St Gerard S CatHOLIC Primary School 71 Gladstone Rd, North Dandenong 3175 Ph: 9791 7553 www.sgdandenongnth.catholic.edu.au NEWSLETTER #15 1 June 2018 DATES TO REMEMBER June 6, 7 & 8 YEAR 6 CAMP Monday, 11 June PUBLIC HOLIDAY UNIFORM OPENING HOURS 8:30 10:30 MONDAY In school hall PLEASE LABEL UNIFORMS Please label all your child s uniforms. The office is receiving too many unlabeled items of uniform. Without a name we are unable to return to the correct child. ENROLMENT REMINDER If you have a child starting Prep in 2019, please ensure you call into the office and pick up an Enrolment Application. If you have a Health Care Card, please see the office as you may be eligible for a rebate on your child s camp, sports & excursions. Applications MUST be in by 30 June 2018 The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ On the evening of the day before he was crucified, Jesus celebrated the Jewish Passover meal with his Apostles. During the meal he took a piece of unleavened bread in his hands and said, Take and eat. This is my body. Later in the meal he picked up a cup of wine and said, Take and drink. This is my blood. Do you think the Apostles appreciated at that moment the full meaning of what Jesus was saying and doing? I suspect that it took a long time for its significance to dawn upon them. After they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost the Christian community was at an in-between stage in their spiritual lives. They went to the Temple or to the synagogue to pray, especially on the Saturday, and they gathered to pray in their homes, especially on the Sunday. The Book in the New Testament called the Acts of the Apostles describes how Christians gathered in their homes for prayer and for what was described as the breaking of bread. We understand that expression the breaking of bread to mean the Eucharist. Last Sunday we celebrated Trinity Sunday. We realise we cannot now or ever completely understand the mystery of God. But we believe in him. This Sunday we celebrate another wonderful mystery we cannot fully understand or explain: the Lord Jesus is present with us in the consecrated bread and the consecrated wine. The Eucharist is for this life, as spiritual food for our journey. The Eucharist is another sign of Jesus love for us. The Eucharist is a constant reminder of Jesus. Jesus is near us and with us in the Eucharist. We cannot see him, touch him or hear him in a physical way, but we believe he is present in the Eucharist when we receive him in Communion. When we come to the church to pray, he is present in the tabernacle. We can speak to him in our minds and hearts and he can speak to us in our thoughts and desires. Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
PRINCIPAL Dear Parent, Last week I was fortunate to travel to Broome and The Kimberley region on the biannual Southeastern Principal s Conference with my colleagues. Not only did I have the chance to network with 20 other Principals who lead schools with similar cultural populations and values but I experienced many school visits in the very remote and disadvantaged outback areas of Australia only reachable by long, dusty, red-soiled unsealed roads. It was truly extraordinary. We really are the lucky country and you realise this when you travel to the Kimberley and witness the beauty of sunsets, turquoise waters and beautiful people. However you realise the struggle of many and the unfreedoms that exist in the Kimberley with the Aboriginal people who have loved and nurtured the land for over 60,000 years. What struck me the most was, kids are kids, no matter where you go. Thank you for your positive response in the car park, parents are taking the extra one minute and using the walkways and helping ensure the safety of the children. The on line world is a reality that will only get bigger and potentially more risky for our young people. However with clear and consistent rules and boundaries, backed by parent supervision, our young people can engage in the global world safely when under our watchful eye. A good resource to help you manage your child online is iparent. This is where you can learn about the digital environment and learn how you can guide your child to have safe and enjoyable online experiences. I encourage you to go to the site and use this resource so you are equipped to guide your child. The site is: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent Have a great weekend and God Bless, Chris.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS Please see below for some important dates for this term. Whole School Masses: Friday 8 June Sacred Heart of Jesus at 9:00 Confirmation: Year 6 Confirmation Assembly Reconciliation: Year 3 Reconciliation Activity Day: Friday, 1 June Wednesday, 13 June (teachers to coordinate day and parent helpers) Reconciliation: All Year 3 s Thursday,14 June at 10:15 Reconciliation Assembly: Friday 15 June First Communion: Year 4 First Communion Parent Information Night: Thursday 26 July 7pm First Communion Reflection Day: Thursday 16 August First Communion: Sunday, 19 August at 2pm (for Year 4) First Communion Assembly: Friday, 24 August at 2:30 Other Important Dates Refugee Week Assembly Thursday 21 June (Lead by Social Justice team) 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 servers train at St Gerard s Church each Thursday from 5.30-6.30pm. The boys are trained by Frederick Maroun and supervised by Ron Maroun. Congratulations to the Grade 6 students who were Confirmed by the Most Rev Bishop Peter Elliott in the gifts of the Spirit last Sunday, drawing them into deeper participation in our Church community. Antonio Alex Beadjowk Awacker Alisha Della-Salandra Kiara Di Paolo Mercy Diyago Nivain Don Lachlan Hickox Lado Jada Abalu Labalu Bradley Lopez Lii Maliko Xavier Zaher Josh Mauriks Ryan Perera Helena Strukar Europa Toomalatai Ahvoo Ngan Woo Airin Vinod Daniel Wright May the Holy Spirit bless you and guide you throughout your life. Jesus said: I am the light of the world; those who follow me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. - John 8:12 Confirmation Thank You Thank you to Fr Arthur and Fr Denton for concelebrating at our wonderfully holy Confirmation Mass. Thank you to Natasha Marsh and the St Gerard s choir for the beautiful music at the Liturgy. Thank you to the altar boys that served at the Mass. Thank you to the 5/6 teachers, Mrs Rachel Lenko, Mrs Gwen O Brien and Mrs Julie Verhoosel for their dedication in preparing the candidates so thoroughly to receive this Sacrament and thank you to all
WHY: We would like to establish an ongoing parent group to advise and help us with the learning of all our students and the community that makes up our school. We have some questions to ask you to help us form this group. DATE: Wednesday, 13 June 2018 TIME: 9:00 am (child minding available) and 7:00 pm (child minding NOT available) WHERE: St Gerard s Primary School, outside 3/4 Classrooms
WEE K ST GERARD S PRIMARY SCHOOL TERM 2 Parent Calendar as at 18 May 2018 (changes will be advised when & if necessary) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 16/4 17/4 18/4 19/4 20/4 WELCOME BACK TO TERM 2 Easter Resurrection Paraliturgy 2:30pm Reconciliation Parent/ Child Information Night 7 pm Easter Bonnet Parade Assembly 2:30 & Easter Raffle Draw 2 23/4 24/4 25/4 26/4 27/4 ANZAC DAY School Closure 3 30/4 1/5 2/5 3/5 4/5 SCHOOL CLOSURE CURRICULUM DAY Responsible Pet Ownership Prep/1C, 1/2BT & 1/2F Family Maths Night 4 7/5 8/5 9/5 10/5 11/5 St Johns 1 st Aid Training for Students School Photos Ride to School Day Mother s Day Stall Mothers Day Raffle Assembly 2:30 pm 13/5 MOTHERS DAY 5 14/5 15/5 16/5 17/5 18/5 FAMILY WEEK Family week Breakfast Gala Day 1 NAPLAN NAPLAN NAPLAN 20/5 Pentecost Sunday 6 21/5 22/5 23/5 24/5 25/5 SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE 8:30 9:30 in school hall Confirmation Reflection Day Our Lady Help of Christians Whole School Mass 9:00 am Sorry Day Assembly Division Cross Country 26/6 National Sorry Day 27/6 Confirmation 3pm 7 28/5 29/5 30/5 31/5 1/6 1 st Confirmation Assembly 8 4/6 5/6 6/6 7/6 8/6 Grade 5/6 Camp Grade 5/6 Camp Grade 5/6 Camp Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus whole 9 11/6 12/6 13/6 14/6 15/6 PUBLIC HOLIDAY Reconciliation Reflection Activity Day Grade 3 First Reconciliation 10:15 am First Reconciliation Assembly 2:30 pm 10 18/6 19/6 20/6 21/6 22/6 REFUGEE WEEK Ride to School World Refugee Day Refugee Week Assembly 2:30 pm Reports to go home Gala Day 2 11 25/6 26/6 27/6 28/6 29/6 3 Way Parent Conversations 3 Way Parent Conversations END OF TERM 2 Normal School Finish 3:30 pm TEACHER REFLECTION TEACHER REFLECTION