Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of St Brigid’s,

Welcome back!

I hope you all had a relaxing break. Whether you went away or stayed close to home, I hope the holidays gave you some special time with your family. It has been lovely hearing the children share stories about their adventures.

Can you believe Week 1 is already done? This term is full of exciting learning and wonderful opportunities, beginning with our Grandparents and Grandfriends morning next Friday!

Term 2 Round-Up

As our students created a wonderful end of term newsletter, I thought this would be a great opportunity to reflect on what was truly a remarkable Term 2.

Reading the Student Self-Reflections in the Semester 1 Reports, it is clear that our students have loved the many opportunities they have experienced, including:

Engaging units of learning focused on history, science and novel studies.
The Year 3 Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Our ANZAC Day Ceremony.
Class Assemblies and having parents join us to celebrate our learning.
Students proudly leading School Tours.
Whole School Masses.
Prayer in Pyjamas and Milo's birthday celebrations for our Foundation students.
Amazing excursions and incursions.
Mother's Day Breakfast and Mother's Day Stall.
The support of our wonderful Classroom Helpers.
The Junior Mayor experience with the City of Kingston.
Running Club, the St Brigid's House Cross Country, District Cross Country and Division Cross Country, with a special congratulations to Harry S for progressing to the State Cross Country Championships.
Year 5/6 Lightning Premiership Winter Interschool Sport competitions.
Collecting items for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.
The Foundation to Year 4 Swimming Program.
National Reconciliation Week Liturgy.
Commitment Masses and Faith Nights.

We cannot thank our parents enough for your commitment to these events and the investment you make in your child's journey at St Brigid's. Your presence and positive support demonstrate the value you place on your child's learning and their school experience. Working together as a partnership between home and school truly makes a difference.

School Review

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, we welcomed our School Reviewer, Craig Tanner, as part of our four-year School Review process. During his visit, he met with staff, parents and students to gain a deeper understanding of what we are doing well and where we can continue to grow as we develop our next School Improvement Plan.

The review was an extremely positive experience. Craig commented on the welcoming and inclusive culture of our school, the strong relationships evident between staff and students, and the genuine sense of community that exists at St Brigid's. He was particularly impressed by the confidence of our students, who spoke proudly about their learning and their school. We look forward to receiving the final report, which will help guide our improvement journey over the next four years.

Body Education Program with Kelly Nash

We are very pleased to be welcoming back Kelly Nash, who will be presenting her Body Education Program in August. The sessions will run on Wednesday August 12th & Thursday August 13th.

We are offering three sessions F-2, Year 3/4 and Year 5/6. Please see the Wellbeing Section of our newsletter for all the information and booking details.

School Uniform

Now that we are well into winter, this is a friendly reminder that students should be wearing their full winter school uniform each day. Please ensure your child brings a warm coat to school.

Students are also welcome to wear a beanie during the colder weather. School beanies are available for purchase from PSW. Alternatively, students may wear a plain navy beanie from home. We ask that bright coloured beanies are not worn, as the navy beanie complements our school uniform.

Thank you for your support in helping our students stay warm while maintaining a neat and consistent school uniform.

🏃‍♀️ Athletics Carnival Wednesday 5 August - Save the Date

Our Athletics Carnival is fast approaching and will be held in Week 4 on Wednesday 5 August. Last year it took us three attempts before the weather cooperated! This year, I am convinced we are going to enjoy a beautiful sunny day.

For this event to be successful, we need as many parent helpers as possible. Please keep the date free if you are available. A notice will be sent out shortly seeking volunteers. Please remember that all parent helpers require a current Working With Children Check.

🏅 Champions Corner

Congratulations to Harry S, who proudly represented St Brigid's at the State Cross Country Championships today. Harry came 9th and has now made the State Team!!! Well done Harry - that is incredible news. We are so proud of your achievement and the dedication you have shown throughout the season.

Harry also made the Little Athletics Vic State team. What a champ!

Good luck to our Year 5/6 Girls Football Team, who will compete at the Division Finals next Monday, 20 July. We wish Ava, Asher, Eva, Briar, Jordyn, Emelia, Isla, Edith, and Kit the very best.

Congratulations to the Year 5/6 boy soccer team who came runner up in the Interschool sports. Rafael, Eddie, Gus, PJ, Torin, Gabriel, Mato, Patrick, Ricky, Kyle.

Congratulations to Emily and Emelia who during the holidays represented Victoria at the Australian Gymnastics Championships. Here is what Emily wrote:

" During the winter school holidays I had the honour to represent Victoria at the Australian Gymnastics Championships. The competition was held in Sydney, at the Olympic Park.

I was qualified to compete in synchronised and individual trampoline. There were athletes from all states. I came in 9th place for individual trampoline and 12th place in synchronised trampoline level 5. I did not bring any medals home but it was a great experience! A reminder that everyone should give it a go and keep working hard to achieve their dreams."

"I'm lucky to represent not only my club but also Victoria as a state at the Australian National Championship. Unfortunately in the leadup week to the competition I fell ill, with a bad fever and an ear infection. Given the investment of time and energy throughout the year I decided to compete regardless. I was lucky enough to make the final, achieving my goal. But whilst there, I managed to move up another place. I finished first from Victoria for level 5 and placed 6th overall in Australia. I am very proud of myself and the result I managed to achieve. Hopefully I can get an even better result next year." from Emelia.

Well done Emily and Emelia - we are so proud of you.

Congratulations to Will Spink (3/4H) who has been selected as an emergecy for the U12's Victorian State Touch Football team. Well done Will. Your hardwork and training is paying off.

Congratulations to Juliete who is representing Victoria in the National Ballet Competition in Brisbane in two weeks.

Congratulations also to Amy (Harvey and Hamish's mum), Hayley (Flynn, Ashton and Maddie's mum) and Christina (Tom and Sam's mum), who all completed the 42 km Gold Coast Marathon. What an incredible accomplishment! We are so proud of you all.

If your children are doing well in a sport outside of school please email me so we can share their good news with our St Brigid's community.

✝️ Confirmation

On Saturday 1 August at 1.00 pm, our Year 6 students will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Next week, the Episcopal Vicar, Fr Andrew Madry, will visit our Year 6 students to support them in preparing for this important step in their faith journey. Please keep all of our Confirmation candidates in our prayers as they continue their preparation.

⏰ Arriving at School on Time

Just a friendly reminder that students should be in their classrooms by 8.45 am, ready to begin the day settled and prepared for learning.

Classrooms open at 8.40 am. If students arrive after 8.45 am, they need to sign in at the office before quietly making their way to class. They will have time later to unpack their belongings, which helps minimise disruptions and ensures learning begins promptly.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Medication at School

We are deep into the cold and flu season and I wanted to reminde parents about the MACS policy change that I alerted you to at the beginning of the year.

No staff can administer any medication to students at St Brigid’s without a signed Medical Authority Form. This form must be signed by an AHPRA registerd Health Professional eg. your family doctor or pharmacist. If your child regularly takes medication such as Claratyne or Panadol or if your doctor prescribes antibiotics for a short period of time please get the form signed so we can support your child at school. This is a directive from Melbourne Archdiocese of Melbourne for all schools.

⛑️ First Aid Training

This week, all staff completed their compulsory biannual Anaphylaxis Refresher Training. Following the theory component, every staff member is individually assessed on the practical administration of an EpiPen to ensure they are confident and prepared to respond quickly in the event of an emergency.

The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our highest priority, and regular training ensures all staff maintain the knowledge and skills required to provide the best possible care.

👵 Grandparents & Grandfriends Day – Friday 24 July

We are looking forward to celebrating our wonderful grandparents and special friends next Friday.

The morning will begin with a special Liturgy in the hall, followed by classroom visits where our students can proudly share their learning. Guests are then invited to enjoy a delicious morning tea together. It is always one of our favourite community events, and we look forward to welcoming so many special visitors to St Brigid's. If you would like a photo of your child/ren with their grandparents please email to jmarziano@sbmord.catholic.edu.au by Tuesday morning - 21 July. Apologies in advance, in order for us to prepare our slideshow for Friday we will not be able to accept late photo submissions.

💯 100 Days of Foundation

Next Tuesday our Foundation students will celebrate their 100th Day of School. We are looking forward to seeing some very "bright" Foundation students around the school as they dress up to mark this exciting milestone!

The day will include lots of fun activities centred around the number 100, followed by a special camp experience after school.

Congratulations to our Foundation students on reaching this wonderful milestone.

Book Week & Book Fair

Term 3 is always a favourite at St Brigid's as we celebrate Book Week and our annual fundraising Book Fair. This year our Book Fair runs from - Monday 11th August to Thursday 14th August. We then follow on with Book Week runs from Saturday 22nd 23rd of August to Friday 28 August.

We have some great activities planned during Book Week including our annual Book Week Parade.

Book Week Parade - Friday 28th August August - 9:00am - Come Dressed as your Favorite Book Character

Get your thinking hats on about your costume! The teachers are busy planning their outfits!

Assembly - Tomorrow - 2:15pm

We will be holding a general Assembly at 2:15pm tomorrow afternoon in Brigid Hall. All welcome.

Nforma Connect -Upgrade to New App Now

The new nForma CONNECT app is now available from the app store. Parents will be automatically prompted to download the new app starting Monday 20th July. The old APP (nForma for Parents) will be decommissioned by the end of July. We encourage all families to download the new app now!

With Sympathy

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Edkins Family - Maddie, Steve, Alice and Cooper on the passing of Maddie's beloved Nana and Alice (FE) and Cooper's Great Nana - Eleanor Heath.

Warm regards,.

Wendy Sullivan

Principal

RE News

St Brigid's Parish Bulletin