Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Carers,
This Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day in Australia. We honour not just Dads, but grandfathers, big brothers, uncles, and anyone else who fulfills a fatherly role in the lives of their children.
It has extra significance in this Year of St Joseph as we also recall the exemplary role-model and patron saint of fathers—Saint Joseph—foster father of Jesus, husband of Our Lady and patron of the Universal Church.
St Joseph experienced the same difficulties in life we all do, yet he lived an exemplary life and established an ideal that is well-worth emulating for all fathers who have come after him. St Joseph was a man of compassion and caring. He was a man possessed of unwavering faith in God. He was a man who loved and protected his family. As St Matthew describes him in his Gospel, Joseph was a “righteous man” (Mt 1:19).
On this Father’s Day, let us ask St Joseph for his intercession on behalf of all dads and that his holy example continue to be an inspiration to all fathers.
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad
- Author Unknown
As we come towards the final weeks of Term 3, we are beginning to plan our classes for the 2025 school year. It is this time of the year that we invite parent input regarding classes for next year.
If parents have a genuine reason for class placement requests for next year, could you please send your request via email (principal@stmnewbor.catholic.edu.au) or put it in writing addressed to me by Friday 20th September.
We put careful consideration and an enormous amount of time and effort into the creation of classes each year and many factors are taken into consideration. A written request will be considered, but please understand that it is not a guarantee, as many factors are taken into account when creating classes. We are blessed to have a dedicated and highly skilled teaching staff who collaborate to give the very best learning opportunities to all students in our care. Any teacher requests must have a clear and supported reason and we ask you to understand that your requests may not be able to be fulfilled. Please be aware that a request must be made for the current year, we will not be referring to requests made 12 months ago as circumstances change. Please be aware that we cannot consider any requests made after Friday September 20th as we need to move forward to create our classes for the coming year.
A huge and heartfelt thank you to our wonderful parents and staff for the fantastic job you did with our recent disco. The children had a great time and the support from our school community made the night such a success.
Our Book Week celebrations were fabulous, with every kind of magic you could imagine, parading around the school. The activities were great and a credit to the teamwork and dedication of our staff.
These events are such a wonderful way to celebrate our school community and provide a learning experience for the children that is exciting and fun.
Thank you to our parents for the way you engage with our system of recording absences, using the Parent Access Module (PAM) or calling the office. Your commitment to letting us know if your child will be away from school ensures we are providing a safe and supportive environment for every child.
This Sunday begins Child Safety Week and the following posters will be displayed and discussed throughout the school. It is a powerful reminder of the need for all children to understand what it means to feel safe and who they can turn to if they are feeling unsafe. Parents may also need guidance and support with their children and this information provides a range of agencies that you can turn to if you need support.
As part of Child Safety Week, our Year 6 Mini Oblates made a video to share the message that “Every Conversation Matters” and how our school makes them feel safe. It was entirely unscripted and was completed in one take, with the children giving their personal view as to what makes us feel safe at school. We are so proud of our Mini Oblates and the support they give to our school community.
This is the link to the video they made:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HJR0gndazbIyGaB_JLKVtCt0Ql0yrY5L/view?usp=drivesdk
