Dear Parents and Carers

“We can be at the forefront of a new era in Australia’s public life. As one body in Christ, let us work together, drawing strength from the resilience and wisdom of First Australians by recognizing their experiences and collaborating across boundaries.”

• ‘Listen, Learn, Love’, Social Justice Statement, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

Each year, the Australian Catholic Bishops release a social justice statement. Typically, it addresses enduring and very real needs in the Australian community – gambling, domestic violence, homelessness, economic practices that keep many Australians in poverty, and the like. This year, they have released the document ‘Listen, Learn, Love’. The subtitle is, ‘A new engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’. Unsurprisingly, it canvasses many of the themes that the campaign around the Indigenous Voice to Parliament addresses, and the statement explicitly discusses the Voice. The statement from the bishops asks that we listen and use the power of our imaginations to imagine the experince of much of Indigenous Australia over the last two hundred and more years. Bravely, and appropriately, the Church states that it too has been a part of the harm done to our first inhabitants. The statement writes, ‘The Church has participated in many of the grave injustices and contributed to the racism which is at the heart of all these wrongs. For example, Church missions and orphanages took many of children forcibly removed from their families over many years during the 20^th century.’ When you don’t have much of a voice, it is often the way that decisions get made for you.

The statement in full can be found at: https://socialjustice.catholic.org.au/resources/social-justice-statements/

Learning Celebrations

This week, like so many schools around Australia, we celebrate Book Week. Yesterday was the high point of our celebrations, with a spectacular parade and a day of very fun activities for the children. It was a whole staff team effort, but one led superbly by our excellent teacher librarian, Amanda Basedow, who always puts so much energy and passion into all things books, and particularly events like Book Week. My thanks to Amanda for her great leadership, and to all staff for their support.

From reading to Maths: yesterday our passionate Maths lover and Assistant Principal Anna Williams held the second of her ‘Mini Maths Mornings’, with again a very good parent and student attendance rate. Parents and students were treated with opportunities to learn fun and enjoyable ways to deepen Maths concepts and find creative ways to explain foundational concepts. My thanks to Anna for leading and coordinating the mornings, and to Sarah Kennelly and Sarah Walsh for their great support.

On the weekend, our Tournament of Minds teams will participate at the ANU and present the solution to the ‘problem’ they have to solve. The solution has to be solely invented by the students themselves, with no adult assistance, and they are required to present their solution using drama and props, complete with a script. My thanks to Katie Birch, who has organised the school’s involvement in Tournament of Minds and has led the children so well in their participation. I wish our teams the very best for the weekend. Our participation children are: Audrey I, Nathalie C, Juanan M, Harper de S, Massimo M, Bentley B, Michael W, Cavanaugh B, Amy L, Isabella T, Roxie M, Lauren M, Ariella J, Lucia M, Sienna G, Ciara F, Zara S, Maximo A, Eliana B and Ava G.

Student Achievement

Congratulations to Lucas Sloane who is competing next week in the Australian School Sport Swimming Championship. Lucas is competing in the 50m and 100m Backstroke, as well as 4 x 50m freestyle relay. Congratulations, Lucas! We wish you the very best. A mighty achievement.

Congratulations too to Bethany Tam, who is representing the ACT in Nationals Clubs Gymnastics Competition. Well done, Bethany! A wonderful effort. I wish Lucas and Bethany the very best for their competitions.

Presentation Mass

This weekend, our Year 4 students who are receiving the Eucharist for the first time are attending one of the Presentation Masses at our Parish Church at Curtin. It is a recognition that the children are part of a community larger than the school – the local, and indeed universal, Church. I wish our students and families the very best as they take this step in faith.

Athlete's Foot

If any of our families by school or sports shoes from Athlete's Foot, a percentage of the price is donated back to the school. This morning, Megan came in to donate a cheque for $500 and we are so grateful.

Have a wonderful week with your families.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal