Newsletter No. 10 | Term 1 Week 10 | Thursday 6th April 2023

Prayer

GOOD FRIDAY

On this day Christians commemorate the passion, or suffering, and death on the cross of Jesus Christ.

May the blessings 

of the Lord 

shine upon you 

on this Holy Day

And may He always 

keep you in His loving care.

AMEN

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,

The end of a School Term is a good time to reflect and be proud of the quality education we provide for our students. As I reflect on the first Term, I do so with a sense of gratitude for all that we have and for all that we are able to provide for our students. We are a small country school that makes a big impact on students, family, staff and the wider community. How lucky we are!

A big thank you and congratulations to everyone on what has been a great start to the year. Your ongoing support for our school is appreciated and we look forward to an exciting three terms ahead.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter and a relaxing holiday with your families and friends. 

See you in Term Two.

Leanne Eastman
principal@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

ATTENDANCE REPORTS

The reporting process at St. Brendan's will now include a summary of each child’s attendance to be sent home at the end of each Term. The first attendance Report will come home today.

100% Attendance!

Congratulations to the following students who achieved 100% attendance in Term One:
Matilda Carlon
Isabella Coates
Emily-Rose Laird
Lewie Panther
Theodore Phillips
Brennan Robb
Eden Robb
Ivy Robb

PRINCIPAL FOR A DAY

On Tuesday, the school had a new Principal for the day. Principal Price (Jordy) did a fabulous job of keeping the school day running smoothly. Some of his tasks included: 

• Declaring Tuesday to be a Casual Clothes Day
• Greeting the students at the morning line up and informing them about what the day ahead would look like
• Completing and signing the Playground Audit Checklist
• Leading  Megan Ionnoau (Catholic Education Ballarat) around the school and telling her all about what goes on at St. Brendan’s
• Going into classrooms to check that the students were learning well
• Hosting the SRC to a small morning tea in the Staffroom
• Doing some work in the Principal Office
• Making a few announcements over the PA system
• Organising each class to write letters to be placed in the vault until they leave at the end of Year 6
• Declaring an early lunch
• Organising whole school games of Capture the Flag and Kick the Can

Jordy did such a good job that I think that I might be out of a job! He will certainly be putting his feet up when he gets home. Thank you Jordy, you will make a great Principal one day!

Next Term there will be a new Principal for a Day. Whoever it is will have big shoes to fill from Principal Price!

BUSH EXCURSION

For this Term’s bush excursion we ventured down to to the West Barwon Reservoir. The first part of the day involved a tour of the Reservoir, led by Fernando. The excursion complemented the work that had been done in Outdoor Education during the Term.

Some facts we learned about the West Barwon Reservoir include:

• The Reservoir is the start of the Barwon River that flows through Geelong and onto Barwon Heads
• The Reservoir is 60 years old
• Two people died during the construction of the Reservoir
• The Reservoir supplies drinking water to Colac, Geelong and the Surf Coast
• About 10 years ago, during a drought, the capacity went down to 10%. It is currently at 75%.
• There is no swimming or boating allowed in the Reservoir.
• Fishing is permitted.You can catch redfin or trout.
• The reservoir holds 21 gigabytes of water (21 billion litres)

After the tour we had a sausage sizzle for lunch and then headed out on the Fern Gully Walk which was simply stunning. We saw many varieties of mushrooms, beautiful scenery and even a koala sleeping in a tree. 

After the walk we all found a quiet place to sit by ourselves and see what we could hear and feel. 

The bush excursions are a wonderful way for us to nurture our personal wellbeing. They give us the opportunity to connect with nature, build resilience, build relationships and enhance our physical activity. A great way to end the Term!

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ST BRENDAN'S BOOK CLUB

On Monday night we had our first Book Club session. It was so nice to enjoy one another’s company and talk about the interesting themes in the book that we had all read. Thank you to Gracesyn for getting it all going. We loved it! We would love more people to join us. The next book we are reading is 'Educated' by Tara Westover and our next Book Club get together is on 15th May. ALL WELCOME!

SCHOOL PHOTOS ARE READY TO ORDER!

Our annual school photos have been taken and are now ready to order. Arthur Reed Photos uses an online ordering system where you can view your photos prior to ordering. On photo day all students received a flyer which includes a code unique to them. You will require this 2023 code to register online and view your photos.

If you have already registered, you will receive an email or SMS from Arthur Reed Photos with a link to view your photos. If you have not yet registered, please go to order.arphotos.com.au and enter your code to complete your order. If you have misplaced your registration code, please contact the Arthur Reed Photos customer service team directly on 5243 4390 (option 1) or customerservice@arphotos.com.au

Please note that you will need to register online with your 2023 photo code to gain access to this year’s images. All photo packages will be sent directly to your nominated address, so please ensure that you enter the correct details and nominated shipping address upon checkout.

If you require any assistance ordering your photos, please contact Arthur Reed Photos directly on 5243 4390 (option 1) or email customerservice@arphotos.com.au

Catholic Culture

Parish of Cororooke - Holy Week Service Times

Holy Thursday: Mass at St Brendan’s 7.00pm. (Please remember to bring Project Compassion boxes)

Good Friday: Liturgy at St Brendan’s 2.30pm

Easter Vigil: Mass at St Brendan’s - Saturday 8th April at 7.00pm

ALL WELCOME

Holy Week Liturgy

This morning we all took part in a condensed version of the Stations of the Cross, the Story of Holy Week. At each station, we all listened and prayed. On the way to each station, children sang the Chorus of ‘We are God’s Hands’.

The stations they visited were:

STATION 1: Gethsemane - Jesus Prays in the Garden

STATION 2: The Courtyard - Peter Denies Jesus Three Times

At this station, children each had a stick. They reflected that there are times in our lives when we, like Peter,  feel sad and disappointed in ourselves. They each broke their stick to show that they were moving away from bad choices. The sticks were placed in teh fire.

STATION 3:Golgotha - The Scene of the Crucifixion

Preps placed crosses at the scene and reflected that the cross is a reminder of God’s love for us.

STATION 4: The Garden Tomb

The tomb is sealed. Students attached flowers representing places that we can find hope in our world: family, friends, environment, role models, bible

Thank you to Liz McGuane for putting together such a lovely reflection on Holy Week.

Prep/1 Classroom News

Welcome to the last week of school before holidays!

What a way to finish off a productive and busy term. The bush excursion yesterday was an incredible day. It was humbling to see all the children interacting with each other and nature whilst learning about the West Barwon Reservoir. The Prep/1 students were extremely curious and engaged on our guided tour of the reservoir. I was impressed by the quality of questions being asked. They took everything in their stride and tackled the bush walking, fishing and exploring with great enthusiasm. Thanks to Miss Alice for her incredible organisation and preparation. The success of the day depends so heavily on everything that happens behind the scenes.

Stations of the Cross: On Thursday morning, students are participating in Stations of the Cross. Parents are welcome to join us as we participate in a walking liturgy.

Thanks to all students, parents and staff for a fantastic term - we have had a truly wonderful start to the year.

Enjoy the holidays and rest up!

Allira Kluver
akluver@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

2/3/4 Classroom News

Here we are in the final week of Term 1!! Well done everyone! It has been a very busy 11 weeks and we are looking forward to Easter and the holidays.

This week we were lucky to have a visit from Principal Price for the day. Jordy absolutely thrived in his temporary role and was fully engrossed and engaged in the running of the school. You did an amazing job Jordy! I can’t wait to see who will get to take on the role in Term 2.

Religious Education: This week we participated in a Bibliodrama about the Good Samaritan. Different students took on the role of the main characters in the story and then we all responded to wonderings about the text. We also practiced for our Stations of the Cross liturgy. A big thank you to Liz for preparing the liturgy.

This year St. Brendan’s will be represented by Audrey Rock and myself at the Stations of the Cross at the Botanical Gardens. It is an ecumenical celebration and we warmly invite everyone to come along.

Literacy: This week our narratives have been edited and typed up ready for Portfolios.

Numeracy: This week we have looked at subtraction and the different ways it can be presented: subtract, difference, take away, etc.. We have looked at counting on and counting back to answer basic subtraction problems.

Integrated Curriculum: In I.C. the children completed their Portfolio samples of life on the First Fleet for convicts, and the lifestyle of Aboriginals before the First Fleet arrived.

Homework: There was no homework this week!

Just a reminder about homework – reading is part of the homework expectation. Reading a page or two is fine and I don’t expect the whole book to be read unless your child wants to. It is really important to keep reading regularly to maintain and advance our reading skills. Please sign your child’s reader diary so then I know they have read.

The Star of the Week award goes to Jerry Robb. Congratulations on your excellent effort!

I hope you all enjoy a fabulous Easter with your loved ones and rest up and relax over the holidays. Keep safe and I look forward to seeing you all next term.

If you have any questions or queries please contact me via email.

Mandy Sutherland
msutherland@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

4/5/6 Classroom News

Welcome to the last week of Term 1! We made it!

Maths: In Maths we have been focusing on Subtraction. Students have been solving tricky subtraction sums for a range of different situations, for example; money and measurement. 

Writing: In Writing this week we finished writing our persuasive texts on being good citizens. Students explained why we should be good citizens and how we can be good citizens. Examples include: doing the right thing so everyone can live happily, helping everyone, treating everyone equally and following rules and laws.

Integrated Curriculum: In Integrated Curriculum this week we presented our debates. Our topics were: students should/should not be paid to attend school, students should/should not do homework and students should/should not be able to go home at lunchtime. All students did a fantastic job persuading their audience. If you would like to watch your child reading their argument, check SeeSaw.

We also had a very special visitor come into our Integrated class last Friday, Joe McCracken! Joe is a member of Victoria Parliament and spoke to the children about parliament, elections, laws, levels of government and his day-to-day work. Here are some of our reflections from his visit:

Grace: I learned that he is in the ‘red house’ and that the longest speech in parliament was 27 hours straight. I liked how he showed some of the maps of Victoria and how he made examples easy for us to understand.

Brennan: I liked how Joe can help us with difficult problems.

Nellie: I learned that he decided to become a member of parliament because when he was a teacher he noticed that people were not happy because they were not getting a say. He wants to help people with their problems.

Samiyah: I learned how much of Victoria Joe has power over.

I hope everyone has a lovely Easter and enjoys the holidays. See you next term!

Tahlia Whytcross
twhytcross@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

Community Book Club

We met for our first book club on Monday and it was such a lovely night. We had a fantastic chat about the topic of organ donation and how the book got us all thinking a little deeper about it, but also a lot of laughs about the predictability of the book. It was certainly a light and fluffy read.

Thanks so much to everyone who came, if you have been thinking about joining in I can't encourage you enough to come along next time, it really was so much fun, and even if you're not a reader, it's a great social night.

We all voted on our next read and have selected a non-fiction:

'Educated' by Tara Westover

"Tara Westover grew up preparing for the End of Days, watching for the sun to darken, for the moon to drip as if with blood. She spent her summers bottling peaches and her winters rotating emergency supplies, hoping that when the World of Men failed, her family would continue on, unaffected.
She hadn’t been registered for a birth certificate. She had no school records because she’d never set foot in a classroom, and no medical records because her father didn’t believe in doctors or hospitals. According to the state and federal government, she didn’t exist.
As she grew older, her father became more radical, and her brother, more violent. At sixteen Tara decided to educate herself. Her struggle for knowledge would take her far from her Idaho mountains, over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d travelled too far. If there was still a way home."

Our next book club night will be held in Week 4 of next term on Monday, 15th of May at 7.30pm in the Hall. If you are looking for a copy of the book, the Colac and Geelong libraries have some available, or you can purchase online at Booktopia using this link: https://www.booktopia.com.au/educated-tara-westover/book/9780099511021.html 

We have an Instagram page! For reading motivation and to stay up to date with what we are recommending follow @community.bookclub on Instagram. If you have suggestions for future Book Club reads please email them to gwatts@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au . 

Birthday Corner

Wishing a very big Happy Birthday to everyone who has celebrated their special day this week! Especially...

5th April   -   Joey Lamb (7)

Important Dates

MOTHERS DAY CLASSIC EVENT

This year we are taking part in the Mother's Day Classic to help those affected by women's cancers. The Colac event is taking place on Sunday 14th May at the Botanic Gardens with two categories on offer; the 3.3km run which begins at 9am or the 3.3km walk which kicks off at 9.05am.

We have created our own fundraising team called 'St Brendan's Coragulac' and we would love it if you could register to join us in walking or running on the day. If you can't make it on Mother's Day please feel free to leave a donation in  lieu of participation. To register or donate with 'St Brendan's Coragulac' go to: https://www.mothersdayclassic.com.au/fundraisers/StBrendansCoragulac11182 

Acknowledgement of Country

At St. Brendan’s Primary School we pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Gulidjan people and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We will respect the land, animals and waterways, from the roots of the earth to the tops of the trees. Through the example of our first Australians, we understand that if we look after the country, then the country will look after us.

About Us

School Vision:   'For you I have a destiny and a hope.'                    

PARISH PRIEST: Fr Michael O’Toole                  PRINCIPAL: Mrs Leanne Eastman

SAC CHAIRPERSON: Mark Robb          CHILD SAFETY OFFICER: Mrs Leanne Eastman