REFLECTION
Pope Francis: The Pope who chose simplicity
He could’ve had gold shoes. He chose black ones – worn, practical, and ordinary.
He could’ve lived in a palace. He chose a small apartment, ate in the staff dining room, and carried his own bag.
He could’ve stayed behind the scenes. He stepped into prisons, refugee camps, and slums. He bent low to wash feet – of the poor, of women, of people society forgets.
Pope Francis showed the world that leadership is service. That faith is action. That the Church is most alive when it moves beyond comfort and into courage.
And he reminded every person, what you do and how you show love – matters.
Vale Pope Francis
"Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit. The sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other." — Pope Francis
This week, we will hold a prayer service with our students during Hymn Singing to give thanks for the life and work of Pope Francis, who has been a source of inspiration and leadership for Catholics around the world.
Welcome Back to Term 2
Welcome back to Term 2! I hope everyone enjoyed a special and relaxing Easter break with family and friends. Our staff have started the term planning for the busy weeks ahead. It was wonderful to see all the smiling faces entering our gates on Tuesday morning, happily greeting teachers and friends. We are excited for this term and all that is to come.
Election update
A huge thank you to our incredible parents who are supporting what will be our last election "bake sale/sausage sizzle" for a little while. While these events require an enormous amount of effort, the rewards are many. Our students get to witness first-hand the hard work and community spirit that go into fundraising for our long-awaited playground. Together with the generous grant from Michael David, we are hopeful that work will begin in the coming weeks. I’m looking forward to sampling some fine St Denis cakes and helping at the sausage sizzle on Saturday!
Commitment Masses: Confirmation
We warmly invite all families to join us at Mass this weekend as we celebrate our Confirmation candidates. Commitment Masses will be held on Saturday, 3 May at 6:30pm and Sunday, 4 May at 9:00am.
Confirmation Workshop
Our Parent/Student Confirmation Workshop will take place on Tuesday, 6 May. We look forward to sharing this reflective time with our Confirmation families as we continue preparations for this important sacrament.
Mother’s Day Celebration
In Week 2, we look forward to celebrating all our wonderful mothers, grandmothers and significant women in our lives. A special thank you to our P&F representatives who are organising a morning tea, which will follow a liturgy in the hall at 9:00am. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
Facebook – Privacy and Social Media Reminder
As mentioned in our correspondence via Seesaw, we have launched our Facebook page. At St Denis, we are committed to respecting the privacy preferences of all our families. We ensure that no photos of students are used without the appropriate permissions in place. Parents and guardians are welcome to opt out or update their preferences at any time by contacting the school administration office.
Only students whose parents or guardians have provided online consent may have their images posted on our school’s Facebook page. Before any images are shared, they are carefully checked against our list of students without permission. Our processes are designed to align with these permissions, with clear procedures in place to prevent any breaches.
The management and oversight of the St Denis Facebook page, including the monitoring and enforcement of privacy boundaries, are the responsibility of the school’s leadership team. We are confident that these measures will ensure the privacy preferences of all families are respected.
Farewell and Welcome
This week, we farewell Kerry Martin, who has worked in our school office over the past year. We sincerely thank Kerry for her contribution in the administrative role and wish her all the best for the future.
At the end of last term, we advertised the position and are pleased to welcome Flavia Lenzo, who will commence in Week 3. Flavia brings a wealth of experience, having worked in administrative roles at two Catholic schools and, for the past 14 years, as a Parish Officer in a local parish. We look forward to Flavia joining our team – welcome, Flavia!
Warm regards,
Sarah Potts
PRINCIPAL
