Dear Parents,
This weekend is the last Sunday in the Church’s liturgical year, with the readings focusing on Jesus as Lord and King of the whole created universe. The feast of Christ the King brings to a close the year’s focus on the Gospel of Luke and reminds us the season of Advent is just beyond the horizon. The feast of Christ the King has implications for every aspect of our church life. We are reminded of the power of love in any and every aspect of our life. As in our daily lives, we struggle for truth and for justice, let us learn from Jesus to use the gift of love in all that we do, for it is with love that God conquered chaos, injustice and pain in our lives, and it is with love that Jesus continues to conquer all evil and bring us altogether in communion with our Heavenly Father .
Our parish will be celebrating its patronal feast day next Saturday evening, 23rd November, beginning with the 6 PM Mass presided over by Bishop Vincent. It will also be an opportunity to acknowledge and thank those many volunteers and ministers in our community for all the work they do throughout the year in so many areas. After mass we will share supper in the parish hall providing a social opportunity for our parishioners to “catch” up with each other before Christmas. If parishioners could assist by providing a dish, salad or a dessert it would be gratefully appreciated. Also, assistance is required to set up tables and chairs in the MacKillop hall for the event on Saturday morning beginning after the 9am mass. All the family and friends of our community are invited to share this great social opportunity next Saturday evening. Look forward to seeing you there celebrating our parish feast day.
Congratulations to all the year three children in our Parish who made their First Reconciliation on Wednesday evening. On behalf of the parish and school community we would like to express our thanks and gratitude to the members of the Sacramental Team: Diane Campbell, Lesley Bosci, Cate Joseph and Ben Horne for all their wonderful work in assisting 50 children to prepare for First Reconciliation. May God bless these children and keep them always in the palm of His hand.
In recent weeks I have been finalising staffing for 2020. As a result of this I would like to welcome Miss Alley Casey, Miss Hayley Anschau and Miss Courtney Milone to Christ the King for 2020. We look forward to these three capable and committed educators to our school community from the beginning of next year. In 2020 Miss Michelle Ford will be taking leave with Mrs Monica Burley extending her maternity leave for 12 months. We wish both ladies an enjoyable and fulfilling break in their careers. Congratulations also to Mrs Samantha Roberts and her husband Andrew who are expecting their second child mid next year. Finally, the allocation of teachers for 2020 will be finalised in the coming weeks and will be published in our week 9 newsletter.
Just a reminder that supervision of a morning commences at 8:15am each day. In recent weeks, children are being dropped off as early as 7:30am and have been left unsupervised in the playground. Our CTK COHSC is available for parents who need to drop off children to school prior to 8:15am with casual vacancies available. This does not apply to children who arrive earlier for band and various extra curricular morning clubs. Your co-operation in this well being and safety matter is most appreciated and expected. Thank you.
After several delays the planned stage 2 [Years 3 and 4] refurbishment will commence at the conclusion of the school term. Over the summer holidays and into the first few weeks of term 1 next year, the planned work will be completed freshening up the classrooms, improving the lighting and establishing new learning structures that will be supported with the purchase of new furnishing more conducive to our collaborative learning.
In recent weeks our new Christ the King Primary School Facebook page has been launched by CEDP and is available to all members of our community. This social media platform has been established to showcase the learning and events that take place each day at CTK. It is not designed to be a forum to discuss any issues community members may have with the school, children or school staff. Comments of this nature will be removed immediately and the account of those responsible for blocked by the school account administrators. We look forward to this social media platform being a great asset to promote our school and community members that make it the great place it is.
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to officiate at the Diocesan Gymnastics Day. Just over 300 gymnasts from across our Diocesan schools took part in the gala day participating in four rotations. CTK was represented by a team of ten girls who performed across the four rotations throughout the day. As a result of their efforts poise and technique they were placed first in the “Teams 10” competition for the second year in a row. Congratulations to our girls on their efforts and sportsmanship throughout the day. Congratulations to Zara C who was placed 3rd overall in the Gold individual competition. Thank you to all our parent supporters who cheered our gymnasts from the stands and for preparing and training the girls in the lead up. A special thanks to Mrs Maryanne El-Sabbagh who took on the role as our team manager on the day ensuring our girls were warmed up and on time to each of their rotations. Well done to all concerned!
A note will be coming home on Monday 25th November with the code for the MAI testing that will take place early 2020. Please see you receive this note from your child on Monday.
Have a great week
Tony Hughes
Principal