Dear Parents and Carer’s of St Kevin’s,

 Jubilee 2025

We as a Catholic community will hear about this Jubilee throughout 2025. The link below from our Maitland Newcastle Diocese provides you with all the information and background of a Jubilee year and the Jubilee 2025 in particular.

Diocese of Maitland -Newcastle -Jubilee Year 2025

I already hear you ask “What is a Jubilee Year? “Again, our Diocese has provided answers to your questions, and these can be found in the link below.

Questions about the Jubilee

I ask you all as a Catholic community to at least read and think about the Jubilee 2025 and perhaps ponder on its logo “Pilgrims of Hope” and what your hopes are for your children, their future and their faith.

The logo itself can be explained in the link below, but for me it reflects our own school vision where we are a Catholic community nurturing mind, heart and spirit- following the light of Christ.

Pilgrims of Hope logo

So, we may not get to Italy or Rome, but we can definitely demonstrate to the wider community through our words and actions that we are Pilgrims of Hope, nurturing our children in their faith and life experiences to be inclusive and supportive of all.

Mary-Anne Jennings

Principal

Canteen Update

We are continuing to search for a qualified canteen food handler supervisor, so that we meet NSW Government legislation. Meanwhile we hope the students and parents enjoy the special meal deals that are currently being offered in lieu of our regular canteen lunches.

Enrolments

2026 enrolments are now open. If your child is starting kindergarten or Year 7 in 2026, please visit the online enrolment section via our school website. Round one applications close 23 May 2025 so please submit your applications as soon as possible. 

Enrolment Application

Communication

Thank you Mrs Hogan for always ensuring that there are weekly updates sent out on a Friday so that parents can triple check for the week ahead. Our school newsletter, website and school calendar also have all the important information you need.

Easter Fun Activities

Yes, we will still be having our annual Easter Hat parade and Easter Egg raffle. Parents make hats at home. There are no prizes for the best hat, it’s all about having fun. This parade will be held on Wednesday April 9.

Our annual Easter Egg raffle is created by donations of Easter eggs from our parent community. The children come to school on Friday March 28 in their play clothes and bring in donations of chocolate Easter eggs. These eggs are then made into prizes by our Fundraising Team and raffle tickets are sold. It's a great raffle with up to 60 or more prizes and promotes great excitement and community spirit.

Building update

March 10 is our start date!!!! We’re so excited!!!!

Canteen

I hope, if you took up the option of canteen today, that your child enjoyed their pizza lunch.  For next week, I am in the process of organising Sushi Friday.  More information coming shortly...

School Musical

I had hoped to give you more information this week regarding our school musical but we have been offered an alternative to the way we would normally run our school musical (every second year) and I have been exploring that option.  I am liaising with our Aspire team to help us produce a musical in which the children have input into the writing of the script and songs. I will update you on this in our next newsletter.  Meanwhile, add Wednesday 24^th September to your calendar for our school musical.  We will have a matinee and an evening performance.

PB4L / Student Representative Council (SRC)

This week our SRC met for the first time with Mrs Jennings. Over the course of the year, our SRC will meet with a member of the school executive to discuss issues relevant to the student body, giving them voice and representation.  2 members of each class have been voted into the SRC by their classmates.  They will remain in this role for one semester.  Students elected in one calendar year will not be eligible for election for the following 3 semesters, giving greater opportunity for all. Students are elected from Years 2-5, joining our school leaders from Year 6.  Yesterday, they chose the reward target for this period’s PB4L focus, Listening to Instructions.

Looking forward to seeing families who are able to join me on the pilgrimage launch, commencing at Foreshore Park this Sunday at 8am.

God Bless

Kim Hogan

Co-Principal / Assistant Principal

Upcoming Liturgical Celebrations

Next week we have 2 important celebrations at school, Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday of which you are warmly invited to join us for both liturgical celebrations.

Shrove Tuesday

Traditionally, Shrove Tuesday is a day for confession and preparation for Lent. The word "shrove" originates from the Catholic practice of "shriving," which means to confess your sins and receive absolution from a priest. It is also a day when people would use up foods such as eggs, flour, sugar, and dairy before the Lenten fast. This is why many people eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.

One way to celebrate Shrove Tuesday is by holding a "burying of the Alleluia" ritual. "Alleluia" is an exclamation that means "Praise the Lord!" and is used throughout the Psalms as a shout of joy. Since Lent is a season marked by reflection and solemness, the Church omits "Alleluia" from the liturgy during this 40-day period. In a way, we "fast the Alleluia." This fast is joyfully broken with the opening words of the Easter liturgy on Easter morning: "Alleluia! Christ is risen!"

Ash Wednesday

On Wednesday 5^th March we will celebrate the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday. We will mark the students’ forehead with a cross of ashes to remind them to be more like Jesus and of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. As you enter the school during this time you will see the colour purple around, this symbolises the anticipation of the pain that Jesus endured at the crucifixion.

Project Compassion

The season of Lent marks the start of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Your donations to Project Compassion enable Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to collaborate with local communities worldwide to combat poverty, hunger, oppression, and injustice. This year, Caritas is focusing on communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Samoa, and Vietnam.

I encourage you and your family to put your compassion into action this Lent through prayer, fasting, and giving by supporting Project Compassion. Each classroom has a donation box, and it would be wonderful for students to practice generosity. One idea is for students to do jobs around the house to earn extra money to place in their class box.

Over the next five weeks, classes will learn about the stories of Toefuata’iga, Lam, and Irene. Our St. Kevin’s Mission Team, led by Miss Brownlow, will organize fundraising events to support Caritas directly. We encourage you to donate any money earned to the Project Compassion boxes located in the school.

SRC

Exciting news at St Kevin's! We are thrilled to announce the establishment of our very own Student Representative Council (SRC). The SRC aims to give students a voice in school matters, foster leadership skills, and promote a sense of responsibility and community among our students. Students from Years 2-6 will have the opportunity to elect two representatives from their class per semester, with the Student Leaders taking turns in chairing the council to ensure productive meetings and that everyone's voice is heard. The council will meet once a month to discuss and implement initiatives that create a positive and inclusive school environment. We look forward to seeing the great contributions from our young leaders!

Donna Morgan

Religious Education Teacher

Kaayi (Hello – Awabakal) 

Yaama Ngindaay (Hello everyone - Gamilaraay)

Nungamanladi (Hello - Bardi)

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. 

It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.​ 

www.harmony.gov.au 

At St Kevin’s we celebrate Harmony Day every year, along with schools and organisations around the country. This year it has special significance and importance in light of recent events revealing racial tensions and attacks on religious groups in Australia and around the world. Of course, we are very mindful in schools of how we sensitively deal with such issues and as a Catholic school we always emphasise that we include everyone and that everyone belongs here.

Our celebration of Harmony Week will be on Harmony Day, Friday 21 March. This is the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 

More information is to come, but we will be celebrating diversity and inclusiveness in our school community and have a Prayer Service on the day, highlighting and reinforcing the Church’s commitment to ensuring that we value each and every person as being created in the image and likeness of God. A great reminder of what our Catholic school community is all about is our school motto, emblazoned on our school crest: Caritas, which means love and compassion.

The Children will learn more about Harmony Week in their classrooms over the next few weeks, and we look forward to celebrating diversity and inclusiveness on Friday 21 March.

Thank you for your wonderful ongoing support as we work together to uphold our Catholic values and lead by example for our children to see and emulate.

Nginowa (Goodbye, see you later – in Awabakal)

Yaluu (Later – in Gamilaraay)

Phil Taylor

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Teacher

This webinar helps parents spark early career curiosity in their children by encouraging them to explore a wide range of professions, dream big, and see the world of work as exciting and full of possibilities.

Through storytelling, books, role models, and hands-on activities, parents will learn practical ways to nurture their child’s interests and imagination. The session also introduces parents and carers to interactive tools and resources designed for young learners.

When: Wednesday 5 March, 12.30pm - 1pm via Zoom

Register via the link Dream Big - Careers

In this edition of SchoolTV - Friendship & Belonging

Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some these skills will come very naturally, allowing them to easily move between different friendship groups, sharing their experiences and opening up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Belonging to a group that is like-minded with similar interests is highly beneficial to a young person’s wellbeing. It gives them a sense of security helping them feel valued which in turn builds their confidence.

Positive friendships are an important part of the journey to adulthood. Adult carers can support their child or teenager by providing guidance in the many social and emotional skills required for a healthy relationship. This will help them to obtain, retain and maintain friendships. However, not all friendship are regarded as positive. Sometimes young people develop negative or toxic friendships. Therefore it is also important for them to learn how to identify, avoid or deal with such a friendship.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers can learn how to support their young person’s friendship so that they experience a sense of belonging.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Friendship & Belonging edition of SchoolTV
https://cardiff.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/friendship-belonging

School zones

The 40km/h speed limit in school zones helps to protect children on their way to and from school. The lower speed limit reduces the risk and potential severity of a crash. School zone signs, dragon’s teeth road markings and flashing lights improve the visibility and driver awareness of school zones. 

Drive under the school zone speed limit when school zones are active. Increased fines and demerit points apply for certain school zone offences. Illegal use of mobile phones and speeding are among those included in double demerit periods. See more on fines and demerit point offences.