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Dear Parents and Carers,
This week I have spent 4 days at the Catholic Leader’s Day and the Catholic Leader’s Retreat in Bowral. The focus of the Leader’s Day has been the refinement of the system Learning Agenda. The Learning Agenda for the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn is centred on five focus areas:
1) Instructional Improvement
2) Instructional Leadership
3) K-2 Literacy and Numeracy
4) Curriculum
5) Data
It is not by chance that St Patrick’s has been aligning our planning and thinking in both a strategic and practical way to these very important elements that have high impact on the success of education.
The Leader’s Retreat experience was led by Professor Br David Hall with the theme, ‘The Virtue of Hope: Leading Learning and Mission.’ We have focused on the core purpose of Catholic schools. One quote for thought and reflection is we are spiritual beings on a human journey from the French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
SPORT
Congratulations to our St Pat’s students who have recently represented our school with pride in a variety of sporting pursuits.
Georgina had a great time on Friday at the Mackillop Basketball trials.
Sienna: Freestyle 12th, Drew: Freestyle 7th, Maddie: Freestyle 12th, Nate: 50m Freestyle 12th, 50m Backstroke 6th, IM 6th, 50m Breaststroke 8th, 50m Butterfly 6th.
Brodie made it onto state in the 100m Freestyle and 50m backstroke. 2nd 100m Freestyle, 3rd 50m Freestyle, 1st 50m backstroke, 3rd IM, 6th breaststroke, 4th butterfly.
In my absence, I would like to commend and thank the other members of the school leadership team: Mrs Perryman and Mrs Grant, and a new member to our team, Mrs Ferris for working diligently in the wet to ensure that school continued to flow smoothly.
I look forward to being back at school next week.
Kind regards,
Jo
What are our targets this year? How can you help?
We are creating a culture of learning.
So your help in developing these skills is essential not only for your child but can significantly support our work as educators.
HOW? Teach them to play by playing with them.
Get your children off the device. Children can not learn to interact, socialise, take turns, say sorry, appropriately express their opinion, empathise with a devise.
Play a game with your children every day. Play hide and seek, cards, hangman, make paper aeroplanes, a ball game (soccer, handball, football, basketball….) go for a walk, go cloud watching, Monopoly, I spy, sock soccer, charades, indoor bowling, duck duck goose, musical chairs, Simon says……the list is endless.
This we week celebrated World Day of Prayer. SRC and Mini Vinnies members attended and participated in the service at the St Patrick’s Church. The host country was Zimbabwe and the theme was “Rise! Take Your Mat and Walk”.
The scripture focus for the celebration was John 5:2-9a:
Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
Our sisters from Zimbabwe are taking Jesus’ encounter to be a call to act in love for peace and reconciliation. “The action verbs suggest that we should not be afraid to act on the word of God. God is offering us the steps for personal and social transformation.” This is the time for change!
Photos will be held on Monday 9th March. Please have your child bring their photo envelope to school to hand to the photographer. Sibling envelopes are available at the school office.
