Dear Parents and Carers

At the time of this newsletter being sent out, our Year 6 students will be on camp at Borambola, outside Wagga Wagga. With COVID restrictions almost completely gone, it is good that the opportunities for school camps can come back. The camp at Borambola is run by NSW Sports and Recreation, and the children will have many opportunities to take part in a great many fun activities. I will join the students on camp, with Katie McGregor, Luke Gubler, Bridget Pigram, Olivia O’Donnell and Samantha Stinziani. My thanks to all staff for looking after our children, and to Luke and Katie for organising the camp. Anna Williams will very capably look after our school while I am on camp.

Opening School Mass and Parish Staff Commissioning Mass

Last Thursday, we held our opening school Mass for the year. Fr John Woods, our Parish Priest, is on leave for medical reasons. In his place, Bishop Pat Power celebrated Mass for our school community. It also saw our Year 6 receive their badges for the year and be commissioned as our School Leaders. It was a lovely Mass and a great way to start our school year, as a community. My thanks to Veronica Hall for organizing our Mass and to our Year 6 teachers and students for their pivotal role.

This weekend, our staff are being presented at our parish weekend Mass, at 6pm on Saturday night. It is our own commissioning, from the parish, of which we are a part. All parents are of course most welcome to attend.

School Community Council

Last night, the School Community Council held its first meeting for 2023. I would like to welcome back our returning members: Tegan Ingold (Chair), Stuart Baines (Deputy Chair), Ellen Hulbert (Secretary), Pat Salter (Treasurer), Katherine Jones, Natasha Fenton, Alison Winsbury, Mary Romaneous, Fr John Woods, Anna Williams and Sarah Kennelly. I would like to welcome our new members: Dimity Wynants, Tara de Smet, Will Frost and Lisa Martin, all of whom will make extremely valuable contributions. I would like to thank our CC members who finished at the end of last year: Thomas Mulligan (Chair), Maggie Lau (Secretary), Ben Sladic (Treasurer), Melissa Dingwell and Mark Spear. I would like to express my deep personal thanks to our departing members for their hard work, selfless contributions and dedication to our school. I thank our current Council, ahead of the year’s work, for their generosity of spirit and commitment to the school.

Ash Wednesday

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a Church season which focuses upon a sense of self-denial (traditionally comprising of some personal self-sacrifice, like giving up chocolate for Lent, for example). The school will hold a whole-school liturgy from K – 6, in the school hall, on Wednesday, at 12pm. My thanks to our Religious Education Coordinator, Veronica Hall, for coordinating the liturgy.

Chief Minister’s Challenge

Next week, the Chief Minister’s Reading challenges begins. Like previous years, our students will be enrolled in the competition and encouraged to participate to the best of their ability. It is a great competition that highlights the importance of reading, and helps all children to set themselves goals in their reading. My thanks to Amanda Basedow, our school librarian, for coordinating our involvement in the competition.

Have a wonderful week with your families.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal