ST PETER S CATHOLIC PARISH PRIMARY SCHOOL 20th April 2018 Week 1 To the St Peter s community, The transition from Easter to Anzac Day in Australia can be a strange one, particularly when the two celebrations come in the space of a few weeks as they do this year. At Easter, we move from the terrible desolation of Good Friday to the joy of Easter Sunday. It's the foundation story for the Christian faith, and speaks of the arrival of new life and hope for the world. The clip linked here ( Holy Week Clip) is worth taking a look at to remind us as Christians of the full journey of Holy Week to Easter and what lies beyond for us. Anzac Day forces Christians to confront a different reality that this new hope has yet to be fully realised. Looking back to the major wars of the 20th century that Australia was involved in, knowing they were waged by Christians against each other, as well as those of other faiths and no faith, we can see that the world is still far from that which Christ envisaged. This Sunday we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Choosing a vocation is a response from deep within to the needs presenting in the world around us. A decision to work for the poor or assist people in need is not necessarily a vocation. A vocation meets the human needs of the world with a motivation from within. We care for our children and families not just because they are sick or insecure, but because we love them. This love will move us out to help them in various situations. We find a call to be people for others because our heart teaches us with Jesus that we are all brothers and sisters, and that God wants to save the world, and needs our help to do so. God calls each of us to love God and love our neighbour. This is the first Christian calling; we then find the best way for each of us with our own particular set of gifts, talents and even weaknesses to live out that call to love. We all pray that our particular vocation in life may become clear and may become stronger. Lord, thanks for what I can do in your service. May your kingdom come! We think especially this weekend of religious life and priesthood. There are needs for priests, sisters and brothers in most parts of the world. As a community we thank those who have given their lives in these vocations and pray they may increase. During this year for Consecrated Life, called for by Pope Francis, we pray with grateful thanks for the many religious who have served our schools, parishes, hospitals and other places. The witness of their life is a blessing to many. Australians recognise ANZAC Day, 25th April as a day of national remembrance. Commemorative services are held across the nation at dawn the time of the original landing, while later in the day, former servicemen and servicewomen meet to take part in marches through the country s major cities and in many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are more formal, and are held at war memorials around the country. In these ways, Anzac Day is a time at which Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war. As we honour those who gave their lives for our country, let us also think about and pray for those whom God is calling to lay down their lives for the Lord and His Church in service of others. ANZAC Day remembrance They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. Lest we forget Have a wonderful weekend, Kerry Miller Principal DATES TO REMEMBER Wednesday 25th April - Anzac Day public holiday Mother s Day Stall - Tuesday 8th May STEAM Assembly - Friday 27th April 2.45pm Mother s Day celebration with students morning of Thursday 10th May St Peter s Trivia Night - Friday 1st June To all current St Peter s families that have a child commencing Prep in 2019, please return your enrolment application or pick one up from the office if you haven t already.
MESSAGE FROM PARISH OFFICE - 2018 PARISH CONTRIBUTION Dear school families, The Parish Primary school is an important part of the Parish community and infrastructure and is the beneficiary of the generous giving of the many parishioners past and present who contributed funds to acquire and build the school property. It is appropriate that all families contribute to the total wellbeing of the Parish. To ensure ongoing support for the many works and services of the Parish and for the upkeep of our Parish facilities, an annual financial contribution is paid directly to the Parish. This contribution was an enrolment commitment made at the time of accepting the offer of a place in our Catholic school. Reminder to all school families that have not made arrangements to contribute to the 2018 parish contribution of $400 per annum. Contributions can be made by Cash, Internet Banking, by Cheque, VISA, MasterCard or by instalments through Direct Debit facility. 1. CASH/CHEQUE Please nominate: weekly $ monthly $ quarterly $ yearly $ **Cheques to be made payable to Epping Catholic Parish Church ** If there is a name other than family name on cheque please print family name: 2. CREDIT CARD: Visa $ Master Card $ Card number:...../.../.../... Expiry Date. /.. Name on the card:.... Please debit $... from my credit card on..date. Signature. 3. DIRECT DEBIT :$ Family Email address:. **Direct Debit Authorization will be forwarded to you via email 4. Parish INTERNET BANKING Details: ACCOUNT NAME: EPPING CATHOLIC PARISH CHURCH BSB: 083 347 A/C NO. 65880 7871 REF: Your eldest child & family name If your family is experiencing financial difficulties impacting on your ability to contribute, please contact the Parish office on 9401 6300. Best Wishes, Parish Team Glowrey Catholic Primary School update Planning is continuing for the opening or our new Glowrey Parish Primary School in January 2019. The building plans have gone to tender and construction is expected to begin at Wolfs Road Wollert in April. The newly appointed Principal, Mr Kim Kelly, will begin in July. Enrolments are open and an enrolment form can be downloaded from the St Mary of the Cross MacKillop School website: www.smcmeppingnth.catholic.edu.au Enrolments are open to all baptised Catholic children of Parishioners living on the East side of Epping Road and North of the transmission lines. For further inquiries please contact the parish office: 9401 6300 or SMCM school 8432 4500.
EDUCATION IN FAITH Sacramental Season Our sacramental season is in full swing already! Students have entered into their faith/life inquiry learning into what it means to live sacramentally and in particular for our children at sacrament levels- what the sacrament means in my life and how it deepens my relationship with God. Presentation Masses begin this weekend so if your child will be receiving Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation please ensure your child is presented to the parish community at a mass over the next 3 weekends. Presentation Masses for our Sacramental candidates begin on Saturday 21st April (Week 1 Term 2). Your child is asked to come to one of the following Parish Masses and introduce themselves to the Parish community: Please attend Mass on ONE of these dates: Where: Time: Saturdays: 21st or 28th April or 5th May Sundays: 22nd or 29th April or 6th May SMCM: Saturday St Peter's Church: Saturday St Peter's Church: Sunday 5:30pm 7.15pm 9:00am 10:30am Candidates are to: Go to Fr Anh or Fr Joel before Mass commences and let them know that you are there for Presentation. Hello, my name is, I am making the Sacrament of and I am here to present myself to the community. When the Priest calls you out to be presented, you will introduce yourself. Hello everyone, my name is, I am making the Sacrament of. I am feeling. Please pray for me. Our Sacrament season continues for all families in our school continues next Tuesday evening, 24 April with our family evenings. During these sessions there is an opportunity for all families to explore an element of Sacrament. Living sacramentally Family Sacramental Workshops Next Tuesday 24th April at 5-6:30pm or 7-8:30pm Exploring the Sacraments is not just for those who are celebrating 'The Seven Sacraments'. As Catholics we are called to live sacramentally everyday e.g. seeing God in the laughter of our friends, enjoying the sunshine, being sacrament to one another, helping others in need Showing visible signs of invisible Grace. Our Family Workshops are designed to be inclusive of the whole school community and also serve as the family preparation for Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. All school families and family members are encouraged to attend the workshops and participate in the dialogue. During these sessions there will be an opportunity for all families to explore an element of Sacrament. Everyone will engage in an introductory session before moving off into one of four groups: 1) Non-Sacramental 2) Reconciliation 3) First Eucharist 4) Confirmation - In these groups, participants will further explore the principle of sacramentality or the particular sacrament their child will experience this year. Finally, we will come back together to share and pray. Please return your registration form indicating your preference for Family workshop by Monday 23rd April.
LEARNING & TEACHING Student Led Learning Conversations Children in Prep, Junior, Middle and Senior have now had the opportunity to share their learning goals, achievements and challenges with their parents at the Student Led Learning Conversations. These are an essential part of our process of reporting to parents in regards to their child s growth and progress in all aspects of learning. The next Student Led Learning Conversation opportunity will be at the end of third term. Written reports for each student are being prepared by teachers as they continuously gather assessment data on each child and will be available at the end of term 2 and 4. Storypark also supports our reporting to parents as teachers are sharing in real time the learning growth of the students. Julie Percy - Director of Learning & Teaching juliep@stprepp.catholic.edu.au SCHOOL COMMUNITY Prep Play Date On Saturday 24th March, a small group of parents, students and siblings braved the wild weather to attend the Prep Play Date. Thank you to Zaiden, Ruby, Ty, Isaac and Davey for coming along for a play, as well as Danni (Zaiden s mum) and Lisa (Davey s mum) for helping coordinate the day. Students from all levels at St Peter's will have social opportunities to allow children and families to further build social connections.the dates for this term are as follows: Juniors Sunday 29th April Middles Saturday 5th May Seniors Saturday 19th May Information regarding Junior and Middle events was sent home last term and a note about the Senior event will come home in the next week. If any families missed the information regarding junior and middle events, please pick up a note from the office or feel free to contact me. ANZAC Day Badges and Services The Active Citizens leaders will be selling ANZAC Day badges today, Monday and Friday. Badges are $1, $2 or $5 and wristbands are $3. Please support this worthy appeal. Each level will commemorate ANZAC Day with a service at school on Monday and there will be a Dawn Service at the Epping RSL on Wednesday 25th April. The Epping RSL will also host their annual Memorial March on Sunday 22nd April commencing at 10.30am in the Epping Hotel carpark and proceeding to the Memorial Hall. You are warmly invited to participate in these community events. School Uniform Reminder With lovely warm weather continuing this week, it is pleasing to see the children in their summer uniforms and taking pride in their appearance. We will have a 4 week change over from the summer uniform to the winter uniform due to the inconsistency of the weather at the moment. However all students are to wear their sun hats when outdoors until 30th April in line with our sun smart policy. This is a timely reminder that, for safety reasons, students are not to wear nail polish, acrylic nails or jewellery (excluding studs, sleepers and religious necklaces) to school. Our uniform policy also states that children are not to have extreme hair styles including colour. For health reasons, long hair needs to be tied back. Ribbons and bows are to be school colours- white or school blue. Students are to wear black school shoes (not runners) with their school uniforms with white socks for girls and grey socks for boys. The new bomber jackets are part of the sports uniform and only Year 6 students are to wear them as part of their school uniform. All other levels are to wear the school jumper. Many thanks for your support with these matters- St Peter s students are always complimented on their appearance by members of the wider community! Emma Canning - Director of School Community ecanning@stprepp.catholic.edu.au STUDENT WELLBEING At the end of last term the senior children headed off to Waratah Beach Camp. This was an amazing experience for all children, not only being away from family for 2 nights but participating in new activities and taking risks and stepping out of their comfort zones. Below are some snapshots about their experiences. A big thank you to Maj, Hamish, Larrissa, Jacob, Laura, Madeleine, Brendan, Chloe, Tori, Georgia and Monique for giving up their own family life to make this experience a great one for the children. SENIOR CAMP Below are two snapshots about our adventure to Waratah Beach Camp:
As I took my shoes off and yanked my socks off, all I could think about was how lucky I was to be here. I knew I had to make the most of this trip, especially because the campsite was a three hour drive away. I stood myself up and all I could feel was the sand crumble between my toes. I walked towards the shore and felt a soft, light breeze brush against my body which made me get goosebumps. I heard the waves crashing and falling onto one another and the sound of multiple students kicking the water up, which was not very soothing! I took a deep breath in and tasted nothing but a cloud of salty smoke hovering down my throat and into my chest. Before I walked back I had to admire the view; the bright sun glimmering into my eyes, the calm crystal clear water and the green mountains that towered above me. How could I ever forget an experience like this? By Marli Watson I see the glittery and salty water rushing up on the shore at 8:00pm. I hear the crickets chirping the night away and the waves crashing like traffic in the city. I feel the sand crunching between my toes when I m running down to the shore. I feel the strong sandy wind blowing in my face as I m walking back to camp. I smell the nice and warm roast and veggies as I m walking back to dinner. I taste the salty water when a big wave comes in - it didn t taste really good. I feel the really uncomfortable straps pulling every body part in my body as I m about to go on the giant swing. I see kids smiling when doing their really fun and exciting activities. I see kids smiling very intensely as they walk back with their amazing food. I feel the water of the sea rushing in to relax my feet as I m walking along the water on the shore. I hear kids screaming and laughing when they go on the giant swing. By Jack Campbell St Monica s Enrolments St. Monica s enrollments for are open now. If you have a year 5 student who will be attending St. Monica s in 2020 enrolments will be closing on the 17th August. There are a couple of enrolment forms at the front office otherwise you can collect them from St. Monica's. National Young Leaders Day Excursion Another experience that a group of senior students were part of at the end of the term was the National Young Leader Day. This was an opportunity to hear from a number of leaders presenting different aspects of leadership. Great messages for all were part of the day. By Alisha & Zoe On the 26th of March 10 Year 5 students went to the city to participate in National Young Leaders Day. The first speaker was Consentino, a magician and illusionist. As a young child he was very shy and had trouble reading. Then, one day he found a book about famous magicians and discovered his talent. While on stage he showed us a trick involving a $5 note which had to be seen to be believed! Consentino s motto is Be Yourself. The next speaker was a man named John Coutis. He was born with twisted, deformed legs and the doctors told his parents that he wouldn t last the day. Now, 48 years later here he was talking to us! One of the messages John spoke to us about was Treat others the way you want to be treated After John, Harrison Craig, who won The Voice, came onto the stage. Harrison spoke about how he had struggled due to having a stutter. He was teased at school because he couldn t speak fluently and had to stretch out his words. Harrison has written a book called Harrison s Dream and said to Live your dream then he sang us a small part of the song Angels The last speaker was Gemma Triscari, who plays cricket for the Melbourne Stars and Australia. She spoke about how Errors are Opportunities for Correction (E=O4C) and having a Growth Mindset. We really enjoyed the day. Playpod Equipment Next week we will be opening our playpod again. We are looking for some items that we could add to our pod. Recycled objects that the children can create with outside would be greatly appreciated. (planks of wood, cable reels, ropes, carpet squares etc) Our playpod is an extension of our learning especially of discovery play/makerspaces/genius hour.in our learning spaces we are unpacking our school dispositions - problem solving, creativity, persistence, critical thinking, adventurous, curiosity, communicator, reflective, coachable. These dispositions are very clearly demonstrated when children are working with the equipment in the pod. Listen to your children when they come home talking about what kind of play they have participated in whilst using the pod. Jackie Fleischmann - Director of Student Wellbeing jfleischmann@stprepp.catholic.edu.au