Term 1 Week 10 Monday 5th April

Acknowledgement of Country

St Colman’s acknowledges the Girai wurung people as the traditional owners of the land on which our school stands and we respectfully recognise elders both past and present.

Our Prayer This Week

We pray that all women may be respected and encouraged to take their
rightful place in society. We pray also that all people will have access to clean water and safe house. May we act for justice in concrete ways, such as through Project Compassion.

Amen

From the Principal

Dear families,

Well, we've nearly made it to the end of term. Thank you to everyone for your efforts this term. In January it was very hard to imagine what the beginning of the year would look like but we have managed to navigated RATs, isolations, masks and everything else in between. A reminder that the term ends at 2.15pm on Friday and that we commence on the Tuesday after Anzac Day.

As is tradition, we presume that St Colman's will participate in the Anzac Day march this year. It is hoped that more details will be circulated prior to the end of term.  

Our annual Cross Country event is also due to take place on the first Friday back, stay tuned for more detials. 

Tomorrow is our annual coin line for Project Compassion. All spare coins are appreciated and collectively make a difference.

Thank you also to everyone for being mindful of the works out the front of the school. We are hoping that these will cause minimal disruption but may impact on parking for a short time. 

Kind regards, Stacey 

Learning Walk- You're Invited

Please find following an invitation to our first learning walk. A great chance to witness learning in action.  9am this Thursday.

Easter Celebration

Thanks to those families and staff who were able to support our Easter Celebration on Friday night. The weather certainly came to the party and it was great to see families come together after an uncertain start to the year. Needless to say, the Easter Egg Hunt proved to be a big hit despite being over with pretty quickly!! 

District Athletics Carnival

Well done to the St Colman's and St Thomas' joint District Aths team on their amazing efforts on Friday. All students represented the schools fabulously, with lots of smiles and encouragement for their team mates. This was a great opportunity for the students of St Colman's and St Thomas' to connect and form friendships. It was also great to see Mr Bourke, although he would not confirm or deny who he was barracking for (we think it was us). We came away with some great results. Our team finished second overall for the day. Well done to Arlo who will be going to the next level with his relay team. 

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The Farm

The Farm has had a bit of a tidy up and we are now preparing the raised garden beds for planting. If families have any horse manure or similar that can be used for fertiliser please drop this off at the farm or contact Stacey. 

principal@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au

Project Compassion Reflection

Isaiah 43:16 21 | Phil 3:8 14 | John 8:1 11

Pope Francis has spoken a great deal about our need for more women to occupy positions of leadership, both in the Church and in the world at large. 

Pope Francis is very much reflecting the attitude of Jesus whose closeness to women distinguished him as a leader and teacher in his time. You might think of significant encounters in the New Testament: the woman at the well, Martha and Mary, the widow of Nain. You might also think of the woman we meet in today’s Gospel, described by the scribes and Pharisees as ‘caught in the very act of committing adultery.’ Listen to the sneer in those words.
These men, who are supposed to be educated and respected, have been peeping through the
window. Their behavior is salacious, domineering and demeaning. In their self righteousness,
they threaten violence. There is no sign of the woman’s partner who is surely just as much part
of the story. Jesus neatly turns the tables. He starts by sitting on the ground, occupying a
position lower than that of the woman. He is the only one not taking an eyeful of her.

Caritas Australia, whom we support through Project Compassion, has long acted in
constructive ways to uphold the dignity of women and honour their strength, resilience and
leadership. A good example is Shaniella , a young woman from a remote village in the Solomon
Islands. She is the feature of this week’s story and embodies the theme of this year’s Project
Compassion: For all future generations. Take a few minutes to share her story and consider the
odds she is overcoming to create a safer and healthier environment for herself and her
community. She is the kind of person who should surely grab our attention.

Shaniella is seen in a classroom at her rural training centre near Honiara, Solomon Islands . Photo: Neil Nuia

Sacrament of Forgiveness

Congratulations to Kate, Billie, Mason and Cooper who celebrated the Sacrament of Forgiveness on Wednesday night for the first time. These children will now continue their initiatiation into the Catholic faith with the sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday June 5th.

Thank you to the children's parents for preparing the children, Mrs Rosie O'Connor, our Religious Education Leader, for her coordination and Fr Gary Jones for his leadership.

How to Find Joy in the School Holidays

Thanks to Clare Jehu, our Pastoral Care Worker, for this article.

Keeping Children Safe-Student absences

Thanks to everyone for your support of this new initiative. If you receive a text please reply so that we know that your child's absence is explained.

The safety of the children at St Colman's is extremely important to all of us. One area that we are aiming to improve is the following up of any unexplained absences. 

Thank you to all those families who notify us via PAM or other means that their child is absent. From now on, if we have not been notified that a child is absent, you will receive a text. This text comes from a central service and thus, the number may be unfamiliar to you. Parents will then be asked to contact the school to confirm that their child is at home. 

This is to ensure that we all know that the children are safe. It is to help prevent any presumptions, such as parents assuming a child has arrived safely at school or the school presuming that a child is at home. 

We appreciate your support with this new system. 

School Advisory Council

The SAC met on Thursday night. Many items were discussed including activities that can involve the community and ways to connect with the Hampden Catholic Schools Network. 

The minutes from the meeting are linked below. 

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Arlo who gets to start school holidays on his birthday. Happy birthday to Nat, Ashlee, Cooper and Alex L who also celebrate their birthdays during the holidays. 

MRC Open Day

There is an opportunity to tour our O'Keeffe campus after the HCSN Transition day of Monday 4 April from 2.30 - 4.30pm. This is an excellent opportunity HCSN families and any other family wishing to see our Junior campus. This will include a "talk" specific to Y 7 & 8.

Footy Tipping Competition 2022

Winners are grinners! Not only did the Saints have a magnificient win over the Tigers (sorry Jane), but I (Stacey) managed to tip 8 and the correct margin!! I have to get in early with this brag because it might not happen again. Perhaps there was some divine intervention from Warrnie after a stirring rendition of 'When the Saints Go Marching In' on Wednesday night. 

The round average was a much more respectable 5.7 which shows that our tipsters are starting to find their groove. Jenn Finn is the outright leader on 21, followed closely by myself and Pippa Kate. 

Don't forget to tip over the holidays! This could make all the difference. 

Circle of Security-Learning Opportunity

This 8 week parenting program, supported by Catholic Care Victoria, is an excellent opportunity. 

We do need a minimum number of parents to ensure that it runs. If you are interested, please contact Stacey at school or via email principal@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au 

Key Dates for the Diary

4th April- Senior class visit to MRC O'Keeffe Campus

6th April- Footy Clinics at school

8th April- Final Day of Term- 2.15pm

Term 2 

25th April Anzac Day

26th April Term 2 commences

29th April- School Cross Country 

2nd May- School Closure: Parent Engagement with Tony Dalton

3rd May- District Cross Country

23rd May- School Closure: Literacy focus

27th May- HCSN Network Day

13th June- Public Holiday

Term 3

1st August- School Closure: Literacy Pedagogy

8th September- School Closure: Liturgy (Religious Education) 

TBC: First Aid closure day to update CPR and other First Aid requirements. 

Our Schoolzine calendar is now operational so there's numerous dates available on the app. 

Parish Bulletin

Mass is celebrated at St Colman's every Sunday at 9am. All welcome. 

COVID Reminders

Please find following, an extensive letter outlining the current COVID arrangements. This will remain here in case you need to refer to anything. Some key points include things we are doing to protect our community:

• Mask wearing for all staff and Grade 2-6 students is compulsory. It is highly encouraged for all other children. Students must provide their own masks. 
• Masks are required for ALL children who travel on a bus. 
• RATs have been delivered with each member of the community being invited to test themselves twice a week. The school must be notified if there is a positive case.  The school will inform the community if there is a positive case. Head to this link for a video on how to conduct a RAT. https://youtu.be/AyrggazYk_0

Please contact me at school if you have any concerns or queries. The new school mobile number is 0409 539 167.

NetSetGo is Back for 2022!

The TMFNC NetSetGo program will run in Term 2 for 45 minutes every Thursday. The first session will be Thursday 28th April. 
Please note registrations are through a new program called Netball Connect. You will need to create new login details. 
Once your child is registered you will receive an email a few days later with instructions on how to access the netsetgo shop to redeem your child’s participant pack (ball and tshirt). For a few extra dollars your child’s tshirt can be personalised. 

Registration Link below....
https://netball-registration.worldsportaction.com/userRegistration?organisationId=ef933da7-9b5a-40b9-b2ef-cb390bb58d24&competitionId=7c192b00-32ba-4317-a3c1-3c2828d5ff98

OR See the details below for Woorndoo Mortlake Football Netball Club.

Or See the details below for the Kolora Noorat Football Netball Club.

Auskick

Auskick kicks off in Mortlake on May 1st. Please see the flyer for details on how to register. Contact Jess Dennis on 0422 808107 for details.

Alex Dyson: Quiz Night at Macs Hotel

Wednesday April 6

6pm dinner followed by The Quiz 

Support Your Local, Macs Hotel, Mortlake, and enjoy a fun night of quizzing questions, hidden prizes and giveaways..!

Meet Alex Dyson your Independent Candidate for Wannon, 

Bring your family, friends and colleagues to … 

one of Jodie’s 2 course scrumptious spit Roast dinners, $30

Please RSVP so Jodie can cater properly for us all..

8 Tables of 10

Bookings essential with Jodie at Macs..! 5599 2007