Dear Parents and Carers,

“Living in community means living in such a way that others can access me and influence my life. It means that I can get “out of myself” and serve the lives of others. Community is a world where kinship with each other is possible. By community I don’t mean primarily a special kind of structure, but a network of relationships. Sadly, on the whole, we live in a society that’s built on competition, not on community and cooperation.”

Richard Rohr

Each term, Sts Peter and Paul focus on two values, which help us give shape to our year long theme. Our 2022 theme is, ‘Let Your Light Shine’. Our value for the beginning of this term is ‘Kindness’. I have included the quote above from Richard Rohr because kindness does not take place, or exist, unless or until it is enacted between two people. It takes place in a relationship. It makes no sense to try to understand kindness, outside of seeing it lived. Rohr’s quote above, while not directly addressing the importance of kindness, makes space for our understanding of kindness, by highlighting the importance of community. Rohr’s quote includes the powerful sentence, highlighted, where he talks of community making possible kinship. Kinship implies a mutual recognition of our shared humanity.

Yesterday, I sent a letter detailing the COVID arrangements that are in place for Term 3. This letter was sent to flesh out some of the implications of the letter from CE that was sent on Tuesday. I won’t rehearse the letter in its entirety, but below are the main action items, for parents:

• Please ensure your children are tested for COVID if they are displaying any symptoms.
• Please understand that the school is required to call parents to collect their child or children if a child is exhibiting COVID-like symptoms.
• If a member of your household contracts COVID, please ensure your children have 48-hour tests, until the quarantine period passes.
• Please be mindful of the need to limit being on school grounds, particularly inside the school building.
• The advice last term was that parent attendance at outdoor, morning assemblies was ok. This is no longer the case.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Sacrament of First Eucharist

Many of our students in Year 4 are making their First Eucharist this term. If you are a parent of a child who is making his or her First Communion, there is an Information Night next Tuesday night at 6pm. The meeting is streamed via Teams and is being broadcast from the Holy Trinity meeting room (students from Holy Trinity will also be making their First Eucharist this semester). All parents of students intending to make their First Eucharist are invited to attend. My thanks to Stephanie Burns, our wonderful Religious Education Coordinator; to our 3 excellent 3/4 teachers, Sarah Walsh, Josh Gereis and Paul Jenkins; and to Monsignor John Woods, for his excellent support and commitment.

Year 6 Leadership Day

Fortunately for us, our Year 6 students can complete their Term 3 Leadership Day at BFirm next Friday. The day falls inside the two-week period of grace, that CE has given all schools, in terms of honouring any Term 3 commitments to excursions and the like. The days are important ones for the students and give them an opportunity to explore life skills such as resilience, community, collaboration, and commitment. As well, they are a great deal of fun. My thanks to Luke Gubler and Sarah Kennelly for their hard work and commitment.

Visioning Garran

Last Monday, the pupil free day, was a PD Day for the staff. We spent a large part of the day thinking about, talking about, and committing to paper, some thoughts around Sts Peter and Paul, and its ongoing mission for the next 10 years. I would like to see the school community commit to writing a statement that articulates the school’s moral purpose, and how it goes about living its purpose. These two statements will go a long way to anchoring our pedagogical, pastoral, and curriculum standpoints, for the next 10 years. Sts Peter and Paul is now 54 years old, and it already has an extraordinary legacy. It is time for a mid-life reset, as it were, and the pressures of the last 2 or 3 years have intensified, if anything, that need. The staff had the first of several reflective and inspiring conversations. I would like, as well, to bring in other voices: the parents, the parish, and critically, the students. In the coming weeks, all parents will receive a survey via Compass. I encourage you to lend your thoughts around the questions that the survey will contain. One question that I will ask is, ‘What would you like Sts Peter and Paul to be known for?’ Your input is very important.

Have a wonderful week with your families.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal