November 1 All Soul’s Day Mass 4-8 Well Being Week 8 Remarkable Moments Day 11 Remembrance Day 12/13 Pre-Prep Program 9.50am 19/20 Pre-Prep Program 9.50am 20 Last Stay and Play Day 28 Christmas Concert 29 Whole School Swimming Carnival

December 2 Whole School Excursion Day 5 Yr 6 Graduation 6 Closing School Mass 9.00am

17 Hawtree Street, Moorooka

Phone: 3275 2081 Fax: 3216 7873

pmoorooka@bne.catholic.edu.au

www.stbrendansmoorooka.qld.edu.au

PRINCIPAL

Nicole Cole

PARISH PRIEST

Fr Dan Redhead

30 October 2019

34

Dear Parents/Carers Welcome to Week 4 of the term – time is certainly flying by quickly and no doubt, this week will be no different. Over the last three days, I have been a shadow panelist on the External School Review panel for St Thomas’ Primary School – Camp Hill. This process forms part of the new School Improvement agenda for BCE and all schools who go through this process have peer Principals who are a part of the panel. I have been asked to join this panel because the school I will move to in 2020 will undergo an external school review. Due to the fact that this is a new process BCE have been allocated Principals to panels in the year before their own school go through the same process. I believe this will be a fabulous learning experience and an amazing opportunity to prepare me for the review I will guide St Joseph’s through in 2020. I also believe I will be able to share my learning with St Brendan’s before I finish at the end of this year. Over the next two days, Mrs Quincey, Mrs Williams and I will attend our annual South 3 Cluster Leadership Conference. During this time, we will focus on reviewing our 2019 School Goals and plan the goals for St Brendan’s moving into 2020. Our wonderful staff have already contributed to this process and we will do our best to finalise this great work. During our planning time at the leadership cluster, Mrs Quincey, Mrs Williams and I will review what I have learnt to support our strategic planning for 2020. First Holy Communion Preparation The next stage of the Moorooka Salisbury Parish sacramental program is well underway with the First Holy Communion candidates being presented to the parish in recent weeks. We have two students from St Brendan’s who are preparing for this very important sacrament. Please join with me in praying for Sam Coad and Isabella Shine and their families as they continue on this very important preparation journey. Sam and Isabella will complete their preparation and receive the sacrament of First Holy Communion at 9am Mass on Sunday November 17 at St Pius X School, Salisbury. I look forward to witnessing this special celebration with Sam, Isabella and their families.

Brisbane Catholic Education 2020 Vision and Beyond Linking the Vision to our next strategic plan The exciting new Vision is driving the next steps for all schools. Work is currently underway to develop Brisbane Catholic Education’s 2021-24 Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan will have five new themes that align with the Vision. These five areas will be in our school’s next strategic plan too. This ensures all Brisbane Catholic Education schools are working together to achieve our shared Vision. New strategies are currently being developed that will impact all schools. This includes strategies for enrolments, workforce planning and school resourcing to name a few. It is an exciting time for Brisbane Catholic Education as we embrace new directions to create a better future. I encourage you to read our aspirational Vision at bne.catholic.edu.au/vision. Term 4 School Fees and 2020 Resource Levy: Please note that Term 4 School Fee statements will be emailed/posted to families shortly. Prompt payment would be greatly appreciated to assist with the school’s ever-present cash flow demands and issues. The 2020 Resource Levy statements will also be sent home shortly. The good news is that there has been no increase to this levy. The amount due will be $170 per student. End of Year Reporting and Assessment: Staff are currently at a critical stage of their teaching and assessment for this semester, with reporting to parents/carers occurring in the near future. I encourage you to speak to children about the need for them to be doing their best work over these final weeks of the school year. It is also timely to remind you about the importance of your child/children attending school frequently, especially during this critical time. Please refer to the information included in last week’s newsletter for a review of our ‘Attendance Matters’ agenda. Thank you to all staff who work so diligently in providing quality teaching and learning for all our students. Uniform Reminders: 1. Parents/carers of current Prep students are asked to note that their children will be required to commence wearing

the formal school uniform on 4 days each week when they step into Year 1 next year. A uniform order form can be collected from the front office when needed or visit Mrs Cassidy in the front office on Monday, Thursday and every second Tuesday to purchase these uniforms.

2. New school shoes will be a consideration for many parents/carers over the coming months. I ask you to please observe the school requirement of full black shoes for all students.

Enrolment Reminder for 2020: Are your children currently in Prep to Year 5 and you have plans for your family to leave St Brendan’s at the end of the year? We are still waiting on approval from BCE to retain six class groupings for 2020. Critical to ensuring this approval is our expected enrolment numbers. As previously mentioned, the current enrolment numbers are much lower that first predicted. It is essential that if you and your family are not returning to St Brendan’s in 2020 that you inform that office immediately. Thank you in advance for your support of this request.

Application for Exemption from Formal Schooling There are firm guidelines in place for families who choose to remove their children from school for more than ten days. An application for exemption from formal schooling is attached with this newsletter and must be completed before the children are removed from school. The application will be reviewed, assessed and approved (if appropriate) by the school Principal. Thank you in advance for your support and understanding of these guidelines. All Saints and All Souls Days: The Feasts of All Saints and All Souls occur over the next couple of days. This is a time when we honour all saints and holy people and remember all those who have passed from this world. We especially remember those in our own community who have passed away recently and pray for their eternal rest with our dear Lord.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, may perpetual light shine upon them,

may they rest in peace. I pray that you all have a terrific week. May God’s blessings be with you and your families today and always! Take care and God bless always In Faith and Love Nicole Cole Principal

In Art

Today ...

Religious Education Dear Families,

All Saints Day Friday 1st November

This Friday our students from Year 1-6 will attend Mass in St Brendan’s Church at 9am to celebrate All

Saints Day. All Saints' Day is a solemn holy day of the Catholic Church celebrated annually on November

1. The day is dedicated to saints who have been active representatives of the Church, living as Jesus did.

Today we give gratitude to these individuals, who journeyed among us throughout history, honouring all of

them as they have passed on to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Dear Almighty Father, May all the Saints, pray for us and for all those whose lives we touch. Who loves and holds us all, let the Spirit guide all our days in the ways of compassion and justice. May we reflect the heart of God, sure in faith, strong in hope, built on love and become all that we are called to be. May our journey lead us into God’s gentle and almighty Presence, our God whom we will one day see face to face. All: Amen.

St Vincent De Paul Hampers All Saints Day is also a great time to remember one of our patron saints, St Mary of the Cross. St Mary of the Cross was a woman of strength, who used her position as educator and nun within the community to spread the good word, feed the hungry, educate and care for the less fortunate. Love and faith are integral parts of our school Charism and each year we follow St Mary of the Cross’s example by collecting items to support St Vincent de Paul’s Christmas appeal. We will begin collecting non-perishable items for Christmas hampers next week. From Monday, 4th November, each class will have a collection box in their classroom for donations. Hamper items will be distributed by the local St Vincent de Paul chapter in support of struggling families in our local area. See: https://www.vinnies.org.au/page/christmas-appeal-2019

We will also be holding a Christmas Raffle. All money raised will go towards supporting St Vincent De Paul in their Christmas Appeal.

The prizes are:

$100 Big W Voucher

$60 Big W Voucher

$40 Big W Voucher

Tickets are $1 or 3 for $2.

Drought Relief Fundraising Last week Year Six sold ice-blocks to raise money for farmers experiencing drought in QLD. The total amount raised was $43. Next week on QKR! families will have the opportunity to buy a sausage sizzle meal deal for $5 to also support the cause. Thank you for your ongoing commitment in helping those in need.

Advent/Christmas

Our term is flying everyone and next week is Well-being Week. As we only have a few

weeks together remaining for 2019 I will start writing about the liturgical seasons of

Advent and Christmas. I understand it is not technically Advent season but without

context, the rich spiritual traditions of these important seasons can quickly become

secularised and commercialised.

St Brendan’s Community Group A small group of parents have been working behind the scenes on potential fundraising and marketing activities for the 2020 year. If you would like to be a part of this group, or know of any future events in the community that we could be a part of, please contact the office. On Saturday a market stall was held at the Moorooka Saturday Markets. Our school marquee looked fabulous in Manmeet’s Paradise. Thank you to all who helped with this stall. The group is hoping to hold a stall at the Empire Xmas Markets, Station Road, Yeerongpilly on Sunday 1st December. We require assistance with the following: Donations of homemade Christmas crafts to be sold on the day (jewellery, plants etc)

Donations of homemade Christmas sweets/ cakes to be sold on the day (fudge, rum balls, Christmas cake)

Donations of items that could be used in a hamper for a raffle (gift cards, toys, Christmas treats, alcohol)

Assistance on the stall on the day (times are yet to be confirmed) Please contact the Office 3275 2081 or Geneva Higgins (Lily - Yr 3 and Beau - Prep).

Parish/Family Mass

This Sunday at 5pm you are welcome to join our Moorooka and Salisbury Parish Families for a Mass

and BBQ Dinner and treats. The children are invited to do readings and play instruments. Please

contact Mel Quincey on mquincey@bne.catholic.edu.au if you are able to participate.

First Holy Communion

We keep Isabella Shine and Samuel Coad in our prayers as they prepare for their Sacrament of First

Holy Communion. Their celebration of the Sacrament will be held on Sunday the 17 th November 9am

at St Pius X Church Salisbury.

May God Smile On You,

Mel Quincey (Assistant Principal – Religious Education)

Student Banking on

Thursdays

OCTOBER 30 Qalkidan Mekonnen

NOVEMBER 1 Eyora Kidanemaryam Warkaneh

2 Jack Gee

Shreesha Shrestha Kraile Dizon

Timothy Townsend Sam Coad

Immanuel De La Haye

Sorcha Ranger

THURSDAY 31st OCTOBER

November Remembrance Mass for the Irish Community

Come and join with other members of our Irish Community in praying for the peaceful repose of your deceased relatives and friends at our Annual November Remembrance Mass, which will take place on Sunday 17 November at 12 noon in St. James’ Church, 165 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo. Fr Seamus Mc Mahon SM will be the celebrant.

This year, our Mass will also be a Memorial Mass for Fr

Paddy Dwyer OMI, who sadly died last year - a good friend of IASAQ and former chaplain to Rosies.

Tea/coffee will be served afterwards – an opportunity to renew old acquaintances and meet new friends.

The Mass is being organised by The Irish Australian

Support Association of Qld Inc (IASAQ). IASAQ is part of the Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme. Our primary mission is to assist any Irish or Irish Australian persons in time of need or distress.

For further information, please contact the IASAQ Co -

ordinator on 0432 087 328.

October 2019

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

HOLIDAYS

1 2

3

4

5

6

HOLIDAYS

7

Public Holiday

Queen’s Birthday

8 PE

CHESS

First Day of Term 4

9 ART

NO Tuckshop St Elizabeth’s

Mathematical Minds Competition

First Eucharist

Parent Info Session 7.00pm at Salisbury

10 MUSIC/DRAMA

STUDENT BANKING

11

Whole School Mass

SWIMMING

LESSONS

BEGIN

Mother’s

Night

12

13

14

2.30 Assembly

PREP 2020

ORIENTATION Evening for

Parents (6.00pm)

15

PE

CHESS

PREP 2020 ORIENTATION

Morning for Students (9.00am)

TUCKSHOP

ORDERS DUE

16

ART

TUCKSHOP

17

MUSIC/DRAMA

STUDENT BANKING

18

SWIMMING

19

20

21

PUPIL

FREE

DAY

22

PE

CHESS

TUCKSHOP ORDERS DUE

23

ART

TUCKSHOP

24

MUSIC/DRAMA

STUDENT

BANKING

25

World Teacher’s

Day

SWIMMING

26

27

28

2.30 Assembly

29 PE

CHESS

TUCKSHOP ORDERS DUE

30

ART

TUCKSHOP

31 MUSIC/DRAMA

STUDENT BANKING

Year 4 and 5 Camp

November 2019

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

All Soul’s Day

Mass

SWIMMING

2

3

4

2.30 Assembly

5

PE

CHESS

Tuckshop Orders Due

6

ART

TUCKSHOP

7

MUSIC/DRAMA

STUDENT BANKING

8

Remarkable Moments Day

SWIMMING

9

10

11

Remembrance

Day

2.30 Assembly

12 PE

CHESS

Tuckshop Orders

Due

2020 Pre-Prep Program 9.50am

13

ART

TUCKSHOP

2020 Pre-Prep Program 9.50am

14 MUSIC/DRAMA

STUDENT BANKING

15

SWIMMING

16

17

18

2.30 Assembly

19

PE

CHESS

Tuckshop Orders Due

2020 Pre-Prep

Program 9.50am

20

ART Last Stay and

Play

TUCKSHOP

2020 Pre-Prep

Program 9.50am

21

MUSIC/DRAMA

STUDENT

BANKING

22

23

24

25

2.30 Assembly

26 PE

CHESS

Tuckshop Orders

Due

27 ART

TUCKSHOP

28 MUSIC/DRAMA

STUDENT BANKING

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

29

SWIMMING

CARNIVAL

(9.00am-

12.00pm)

30

W E L L B E I N G W E E K

December 2019

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

2

Whole School

Excursion Day

3

4

5

STUDENT BANKING

Yr 6 Graduation

6

Closing School

Mass 9am

Last day for Term 4

12.00pm finish

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15 16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

H O L I D A Y S