The Principal's Desk

Dear parents, families and friends,

It has been a busy two weeks here at St. Augustine's.

As I write this edition of the newsletter here in my office on the first day of the Circuit Breaker Lockdown, I am hopeful that we will be back onsite by next Friday 4th June.The reality is that until everyone is vaccinated, lockdowns, face masks, hand sanitising, restricted access and social distancing will be the norm. As soon as more up to date information becomes available I will communicate this to you as soon as possible. At this point we are limiting visitors onsite. Anyone entering the school site can only do so through the administration building and must wear a face mask, sanitise and maintain social distance. Anyone staying longer than 15 minutes must register using the digital check in system.

Over Monday to Thursday any administration queries or payments can be directed to Catherine via email. The office will be staffed by myself and school leaders to answer the phone and door only.

Luckily we were able to hold our Annual School Athletics Carnival on Wednesday. Despite the cold weather and passing showers we managed to get through the day. The students participated with enthusiasm and excitement, giving their best for each event. A big thank you to Miss Wardeiner for all the preparation leading up to the day and all her hard running the day. Thank you to all the staff and teachers who got into the spirit of the day and guided the students through the rotations of events and activities. Thank you also to all the parents who volunteered to help with marshalling, scoring, measuring and raking, all makes the day day run smoothly. In all it was a very successful and fun day.

Congratulations to Avoca Blue House on winning the Athletics Trophy for 2021. The overall scores were:

Avoca Blue House: 976

Fehon Gold House: 896

Somerville Red House: 871

Birmingham Green House: 827

Each week at the Monday morning assembly we pray the St. Augustine's School Prayer. This prayer is special because it was written by the staff and students of the St. Augustine's School Community and speaks deeply about what is important in the life of the school. I am going to break open the prayer by explaining what each phrase means.

Our Father in Heaven - We pray to God our Father. Jesus always referred to God as father and so we do too.

Look over and bless St. Augustine's while we are working and playing - We come to school to learn while working and playing. We learn academically as well as socially. In all that we do we believe God, Jesus, Mary, the Angles and all the Saints look over and bless us.

Help us to respect and care for each other as you taught us to - Jesus is our role model in how to live, respecting and caring for others and our environment.

Give us the opportunity to do our best for you each day - In all that we do, both work and play, we can do our best, try our best and look for those opportunities to be more like Jesus in our interactions with others.

We look forward to being able to share our lives with our friends and families - Time with others is important, especially our friends and families. We share our lives by talking with others, spending time with them and sharing our belongings with them.

Keep us safe and give us the courage to be people who want to know you more - Sometimes it is not easy to be a child of God and doing the right things that God needs us to do. We pray to God to be with us during these times.

Quotes of the Week:

"Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence." -- Saint Francis de Sales 

"If you ever feel distressed during your day -- call upon our Lady -- just say this simple prayer: 'Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.' I must admit -- this prayer has never failed me." -- Blessed Mother Teresa

Have a great weekend! Stay Safe! Stay Warm!

 I hope to see you all next week on Friday 4th June!!

Kind regards,

Matthew Stead

Principal