“Breathing is made up of two stages: inhaling, the intake of air, and exhaling, the letting out of air. The spiritual life is fed, nourished, by prayer and is expressed outwardly through mission: inhaling and exhaling. When we inhale, by prayer, we receive the fresh air of the Holy Spirit.” (Pope Francis)

Dear SPP families,

The fresh air of the Holy Spirit in our lives is essential and an undeniable presence in our school community. On Monday and Tuesday evenings our community witnessed and celebrated the presence of the Holy Spirit in the most beautiful way: The Sacrament of Confirmation. As Pope Francis suggests, I invite you to breathe and pray:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.

And kindle in them the fire of your love

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created

And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord, by the light of your Holy Spirit

You have taught the hearts of your faithful.

In the same Spirit help us to relish what is right

And always rejoice in your consolation

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

I congratulate our students who received this sacrament with such reverence. It was a very special occasion for you and your families and the culmination of weeks of prayer and preparation. I thank Father John, Amanda and Veronica for their inspired leadership and hard work, and of course I thank our Year 6 teachers, Luke and Katie for their dedication, care and support.

Rostrum Final

Tonight our finalist, Anna presents her speech at the regional finals. Good luck Anna, we are so proud of you!

SPP Community Events

I thank Katherine Jones and her industrious team of Community Council helpers for planning and hosting the popular Movie Night last Friday. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and I’m sure they slept soundly that night. These events are a wonderful way to meet other parents and connect with your child’s school. Thank you Katherine and team!

If you are interested in supporting future Community Council events, please consider reaching out to our amazing Community Council members via the front office or in person. Next term’s Working Bee: Save the Date (6 August) is another great way to meet others and connect with our community. Please RSVP and mark it in your diaries.

Semester 1 Reporting

Semester 1 Reports are grades only and will not have comments. Instead, all families are encouraged to attend Parent/Teacher Conferences next week. Our teachers have made themselves available to share your child’s school successes and areas for focus and are looking forward to seeing you. Compass bookings close this Thursday, June 22.

Families will receive the Semester 1 Report via Compass on Wednesday June 28 (Week 10). All reports, with the exception of Kindergarten, use an A-E reporting scale. Please view the short presentation explaining this scale. A-E Reporting Presentation

Pick up and Drop off Arrangements

An increasing number of children are being left unsupervised on school grounds before 8:30am and being collected well after 3:30pm. One day last week there were 14 children in the foyer waiting for late families. Late collection puts an extra load on our teachers, requiring them to provide supervision long after their scheduled duty has finished. 

School begins at 9:00am and concludes at 3:10pm. Supervision is provided from 8:30am – 3:30pm. Please, if you need to leave your child to school outside of these times, contact OSH Club to book them into care. 

Retreat

This week I attend the annual Assistant Principals’ Retreat for 3 days in Manuka with some of my colleagues across the archdiocese. I look forward to participating in this ‘Spiritus’ retreat, which is a unique faith formation program for education leaders. The unstoppable and inspirational Mrs Hall will lead the school in my absence.

Thank you for your continued support,

Anna Williams

Acting Principal