Celebrating and Living our Faith at St. Brigid’s

The coming weeks are chock full of examples and opportunities of our St. B’s community celebrating and living out our Catholic faith and connection with each other and the wider community.

Catholic Education Week 2025

Our Mini Vinnies have been gathering weekly and it has been exciting to welcome new members and benefit from their involvement and ideas. Currently this enthusiastic team are busy planning and preparing lunch time activities for Catholic Education Week to be celebrated this year from Sunday 16th-23rd March. As part of the MACS celebrations, our collective Brigid Cloak Artwork on the wall in our learning Street and Isabella Sparreboom’s (Yr 6 -2024) St. Brigid depiction, have both been selected to feature in the MAC’s Creative Arts Exhibition throughout this week. In addition, our School and Vice Captains and our Leader of Learning have all been invited to represent St. Brigid’s at the MACs schools mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday March 21st. Stay tuned for further details of activities throughout this week.

Reconciliation

Our Middles Students have been focussing on Reconciliation and forgiveness in their learning and are engaging in a Reflection Day this coming Monday 3rd March to further enhance their experiences, thinking and connection around relationships and faith. We are excited to welcome members of our St. Brigid’s parish to help share their knowledge, thoughts and skills to make this a memorable day for our students.

In line with this learning, about 30 of our St. Brigid’s Students are also preparing for their Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation). Throughout March they will join our parish, students from Holy Cross and our Catechist program, for their Commitment Mass, combine with their parents and peers at our Family Sacramental night and then gather together to engage in their First Reconciliation at a ceremony in our church. We are looking forward to these opportunities to connect with each other to support this important element of these students’ faith journey.

Ash Wednesday Mass

On Wednesday 5th March we invite you to join us for our whole school Ash Wednesday Mass in the church at 9:15am.

Ash Wednesday begins the 40 days of Lent, a time when we stop and reflect on our actions and ways we can be more like Jesus in the way we live, love and serve others. During mass on this day, ashes are applied to our foreheads in the shape of the cross. When we receive the ashes we are asked to reflect on the recent times we might have broken or damaged our relationships with others and God by not always acting with kindness, respect, consideration or compassion. The ashes are a symbol of asking for forgiveness, restoring and reconciling good relationships and renewing our promise to live like Jesus did. It reminds us that God is there to forgive us when we show we are sorry and make a commitment to do better. The season of Lent provides us with a focus to cleanse and renew our faith as we prepare for Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Prep RE in Action

Our Preps are busy learning about who Jesus is, about his family and how his life would have been VERY different to ours. One of the ways we explored this was through different activity stations inviting us into aspects of Jesus’ life including going to the temple, dough rolling, clothes washing, wooden blocks, market stall and clothes making.

Washing the Clothes

Rolling the dough

Playing with blocks like Jesus

In the temple

At the market

Making the clothes

Physical Education

House Swimming

Students from Grades 3 to 6 made a splash at the Gisborne Aquatic Centre, competing in swimming trials in the morning for the upcoming Macedon Ranges Swimming Carnival. Swimmers gave it their all, demonstrating skill, determination, and great sportsmanship as they raced for a place in the next stage of competition.

In the afternoon, the entire school joined in the fun with a series of exciting novelty events. From raft races to noodle relays, there was plenty of laughter and enthusiasm as students cheered each other on. A highlight of the day was the much-anticipated staff vs. student relay, where the teachers proved they still have what it takes, securing a well-earned victory over the students!

Congratulations to Mackillop who were the winning house!

A big thank you to the teachers, staff, Salesian students and volunteers who helped make the day run smoothly. Congratulations to all our swimmers—we look forward to seeing our representatives compete at the Macedon Ranges Swimming Carnival!

Interschool Swimming – Macedon Ranges Swimming Carnival

The top competitors from our recent House Swimming Carnival took to the pool at the Macedon Ranges Swimming Carnival, held at the Sunbury Aquatic Centre. Our swimmers put in outstanding performances, demonstrating great skill, determination, and sportsmanship against strong competition from schools across the region.

A special congratulations to the following students who achieved a top-two placing in their events and have now qualified for Division Swimming:

Wallace Lyons - Freestyle

Chloe Monaghan - Freestyle

Violet Russell - Breaststroke

Skye Juric - Breaststroke

We would also like to extend a huge thank you to Megan Lyons and Emily Monaghan for volunteering their time to cover two of our school responsibilities on the day. Your support was greatly appreciated and helped ensure the event ran smoothly!

We are incredibly proud of all our swimmers for their effort and commitment. Best of luck to those progressing to the next level—we can’t wait to see you in action at Division Swimming!

Digital Technologies

With the recent media discussions around Artificial Intelligence (AI), I wanted to update you on how we are guiding students in its responsible use at St Brigid’s.

Following the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) approach - "Safety First, Learning Always"—we are integrating AI into learning in a safe, informed, and purposeful way. Rather than banning AI, MACS encourages students to develop digital confidence by understanding its capabilities, ethical implications, and responsible use.

In our classrooms, we have been exploring:

How AI Works – Understanding what AI is and how it processes information.
Ethical Considerations – Discussing fairness, privacy, misinformation, and bias.
Should AI Be Used in Education? – Encouraging critical thinking on when AI is helpful and when human judgment and creativity are essential.
Using Google Gemini – We are incorporating Google Gemini, an AI tool within our Google Apps for Education suite, to support learning in a controlled environment. No student data is collected or used to train future AI models, ensuring privacy and safety.

Last week, we held dedicated AI lessons with Grade 3–6 students, exploring these topics through hands-on activities. Together, we have developed a class set of expectations for the responsible use of AI in our learning.

By engaging students in these discussions early, we aim to equip them with the skills to navigate AI confidently and ethically now, and when they transition to high school.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.

Thanks,

Daniel

dgarcia@sbgisborne.catholic.edu.au

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