[email protected]hp://web.spgww.catholic.edu.au/ Term 1 — Week 6 28TH FEBRUARY 2017 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Ash Wednesday Mass 1st March 9:30am Sacred Heart Church Clean Up Australia Day Friday 3rd March 2:10pm on school grounds Netball tryouts Friday 3rd March Jubilee Oval 10:45-11:45. P & F Meeng Monday 6th March 7pm in Staffroom Catholic Schools Week Celebraon Tuesday 7th March - Open Classrooms from 10:30am - Picnic lunch with parents at 11:00am (sausage sizzle available) School Council Meeng Thursday 9th March 7pm in the Boardroom Forensic Workshop (Science Show) Tuesday 14th March Years 3-6 Principal’s Message Why the Ashes on Wednesday? This coming Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent – a me for reflecng on when we have failed to do our best to renew our hearts and live as God wants. It is a period of focusing on God’s love and forgiveness. Tradionally, people oſten give something up for Lent. However, Lent is also a me where we are called to GIVE to others. This could be by contrib- ung regularly to Project Compassion or spending me assisng a new stu- dent to sele in at the school. On Wednesday, we will receive ashes on our forehead in the sign of a cross. This reminds us to follow Jesus; calling us to show love to all we meet and to use our talents to make the world a beer place. All are wel- come to join our College Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday 1st of March at 9:30am in the Church. For everything, there is a season, A me for every maer under heaven: A me to be born and a me to die; A me weep and a me to laugh A me to be sad and a me to dance A me to speak and a me to keep silence.’ Yesterday we celebrated with song and gladness. Today we begin our me of silence and sadness. We will not proclaim ‘Alleluia’ again unl we cele- brate the risen Lord at Easter.
Ash Wednesday Mass 1st March 9:30am Sacred Heart Church Clean Up Australia Day Friday 3rd March 2:10pm on school grounds Netball tryouts Friday 3rd March Jubilee Oval 10:45-11:45. P & F Meeting Monday 6th March 7pm in Staffroom Catholic Schools Week Celebration Tuesday 7th March - Open Classrooms from 10:30am - Picnic lunch with parents at 11:00am (sausage sizzle available) School Council Meeting Thursday 9th March 7pm in the Boardroom Forensic Workshop (Science Show) Tuesday 14th March Years 3-6
Principal’s Message
Why the Ashes on Wednesday?
This coming Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent – a time for reflecting on when we have failed to do our best to renew our
hearts and live as God wants. It is a period of focusing on God’s love and forgiveness.
Traditionally, people often give something up for Lent. However, Lent is also a time where we are called to GIVE to others. This could be by contrib-uting regularly to Project Compassion or spending time assisting a new stu-
dent to settle in at the school.
On Wednesday, we will receive ashes on our forehead in the sign of a cross. This reminds us to follow Jesus; calling us to show love to all we
meet and to use our talents to make the world a better place. All are wel-come to join our College Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday 1st of
March at 9:30am in the Church.
For everything, there is a season, A time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die;
A time weep and a time to laugh
A time to be sad and a time to dance
A time to speak and a time to keep silence.’
Yesterday we celebrated with song and gladness. Today we begin our time of silence and sadness. We will not proclaim ‘Alleluia’ again until we cele-
MEET and GREET It was great to see so many of our families take the opportunity to come to the school to meet with the teachers. Each grade chose to run their evening using the format they felt most comfortable with. If you were unable to make it to these evenings and would like the opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher, please do not hesitate to contact the school to make an appointment. We would encourage open and frank communication between the school and home. MR BILL ROSS Mr. Ross has announced that he is going to retire!!! What an announcement. We are all still catching our breath. Bill has been an outstanding member of the school community here at St Pat’s since 1972. He actually began his teaching career at the then St Brendan’s School Griffith. We will be very sad to see Bill retire but he feels that it is now his time. There will be further updates on Mr. Ross in the coming weeks. We wish all the very best in his retirement. Bill’s contribution to the sporting life of children not only in Griffith but in the wider Griffith community has been outstanding. CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK Catholic Schools Week will run from 5th-11th March this year. The theme is ‘Catholic schools: Great learning, Great communities’. To acknowledge this significant event in our school we will be celebrating on Tuesday 7th March. Our running sheet for the day will look like this. All parents/grandparents and sig-nificant adults are invited to the following: 10:30 am Classroom walkthrough 11:00 am Share a picnic lunch with our students in the school grounds The Year 6 Fundraising committee will also run a Sausage Sizzle for students and families on that day. Please make the most of the opportunity to visit classrooms and to share a lunch with our students. 3 WAY CONVERSATIONS Bookings for 3 way conversation (parent/student/teacher) will be open in SOBS on 16th March. Please take this opportunity for you and your child to book in a time to meet with the teacher about student progress and improvement. MERCY ASSOCIATES The year of the Jubilee of Mercy has finished but we hope that the virtue of Mercy will continue to grow in our lives. Mercy Associates are lay men and women whose lives are inspired by the Mercy charism. There will be an information meeting on the 22nd of March. Those interested in attending the meeting please contact Sr. Theresa Foley on 0429 661 401 or Sr. Tricia Johnson on 0409 913 167. Sandra Campbell Principal COMMUNICATION REMINDER TO PARENTS Skoolbag is now a crucial tool in our communication method to parents along with Facebook and email. If you haven’t already downloaded the app to your smartphone, instructions are on the last page of this newsletter. It’s easy to download and also free.
MIA Deanery Netball Trials Girls from six different MIA Deanery schools came together on Friday to display their netball talents at West End Stadium. Four St Patrick’s students were chosen to progress to the Diocesan Netball Trials to be held in Wagga later this term. Congratulations goes to Eva Catanzariti, Abbey Fedrigo, Charlee King and Emmerson Waide who were our successful players. A big thankyou to our parent representative, Mrs Annette Waide, who volunteered to co-ordinate the event and offer her umpiring expertise on the day. The school is also grateful to Carolyn Burgess and Georgia Fuller who gave up their time to be the selectors for the trials. Mrs Dianne Keenan
Wagga Wagga Diocesan Swimming Carnival
We had 16 students participating at the Diocesan Carnival held in Leeton on Monday 27th February.
Twenty six schools from all over the Wagga Wagga Diocese were represented. Our congratulations to Aida
Wiseman on taking 4 seconds off her entry time in the 9 Years 50m Freestyle event and gaining selection
to attend the MacKillop Swimming Carnival at Homebush later in March. My thanks to our wonderful
parents who continued to support their children and our school by transporting their children to Leeton
and offering help with timekeeping and other duties.
Dear Friends, Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent. This is a penitential season of prayer, self-denial and helping others. In this way, the whole Church prepares for Easter with those who are to be baptised. At our school Mass tomorrow the Blessed Ashes will be distributed and the children will be encouraged to support the Project Compassion Appeal which provides help for the poor in many parts of the world. I pray that this season of Lent will be a special time of renewal and spiritual growth for all of us. God Bless, Fr Grace.
ICAS 2017
If you would like your child to participate in any of the below ICAS assessments please send in entry fee/s
in a clearly marked envelope with name, class and assessment/s you would like to enter.
All entries are to be in by Friday 31st March.
These assessments are open to Years 3-6, Year 2 are able to sit introductory assessments in Science,
