Newsletter Term 3, 2024 Week 8

Principal's Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 3 Week 8! It’s Wellbeing Week! This week we decided to acknowledge Wellbeing week on Thursday which coincided with R U OK Day?  Thank you to Mrs Loneragan and our Wellbeing leaders for making this day a special time to put smiles on our faces!

R U OK? Day

It is lovely to see the warmer weather and you are very welcome to send your children to school in their Summer uniform.

Some parents opt for their children to bring mobile phones to school!  The reason we allow this to occur is the common reason “to keep our children safe”.  I understand this reasoning however we are struggling to keep your children safe when the rules around mobile phones are not adhered to by children at school and at home.  The rules are:

• All mobile phones are placed in the office bag each morning and will be returned in the afternoon.
• No mobile phone is to be used on school site without permission by a teacher.
• No photos are allowed to be taken of students.
• No mobile phones should be used on the buses.
• No mobile phones are to be used on excursions or school functions including discos, Groovin the Green, Carols etc.
• No child should share any photos or information on any social media platform.
• Is your child the correct age to access some social media sites?
• Is your child watching inappropriate material on their phones at home?

My question is – is your child safe if their photo is “innocently” splashed on a social media platform e.g. TikTok by their “friends”?   If your child is found to not adhere by our mobile phone rules, the phone will be kept in our office and their parent/carer will be asked to collect it and not be brought back to school.

I have also sent on compass a few reminders about uniform and showing pride in our appearances and St Brendan’s including, but not limited to:

• If your child’s (boys and girls) hair is below their shoulders, their hair needs to be tied up completely (not half in and half out)
• Please refrain from “eccentric” hair styles
• Please refrain from hair colours
• Any jewellery should be plain studs, not novelty jewellery
• Please wear the correct colour socks (boys wear grey and girls wear white – both ankle socks, not the type you can’t see the socks above the shoes)
• Black shoes (polishable, please no running shoes)
• Hair ribbons need to be school colours

In June 2023 I investigated the possibility of starting a new bus route through surrounding suburbs of Catherine Hill Bay, Crangan Bay, Nords Wharf, Murrays Beach etc.  I received correspondence, however, we still have no new bus route.  I have enquired again this term and have received a promising email from Catholic Schools Broken Bay.  My request has progressed to Leadership at Catholic Schools Broken Bay and I am awaiting a reply.  Please be aware, I  have not put this to the side and am still advocating for a new bus route.

As well as a new bus route we are also wanting a solution for our overcrowded buses.  As mentioned before, we also need your help by reporting situations to Transport NSW and applying for your child’s free Opal card.

Our Yeronga uniform shop was opened on Friday morning from 8.15-9.15am for any people wanting to purchase uniforms.  If they are not in stock, please place your orders.  You can also do this online at Yeronga Uniforms website.   Our clothing pool also exists for second hand uniforms by emailing the clothing pool email address: clothingpool.sblm@gmail.com

We are very proud of our debating team who have spent so many lunch times preparing for their debates with surrounding Catholic schools.  Our debating team members include: Evannah Solman, Sophie McMillan, Charli Burns, Poppy Coghlan and Willow McGrath.  They have done a great job. They are very keen and motivated. They are mainly versing older students and still hold their own. They will be a great little team next year.  They have most definitely been improving each debate. The topics have been “Professional athletes are poor role models”, “School uniforms should be banned”, ”Australia should close zoos”, “Bottle water should be banned” and the next topic (W10) is “Hardcopy books are outdated.”  Thank you to Mr Chandler and Miss Robertson who have also given up their time to support the team and drive them to and from their competitions.

Congratulations to Nate P and Sage L, in Year 6, who competed in the Cluster public speaking competition last Monday.  They both did extremely well – Nate winning 1^st place and Sage winning 3^rd place.  Nate is now invited to compete at the Diocesan Public Speaking competition on Tuesday, 17^th September at Waitara.  Good luck Nate!

Good luck to our Polding athletes who are competing today (Friday, 13^th) including:

• Alexia
• Rain
• Kingston
• Aston

Thank you to the parents who met with me on Thursday afternoon to plan for our SBLM community garden project!  I have some very skilful and enthusiastic parents to help this project.  Parents so far have:

• Designed our garden
• Volunteered their machinery and time to excavate
• Volunteered their knowledge and time to help grow produce
• Volunteered their time and enthusiasm to be involved.

We envisage nominating a date (probably a weekend) to come into school to contribute to this project.  I will be in touch and we would be very excited to see as many parents/carers/children to join us in a garden working bee project.  Please watch this space!

SBLM whole school disco will be divided into infants (K-2) and primary (3-6) at The Doylo on Tuesday, 24^th September.  Please see details below for tickets and sale of raffle tickets!  Some of the money raised will be put toward the cost of our Year 6 Farewell.  Thank you to our volunteers who have helped organise the disco, make the lolly bags, volunteer to set up the disco, sell items at the disco, ticketing etc.  We are also selling raffle tickets for the wonderful prizes, also organised by our parent volunteers.  The raffle will be drawn on Wednesday, 25^th September at the silver seats afternoon assembly at 2.15pm.

I have announced to our Year 5 cohort that Mr Chandler, Year 5 Red teacher, will be taking his paternity leave in Term 4.  In his absence Ms Lees, our current Year 5 Blue teacher, will be teaching Year 5 Red on a Monday and Tuesday and Miss Zappala will be teaching Year 5 Red on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  It’s lovely to have such a great team in Year 5 and we hope Mr Chandler has a wonderful time with his newborn son!

Speaking of newborn sons – I would like to congratulate the Lobb family (Mr Lobb teaches Year 6 three days a fortnight) who have the wonderful news of a new baby boy, Tommy, born early this week. 

I would also like to thank Mrs Moolman who is heading off on her maternity leave this week.  Her class, Year 1 Green, will be taught by Mrs Herdman for the remainder of 2024 starting Monday, 16^th September.  We wish you well Mrs Moolman and your family, you will be missed!  We welcome Mrs Nicole Herdman to our SBLM family.

Our Spirit of St Brendan’s Awards will be presented at our last Friday assembly for the term on Friday, 20^th September in our school hall at 2pm.  Congratulations to all our recipients.

We are fast approaching the end of term, the last day for the children will be Friday, 27^th September and this will be our End of Term reward day (inflatables in the hall) and celebrating the successes of our children who work so hard to follow our SBLM expectations all term.

We will start our Term 4 on Tuesday, 15^th October.

In Term 4 our Kindergarten 2025 transition and orientation program commences.  These dates and times are:

Thursday, 17^th October from 8.45-10am;

Thursday, 24^th October from 8.45-10am;(Year 4 dramatise a story)

Thursday, 31^st October from 8.45-10am;

Thursday, 7^th November from 8.45-10am; (Year 4 will meet their buddies/ also lead a liturgy)

Thursday, 14^th November from 8.45-9.30am (Teddy Bear’s picnic) – don’t forget to bring your teddy bear!

God Bless,

Charlene Reid

Principal

Assistant Principal Update

We are excited to inform you that one of our students (Kiarni W – 3 Blue) has been selected as a finalist in Wiseberry Heritage's Sold for Schools competition! This competition has seen creative entries from schools across the Central Coast, where students designed their very own "SOLD" sticker, which will be featured on our signs throughout the month of October. This year, there are 8 finalists instead of the originally planned 6, as there were so many great designs to choose from. The winner is drawn on the 18th of September.

The next step is for our school community to rally behind our Kiarni and vote for her using this link: https://forms.gle/jWgP5E5NacmefPS88.

This is a great initiative by Wiseberry Heritage who provide wonderful prizes and support our schools!

Keeping Our Bathrooms Clean and Tidy

We kindly ask parents to speak with their children about the importance of keeping our school bathrooms tidy and clean for all students. A little effort goes a long way in ensuring a pleasant space for everyone. If you are aware that your child may have any toileting concerns that the school might not be aware of, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Your support helps us maintain a clean and respectful environment for all.

School Updates and Upcoming Events

SBLM DISCO

🕺✨ Get ready to dance the night away! Join us for an unforgettable disco night filled with groovy beats, dazzling lights, and non-stop fun. Don’t forget your dancing shoes! 💃✨

Purchase tickets here 

🍽️ Dinner available for purchase at the club! Please allow plenty of time on your arrival to sign into the club

$4 per child or $6 for a family (more than 1 child). 

Proceeds will support the Year 6 Farewell. 

Year 6 Farewell Raffle! 

Get ready for an exciting raffle to support our Year 6 Farewell! We have amazing prizes up for grabs, generously donated by our sponsors. With school holidays just around the corner, these prizes are perfectly timed for some fun and relaxation!

Ticket Prices:

• $2 for 1 ticket
• $5 for 3 tickets
• $10 for 7 tickets

(Please try to have accurate money as limited change available)

Tickets can be purchased from Year 6 students before the morning bell or during recess as organised with the teachers at the table in front of the hall, and at the school disco! Be sure to include your name and phone number, or your child's name and class, on each ticket.

The raffle will be drawn on the 25th September, and all winners will be notified. Raffle will be drawn at the afternoon assembly (2.15pm). A huge thank you to our generous sponsors for making this possible! Don’t miss out on your chance to win and support our Year 6 Farewell! 

Wellbeing workshop:  Flourish

St Brendan’s invites you to join us for a Wellbeing Workshop:  Flourish, hosted by Victoria and Jodie.

Take some time to “fill your cup” with this special workshop designed to focus on self-care.

Date:  Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Time:  1.15pm for a 1.30 start.  Finishing at 2.30pm

Location:  St Brendan’s Library

Childcare will be made available if needed and refreshment’s will be provided at the workshop.

Please RSVP on the attached form or scan the QR code on the flyer.

We look forward to sharing this special time with you!

FLOURISH Wellbeing Workshop RSVP

Term 3 PEC Walk n Chat

Religious Education

Family Mass 

We look forward to welcoming everyone to our Family Mass on September 21st from 3.30pm. This delightful event brings families together in a spirit of community and faith. Join us for an afternoon of fun games and music, concluding with a meaningful Mass to unite us in prayer and reflection. 

RSVP HERE

Awards

Week 7

Week 8

Community News

Compass Calendar