Recent News
Every 12 years Principals qualify for renewal leave and last term I took half of my eligible leave, to do three things:
Visit the birthplace of the Sisters of Mercy, in Dublin
Intensive study at the Leuven University
Walk some of the Camino trail
The first leg of my trip took me to Dublin and the birthplace of the Sisters of Mercy (the founders of our school).
Catherine McAuley, was an Irish Catholic religious sister who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831.
The women's congregation has always been associated with teaching, especially in Ireland, where the sisters taught Catholics (and at times Protestants) at a time when education was mainly reserved for members of the established Church of Ireland.
In 1824 Catherine used her inheritance from an Irish couple she had served for twenty years to build a large House of Mercy where she and other lay women would shelter homeless women, reach out to the sick and dying and educate poor girls. The House on Baggot Street opened in 1827. To give these efforts greater stability, Catherine and her co-workers founded a new religious congregation. Before her death on 11 November 1841, Catherine founded convents and works of mercy throughout Ireland and England.
Dublin is also home to the famous St Patrick’s Cathederal. Unfortunately, the pictures do not do justice to this awesome building. Founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, it is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. St Patrick baptised Christian converts on this site 1500 years ago.
Season of Creation
On the last day of Term 3, our whole school took part in a pilgrimage to the beach to celebrate the Season of Creation. We prayed together, gave thanks together and enjoyed the gifts that God has blessed us with through Creation.
It was a wonderful way to end our term and our week-long activities celebrating our wonderful world.
Praying For Peace
As I reflect on and see the footage of the unfolding events that are currently happening in our world at the moment, I wonder and ask myself, ‘How can this be happening and what can I do to help?’
My thoughts immediately go to the words that beautiful Mother Teresa once said when she received a Nobel Peace Prize. When asked, “What can we do to bring about world peace?” she replied simply, “Go home and love your family.”
Peace begins with us. In our hearts, in our thoughts, in our words and in our actions. We have the power to spread peace and love every day.
What can you do today to show peace to others?
Task Design and Assessment in Religious Education
On Monday, our pupil free day, the teachers spent part of the day exploring and learning about how to create rich learning tasks and assessment tasks to allow all learners to go from Surface Learning, to Deep Learning to Transfer Learning.
Hattie, Fisher and Frey (Visible Learning, 2017) Describe these 3 levels of learning as:
"Surface learning does not mean superficial learning. Rather, surface learning is a time when students initially are exposed to concepts, skills, and strategies. Surface learning is critical because it provides a foundation on which to build as students are asked to think more deeply."
"We define deep learning as a period when students consolidate their understanding and apply and extend some surface learning knowledge to support deeper conceptual understanding.”
"Transfer learning is the point at which students take their consolidated knowledge and skills and apply what they know to new scenarios and different contexts. It is also a time when students are able to think metacognitively, reflecting on their own learning and understanding."
The teachers worked together in teams to look at their learning tasks and assessment tasks in Religious Education and to design ways we can assist our learners to take their knowledge, skills and dispositions in RE from surface learning to transfer learning.
Our teachers work exceptionally hard on designing rich learning tasks where all students can explore the concepts in the Religious Education curriculum.
With gratitude
Domenique Laurendi
Important Dates
P&F Meeting 7pm
Photo Day
Year 6 Assembly 2.30pm
Photo Make Up Day
Year 4 Assembly 2.30pm
Term 3 Reception Excursion
All Saints Day
All Souls Day
SACPSSA Athletics Carnival
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (Prayer for Peace)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Catholic Schools Athletic Carnival
The Catholic Schools Athletics Carnival will be held Friday 3 November. A team list has been emailed to all students who have been nominated.
Thank you
Kristen Victory
Congratulations to all the students who completed the 2023 Premier Reading Challenge. We had a total of 500 students from Reception to Year 6 taking part. A huge congratulations to the 110 students who read 20 books instead of the usual 12 to celebrate the Reading Challenge celebrating its 20th year.
The certificates and medals are going to be dispatched to school in Novemeber and will be distributed once sorted into class groups.
Students who completed the 20 book challenge will also receive an additional certificate to acknowledge their achievement.
Well done to everyone,
Library staff
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