Dear Parents and Carers,

This Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day in Australia. We honour not just Dads, but grandfathers, big brothers, uncles, and anyone else who fulfills a fatherly role in the lives of their children.

It has extra significance in this Year of St Joseph as we also recall the exemplary role-model and patron saint of fathers—Saint Joseph—foster father of Jesus, husband of Our Lady and patron of the Universal Church.

St Joseph experienced the same difficulties in life we all do, yet he lived an exemplary life and established an ideal that is well-worth emulating for all fathers who have come after him. St Joseph was a man of compassion and caring. He was a man possessed of unwavering faith in God. He was a man who loved and protected his family. As St Matthew describes him in his Gospel, Joseph was a “righteous man” (Mt 1:19).

On this Father’s Day, let us ask St Joseph for his intercession on behalf of all dads and that his holy example continue to be an inspiration to all fathers.

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it ... Dad

- Author Unknown

As we come towards the final weeks of Term 3, we are beginning to plan our classes for the 2025 school year. It is this time of the year that we invite parent input regarding classes for next year.

 If parents have a genuine reason for class placement requests for next year, could you please send your request via email (principal@stmnewbor.catholic.edu.au) or put it in writing addressed to me by Friday 20th September. 

We put careful consideration and an enormous amount of time and effort into the creation of classes each year and many factors are taken into consideration.  A written request will be considered, but please understand that  it is not a guarantee, as many factors are taken into account when creating classes.  We are blessed to have a dedicated and highly skilled teaching staff who collaborate to give the very best learning opportunities to all students in our care. Any teacher requests must have a clear and supported reason and we ask you to understand that your requests may not be able to be fulfilled. Please be aware that a request must be made for the current year, we will not be referring to requests made 12 months ago as circumstances change. Please be aware that we cannot consider any requests made after Friday September 20^th as we need to move forward to create our classes for the coming year.

A huge and heartfelt thank you to our wonderful parents and staff for the fantastic job you did with our recent disco. The children had a great time and the support from our school community made the night such a success.

Our Book Week celebrations were fabulous, with every kind of magic you could imagine, parading around the school. The activities were great and a credit to the teamwork and dedication of our staff.

These events are such a wonderful way to celebrate our school community and provide a learning experience for the children that is exciting and fun.

Thank you to our parents for the way you engage with our system of recording absences, using the Parent Access Module (PAM) or calling the office. Your commitment to letting us know if your child will be away from school ensures we are providing a safe and supportive environment for every child.

This Sunday begins Child Safety Week and the following posters will be displayed and discussed throughout the school. It is a powerful reminder of the need for all children to understand what it means to feel safe and who they can turn to if they are feeling unsafe. Parents may also need guidance and support with their children and this information provides a range of agencies that you can turn to if you need support.

As part of Child Safety Week, our Year 6 Mini Oblates made a video to share the message that “Every Conversation Matters” and how our school makes them feel safe. It was entirely unscripted and was completed in one take, with the children giving their personal view as to what makes us feel safe at school.  We are so proud of our Mini Oblates and the support they give to our school community.

This is the link to the video they made:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HJR0gndazbIyGaB_JLKVtCt0Ql0yrY5L/view?usp=drivesdk

Just a reminder that  we will be holding a Father's Day breakfast and Prayer Gathering on Monday the 2nd of September.

The breakfast will commence at 7.45am in the schoolyard and finish at 8.30am. Dads will then head over to the Church for our Father’s Day Prayer Gathering at 9am.

Father's Day Raffle

Drawn today - winners to be announced in our next newsletter so as not to spoil the surprise!

Thank you to all the families who generously donated goods for the Father's Day Raffle.  As a result the Craft ladies were able to put together 15 fantastic Prizes.

A big thank you to the Craft Ladies for all the work you do to prepare for both the Raffle and the Stall.

To place orders online please click the link below: 

PAM (Parent Access Module)

Lunch Orders

Found

A pair of children's glasses have been handed in to the office. Let Sandi know if you they belong to your child please.

September 

• Monday 2nd - Father's Day Breakfast 7.45am & Prayer Gathering 9am
• Thursday 5th - Assembly 2.30pm
• Monday 9th to Thursday 12th - F to 2 Swimming Program
• Wednesday 11th - 5/6 Excursion to Village Cinema
• Monday 16th to Thursday 19th - F to 2 Swimming Program
• Tuesday 17th - Division Athletics
• Thursday 19th - Footy Day & Hot Dog Day, Assembly 2.30pm & students last day for term 3
• Friday 20th - School Closure for Staff Professional Development

October

• Monday 7th - Students first day Term 4
• Thursday 10th - First Communion parent meeting 6pm
• Friday 11th - PJ Day, Gold coin donation TBC
• Sat 12th/Sun 13th - First Communion Commitment Mass
• Thursday 17th - Assembly 2.30pm
• Friday 25th - National Teacher Appreciation Day
• Thursday 31st - Italian/Multicultural Day

November

• Monday 4th - School Closure for Staff time in lieu
• Tuesday 5th - School Closure for Melbourne Cup
• Wednesday 6th - School Closure for Staff Professional Development
• Thursday 14th - Assembly 2.30pm
• Friday 15th - Crazy Hair Day, food donation for St Vincent de Paul TBC
• Sat 15th/Sun17th - Sacrament of Holy Communion
• Thursday 28th - Assembly 2.30pm

December 

• Monday 9th - St Mary's Christmas Carols and Picnic 5pm
• Thursday 12th - End of Year Mass & Year 6 Graduation Dinner 
• Monday 16th to Tuesday 17th - Year 3/4 Camp Waratah Bay 
• Tuesday 17th - Students Last Day