Dear Parents / Carers,

Plans for the return to school

Continued thanks and praise for all our families still isolating at home and engaging in learning from home with your children. While I know many of you are loving this way of engaging with your children and spending some time together, there are also many who are really feeling the impact of this pandemic. With so many job losses across the community or those trying to work from home, along with the challenges of toddlers and babies and learning from home, it has felt like a very long time and it has been quite hard for so many. Many of the children who are able to come to school are experiencing challenges too as school is also not like it used to be though we are getting closer to it. We are thoroughly excited about the Premier’s advice today about having the rest of our students return to school on May 25.

It has been pleasing to see so many of our young students who have returned to school using the drop and pick up area which is helping immensely with maintaining physical distancing. This is clearly very difficult in a primary school but having less people on site is the best we can do including limiting the number of parents  we have onsite. 

For students in Years 2-6, thankfully for the last week we are going to have to continue with the online learning from home plan we have been doing this term. Latest announcement confirms we are all back on May 25! Woohoo, can’t wait to have all the kids back.

Playground Progress

This week we have had all the turf laid, adding some beautiful greenery to the site along with our food forest trees- seedless orange (with red flesh), nectarines, tropical peach, mulberry, lychee, lemon, madarin, kaffir limes and tahitian limes. Our landscapers have also added a couple of Qld Maple trees. The cargo nets are being added to the adventure playground and are absolutely torturing the students while they wait to be able to play on it. We are still looking for a windmill for this space too if anyone knows of one. We would prefer one that we could actually get working as opposed to something ornamental. We had initially thought we’d put a fairy garden component with this play are but it is not going to work so we have come up with another idea.

Check out our proposal for the ‘Enchanted Forest’. We are hoping we might have some talented parents who could help out with this one. Basically we want to put some sort of frame up over our Musical playground space where we could add either some coloured or painted perspex panels (intermittently) and hang student-made chimes and musical or artistic pieces that inspire a sense of awe and wonder; hence giving that enchanted feeling. We can see this as a space where children can be very creative, using their imagination to engage in play and is also a space where we can make magical links to literature and therefore be used in our learning experiences too. So please email me if you have any skills or expertise that may be able to assist in bringing this project to life. We can provide all materials.

Ladauto Si Week 16 May - 24 May

Laudato Si’ Week 2020 marks the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical on care for our common home. The theme for the week is “everything is connected.” Pope Francis has invited Catholics all around the world to reflect, pray and join to take action during this week. Please see the link in the subheading for ideas on what you could do with your family. The Ladauto Si document was used to provide formation for our school Mission, Vision and Values. We have many copies in our school if any parents would like to read it. It is not a heavy read by any means but does provide reflection on some very meaningful issues, especially those around how we care Creation (including each other)

“I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.” 

– Pope Francis, LS:14

Have a fabulous week, hope you get to enjoy some of the reduced restrictions over the weekend.

Cheers

Penny Collins

Principal

APRE

This is my first newsletter article for a few weeks, and it’s fair to say, it’s been an interesting time.  From what I’ve seen and experienced there have been many difficult, challenging, frustrating, bonding and exciting moments.  I hope that my article this week finds you healthy and sane!   

EASTER

The Catholic Church is currently in the season of Easter.   This is regarded as the most important season in the Church’s calendar.  It lasts for 50 days, ending in Pentecost, and celebrates the resurrection of Christ, giving thanks for new life.  I feel the expectant return of our students beginning with Week 6 will be like a celebration and we are excited to have our students return back to school and things to return to “normal”.  

PARISH

We still aren’t able to attend mass, and perhaps won't be for a while  yet.  I know Fr Dave at the parish is still open for people to come in and see him if required.  The parish office is located in the Ryan Community Centre on Morindo Drive.  He has also been creating some wonderful reflective videos which you might like to watch with your family.  Keep an eye out on the Ministerial Region of the Good Shepherd facebook page, they are great messages and highly entertaining.

CONTEMPLATIVE CORNER

We’ve decided to include a different contemplative practice in the newsletter each week that you might like to do yourself or as a family.  St Benedict is well known for creating a rule which outlined how to live for those who resided in monasteries.  Since then, many people have used his approach of peace, prayer, humility and stillness to lead them to contemplation and listening to the word of God with 'the ear of your heart',  as he described within his rule.  It is this prayer, stillness and listening which inspires our Contemplative Spirituality.  

Today’s Practice: Finding Beauty Outside: Find a place outside, it might be in your yard or anywhere you might travel to, the beach, the bush, etc.. Simply sit and look at and listen to the earth and environment that surrounds you. 

Focus on something specific, such as a bird, a blade of grass, a clump of soil, cracked earth, a flower, bush or leaf, a cloud in the sky or a body of water (sea, river, lake…) whatever you can see. Simply be aware of your focus, be still, be silent, listen… Following this quiet time, there may be, on occasion, value in allowing yourself to give expression in some way to their experience of this quiet, still listening through a journal, poetry, drawing, painting, etc.  

Week 3 of our Nature Play competition has begun, and again we are giving families the opportunity to win 1 of 10 Nature Play Activity Packs this week, and for another 2 weeks to follow. Simply download this week’s activity list (attached), take a photo getting involved in one or more of the activities and post to our Competition Entry Page. This week’s competition closes on Sunday evening. Week 4 (and a new list) will kick off on next Monday.

Week 3 Prize Pack below: Register before 11.30pm Sunday night to enter the week 3 draw.

Please visit the website for more details. The activity list for week 3 has also been attached. Get involved each week!