St Gerard S CatHOLIC Primary School

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1 St Gerard S CatHOLIC Primary School 71 Gladstone Rd, North Dandenong 3175 Ph: NEWSLETTER #10 21 APRIL 2017 SCHOOL CALENDAR TERM 2 Tuesday, 25 April Anzac Day no school Thursday 27 April Confirmation Parent/Child Evening Friday, 5 May Gala Day Yr 5/6 Monday, 8 May School Photos May, 9 11 NAPLAN Thursday, 11 May Parent/Child Reconciliation Night Thursday, 18 & Friday 19 May School Closure Tuesday, 23 May 6:30pm AGM Student movie night & community conversation Friday, 23 June Mid Year Reports go home June 27 & 29 Parent/Teacher Chats Friday 30 June 2:30 pm End of Term 2 The Season of Easter After the events of Passion Week, hope and two things always come into my mind. The other two being-forgiveness and faith. Forgiveness. We may tend to associate granting forgiveness with the Sacrament of Penance, when penitents confess their sins in sorrow to a priest, and on behalf of the Christian community and God the priest grants forgiveness. Yet all of us Catholics are called upon to forgive those who harm us and those who harm others. We could ask the question Can you forgive someone who shows no sorrow for the harm they have done and does not ask for forgiveness? As Catholics we are very challenging here. We are called to imitate the example of Jesus. He openly forgave those who harmed him. Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing. This was without any evidence of their regret for what they had done. Even if a person who has harmed us does not seem remorseful, it is in our best interests to try not to let anger towards them fester in our hearts. That will do us no good, and in fact will harm us. With the Lord s help, we should try to let it go, with no thought of getting even and paying them back in kind. Faith. Jesus forgave Thomas the doubter and a week later when Jesus reappeared to the disciples, he invited Thomas to touch his healed wounds to help him to believe that he had indeed risen. We should be grateful to Thomas for having his doubts, because they help to strengthen our faith that the Lord is truly risen. Someone said that faith is not always a black and white matter. Believers sometimes doubt, and doubters sometimes believe. One person is recorded in the Gospel as having said to Jesus, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. That could be our prayer from time to time. May the grace of the risen Lord bless your hearts and the hearts of our children with faith and forgiveness. Uniform Shop In the Parish Hall each Monday 8.30am 10.00am

2 PRINCIPAL Dear Parent, Welcome back to Term 2. It will be an exciting term, as we will move into the new building in early May. The staff have been very patient and are packed and ready to move. Thank you! I will be asking for some parent assistance to help move boxes one Saturday morning. On May 23rd at 6:30pm we will be having the Parish Education Board Annual General Meeting. The evening will focus on parent involvement and engagement in school life. We will be discussing how we can work more closely together to further build a community of hope, faith and forgiveness and increase the already great results the children are achieving. The children will have a sausage sizzle and movie night and the parents will have a light meal, tour the new building and have a discussion about school life (as explained above). I hope to see you then. The school is having a review of all it s practices, achievements and areas for improvement. This occurs every 4 years and is conducted by Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM). As part of this the staff reflect on the past 4 years and make recommendations for improvement. This is then ratified by CEM and we write a school improvement plan for the next 4 years. Parents and students will be involved in the process through focus groups and will be asked to give their opinions. As part of this the school will be closed on May 17th and May 18th. Please remember it is really important for your child to arrive at school by 8:40 so they are ready to begin their day with their teacher and class. We often have children arriving late and this disrupts the child and the class. For pick up to work safely and quickly we need all parents to cooperate and follow school procedures. Before 3:20pm you must park your car, after 3:20pm you may queue in the drive through. Parking in the drive through before 3:20pm causes much frustration for the other parents we must be considerate. Please always follow the walk way and do not walk through the car park and children and adults must always use the pedestrian crossing where there are lights and supervision. Have a great term. May the light of the Risen Lord grace you and your family. Best wishes, Chris RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS Project Compassion Thank You Thank you to the Social Justice leaders who organized the raising of funds for Project Compassion last term. We raised $. The winning class that raised the most money is: Grade? will be able to wear casual dress on a date TBA. Whole School Masses: Wednesday 24 th May Friday 23 rd June Level Masses: Years 1/2: Years 2/3/4: Prep and Years 5/6: Our Lady Help of Christians at 9:00am Sacred Heart of Jesus (time TBA) Thursday 4 th May Thursday 27 th April Thursday 8 th June 2

3 religious education NeWS CONt d Confirmation: Year 6 Confirmation Child/Parent info night: Confirmation Retreat Day: Visit of Bishop Elliot: Confirmation: Confirmation Assembly: Thursday 27th April, 7pm finishing with coffee and cake Tuesday 18 th July TBA Wednesday 19 th July, 7pm Friday 21 st July Reconciliation: Year 3 Reconciliation Parent Information Night: Thursday, 11 th May (please note changed date) Reconciliation Activity Day: Tuesday 6 th June Reconciliation: All Year 3 s Thursday 8 th June at 10:15 Reconciliation Assembly: Friday 9 th June First Communion: Year 4 First Communion Parent Information Night: Tuesday 25 th July 7pm, finishing with coffee and cake First Communion Reflection Day: Wednesday 16 th August First Communion: Sunday, 20 th August at 2pm (for Year 4) First Communion Assembly: Wednesday 23 rd August at 2:30 (as Thurs is Book Week Activity Day and Friday is Gala Day) Other Important Dates: National Sorry Day Assembly: Refugee Week Assembly: National Buddy Day/ Harmony SEL Activity Day Friday, 26 th May at 2:30pm Thursday 22 nd June at 2:30pm Thursday 15 th June Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Once again we ll aim to have our food cart to be filled to the brim for the St Vincent De Paul Winter appeal. The social justice leaders to collect food from week two and the collection will finish on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The class that brings in the most items will win a casual dress day. Please donate to this worthwhile appeal. Altar boy training Altar boy training will recommence next week, Thursday, 27 th April. After that the boys train at St Gerard s Church each Thursday from pm. The boys are trained by Frederick Maroun and supervised by Ron Maroun. These are the results from the Project Compassion fundraiser. Well done to all the classes. A wonderful effort with a total $ being raised. 3

4 WELL BEING NEWS BUDDY FAMILIES NEEDED!! We are looking for families who would be willing to buddy with one of our Prep families for We know that when families feel connected to school, academic outcomes for students are increased. We also know that when families feel connected to school, students feel connected and enjoy coming to school. If you think you could contact a family in person, on the phone or by a few times a term to see how they are settling into school life, please fill in the reply slip below and return to the front office. YES, WE WOULD LIKE TO BE A BUDDY FAMILY Family Name:... Eldest Child s Class:.. Contact Phone Number: 4

5 OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS (OSHC) NEWS Curriculum Days Thursday 18 and Friday 19 May Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) is available on 18 & 19 May for school closure days. Bookings MUST be made by phoning Marina on and all children need to be enrolled to attend. Enrolment information can be obtained from St Gerard s front office. Opening times are 7.00 am 6.00 pm. Full day program. Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund If you have a current Health Care Card or Concession Card you may be eligible for CSEF. APPLICATIONS CLOSE 30 JUNE 2017 An application form is available at the front office or feel free to speak with Helen. SCHOOL PHOTOS School photographs will be taken on Monday, 8 May. Envelopes will be sent home with students today. If paying online, please follow the instructions on the envelope, carefully. Please include child s correct name and correct class. If you intend to purchase a package, please ensure that your child s envelope is handed in prior to or on photography day. If you have more than 2 children attending this School, the 3rd and subsequent child s pack are free of charge, providing the Deluxe or Standard packs are chosen, for the first two siblings. Sibling photography envelope s must be picked up from the School office and handed in, either prior to or on the day of photography. 5