“Unless you repent you will perish.”

Luke 13:1-9

From the Gospel of the Third Sunday of LENT Year C

Dear families,

This coming week's Gospel reading is challenging us to repent or we will perish. In today’s terms it is encouraging us to seek ways to improve how we approach our daily lives. It is important that from time to time we take stock and consider how we can improve or do things better.  We can all learn. In fact, we never stop learning and being open to learning, even in the toughest times can reap many rewards.

Thank you for your patience as we managed to deal with the severe weather event. Covid has certainly prepared us to be able to adapt quickly and be flexible. These are skills that will be great for our children as they navigate their way through life.

Congratulations to our Swimmers

Congratulations to Minna Bowen, Lucas Holmes and Matthew Holmes who were the successful swimmers to attend the diocesian trials. Unfortunately due to the severe weather event the Western Region Carnival was cancelled and swimmers were selected based on swimming times. Minna raced extremely well, just missing out on selection for the MacKillop trials. Lucas was successful in being selected for the 50m freestyle age race and Matthew was successful in being selected to race in the U10 50M Freestyle Boys, Jnr Boys 50m Backstroke, Jnr Boys 50m Butterfly, Jnr Boys 50m Breaststroke and 200m Medley. This is a wonderful achievement and we wish Matthew and Lucas all the best on Tuesday 22 March.

Change to Innes Road Pick up

We have had the large gates lifted so they can open inwards. This means we will no longer use the in and out gates as the ground underneath them is not safe and has been exacerbated with the recent rains.

Parents and carers are asked to walk inside the gates to collect your children. We will not allow children to walk outside the gates without an adult. This is to ensure everyone's safety.

We hope this change will reduce congestion and allow people to get in and out safely.

School Photos and School Photo shoot

On Tuesday 22 March we will be holding school photos and having a photo shoot to update the website. Children are required to wear their full school summer uniform. Some families will be asked to bring their sports uniform to change into for the photo shoot. Long hair needs to be tied back with the correct colour ribbons only please.

Change of Date for CROSS COUNTRY - Tuesday 29 March

Due to the wet weather over the past weeks we have moved the Cross Country back to Tuesday 29 March Week 10 to allow the oval to dry out and the classes to begin training.

Exploring the Potential for using Challenging Mathematics Tasks in 2022

We were to undertake professional development in exploring the potential for using challenging mathematics tasks this year however, this professional development has been postponed until 2023. This doesn't impact on our School Review and Improvement focus which is to explore ways in which we assess students and their learning through the numeracy lens. We will continue to undertake this focus and plan our learning around this moving forward.

Continuous Catholic School Improvement Colloquium

Today and on Tuesday 31 March Simon and I will be attending a colloquium. At the 2022 CCSI Colloquium, Simon and I will have the opportunity to join with other school and system leaders to develop our understanding and capacity to lead strategically, manage continuous improvement in our context, and support the improved performance of our community of Catholic schools. This is a great opportunity being provided by the diocese and we look forward to sharing our learning from this event.

Harmony Day

Monday 21 March is Harmony Day.  Harmony day is a day to celebrate everyone’s diversity by coming together. Children may wear orange on the day or something that represents their cultural background. This day will be a fun day for everyone.

NAPLAN practice test

On Thursday 24 March Year 3 and Year 5 will participate in the Coordinated NAPLAN practice test. This test is a mixture of literacy and numeracy questions and is designed to provide the students with an opportunity to experience the NAPLAN test conditions while ensuring the technology can cater for the testing load on the day. No results of this test are published. You can refer to the NAPLAN website for further information.

Personal Planning Meetings

In weeks 10 and 11 we will be holding personal planning meetings.

These meetings are for families of students who have a personal plan. Personal plans are documents that note the adjustments that are required for a student to access the curriculum on the same basis and their peers. We will send out a booking schedule for meetings in Week 9.

Enrolments are open for 2023

If you have a child who is ready for school in 2023 or you know someone who has, please encourage them to collect an enrolment form. We have had strong demand for places in recent years for the limited spaces we have available. Applications can be picked up from the school office or downloaded from the school website. The first round of interviews will be conducted during Term 2 and the first round offers of enrolment will be made at the end of Term 2.

We currently have vacancies in our current 2022 Kindergarten, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 classes. If you know someone who is looking to join our community please encourage them to come and collect an enrolment form.

Any families that have shop fronts who would be willing to display a school poster advertising our school can contact the office and we will arrange one for you to collect.

God bless,

Katie Browne

Principal

PB4L (Positive Behaviours for Learning) focus

This week we are focusing on our handwashing practices at school. It is a timely reminder as we begin to approach the colder months that bring about the cold and flu season.

Respect Myself: - I wash my hands before school, after I eat, after I go to the toilet and after breaks. I use hand sanitiser when I enter a room.

Respect Others: - Walk to and from the hand washing area. Line up quietly and wait patiently to use a tap. Move aside when you are finished so others can wash. I cover my coughs and sneezes and sanitise  my hands afterwards.

Respect Learning: - Wash your hands promptly in order to get back to class ready for learning.

Respect the Environment: - Keep water in the sink. One squirt of soap. One hand towel only. Place used hand towels in the bin. Keep our hand washing areas tidy.

Sacramental Programme

Last Sunday, the 13th March, we held the first class for the Reconciliation Program. I understand that there were a few families who could not attend due to medical reasons. I will do a make-up class for these students in school hours so they can continue to participate in the Reconciliation program. The second class will take place on Sunday the 20th March at the school hall, commencing at 9:00am. Please remember to bring the student booklets.

Harmony Day – Celebrating Australia’s Cultural Diversity

On Monday the 21st March, we will be celebrating Harmony Day by inviting staff and students to wear something orange, or colours that represent their cultural heritage. Students are encouraged to find out their cultural background and will have the opportunity to share this with their class if they wish.

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

Please note that the drop off zone in the mornings is a drop off zone only. Parents/carers are not able to leave the car if they are parked in this zone. The council ranger and police regularly patrol this area and will book drivers if they find that they have left the car or who turn around over double lines. If a parent/carer wants to walk their child into school then you must park outside of this area or across the road. The drop off zone is a 2 min zone that allows the driver to get out of the car and walk around to open the door for the children to get out on the footpath side. The driver must then return to the car and leave the area. Please be aware that the drop off zone is designed to allow for a safe flow of traffic. If traffic is backed up then buses have difficulty getting past. 

At pick up time parents and carers are encouraged to leave as soon as your child/ren are in your care. Concerns have been expressed regarding people staying and talking and allowing the children to run up and down the verge. This creates a dangerous situation and we have in the past seen near misses. Road safety is everyone’s priority and I urge parents and carers to please be vigilant around our roads at drop off and pick up time.

ATTENDANCE

On a weekly basis you will receive an email regarding your child’s outstanding/unexplained absences. 

• You can go into compass to your child’s records and update the unexplained absence.
• You can print this and fill in the reason for the absence and return it to the office.
• You can ring the office and the office staff will enter the reason for the absence.

If you are recording your child's absence on compass, please put in the reason for the absence eg Illness due to cold, tummy upset etc.

SPORT  

Sport uniforms are to be worn on the following days for each class:

Kindergarten - Wednesday & Friday

Year 1 - Thursday & Friday

Year 2 - Tuesday & Friday

Year 3 - Wednesday & Friday

Year 4 - Monday & Friday

Year 5 - Tuesday & Friday

Year 6 - Wednesday & Friday

All children will need to wear their sport uniform on Fridays for Term 1 as they will be taking part in the gymnastics program.

SCHOOL PHOTOS - 22nd MARCH

School photos will take place on 22nd March.  Full School Summer Uniform is to be worn on this day.  Photo envelopes were sent home with the students.  If you would like to order photos, please complete and return the envelop via your child to send to the School Office.

BOOK CLUB

The latest Book Club catalogue (Issue 2) has gone home with students.  Please order via the Scholastic website or the LOOP app.  Please remember we do not accept cash payments, all orders need to be placed online or via the app.  This issue will accept orders until the 25th March.

PANCAKE DAY

On Tuesday 1st March we had our annual Pancake day to raise money for Caritas.  We are so happy to share that we raised $297.50 for Caritas!  Well done everyone!

Swimming

Well done to Minna B, Lucas H and Matthew H who took part in the Wollongong Swimming Trials on Monday 14^th March. 

Both Lucas and Matthew have now qualified for the NSW MacKillop Swimming Carnival that will take place at SOPAC on Tuesday 22^nd March.

Best of luck Lucas and Matthew for next week.

Football

Good luck to Antonio and Alexander who will be taking part in the Football Trials on Monday 21^st March.

Rugby League

Good luck to Jordan E who will be taking part in the Rugby League Trials on Thursday 24^th march.

Cross Country

The School Cross Country will take place on Tuesday 29^th March.  More information will be sent out in due course.

The competitive age groups that students will run in are as follows:

8/9 years (students must be turning 8 in order to qualify for the next level)

10 years

11 years

12/13 years

The course will be 2km in distance.  Parents are welcome to attend.

The top 3 students in each age division will go on to represent the school at the Cross Country Championships on 3^rd May in Nowra.

Athletics

The School Athletics Carnival will be taking place in Term 2.  As part of the sports curriculum, students will be practicing the field events.  More details will be sent out next term.

SWIMMING AWARDS

At last week's assembly students were awarded their place ribbons and age champion medals.  A big thank you to Rhianna and Claire from Moss Vale Aquatic Centre for coming out and handing out the ribbons and medals.

The colour house trophy went to Red - Garrett!

Well done everyone!

11 Years Age Champion

Boy - Felix Bratkowski

Girl - Raphy Eccleston

Junior

Girl - Tahlia Harris

Boy - Matthew Holmes

Senior

Girl - Minna Bowen

Boy - Lucas Holmes

Easter Raffle

Donations are called for our Year 3 and Year 4 families to supply easter eggs for an Easter raffle.

Donations can be sent into the main office where the P&F will collect them and create some hampers to be raffled. Tickets will be sent home early next week with your child.  If you wish to purchase the tickets, please return them to the school office with the money by Tuesday 5th April. Tickets will be drawn at the last assembly for term in Week 11.  All funds raised go to the P&F.

Save the date: P&F working bee Friday 25 March 3:15 - 5:15pm

With the large amount of rain and sunny days in between the gardens are certainly growing as are the weeds. We have a lawn mowing service that will assist with maintaining the gardens and weeds however the priority at this time of year is the grass. In winter when the grass does not grow as much, the gardener will be able to attend to the gardens. In the meantime we require volunteers to support us with maintaining the gardens and getting on top of the growth.

Below is a list and some photos of the areas that require attention urgently. Please bring your gardening gloves, hedging shears, clippers, wear closed in shoes, a hat and sunscreen. Children are welcome to assist as long as they are under your own supervision. If any parent  or carer is willing to bring a trailer to collect the green waste that would be greatly appreciated.

Weeding, hedging, cutting back, general tidying up.

Brigadoon - Save the date Saturday 2 April

Thank you all for the response so far for Brigadoon. Volunteers are still needed for the day.
 
Each volunteer hour available goes towards the potential donation we will receive from Brigadoon themselves. Past years this has been between $2000 - $5000.

Any funds raised go towards education resources or the outdoor environment for the students and school.
 
If we are unable to fill our commitment to Brigadoon we may loose the opportunity to be able to raise such funds from an external organisation in the future. And the potential to raise a large sum this year.
 
Please if possible may everyone review the table below to see if you are able to help us with raising funds for the school. If you can spare as little as an hour it would still be helpful and very much appreciated.
 
Times Needed - Volunteers still required for that hour
6am - 7am -     2
7am - 8am -     4
8am - 9am -     2
9am - 10am -   5
10am - 11am -  4
11am - 12pm -  7
12pm - 1pm -   6
1pm - 2pm -     3
2pm - 3pm -     4
3pm - 4pm -     5
 
Please fill in the google form to register your availability to help.

Please complete this google form.

Bulb Fundraiser

A gentle reminder that we now have the bulb fundraiser in full swing, taking orders online up until the 15th of April.  Please feel free to forward the link onto family and friends.  The more sales we make, the more money we raise for our lovely school.

Planned events for Term 1

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded the Principal's Award in Week 6

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Merit Award in Week 6

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Mission Star Award in Week 6

* There were no awards for Week 7 due to the school being non operational for part of the week.

Please see below the calendar overview for Term 1 2022:

RAISE SOME DOUGH

CHILD SAFETY HANDBOOK

The “NSW Police Legacy Child Safety Handbook” is a comprehensive resource to assist parents, carers as well as teachers on a range of topics essential to child safety. 

The handbook has been updated to include key messages about storm and flood safety, covid safety, children's personal safety and online safety.

The updated digital edition (link below) also includes important content updates from: NSW Ministry of Health, NSW Police Force, Fire and Rescue NSW, Rural Fire NSW, Transport for NSW, Sydney Trains, NSW Department of Family & Community Services, eSafety Commissioner and NSW Office of the Children's Guardian.

Please click below to view the updated digital handbook:

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