Principal's Message

On July 26 we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Joachim and Anne who are Saint Mary's parents. They are also recognised as the Patron Saints of Grandparents. The feast day celebrates these humble parents of Mary who are unnamed in Scripture. The first mention of Anne and Joachim in Christian tradition is an apocryphal text from the second century. We honour Saints Anne and Joachim because they reared the perfect child Mary and were grandparents to Jesus, the Son of God.

Let us Pray. 

Saints Joachim and Anne, 

may your quiet, hidden roles in the Divine plan

inspire all who do the Church’s work behind the scenes and out of view 

to persevere in supporting the Church’s saving mission. Amen

Remote Learning 

Thank you to the whole community for the way you have worked together in such difficult times. 

• To the teachers...for your hard work in preparing such great online learning for the students.
• To the parents...for the sacrifices you have had to make to support your children in accessing online learning at home. I would also like to congratulate and acknowledge the great work that you are doing in you role as “teacher”.
• To the students…for the way you have embraced the challenges and the great work you are doing.

Throughout this week all class teachers have endeavoured to contact every child’s parent through our check-in phone calls. The teachers have found this to be a wonderful experience as they were able to connect with the students of their class and support their parents. 

The lockdown has already impacted extra curricular activities and planned events that were planned for weeks 1-3.  These include the cancellation of: 

• Walk-a-thon
• Galilee Athletics Carnival
• St Anne & St Joachims breakfast, celebration and Mass
• First Holy Communion Sessions 1, 2 & 3
• Debating for Stage 3
• Open Day
• Sculptures by Galilee with George Raftopoulos

When we “get to the other side” of this lockdown and are able to reschedule our school events in a safe environment we will do so as soon as possible. We are already making tentative arrangements. 

Deepest Sympathy

We offer our thoughts and prayers to the Maher Family, who lost their grandmother, June Rita last week. We extend our deepest sympathy to the family at this sad and difficult time. 

May eternal rest grant unto her O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.

We would like to get some feedback about how remote learning has been going for you and your child so far. This will help the teachers to plan the learning for the next week. Please take the time to complete thisvery shortRemote Learning Survey Form Feedback by Friday 23 July - for each of your children at Galilee. Your responses will assist staff to improve the way in which Remote Learning can better meet the needs of your family.

An interesting reflection...

WE ARE NOT IN THE SAME BOAT ...

I heard that we are all in the same boat, but it's not like that. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa. For some, quarantine is optimal. A moment of reflection, of re-connection, easy in flip flops, with a cocktail or coffee. For others, this is a desperate financial & family crisis.

For some that live alone they're facing endless loneliness. While for others it is peace, rest & time with their mother, father, sons & daughters.

With the weekly increase in unemployment benefits some are bringing in more money to their households than they were working. Others are working more hours for less money due to pay cuts or loss in sales.

Some families of 4 just received benefits from the stimulus while other families of 4 saw $0. Some were concerned about missing out on their annual holiday while others were concerned if there would be enough bread, milk and eggs for the weekend. Some want to go back to work because they don't qualify for unemployment and are running out of money. Others want to kill those who break the quarantine.

Some are home spending 2-3 hours/day helping their child with online schooling while others are spending 2-3 hours/day to educate their children on top of a 10-12 hour workday. Some have experienced the near death of the virus, some have already lost someone from it and some are not sure if their loved ones are going to make it. Others don't believe this is a big deal. Some have faith in God and expect miracles during this 2021. Others say the worst is yet to come.

So, friends, we are not in the same boat. We are going through a time when our perceptions and needs are completely different.

Each of us will emerge, in our own way, from this storm. It is very important to see beyond what is seen at first glance. Not just looking, actually seeing.

We are all on different ships during this storm experiencing a very different journey.

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HAVE YOUR SAY: Electric vehicle charging in the eastern suburbs

Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra Councils are seeking feedback from community members on electric vehicles purchasing and preferred locations for public charging stations in the local area.

Provide feedback online via this short survey: https://haveyoursay.waverley.nsw.gov.au/evcharging

Closing date: 29 August

Your feedback is valuable to inform upcoming projects in this area. 

Thank you for your time and input!

Regards

Anna Novak

Principal