6 April  Week 10 Term 1  2017
Dear Parents and Friends,
St Matthew’s Primary
School is a school of
the Archdiocese of
Canberra Goulburn
Baby News
Congratulations to Mrs Marnie Mills and her husband Ben on the safe arrival of
their son Lachlan Benjamin Mills on 3 April. We also share our congratulations
with the Marks family (Nicholas, Kinder M) on the birth of their daughter
Emily Louise Marks also on 3 April—a granddaughter to regular relief teacher Mrs
Louise Heywood. Our blessings and love for a lifetime of happiness and health for
these new little miracles and their families!
Retirement News
We took the opportunity today to farewell Mrs Janice Colley and Mrs Kerry Tozer who
will both finish working at St Matthew’s tomorrow. We had some children read some
farewell messages and then offered a school blessing for these generous, kind and
committed Classroom Assistants. They were presented with a book of special messages
from every student and staff member of St Matthew’s along with some gifts and
flowers. On your behalf, I would like to warmly thank Janice and Kerry for their
devotion to their work at our school over the past 15 and 16 years respectively. God
bless you both.
Resignation News
After more than a year of committed, determined service to the St Matthew’s Canteen, Mrs Patricia
El-Badawi is resigning her position as canteen manager to pursue other employment options closer to
home. I thank Patricia for her love of the kids, her determination to keep our canteen afloat and her
kindness. We wish Patricia every blessing into the future.
Canteen News
The Canteen will be closed for at least the first three weeks of Term 2 so the Community Council Executive can do a thorough financial audit of the ongoing viability
of the canteen. The canteen is—and has been for many years—running at a financial
loss which is something we are struggling to justify. We would like to take some
time to look at other options for providing lunches for our students which is not a
financial burden on the school or the fundraising monies so carefully and generously
raised by this community. We will keep you well informed about the process and
our way forward as soon as we are able. There will be no lunch-orders or over the
counter sales until further notice.
May the joy of
Easter and the
blessings which come
with celebrating
Jesus’ resurrection
be with you
this Easter
and always
Holy Week Play News
Please join us tomorrow, Friday 7 April at 11.45 am for our whole school Holy Week Play.
Each Year level group has taken a part of the Holy Week story and will represent it in
dramatic form in a journey around our school. We will begin at the Labyrinth with Kinder
and Year 1 sharing the Palm Sunday story. The whole play should take an hour and will
conclude in the hall. To maintain the prayerfulness and sacredness of this story, we invite
all participants to maintain a prayerful atmosphere as we move around the school.
Winter Uniform News
Weeks 1 and 2 of Term 2 are traditionally our changeover period from summer to winter uniform.
We ask parents to use their discretion in choosing which uniform best suits the changeable autumn
weather at this time. A full description of our uniform expectations can be found on the school
website at: http://stmattsps.act.edu.au/aboutus/uniform/
Walkathon News
Come along to assembly tomorrow morning at 8.50 am to find out how much we raised for the
Walkathon, which prizes the children have earned, which class raised the most money, which class
had the highest return rate of cards, and to see who wins the raffle!
I ask our God of all blessings and love to fill your homes with love as we celebrate the greatest
story of all at Easter.
Brenda Foley
Principal
www.stmattsps.act.edu.au
P +61 2 6254 2653
F +61 2 6254 9009
E [email protected]
In Truth and Love we Listen Learn Lead
Matty’s Matters - Page 2
From Our
Assistant Principal
Good News
The Meaning of Holy Week
Holy Week is most definitely a very sacred
time of the year, for it is now that we will
commemorate and remember the last week
of Jesus' life on this earth. These are the
days leading up to the great Easter Feast.
The Lenten season of sacrifice and selfdenial is about to come to an end, but this
coming week is extremely important for all Christians.
The greatest focus of the week is the Passion and
Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the events that led up
to it. It begins with Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus'
triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Especially important
for Catholics is the Easter Triduum. This is the three
days just before Easter. On Holy Thursday, we
remember The Lord's Last Supper, which He shared with
His apostles on the night He was betrayed and arrested.
On Good Friday we reflect on the day of the crucifixion
and death of our Lord. Holy Saturday is a vigil where
we keep watch for the expectant rising of Our Savior
which is celebrated on Easter Sunday.
The Easter Triduum which, standing at the heart of the
Easter season, is an immersion in the fundamental
mystery of what it is to be Christian. During these days,
we journey with Christ so that we might rise with Him
at His glorious Resurrection. Holy Week is a time to
clear our schedules of unnecessary activities. Our minds
and hearts should be fixed on Jesus and what he did for
us.
Holy Week at St Matthew’s
Therese Nolan
Assistant Principal (Acting)
[email protected]
Confirmation Sacramental Program 2017
The Confirmation Parent Information Session will be
held in Term 2 on Wednesday 10 May at 6 pm at the
church.
Important dates for the Confirmation program:




Commitment Masses
Saturday 13 May at 6.00 pm
Sunday 14 May at 8.30 am
Commitment Masses
Saturday 3 June at 6.00 pm
Sunday 4 June at 8.30 am
Retreat Day at St Matthew’s
Thursday 9 June
Celebration of the Sacrament
Wednesday 14 June 6.30pm
All parents and friends are invited to join us for our
Holy Week and Easter Story prayer reflection tomorrow,
Friday 7 April at 11.45 am. We are combining all parts
of Holy Week into one prayer celebration. All classes
from Kinder to Year 6 will be presenting a
different part of the Holy Week story and
leading our school community in prayer at a
variety of settings around the school.
We will begin with the Palm Sunday story at 11.45 am
on the western end of the oval (closest to the church),
and will conclude with Jesus’ Resurrection at
approximately 12.45 pm in the hall. All are encouraged
to dress in costumes to represent the time of Jesus’ life
for the prayer celebration.
Sylvia Campbell
RE Coordinator
[email protected]
Matty’s Matters - Page 3
Community Council Update # 4 - 2017
Congratulations! We all made it through Term 1.
Supporting St Matthew’s by Volunteering
Happy birthday wishes to
Callum Ernst, Claudia Larobina, Oliver Sedgwick,
Charlotte Lawless, Amelie Lawless, Uku Latukefu,
Isobel White, Dylan Williams, Cecilia Jepsen,
Sarah Biehl, Haley White, Marc Cheah,
Olivia Carter, Matilda Hutchison, Philippa Walker,
Grace Brann, Michael Casey, Chloe Glasson,
Josephine Foster, Sienna Freestone,
Evelyn Brown, Liam Hunter, Abigail Causer,
Tayana Demberere and Mrs Johnson
who celebrated or are celebrating
birthdays recently.
St Matthew’s has a long and proud tradition of
families volunteering their time to support a wide
range of services and fundraising activities. The
efforts of our volunteers are considerable and allow
us to raise funds that are used to improve school
facilities and resources.
Of course, we are always keen to get as many
parents/carer volunteers as possible! Any time that
you can commit too, no matter how small, is highly
valued, even if that is just a few hours to assist with
preparations for an event, or a more regular
commitment serving on a committee.
We are currently seeking volunteers to help with:
* School Disco
* School Banking
* Fundraising initiatives
* Students Services Committee
* Environment Committee
If you are interested in finding out more, please
take a moment and email [email protected]
The Community Council wishes everyone a happy
Easter and relaxing school holidays.
Mothers Day Stall
Friday 12th May 2017
St Francis Xavier College
Information Evening
8 May 2017
Guided Tours starting at 5pm
Cross Country Ribbons will
be presented tomorrow
Friday 7 April at morning
assembly at 8.50 am.
MERICI COLLEGE
OPEN DAY
Wednesday 3 May 2017
2.00pm to 7.00pm
Come and see the College in action!
INFORMATION EVENINGS:
Expo Day
Open Day
Thursday 27 April 2017
Friday 12 May 9am—2:30pm
For Year 7 Students for 2018
Tuesday 9 May 2017
6.00pm-7.15pm
For Year 11 Students for 2018
For more information please go to our website:
https://www.sfx.act.edu.au/
Thursday 11 May 2017
6.00pm-7.15pm
Careers Expo from 4.00pm
Matty’s Matters - Page 4
The St Matthew's Fete is just over 200 days away. So much preparation to do but what a
wonderful start we have had. We are still trying to fill the following roles:
1. Co-Coordinator for Sweets N Treats - Lisa Fairlamb (Year 1) has kindly offered to run the Sweets N Treats stall
this year but needs a sidekick (she has also volunteered to organise the rides). Basically you would work together
to drive the baking drive, set-up, sell and pack up on the day. What is a fete without this old faithful?!!!
2. Raffle Coordinator - Last year the raffle was the biggest fundraiser of the fete due to the hard work and generous donations of our local community. We need someone to help get donations, register the raffle and sell tickets on the day.
3. Craft Creations -This stall can essentially be run however you want it. Last year the fabulous coordinators sold
beautiful home-made creations, the previous year they made craft. This year we are potentially looking to add a
fabric/craft de-stash component to the stall on the day.
In other news...
We are still looking for donations for the fete raffle. Do you own a business that could donate something for a
prize, do you have connection with holiday accommodation or are you in a position to provide gold sponsorship
such as a realestate agent or business. In return we try to promote your business every chance we get and are
more than happy to have any of your promotional stuff on the information stand on the day.
Donation Day - April 22nd 4pm to 4.30pm. Are you planning to do an autumn clean over the holidays? We are
going to open up the fete shed on Saturday April 22nd from 4pm to 4.30pm to accept donations of books, clothing, second hand wares, toys and more (sorry no electrical). We already have some great finds in the shed and
can't wait to receive more.
Huge thanks to the Hawker school community who graciously gave us some left over books and donations on the
weekend after their hugely successful fete!
If you want any more information, have suggestions or want to run one of our stalls then please get in contact
with anyone on the committee (or the office can pass a message on). Remember to stay current with latest fete
news on our Facebook account St Matthew's Fete Canberra 2017
See you in Term Two!
Jen Sawade, Bel Fowley, Nat Withers, Bec Naughton, Lisa Fairlamb and Jen O'Brien.
Uniform Pool
Open every Thursday
2.45 pm – 3.15 pm
Plenty of winter items including:
Jumpers
Blue Winter Coats
Track Pants
Long Blue Trousers
Japanese Hosting Opportunity
Our new Japanese Language Assistant, Asumi Kobayashi,
will be arriving in Canberra on Anzac Day and will be with
us for Term 2 and 3 this year. We are looking for host
families for some of her time here. This is a wonderful
opportunity for your family to have a visitor to join in the
experiences of Australian family life and for your family to
learn more about Japanese culture and people.
Hosting can be for any period of time from a 'cuppa' after school, a weekend,
a week or even a month. For longer periods there will be a payment to cover
living costs. Asumi seems to have good English but needs more opportunities
to communicate with children and their families. If you are able to invite her
into your home please contact Anne Hodgkin by email.
Anne Hodgkin
Japanese Teacher St Matthew’s Primary
Class communiqué for families
Kinder Blue
Kinder Maroon
Parent Reps: Alissa Pearson & Jenny Davenport
Parent Rep: : Hayley Wilson
Contact - 0411 589 900 [email protected]
Contact 0438091880 [email protected]
[email protected]
Facebook group:
Facebook group:
Reminders/Events/announcements
Reminders/Events/announcements
1 Blue
1 Maroon
Parent Rep: Lizz Boniwell
Parent Rep: Jen O’Brien
Contact: 0439483253 [email protected]
Contact: 0404073089 [email protected]
Facebook group: ‘St Matthews Primary school - class of 2022’
Facebook group: ‘ St Matthews Primary school - class of 2022’
Reminders/Events/announcements
Reminders/Events/announcements
2 Blue
2 Maroon
Parent Rep: Quyen Pindral
Parent Rep: Nijole Sazbo
Contact: 0400400055 [email protected]
Contact: 0421459435 [email protected]
Facebook group: ‘St Matthews Class of 2021’
Facebook group: ‘‘St Matthews Class of 2021’
Reminders/Events/announcements
Reminders/Events/announcements
3 Blue
Parent Rep: Stephanie Vizzari
Contact: 0412963124 [email protected]
Facebook group: ‘St Matts - Graduating Class of 2020’
Reminders/Events/announcements
3 Maroon
Parent Rep: Jen Brown
Contact: 0407235622 [email protected]
Facebook group:‘ St Matts - Graduating Class of 2020’
Reminders/Events/announcements
4 Blue
Parent Rep: Alison Dyer
Contact: 0432534375/[email protected]
Facebook group: St Matthews year 6 – 2019’
Reminders/Events/announcements
Mum’s Dinner/Drinks 7pm this Friday 7th!!!
Please RSVP to Ali or Kym.
4 Maroon
Parent Rep: Kym Wilkinson
Contact: 0401294885 [email protected]
Facebook group: St Matthews year 6 – 2019’
Reminders/Events/announcements
Mum’s Dinner/Drinks 7pm this Friday 7th!!!
Please RSVP to Ali or Kym.
5 Blue
Parent Rep: Margie Sciacca
Contact: 0435492060 [email protected]
Facebook group:
Reminders/Events/announcements
5 Maroon
Parent Rep: Gillian Logan
Contact: 0408555014 [email protected]
Facebook group:
Reminders/Events/announcements
6 Blue
Parent Rep: Jen O’Brien
Contact: 0404073089 [email protected]
Facebook group: St Matthews Primary School – Class of
2017’
Reminders/Events/announcements
End of year fun run & wine tasting in Murrumbateman see Facebook page for more details and how to sign up.
6 Maroon
Parent Rep: Mel Everett
Contact: 0417368559 [email protected]
Facebook group: St Matthews Primary School – Class of
2017’
Reminders/Events/announcements
End of year fun run & wine tasting in Murrumbateman see Facebook page for more details and how to sign up