Dear Parents and Carers

“Our Lord lived most of his time in ‘Ordinary time;’ and so did our Lady and so have all the countless millions of women and men who have tried to follow the shifting light of grace which has come their way, day by day, and year by year, throughout their lives…He was, his mother was, the apostles all were, walking in ordinary time: and it was out of that faithful walking, as we believe, that all the of the good of the world germinated and came to flower.”

- Peter Steele SJ

We are currently in the Church season of ‘Ordinary time.’ Ordinary time, as a Church season, refers to the liturgical period which does not celebrate Easter, Lent, Advent or Christmas. Another way of thinking about ‘ordinary time’ as a human reality is to see it as those times in our lives which are removed from what we might call ‘peak experinces’, which nonetheless make up most of our days. Peter Steele reminds us, above, that they are no less graced. It is in the faithful rendering of our daily duties and efforts at love, in the simple acts of kindness as we move through our days, that God’s grace is made manifest and known, to those whom we encounter. J.R.R. Tolkien put it well: ‘It is the small acts of kindness that keeps the darkness at bay.’

Merici Musical

Today, students from Years 5 and 6 visited Merici College, at the College’s invitation, to see their performance of 'Legally Blonde Jr.'. It is an invaluable opportunity for our students, as it broadens their artistic horizons and allows them to see what is possible to perform. Given that our school is putting on a musical later this year, it is a timely opportunity for our students. My thanks to Merici for inviting us, and my thanks to our Years 5 and 6 teachers for organising our attendance.

NAIDOC Week

This week, schools around Australia are celebrating NAIDOC week. We are holding a liturgy tomorrow in the school hall, at 12pm. Parents are invited to attend if possible. Our Youth Ministry Team are leading us in our NAIDOC reflection. On Friday, Katie McGregor and Andrea McQuirk will be accompanying some of our Indigenous students to St Christopher’s Cathedral, where the Archbishop will be celebrating a Mass in celebration of NAIDOC week.

Carpark Safety

Parents are asked please to be mindful of the crossing in the school carpark. Pedestrians (of whatever age) have right of way when using the pedestrian crossing. I would ask parents to consider using the drop off line, please, where possible, in the morning. If a car is parked for the purpose of dropping off children, the car may take up the space for someone who needs to park the car for a considerable length of time. Please feel free to use the carline drop off in the morning, which is always supervised by a teacher, from 8.30am onwards.

Rostrum Regional Finals

On Thursday night, one of our Year 6 students, Poppy, will be representing Sts Peter and Paul at the Regional Rostrum Public Speaking competition. I am very proud of Poppy and I wish her the very best.

Principal PL

I am away for a short period of time in the coming days. On Friday, I am attending a symposium for non-government schools, organised by the A.C.T. Directorate. Next week I am interstate attending a course and visiting other schools. I am back on Thursday of week 2. During my absence, Samantha Mance will very capably lead the school.

New Playground Equipment

The school is getting a new junior playground installed in the coming weeks, which will be very exciting for our students and a wonderful addition to our playground. The installation was due to take place in the holidays, but the company found themselves delayed due to other work commitments. They are due to start in mid-August. It is anticipated to take one week, and will involve some minor, but manageable, disruption to the school during recess and lunch. I will keep the parent community informed of the coming installation.

Have a wonderful week with your families.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal