Dear Parents and Carers

“It seems that God is asking humanity to live inside of a cosmic humility. In that holding pattern, instead of insisting on dividing reality into the good and the bad, we bear the ambiguity, the inconsistencies, and the brokenness of all things. It is our ultimate act of solidarity with humanity and with the world.”

• Richard Rohr

In the reflection above, which was written by Rohr to celebrate the beginning of Advent, he invites us to take up the challenge of resisting the temptation to divide the world up into good and bad, black and white. None of us live lives that can be wholly described one way or another, he seems to be saying. Given that reality, it behoves us to treat ourselves, and all people and situations that cross our paths, with compassion. In this season of Advent, which celebrates the impending birth of Jesus, I find it helpful to remember that Jesus was born into an ambiguous situation. The world then, as now, was not perfect, but that did not stop Jesus from loving his community and standing in solidarity with humanity and the world.

Exciting News

Earlier this week, we heard the excellent news that Melissa Neit, one of our wonderful Kindergarten teachers, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Matilda. Both mother and daughter are doing well. I congratulate Mel and Ben, and big brother Ted, as they welcome Matilda into their family.

Staffing – 2023

Schools are cyclical communities. Each year, we both farewell and welcome new staff. 2022 is no different, and we are farewelling the following staff:

• Kerry Marsham, our Grounds and Maintenance Officer, is retiring after many years of service.
• Stephanie Burns, our Religious Education Coordinator, is stepping down from her role and has a new job at Trinity Christian School.
• Alissa Pearson has gained a near full-time position at St Monica’s Primary School.
• Jessica Gowing, one of our Kindergarten teachers, is exploring potential career options in the performing arts.
• Mel Neit, as mentioned above, has taken maternity leave for the bulk of 2023.

We welcome the following new staff to our school:

• Veronica Hall, our new REC, and also teaching Year 1.
• Lisa Gill, our new performing arts teacher.
• TBA – Grounds and Maintenance Officer.

Our staff for 2023 include:

Principal – Cameron Johns

Assistant Principal – Anna Williams

Religious Education Coordinator – Veronica Hall

Coordinator – Fron Garrett-Rumba

Front Office Secretary: Trish Collis

Kindergarten: Mary de Smet/TBA; Sarah Kennelly

Year 1: Veronica Hall/Katie Birch; Amanda de Jongh/Laura Williamson

Year 2: Sue Wales/Anne Hitchings; Holly Audsley

Year 3: Sarah Walsh; Paul Jenkins/Gayle Hunt

Year 4: Bridget Pigram; Michele Hallis-Pratt/Nic Marsham

Year 5: Josh Gereis; Fron Garret-Rumba/Ruth de Valentin

Year 6: Katie McGregor; Luke Gubler

Learning Support Coordinator: Maryanne Armstrong

Maths extension (Years 5 & 6): TBA

Robotics: Paul Jenkins

Sports Coordinators: Sarah Walsh & Luke Gubler

Early Career Release and Sports Coordinator release: Gayle Hunt

Gardening Club: Katie Birch, Mary de Smet and Robyn Moore

STEM: Anna Williams

Teacher Librarian: Amanda Basedow

Spanish: Oriella Johnson

Performing Arts: Lisa Gill

Cooking Teacher: Robyn Moore

Newsletter: Anne Perkovic

Classroom Support Assistants:

Anne Perkovic, Jade Arranz, Cathy Shepherd, Tricia Drabsch, Maria McMillian, Sam Stinziani, Mel Harding, Grace Fletcher, Maria Anthony, Deki Wangmo, Maddy Winter, Maddie Greenwood, Olivia O’Donnell, Noah Ryan, Robyn Moore, Erin East

Canteen and Uniform Shop Manager: Lauretta Raccosta

Grounds and Maintenance Officer: TBA

The staff of Sts Peter and Paul Primary are a very talented and gifted community. I am lucky to be the principal of such a school and am blessed to work with the people with whom I work and lead. They will all do everything they can to ensure your child or children have an excellent 2023.

Year 5 Camp

This week, from Wednesday – Friday, our Year 5 students have been on camp, at Cooba, NSW. It has been a wonderful camp and the photos, on our Facebook page, speak to the children’s involvement and joy. My thanks to all staff who attended, and especially to Katie McGregor and Fron Garrett- Rumba, who coordinated and organised the camp.

Week 10 Activities

Next week, our final week for Term 4 and the school year, sees a number of activities take place:

• Reports are published on Monday and class lists are sent home
• Year 6 have their Graduation Mass on Monday and that evening celebrate their Graduation dinner
• Swimming Continues for Grades 1 & 2
• On Tuesday at 2pm, our Kindergarten students are presenting the Nativity Story (all Kindergarten parents are very welcome)
• Wednesday: a dress up day for our students, the cost of which is a small present, suitable for a child their age, for Christmas
• Year 2 have a rural firefighters’ visit on Wednesday
• The Year 6 fun day is on Wednesday
• Sts Peter and Paul is hosting a BYO picnic and drinks Christmas Carols evening on Wednesday, 5.30 – 7.30, with Santa visiting.
• Students’ last day is on Thursday December 15^th.

On behalf of all the staff, I would like to thank the parent community for their wonderful support over the last 12 months. It has been excellent seeing the school being able to open up again, and have our first year, since 2019, of uninterrupted, face-to-face learning. I wish all of our families a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year, and I look forward to welcoming our families back on Tuesday, January 31^st.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal