14 July 2019 

This year's NAIDOC 2019 theme is Voice - Treaty - Truth. 

The reforms set out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart can be expressed in three key goals: Voice – Treaty - Truth. NAIDOC Week 2019 takes inspiration from these three aims which represent the hopes and dreams of First Nations Australians. 

During NAIDOC, we remember in our thoughts and prayers the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of our country and celebrate their rich cultures and inspiring contributions to Australia.

And so we pray..

Creator God,

You call us to listen deeply to your Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ.

With Jesus, may we walk in the ways of your truth

and learn to ponder the mysteries of your love.

Open our hearts to the wisdom and spirituality of the First Australians.

Give us a deep respect for their history

and a willingness to work together for their good

and the good of all who make Australia their home.

We ask this prayer through Christ our Lord

and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

SAVE THE DATE

Congratulations to the following students on receiving their awards during the last fortnight.

Week 7 - Term 2

Week 8 - Term 2

CLASS	JUSTICE AWARD	LEADER OF THE WEEK
Kindergarten	David	Olivia
Year 1	Zara	Simon
Year 2	Zachariah	Anthony
Year 3	Mia	Luke
Year 4	Paige	Edwina
Year 5G	Kip	Zara B
Year 5W	Max H	Meki
Year 6	Kyra	Jonah

Congratulations to the students who have received their Assistant Principal Award. Well done!

CLASS	STUDENT
5	Kyah
5	Ava
2	Rocco
1	Fab

PIE DRIVE - HAVE YOU ORDERED?

St. Brigid's P and F are running a delicious PIE DRIVE in 2019 in place of a chocolate drive. The pies will be supplied by the famous Berkeley Cakes and Pies. All orders can be placed via Qkr!  and need to be finalised by 19 July 2019. Please tell your friends and family. The delivery date is Monday afternoon 29th July 2019.

CANTEEN NEWS - UPCOMING ROSTER

UPCOMING EVENTS

Upcoming P&F events for your diary:

CONGRATULATIONS CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES

WANT TO BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOL?

Are you interested in volunteering for P&F events? Would you like to help out the wonderful St. Brigid’s community but don’t know where to start? We’d love to have you on board.

Drop the P&F a line and we’d be very happy to get you involved in events or as a coordinator. We can also team you up with an existing volunteer to help share the work and learn the ropes. Email us at pandf@sbgdow.catholic.edu.au
 

THANK YOU to our VOLUNTEERS

If you can volunteer for an hour or two for any upcoming events, please add your name to our google doc

Happy Birthday to the following students.

We hope you have a great birthday!

St Brigid’s Gwynneville

Saturday	5.30pm Vigil
Sunday	9.00am
Thursday	9.30am

For the most current Mass times and Parish information, please visit the Parish website

PARISH WEBSITE https://www.lumenchristi.org.au/

SPACE CAMPS - SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM

To celebrate 50^th anniversary of the Moon landing and our own 30^th birthday this July, Science Space is launching a full week of all new Space Camps these Winter school holidays.

Running for a full day, children aged 6 to 12 will enjoy an action packed day of creative science, technology, engineering and maths activities. The themes of the days these holidays will include Astronaut Academy, Lunar Landers, Moon Mission, Robot Hack and Space Tech.

SYDNEY FC SKILLS PROGRAM

Please refer to the flyer below to register for the Sydney FC program which will be held in Wollongong from Monday 22 July 2019 - Monday 23 September 2019.