Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 

Gospel 

Mt 13:44-52 

Jesus describes the kingdom through images. 

Our readings this weekend focus on seeking gifts that are of value. In the gospel, Jesus tells us the reign of God is a very valuable gift, one that we must seek and treasure. Sometimes these gifts come to us at no cost: we simply have to ask. On other occasions they come after much expense and sacrifice. But always, they come to us as gifts from God, gifts we should treasure forever. 

Discernment, wisdom, right judgment – these are the great gifts we seek. Or do we? Are we brave enough? What if we discern God's will for us and, alas, it doesn't coincide with our wishes?  

In today's world our children can be very easily misled as to just which gifts are of value. Solomon's gift of wisdom may be a pale comparison to a child's request for the latest ‘must have’ toy or gadget. Talk with your children this week about what they think gifts of value are. Ask them what their gifts of value are? Share with them what gifts of value you seek. Lastly, remember, these gifts are only possible through God. (Liturgy Help online). 

Creative, Collaborative, Connected Learners - Inspired by Love 

We welcome back our children and families for Term 3. After what has been an uncertain first half of the year, we hope that we can continue our positive Covid free path. Our focus for our children was shared at our Monday morning assembly this week with a view to ‘re boot’ children’s focus on learning, behaviour and the religious dimension of our school. For our Year 6 students, they have two terms left before they transition to secondary school. For our Year 5 students, they have two terms to identify themselves to us as future leaders as we plan for 2021. Our younger children will be given the opportunity to continue to practice the skills they need to make them successful connected, creative and collaborative learners. The children in Reception to Year 3 began experiencing a new approach to Literacy teaching that has a form of explicit direct instruction for spelling and grammar at its core.  

Reception Design and Technology Day 

Towards the end of Term 2, the Reception classes got to partake in thier own Design and Technology day. They were able to discover and develop thier fine mortor skills, along with exploring thier imaginations with creating their own masterpieces. It was a fun day by all!

Italian

Term 2 in a Italian the years 3-6 have been engaged in cultural projects about the geography of Italy. Years 3/4 focus inquired about their favourite Italian landmark. Years 5/6 had to research an Italian dish and the region it came from. The children did an amazing job with their research, models and recreating their dish at home. 

A big thank you to families for supporting children’s learning at home, judging by the results and photo’s students provided this proved to be a valuable cultural  learning experience. 

COVID-19:

Although it is wonderful to see our families back on grounds at drop off and pick up, we continue to remind parents to be vigilant and mindful of the social distancing requirements. We also ask that you reinforce this with your children. The dangers of complacency is all too evident as we have seen in the eastern states. 

Building Project: 

Since our last newsletter we have seen a rapid development of the new building. The structural steel is complete with roof sheeting going up over the next few days. Block work has also commenced with electrical and data cabling to follow.   

The new dynamic Learning Pods with their flowing and Reggio Emilia inspired interior environments provide a variety of sub-divided, purposeful and inclusive spaces that  include Shared Imagination Makerspaces, Shared Learning Neighbourhoods, Sensory Pods, Media Pods, a Shared Conference Space as well as an Outdoor Learning Kitchen that will bring the continuous opportunity for the students to further create, explore and discover as part of their new resource rich, student centred and supportive environments. 

The Outdoor Learning Kitchen zones at the rear of the building are an exciting addition to the outside learning spaces. Through their design, the Pods allow for easy and safe transition from inside to outside learning within the proximity of staff supervision. The front verandas are large, decked areas that overlook the naturally planted dry riverbed for comfortable and relaxed learning. Our children are getting just a little bit excited! 

It was an honor to host the Local MP Mr Tony Piccolo on our school grounds today. He even got a special tour of our new classrooms under construction. Thank you Mr Piccolo! 

We have included a link to Mr Piccolo's Facebook post about his time spent at our school today.

https://www.facebook.com/TonyPiccoloMP/posts/1672525946232458?notif_id=1595563136171748&notif_t=page_tag&ref=notif

School Photos:

School photo day is Wednesday 29th July which is next week. Please return your order forms with payment on the day. Family group photos can also be purchased by requesting the relevant order form. These will need to be collected from the office prior to next Wednesday. Children are expected to wear their COMPLETE WINTER UNIFORM on the day. This means grey long pants (or shorts if your child does not have long pants) for boys and dress or long blue pants for girls and Maroon school jumpers are to be worn for R-5 students. No sports shoes are to be worn. If you are missing a uniform item, please see the note below.

Uniform:

We still have numerous uniform items in the lost property bins. Please arrange for collection of these items by yourself or your child. 

Welcome:

A very warm St Brigid's welcome to Marion McGrath who has joined our Administration Team and School Community. It is great to have Marion on board and has already settled in well. Be sure to say hi next time you are in our front office.

 

Mobile Dental Clinic:   

The ‘Dental for Schools’ program will be in attendance at the school on the 7th September. Consent forms have gone out this week and must be returned by 10th August.   

School Fees:

In memoriam: 

When someone close to us dies, our grief can be debilitating and stops us in our tracks. For others, we try to numb the pain by throwing ourselves into our work or other distraction. The loss we feel however, is still there and manifests itself in each of us, our children, partners, friends and relatives in different ways. For those of us looking on, we need to be mindful of both the tears and the silence. 

We also know that in some cases it is not until someone is gone that we realise how much we miss them or even why they leave an empty space in our lives. While we don’t suggest that our relationships are purely based on the premise that we live every day as though it is our or our loved ones last, but that we take time to be present with that person in authentic ways. We take the time to acknowledge the things that make that person special to us; beyond the ‘relative’ or ‘friendship’ connection we have with them. We can ask ourselves, what are their unique gifts as a human person? What light have they shone on us and others as they go about their daily lives? What simple behaviours or actions bring comfort and reassurance to us? Is it their strength, courage, vulnerability, persistence, love or support? Is it their quiet presence that lets you know that you could trust your life in their hands? Is it the difference they have made to yours or others’ lives without the fanfare of acknowledgement? With every person with whom we are in relationship, there is something that makes them uniquely special to us. It is these qualities and experiences of that person that we grieve when they are no longer with us. 

So, let us take the opportunity to tell our loved ones and people close to us how important they are to us, how much we care for them, how much we love them before the opportunity is lost. 

We acknowledge the known bereavement and loss of close relatives of members of our school community over the last week. Kaiden E who lost his newborn sister, Charlize, Harper and Ms May who lost their aunty, Franca Hall who lost a family relative and close friend and Mr Bennett who lost his brother. We keep them and their families in our prayers as they come to terms with their loss. 

“Eternal rest unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.  

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen” 

50th Birthday Celebration Podcast:

Seeking stories of the past that you can share ~ Monday 27th July 

If you are a former student, parent or grandparent connected to St Brigid’s, we are looking for people willing to be interviewed for a series of Podcasts that tell their story about their time at St Brigid’s. These stories will be shared via radio, Spotify or iTunes later in the year. 

If you, or someone you know would be willing to participate in this project, we’d love to hear from you. The first interview sessions are planned to be held on Monday 27th July which is next week. If you are interested in being interviewed, please contact Gennaro Mannella via email in the first instance at gmannella@stbrigids.catholic.edu.au or the school office on 85222099 to leave a message.  

Playgroup:

We are very happy to see the return of our Playgroup this term. We are welcoming famlies back through our doors from next week with our first session on Tuesday 28th from 9am - 11am. 

All other details remain the same: 

Tuesday and Wednesday 9am - 11am

$4.00 per family,

No need to book, just come along and have a good time! 

Franca

School Promotion: 

With all the excitement of the building program taking shape, it would be good to spread the word and let the community be aware of the fantastic developments. One way you can show your support is by sharing our posts to get the message out there and by inviting family and friends to ‘Like’ our Facebook page.

This can be done by clicking on the three dots next to the share button and scrolling down to invite friends. This would be greatly appreciated.