Newsletter Term 1, Week 9 2023

Principal's Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 1 Week 9 and our last newsletter for Term 1!

Our SBML Open Days this week have been very popular with new and existing families.  I am very proud of all the children who have assisted us by conducting our new family tours.  Our wonderful Year 6 students have shown new families around our school, explaining to them all the excellent qualities and events we have here.  A compliment from one new Dad said, “If my child turns out like our tour guides I will be very happy!”  You all should be very proud!  Thank you also for coming back to school after hours for our Open day evening sessions.

Thank you to Miss Alli Foskett for organising our St Brendan’s Parish cricket game last Saturday before our 5pm family mass. The weather may have turned many people off, however those of us who did play cricket had so much fun!  We even had snacks!  Maybe next time we will get more of a roll up!

MOBILE PHONES REMINDER

All children needing to bring a mobile phone to school MUST not use it on school grounds this includes before school and after school.  If your child needs to check their phone to confirm their afternoon pick up arrangements, they must ask a staff member to use the phone otherwise their phone will be taken from them and returned to them when they leave the premises.  In term 2 all children needing to bring a mobile phone to school will need to complete and sign an agreement.

Wow, bike and scooter day was amazing!  Thank you Rocky Trail and the Wisata family for organising the bike route and scooter route on our school grounds.  We all had a great time and hopefully we can have another one next year!

We would like to congratulate both Maggie O’Brien (Year 5 teacher) and Lily Anderson (Kindergarten teacher) who are both having babies before the end of the year!  What a lovely time for them and their beautiful families.

Congratulations to all our children who raised over $1200.00 for Caritas.  On St Patrick’s Day after our liturgy we had a walk for water fundraiser.  The classes who raised the most money were able to pour water over me, Miss Foskett and Mr Banks and we gave the oval a good watering too.  Thank you for your generosity.  I was very impressed by so many children earning money by finishing chores at home to donate their hard earned cash to Caritas.

Our cross country was postponed on Wednesday due to inclement weather.  Our new date is Wednesday 5^th April (next week).  We will need many adult helpers please, St Brigid’s was going to help, however they are unable. From this carnival we will be able to invite representatives to run at the Central Coast Cross Country on Friday 5^th May.  We may even have some training sessions at school for our team before the CCC carnival!

The children will be very busy creating their own Easter hats Friday 31^st March! These wonderful creations will be displayed at our Easter Hat Parade on Monday 3 April at 9am.  You are all invited to attend.  We might even have a special visitor!!

Our End of term reward day is on Tuesday 4 April.  Children are invited to have some fun on the inflatable obstacle course and bungee run inflatable here at school.  The approx. timetable is:

8.30am EOC/HIVE/HUB

8.45am Kindergarten

9.15am Year 1

9.45am Year 3

10.20 RECESS (SRC and Mini Vinnies extra turn)

11am Year 2

11.30am Year 4

12pm Year 5

12.20pm LUNCH (Year 6 leadership team minus SRC and Mini Vinnies extra turn)

1pm Year 5 return

1.15pm Year 6

Spirit of St Brendan’s Awards for Term 1 will be presented (2 per class) at the conclusion of our Holy Week liturgy on Holy Thursday (6 April).  Our liturgy starts at 9am, you are all very welcome to join us.

Also a reminder that the children’s first day back in Term 2 is after ANZAC Day, 26^th April!  Our staff will return on the Monday 24^th to participate in further professional learning focused on 123 magic emotional coaching.  Catholic Care OOSH is available on this day if needed.

I wish you and your families a wonderful and safe Easter break.

God Bless,

Charlene Reid

Principal

Religious Education

Upcoming 

Easter Hat Parade 3rd April 9am

Holy Week Liturgy 6th April 9am

Sacrament  of First Eucharist 
- Parent Info Session May 10th 3.30pm

Reconciliation

Congratulations to all the students who made their First Reconciliation! It's a wonderful accomplishment and a beautiful step in your faith journey. May this Sacrament bring you peace, forgiveness, and strengthen your relationship with God. We are all very proud of you and wish you continued growth and blessings on your path.

Week 8 Award Recipients

Week 9 Award Recipients

PAG Minutes

21.02.2023 PAG Meeting Minutes  

Charlene: Thanked the St Brendan’s community for warm welcome.  The Welcome BBQ and Mass were a great success.  

Coming up: Groovin’ the Green, Athletics Carnival and Cricket and Family Mass.

New Bus Routes are in progress: Charlene is still working with Busways.   

New options for uniform through Cowan and Lewis.  

Free Opal Cards: Families encouraged to apply for Opal Cards as numbers from students "tapping on and off" help us advocate for new bus routes.  

PBL: Children’s voices have been heard around feedback for the new Dojo system.  

Uniform Update  

• There are two options for the girl’s uniform. Either culottes or shorts. This allows girls to run and jump discretely.  A girls peter pan shirt will also be available to go with either the culottes or shorts.  
• Girls may wear grey socks in winter as opposed to stockings. Stockings are still able to be worn.  
• Cowan and Lewis Refund Policy.  To obtain a refund this can be completed online. There is a 30 day policy, items are to be in original condition.  Parents need to complete the online form. If customers have used a government voucher, that amount will be refunded as a store credit whilst the balance will be refunded in full.  
• Exchange or refund forms will be printed and kept in the office for people to access to use for Cowan and Lewis.
• A survey will be send out for parents to select either the culottes or shorts . Charlene and PAG members agree that it should be one or the other to keep the uniform simple.  

Nicole Anderson (PEC – Parent Engagement Coordinator)   

• Playgroup will now be held on Mondays. Parents have asked if the coffee and chat will still occur on Wednesday mornings. This will not be possible due to the days that Nicole works with St Brendan's.

PAG Roles  

• Discussion were had around new PAG roles that were elected towards the end of last year.  Members to come forward if they are still wanting to take on the role. Further discussions to be had at the next PAG meeting.  

Chairperson – Eliesha Mattison

Secretary – Kobea Micallef

Pastoral Care – Allyse Cresta  

Parish Pastoral Representative – Allyse Cresta  

Parents Events Team – Emma Wells, Ally, Deanna Daly, Kobea, Penny Watson  

New Agenda items:  

• Idea of starting a Breakfast Club at St Brendan’s. Discussion around how to determine the logistics. Jacqui going to send out a survey for parents. PAG meeting members thought it was a good idea but unsure how it will work consistently. Idea of parent volunteers, discussion around how to coordinate volunteers, food donations, location of Breakfast Club due to OHSC. Item to be added to next PAG agenda for further discussions.   
• Compass. One parents having issues with a minimum spend online for the canteen.  Jacqui is going to raise a ticket with Compass to find out more information.  
• Roundabout access in the mornings and afternoons. Parents have been driving into the roundabout blocking access and creating a risk to children. Parents to please park in allocated carpark or street access.  
• Discussion had about car parking etiquette.  
• Kiss and Drop: Reminder about the first three cars are Kiss and Drop and not to get out of your vehicle. Charlene going to share rules in the newsletter.  
• Individual Facebook page for each class – discussion around how this would work. Different options discussed. Discussion had about parents and school utilising the Facebook group for each year more consistently.
• Discussion around different households and family units and how to educate all children on this. The school teaches this in the PDHPE Syllabus and can make particular resources available to parents if requested.  
• End of Year Awards. Discussions were had around students who do well that haven’t been given an award, at the end of the year. More recognition for children throughout the year. Eg: Sports recognition in the sports column at the end of the newsletter. Parents welcome to send in any special achievement’s children might receive eg: horse riding, music and other special achievements.  
• Any dancers or performers who would like to do a performance at Groovin the Green – please let Jacqui know.
• Water Safety. Are there any programs in the school for water safety? Surf Life Saving does come into the school for particular presentations throughout the year, however this has been slow during Covid lockdowns.  
• Discussion had amongst PAG meeting members about how we can improve PAG engagement and attendance. Parents and Carers all welcome to attend each Term.  

Date for next meeting: 9TH May 6-7pm 

Music Bus

Music Bus lessons

The Music Bus runs weekly lessons at our school

Classes offered are:

·  Keyboard (Kindy-y6)

·  Ukulele  ( Kindy   -y6)

·  Drums ( y1  -y6)

·  Guitar ( y2 - y6)

Lessons are:

*  be 30 minute duration - once per week

* be held in the hi tech music classroom on wheels on our site

* cost $20 per week ($22 drums) payable by the term on commencement

If you wish to take part please complete this expression of interest form asap

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/ee4627a5204c46158e1ab17e7c8069c6

Bike Day

Dear Parents & Carers,

We would like to thank the Rocky Trail Team for coordinating the Bike & Scooter Day last week.  It was such a rewarding day for everyone.  Juliane, Martin and their team were so impressed by the determination and commitment of all the students across the grades.  They mentioned to us how they were all so supportive of each other, kind and respectful to the team. We hope the riders got a bit of a glimpse into the realm of mountain biking and that the scooter riders had fun on the obstacle course too. All the trail walkers were cheering and the Rocky Trail Team had a good chat with some of them out on course too.

Juliane and Martin would like to thank the amazing high school students from St Brigid's and all the parents who came and helped out on the day! They said how wonderful it is to be a part of such a tight-knit community.

Every participant can download a "Certificate of Achievement" from the Rocky Trail online portal.

• Link: https://rockytrailacademy.com/sblm2023/ (Please use password: sblmbike)

How to find the Certificates:

• Click on the button "Download Certificate of Achievement" 
• Select the activity, find your Grade and Class
• Click on the student's name and a pop-up will display the certificate - click to save and/or print
• Please note, some students changed their activity on the day (ie walking instead of riding or scooter instead of a bike or vice versa). If you can't find your child's name in a category, please check the other categories.
• Students are listed in order of their last names.

Sports Column

Great news Kiarni W finished 2nd overall in the 8 year girls 50m freestyle at the Inter diocesan carnival. She will compete for Polding in the State PSSA swimming carnival. Samantha Mc D finished overall 4th in the 10 year girls 50m breastroke.

Both Kiarni & Sam swam amazing today they both tried so hard in their events.

Upcoming

Do you have any little ones? St Brendan's has a FREE playgroup for newborn to school age children. Come and meet other parents in the community. Little ones will be guided through fun and engaging activities.

Playgroup is held in the school hall on Monday (during the school term) from 8.30am to 9.30am. Morning Tea is provided. 

Vacation Care program for April now available

CatholicCare’s Vacation Care service offers a wide range of activities catering to children of differing ages and interests.

We also head out and about on a range of fun local excursions each holiday period.

We provide a stimulating and enjoyable environment and activities which harness the children’s interests and strengths whilst respecting their need for leisure.

We hope to see you there!

The school program can be downloaded from https://www.catholiccaredbb.org.au/vacation-care

Compass Calendar