Dear Parents and Friends,

I hope you have had a great week and are enjoying some more freedoms as we reach vaccination goals. As of today more are lifted, but as always restrictions may be slightly different to what we have to follow in the school setting. At this stage I have not been advised from Melbourne Archdiocese Schools (MACS) what the restrictions mean for us. I am participating in a Webex tonight at 4.30pm with Mary Oski (MACS staff), who will hopefully give us some clarity around what the restrictions mean for schools. Tomorrow, I will send out a SkoolBag to hopefully outline what it means for us here at school.

Sorry I cannot be more specific but I should have more news tomorrow.

It is very important to keep your children home if they are feeling unwell and it is really important to get them tested if they have any COVID like symptoms.

Most common symptoms:

fever
couch
tiredness
loss of taste or smell

Less common symptoms:

sore throat
headache
aches and pains
diarrhoea
a rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes
red or irritated eyes

The symptoms are similar to a cold, but it is essential that you get them tested.

At this stage we are very lucky that we have only had 1 case here at school and that is through the vigilance of families, coming to collect their children if they are feeling unwell. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Transition Dates for Years F-5 Students

Our transition dates for 2022 will now be reduced from 4 sessions to 3.

The dates will be as follows:

Monday 29th November
Monday 6th December
Friday 10th December - where the children will meet their teacher and classmates for 2022.

End of Year Assembly

Once again the End of Year Assembly will be recorded. This is due to the density level for schools still in place. As we did last year we will record the assembly and place it on Youtube (private) and send the link out to you via the newsletter and Skoolbag.

It is a shame, but again really beyond our control……bring on 2022 when hopefully the COVID layer will be significantly reduced. As always the health and safety of the St Brigid’s community is my first priority.

Busy run to the end of the Year

We have a very busy run to the end of the year. We have 31/2 weeks left and we have the following events occurring:

Week 8

Wednesday 24th to Friday 26th November - Year 5/6 Camp

Thursday 25th November - Foundation 2022 Transition from 9.15am - 10.45am

- 1/2 Excursion

Friday 26th November - Year 3 Reconciliation at St Brigid’s Church - 9.30am

Week 9 -

**Concert recording for class levels start this week**

Monday 29th November - Transition for our 2022 Year 1 - 5 students

Tuesday 30th November - AGM for the School Advisory Council

Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd December - Year 4 Camp

Friday 3rd December - Colour Run and sausage sizzle & St Vinnies Xmas Food Drive

Week 10

**Recording of End of Year assembly starts this week**

Tuesday 7th December - Year 6 St Bedes Orientation Day

Friday 10th December - End of Year Mass - 11.30am at St Brigid’s Church

End of Year Assembly will be recorded and sent to parents on Friday 10th December

Week 11

Monday 13th December - Foundation incursion

Tuesday 14th December - Year 6 Graduation Liturgy at St Brigid’s church 5pm

Wednesday 15th December - Year 6 Big Day Out

End of School for All Students - 3:15pm

We will be having a small ceremony for the Year 6’s outside from 2.45pm.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Each year St Brigid's help our local chapter of St Vincent de Paul with their local food drive. This year supplies are again critically low as we move towards the Christmas period. We are asking all families to bring in a donation of groceries, toiletries or Christmas items. We would like all donations by Friday 3 December.

Some suggested donations are:

Foundation - Toiletries - shampoo, toilet paper, toothpaste, tooth brushes, nappies, deodorant

Year 1/2 - Chocolates and Lollies for Christmas

Year 3/4 - Tinned Fruit, Sweet and Savoury Biscuits

Year 5/6 - Tea Bags, Coffee, Milo, sugar

Or anything that you could use on a Christmas Table - Christmas pudding, mince pies, serviettes, bon bons.

Please check the 'use by' date on all items donated.

School Fees

School fees are now overdue unless you have a specialised payment plan in place. Families on direct debit payments please review your last statement to ensure that your fees are paid in full by end of year. Thank you to those families who have made recent payments.

If you have any queries please contact Fiona Blair - finance@sbmord.catholic.edu.au

Yours in partnership

Wendy Sullivan

Principal

St Brigid's News and Events