Newsletter Term 2, 2024 Week 4
Principal's Update
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Term 2 Week 4!
This week we held a parent talk about how to build your child’s resilience at school – thank you Jacqui Van de Velde who presented and Jo Spek from CSBB who supported us on this journey. It was great to see parents attend and take up the invitation. I know some could not make it because of work commitments etc, however, I am sure we can share our findings over a period of time. I zoomed in from my COVID lounge and wrote 6 pages of notes, even though Jacqui told us not to take notes, she will be sharing some points with SBLM. This talk will somewhat support our whole school 2025 involvement in the Resilient Project. Further information about The Resilient Project, an initiative costing SBLM over $12k, will be shared with you closer to the rollout of the initiative to which we are very excited to be involved with.
One of my many points I wrote from Jacqui’s session:
Jacqui is a family lady who so openly shared her own parenting experiences.
The good news is that being resilient is not a personality. If you have not been resilient in the past you can take small impactful steps to become resilient and build on it. In fact resilience can be nurtured and built on.
Jacqui and the parents/carers in attendance discussed “Scaling”, a solution focused approach – 0 (zero) being the lowest and 10 (ten) being the highest. “How was your morning so far?” I thought I would do this exercise with them from my COVID lounge at home over zoom, here’s how I went:
“How was my morning so far on a scale of 0 to 10?”
My answer: 4
“What made it a 4?”
My answer: I still have COVID, I missed out on coming back to school today, I couldn’t show some of our Kinder tours around today, I haven’t been able to swim lately….
“Why do we always focus on the deficits?” “What’s wrong with a 4?” “What MADE it a 4?” “What was working well to make it a 4?”
My answer: I felt better today than I did yesterday, I was able to have eggs for breakfast, I was able to take my dogs for a walk this morning at 5.30am, I was able to zoom into the parent meeting and not miss completely, I have a great staff who make things happen when I’m not there…
YES, I LOST SIGHT OF THE GOOD! Then I could continue to ask myself what would need to happen to make it a 5? Also if it’s still a 4 tomorrow then that’s OK – congratulate myself for maintaining the status quo. Upon reading it back – it is a 5!
THIS WEEK’S LESSON: FOCUS ON WHAT IS WORKING WELL AND YOUR CHILDREN WILL DO THE SAME!
We celebrated St Brendan’s Feast Day last Thursday, 16th May starting with a mass, then St Brendan’s rotational activities within the classrooms and a lunch Feast to finish up. We had the pleasure of the company of some very special visitors from Philippines including Mother General Sister Eden and Sr Flolyn. Our choir was also supported by our fabulous musicians including our very own Sr Josie and our resident photographer Sr Jenny.
Congratulations to all our cross country runners who competed at Tuggerah on 10th May. Congratulations to Rahnie S, Rain R, Sophie Mc, Charlotte Mc, Oliver T, Ziggy E and Kai W who represented Broken Bay Diocese at the Diocesan Cross Country on Tuesday, 21st May at Gosford.
Congratulations to Oliver T, Rahnie S, Rain R, Sophie Mc, Ziggy E, Charlotte Mc, Kai W who will progress to the Broken Bay Cross Country running
Lovely photo below of our CC cross country 11yr girls representatives at Tuggerah.
On Tuesday, 21st May we had team of amazing rugby players who made the semis out of 12 schools. Mr Banks was very proud of their performance and said they were extremely well behaved and a good day had by all. Thank you Mr Banks for organising their training and making sure they were prepared for the day! Congratulations to Ezekiel C, Blake C, Alexia G, Zavier H, Blye H, Jack L, Saxon L, Jett O, Nate P. Lachlan R, Porter R, Zachary S and Jordan Y-H.
Mr Banks reported: “St Brendan's entered a rugby team into the NSW Rugby Gala Day at Adcock Park. The boys and girls played extremely well reaching the semi finals and eventually being beaten by St John's Woy Woy who became the winners of the day. There were 12 schools represented so this was a fine result. The boys and girls played with skill determination and spirit. They were great ambassadors for our school.”
Our Year 2 children attended their excursion last Tuesday at Laycock Theatre with a Science focus. I have only heard great things about the experience! Well done Year 2.
Our Year 6 Canberra excursion is coming up this term in Week 8. Thank you to our teachers for all the background work in organising such an event and for taking time away from their own families to ensure your children have a great time in Canberra for two nights. Thank you also for the cooperation of our parents and carers.
Parents, Carers, Grandparents!!!!! are you a gardener, are you a builder, are you handy, do you have an interest in getting your hands dirty? The Gwandalan Lions Club hosted a dinner this week and again very generously donated a sum of money to St Brendan’s. The donation will hopefully assist us in establishing a community garden. I have contacted at least one enthusiastic dad but he can’t do it alone! If you are keen to be involved in this idea/project please email me your interest charlene.reid1@dbb.catholic.edu.au the more involved, the more fun and “fruitful” it will be for your children… here are some ideas I thought we could establish at St Brendan’s – and then the children during their lunch time gardening clubs can maintain! We can definitely be flexible with your hours – during school, before, after and on weekends!!!!! We can meet face to face or via zoom, draft a plan, put an order in for supplies with our Bunnings voucher from Gwandalan Lions, put the BBQ on and get to work!!!
In Week 6, Tuesday 4th June, I would like to invite Year 6 parents and carers to meet at 4.45pm (face to face or zoom) in the Year 5 collaborative space to discuss Year 6 End of Year farewell. Please email me if you are able to attend. charlene.reid1@dbb.catholic.edu.au
Also in Week 6, Tuesday 4th June, I would like to invite all parents and carers K-6 to our PAG (Parent Advisory Group) meeting at 5.30pm in the Year 5 collaborative space. If you have any agenda items please email to charlene.reid1@dbb.catholic.edu.au – I have some agenda items including the community garden project, the school K-6 disco (normally a Year 6 fundraising event), NAPLAN update, Essential Assessment K-6, K-6 Performance, reports, The Resilience Project.
Please remember to complete the form sent out digitally if you are a First Responder! We, as a school community, would like to thank you on “First Responder Day” 12th June.
Our Year 2 cohort received a letter on Compass from myself this week congratulating Mrs De Lemos on the upcoming birth of her second child. We will miss Mrs De Lemos and her kind and caring nature and her quality teaching practices. Her last Friday will be in Week 7, 14th June, of this term. Hopefully Mrs De Lemos will be back at SBLM some stage next year! In the absence of Mrs De Lemos this year we are very lucky to welcome back Mrs Stephanie Mind after her maternity leave to job share on Year 2 Blue with Ms Piper Kennedy. Ms Kennedy is also very familiar with our SBLM routines and expectations and the children she will be entrusted to teach. I am sure our school community will reach out to both Mrs Mind and Ms Kennedy who are both very approachable.
I would also like to share exciting news that Mrs Moolman, Year 1 Green teacher, will be expecting her second child this year in September. Congratulations to Mrs Moolman and your family. In due time, we will be advertising for an excellent teacher to fill this position in the absence of Mrs Moolman.
On behalf of our school community I would also like to welcome some new students to SBLM over the last couple of weeks:
Christian (year 3) Alexander (year 1)
Carson H and Tyson H in years 3 and 1.
In our sporting corner this week, we congratulate Ava R in Kindergarten on her Surf club achievements.
Sport Achievements!
On Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May Kiri attended an interstate figure skating competition in Canberra.
On Saturday Kiri placed 1st in her division of Freeskate 1 (her first time competing at this level).
On Sunday Kiri again placed first in her division with her Cobra Kai karate themed skate.
ICAS
What is ICAS?
ICAS is an online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to challenge their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee, and Digital Technologies.
Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and an online results report to track development each year. Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS medals.
More information to come next week on Compass
Your school access code is: GPG579
Your parent page link is: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
God Bless,
Charlene Reid
Principal
FIRST RESPONDERS DAY
We would like to acknowledge our First Responders and will be holding a First Responders Day on Wednesday, 12 June 2024. We would like to have all of our children dress up as First Responders and will be organising something special for the parents who are First Responders in our school community. Please complete THIS FORM if you are a First Responder.
The Catholic Schools Broken Bay Parent Charter places great emphasis on respectful, open, and two-way communication and outlines:
- What you as parents can expect from your relationship with our schools
- What our schools will expect from you as parents and carers
- Guidelines for positive communication and engagement between parents and schools
- How to make a complaint or raise a concern
- An explanation of unacceptable behaviours and how these are handled by our schools
The protocols established in this charter are designed to encourage all members of our school communities to collaborate positively and respectfully, with a shared commitment to nurturing the academic, social, and emotional growth of all our students.
Religious Education
2024 Religious Creative Arts Competition
Exciting news! The 2024 Religious Creative Arts Competition is now open to all students in Years K-10! Are you ready to showcase your talent in dance, drama, short film, music, or visual art? This year's inspiring theme is "May the God of hope fill you with Joy."
Sacrament of Confirmation
There will be a Parent Information Session for the Sacramental Program in preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation on the 4th June (week 6) . Parents have the option to attend the 2:45pm session at St. Brendan's or 7:00pm at St. Mary's. The Sacrament of Confirmation are open for candidates who already received the Sacrament of Baptism from Year 3 until High School.
Youth Alpha Ministry
Yesterday we went to St Brigid's to attend the Youth Alpha Ministry. We got presented with food and treats, we also saw some familiar faces from last year's year 6. It started with a game called heads, shoulders, knees and plate. After the game we watched a short little film about a certain question. We went off into small groups and answered the query , the question was ‘what would you do in 24 hours to do anything you wanted, what would you do?’ Some were reasonable, some were creative. After the talk we all left. It was a fun experience and I will definitely do it again.
We encourage you to have this conversation with your family.
School Updates
Wellbeing Week
Hello St Brendan's families. Next week is our Wellbeing Week for this term. This coincides with Sorry Day on Sunday and Reconciliation Week, so we will be incorporating those themes into our week. Please find attached below the outline for the week. The main areas for you to be aware of are:
- Bring games/toys from home on Wednesday (no electronics, skateboards, roller blades, breakable items)
- Canteen meal deal for lunch on Wednesday (already ready to go on Compass)
- Yellow mufti day on Thursday with a gold coin donation for Children's Ground please
We are looking forward to a great week together 
Awards
SBLM AWARDS
SBLM Focus - Weeks 3 & 4
Learn from your mistakes.
Week 3
Class | Merit Awards | SBLM award |
KR | Harry B | Luna G |
KB | Zahra B-R | Shae B |
KG | Mex R | Alyssa E |
1R | Anahli H | Cameron M |
1B | Brantley B | Hudson G |
1G | ||
2R | ||
2B | Samarpratap S | Mason B |
2G | Franky B | Oakley K |
3R | Isaiah W | Marni O |
3B | Kiriana C | Ellie L |
3G | Dakoda P | Travis J |
4R | Amela C | Will G |
4B | Eden W | Mila B |
4G | Amelia C | Will G |
5R | Ruby W-M | Sam Z |
5B | Emery B | Mia N |
6R | Jorge H | Dylan V |
6B | Cooper S | Ethan S |
6G | Cooper M | Zac S |
K/1Y | ||
1/2Y | Evie S | |
2-4Y | Jonah K |
Week 4
Class | Merit Awards | SBLM award |
KR | Peyton S | Isla I |
KB | Leo B-S | Scout D |
KG | Ivy I | Audrey H |
1R | James Mc | Kallum C |
1B | Sunny C | Diaz P |
1G | Harper C | Koby R |
2R | Sage C | Florence W |
2B | Evie-Mae G | Xavier P |
2G | Noah HS | Maddox G |
3R | Josie S | Leonard S-W |
3B | Imelda De | Amity J |
3G | Jonah E | Matilda C |
4R | Kingston W | Noah C |
4B | Arran R | Rahnie S |
4G | Natasha S | Beau S |
5R | Scarlett W | Allyssa W |
5B | Charli B | Evannah S |
6R | Kai Wild | Darcy Mc |
6B | Chelsea R | Ruby S |
6G | Lucy O | Clay F |
K/1Y | Jamison S | |
1/2Y | Isaac W | |
2-4Y |
Class | 120 Dojos | 200 Dojos | 300 Dojos |
4B | Mila B |
Community News
GO4FUN
Go4Fun is a 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲, 10-week healthy lifestyle program open to all children between 7–13 years old to enjoy along with their families.
Group activities and games
Feel good about eating healthily
Reduce screen time and make new friends
Rewards and prizes for the kids
Positive health changes for the whole family
Term 2 programs will take place at:
Lake Haven Recreation Centre, Tuesdays 4–6pm, starting 30th April (Aboriginal program for everyone run by Bungree Aboriginal Association)
The Entrance Community Centre, Wednesdays 4–6pm, starting 1st May- CANCELLED
Gosford Olympic Pool, Thursdays 4–6pm, starting 2nd May
Go4Fun online
To find out more information or register, visit go4fun.com.au or call 1800 780 900. Places are limited, so get registering now!
Compass Calendar