Dear Parents and Carers

“We can recognize people who have had a second baptism in the Holy Spirit. They tend to be loving. They tend to be exciting. They want to serve others, and not just be served themselves. They forgive life itself for not being everything they once hoped for. They forgive their neighbors. They forgive themselves for not being as perfect as they would like to be.”

• Richard Rohr

In the passage above, the American priest Richard Rohr writes of what it means to be an adult who consciously and willingly experience what Rohr calls a ‘second baptism’. Others might call it a radical deepening of faith, or a conversion experience. Whatever language we choose to use, the reality of such a person’s life is that that they live for others in a way that embraces the other in a deeper and more expansive reality. We tend to leave the presence of such people with a greater sense of possibility, as well as a greater sense of calm and peace. We can all be this gift to others.

Parent Survey – Visioning Garran

A reminder that all parents are invited to complete a survey (which has only 3 questions) on Visioning Garran for the future. All segments of the school community – parish, staff, parents and students – are being surveyed, with a view to crafting two statements that will provide a framework for our ongoing endeavours and education initiatives. This link will take you to the survey: https://forms.gle/gB1vknMPjKj8z2tF9

NCEC

Next week, I am away for the week, in part attending the National Catholic Education Commission’s Conference, held nominally every 4 years. The conference gathers educators from across Australia and provides sustained input and reflection on matters both educational and unique to Catholic education. In my absence, Sts Peter and Paul will be very capably led by Anna Williams. A link to the website can be found here: https://ncec2022.edu.au/

Father’s Day

Sunday is Father's Day, and I would like to wish all of our fathers a very happy day. I hope that all of our fathers feel very blessed and affirmed for the presence and love they bring into their children’s lives. To celebrate the gift of our fathers, we are having ‘Donuts for Dad’ at carline on Friday morning. A great way to start the day and what will hopefully be a lead in to weekend celebrations, with the Wallabies winning on Saturday evening being the finishing touch.

Tournament of Minds

Last weekend, two teams from Sts Peter and Paul participated in the annual ‘Tournament of Minds’ competition, held at the ANU. This is the first year that we have been able to participate in the competition without it being via Teams. I am very proud of the teams, with one of our teams winning the ‘Spirit of TOMs’ award. Congratulations to all of our participants! I would like to thank Mrs Katie Birch who coordinated and led the students so well, and Mr Paul Jenkins, for his great assistance, as well.

Pupil Free Day

A reminder that the next, and last, Pupil Free Day is being held next Friday. All Catholic schools have been given a pupil free day in light of the staff shortages and teachers not receiving their release time, which is needed for planning and preparing lessons.

Have a wonderful week with your families. I look forward to seeing you in Week 9.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal