Dear Parents and Carers

“As human beings we need to locate ourselves in stories. We need to have a sense of: “Once upon a time.” We need to have a sense of “And they lived…” if not “and they lived happily ever after.” Young people without this context of story have little reason for hope.”

Christopher Gleeson SJ, Releasing the Angel

Much of the conversation in society around health and wellbeing takes place within the context of the health and wellbeing of the economy. It is as if we could be reduced to economics units and our utility and worth is measured by our economic productivity. The difficulty with this approach is that as the quote above points out, we need to see ourselves as part of something bigger than ourselves, and the ‘something bigger’ needs to be a bigger story than our own individual lives, in order for our individual loves to have meaning. The Australian Jesuit Christopher Gleeson is a renowned educator and was principal at Riverview, Sydney, for many years. His quote above attends to the need we all have to see our lives as contributing to a bigger picture, a bigger story. Ultimately, our faith tells us that this story is God’s story for others and us in our lives. At Sts Peter and Paul, our vocation is to be part of the children’s growing awareness that they themselves are part of something much bigger than themselves and that in turn, and over time, their lives are much bigger than they could imagine.

Parent Teacher Interviews and Reports

The teachers are busy preparing reports and they are finalising the semester’s assessment and having many grade conversations around moderation and assessment. Reports will be sent home at the end of Week 9. All subject areas will be fully assessed, as we have been fortunate in having two full terms of learning and teaching. Like Semester 1, for this Semester there will be no major comment at the end of the report. In place of comments, we are having 15-minute parent teacher interviews over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 8.

Bookings for Semester 2 2020 Parent Teacher interviews will go live this afternoon. They will be held in Week 8. Please book a session with your child's teacher via the tile in SZapp or here https://stpandp.schoolzineplus.com/Semester2PTInterview. You will need to book using the email address that you have recorded with SZapp. PT Interviews will be conducted in person. I will be in contact next week with a letter regarding COVID protocols for interviews. Please ignore the Zoom location that is listed when booking the interview timeslot. Interviews will be conducted in your child's classroom. If you have any questions please email sean.rutledge@cg.catholic.edu.au  

My thanks to Sean Rutledge for all of his work in organising the meetings.

Gastric Illness

The school has seen a recent spate of ill children who have been suffering a vomiting bug. It appears to be widely contagious and has moved through a number of grades. I would ask parents please to keep their children at home for 48 hours after symptoms have subsided, to ensure the virus has worked its way through the system. This advice is from the ACT Health Directorate.

Kindergarten Information Evening and Orientation Day

Last Wednesday night, and then last Friday, we held our Kindergarten Information Evening and Orientation Day, respectively. It was a great success and on Friday, it was particularly nice to see almost all of our 2021 Kindergarten students in the school. My thanks to our 2021 Kindergarten teachers, Marie-Ann Barrett and Melissa Neit, for excellent work and preparation, and to the Leadership Team for their support and commitment – Sean Rutledge, Maryanne Armstrong and Stephanie Burns.

Canteen Week

This week we celebrate Canteen Week and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lauretta Raccosta for the amazing work she does in coordinating and running our canteen. Thank you Lauretta! I would also like to thank all the many parents who have volunteered in the canteen over the year – you have made a very big difference and contributed a great deal to the school. A reminder that a thank you dinner for volunteers is being held next Friday, November 27^th, at Snappers on the lake.

Athletics Carnival

This Friday, we are holding a combined Cross Country carnival and Athletics carnival. The Cross Country carnival will be held in the morning, with the Athletics carnival being held over the next two sessions. It will be an all-day event and held entirely on the school grounds. My thanks to Mary de Smet for all of her work and efforts and to all staff for their support. It will be a great day for the children and provide them with an opportunity to experience one of the more regular ‘normal’ fixtures on every school’s annual calendar.

First Eucharist

Many of our children in Year 4 are receiving the Eucharist for the first time this Term. Last week the following children made their First Communion: Lucas V, Nathan B & Cameron de J. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate these children and their families for their step in faith.

Kinder Nativity

Our much anticipated Kinder Nativity will be held on Thursday 10 December at 2pm. We are pleased, due to a change in current Covid-19 restrictions, that Kinder parents will now be able to attend. 

Have a wonderful week with your families.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal