Dear Parents,
This weekend we celebrate the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent and we begin a new year by preparing once again for the great feast of the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ: the feast of Christmas. We dedicate this Sunday to Christ the King. On review of the scripture this weekend we are welcomed into the Kingdom Prepared for us by God, our Heavenly Father- Our Universal King. As a member of Christ’s Kingdom we are asked to respect our brothers and sisters who love and worship the one God and King. In St Matthew’s Gospel this Sunday, we are reminded that God is love and that we are made in the image and likeness of God. We are made by love and we are made for love. Our most profound longing is for communion in love, and today we recall the powerful presence of Jesus’ love in our world -Fr Michael Fallon]. Happy Christ the King feast day!
Our parish will be celebrating its patronal feast day this Sunday 22nd November at the 10am Mass. The Mass will be presided over by Bishop Vincent, the Bishop of Parramatta. For those who would like to attend the Mass please contact the Parish Office as you will need to secure your seat via the EventBrite website.
Congratulations to all the year three children in our Parish who have made their First Reconciliation this week. On behalf of the parish and school community we would like to express our thanks and gratitude to all those who assisted in preparing these children for their First Reconciliation. May God bless these children and keep them always in the palm of His hand.
Congratulations and best wishes to Miss Brady and Mr Debrincat who will be getting married on Saturday week. We trust Sarah and Aarons special day is one to remember with family and friends. We ask God’s love and blessings upon them both as they begin their life together as husband and wife. The newlyweds will be taking two weeks leave and will return to school on Monday of Week 9 the 7th December. During their leave Miss Ford will be working in year 5 with Mr Barbaro and Mrs Szoloch and Mrs Paley will be teaching year 4.
In recent weeks it has come to my attention that students are increasingly wearing smart watches to school. As with mobile phones children are to leave them in their bags or hand them into the office. The same protocol will now apply to smart watches. The acceptable use IT policy that every child and parent has signed forbids children from using any device [including smart watches] to send emails or make phone calls to people outside the school during the day. Like mobile phones, the school takes no responsibility for any damage or loss to smart watches. If students wish to carry mobile phones or wear smart watches to and from school for safety reasons, they are to hand them in at the office at the beginning of the day and pick them up in the afternoon at the conclusion of the day's classes. Thank you for your support in this matter.
Last Monday week I had the pleasure with Mrs Walsh and the Year 5 teachers to interview some forty odd year 5 children who applied for student leadership positions for 2021. Students from Year 5 applied for one or several of the following positions: School Captain, Prefect or House Sports Captain. Our students answered questions put to them by the panel pertaining to their own personal gifts and talents, leadership skills and how they have and will continue to contribute to our school community as senior student leaders in our school. It is important to note that all our Year 6 senior students will be expected to be responsible leaders in our school in 2021 irrespective of whether they wear a badge with additional responsibilities or not. The student Leadership team for 2021 will be announced on Wednesday 16th December.
Our Year 6 Graduation Mass will be held on Thursday 10th December commencing at 10:30am. Due to COVID restrictions only one parent of each student will be permitted to attend.
Have a great weekend!
Tony Hughes
Principal
