ST PETER S CATHOLIC PARISH PRIMARY SCHOOL Friday 25th May 2018 2018 Week 6 To the St Peter s community, This Sunday is Trinity Sunday which celebrates the Christian belief that God is not just one, but also three-in-one. This feast is the call of Jesus to his followers to go to the whole world, not only to one certain group. This feast is for the whole world to bring Jesus to the world. We can give it in words and also by our way of life. Jesus works through us, helping us reach out to others. At this Great Commissioning the apostles were left with Jesus work. He had been with them for a few years. He is now with them and us in a different way. St. Paul reminds us, God is not a distant God, but instead a God whose Spirit draws us, as God s children and as joint heirs with Christ, into the very communion of the Trinity. The gifts of Trinity Sunday are joy and hope. A joy without hope is just enjoyment, a temporary happiness. A hope without joy is not hope and doesn t extend beyond a healthy optimism. Pope Francis, May 2016. Christian joy is a sharing in the joy of Jesus who has fulfilled God s work and will. Even with the work still to be done, he lives in joy and we can live in hope. Joy is rooted not just in love but in our mission. Our lives are ways of being like Jesus working with others and for others. Hope is based not on human optimism but on the victory of Jesus over sin and death. We Pray: Dear Lord, by your cross you share our sufferings; in your resurrection you offer us hope; and in your ascension you open the doors to eternal life. Work in us and through us to share this joy with others. Amen Last night and again tonight the young people of our Parish experience the Sacrament of Confirmation with Bishop Terry Curtin. May this be a special time of joy in their lives as they step bravely into the next stage of their faith journey. On Saturday our Parish will also offer the Sacrament of First Eucharist for our children, we celebrate with them as they come to the Lord s table for the first time. These two special Sacraments and our celebrations of Reconciliation remind us that we are part of a vibrant worshipping community and God s family. We all have something to offer and contribute to our faith community and make it more meaningful through our participation. Thank you to the many wonderful people who have supported our young parishioners at this special time. Our Deputy Principal, Julie Percy, begins her long service leave today, during this time Emma Canning will be acting in this role. We wish Julie a safe and well deserved break. Have a wonderful weekend, Kerry Miller Principal ADMINISTRATION Notices: DATES TO REMEMBER Sacrament of Reconciliation - 29/5 @ 7pm -St Peter s Church and 30/5@5.45 &7pm -St Mary of the Cross Sacrament of Confirmation -25/5 @ 6.30pm at St Monica s auditorium Deborah Racina - Director of First Impressions office@stprepp.catholic.edu.au Sacrament of First Communion - 26/5 @3pm at St Monica s & 5:30pm at St Mary of the Cross Trivia Night Friday 1st June
EDUCATION IN FAITH Sacrament of Reconciliation St Peter s Church - Tuesday 29th May 7pm St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Sacred Space - Wednesday 30th May at 4.30pm, 5.45pm and 7pm Please ensure your child has his/her stole at their Reconciliation. Stoles were given to each child at the Family Sacrament night or the next day. Please see your child s contact teacher if you have not received a stole as yet. For Reconciliation the stole should include: Date for each Sacrament your child has received (Baptism & now their Reconciliation). Symbol of each Sacrament (four examples below) feel free to use your own. Your child s name. Use the diagram to help you place the symbols and dates on the stole. The size of the lettering and symbols is up to you. Baptism symbols reflect new life, cleansing, dying and rising with Jesus and receiving the light of Christ. They can include a candle, water drops, etc Reconciliation symbols represent forgiveness, friendship, healing and peace. These can include words such as peace and love, or symbols of hearts, the cross, clasped hands etc How does the Sacrament of Reconciliation look at St Peter s and St Mary of the Cross MacKillop? Teachers will let you know when it is your child's time and you and your child will be ushered to a Priest, the staff will give parents a pin in recognition of receiving the Sacrament. Parents walk their child to the Priest and introduce their child to the Priest, other family members will remain seated. Parents will leave their child with the Priest to receive the Sacrament and return to their seats. Upon the newly Reconciled child returning to their seat, parents place the child s stole around their shoulders and secure the pin on the same side as the Reconciliation symbol. The family will light a candle and pray a prayer together. Confirmation Please ensure your child is wearing their Sacrament stoles - Photographs The Mass is a sacred and special time to reflect therefore there is to be no photos or filming throughout the Liturgy. There will be an official photographer (forms available at school office) so please remind your guests of this. Please follow the signs to the St Monica s Theatre of All Nations on Dalton Rd, this will house the photography studio for the day. Before Mass: Walk your child into the Cooinda Room Friday 25th May Individual photos will commence at 4pm ALL students must return for their group photos @ 5:30pm During Mass: Official Photographer will take individual photos of students when they are being Confirmed. After Mass: photographers will be available to take family photos. - Seating Seating has been randomly allocated in the Church space for families and guests. St Peter s staff will be available to direct you and your guests to their seating prior to the beginning of Mass from 5.45 pm, the Confirmandi s surname will be on the end of the row. In the first section of the Church space there are 6 seats for the Confirmandi Candidate, their sponsor and 4 immediate family members. An extra 10 guest seats have been allocated in the second half of the Church space. Each student has an allocation of 16 seats in total. - Being Confirmed Bishop Terry Curtin will be presiding our Liturgy. School staff will be present to direct the students and sponsors up to the altar to where they will be Confirmed. Sponsors need to pass the white card to the priest (Sponsors are required to be confirmed Catholics). The Confirmandi will stand in front of Bishop Curtin.
The sponsor stands behind their student who is kneeling and places their right hand on their Confirmandi s right shoulder. At this time the students will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and the professional photographer will take a photo. Congratulations to the following children who make their Confirmation this week: Madison Aquilina, Enana Attie, Mikaela Bernadini, Lara Bosco, Lachlan Brundell, Kaiden Burns, Julia Calcagno, Lucas Castaldo, Eden Ciarma-Gueli, Mia-Paige Cipollone, Simona Colosimo, Kloie Crupi, Phebe D'Arro, Jessica Roseana Dason, Jesse Di Maggio,Oscar Eyre, Massimo Federico, Emily Ferronato, Alana Fiore, Chloe Frendo, Jacob Galea, Thisal Gamage, Liam Gambin, Frankie Grillo, Julian Groppo, Malek Haddad, Andrea Jijo, Tia Kalkbrenner, Charlotte Kerger, Alexia Kyriakou, Maddison McGrotty, Jorja Mecozzi, Isaac Moleta, Kristian Nadera, Nate O'Sullivan, Kimberly Pereira, Jordan Quiambao, Massimo Reale, Tricia Rodrigues, Dion Romanos, Stephanie Rozario, Amelia Salsone, Gemma Santanoceto, Alana Schnell, Jasmine Scott, Alessandra Tarquinio, James Tarquinio, Alo Tiatia, Rhianna Vaega, Marli Watson, Jacob Younes First Eucharist Where will we celebrate the First Eucharist Liturgy? St Monica s Junior School Auditorium, Dalton Rd, is where First Eucharist Liturgy will be on Saturday 26 May at 3pm as well as at St Mary of the Cross MacKillop at 5.30pm as part of regular parish Mass Special arrangements for St Monica s : The auditorium will be opened at 2:15 pm for the Congregation to enter - the doors on both sides of the altar will be opened. Mass will begin sharply at 3pm. The front doors will be closed from 2:55 pm until Mass has finished, people arriving at this time or leaving early will do so via a side door. The students and staff have created a sacred place of worship and ask that you and your guests respect this by arriving between 2:15-2:50 pm also please support our Communicants by join in the singing and responses during the Liturgy. Jesus said; Where two or three are gathered together in my name I am there with them. What do we do when the Communicants are receiving their First Eucharist? The communicants and their immediate family will receive Eucharist first. Parents will present their child to Father Anh or Father Joel for his/her First Eucharist, parents will place their hand on their child s shoulder. Parents and immediate family wishing to receive communion will do so after their child has received it. The rest of the congregation will receive communion after the Communicants. What should my child wear? Students are to wear what you would consider as special-occasion clothes. Girls do not have to wear white dresses and the boys do not have to wear a suit. Students must not wear gloves when receiving their First Eucharist. Please ensure your child is wearing their Sacrament stole. Seating Allocation Seating will be randomly allocated in the Church. Family names of the communicant will be on the end of the seats. The Church is arranged into two sections - first section is for the communicants and their immediate family and the second section is for extra guests. Each family will be allocated 15 seats in total (inclusive of the First Communicant). There are 5 seats in the front section of the church for the immediate family members AND the Communicant. Each family has been allocated 10 guest seats that are in the second section of the Church. School staff will be available to direct you and your guests to their seats from 2:15 pm. Is photography allowed throughout the Liturgy? Photography and/or footage is not to be recorded during the Liturgy, as it a sacred time. There will be an official photographe r to take photos of the students individually and a group photo prior to the Liturgy as well as when they receive their First Eucharist.
First Eucharist at St Monica s Photography Please follow the signs to the Dance Studio above the auditorium that will house the photography studio for the day. Before Mass: Walk your child into the the Dance Studio on Dalton Rd campus. Boys photos will begin @ 11:45 am. Girls photos will begin @ 12:45 pm ALL students must return for their group photos regardless @ 2:10 pm. During Mass: Official Photographer will take individual photos of students during Mass at the time of their First Eucharist. After Mass: Official Photographers will be available to take family photos immediately after Mass First Eucharist at St Mary of the Cross Sacred Space Individual photos will commence at 4pm and all students need to be present at 5pm for a group photo. Where will my guests and I park at St Monica s? Parking will not be permitted in the St Monica s grounds, unless you have a disabled sticker. There will be security at the car park gate and they will allow those with disabled stickers or a note from the school into the parking space. There is parking on Dalton Rd, surrounding streets. Please contact the school 9401 1157 if you require access to the St Monica s car park and you do not have a disabled sticker. LEARNING & TEACHING PREP PARENT INFORMATION SESSION-Reading With Your Child At Home Deb and Narelle will be running an information session to support parents reading with their child at home. WHEN: Monday 4th June TIME: 3.30-4.00pm WHERE: Prep Learning Space Prep -2 News - Faith Life Inquiry Provocation time. The Prep students are asked to bring along a toy next Tuesday for our Faith Life Inquiry Provocation. The toy will be used in the learning space and will not be permitted to go out at play and lunch times. Reading Together - Learning at Home Here are some handy hints to further support your child in their learning journey. Reading Aloud We really encourage you to find some quiet time to read books aloud to your child. Reading often and making it a pleasurable activity is the main way to foster a love of reading in your child. This strategy also helps children understand how books work. They learn about: which way to turn pages. the difference between the text and the picture. where the text starts. the alphabet. the meaning of the story. the messages within the story. empathising with the characters. predicting what might happen next. making connections between the book and their own lives. Aim to read daily, sharing a variety of fiction and non-fiction books together. Enjoy finding the meaning by discussing the text and pictures. Take Home Reader Today your child has brought home a school reader. We do not expect your child to read this to you. We would like your child to discuss with you why they chose the book and for you to use the Read Aloud strategy with them. Most of all we hope that you will foster a healthy routine of reading every night while developing a true love of reading. Please aim to spend five to ten minutes reading with your child each night. Happy Reading! Deborah Stewart and Narelle Bzdel
Senior News - Number Stamina The Senior School students have shown great enthusiasm when engaging in our Number Stamina. Activities include open-ended worded problems, responding to provocations, practising the four operations and collaborative games that target specific math skills. As a collective group, the students have developed a list of expectations for both teachers and students during our Number Stamina. It was wonderful to see so many students really challenging themselves during this time! Julie Percy - Director of Learning & Teaching juliep@stprepp.catholic.edu.au SCHOOL COMMUNITY Biggest Morning Tea We will be hosting the Biggest Morning Tea at St Peter s on Thursday 31st May at 11am in the Community Centre. Community members are invited to join us for this opportunity to enjoy some morning tea together while raising funds for the Cancer Council. Entry will $5, with raffle tickets available for purchase for $1 each. If you would like to donate a plate to share, please drop it off the office in the morning.
Can you support us? As you would be aware we will be hosting the St Peter s Trivia Night on 1st June. This will act as both a social event and fundraiser for the school, with funds generated going towards upgrading our outdoor spaces. We are currently seeking donations of items that can be used as prizes on the night, silent auction items or sponsorship to assist us in covering the costs associated with hosting the night. If you are able to support in any way, please email Emma. St Peter s Trivia Night Come along and support this major fundraiser for St Peter s School. Funds generated will go towards upgrading our outdoor spaces. Friday, 1st June Arrive 6:30pm for a 7pm start Night to conclude at 10.30pm Tickets are $15 each or reserve a table of eight for $120. Spaces still available. Booking forms available at the front office. Child minding available, bookings essential. Emma Canning - Director of School Community ecanning@stprepp.catholic.edu.au STUDENT WELLBEING Being a parent Being a parent is a tough gig and it comes with all different roles and responsibilities. And our greatest responsibility is to our children. We all want the best for our children, sometimes that comes easy and sometimes it is met with great challenge. I read an article by Michael Grose which talked about how we respond to our children and how we react. It has some helpful hints so I have added it below. When I called my mum in tears the other day about an overwhelming disappointment she said exactly what I needed to hear; that really stinks. With those three words I felt her empathy. When our own kids cry and share their upsets and disappointments it can tear at our heartstrings. Sometimes we just want to cry with them. There are also those times when our kids get upset and it wears on our patience. It s easy to react with well, I ve told you before or how many times? or if only Don t let frustration get the better of you It s completely normal but here s a handful of words that we need to share. A handful of words that, when shared with sincerity, can have the most powerful impact on the emotional health and happiness of our kids over their lifetime. The words? They re the ones that deliver a message of warmth and empathy. Empathy can change the nature of our family relationships, boost our kids mental health, develop their emotional intelligence and promote warmer healthier, and even less violent, relationships for our kids as young adults. Kids with more empathetic parents are less aggressive, experience less depression, develop greater emotional intelligence (a predictor of success) and grow up to be more empathetic themselves. Empathy is defined as experiencing emotions of concern at the suffering of others and adopting the perspective of another. It s different to sympathy which is feeling sorry for someone. It s about demonstrating our concern and letting our kids know we get it. That we feel it too. We can show empathy by saying things like: I get it. I hear you. Ahh, I can see that you re feeling.. That stinks. I understand. For great impact use the right emotional response
Pairing your words with a matched emotional response, love, comfort, warmth and a willingness to sit with them as they express their emotions shows our kids we get it and validates for them that they have every right to feel the way they do.. It s all about showing our kids that their message has been received, and that they have a soft place to land. The conversations can come later. Validation is an important step in our response to our kids when they re upset, distressed or anxious. Parent Information Survey Thank you to everyone who filled in the parent information survey. We will look at the data collected and start to put a plan in motion for addressing the most significant and purposeful topics. Jackie Fleischmann - Director of Student Wellbeing jfleischmann@stprepp.catholic.edu.au Extend Before & After School Care at St Peter s Primary School Have you heard the exciting news? Extend is delighted to deliver a Before and After School Care service to commence Term 3, 2018 (subject to government licensing and approval). We are thrilled to begin this new partnership with the school communities and look forward to delivering a quality service to the families. Parent Information Session A parent information session will be announced shortly. This will be an opportunity for families to gain further information about the program and to have any queries answered. Operating hours and fees: Commencing Term 3, 2018 Before School Care: 7.00am 8.30am Session Fee $21.30* Out-of-pocket expense is lower with Child Care Subsidy After School Care: 3.25pm 6.00pm Session Fee $26.50* Out-of-pocket expense is lower with Child Care Subsidy * Fees are per child per session. For a full list of fees and charges including casual and emergency on-the-day bookings, see our Terms and Conditions on the Extend website. How and when to enrol: To gain access to any Extend service families must enrol prior to using the service. Enrolments and bookings for 2018 can be made via our booking system https://www.lookedafter.com Fee Relief Government Child Care Subsidy is applicable. For full details and further information visit https://www.education.gov.au/childcarepackage or call 13 61 50 QUESTIONS? Check out the FAQs on our website which contains useful information for new parents. Bookings: extend.com.au