Principal's Message
Sunday, 25 July 2021, has been designated by Pope Francis as the First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly (Ord Time 17). It coincides with the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus, on July 26.
Occurring in the Year of Amoris Laetitia Family 2021-22 with the theme, ‘I am with you always’, the day draws attention to the vital role grandparents and the elderly play in our communities and in the mission of the Church.
PRAYER FOR THE FIRST WORLD DAY
for Grandparents and the Elderly
I thank You, Lord,
for the comfort of Your presence:
even in times of loneliness,
You are my hope and my confidence,
You have been my rock and my fortress since my youth!
I thank You for having given me a family
and for having blessed me with a long life.
I thank You for moments of joy and difficulty,
for the dreams that have already come true in my life and for those that are still ahead of me.
I thank You for this time of renewed fruitfulness to which You call me.
Increase, O Lord, my faith,
make me a channel of your peace,
teach me to embrace those who suffer more than me, to never stop dreaming
and to tell of your wonders to new generations.
Protect and guide Pope Francis and the Church,
that the light of the Gospel might reach the ends of the earth. Send Your Spirit, O Lord, to renew the world,
that the storm of the pandemic might be calmed,
the poor consoled and wars ended.
Sustain me in weakness
and help me to live life to the full
in each moment that You give me,
in the certainty that you are with me every day, even until the end of the age.
Amen.
Welcome back to school for term 3. I hope everyone had an enjoyable break. Whilst we have a few restrictions, we are very blessed to be outside of the remote learning zone, we hope it stays this way.
Attendance
In analysing attendance data, I have noticed that, as a school, we have had quite a large number of absences so far this year. I understand that you have to keep your children at home if they are sick but on top of that we are having students taking time off when a sibling is sick, plus there are lots of trips away, particularly to the snow at the moment.
These extra days soon mount up, with a few students now at the point of having had nearly a third of the year away from school. If this was to happen every year over the thirteen years of schooling it would put them 4 years behind their peers by the end of school with many concepts missed. This would have a major impact on their learning and hence results.
Road Safety
Could I please ask that you are particularly careful when collecting your children from the other side of the bridge in Victoria Street. We have had a few near misses of late where teachers and students have almost been run over. Please be patient and drive slowly as there are quite a number of people now taking this option for pickup and it is getting very busy.
Have a lovely week!
Kayleen Petzer
Principal