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Dear Parents and Friends of St Kevin’s,
We have reached the end of Term 2 and again survived bouts of Covid and Influenza. Thank you for your patience and support during these ongoing tricky times.
The Parent/Teacher/Student interviews went very well over the last few weeks of the term and students now have new goals to work towards. These goals include not only academic achievements but also goals around personal development and always trying our best. As a Making Jesus Real School, we strive to be “Go Carts”: self-motivated and being able to do your best with self–discipline and persistence. We look forward to achieving these goals in Semester 2.
We also have announced in the last week some important staff changes. Mrs Boudan is working at St John’s Lambton for Semester 2 as Religious Education Officer. We wish Mrs Boudan all the best and we will miss your smile and your helping hands. Mrs Binkin is taking long service leave for the remainder of the year as she plans family adventures and fun. We will miss Mrs Binkin’s expertise in our library lessons. Finally, Mrs Kim Ragen has retired from being a school secretary/finance officer. Mrs Ragen is looking to new horizons and challenges and we wish her all the best in the years ahead.
Replacements for these amazing people are currently being finalised. There is a process of merit selection and recruitment that must be followed. In the meantime Miss Alexa Watson will teach Year 1 for the first 4 weeks of Term 3 while the recruitment process is completed according to guidelines.
So once again thank you to everyone at St Kevin’s for making Term 2 so much fun. Enjoy the holidays and we look forward to catching up again on Tuesday July 19.
God bless
Mary-Anne Jennings
Principal
Yaama Ngindaay
NAIDOC Week 3 – 10 July
Source: Ryhia Dank
Ryhia Dank, a young Gudanji/Wakaja artist from the Northern Territory is the winner of the prestigious National NAIDOC poster competition for 2022 with her entry, Stronger.
Today we celebrated NAIDOC Week… Getting Up! Standing Up! And Showing Up! with a variety of activities at school.
Linda from Oz Tukka talked to us about edible native plants and children really enjoyed sampling some of these. We enjoyed a community barbecue, learned about First Nations people and their ongoing connection to Country in classrooms. We concluded our celebration appropriately with a special prayer service.
Thank you to all involved for being part of our NAIDOC Week celebration.
Parliament of NSW Message Stick NAIDOC Week Competition
Children may be interested in entering this school holiday competition. If so, parental consent and contact details are required. A brief outline is provided below.
The Parliament of NSW is calling on all budding young artists and story tellers, from Kindergarten to Year 6, to enter the Parliament of NSW NAIDOC Week School Holidays Competition!
Did you know that a message stick is a form of communication between Aboriginal nations, clans and language groups, used to pass on or share a message from one community to another?
To celebrate this year’s NAIDOC Week theme, Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! We invite you to design your own message stick and write a message to the Parliament of NSW. What would you like to tell the Parliament?
For those in younger years, you may like to ask an adult or older sibling to help you write your message.
Four (4) lucky winners will each receive a Parliament of NSW gift pack.
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
JUNIOR (Kindergarten – Year 2): 1 x metro winner and 1 x regional winner
SENIOR (Year 3 – Year 6): 1 x metro winner and 1 x regional winner
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Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday break. See you next term.
Yaluu ngali ngamilay
Phil Taylor
Aboriginal Education Teacher
It is with a mix of excitement and sadness that I write my last newsletter item for 2022. I have been offered the exciting opportunity to be the Religious Education Coordinator of St. John’s Primary school, Lambton for the remainder of 2022. I am looking forward to working with the beautiful staff and students of St. John’s and bringing back new ideas to our wonderful school in 2023. I will dearly miss my colleagues and parents but most especially my precious Year One children. I will check in often, send messages and keep up to date with happenings around St. Kevin’s and I look forward to being back with you all in 2023.
To all who completed the form in the last newsletter – thank you!
This week, I have a letter to share with you. Mary MacKillop wrote this letter in 1867 to her dear mother. Please click here to read the letter.
When you have a moment, please read and reflect on this letter. Sit with God and feel what this letter speaks to you. What themes or important messages stand out to you? Just as before, please complete this form with only 2 short questions so that we can hear from as many different perspectives as possible as we journey ever closer to our Formation Day where the staff will create our very own Josephite pillars together. Click here for the form.
WINTER APPEAL
What a fabulous day the children and teacher had in PJs and slippers on Monday! Fun, cosy, comfortable and for a wonderful cause. We have 7 very full baskets to donate to St. Vincent De Paul for distribution this Winter. The SVDP team have asked me to pass on a massive thank you for your generosity.
May God’s Spirit be with you as you enjoy the next 2 weeks of holidays together. Stay well and I will see you in 2023!
Mrs Jasmina Boudan
Religious Education Coordinator
As we approach the end of Term 2, parents are reminded of their fee-paying obligations for 2022.
School fees can be paid using the BPay details included in your monthly statement, if you are not receiving monthly fee statements, please contact the school so this can be corrected. A fee statement has been issued today, 1 July 2022.
Those parents/carers who intend to pay their fees with a one-off payment, are reminded that payment in full is expected by 30 June 2022.
Those parents/carers who opted to pay their fees in instalments, should’ve commenced making payments with the intention to clear their 2022 school fees by 30 November 2022. The preferred method for these instalments is via direct debit, please contact the school finance officer should you wish to set up a direct debit for your school fees.
Should you be experiencing difficulty in paying your school fees, please do not hesitate in contacting the school to discuss how we can assist you.
Farewell Message from Mrs Ragen
How lucky am I for it to be so hard to say good bye to all of the beautiful students and families that I have had the pleasure to get to know over the last 9 1/2 years. There have been tears, laughs and lots of hugs over the past week. I have so many memories I will hold close to my heart for many years to come. As one door closes another one opens they say. Thank you to all of the families for the beautiful gifts, emails, cards and phone calls. I am truly grateful for your kindness and love. Love and best wishes Kim Ragen