Dear Parents, Carers, Staff and Students, 

Welcome back to school. It is always such a blessing to be surrounded by such welcoming and happy, smiling faces on returning to a new year at school. We understand that for some families the holiday break was not a relaxing time and therefore at morning assembly we have focused the dedication of our school prayer to those families who have, and continue to be, affected by the devastating fires. During the holiday break the school community led by our Parents & Friends were able to organise a donation drive. We were overwhelmed and somewhat humbled by the generosity of our community to help those in need. The charism of St Mary Mackillop was certainly alive and living in action during this time.

Our focus during the first days of school has been to revisit our expectations of being Respectful … Respectful to Ourselves, Respectful to Others, Respectful to Property and Respectful to our Learning. As a school we have focused on understanding what the word respectful looks like, sounds like and feels like. Our patron saint, St Anthony of Padua wrote, “Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.” For our whole school community the sense of action for the benefit of others will certainly be a whole school focus in 2020.

A very special welcome to all those who have selected St Anthony’s Catholic Parish Primary School for their child’s education commencing this year. We are glad to have you join our school and parish family. I would like to warmly welcome our new staff members, Miss Ashleigh Pace and Mrs Lauren Thorp to our school community.  Please know that your presence amongst us adds to the richness of our school. 

For me St Anthony’s is about building on the sense of community. A key aspect of our school is to work in partnership to ensure that the children are at the very heart of all that we do and that they continue to learn in a safe and supportive environment.  That they have opportunities to explore their faith and learn about themselves while interacting positively with their peers. As we begin the new year let us pray:

Prayer For the New School Year

"God of wisdom 

Be with our children as they begin a new school year. 

Bless them and their teachers and staff. 

Give them the strength and grace as their bodies grow; 

wisdom and knowledge to their minds as they search for understanding; 

and peace in their hearts. 

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen."

Mr Justin Devlin

Principal