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- PRINCIPAL'S REFLECTION
- NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK
- NEWS FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S DESK
- NEWS FROM THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION COORDINATOR'S DESK
- WEEKLY AWARD RECIPIENTS
- ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S AWARD
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY
- RESPIRATORY ILLNESS REPORTING FORM
- NEWS FROM THE OFFICE
- NEWS FROM THE PARENTS & FRIEND'S ASSOCIATION
- NEWS FROM THE PARISH
- COMMUNITY NEWS
When visiting the National Gallery in London some years ago, I was mesmerised by the impressive painting by Francesco Botticini. Its theme is ‘The Assumption of the Virgin’ and it is believed to have been commissioned for a church in Florence around 1475, five hundred years before Pope Pius XII defined the doctrine of the Assumption.
I think that the first thing that struck me was its geometry. The contrasting colours portraying earth and heaven. I love how Botticini has placed the viewer in a privileged position, to view heaven and earth, something which appears to escape the disciples who are looking into the empty tomb and gathered in groups.
At the centre of heaven is Mary, kneeling before her son. All the major figures of salvation history are gathered as privileged witnesses of the event. Here, Botticini is pointing to the significance of Mary’s Assumption.
In the very fullness of her faith and womanhood, Mary shows us that faith does not close us off from the world but makes us more open to it.
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name."
Yours in Faith, Justice and Learning
WELCOME TO ST BRIGID'S
A very big welcome to Luna Gregory who started Kindergarten last Monday, and to Reg Tuffy who commenced in Year 5 this week. It is so wonderful that these students and their family have chosen to join us.
Mr Boss (Year 4 classroom teacher and Middle Leader 2) will be taking a period of well-deserved Long Service Leave. Although his overseas trip has been cancelled, he will still enjoy this leave time at home; playing golf, reading and taking his dog for lots of walks on the beach!
Mr Boss commences his LSL on Monday 24 August 2020 until the end of Term 3. He will be back at school on the first day of Term 4, refreshed and looking forward to meeting up with us all again. Mrs Boss and Mrs Sinnreich will job share Year 4 during the 5-week period.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP RETREAT
Each of the Senior leaders must complete a maximum of 75 hours of faith formation over 5 years to maintain Level E Accreditation. Therefore, on Monday 17 August, Mrs Benoit, Mr Boss, Mrs Arthur-Worsop and I will be on retreat. We welcome Mrs Brenda Wilson, a retired Principal of the Wollongong diocese, to St Brigid's on Monday.
Ms Beth Riolo, from the Catholic Education Office will facilitate our retreat. Our time together will be an opportunity to reflect on our call to leadership at St Brigid's utilising the wisdom of St Benedict and Benedictine Spirituality.
HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION - COVID19
Bishop Brian Mascord has advised that as with the Sunday obligation to attend Mass, the same dispensation applies to the Feast of the Assumption for this year. Therefore, members of the community – except for the clergy – are not obliged to attend Mass on the Feast of the Assumption of the Mary.
SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM - CONFIRMATION
The Lumen Christi Confirmation Programme for 2020 will be held in September. The process will commence with enrolment into the Confirmation Program.
In keeping with required social distancing there has been an adjustment to the enrolment process. The date for enrolment into the Lumen Christi Confirmation Program is Saturday 22 August, 2020. Parish Staff will be available from 9:00am to 1:00pm.
The Parish Office will accept completed enrolment documents from 24 August to 26 August between 9:00am and 1:00pm only. Enrolments will close on Wednesday August 26 at 1:00pm.
The dates for the Confirmation sessions are as follows. Candidate and parent will attend either the four Wednesday or the four Thursday sessions. There is no flexibility to allow for moving nights each week so please ensure you select the night that allows for your child and yourself to attend all sessions.
Sessions will be held at St John Vianney Co-Cathedral, Fairy Meadow at 6:00pm
| SESSION | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY |
| 1 | 2/9/2020 or | 3/9/2020 |
| 2 | 9/9/2020 or | 10/9/2020 |
| 3 | 16/9/2020 or | 17/9/2020 |
| 4 | 23/9/2020 or | 24/9/2020 |
Due to COVID-19 regulations the Confirmation ceremonies will be celebrated with a Liturgy of the Word. The ceremonies will be held in the first week of November. The final dates will be presented during the Confirmation Program.
UPCOMING STUDENT EVENT - RAINBOW MUFTI DAY
The SRC, Year 6 leaders and staff will be hosting a rainbow mufti day for the St Vincent de Paul winter appeal on Tuesday 25 August 2020. Please bring in a gold coin donation to support those in need.
HOW TO FILL OUT THE COVID-19 REPORTING GOOGLE FORM
PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE
PIZZA DAY and HOUSE COLOUR VINNIES CONTAINER COMPETITION
The morning started with so many bags filled with plastic bottles and poppers being dragged, carried and heaved into the school grounds. Our SRC members and the Year 6 Leadership Team then collected, sorted and counted them.
- BLUE House - 930
- GOLD House - 647
- RED House - 366
- STAFF - 415
From the totals, we have raised $235.80 for St Vincent de Paul. Job well done!
These totals will be added to the next fundraiser, with the winning house being announced in Week 8.
The next fundraiser is a RAINBOW MUFTI DAY on Tuesday 25 August 2020.
For a gold coin donation the children can wear mufti clothes in the colour assigned to each class. The money we raise will be donated to our local St Vincent de Paul Conference.
| CLASS | COLOUR |
| Kindergarten | Green |
| Year 1 | Orange |
| Year 2 | Blue |
| Year 3 | Red |
| Year 4 | Pink |
| Year 5 | Purple |
| Year 6G | White |
| Year 6 W | Yellow |
SUNDAY REFLECTION:
| Saturday 15 Augsut 2020 |
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August) is a very old feast of the Church, celebrated universally by the sixth century. It commemorates the death of Mary and her bodily assumption into Heaven, before her body could begin to decay - a foretaste of our own bodily resurrection at the end of time. Mary's assumption into heaven is the most important of all Marian feasts, a holy day of obligation. |
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| Sunday 16 August 2020 |
FAITH The woman believed in Jesus and never gave up even when Jesus tried to turn her away. Her faith was so persistent. Many people lose faith in God when things go badly in their life. Somtimes they even blame God. Jesus does not promise that we will never suffer if we believe in him, only that we will never suffer alone. |
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| Sunday 23 August 2020 |
UNSTOPPABLE FAITH Jesus can't be reduced to a mere friend of companion. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. |
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SAVE THE DATE
| Tuesday 25 August | Rainbow mufti day for St Vincent de Paul local conference - gold coin donation |
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| Tuesday 8 September | Sausage Sizzle and house colour Vinnies container competition |
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| Thursday 24 September | Vinnies Van Food Appeal |
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PODCAST SERIES - RIPPLES
In response to COVID-19, a significant initiative has been developed for staff and parents to support their ongoing personal spiritual formation. It is a new podcast series entitled ‘Ripples: Inspired Voices, Treasured Stillness’.
Ripples seeks to offer a space where people can draw on the wisdom of a series of guest speakers and can experience some treasured stillness through meditation. On Tuesday of each week a new Episode and Meditation will be offered. Practices like these create a ripple effect. They have the potential to impact the way we respond to family, friends, colleagues, to others in our world, to creation and to our loving God.
The Ripples Podcast is now available
Congratulations to the following students on receiving their awards during the last fortnight.
Week 3- Term 3
| CLASS | FAITH AWARD | LEADER OF THE WEEK |
| Kindergarten | Mia M | Hannah J |
| Year 1 | Sachi B | Ned L |
| Year 2 | Joshua S | Enzo H-D |
| Year 3 | Eliza P | Grace A |
| Year 4 | Iva O | Samuel A |
| Year 5 | Chris H | Natalia R-T |
| Year 6G | Ava S | Mondre G |
| Year 6W | Zita H | Meki T |
Week 4 - Term 3
| CLASS | JUSTICE AWARD | LEADER OF THE WEEK |
| Kindergarten | Aria J | Vita K |
| Year 1 | Kip M | Hugh S |
| Year 2 | Florence M | Simon C |
| Year 3 | Reed B | Rocco G |
| Year 4 | Evie B | Xavier C |
| Year 5 | Ariel L | Luca D-B |
| Year 6G | Erin R | Ilija G |
| Year 6W | Calista M | Leki D-B |
Congratulations to the following student who received an Assistant Principal's Award. Well done!
| CLASS | STUDENT |
| Year 5 | Charlotte W |
| Year 1 | Ned L |
| Year 2 | Bethany M |
Happy Birthday to the following students.
We hope you have a great birthday!
| Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 6G | Year 6W |
| Matthew C | Grace D | Piper L | Marcus M |
| Eliza P | |||
| Bailey C |
GOOGLE FORM
Your support in ensuring the health and safety of the St Brigid’s Community during this global pandemic is evident in the growing number of students who are either staying home with respiratory illness and/or being tested for COVID-19. We really appreciate your vigilance with this.
It is compulsory for us to keep a detailed register of the process from symptoms to medical clearance, and so, it is crucial we know when your child develops symptoms BEFORE they are tested for COVID-19. To make this easier for you to communicate all the information that we need, we have developed a google form that will only take 30 seconds to complete and submit.
This google form can be found on the St Brigid’s website, as a link in the Brigid Bulletin and by clicking the link in this COMPASS newsfeed.
Please complete it any day or time of the week, including weekends. The information will automatically come to me and Mrs Benoit.
EXPLAINING STUDENT ABSENCES IN COMPASS
A reminder to please logon to your parent portal and provide a detailed explanation for any full day absences for your child/children. If you have completed the Respiratory Illness google form, you will still be required to enter an explanation into Compass.
Please do not email the school office with your absence explanation as a detailed explanation in your Child's Compass portal will be sufficient.
You do not need to enter partial absences in Compass as this will be done from the school office when the student arrives or departs.
LATE ARRIVALS - if your child arrives after 8:50am the partial absence will be entered as unexplained. As parents are not coming on site of a morning you will need to send an email or phone the office to explain the late arrival.
If you have any questions regarding any of this information please contact the school office.
Australian Parents Council
Please find below a link to the online newsletter for the Australian Parents Council.
TERM 3 P&F MEETING VIA ZOOM
The Term 3 P&F meeting will be hosted by David Macdonald on Tuesday 25 August 2020 from 7:00pm.
2020 YEAR BOOK COVER COMPETITION
As the saying goes, 'you've got to be in it, to win it'. So why not turn your creative hand and submit an entry into our annual Year Book Cover competition. Deatils are below in the flyer.
A huge thank you to the parents who volunteer to keep our grass mowed and the outside of the school tidy. Your efforts not only add to the overall presentation of St Brigid's but saves the school lots of money, which is diverted back into the purchasing of learning resources.
UPCOMING DATES FOR THE MOWING GROUP
| UPCOMING DATES | MOWER ONE |
MOWER TWO |
| 12 September 2020 | Anthony Petre | Paul Rustomji |
| 10 October 2020 | Jason Shoebridge | Fabrizio Curcio |
| 24 October 2020 | Mark Eckermann | Darrell Mitchell |
| 14 November 2020 | Gary Humphrey | Mick Zanella |
| 28 November 2020 | Brett Shrimpton | Neo Arian |
| 12 December 2020 | Daniel St Archangel | Paul Brogan |
| 19 December 2020 | Jeremy Crook | TBC |
CANTEEN NEWS
The canteen will remain closed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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
ST BRIGID'S PARISH GWYNNEVILLE
WEEKLY PARISH BULLETIN
ST BRIGID'S MASS TIMES
| Saturday | 5:30pm Vigil - Please ring the Parish Office to register |
| Sunday | 9:00am - Please ring the Parish Office to register |
| Thursday | 9:30am - Please ring the Parish Office to register |
SUNDAY MASS ONLINE
HSC Exam Supervisor
CARTOON WORKSHOPS
GRASSHOPPER SOCCER ILLAWARRA
HOMEWORK HUB
Port Kembla Youth Project is conducting the
Homework Hub
Free Tutoring and Homework Help.
Small Group Programs open to:
Primary and Secondary Students
Enrolment Essential
Spaces are available
Program commencing on
Tuesday 28th July – 15th September 2020
(8 Weeks)
Contact our team on 4276 1229 or email team@pkyp.org.au to book.
CANCER COUNCIL HEALTHY LUNCH BOX WEBSITE
At Cancer Council NSW we want to make it easy for you to provide healthy eating information to your parents and the wider school community. Our Healthy Lunch Box Website has been updated with new seasonal recipes and informative blogs to help inspire and assist parents to keep packing healthy lunch boxes throughout the year.
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