PRINCIPAL NEWS
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome back to Term 3. It was wonderful to be greeted on Monday by the happy, smiling faces of students and staff after my time away overseas on study and sabbatical leave. Welcome to our eight new students,
Prep H: Penny
1M: Hayden
2C: Thomas
2F: Elijah
4M:Connor
5JL: Christian
5W: Ella & Annabelle
who have all joined our St Saviour's Primary School community.
Special thanks to Sam Hannant for taking up the role of Acting Principal. Sam’s organisation and diligence were well noted during this time by students, staff, parents and the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office. Congratulations Sam on a commendable job. Sam has also been nominated for a Toowoomba Catholic Schools excellence award which will be announced during Catholic Education Week. Thanks also is extended to Mr Roland Poulton for his support of the leadership team, staff, students and parents during this time as well.
What an amazing privilege to study and attend Leuven University in Belgium for two weeks where I attended university lectures and completed four assignments. A few years ago some of you may remember completing an online survey to gather data about the Catholic Identity of our school. It was this data that the four assignments was based on interpreting our data in relation to our Catholic Identity as a school.
The Catholic University in Leuven was founded in 1425. Over the course of two weeks alongside other Principals, Education Officers and Directors from other Queensland Dioceses I attended lectures in many of the campuses including Arenberg Castle; visited schools and were fortunate enough on the weekends to journey to Ypres, Gent, Antwerp, Brussels and Bruges. Over fifty percent of the population of Belgium is Catholic and a high percentage of private schools in Belgium are Catholic. However, the Catholic identity of many schools in Belgium has changed significantly over the past 15 years and it is barely visible in most schools. The ECSI (Enhancing Catholic Schools Identity) Project identifies the levels of Catholicity that are present in Catholic schools today and in the future. Being enrolled in the ECSI course significantly raised my awareness of how our identities are shaped according to the many identities we have interacted with throughout our lives. Our lecturers warned that our schools in Australia had similar Catholic Identities to those in Belgium 15 years ago and if we don’t nurture the Catholic Identity of our schools, we will be confronted with the same issues that Catholic Schools in Belgium are currently facing.
Our lecturers, Pollefeyt and Bouwens discussed the importance of having ‘strong symbolism’ in our Catholic Schools. At St Saviour’s Primary School, it is our hope that the many symbols of our Catholic identity are evidently displayed throughout our school. Each classroom has a prayer table or sacred space with a bible, candle and cross or crucifix. There are also many artefacts around the school pertaining to Catherine McAuley who founded the Sisters of Mercy and inspires us at St Saviour’s Primary school to be welcoming and hospitable to all. Our four cornerstone values: Service, Compassion, Commitment and Quality are taught to help support and nurture the students here at St Saviour’s. The strength of our Catholic Community can be found in the relationships we have we each other and in the way, we support and help others to be followers of Christ.
One of the highlights of my travels was walking the Primitivo Camino from Lugo to Santiago de Compostela over the course of a week with two other Principals from the Diocese. To walk in the footsteps of St James across Spain was thought provoking and meditative. I have definitely caught the Camino ‘bug’ and look forward to my next adventure in a few years’ time.
Catholic Education Week
28 July – 3 August 2019
Catholic Education Week will be celebrated across Queensland from 28 July – 3 August 2019. The highlight for me each year in Term 3 is celebrating Catholic Education in Week 3. This year staff will join over 1000 other employees across the Diocese on Friday, 2nd August at St Mary’s College. Students will have a pupil free day from school on this day.
This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.
The theme for this year’s celebrations is: Many Voices. One Spirit.
Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.
There are 306 Catholic schools in Queensland that educate around 149,000 students and employ more than 20,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way.
Our school is planning a number of activities during the week and we hope you are able to join in the celebrations with us.
I thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you during Catholic Education Week 2019.
Yours sincerely
Madonna Sleba
Principal
Listed below is a schedule of activities/events at St Saviour’s Primary School during Catholic Education Week:
TUESDAY (JULY 30TH): School mass/Grandparents' Day + Open classroom sessions
WEDNESDAY (JULY 31ST): STEM showcase day
THURSDAY (AUGUST 1ST): Catholic Netball Carnival and Catholic Touch Football Carnival
FRIDAY (AUGUST 2ND): Student Free Day
