From the Principal

Dear St Therese's Families,

Mary Said YES!

Last Sunday, the Catholic Church celebrated the first Sunday of Advent. In the Catholic Church, Advent is a period of preparation extending over the four Sundays before Christmas. The word Advent comes from the Latin advenio, "to come to," and refers to the coming of Christ.

During Advent, the Catholic Church emphasises the importance of preparing to welcome Jesus. Through the Gospel readings that are encountered each day biblical characters remind Christians of how this can be done.

Mary, the Mother of God, is an important Advent character that reminds Christians of the power of faith and trust in God. Our students learn about Mary as a young woman born without the need to 'play God' or to take more than she needed. When God came calling, Mary made her decision and uttered a joyful YES!

Perhaps, in today's world, we can all still learn a lot from Mother Mary and how to be prepared to allow God to enter our hearts. What will we need to do to allow this to happen? Do we need to let go of hate and distrust? Are we able to open our hearts and be ready? 

At this start of the new Church year, consider as a family what “Advent resolutions” your family might make to help you stay focused so that you will be prepared to receive the salvation we celebrate at Jesus' birth. Pray together for God's help in following through on these resolutions. 

Sacramental Program

Last Sunday, students were finally able to make the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. It was a joyous occasion and wonderful to see their smiling faces and proud families. We look forward to next week as we continue the Sacramental program and pray for the students who are continuing to prepare to receive the Blessed Sacrament for the first time.

Last Week's Nude Food Day

Last week, Year 2G led the school in an effort to clean up our school through a 'Nude Food' lunch day. The class decided to act on this important issue through a discussion at their Class Meeting. As a result, they created posters, spoke over the PA system each day, and inspired other classes to get involved on Nude Food lunch day. 

Here are the posters

Miss Griffiths took some photos of her class' Nude Food lunch boxes. 

Congratulations to 2G for making us aware of this issue and for acting on it in such a responsible and creative way. For the rest of the year, 2G will help to remind us all to put rubbish in the bin and keep our school looking beautiful!

Vaccination Status

Our school follows the COVID guidelines as outlined by the Chief Health Officer and the Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited (DOSCEL).  I need to make parents aware that any parent/visitor attending a school event or entering classrooms will need to be double vaccinated and show their COVID vaccination status.  This is a very delicate situation for some families.  Our staff will be asking to see your status if you are attending a school event.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation. 

End of Year School Reports

The teachers are busy preparing the end-of-year school reports. This year the learning of the students has been disrupted. Teachers have done their very best to continue teaching throughout each lockdown, however as you will understand, teaching remotely has not been ideal. Please consider that your child's report will reflect these disruptions. Your child's teacher will make contact with you prior to the reports going out if your child's learning has not progressed satisfactorily.

The reports will be released to parents in the last week of Term 4 and will only be accessed via our parent portal (PAM - Parent Access Module).  If you are yet to verify your email with PAM you will need to do this in order to gain access.  If you have any issues with this process, please email Kerry O'Connell at koconnell@sttcbourne.catholic.edu.au.

School Fees

A reminder that all school fees are to be finalised by 30th November each year unless you are on a direct debit or have made other arrangements with the school. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact Colleen Johnson at cjohnson@sttcbourne.catholic.edu.au

Have a lovely week!

Michelle Bruitzman

Principal

principal@sttcbourne.catholic.edu.au