Dear Parents

The season of Advent

This weekend Christians begin to prepare for the birth of Jesus.  Advent comes from the Latin word meaning "coming."

The four weeks of Advent allow us time to ponder how Jesus came into this world in such a stunningly humble way. As we contemplate His birth in a bed of straw in a messy stable, perhaps, we see our own life as being a little messy, too. Our life is often distracted, self-centred and sometimes leaves us wishing we were better people. But if we can slow down and refocus our attention, we might realise that God is there, waiting to love us even though we have so many unfulfilled good intentions and so many unfulfilled desires about our spirituality. Perhaps during Advent, we are like the shepherds from the Bethlehem hills; we are called from our everyday activities to allow God to re-enter our lives, even when we are feeling least “religious” or “ready” for His coming, for His arrival within us.

New Principal

A special welcome to St Patrick’s new Principal Miss Gabi Tobin. The Director of Schools, Diocese of Wollongong,  introduced her to the staff this week. Gabi has 17 years’ experience leading and teaching in education settings.

Gabi has accepted this permanent position following a recent recruitment process, which was overseen by a panel that included St Patrick’s Port Kembla Parish Administrator, Fr Mark De Battista, a parent representative, and a diocesan principal representative.

May God bless her as she begins her Principalship as part of our wonderful community of St Patrick’s Parish Primary School.

 Congratulations to our 2022 leaders and a big thankyou to how our 2021 leaders have taken up their roles in such a responsible way since their return to school. A new mission wall is currently being  developed .

Playground Equipment update

We have been successful in our application for a grant which will go towards the erection of a play equipment on our grass playground.

Thank you Mr Hoctor who submitted the successful applications :

NSW Government’s 2021 community Building Partnership (CBP) program- S23,276

Port Authority of NSW- $5000

 The P&F and school will also contribute

Hopefully when talking to the company, building of the equipment should occur early 2022.

Take care everyone, best wishes for the next two weeks

Mrs Anne Duggan - Principal

REC Update – W8 – T4

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Leena and Veronika Carolan who recently received the sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time in the parish church. This is a very special time in their lives as Catholics, so well done to both of the girls!

Many of the current Year 3 girls and boys will follow suit next year when they receive their First Holy Communion. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with all of the children. 

 Festive as Anything

 In Week 10 the school will be having some Christmas fun with a week of class presentations! Each morning a class will present something festive as a way to get excited for the festive season. There will be some dancing, a nativity scene play, a creative iMovie and some Christmas jokes to cap it all off. It will be a great way to finish off the term after the year we’ve had.

 Liturgy of the Word – Year 6 & Father Mark

On Wednesday Year 6 joined Father Mark in the church for a special liturgy. Unfortunately, Fr Mark is on leave from early December until the rest of the school year, and as such it was the only chance for him to meet with the students as a whole class before they graduate. We are grateful for Father Mark meeting with the children, who discussed the importance of decision making and responsibility in their future lives.

We are continuing to accept donations for the 2021 St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. If you can please consider donating anything that might be considered a ‘treat’ during Christmas - cordial, lollies, tinned fruit, long life custard, pancake mix, biscuits etc - that would be greatly appreciated. Rhonda Maher - our St Vincent de Paul contact and parishioner at St Patrick’s Parish - will be working with other St Vincent de Paul volunteers to share the Christmas Appeal donations with those who need them most in our local community. 

Send your donations in with your child/ren, who will then place them in a ‘gift sack’ in their classrooms. If your donation is too heavy for your child to carry then please drop them in at the office and we will arrange to have them carried to the classrooms. We are accepting donations until Monday December 13th. 

 Once again, we are very grateful for your generosity.

 All the best,

 Mr Sam Mattas

Religious Education Coordinator