Dear Parents and friends,

Another term draws to a close here, at St Brigid’s, and we turn our minds to all that we have learnt. Our students have been so busy developing new skills, absorbing new knowledge, and working with their peers on many experiences and activities. We are so proud of their efforts and of the wonderful growth they demonstrate and share each day. 

As a Catholic school, St Brigid’s offers an extra dimension to the learning. In our school, students become aware in many ways and through varied experiences of their responsibilities as followers of Jesus. Parents have often shared with me their joy in seeing their children involved in community outreach and fundraising activities. Through our Religious Education curriculum and planned community service activities, with Jesus as our model, students learn about and have opportunities to enact the Christian value of Service.

This past term, there has been a focus on this most important school value. Service is fundamental to the Christian way of life and, as a Catholic school grounded in the life and teachings of Jesus, a priority amongst all the things we learn and do here at St Brigid’s. Parents who chose to send their children to St Brigid’s have given them not only the gift of education and learning, but also opportunities for living out and knowing more about service to others with compassion and generosity.

"With a faithful heart we live the Gospel value of Service as we are called to respond actively to God’s mission as servant leaders by reaching out to others – especially the needy as Jesus did". 

In Jesus’ name, and in the words of St Peter (4:8-11), we remember:

Above all, love each other deeply…

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, 

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, 

so that in all things, God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

Yours in Faith, Justice and Learning

VINNIES WINTER APPEAL - GOLD COIN DONATION

Thank you for your donations towards the winter appeal. We will present our local Vinnies conference with a cheque for $1300.00 which will assist families living in our local area during these cold winter months. The students and staff looked great in their favourite jersey!

CYCLIC REVIEW REPORT

Last Thursday, I attend a meeting with Mr Peter Turner, Director of Schools, Mr Noel Henry, Head of School Improvement - Primary, Mark Raue – Professional Assistant to the Director – Strategic Planning & Policy and Ms Kay Blundell, Senior Professional Officer School Improvement Services, to discuss the final report from our Cyclic Review. The future directions were discussed and identified by the staff in the preparation of the report and the recommendations were identified by the panel. Below is an extract from the report. 

Section C - Future Directions 

The school has provided a comprehensive list of areas it wishes to improve over the next cycle, however, the following seven areas have been identified in the school’s self-report as most significant:

1. Embed the recently launched Vision and Mission statements so that all key stakeholders have shared beliefs, understanding and opportunities for lived response;
2. Embed the whole school approach to Religious Education programming so that all essential Religious Literacy elements are included and taught;
3. Develop a school wide vision for learning that defines agreed principles that will enable the professional community to create learning environments that enhance school and student learning outcomes;
4. Strengthen classroom practice in Literacy instruction to improve student learning growth and performance in all strands of the English curriculum;
5. Build the capacity of staff in delivering the new NESA Science syllabus to the students and integrating STEM technologies across all Key Learning Areas;
6. Build the capacity of staff to provide quality differentiated instruction that takes into account student learning strengths and needs, with particular emphasis on supporting gifted students; and
7. Mobilise leadership expertise at all levels in the school in order to generate more opportunities for change and to build staff capacity for improvement.

The Cyclic Review Team endorses these future directions as being highly appropriate and achievable given the context of the school and its commitment to improvement.

Section D - Review Team Recommendations

The Cyclic Review Team express high confidence in the capacity of the Principal and the staff to continue the school’s improvement journey. The culture of professional dialogue, collaboration and focus on the wellbeing of students and staff is very impressive. The school has a vibrant energy, a student-centred atmosphere and is highly organised and professional. It is a welcoming environment for visitors and presents a very positive image to the community.

Based on the information collected in this review, the Cyclic Review Team validate the school’s planning for the future and recommend that the school:

1. Undertake Language Background Surveys to get a whole-school profile of English language proficiency so that all students can be phased onto the EAL/D progressions;
2. Explore creative ways to keep all parents informed of the school’s strategic goals and improvement plans; and
3. Be mindful of the impact of the significant range of improvement initiatives implemented in recent years and ensure the changes are consolidated and the wellbeing of staff, students and families is monitored.

Section E - Cyclic Review Team Comments on the Review Process

The Cyclic Review Team congratulates the Principal of St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School for the thorough and careful preparation for the Cyclic Review process. The staff are to be affirmed for their willing and enthusiastic engagement in open and professional dialogue, and for the warm welcome and hospitality shown during the visit.

GOOD NEWS STORY

NEW DIOCESAN WEBSITE - IT'S WHO WE ARE

Refer to the REC News for a full explanation.

PRINCIPAL AWARD

Congratulations to the following student on receiving his very first Principal Award. This is a outstanding achievement.

   

SANDPIT

Look at the new additions to Chrysalis Park. Thank you to the Shrimpton family who donated the sand and worked together to get our sandpits ready for play. Thanks also to the Sweeney and Ramirez families for the donations of sand play equipment. The students just LOVE playing in our new sandpits.

 

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.

 

 

 

GYMNASTICS PROGRAM - TERM 3

The students from Kinder to Year 6 will participate in a specialised gymnastics program for 8 weeks of the school term. This eight-week program, taught by the external provider, Tri skills, will deliver a comprehensive gymnastics program to our students.

The trained teachers offer a variety of activities using specialist gymnastic equipment such as balancing beams, bars, tramps, vaulting boxes and hand held equipment. Each lesson begins with a warm up and concludes with a cool down.

Each class will attend a 40-minute lesson each week and students are required to wear their sport uniform every Friday. The cost of the program, which is $40.00 per student was included in your child’s 2019 Resource fee. 

  

 

TEACHER ACCREDITATION

Last week we were notified that Mrs Tarlinton and Mrs Sommerville have gained their accreditation as Proficient Teachers. A lot of work is involved in this stage of accreditation and both teachers and their mentors have worked very diligently towards achieving this. Congratulations!

 

 

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Congratualtions to Daniel D who attended the Rugby Union MacKillop trials in Forbes. We are very proud of your achievement.

Let's hear from Daniel.....

"On Sunday the 30th of June 2019 I drove up to Forbes to participate in the MacKillop Rugby trials as I had already competed in the local trial to join the Wollongong team. When we arrived after the 5 hour drive, we went to the Rugby Club where I met my team and coach. The next day we played 4 games, we won 1 game, lost 2 and drew one. I was playing as a winger, but unfortunately I didn’t get selected. However, one forward in my team did. Overall this was a great experience, and I hope to be involved in the 2020 team".

Congratulations also to Jasper R who has been accepted into the NSW female u/13s Cricket Academy. What a great opportunity to develop your talents in this area.

And finally, to Celeste C, who will attend the NSW Athletics Selection Trials in August 2019. Congratualtions and all the very best. 

Let's hear from Celeste....

"I have been training for the past five weeks in preparation for not only the State Cross Country but also to achieve a qualifying time to get to the NSW Selection trials for Athletics. I recently ran the 800m and 1500m with Kembla Joggers to record a qualifying time and was successful in gaining entry to compete for selection in both of these events. These selection trials for the NSW Athletics team will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park on the 8th August 2019. I’m really looking forward to the trials and I’ll be continuing to train for these races".

 

 

BON VOYAGE LEVI

Levi leaves today for his mission to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in an effort to raise funds to install our Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System. We wish Levi safe travels and we can't wait to hear about your adventures along the way. 

 

STAFFING NEWS

Lisa Green, who was on secondment to St Joseph's Albion Park, has accepted a special project role and has resigned from her position at St Brigid's. We thank Lisa for all she contributed to the life of St Brigid's and we wish her every success in this exciting new role. The permanent SSSO role has been advertised.

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

22 July 2019	Pupil Free Day	All day
23 July 2019	Athletics Carnival	8.50am
29 July 2019	Pie Drive Collection	from 2.30pm
31 July 2019	Launch of Acknowledgement	11.30am
2 August 2019	Soccer Gala Day	All day
12- 14 August 2019	Life Education Van	All day
15 August 2019	Holy Day of Oligation Mass	Whole School at 9.30am
21 August 2019	Book Week Parade	from 10.50am
14 September 2019	Biennial Spring Fete	9.00am - 2.00pm

SCHOOL RESUMES FOR TERM 3 ON TUESDAY 23 JULY 2019 FOR THE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL AT BEATON PARK

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY FOR PARENTS

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

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.

“To love someone is to show to them their beauty, their worth and their importance”

Jean Vanier

ST VINCENT DE PAUL WINTER APPEAL FUNDRAISER 2019

The theme of this year’s Winter Appeal is ‘The Pain of Poverty’, with a focus on the impact of poverty on older Australians. Poverty often comes with the added burden of loneliness and social isolation when you can’t afford to go out.  Social isolation can have health impacts.

Our own fundraising efforts - The Hand Me ups Appeal and Jersey Day- have highlighted the support that Vinnies provides, especially during these colder months, and how the work conducted by dedicated volunteers and members is vital in assisting those people who turn to Vinnies for help in times of desperate need.

Vinnies is committed to giving people choices that provide the sanctuary, security and safety each person deserves, and helps end the pain of poverty. They work to alleviate immediate need, to empower those people they serve to regain control of their lives and to challenge the structures and public policies that create or exacerbate inequalities. They advocate for change at a structural level with the aim of eliminating the root causes of impossible choices.

 The Hand Me Up appeal was a tremendous success with a bin load of pre-loved items making their way to the warehouse for distribution. And the Jersey Day was fun, as well as, heightening the awareness of the needs in our own community and raising funds to assist our local Vinnies in their work. 

POPE VIDEO: Welcome the needy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBU4kj51rxQ 

And so we pray:

Lord our God,

fill our hearts with compassion 
for those who lack the warmth of a home.

We commend to you in prayer this day 
all men, women and children
who suffer because they have no shelter;
those who sleep in our streets and public spaces, 
who have nowhere safe to lay their heads, 
and who wander from place to place as a way of life.

God of Compassion, your love for us is revealed 
in your beloved son Jesus,
who was born into homelessness, 
lived with nowhere to lay his head,
and died for us in agony on the cross.

Inspire us to act in justice, 
to right the wrongs
of peoples who are suffering 
the deprivations of homelessness, 
and to see in them the dignity of a brother and sister 
redeemed by Jesus Christ.

Let us have the commitment, 
as people of the Gospel, to be ever mindful 
of our obligations we have 
to the poor and marginalised, 
to work in your name

and to bring all those who live in darkness
into your own wonderful light. Amen.

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.

ULURU STATEMENT OF THE HEART

GOOD NEWS STORY from The Office of the Bishop  

It started off as a short 20 second background video for the homepage of the Diocese of Wollongong’s new website. Six months and 23 separate film shoots later, the diocese has today released its new “It’s Who We Are” video on their website at www.dow.org.au/about-us/.

The short sub-three-minute video clip narrated by Bishop Brian Mascord and shot by master filmmaker, Hugh Clark, showcases the wonderful people and works of the diocese that happen every day and often go unnoticed.

The diocese’s director of media and communications, Daniel Hopper, said, “Unlike a number of diocesan websites that we saw from around the world, the primary focus for our new website was to be outward focused in terms of appealing to those who are not Catholic but may be interested in what the Church has to offer. So, we wanted to include a background video at the top of the homepage as an initial introduction that demonstrated ‘who we are’ as a diocese.

“When discussing the various shots that we wanted to capture, we quickly came to the conclusion that the video was not just relevant to non-Catholic seekers on the website. Everyone in our diocese—especially our unwavering Catholics—need to be reminded, more than ever, of who they are and to be proud of the good things that are happening in our Church.

“The video project became a work of passion as we combined our efforts as a diocese—Office of the Bishop, parishes, schools and CatholicCare—to produce a beautiful and concise visual story of who we are.

“We engaged Sydney-based filmmaker, Hugh Clark, to assist with the project. Hugh conducted over 35 interviews with various laity, clergy and religious in the diocese before beginning to shoot on Christmas Eve 2018 in our Varroville parish. Hugh undertook a further 22 shoots wrapping on Pentecost Sunday 2019 with Bishop Brian during Confirmation at Fairy Meadow.”

Daniel said, “It is our hope that the new video and website will be a great resource for all seeking the love of God in the Illawarra, Macarthur, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands regions of our diocese.

SAVE THE DATE

DATE	EVENT	CLASS
25 July 2019	Parish Mass 9:30am	Year 5G
31 July 2019	Launch of Acknowledgement Wall 11.30am	Year 6
1 August 2019	Parish Mass 9.30am	Year 5W
6 August 2019	Mass with the Bishop at St John Vianney	Year 6
8 August 2019	Feast of Mary MacKillop
15 August 2019	Holy Day of Obligation- Mass at 9.30am	Whole School

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

Week 9 - Term 2

Week 10 - Term 2

CLASS	SERVICE AWARD	LEADER OF THE WEEK
Kindergarten	Louis C	Raphael I
Year 1	Ryan T	Tayla R
Year 2	Daniel C	Eve A
Year 3	Grace D	Alexis S
Year 4	Ariel L	Dalton Y
Year 5G	Sebastian S	Thomas W
Year 5W	Jasper R	Mondre G
Year 6	Henry J	Annie T

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

CLASS	STUDENT
Year 4	Luca D
Year 3	Audrey G

LIBRARY AWARD FOR TERM 2

The following award recognises the most frequent Library borrower in each class. Congratulations to these students. 

WRITEON

WriteOn is an annual writing competition open to all NSW primary students in Years 1 to 6. Through participating in the competition, students are engaged in authentic writing experiences linked to the outcomes.

WriteOn provides students with the opportunity to become published authors. Outstanding entries from the 2019 competition will be published in the Best of WriteOn 2019 anthyology.

Thank you to Mr Boss who worked with a group of students during the term. Congratualtions to the following student for their writing. Please read some of their imaginery texts.   

Happy Birthday to the following students.

We hope you have a great birthday!

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:

SECOND HAND BOOKS FOR THE FETE

If you have any second hand books that you would like to dontate to the Fete Book Stall please contact Elizabeth Jones via email eclingan@hotmail.com.

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
 

The production of the Yearbook is currently under way. One main aspect of the Yearbook is the Yearbook Cover Competition. We hold this competition each year to allow the students to design their own Yearbook cover. There are prizes to be won: Front Cover Winner and Back Cover winner. We encourage all students (primary and infants) to enter.

Criteria:

• Portrait A4 size
• The title 'St Brigid's Yearbook 2019'
• NAME and CLASS to written on the BACK of the entry Bright bold colours.

This is a great School Holiday activity. All entries are to be handed in to the school office by Week 5, Term 3. Enter as many times as you like. Be as creative as you like. As it is to be printed bright bold colours are encouraged. Every entry will be printed in the yearbook!

Have a safe and wonderful holiday,

Yearbook Committee

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

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/

JUNIOR TENNIS CLINIC - BEATON PARK

Dates: Monday 8^th - Thursday 11^th July 2019.

Ages: 4 - 14, Beginners to Intermediates. Coaching, Games, Fun. Tennis Australia Hot Shots Program. TCA Qualified Coaches.

Bookings and enquiries contact the Pro Shop on 42299227 or book online at www.wollongongtennis.com.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.