Term 1 Week 9 Monday 28th March

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 for those driven away from
their homes by violence, persecution or
poverty. May our hearts be open to do
all we can to rebuild the lives of others.
May we be instruments of God’s peace.
Amen.

From the Principal

Dear families,

We have another big week ahead of us at St Colman's. One of my favourite things at St Colman's is gallery of all the old whole school photos in the foyer as you walk in. It's great to look back over the years and see how the children have grown and remember those who have been a part of our community. Tomorrow is school photo day. We're looking forward to adding the 2022 whole school photo to this gallery. 

Best wishes to those students who are attending the District Athletics on Friday. A separate note has been sent home regarding the arrangements for the day. 

Don't forget our Easter Celebration on Friday night. We understand that families have many things on, but we would love to see you there. 

Kind regards, Stacey 

School Photos

School Photos are tomorrow! The attached letter has all the information and each child should have received an envelope. Family envelopes are at school. 

Easter Celebration: Friday night

We're looking forward to our first community gathering for 2022. All welcome! For catering purposes, please reply to the survey sent earlier today. 

Project Compassion Reflection

Joshua 5:9 12 | 1 Cor 5:17 21 | Luke 15:1 3, 11 32
One of the most beautiful expressions in the Bible comes from the prophet Ezekiel. ‘Thus
says the Lord, I will take their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh.’ It is a call to be
tender and compassionate.
You would need a heart of stone not to be affected by the stories we encounter today. Most
of us have heard the story of the two sons in today’s Gospel over and over. The brilliance of
the way Jesus tells stories is that it still gets under our skin. Here are two young men who
think they can live on their own terms. One has a sense of entitlement and demands his
share of his father’s estate which he then squanders. He is finally prepared to eat humble pie
and find his way home. The other son has a different sense of entitlement. He believes that
his hard work and reliability should provide him with a greater share of his father’s love. At
different times in our life, we can relate more to one or other of these people. Jesus implies
that they are both blind to the way God’s love works and that they both need to grow. They
have both been dead and need to come to life.
The story we encounter this week through Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion is also
deeply moving. Rosalie, aged 37, lives in one of the most damaged countries in the world, the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). From the age of fifteen, she was forced to become a
child soldier, exposed to violence and heartbreak. She actually says that she was forced into
combat with a baby on her back. Now she has seven children and dreams of a better future
for them. Thanks to your support of Project Compassion, she has been able to start a small
business, save so her children might go to school and become an inspiration to others.
Recovery from the trauma of war affects people around the world.
Our second reading today reminds us that we are ‘ambassadors for Christ.’ St Paul says, ‘for
anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation.’ Let us all be part of building that new
creation, setting the world to rights as best we can. God wants to reconcile the world to
himself. Our part in this is to reach out in compassion and love to heal the wounds of the
whole human family. The theme of Project Compassion this year asks us to think and act
‘for all future generations.’ Our hearts need to be warm and

Rosalie picks up her youngest daughter from school near her home in Bukavu , eastern DRC. Photo: Arlette Bashizi

Sacrament of Forgiveness

A number of children have been preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Forgiveness and will experience the sacrament for the first time on Wednesday night, 5.30pm at St Colman's Church. 

We congratulate them on taking this important step in their faith journey. 

Keeping Children Safe-Student absences

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. 

Girls winter skirt

We will be putting in an order for the new winter skirt. It will be a navy skirt with large pleats and an elastic waste. Please place your order below by Thursday.

School Advisory Council

The next meeting of the School Advisory Council will be Thursday night, 31st March, at 7pm. We will be meeting at school. 

An agenda will be distributed prior to the meeting. 

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 

COVID Update and RATS

Temporary exemption from isolation if you have contracted COVID-19

There has been an extension to the period of time from 30 days to 8 weeks for the temporary exemption from isolation if you have contracted COVID-19.  The School Operations Guide has been updated to reflect this changed advice.

If you have recovered from COVID-19, you aren’t required to get tested or isolate/quarantine if you are re-exposed to a case within 8 weeks of ending your isolation period.

After 8 weeks, you must follow the relevant advice depending on the type of contact you are.

Please note that our final distribution of RATs for the term have been sent home today. 

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday this week to Elias.

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

What a momentous occasion with Buddy Franklin kicking his 1000th goal. I'm not confident that we'll ever see such a total again, but as we've all learnt, you cannot predict the future! 

Obviously the early rounds are throwing up some interesting results. Footytips.com tells me that our top tippers were Pippa Kate, Jenn Finn, Remy Herry , bomberbub and Berrigan Bandit with 7.  Pippa Kate and Jenn Finn are still leading the way. 

However, there may be some dark horses who have sent their tips through to Brianna. Let's see if someone can get all 9 this week. Happy tipping. 

Key Dates for the Diary

29th March- School Photos

30th March- Sacrament of Forgiveness, 5.30pm

31st March-PSGs and SAC Meeting

1st April- District Athletics

1st April- Easter BBQ

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

6th April- Footy Clinics at school

8th April- Final Day of Term

Term 2 

25th April Anzac Day

26th April Term 2 commences

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

23rd May- School Closure: Literacy focus

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. 

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. 
• Visitors must check in via the QR code and be vaccinated. 
• 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.

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 

Parish Bulletin

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