Principal's Message

“Death does not end our story...Death does not end our relationships...Life is changed not ended”

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we prepare to say farewell to our collegue, friend and leader, Mrs Leonie Burfield, it is important to reflect on the benefits of grieving. While you may not have been close to Leonie, there may be someone else in your life who has recently died or may be going through a significant health struggle.

Whatever your relationship to the person who died or is unwell, it’s important to remember that we all grieve in different ways. There’s no single way to react. When you lose someone important in your life, it’s okay to feel how you feel. Some people express their pain by crying, others never shed a tear—but that doesn’t mean they feel the loss any less.

Don’t judge yourself, think that you should be behaving in a different way, or try to impose a timetable on your grief. Grieving someone’s death takes time. For some people, that time is measured in weeks or months, for others it’s in years.

Allow yourself to feel. The bereavement and mourning process can trigger many intense and unexpected emotions. But the pain of your grief won’t go away faster if you ignore it. In fact, trying to do so may only make things worse in the long run. To eventually find a way to come to terms with your loss, you’ll need to actively face the pain. As bereavement counselor and writer Earl Grollman puts it, “The only cure for grief is to grieve.”

If Mrs Burfield's death has created concerns for you, or someone you know, help is available from;

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636

ARRANGEMENTS FOR TUESDAY (FUNERAL)

All classes WILL have a teacher. However, in most cases these will be teachers who have been provided by our neighbouring Catholic schools and, therefore, do not regularly work in our school. There will be no specialist classes (e.g. Art, Sport etc) on this day. However if your child normally wears their sport uniform on that day, they can still do so.

While the work will be provided by their normal classroom teachers, it will be more of a revision than new content.

There will be someone in the School Office to administer medications, provide first aid and answer any general inquiries, however,  any issues around school fees etc will not be able to be handled on that day.

While I am attending the Funeral with some of our student leaders, Mrs Clare Healy will be the Acting Principal, until I return.

N.B. Our Community will be having a special Mass, followed by a morning tea, to celebrate Mrs Burfield's life on Tuesday 24 June. More information will be sent home closer to this date.

TELL THEM FROM ME SURVEY

Each year parents/carers have the opportunity to provide feedback on their school experiences through the TELL THEM FROM ME SURVEY instrument. Below is a link to take part in this survey. The staff, as well as all students in Years’ 4 - 6  have also ha the opportunity to complete a survey. The results of these surveys are then used by the school and the System  (the data from the last few years was discussed as part of the Inquiry and Review Process) for future planning so I would encourage all parents to engage with it.

http://tellthemfromme.com/sutherland

DEVICE-FREE DAY

During the Term 1 P+F meeting  a suggestion was made to have a regular DEVICE-FREE DAY in the school.

This has been supported by the staff and will take place during Wellbeing Week (Tuesday) each Term. This Term it will take place on TUESDAY 17 JUNE. It would be fantastic if families were able to support this initiative at home on this day by all putting all devices away on this day.

WINTER UNIFORM

There seems to be some confusion around the winter uniform for both the boys and the girls. Please see here for clarification around what is expected.