“But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of man.”

Luke 21:36

From the Gospel of the 1 Sunday of Advent Year C

Dear families,

This Sunday marks the first Sunday of the new liturgical year beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, Year C. The Gospel is challenging us to remain vigilant and to not let things overwhelm us. This is particularly challenging after the year that we have had and are still having. We are observing the children displaying signs of fatigue, resulting in big emotions and feelings of being overwhelmed. Please let us know if we can support your children in any way at school. You can organise a time to speak with your child’s teacher by contacting the office.

These feelings of being overwhelmed are not just true for the children. It is also true for the staff. This is the reason why we are taking Monday as a pupil free day so we can process our grief and move forward in a positive space for the remainder of the year and forward into 2022. The build up to the Christmas season can be challenging when we are already feeling overwhelmed. I pray this day will provide you and your family some much needed downtime and a chance to breathe and recoup ready for the end of year. I am sure that staff will be re-energised after Monday ready to finish the year.

God Bless,

Katie Browne

Principal

DISruptAbility Virtual Conference

Last week Mrs Calla-Hunstone and I took part in a virtual conference called DISruptAbility organised by Catholic Schools NSW. This conference spoke about the importance of inclusion, fostering authentic home-school relationships and student voice. We look forward to sharing our knowledge with the staff and using some of the wonderful tools and resources we gained from attending the conference in order to further develop our skills in these areas.

G Rated School

Last week we held our book parade which was a wonderful celebration of children’s literature. Reading to our children on a daily basis is one of the greatest things we can do to support their learning and growth as an individual. When choosing a book to read to your children you would be mindful of the content and themes of the books. The same applies to the content we allow our children to watch and video games they play. All TV shows, movies and video games have ratings. I urge parents to look at the ratings before deciding if the choice of media is appropriate for your child. One of the concerns for parents and carers is when other children discuss content they may have viewed with their friends. I referred recently in a compass alert about Squid Games, a Netflix series. This has become a topic of conversation in the playground. This show is not suitable for primary school aged children and discussing the content of this show by children at school is not encouraged. If it is brought to the attention of the teacher we will remind the children that this is a G rated school and they should not be talking about such content. The following links will take parents to websites that provide information on how to deal with these issues and guidance on what to do if your child is exposed to this graphic content.

InitaLit

InitiaLit is a MultiLit program. MultiLit is a research initiative of Macquarie University.

The research team, led by Professor Kevin Wheldall AM, are researching how best to teach children to read. As a result of their research they have developed a range of programs that support struggling readers and they have branched into providing programs for whole class learning. We have been using their MiniLit, Reading Tutor Program and Reading Tutor Extention program for a number of years with great success.

Leadership Day Year 5 and 6

Year 5 and 6 were fortunate to participate in a leadership day with Cameron Brown from Explore Discover Act. From all reports it was a great day and the children developed some great leadership skills by participating in a range of interactive games and challenges. Year 5 have been provided with a nomination form that is required to be completed if they would like to be considered for an executive leadership role. These forms are due by Friday 3 December 2021.

End of Year Assembly and Mass

We will be holding our End of Year Assembly and Mass on Friday 10 December. Due to current restrictions parents and carers are not able to attend in person. We will arrange for both these events to be recorded. Details on how to watch these events will be provided closer to the event.

Year 6 Farewell Mass and Presentation Evening

Information was sent via compass last Friday about the final Year 6 events. If you did not receive this information please contact the office. Parents and carers are able to attend this event but must be fully vaccinated. If you are not able to attend then please let us know and we will arrange for you to view the event.

Year 6 Mini Fete

Year 6 will be holding a Mini Fete to raise money for their gift to the school. It will be held on Thursday 2nd December and there will be a $2 entry fee which includes one guess for the number of lollies in a jar. Year 6 have organised a number of stalls such as a bubble station, water pong, target game and a scavenger hunt. Students can also purchase an ice block for 50c. 

PUPIL FREE DAY MONDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2021

Please read the attached letter regarding the pupil free day.

ACTIVATE FIRE

On Friday 19th November, our Year 6 students participated in an immersive spiritual experience, Activate Fire. This online program is based on the Year 6 Confirmation Unit: Celebrating the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the day, students listened to songs and participated in a range of exciting games that linked to the content. Joel and Seth from CYMA led some discussions about prayer, God’s love and the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. All students participated with great enthusiasm and had an amazing day.

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

ILLNESS

If you child is unwell, even with mild symptoms, please do not send them to school.  If your child does have a covid test, please email through a copy of their result to the school office so that it can be uploaded to their file.  Unfortunately, at this stage, rapid antigen tests are not an acceptable alternative as we cannot be sure of their accuracy. The student will still need to have a standard COVID-19 test.

PERMISSION NOTES

Permission notes will now be issued via Compass.  To give your child permission to attend an event you will need to access the Compass browser.  If you are required to provide consent for an event, it will appear under your Tasks.  Once you have provided consent, you will no longer have any Tasks to complete.  All the information with regard to the event is available via Compass.

MEDICAL UPDATES

At the conclusion of the school year, all medication and medical plans will be sent home with the students along with a Consent to Dispense Medication Form for 2022.  Please ensure that your child’s medical plan and medication are updated for 2022 and sent to the office at the start of the school year in 2022 along with the completed form.

COMPASS ACCESS - DOWNLOAD SCHOOL REPORTS

For any families who are leaving the school at the end of the year, please download your child’s report when they are issued as you will no longer have access to Compass from 18^th December 2021.

Congratulations to these students who achieved a Merit Award at last week's assembly:

Congratulations to these students who received a Mission Star Award at last week's assembly:

Events Calendar (Covid Permitting) 2021