Lent - A Time to Show Compassion

This week, beginning with Ash Wednesday, we have once again entered the season of Lent. Our Catholic practice during this time is to prepare ourselves for the great feast of Easter when our belief in the Risen Jesus is celebrated.

During Lent, we are asked to make a special effort to renew our commitment to being the compassionate heart and hands of Jesus, especially towards those in special need.

Project Compassion reminds us, this year, to ‘give Lent 100% in the name of hope’. Through compassionate acts of kindness and giving, we can bring the light of hope to those communities who are most vulnerable and marginalised.

Students at St Brigid’s will be informed during the coming weeks of Lent of the ways that they, even as children, can help to bring hope to those in need. As they learn about communities and people in need, they will also be made more aware of how they might be able to help, demonstrating through their actions the compassion that Jesus asks of each of us.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

(Colossians 3: 12)

DIOCESAN PROJECT COMPASSION LAUNCH

On Tuesday, we opened our Church and school to the Diocese as we hosted the 2019 Project Compassion Launch. Principals and students converged on St Brigid’s from 41 Catholic Schools. We welcomed Bishop Brian Mascord as our presider, Mr Peter Turner, Director of Schools, Mrs. Monica Ward-McCann, the Caritas Director for the Diocese of Wollongong, members of the Catholic Education Leadership team and staff from the Catholic Education Office. Mr David Macdonald, St Brigid's P and F President represented our parent community and signed the Commitment Covenant.

It was a magnificent celebration which was very capably organised and lead by Mrs Arthur-Worsop, Ms Harris, Ms Sparks and our absolutely brilliant Year 6 leaders.

I’d especially like to thank the hospitality team (Ms Harris, Mrs Green, Kerry Sweeney, Mrs Tasker, Mrs Paton and Mrs Frino) who fed the very ravenous students after the liturgy. The margherita pizza was an absolute hit with the students!

We also welcomed back to St Brigid's two ex-students who provided liturgical music during the liturgy. Thanks to Patrick Sirianni on the trumpet and Thomas Carolan on the cello.

Each year the Project Compassion appeal invites us to focus on particular communities and the people who need our support and prayers. During 2019, the Project Compassion Campaign will work to build a hope-filled future for our sisters and brothers in Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Australia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Let us now reflect on the challenges faced by these communities and how we can contribute to empowering others by supporting the work of Caritas Australia.

Through Project Compassion we are asked to acknowledge that we are all members of the one human family, all equally worthy of love, mercy and respect.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK CELEBRATION

What a magnificent celebration we had last Friday to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. We welcomed new and existing families into our wonderful learning spaces, where the students confidently took parents on guided learning walks. Year 5G led our community in a prayerful Liturgy of the Word in the Parish Church and then our BYO picnic lunch in the school grounds enabled us to enjoy each other’s company whilst slurping an icey, licking a delicious ice cream or sipping on a Wendy’s milkshake.

Thank you to the many parents, grandparents and carers who helped us celebrate the best that Catholic Education has to offer at St Brigid’s. Learning spaces will be open again on Thursday 11 April 2019 following our Lenten Liturgy at 2.00pm

ENROLMENT PERIOD NOW OPEN FOR 2020

Enrolments are now being accepted for our 2020 Kindergarten class. If you have a child to enrol or know of someone who does, kindly pass this information on to him or her. Please call into the school office for an enrolment pack. We are currently scheduling interviews for early next term.

Prioity in enrolment is given in the following order:

2.2.1 Children of practising Catholic families who are involved in the life of the Parish to which the school belongs 


2.2.2 Siblings of students already enrolled in the school may be given priority for enrolment. 


2.2.3 Children of Catholic families residing within the Parish to which the school belongs. 


2.2.4 Children of Catholic families residing in other Parishes. 


2.2.5 Children of Orthodox or other Christian families. 


CATHEDRAL CAR PARKING

If you can volunteer for an hour or 2 please add your name to the Google doc. The link is below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MNIdEBargkwccQzeQjoMmJ-wDjTuoynjbRG9fu_u-bk/edit#gid=1863000764

STUDENT WORKBOOKS

Today, students will be bringing home their student workbooks to share their learning. Students have their Learning Log, Writing/DRAFT book and Mathematics book. We encourage you to spend some time over the weekend viewing the workbooks with your child and reflecting on their learning to this point in time.

As part of the reflection process we ask that you discuss and answer the following questions with your child:

• What are you enjoying about your new grade so far? Why are you enjoying it?
• One improvement in my learning is….
• One goal I am working on in the next 3 weeks is……
• Parent Comment (Directed at your child’s learning)

Students in Kindergarten and Year 1 will have a SeeSaw post for you to record your reflections. Students in Year 2 to 6 are asked to record their reflections on their Google Classroom page.

All workbooks MUST be returned to school on MONDAY morning.

Student workbooks with continue to be sent home each Term on Friday of Week 3, Week 6 and Week 9. We hope this helps to provide a regular opportunity for students to share their learning achievements and learning goals with their families.

SOUTH COAST SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Congratulations to all the students who attended yesterday’s South Coast Swimming Carnival. Well done to all students for trying their best and being great representatives of St Brigid’s. Many thanks to Ms Young for accompanying the students to the carnival.

Congratulations to Cameron B who will be attending the Selection Trials at Corrimal Pool on Monday 11 March 2019 to swim the 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly event. Well done Cameron!

MACKILLOP TRIALS

Congratulations to the following students who will be participating in MacKillop sporting trials over the next two weeks:

• Daniel D - Football (Soccer)
• Luca S - Football (Soccer)
• Edwina J - Hockey
• Henry J - Hockey

SHADE SHELTERS

A big thank you to the P&F for purchasing two new shade shelters for St Brigid’s. 

One shade shelter is 3m x 4.5m and 3m x 6m. These portable shelters will be great to use at sporting events, Diocesan carnivals and school events. We look forward to them being delivered next week.

WOOLWORTHS LETTER TILES

If any families have any spare Woolworths Disney Letter Tiles I am collecting them to form some Literacy Centre activities for students. If you have any spares please send them in to Ms Harris.

In order to assist Amanda and Jules in their work with the Vinnies Van we are conducting a week long collection of designated items. Each class has been given a particular item to bring in. These items were listed as essentials for the van to continue to operate in the capacity that it does in assisting our brothers and sisters in need. Please ensure all items are left in your child/ children’s classroom by Friday 15 March 2019. Ring pull cans are appreciated.

SAVE THE DATE

Thursday 14 March 2019	Parish Mass 9:30 am	Year 3
Monday 18 March 2019	St Patrick’s Feast Day Prayer
Tuesday 19 March 2019		St Joseph’s Feast Day Prayer at Assembly
Thursday 21 March 2019	Parish Mass 9:30 am	Year 2
Thursday 21 March 2019	Harmony Day Celebrations Breakfast from 7.30am	Whole School

Sacrament of Penance - Reconciliation  2019

Please note the dates and times for the Reconciliation Program (Year 3) 

Parent Meeting/ Workshop 2 (child)   - 12/3/19 (Tuesday)

Workshop 3 (Parent and child)     - 19/3/19 (Tuesday)

Workshop 4 (Parent  and child) - 26/3/19    (Tuesday)

Retreat Day/Reception of Sacrament   - 23/3/19 (Friday)

St Brigid’s Gwynneville

MASS TIMES

For the most current Mass times and Parish information, please visit the Parish website http://www.lumenchristi.org

A reminder that applications are now being accepted for Kindergarten, 2020.  The enrolment forms are available from the school office, from the school website or by clicking on the link below.

Enrolment Information

If you child suffers from Asthma, Anaphylaxis or an Allergy it is ESSENTIAL THAT WE HAVE THE RELEVANT PLAN, SIGNED PAPERWORK FROM THE DOCTOR AND MEDICATION so we may treat your child correctly and in accordance with their medical needs.

Please arrange for this to be completed as soon as possible and forwarded to the Office along with current, in date medication. All medication is to be kept in the Office and will be administered as required and in accordance with the medical plan unless prior arrangements have been made with the Principal.

Thank you for your assistance.

Children in Years 3 and 5 will be sitting for the online NAPLAN Assessments from 14 May to 16 May 2019. To find out more information about NAPLAN please visit the website:

https://www.nap.edu.au/

Twice a term, Scholastic Book Club catalogues will be sent home with your child. There are no cash or EFTPOS payments, parents can order and pay online for their child’s Book Club purchases using a credit card via LOOP (Linked Online Ordering and Payment platform). The books are then delivered to school and distributed to the students.

Every order helps earn free books and teaching materials for the library and classrooms however there is never any obligation to order. St Brigid’s has earnt thousands of dollars worth of resources through this scheme.

How to order using LOOP?

1. Sign in or register an account at:  https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx
2. Click on ORDER and select school and child’s class.
3. Add child’s first name and last initial (so book can be distributed to the student).
4. Enter product item number from the Book Club catalogue.
5. Make payment via credit card
6. All orders are attached to the school account until ready to be submitted to Scholastic by the school. A due date will be published in the Brigid Bulletin. No late orders can be processed.

This year all students K-6 will be given the opportunity to participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge. The challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.

The challenge is now open and closes Friday 30 August 2019. Further information, including booklists, can be found at the following website.  

https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

Students should be able to log on using their details from last year (Username and Password). They need to click the ‘Logon’ button in the menu on the left hand side of the Premiers Reading Challenge website. If your child can not remember their log on details ask them to come and see me and I can reset their password.

All Kindergarten students will be issued with a Username and Password and will read the required number of books as a class so they can complete the Challenge.

Happy reading.

Mrs Richardson

School Banking is to be sent in to school each week for collection on THURSDAY. 

Thank you to Kerry Sweeney for volunteering to help with the School Banking process.

The Commonweatlh Bank will be joining us at our Assembly on Friday 15 March 2019 with the Dollarmite Character to answer any questions you may have about School Banking or you may wish to pick up an application form to start banking.

QKR! The online ordering system for the school Canteen and P&F Events.

Don’t forget to download the Qkr! App onto your phone so you can order recess, lunch and special food day opportunities for your children online. The St Brigid's P & F Association also use the Qkr! App for their online ordering system for events. Click on the Qkr! logo to download from the app store.

Compass is coming to St Brigid's in Term 2. 

What is Compass?

Compass is a Student Information System that allows you as parents access to your child(ren)’s records.

The parent portal allows you as parents to:

• Monitor your child(ren)’s attendance, and enter explanations for late arrivals or absences
• Communicate with your child(ren)’s teachers and update your family details
• Download and view your child(ren)’s semester reports
• View ‘My News’- a news feed of school announcements, alerts and updates
• View your child(ren)’s timetable and the school calendar
• Book parent-teacher meetings
• Provide consent for events and excursions.

There is the option of logging onto the online portal or by downloading the app onto your phone. Compass will be our new communication tool and will eventually replace Skoolbag and any other online forms of communication.

In prepartion for the new system, you can click on either of the below links to either bookmark the online parent portal or download the Compass app. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LOGIN OR ACCESS ANYTHING ON THESE YET. Closer to the time we will issue parents with their unique login details.

WE WILL NOT BE GOING LIVE UNTIL TERM 2 AND EACH FAMILY WILL BE PROVIDED WITH THEIR LOGIN DETAILS PRIOR TO OUR LAUNCH DATE.

Click on the following link to access the St Brigid's Compass Portal Page and bookmark.

COMPASS PARENT PORTAL LINK

Click on the following app to access the app store to download the Compass app for your phone.

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

Week 5 - Term 1

CLASS	COMPASSION VALUES AWARD	STUDENT OF THE WEEK
Kindergarten	Hunter	David
Year 1	Florence	Fabrizio
Year 2	Rocco	Sofia
Year 3	Alexis	Malachy
Year 4	Charlotte	Thomas
Year 5G	Alina	Caelan
Year 5W	Justin	Atticus
Year 6	Nathan	Celeste

Week 6 - Term 1

CLASS	FAITH AWARD	STUDENT OF THE WEEK
Kindergarten	Ruby	Hugh
Year 1	Simon	Sarah
Year 2	Bailey	Amelia
Year 3	Emily	Leila
Year 4	Edwina	Aryan
Year 5G	Sebastian	Sienna
Year 5W	Meki	Tilly
Year 6	Henry	Noelia

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

Week 5

CLASS	STUDENT
Year 5G	Sienna
Year 4	Ben

Happy Birthday to the following students.

We hope you had a great birthday!

CANTEEN ROSTER FOR THE NEXT FORNIGHT