Dear Parents and Carers

“Most of us were taught that God would love us if and when we change. In fact, God loves you so that you can change. What empowers change, what makes you desirous of change is the experience of love. It is that inherent experience of love that becomes the engine of change.”
― Richard Rohr

The wise American Franciscan priest Richard Rohr is a good friend to this newsletter and community, and he has appeared in the school newsletter quite frequently over the years. His quote above is one that I would regard as a Richard Rohr timeless piece of wisdom. As a school community, and as parents, the easiest way, perhaps, to come to the truth of his statement is through our own vocation as parents, and what we want for our children. None of us would wish our children to feel they have to earn our love; that is, perform tasks or meet KPI markers, in order to be able to prove themselves worthy of being loved. Love, as we know, and hopefully have experienced ourselves, does not work like that. In a biography I read once of the past Prime Minister Paul Keating, he said, memorably, that ‘…everyone needs someone to make the big investment in them. When the chips are down and your back is against the wall, you draw on that investment.’ Keating himself then said that his maternal grandmother, in particular, was a person who had made the big investment in him, which kept him going during many political trials. A simple summary of Richard Rohr’s quote is to say that God has made the ‘big investment’ in us, unchanging and unconditional, and that investment in us allows us to grow, change, and be a conduit of God’s love, for others.

Tournament of Minds

This weekend, we have 4 teams from school competing at the annual Tournament of Minds competition, held this year at Lake Tuggeranong College. The teams are comprised of students from grades 3-6. They are required to solve a problem in a subject area of their choice and to present their solution in dramatic form, complete with a written script and resources, all made by the children. My thanks to Katie Birch, who has worked with the teams over many lunchtimes, and to the students for all of their hard work, and to the parents, for their excellent support.

Playground Equipment

The new junior playground equipment has been completed, and an inspection and handover are taking place this week, with the expectation that the security fencing will come down in the coming days. We will be posting photos of excited children on our website over the next week or so, once the fencing has come down. My thanks to the school community for their patience and support of this project.

Community Events

We have a number of community events organised by the Community Council, coming up in the approaching weeks. Friday next week sees a Fathers’ Day breakfast take place, to celebrate the fathers and father figures in our community. There will be a Fathers’ Day assembly in the school hall, following the 9am morning assembly. At the end of week 9, on Friday September 19^th, we are holding our Trivia Night in the school hall, which promises to be an exciting night with the opportunity to win many prizes and raise some funds for the school. Both of these events are organised by the Community Council. My thanks to the Council for their great work. Another initiative of the CC is the creation of 2025 Sts Peter and Paul Tea Towels, which will feature every child and staff member, with a self-portrait. Also a fundraiser, these tea-towels are an excellent memento of the year. My thanks to the Community Council and Sarah Walsh, for their great work and coordination.

Vale Dennis Sleigh

In recent weeks, we learned of the passing of Dennis Sleigh. Dennis was the first lay principal of Sts Peter and Paul and was appointed in 1993. Dennis was an excellent principal and leader within Catholic Education for many years and went on to lead two other schools. He worked for a time in the Catholic Education Office. He was also a very respected academic and authored a number of books. On Saturday at 12.15pm, a Mass will be held at St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka. The Mass will be said for Dennis (the funeral has already taken place some weeks ago in Temora, N.S.W.) I will be attending the Mass, representing Sts Peter and Paul. I would ask that the community remember Dennis and his family in our prayers.

Have a wonderful week with your families.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal