Newsletter April 30th, 2025

‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.’

Lest we forget.

Thank you to our students, families and staff members who attended the ANZAC Day services in Ballan on Friday. It was wonderful to see our school community come together to honour and remember those who served. A special thank you to Ivy, Felix and Brandi who represented our school with pride and respect by presenting a speech at the Dawn Service. We were also proud to participate in the ANZAC Day March, standing in solidarity with the wider community in remembrance.

A big thank you to our wonderful parents who volunteered their time and energy to organise and facilitate our Bunnings BBQ on Saturday. Thanks to their amazing efforts, over $3000 was raised, which will directly benefit our school. Events like these remind us of community spirit and support that makes our school such a wonderful place.

On Thursday 8th May, our P&F will be facilitating a Mother’s Day Stall. On this day, children are invited to bring $5 to school to purchase a gift for their mothers, grandmothers or special people in their lives.

A big thank you to Jo Muldeary and Hayley Plageman for organising and facilitating our Mother’s Day Stall.

From Term 2, along with continuing to teach Year 2/3M and 4/5S, Jasmine McIlvena and Callum Stevens will be stepping into the shared role of Learning Diversity and Wellbeing Leader at St Brigid’s. Both bring valuable expertise in this area and will support students, families and staff across Foundation to Year 6.

Recently we have had cases of head lice reported in our school community. While head lice are not harmful, they can spread easily, so we encourage all families to take a few proactive steps.

Please check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of head lice or nits (eggs). If you find any, we recommend beginning treatment promptly and notifying the school to ensure that we can monitor the situation. For guidance on treatment and prevention, please consult your pharmacist or healthcare provider.

Please register using the following link:

bit.ly/CommunityWebinarMay15

Hot lunches will recommence Friday 2nd May via the online ordering system - Spriggy Schools on SZapp.

Volunteers

We have re-introduce a roster looking for volunteers to help prepare and serve lunches on each Friday. Ideally 2 helpers are required.

If you are available to help out on a Friday between 11.30am-1.00pm please contact the school office with your dates (valid Working with Children Check is required).

The children really enjoy hot lunches and this can only happen with the help of volunteers!

Term 2 Roster:

Please find below an updated menu.

Whole School Prayer/ Assembly will continue to take place on a fortnightly basis at St Brigid’s Church on Monday afternoons from 2:30pm.

Term 2 dates:

• Monday 12th May, 2025 @ 2:30pm - Foundation C facilitating
• Monday 26th May, 2025 @ 2:30pm - Year 2/3M facilitating
• Monday 23rd June, 2025 @ 2:30pm - Foundation A facilitating

Our next P&F meeting will take place on Monday 5th May from 3.15pm - 4.00pm in our school Library. An active P&F committee allows families the opportunity to play a valuable part in providing social and fundraising activities.  Please attend this meeting if you are interested in joining our P&F committee. Any help would be greatly appreciated as all funds raised contribute to resources and materials to support your children in their holistic development.

Suzanne Beaver will again be at St Brigids every Tuesday this year. 

Suzanne is available for individual sessions with children. Common issues addressed are managing strong emotions, self esteem, friendship issues, anxiety, and family challenges such as illness, grief and separation.

Suzanne is also available for individual sessions with parents. Topics can include a range of parenting challenges, i.e. managing strong emotions, school reluctance, helping your child form strong friendships, and helping your child to navigate family separation.

Suzanne can also assist you in finding the right external support for your child and family.

This is a great service provided right here at school. Please don't hesitate to contact Suzanne with any concerns you might have. Contact Suzanne by phone on a Tuesday or by email any day sbeaver@sbballan.catholic.edu.au.

You can also access the service through the office or your classroom teacher.

All of the timetabled events (to date) for the school year can be found on our school calendar which can be accessed through PAM and via this newsletter.

SZappp Mobile Application is a fantastic way for communicating and making information or resources available to our St Brigid's school community. 

Please follow the instructions in the below guide on how to install the SZappp and register an email account for communication.