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| Wednesday 17th September | Kinder/Year 6 Mass, 9.00am | |
| Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm | ||
| Thursday 18th September | Years 3 and 4 Basketball Gala Day | |
| Friday 19th September | Years 5 and 6 Basketball Gala Day | |
| Nude Food Friday | ||
| Monday 22nd September | Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm | |
| Confirmation Lesson 1, 6.15pm | ||
| Wednesday 24th September | Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm | |
| Friday 26th September | Nude Food Friday | |
| NO Assembly | ||
| Last day of school for Term 3 | ||
| Monday 13th October | Term 4 commences - Full summer uniform to be worn | |
| Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm | ||
| Confirmation Lesson 2, 6.15pm | ||
| Wednesday 15th October | Year 1 & Year 5 Mass, 11.30am | |
| Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm | ||
| Friday 17th October | Stage 3 Public Speaking | |
| Nude Food Friday | ||
| Monday 20th October | Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm | |
| Confirmation Lesson 3, 6.15pm | ||
| Wednesday 22nd October | K-2 Learn to Swim - 1 | |
| Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm | ||
| Opening Christmas Art Expo | ||
| Friday 24th October | Nude Food Friday | |
| Year 4 visit by Father, 11.30am | ||
| Assembly, 2.10pm | ||
| Monday 27th October | Newsletter Week | |
| Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm | ||
| Confirmation Lesson 4, 6.15pm | ||
| Wednesday 29th October | K-2 Learn to Swim - 2 | |
| Year 3 & Year 6 Mass, 11.30am | ||
| Clothing Pool, 2.15pm-3.15pm |
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| Friday 31st October | Nude Food Friday | |
| World Teachers' Day |
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| Kinder 2026 - Playgroup - 9.00am-10.00am | ||
| Year 6 visit by Father, 11.30am | ||
| Assembly, 2.10pm |
Reflection
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd steward. Jesus reminds us, “You cannot serve both God and wealth.” We are called to place God first in our lives and to use our time, talents, and treasures in ways that serve others and build God’s Kingdom. At school and at home, we are invited to make good choices—choices that reflect kindness, honesty, generosity, and fairness.
For our children, this Gospel is a reminder that small actions matter. When they share with a friend, include someone who is left out, or show respect for teachers and family, they are being faithful in “small things.” As Jesus says, if we are trustworthy in little things, we can be trusted with much more.
May this week be a time for us as a community to reflect on how we use what God has given us—not for ourselves alone, but to bring joy, hope, and love to others.
Principal’s Retreat
On Monday and Tuesday, I was blessed with the opportunity to take part in the Principal’s overnight retreat. This time away provided a chance to pause, slow down, and reflect, while also offering inspiration both personally and professionally. The retreat centred on the theme of Pilgrims of Hope. A key part of our journey together was exploring the thought patterns that can sometimes draw us away from staying true to our core values and the people we are called to be. These common thought patterns included:
- Judgement- our mind’s evaluating and critiquing ourselves and others
- Time travelling- being caught in the past or focussing too much on the future. Not enjoying the present moment
- Reason giving- the mind offering logical reasons for not doing meaningful things
- Unhelpful rules- rigid internal rules about how we must behave
- Self stories- fixed identify labels (I’m not smart enough, experienced enough etc)
- Comparison: comparing ourselves to others
- Catastrophising- imagining worst case scenarios
- Mind reading: assuming you know what someone else is thinking, often in a negative and fear based way.
As humans, we all slip into unhelpful thought patterns from time to time—patterns that can affect not only ourselves, but also those around us. The most effective way to shift out of these habits is to find ways to “unhook” or step back. For me, this might look like going for a walk, meeting a friend for coffee, a stretch class, or a short meditation. I try to practise one of these strategies regularly, especially when life feels busy (which it often does!). While it’s easy to feel guilty or worry we are letting others down by taking this time, the reality is the opposite—these small, intentional pauses allow us to re-centre and ensure our values guide our daily actions. This is vital if we want to be the best version of ourselves. I will continue to share these messages with both students and staff, because if we can help our young people to notice their thinking and discover strategies that support their wellbeing, we are equipping them not only for today, but for the future.
School Cyclic Inquiry
As you are aware, our School Cyclic Inquiry was held over the last two Wednesdays.The panel of 5 external experts were very impressed with our school, they said that our school exudes a sense of welcome and were very impressed with our beautiful students. Thank you to those of you who were available to give feedback to our panel chair, Dr Mark Turkington. The final report will be signed off in October when I meet with the Executive Director of Schools and feedback will be given to the school community after this.
Recent Community Events
Since our last school newsletter was published, we have had our Father’s Day and Grandparents Day / St Benedict’s Day celebrations. For Father’s Day, families joined us for a beautiful liturgy, followed by a picnic lunch on the grounds and open classrooms. For Grandparents Day / St Benedict's Day, we celebrated with a beautiful Mass, a picnic lunch and a concert showcasing the talents of our students. It was wonderful to see such strong attendance and the warmth of our community shining through as parents, grandparents and friends came together to share faith, food and fun.
Vision Moments
We continue to embed the principles of gratitude, empathy and mindfulness throughout school life as we believe that they support our school vision which is to be a ‘A welcoming Catholic school community that endeavours to bear Christ to all’. Please see below some moments I am grateful for over the past few weeks:
Asher (4B) for his wonderful dance moves at the Grandparents Day / St Benedict’s Day Concert
Leon (3B) for showing compassion to a peer who was upset
Benjamin (6B) for showing care and concern for his Kindergarten Buddy
To the School Choir for their beautiful prayerful singing at the Grandparents Day / St Benedict’s Day Mass
Term 4
We are finalising our Term 4 Overview and will endeavour to have it published by the end of next week. We are looking forward to a wonderful term to finish what has been a fantastic school year. I hope you are all able to have a happy and restful break.
In all things at Holy Family, Give Thanks.
Mrs Smith
Year 5 Canberra Excursion
Year 5 students from our school have recently undertaken an education tour of the
national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of
educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and
democracy.
The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being
able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To
assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is
contributing funding to our school in the amount of $30.00 per student under the
Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is
paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.
No Assembly - Week 10 - Friday 26th September
There will be no assembly on the last day of school, Friday 26th September.
Uniform Changeover
Students have the choice to wear their full summer or full winter uniform for the remainder of Term 3. Commencing Monday 13th October, full summer uniform is compulsory.
Lost Property
The Lost Property bins are located at the student entrance in the administration block. Parents are welcome to come to Lost Property to see if they can locate their child's jacket/jumper/coat. At the moment all the clothing in the bins have no names, so cannot be returned. Please feel free to take an item to replace the clothing you have lost.
Please label all items of clothing, especially those that can be easily removed eg hats, jackets, jumpers.
Lunch boxes and drink bottles are often handed in; however, if they are not labelled we keep these for one week before we dispose of them.
Lateness to School
Please be reminded that School begins at 8.45am each day. Students that arrive after 8.45am are marked as a 'partial absence' for the day. If they arrive without an adult, it is put in as an "unjustified" lateness.
Medication Policy for Students
Annual Updates
All medical plans supplied to the school need to be updated annually - ideally at the beginning of each school year.
Asthma, Allergies and AnaphylaxisIf your child suffers from asthma and/or anaphylaxis, you must provide the school with a current Action Plan signed by your GP.
Asthma Medication
- Children are allowed to carry their asthma medication (e.g., puffers) on their person.
- Additionally, an asthma puffer must be kept in the school’s first aid kit.
- No other medication is permitted to be carried by students.
Prescription Medication
For students who need to take prescription medication during school hours, a “Request for School to Administer Medication” form must be submitted to the office along with the medication.
Over the Counter Medication
Parents need to colloect a form from the office "Request for School to Administer Medication". Over the counter medication will not be administereed by school staff unless the form has been stampwed and signed by a medical practitioner.
Daily Absence Procedures
If your child is unwell or will be absent from school for a day, you can advise through 'Attendance' in the Compass App. Alternatively, you can email the school on info@hfidow.catholic.edu.au or telephone the school office.
Extended Absence Procedures
For extended absences (of more than 5 school days), parents must submit the Notification of Extended Absence form online - Extended Absence Online Notification Link, along with relevant documentation. This documentation should include: Dates, locations of travel, purpose and reasons for travel outside school holidays.
The Father’s Day liturgy began with setting the prayer space. They set the prayer space with a cross, a bible, a hammer, a ball, and a picture of St Joseph. These symbolised faith, sacrifice, wisdom, hard work, playfulness, and fatherhood. The opening prayer was about the gratitude for the fathers. Proverbs 4:1-4 was then read, highlighting a father’s wisdom. Prayers of the faithful followed, asking blessings for fathers worldwide and comfort for those in need. After a closing prayer of thanks, the assembly ended with two songs: “The Irish Blessing,” offering protection and well-being, and “My Lighthouse,” celebrating fathers as guiding lights through life’s challenges.
In the open classrooms, the amazing fathers got to come to our beautiful classrooms. This was a great opportunity for our parents meet us and our friends that they don’t know, and have a good time with us. While they were in our classrooms, the visitors had the opportunity to look at all of our amazing work that we have been doing. We also did a fun activity which our parents could help us with.
On the picnic, we shared a nice meal and played some games. This was also an opportunity for our community to come together and for dads to meet up with other dads. In all, from speaking to students from around the school, it was clear that our Father’s Day celebrations were amazing as we got to have delicious food and spend time with our dads.
Mattheus Bons & Aayush Warrier
On Friday the 12th of September, students from Holy Family celebrated Grandparents Day. Starting with a wonderful mass, Fr Mike talked about Jesus’ grandparents, Saint Anne and Joachim. In Catholic traditions, they symbolise great leaders of love and are the patron saints of grandparents. He also talked about Saint Benedict’s day and gave out Saint Benedict awards to students who represent and show the Benedictine values.
After the mass, students from our school community gathered for a picnic with their families around the school grounds and had lunch together. Here’s what some students thought about the picnic and Grandparents Day:
“My favourite part of the picnic was spending time with my grandparents and eating yummy food like sausage rolls and cake.”
-Mattheus, 6 White.
“I liked all the effort that the staff put in to celebrating our grandparents, the effort that was put into the dance and the effort put in to celebrate them in the amazing mass. I also enjoyed seeing the amount of grandparents and families gathered together at our school.”
-Lily, 5 Blue.
“My favourite part of the celebration was when the grandparents took us out for a lovely lunch, and how we got to celebrate our grandparents on this special occasion with lots of dances that were dedicated to them.”
-Jeremiah, 3 White.
After the lunch, all families gathered into the hall to watch grades perform a dance dedicated to their grandparents. The effort put into creating the dance, as well as performing it, was amazing as grandparents had a great time.
We thank everyone who contributed to the success of the celebration and all the families who came to celebrate our wonderful grandparents.
Shuya He & Pauleen Ramos
Confirmation
If your child is in Year 6 or above, has been Baptised and has received the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, they are eligible to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The Sacrament of Confirmation will be held on Sunday 9th November 2025 at 10:30am & 12:00pm Masses.
Compulsory Sacrament preparation will be held in the parish office at 6.30pm on:
– Monday 22nd September
– Monday 13th October
– Monday 20th October
- Monday 27th October
– Monday 3rd November (rehearsal in the church).
There are two Masses to celebrate the Sacrament of First Holy Communion with limited places at each Mass. We apologise in advance if you do not get your preferred Mass time.
Please visit the Holy Family Church, Ingleburn website to enrol - click on Sacraments and then on "Click Here to Register for Confirmation".
The Bishop's Annual Appeal
Our faith calls us to help one another through prayer and action. Offering dignified support and care for our retired clergy, who have always cared for us; and the sound and holistic formation of our Seminarians, our future priests are my responsibilities as your Bishop. I seek your prayers and practical support to help me ensure that I can do this. Your donation to this appeal is very much appreciated. (+Bishop Brian Mascord).
A special collection will take place in the parish church on the weekend of 20th and 21st September and 27th and 28th September. Please give generously.
Baptism for Children Aged 7 to 12 Years
Preparation dates:
Sunday 21st September at 3.30pm, followed by 5.00pm Mass
Sunday 28th September at 3.30pm, followed by 5.00pm Mass
Sunday 5th October at 3.30pm, followed by 5.00pm Mass
Sunday 19th October at 3.30pm, followed by 5.00pm Mass.
The Sacrament of Baptism will be celebrated on Sunday 26th October at the 5.00pm Mass. Please register at the Parish Office.
Uniform Shop
The Holy Family Second-hand Uniform Shop will open on Monday and Wednesday from 2.15pm until 3.15pm during the school term
What do we do?
The Holy Family Second-hand Uniform Shop provides the school community the opportunity to purchase good quality second-hand uniforms as a means of cost savings and services to our community.
How to donate?
We gratefully accept clean, and in good condition uniforms, to resell to our school community. Drop off washed uniforms at the front office during school hours or at the Second-hand Uniform Shop on Monday or Wednesday between 2.15pm and 3.15pm.
Second-hand Uniform Shop Location
The Shop is located at the back of the school hall - access is via the security gate.
How to Purchase?
You can purchase in store at the shop. Cash payments only - no EFTPOS.
The following articles have been forwarded from Catholiccare:
1. Filling Your Child's Cup When They Wake Up
2. eSafety Parents - Screen time for your child - 7 tips
3. Your child;s fist smartphone - are they old enough?
4. eSafety Parents and Carers Webinars - Term 4
5. Catholiccare Term 4 Courses
6. Helping your family stay safe online
Free Fun with the Parliament of NSW
Free family fun at the Parliament of New South Wales
Friday 10 October 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
Visit us at Australia’s oldest Parliament as it opens its doors for Family Fun Day, an open day packed with fun educational activities for families with children aged up to 12 years. This year’s highlights include:
- Visiting our heritage chambers
- Playing music and drawing with Blak Douglas
- Having your say in a committee role play
- Travelling through time with historical storytelling
- Making craft animals and objects
- Learning how to vote
- Enjoying live music and engaging with roving historical figures
Discover, learn and have fun at this free one-day-only event!
Parents/carers can learn more and get their free ticket by visiting our website: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/visit/events/Pages/Family-Fun-Day-2025.aspx
Or book directly with Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1329207227599?
If you have any questions, please email dps.education@parliament.nsw.gov.au.
T (02) 9230 2047
Kind regards
Parliamentary Education and Engagement
NSW Parliament