A message from our Principal

Dear St. Brendan's School Community,

Last weekend was a very special time for our Parish, as we celebrated 50 years of Father Joe Taylor's Ordination.  

Father Joe has shown such amazing service to Parishioners in 10 Parishes across Victoria and Papua New Guinea.

Father Joe celebrated 50 years of Priesthood, along with married couples celebrating their Gold Wedding Anniversary at 11am Mass.  It was such a lovely experience to witness as the couples renewed their vows.  

Our school presented Father Joe with a beautiful book, which children from all year levels were involved in.  Many thanks to Mrs Pellegrino for all her organisation.  The staff also presented Father Joe with a present.

The Year 3/4 Howley/Dainton class sang a beautiful blessing.

Our Parish is so fortunate to have Father Joe as our Parish Priest.  A man of great faith, service and communication skills.

Congratulations Father Joe.

St. Brendan's Feast Day Celebrations

Last Friday our school was involved with the Kaboom group.  They delivered an action packed Tabloid Sports for all students.

Students were placed in multiage groups with a leader.  It was a fantastic morning and students were thoroughly engaged in the activities as well as the teachers.

The students were very tired and we had a later lunch.  In the afternoon the students were involved in craft activities and games.

A fantastic day with lots of positives from the students and teachers.  Please check our Facebook page for photo's.

Working with Children's Check

Just a reminder to check your Working with Children Check or obtain one as a volunteer. We need to have these if you need to do reading, help out in the school, on excursions etc.

Social Media

There have been many articles regarding social media and the impact on young children. Even though there are positives to social media, research has shown that they are negatives for children under 14 who spend a great deal of time on social media.

The negative impacts are:

1. Addiction - Many students spend hours on social media platforms which affects their academic performance.
2. Cyberbullying - Social media has made it easier for bullies to harass and intimidate their victims, leading to depression and anxiety.
3. Distraction - Social media can be a major distraction for students, affecting concentration.
4. False information - Social media is full of false information which can be misleading.
5. Inappropriate images for younger students.

As parents, we understand how difficult it is with social media with your children.  

eSafety is Australia's independent regulator for online safety.  This includes providing information and tools to manage online safety risks.  We also work with children at school on eSafety strategies.

Food

Teachers have asked me to mention a couple of things about the food children bring to school.  

We have lots of children that have a great lunchbox with sandwiches, wraps etc.  Lately we have observed a number of students coming to school in the morning eating lollies.  We have spoken to them and ask that they don't eat lollies before school.

Children all need a drink bottle with water in it which is placed in the classroom.  Juice boxes are not to be brought to school.

Thanks for your understanding.

Real Schools

Our school has commenced partnership with Real Schools in using strategies to manage behaviour, encourage responsibility and improve students chances of success.  

We have posters around the school to attend a Parent Information Session on Wednesday, 5th June at 6pm.  There is a to scan to register for this event at the bottom of the poster.

We hope to see many parents attending this very important session.

Kind regards, 

Paula Stevenson 

(Principal)