Dear Parents and Carers,

National Families Week encourages students, parents and school staff to reflect on their own families; the role that families play in enriching and supporting us in our personal growth and goals; and what it means to be part of a caring, nurturing community.  The theme of National Families Week 2019 is 'Stronger Families, Stronger Communities', which aims to recognise the important role families play as the central building blocks of Australian communities.                                                                                                           
                                                                        We bless your name, O Lord,
                                                                   for sending your own incarnate Son,
                                                                            to become part of a family,
                                                                            so that, as he lived its life,
                                                           he would experience its worries and its joys.          

We ask  you, Lord,
to protect and watch over this family,
so that in the strength of your grace
its members may enjoy prosperity,
possess the priceless gift of your peace,
and, as the Church alive in the home,
bear witness in this world to your glory.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

We trust that all mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, aunts and female carers were treated well last Sunday.  Thank you to Mrs Labib, Mrs Ellis-Donai, Mrs Rowe-Tucker and the many parent helpers who coordinated and organised the Mother’s Day stall last Friday.  We saw many huge smiles on the faces of children who were very pleased with their purchases. We are sure that all of the mums were most impressed with the gifts that were chosen.

Congratulations and thank you to the children and parents who attended the recent Regional Cross Country Carnival in Nowra.  We are all proud of the efforts and commitment to the training that took place. Thank you to Mrs Augustine for her fine organisation and support of this event.

This week all students in Australia in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will participate in the NAPLAN tests.    This year our students will complete the tests online. Naplan tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. It is important to remember that NAPLAN is not about passing or failing, but about assessing learning progress. At the classroom level it is one of a number of important tools used by teachers to measure student progress. We encourage all of our students to eat a healthy breakfast and to get plenty of sleep so as to produce their best efforts during this time of NAPLAN.

Best wishes for the coming week,

Philip Barrington

PRINCIPAL