Dear Parents and Caregivers
One of the things I love most about our community is that the students all know the famous Mary MacKillop saying of, “Never see a need without doing something about it.” As well as this, most people know our core values of Truth, Love and Dignity really well too. One of these values, Dignity, is extremely important to us. We are a very diverse and inclusive community and we welcome people from all walks of life. Therefore, we must never do anything that harms anyone’s dignity. This especially includes gossiping about other members of the community, including our students (which is a breach of our Code of Conduct). If you have any concerns, please contact a staff member immediately and we will sort it out and maintain the individual’s dignity as best we can. Gossiping can cause serious reputational damage and therefore is strongly discouraged in our community.
Kindergarten 2026 Believe it or not, I am already starting Kindergarten interviews for 2026 and we already have quite a few names on the list. It is absolutely imperative, that if you have a younger sibling coming next year, you contact the office asap. It would be very unfortunate if your child missed out simply because we didn’t know you intended enrolling them. Please make this your highest priority after reading this newsletter!
Scripture Reflection Psalm 102: 1-4 The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy. He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults.
Ash Wednesday Today is Ash Wednesday and we now are into the season of Lent, which is the 40 days leading up to Easter, the most important date on the Christian Calander. We commenced Lent this morning with a whole school Mass. During Mass, each person had a small cross of ash marked on their forehead with the accompanying words, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” The ashes remind us of our mortality and the need to be reconciled with God. Lent is a time of penance and reflection. You are strongly recommended to use this time to reflect on ways in which you can improve your relationships with friends, family members and God.
Reconciliation Every year, we use the Lenten focus to drive our Reconciliation programme for the Year 3 students. The programme starts this weekend with the commitment Masses in our parish for the students participating in the programme. Parents, please do make the effort to attend at least one Mass this weekend. This will be followed up with a parent Information Night on Wednesday 12 March starting at 7.00pm in our Church, which will be led by Fr John. Finally, the Year 3 students will be receiving the Sacrament of Penance on Saturday morning 22 March. This promises to be a very special time for them.
NAPLAN It’s that time of year again where our students in Years 3 and 5 participate in the NAPLAN tests. The tests will be conducted over the fortnight from 12 to 21 March. All the necessary details will be sent home. Please remember that these tests are a snapshot of how the students are doing at a particular point in time. They are not designed to replace the data that your child’s teacher collects throughout the year. The teachers will always have the most accurate data on all students, so feel free to contact them directly if you have any questions about their progress. NAPLAN data is used by the school to identify trends so we can see if we need to make necessary changes.
School Photos These will take place on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 March. All the necessary details will be sent home. Please make sure the students come to school wearing the correct summer uniform as most years, we have to make multiple calls home asking parents to bring in a change of clothes.
Swimming Carnival Mr Boyce has completed all the trials and the students have been placed into their races according to the results of these time trials. The carnival will take place on Monday 17 March at Bayswater Waves for the students in Years 4 to 6. All parents and grandparents are most welcome to come along and support our athletes.
Yours sincerely
Laurie Bechelli
Principal