Dear Parents/Carers

On Monday morning I was pleased to attend our Opening School Mass for 2017. This is always a very special occasion. There were two reasons that this year’s mass was so special. Firstly, we were able to officially welcome our new Parish Priest, Fr Dan Redhead.

Fr Dan (as he likes to be known) has come to the Moorooka/Salisbury Parish from some time as Chaplain for the Royal Brisbane Hospital and before that, three years with Wauchope Catholic Parish in New South Wales. Mr Gerrard and I had the opportunity to spend some time with him last week

and he tells us that he is excited to be working in a Parish once more. Welcome to St Brendan’s Catholic Primary School Fr Dan!

We are excited to be able to get to know Fr Dan better as the days, weeks and months pass by. Thank you for visiting us after mass on Monday. We loved meeting you and look forward to seeing you again in our classrooms very soon.

At the conclusion of our Opening School Mass we the saw the commissioning of our student leaders for 2017. Congratulations to Mr Gerrard and Mrs Champniss who prepared the students

so beautifully for this special occasion.

Thank you to all parents/carers who were able to attend our Opening Mass, especially the family members of the Year 6 students. I was so pleased to see so many parents able to witness the commissioning of their children into their new roles as student leaders for 2017. A very heart warming and special time for everyone!

I was especially pleased to see all of our other students behave so brilliantly and sing so beautifully during the mass – I was incredibly proud of you all – thank you students!

Thank you to all the parents/carers who attended last night’s parent information sessions. It is pleasing to see parent/carers taking such a keen interest in your child’s/children’s education at St Brendan’s.

I encourage all parents/carers to continue to build strong partnerships with all school staff throughout the year. A BIG thank you must also go to the teachers who worked hard to prepare these information sessions for you so that you are all aware of what will be happening during 2017 – thank you teachers! Our annual swimming program began last week – thank you to all families who completed their permission forms and prepared the children to be ready for these important lessons. The first of our P&F Meetings for 2016 will be held on Tuesday February 21 at 7.30pm in the

staffroom at St Brendan’s. The meeting will begin with the AGM, where executive members will be officially voted and endorsed for 2017. A general meeting will follow where plans for 2017 will be tabled, discussed and preparations begin. If you are able to give one night a month to meetings and work with an amazingly dedicated and dynamic team please, please call the office and let us know of your interest.

Thank you for the response to my request for tuckshop volunteers. We have had a number of people come forward but need more. So, if you can give a couple of hours each Wednesday to

keep our wonderful tuckshop operating please let the front office know.

February

10 Book Club due 21 P&F AGM and

General Meeting 7.30pm

27 Well Being Week

March 1 Ash Wednesday 3 P&F Harmony

Night Celebrations 10 Last Swimming Day 21 P&F Meeting 31 Last day of Term 1

Feb 9 School Review

Process—Nic, Brendan & Rose

17 Hawtree Street, Moorooka

Phone: 3275 2081 Fax: 3216 7873

pmoorooka@bne.catholic.edu.au

www.stbrendansmoorooka.qld.edu.au

PRINCIPAL

Nicole Cole

PARISH PRIEST

Fr Dan Redhead

8 February 2017

3

St Brendan’s

School Leaders

for 2017

Ryan, Anei, Mark,

Masiha, Bob,

Ava, Marnie, Sunday,

Charli-Rose, Meron

with our new Parish Priest

Fr Dan Redhead

Please note that Term 1 School Fee invoices will be sent home next week. These fees will be sent to all home addresses on file. If you have changed your address recently and have not notified the school can you please do so as a matter of urgency? Thank you in advance for the prompt payment of these fees. A special thank you to many families who have already paid the 2016 Resource Levy for their child/children. A reminder to all families that this levy must be paid and can be paid in instalments should you require some extra time and support. This week all Year 2 – Year 6 students will receive a Catholic Schools Guide - Brisbane for your information and perusal. This guide includes information about most of the Catholic High Schools in the Brisbane Archdiocese. It is hope that it will assist you to select a suitable high school for your child/children. Should you want your child to attend a Catholic high school, the enrolment process with your chosen school should begin when your child is 8 years of age. We always pray for our loving and compassionate God to walk with the St Brendan’s School community in our joys and sorrows. We pray for all families who require that extra special guidance at this time. I especially ask that you include my family in your prayers this week. My dear great aunt passed away last Friday. She is at peace now after many long and difficult years after a severe stroke. Aunty Irene is the sister of my beloved ‘Mama’ who passed away at the same time last year. She has one brother who is the last of twelve siblings so I ask that you keep my Uncle Jimmy in your prayers as he comes to terms with being the only one left from a very large family. Fortunately, he has a large extended family who will watch over him and make sure that he is supported during his time of grief. I am attending Aunty Irene’s funeral today, Wednesday February 8. Rest in peace Aunty Irene! I pray that you all have a terrific week. May God’s blessings be with you and your families today and always! Take care and God bless always In Faith and Love Nicole Cole Principal

McKenna Simpson

for taking the lead on

the yarn bombing

project and getting Yr

5/6 French knitting.

ART NEWS

"What a great start to art this week. The kids have come back full of ideas and excitement. They all created a beautiful heart with their goals for this year.

We also started a big

yarning project for

Harmony Day. Watch

our lovely Frangipani

tree - we are going to

yarn bomb it.

The Year 5/6 students are all busy French

knitting. Friday March the 3rd is Harmony Night and

all the children will have beautiful art work on

display, we already can't wait".

Donna Nicholson Art/Drama Teacher

Uniform Shop Hours

Thursdays 7.45 — 8.30am

2.30 — 3.15pm

Congratulations to the

Best Behaviour Awardees

for this week

Aleak Juaj Sarah Ibrahim

Syon Chadha Niccola Gonzales

McKenna Simpson

Religious Life of the School

Our Beginning of the Year Mass was celebrated Monday and the children had their first chance to welcome Fr Dan. Their behaviour was excellent and they may have received an impromptu jellybean from their teacher because they were so good.

Like Fr Henry, Fr Dan is keen to be a presence in the school as often as possible and we hope he can find a lot of time to be here among the community.

Fr Dan will soon be preparing children for Reconciliation. This may be the 1st or 2nd Rite. If your child is baptised a Catholic or similar denomination and you would like them to receive the sacraments in the Catholic Church, please keep an eye out for this announcement from Fr Dan.

The children will have begun their RE lessons. The whole school is coordinating the content from the year levels of the curriculum and scripture to help us develop as a community. Harmony Night is the culmination of this work before we prepare for the Easter season.

May God bless you and your families for the rest of 2017.

Brendan

For Your Information … St Laurence’s College Open Day Thursday 2 March

2017 4.00-7.00pm. For more information www.sle.qld.edu.au

El Salvador Soccer Club (Cansdale Street Yeronga) looking for U5-U12 players: training Friday evening, games Saturday morning. For more information contact jul10.menendaz.85@gmail.com

Holland Park High Open Morning Tour, Friday 24 February 9.15-11.15am or Twilight Tour Tuesday 7 March 5.00-6.30pm. For more information phone 3347 0111.

An envelope has been given out with contact details for each family.

Please check the details [especially phone numbers and email addresses]. These details need to be correct in cases of emergency and to ensure that you are receiving the newsletter.

Please return the forms as soon as possible.