Today I write from Bowral where the 56 Catholic School Principals meet for a System Day and a Retreat. This year we heard about the current financial programs and new procedures of our education system and the rational behind the incorporation of the Archdiocese. It has been a lovely opportunity to network with the other principals and learn about what is happening in other schools, successes and also what-not-to-do again. We have also had the privilege of hearing Fr Timothy Radcliffe a Dominican priest from England. His wisdom, humour and insight into how we can lead our schools in the mission of the church has been wonderful. Thank you to Erryn Marsay and our dedicated teachers for covering whilst I have been away.

Our First Eucharist students are also busily preparing for their sacrament. Please keep them in your prayers and we are grateful for the Faith and generosity of our Stage 2 teachers, Mrs Maxwell and Sr Kathy and Fr Lolesio.

The Parish BBQ that was postponed from the end of 2023 has been rescheduled for Sunday 17^th March . We hope to make this a wonderful Parish/School event where we introduce our school Leadership teams to the Parish. The Parish provides the meat and we ask families attending to bring a salad or dessert to share. It is an important connection with our Parish community and they are always praying for our students and our school. Many of them have a log term connection to the school and some were even responsible for many of the buildings and resources that we have utilised in the past. All are welcome but please rsvp to the Front Office.

We sit on the cusp of NAPLAN weeks. We begin the annual testing next week and the data that is available in a few months is valuable in future planning for our students. The indications of growth and areas for intervention are important for our school to better provide for our students. Please avoid making appointments during this time and please ensure that students come prepared with a charged IPad (not Year 3), earphones, keyboards (if they use one) and that they get lots of sleep prior to the tests. Please speak to your child’s teacher if you have any concerns, especially if a student is anxious.

Congratulations to our fabulous swimmers who were outstanding at the recent Boorowa and Queanbeyan carnivals. The dedication of our swimmers is inspiring and the results were especially good this year. Please read the sports report for the record of the results and the photos.

When I have the privilege of enrolling or interviewing new students I always inform them that we are not a perfect school. We do have perfect intentions to provide the best education and the best life skills for our students.  We aim to teach our students the value of kindness and taking responsibility for their education and their actions as they grow into maturity. Life isn’t always fair nor is it always nice but if you look for the joy in each day there are lots of reasons to be positive, happy and kind.

There is never a reason not to be kind.

God Bless

Ms Nicky Trinder