Dear Parents,

Wow! How amazing were our students in the Wakakirri performance at Frankston Cultural Centre last Tuesday night. I am so proud of each student from Years 3 - 6 who all showed great confidence and were shining and flourishing on the stage. Our story dance was focused on Westernport Bay and the need for us all to care for our bay and look after all the birds and sea life. A huge thank you to our wonderful staff for supporting our students, especially Amanda Strickland who showed outstanding leadership choreographing and leading the performance. Also to Lisa, Carol, Katie and all parents who helped with props or costumes.

The students will be performing the Wakakirri story again on Friday 6th September at 6.30pm at Balnarring Hall as part of the Westernport Writers' festival. They will also perform the Wakakirri story at the concert in November.

We celebrated what sounded like a wonderful positive day last Friday at St Mary’s. It was oozing with fun, laughter and positive relationships as students and staff celebrated literacy throughout our Book Day celebration. Thank you to staff for organising Book Day activities and for all parents who came along to the parade to celebrate a love of books with your children.

Natalie Dullard and I had the most amazing experience last week on the Mary Mackillop pilgrimage. Mary Mackillop founded the Josephite order of sisters who led St Mary’s from 1919 till the early eighties. Mary Mackillop was canonised as Australia's first Saint in 2010. She is a role model for all Australians, a strong, courageous, brave, loving leader who worked tirelessly for any need she could address.

Mary MacKillop has been named by many as a 'pioneering woman' of this land, breaking new ground in the field of Catholic education as she set up schools for the working class children in the poorer parts of our cities and in the isolated communities across the newly emerging colonies. She pioneered with Fr Julian Tenison Woods, sending her Sisters out in twos or threes to live among the people, often in places where there was no resident priest. Her Sisters provided the face of the church for many. She is also an Australian spiritual hero. Her life reflects the values that were at the heart of the Australian story - a sense of fair go for everyone, a willingness to stand on the side of the battler, egalitarianism, a tenacity in facing difficult situations and a pragmatic approach to life all speak to the Australian reality.

This week, we celebrate our Dads and father figures. Father Julian Tenison Woods was a Priest, a scientist, an archeologist, a geologist and an absolute pioneer, working closely with Mary Mackillop. He was always looking out for the poor and vulnerable and never afraid of addressing anything he could to respect the dignity of every person in his travels. We continue living out these Catholic Social Teachings in our school today.

I invite all our community to our Father's Day celebrations on Friday. Please invite dads, grandparents and any special men to join in the celebrations as outlined below. Also just a reminder that the Father's Day stall will be running as well. Please see all notes regarding the Father's Day events on Operoo.

Finally, we wish our senior students all the best as they represent our school at the upcoming District Athletics this week.

Yours in Partnership,

Gab

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