Last Sunday’s Gospel…

The Transfiguration was the story in last Sunday’s Gospel. Three of the apostles were with Jesus when He was transformed and Moses and Elijah, key figures of the Old Testament appeared beside him. The apostles got to see a glimpse of the divine Jesus to give them the faith to face what was soon to happen to Him. God’s voice speaking and claiming Jesus as His Son would have also given the fully human Jesus, who would have felt human fear, the courage to go through with what was to come. It is another example for us as well, that the Jesus we believe in is truly the Son of God.

From the Principal...

It has been lovely to see more of you face to face! We have had the commissioning of our school captains team and Year 6 school leaders as well as our SRC. Thank you to all of you who were able to come to the Mass and to assembly.

We also held the P&F Annual General meeting where the voting for a new Executive Committee took place. I am very grateful to the members of the P&F who step up into these roles. They take time and commitment and we couldn’t run a P&F without you! Your children may start to speak about new books for their classroom library and about building Lego robots that they can program to move. We have these things, $15,000 worth, thanks to all of you who pay the levy and the P&F for supporting projects in the school. We will share some photos with you soon!

Friday is the National Day of Action against bullying. The students are participating in a series of activities this week to create a Kindness Culture – this year’s theme. It will also be a topic for assembly on Friday so please come along if you can.

We are gradually getting back to ‘normal’. We have higher than usual absences among our students and staff and getting replacement teachers is proving extremely difficult. At times, we have had to put professional development of staff on hold in favour of teachers being in classes. We are also getting all our other usual processes in place. It is a bit like starting a new school. With some things not done for two years – before I arrived, and a number of new staff, falling back on what we ‘usually’ do hasn’t been a back-up we can rely on. For many of us there isn’t ‘what we usually do’. But we are getting there and thank you for your patience. Please feel free at any time to ask about things because I am very happy to explain anything – and you may remind us of something we have missed.

You will have received an email from CEDoW with a survey to give feedback for my appraisal. This happens every four years for principals and provides us with valuable feedback on our performance. It is completely anonymous and the principal doesn’t see what the responses are. The panel puts together recommendations for the future based on these parent and staff surveys as well as interviews on 1st April. I hope you can find some time to contribute to the feedback. I will share a summary of my ‘report card’ with you.

Please note a special day for our parish and school – Sunday 27th March, 9am. Bishop Brian Mascord is coming for the formal Mass to commission Fr Henry as our Parish Priest. Our school will have a part to play at Mass, particularly through our attendance, but in some other ways as well. Please try to be at that Mass to pray that Fr Henry will be guided by the Holy Spirit in the leadership of our parish and to show Fr Henry, and Bishop Brian our support.

God Bless

Michelle Rolfe

Principal

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION REPORT

with Mrs David

Gospel Reading Response/ Reflection (from Liturgyhelp)

Jesus told his followers the story of a fig tree that would not bear fruit. The gardener said he would try hard for one more year to help it grow. God wants us to try hard so that we too can grow, and ‘bear fruit’. What are four things you can do during Lent that help you be a better Christian and bring you closer to Jesus?

Sacrament Update

Please keep an eye out for information from the parish regarding the Sacramental programs. Information will be relayed through the parish website. 

Below are the dates for the Sacraments, but there will be a number of parent/child sessions that we will find out information about shortly. 

First Reconciliation – 3rd/4th June 2022

Confirmation – 5th August 2022

First Holy Communion – 20th November 2022

Project Compassion

You may have heard your child/ren at home talking about Project Compassion! During the season of Lent, we are encouraged to pray, fast and almsgive. As a Church community, we donate money to Caritas through Project Compassion.

If you would like a Project Compassion 

https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/ 

Ripples Reflections and Meditations 

Would you like  some time to unwind, learn or reflect?

Why not give the CEO Wollongong’s Ripples a go! https://ripples.dow.catholic.edu.au/ 

Did you know that…

St Joseph’s Feast Day takes place on Saturday 19th March!

Deanna David

REC

Friday 18 March 2022 is the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA).

Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative celebrates 12 years of action, connecting schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying.

The theme for 2022 is Kindness Culture. By building Kindness Culture together, we can promote inclusion, respect and community belonging for all students in schools across Australia.

Our assembly this week will have a focus on this important day and our students have all been working on a response to this year’s theme and we have been creating a ‘Kindness Wall’ outside the Kindergarten classrooms showcasing these responses.

More information for families is provided here. 

Our current fortnightly focus has been focusing on how students can be safe, respectful and responsible on the playground. Students have been fortunate to enjoy some sunshine outdoors with their friends. At the commencement of each duty teachers speak to the students briefly about the activities they can engage in on their assigned playground. Teachers have commented on the improvement of student behaviour since commencing this PB4L focus last week. 

Kindergarten students have enjoyed their time outside during lunch time as they continue working on their gross motor skills on the playground.

Uniform

Just a reminder that sport socks should be white and worn above the ankle.

Please give our school Facebook page a like. We regularly upload photos of students through this platform and would love to keep our school community updated. Select the link for Holy Family, Ingleburn Facebook page. 

Regards,

Miss Alana Stroligo

Year 3 and 5 students will undergo NAPLAN assessment during Term 2, 10-20 of May. We will provide more detailed information closer to the date for these grades, however the following website has some valuable information you may like to access.

https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/parent-carer-support

There is also a parent information brochure that parents of students in Year 3 and 5 are encouraged to read.

Wollongong Swimming Trials

We were very proud of Angelica (50m butterfly) and Chloe (50m Breaststroke) who represented Holy Family Catholic School at the Wollongong Swimming trials on Tuesday.

Parents and Friends Association

 The Parents and Friends Association (‘P & F’) held their Annual General Meeting on
Friday, 11 March 2022.  Congratulations to the following parents who were elected:

President:                  Glacel Lubrin-Zabat

Vice President:          Esmeralda Rosales

Secretary:                  Sharon Heginbotham-Day

Treasurer:                 Juliana Elisabeth

The Principal, Mrs Rolfe and the school community would like to thank the outgoing committee for their commitment and hard work that only results in a positive partnership between the school and parent body.   

The next P & F meeting will be held on Friday, 29 May at 9am in the School Hall Meeting Room and everyone is welcome.  If you have an item you would like added to the agenda, please email info@hfidow.catholic.edu.au.  

2022