Dear Parents
This weekend we acknowledge all our wonderful fathers and grandfathers and all the great things they do for us. Here at Mary Mac, we would also like to celebrate our fathers with a special Mass this Friday 3 September at 8.45am in our church. I know how difficult it is to get our fathers into school, especially as so many of them start work early. Therefore, this year we would like to try something a little different. All fathers and grandfathers are invited to come along at 7.45am and spend some time on the oval with their children playing on the flying fox, volleyball, soccer and any of the other equipment or even joining in with a Tug of War. Even if they just spend time hanging out with their kids, that would be really appreciated. For those who have the time to come to Mass, there will be morning tea put on afterwards in the church hall where you can have a cuppa before heading off to work. I look forward to seeing as many fathers and grandfathers as possible this Friday.
Gratitude Reflection If the only prayer you ever said was thank you, that would be enough. Meister Eckhart
Athletics Carnival Our annual athletics carnival will be held next Monday 6 September on our oval from 8.45am. At this stage, the weather forecast is looking good, so let’s hope we get a lovely day. It is one of the biggest days in our community where everyone gets to come together and watch a day of races and fun. This year Mr Power has added the 100m and 400m into the day instead of holding them on a different day. I’m sure you will enjoy watching the extra running races. There will be the usual coffee van and the P&F will hold a Bunnings style sausage sizzle, which means you can’t pre order the food. The sausage sizzle is mainly for the parents. However, if you would like to buy some for your children, please note this can only be done during the lunch break so it doesn’t interfere with the races. The same applies for ice creams sold from the canteen. I would like to thank Mr Power in advance as we all know his carnivals run like clockwork and have maximum involvement for all students. Please note that the Kindy and Pre Primary students participate from 8.45am for about an hour or so and then they go back to class to resume a normal school day of learning.
Science Enrichment Expo Mrs Stojkovski has been very busy with our STEM enrichment programme this year, and the students in her classes will have the opportunity to show off their talents at our expo in the hall on Tuesday 7 September. It will run all day long and parents and grandparents are most welcome to come along and join this amazing celebration of learning.
Edu Dance Concert During Term 1, half of the school experienced our first Edu Dance concert. Now it is time for everyone else to see our dynamic students dancing in a high impact manner. The concert will be held in the hall next Wednesday evening 8 September from 5pm for all the Kindy students and 6pm for students in Pre Primary Gold to Year 6 Gold. I’m sure you will be really impressed!
Free Dress for the Homeless As many of you know, Fr Mark goes into the city each Friday night to feed around 30 homeless people. As Jesus often states in the Bible, “Come follow me!” This is a fine example of following the work of Jesus and a number of staff are now going out with him to assist. We are also getting a few parents wanting to volunteer their time as well. If you are interested, please contact Fr Mark at the presbytery and he will gratefully accept your support. As an offering of solidarity for the homeless, we will hold a free dress day next Friday 10 September. All students are asked to bring in a donation and give it to their teachers. This money will be given directly to Fr Mark who will use it to help feed the homeless. I have been out with Fr Mark on a couple of occasions now, and I can assure you it is safe and also very rewarding. It is a grounding experience that makes you realise how blessed our lives really are.
Fr John This week, Fr John celebrated his 47th anniversary as a priest, with many of those years spent serving our community. If you see him, please do congratulate him on this fine achievement.
Long Service Leave I will be taking the last two weeks off this term to have a little bit of a break after what has been a very hectic year. Mrs Liebregts will be the Short Term Principal in my absence. I will be back at school for the start of next term. Please note that Monday 11 October is a student free day as the staff have a professional development day on Christian meditation. The students start Term 4 on Tuesday 12 October.
Yours sincerely
Laurie Bechelli