Newsletter No. 14 | Term 3 Week 3 | Friday 2nd August 2024

Prayer

“God, thank you for each of the athletes who have traveled to the Olympics from around the world. As the athletes gather, help them be kind to each other, listen to each other’s stories, and learn from each other’s experiences. Give them the goodwill they need to compete with mutual respect and excellent sportsmanship. When people watch the Olympics, may they be inspired by the spirit of your love at work in your global human family, and may that promote more peace in our world.”

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Friends
I hope you and your families have all been well and staying warm over what I have heard has been quite a cold spell. I walked out of the airport on Monday morning and got a bit of a shock at how cold it was, especially coming straight from a European summer where there was definitely no need for a jumper.

It was a wonderful opportunity to be part of the Spiritual Pilgrimage to Ireland with fellow Principals. We spent approximately 12 days tracing the history of some of Ballarat’s Catholic Religious orders which originated in Ireland. We also met with bishops, priests, brothers and sisters who continue to do wonderful work to help the most marginalised in society. Some places we visited included:

• Loreto House, Dublin
• Catherine’s House, the first house of Mercy built by Catherine McAuley
• St. Brigid’s Solas Bhride Centre in Kildare (Brigidine sisters)
• The Monastic site of St. Kevin in Glendalough
• The Diocese of Ossary Kilkenny - meeting with Bishop Niall Coll 
• Edmund Rice International Heritage Centre (final resting place of Edmund Rice)
• Nano Nagle Place(Presentation Sisters)
• Glensatl Abbey (Benedictine Monks) *We were treated to a beautiful Mass accompanied by ethereal Gregorian chants. It was a wonderful experience.
• Croagh Patrick: some of us climbed to the top where St. Patrick spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting on the Summit
• St. Patrick’s first church in Ireland and his burial site

Unfortunately we did not visit Tralee, the birthplace of St. Brendan. However, I did find a statue of him and a lovely art work of St. Brendan on his boat in the town of Knock. A Souvenir Shop named after St. Brendan was also found in Knock!

There has been much to reflect on since that time, including what is the role of the Catholic Church in today’s ever-changing society? There is no doubt that it has changed from many years ago. After visiting various Catholic faith communities in Ireland, it was clear to me that the most prevalent way we can do this is by actively living out our faith by serving others. There are many examples of wonderful work being done by religious organisations in Ireland and also Australia, putting Gospel values into action. How can we do that in our own community?

A message from Mandy

Welcome to Week 3!

On Thursday 18th July Allira attended a Landcare Awards ceremony in Melbourne as a nominated candidate. Allira thoroughly enjoyed the event, and being amongst like minded people,  I am positive she was gathering new ideas for our school!  Congratulations again to Allira on the worthy nomination.

We received the results of the Kana competition last week and Nellie Armistead received first prize for her entry. Congratulations to Nellie on her outstanding work!

Just a gentle reminder that Book Week is approaching fast and we will be having our book Parade at 9.15am on Friday 23rd August. We warmly welcome you to come along and watch our annual event.

We welcome Leanne back from her travels  this week, and we hope she had a fabulous trip and celebrated her special birthday in style!

Warm wishes,
Mandy

School Attendance and Absentee Notifications

A reminder that is a requirement that parents/carers notify the school if your child is absent. Please log onto PAM or call the School office before 10am. This is a requirment and also helps us to ensure that all children who have left home have arrived at school safely. Thank you for your support with this matter.

Class Awards
Congratulations to Matilda, Millicent and Evie for receiving the Class Awards last week!

SRC's

This term the SRC's will be as follows:

P/1 - Kyle Wright and James Bourk

2/3/4 - Ivy Robb and Cuba Quinane

4/5/6 - Archie Robb and Kaitlyn Bourk

We wish them all the best as they represent their class and school!

EXCITING NEWS!

For those of you who may have misssed the email, I am excited to announce that the school was successful in receiving a grant o $1,552,818.00 to refurbish the toilets, front of the school and meeting rooms.

The grant application was submitted last year. It is a hotly contested process, with virtually all non-government Victorian school submitting applications. I will be meeting with our Diocean archietect reprisentative in the coming weeks and will fill you in on timelines when they come to hand.

I am sure you will agree that this is a very exciting development for our school.

Friday Fun Groups - Can you help?

For part of this Term, we are looking to introduce "Fun Friday" afternoon activity groups. We are unsure of the finer details until we know what activities we will be doing. We are calling out to see if any families or friends would like to join us for these groups, teaching children new skills along the way. 
Ideas include: crocheting, knitting, sewing, woodwork, water-colour painting, drawing, writing workshops, yoga, embroidery, cooking, basketball or general sport sessions.
*You may have other ideas. If so, please let us know.

NAPLAN - Results

NAPLAN results have arrived at school, and Tahlia and Mandy have handed them out to the parents of participating students.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be on again this year! Students will have the opportunity to have a browse the beautiful books and and create a wish list that they can give to their parents/carers. Grace will be set up in the Hall for parents/carers/grandparents to come and buy books on the following dates and times:

1. Thursday 15th August 3:15pm-4:30pm

2. Tuesday 20th August 3:15pm-4:30pm

Please contact Grace in the office if you wish to come in at another time

River Detectives

The Year 6 students had a great time being RIVER DETECTIVES last Wednesday:

Caleb - "We checked the PH level of the water from the Gellibrand River"

Ava - "We measured the salinity of the water and it was close to perfect"

Samiyah - "We collated the results and they go to the water testing plant"

Brennan - "The river was flowing faster than the last time we went and it was on the Carlon's property" 

Toasties on Friday
Toasties will be happening again this term and we thank Mel for coordinating this for the children.

Prep/1 Classroom

It has been a lovely week in Prep/1! Sammi (student teacher) has been working with us the past two weeks and has enjoyed her time spent with Prep/1. The students have been very welcoming and kind towards Sammi which has made her experience a really positive one so far.

100 days of school: Next Tuesday 6th August is our 100 days of school celebration. Students are invited to dress up as little old people to mark the occasion. (Dress up is optional of course). We will be doing lots of fun activities throughout the day.

Work word: The foundation students are working on words with 4 and 5 letters eg. snap, slip, clink and strip. The Grade 1 students are learning about the sound /oo/ like in book. There are three common spellings: <oo> like in book, <oul> like in could and <u> like in put.

Writing: We have continued learning about procedural texts and even had a go at following a recipe to make a disgusting sandwich. We learnt about signpost words that help to guide the reader eg. first, next, then, after that, finally.

Maths: We have started learning about money this week! Students have been looking closely at the coins and observing the pictures and numerals on each coin. Ask your child what incredible animal is on the 10c piece.

RE: This week, we have been considering how people can work together to bring kindness to the world. 

Allira Kluver
akluver@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

2/3/4 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 3 of Term 3!
On Tuesday we welcomed Finlay Pigdon into our class. We hope he enjoys being part of our
amazing school and community.
The children are very excited to learn about and watch the Summer Olympics in France.

Religious Education: We have been unpacking Scripture from Matthew 7: 12.
‘In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the
prophets’. We connected this to one of the idioms we learnt last term: Actions speak louder
than words.

Literacy: Our phonics focus this week is the ‘i’ sound for Year 2’s (grin, gypsy, build) and the ‘eer’ sound as in beard, sphere, and deer for the Year 3 and 4’s. We have been researching facts about the Olympics and will be presenting the information to the class.

Numeracy: In Maths, we are learning about fractions, including denominators and numerators. We are identifying fractional parts of shapes and objects and counting fractions to wholes.

Homework: For Homework this week I would like the children to practice their spelling words and write them into sentences, or create a story using them, if they can. The Year 2’s have the following words: grin, gypsy, build, mist, shrimp, guilt, biscuit, cygnet, myth, and think.
The 3 &4’s words are: beard, sphere, deer, dear, career, appear, pioneer, cheerful, nearly, tear.

The Star of the Week award goes to Cuba Quinane. Congratulations on your excellent effort!

Kind regards,
Mandy

Mandy Sutherland
msutherland@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

4/5/6 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 3 of Term 3! Welcome back to Leanne! We hope she had a wonderful trip and made lots of lifelong memories. 

Homework: Spelling and Maths homework was sent home at the start of this week. This is due back to school on Friday 9th August. A reminder that students are also expected to be reading daily and filling this into their diary.

Phonics: In Phonics we’ve been focusing on the sound /eer/ and exploring the different spellings of this sound. Year 4 students have been working on words such as; sphere, appear and pioneer and Year 5/6 students have been working on words such as; atmosphere, sincere and appearance.

Reading: We have started studying a novel this term called Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman. This story follows a family who are from a war-torn part of Afghanistan and follows their journey when they are forced to leave their home and seek asylum in Australia. We have enjoyed the start of our novel and learning more about Afghanistan.

Writing: We have started our Information Reports on the Olympics. Each student has been researching a country and two athletes from their country. We have also been keeping a close eye on our countries on the Olympic medal tally. Go Australia!

Maths: In Maths we have started our next learning cycle. Year 4 students have begun fractions and Year 5 and 6 students have begun their unit on Geometry.

Religion: In Religion we have been practising and reflecting for our liturgy on Forgiveness. Our liturgy is going to be this Thursday at 2:30pm in the hall, all welcome.

Integrated Curriculum: In Integrated Curriculum we have been learning about the solar system and the universe. Students have been using different apps and websites to learn about and compare the size and scale of the universe and other planets in the solar system.

Tahlia

Tahlia Whytcross
twhytcross@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

WELLBEING AT ST BRENDAN'S

              . is FREE!!
If you google 'School TV' and go up to the top to "Latest Topic". There is lots of information and videos about that topic but you are also able to access many other relevant topics for parents and children. This is a free resource and all sources are informed and reliable.If there are any other resources or help you need in the area of wellbeing please ask Liz or email lmcguane@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au with questions or suggestions.

PEACEFUL KIDS...

 We have 2 more groups commencing the Peaceful Kids program this term and 2 groups in term 4 which will mean every child at St Brendan's will complete the program in 2024.  If your child has or are currently part of the program you will be receiving emails (If you are not seeing these emails check your Junk Mail) each week detailing what that they have covered in that session which may help you to talk with your child about what they are doing in Peaceful Kids.  It also includes links to the meditation or breathing exercise practiced in each session which we encourage to try at home - good for children and parents!

Birthday Corner

Wishing a very big Happy Birthday to everyone who is celebrating their special day! Especially...

9th August -  Caleb Price (12)

Important Dates

Catholic Culture

St Brendan's Coragulac & St Joseph's Pirron Yallock Mass Times

St Brendan’s Coragulac: 9.30am Sunday Lay-led  /  Mass 5pm 4th Sunday of each month
St Joseph’s Pirron Yallock: 10:30am Mass 1st Sunday of each month

Sacraments

The Catholic Church has 7 Sacraments. The Sacraments are a way for us to become closer to God. The first Sacrament you receive is Baptism.
On Thursday 15th August Ayla, Aden and Issy will be welcomed into St Brendan’s Catholic community through Baptism.  Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate this special occasion.  Mass will celebrated by Fr Michael at St Brendan’s at 12.05pm.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is the second Sacrament that we receive.  This is an opportunity to reflect on our lives and our choices and the need to ask for forgiveness.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation gives us the opportunity to do this formally with a priest. We have a chance to talk to a priest - for us it is Fr Michael, about things in our lives that are not so good and listen as he guides us to think of how we can make these things right. We pray The Prayer of Sorrow and receive Absolution from the Priest which grants us God's forgiveness. We are then challenged to go and love and forgive others.

Local News & Events

Bluewater Sensory Quiet Time Pool Session
When: Every Saturday between 1-3pm
Please contact Bluewater Colac if you have any questions.