Term 2 Weeks 9 and 10

“Your peace shall rest upon him.”

Luke 10: 6

From the Gospel of the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C.

Dear Families,

This term has certainly been busy and it is hard to believe that we are halfway through the year. Today we celebrate our School’s feast day, the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul. St Paul was not a nice person until he had an encounter with God and then took up the challenge to go out and spread the good news. In life it can be really easy to complain and criticise however does it ever really make us feel any better? This year we have been focusing each week on a social emotional competency with the children. The first competency is self awareness. Being self aware means being able to identify your own emotions and the impact they are having on other people. Paul realised in his encounter with God that he had been horrible to many people and became self aware in order to make peaceful change. Sadly he was crucified and persecuted for it in the end. The challenge for us today is to “Be Brave and Make Change”. This theme that was for reconciliation week challenges us to be brave in acknowledging our own self awareness and the impact we may be having on other people and as a result to make change where necessary.

For the past three years we have been trying to renew our vision and mission, however COVID has got in the way. This year we are well on the way to being able to achieve this goal by the end of the year. Celebrating our school’s feast day by having a family focused day is just one of the ways that we are proactively living our mission. I hope today has been a great opportunity for you to merge home and school and enjoy being with your children. This will become an annual event and day for our school to be proud of the community that it is.

Colour House Announcement

Today we made a special announcement. Our three colour houses were previously named after the three local streets that surrounded our school however they have not featured a great deal in our carnivals and don’t hold any real significance other than they are our three local nearby streets. After some discernment with staff it was decided that it would be nice if they could represent three saints that have a special link to our school’s history.

From today the colour houses will be name accordingly:

Blue - St Paul

Gold - St Dominic

Red - St Mary MacKillop

Blue house will now be named after our patron saint, Saint Paul. Saint Paul is one of the greatest writers and teachers of God’s word in the history of Christianity. He converted to Christianity after having a vision of Jesus.

Gold House will now be named after Saint Dominic. Saint Dominic was a Castilian priest who founded the Dominican Order. He led an austere life and converted many people to Christianity. He is also considered the patron saint of astronomers. The Dominican sisters led and staffed St Paul’s for many years.

Red House will now be named after Saint Mary MacKillop. Saint Mary MacKillop worked as a Governess and looked after children. Together with Fr Julian Tenison Woods, they opened the first Josephite school in an unused stable. Saint Mary MacKillop opened orphanages, schools and hospitals to help those people who were in need. She is also Australia’s first saint. Our school story began when the sisters of St Joseph established a school in Moss Vale.

Thank you to the P&F

I would like to thank the P&F for the tireless work that they have done this term. Prior to the last meeting we held a workshop with Rebecca Wakeling from the Catholic Education Office Diocese of Wollongong. At this workshop the executive went through the roles of the P&F and some of the dos and don’ts. It was a great opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification about the work of the P&F. Friday will be a great day to celebrate the work of the P&F with the Pyjama and Pizza day and Pie Pick up day. 

Pupil Free days

This year we have been granted an additional pupil free day. This means we have six days in total to use for the year. At the beginning of the year we had two pupil free days. We plan to hold the remaining four days on the following dates:

Friday 19 August Week 5 Term 3 - A focus on Assessment practices with Staff

Monday 10 October Week 1 Term 4 - Continued focus on Assessment Practices with staff

Tuesday 11 October Week 1 Term 4 - Staff Spirituality Day which will be held off site.

Tuesday 20 December Week 11 Term 4 - Handover day between staff.

This will mean the last official day for students will be Monday 19 December. Please put these dates in your calendars.

Parent Information Evening on Respectful Relationships, Child Safety and Human Sexuality in a Catholic Context

On Thursday 28 July 6:30pm we will be holding a parent information evening on the above topics. This meeting is aimed at informing parents and carers of the content that will be taught and the way in which we will ensure we are meeting our PDHPE syllabus requirements through a Catholic lens. Parents and carers of children in Year 3 to 6 are encouraged to attend this meeting. There will be opportunities to ask questions and seek advice. The meeting will be run by the school leadership team supported by Education Officers of the Catholic Education Office Diocese of Wollongong. Child supervision will be available in the school library during the duration of the meeting. Please look out for further information early next term.

Athletics Carnival

Reports

Reports were made available last Friday. To access the report you need to go to your compass app and click on the link that says “View academic reports.” If you are looking at the app on your phone then you need to click on “View in browser” which will take you to the page where the “View academic reports“ is. If you need assistance to access the compass then please contact the school office.

Changes to family arrangements

If you have any changes to your details or location moving forward please let the school know as soon as is practicable. In particular if you believe you will be moving away it is important that we are aware so we can provide opportunities for new families that may be moving into the area.

Behaviour concerns

If your child comes home with a behaviour concern then please make contact first with the child’s teacher and secondly with Mr Farrugia if you feel it is more serious. Parents/carers are asked to not take matters into their own hands. Quite often your child will be only telling you their perspective of what happened and what they think you will want to hear. At school we can ensure all students involved are given the opportunity to speak and share their account of what happened. We follow the Positive Behaviour for Learning framework at school and continually explicitly teach the children the school rules. When dealing with poor behaviour choices we apply consequences according to our policies however these consequences are not discussed with the  families of the impacted children. We respect the dignity of all children. If you have raised a concern and have not heard back then please make contact again with the school. Schools are busy places and sometimes teachers can be distracted by multiple incidents which unintentionally take their attention away from the concern at hand for you. It is essential that we work together in partnership to deal with inappropriate behaviours. Schools should be safe and happy places for every student and if your child is not feeling that way then please come and have a conversation with us.

I would like to wish all families a happy and restful student break. May the peace of Christ rest upon you at this time. Thank you for your ongoing support of our school community and may the children return in Term 3 re energised and ready to continue to grow in their faith and learning.

God Bless,

Please see the attached letter regarding proposed industrial action on Thursday 30 June.

Reports and Parent Teacher Conferences

It is time to celebrate the wonderful achievements your children have made and the many successes they have had during Semester One. The student progress reports are a way for our teachers to indicate where your children are with their learning as well as express areas for development and growth. 

I often speak with the students about the reports being information for you, the parent. In saying that, I encourage them to focus on their “efforts” in each subject rather than the grade to gain a true indication of what they can achieve. This can often be motivating for some students and affirming for others. 

Our Parent Teacher Conferences are in full swing and are a great opportunity to discuss your child’s academic progress. I would encourage you to have read your child’s report before these meetings as they are a reference point for teachers and you may have some questions that arise from them.

Thank you,

Simon Farrugia

Assistant Principal

Confirmation

The Confirmation program will commence in Term 3, with the Confirmation ceremony taking place on Saturday 17th September. Dates for classes and enrolment will be finalised very soon. Please stay tuned.

Holy Communion Photos

Below are some photos from the students First Holy Communion which was held on Sunday June 19.

Year 6 Bishop Mass

Students in Year 6 will attend Mass with the Bishop on Wednesday 27th July at St Paul’s in Camden. Students will travel by bus. Please see online permission form for more details.

Religious Literacy Assessment

The Religious Literacy Assessment program in the Diocese of Wollongong provides information about the way children process and express their religious knowledge. A standardised assessment is administered to all Year 4 student across the diocese. It focuses on the students' knowledge and understanding of the key concepts that are taught throughout their Religious Education from Kindergarten to Year 4, and what this means for the way we live, as it is applied in society.

The data gathered from the assessment is analysed to inform learning and teaching in schools, to focus on professional learning and to recognise and celebrate learning in the domain of Religious Education in the Wollongong Diocese. 

Students in Year 4 will sit a practice assessment on Wednesday the 20th July (Week 1, Term 3). The actual Religious Literacy Assessment will take place on Monday 1st August (Week 3, Term 3). Both of these tests will be online, so students will need to make sure they have their iPad at school on these days.

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

TERM 3

The first day back at school for Term 3 is Monday 18th July.

MEDICATION

Only medication that is prescribed by a doctor is permitted to be dispensed at School upon completion of a “Consent to Dispense Medication” form which is available from the office.  The form and the medication are to be given to the office staff in the original packaging with the student’s name and dosage.  We are not permitted to administer Panadol unless prescribed by a doctor and the necessary form completed.  Thank you for your cooperation with this.

STAFF PD = PUPIL FREE DAYS

All staff will be undertaking Professional Development on the dates listed below which means that they are Pupil Free Days (the school will not be operating on these days):

Friday 19 August

Monday 10 October

Tuesday 11 October

Tuesday 20 December

CHANGE OF CONTACT DETAILS

If you change your address, phone number or email, please inform the school office so that we can update our records.

LABELLING CLOTHING AND LOST PROPERTY

Students belongings should be clearly labelled with their name on it.  Could you please check your child's items especially jackets and jumpers.  Students are encouraged to look in lost property for their items and this will be cleared at the end of the term and unnamed items will be disposed of (any labelled items at this point have been returned).

Last Day of Term Fun - Friday 1st July - Pyjama and Pizza Day

As we wrap up another successful term we are looking forward to ending the term with a fun filled day.

Friday is the much-anticipated pizza and pyjama day. For everyone who has ordered a pizza meal deal these will be delivered to the classrooms for an earlier 2nd break at 1pm.

Children are also invited to wear their pyjamas (please wear enclosed shoes) and bring a gold coin donation with all money raised going towards the purchase of new buddy seats around the playground.

The P&F wish to thank IGA moss vale for the donation of poppers, Coles Moss Vale for a $100 voucher for supplies, the Holmes family for their donation of fruit, Custom printing for designing and printing of flyers and Domino's Moss Vale for donating over 60 Pizzas for the day.

Pie and Donut Pick up

For all families who have ordered pies, they will be available for pick up from the school hall from approximately 11:30am on Friday 1st July.

Term 2 Events

Brigadoon - Saturday August 6th 

Brigadoon is fast approaching and we still have a few spots to fill. If you are able to give an hour on the day to help man the gates please fill out the google form:

Brigadoon 2022 Volunteer Form

This is such a great fundraiser for our school and brings in much needed funds.

Save the date

We have been able to secure a fun event for the kids at Empire Cinema to see LEAGUE OF SUPER PETS , on the 15th of September, save the date, more details to come.

Donations

Donations are welcome for raffles to support the cause of raising money for our prayer garden and reflection space. If you would like to assist with the planning or volunteer for the event please contact Kristy at k_l_vella@outlook.com

Secret Project

The children have also another exciting thing planned for the end of the year which we started preparations for last week and we cant wait to show you!

Fun Family Night Out - Friday 22nd July

Don't feel like cooking?

Need an excuse for a fun night out?

Come join us for a great social event at Bundanoon Club. FRIDAY 22ND JULY

The P&F will be running the raffle on the night with meat trays up for grabs.

Grab the family, grab the friends, grab the neighbours and come over for a great night.

Not only will you be supporting the school with all proceeds from the raffle to go to the school, but it's a great social way to meet other parents.

Summary of planned events:

If you can Volunteer to assist with any planned events please fill in this google form:

 google link

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded the Principal's Award in Week 8

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Merit Award in Week 8

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Mission Star Award in Week 8

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded the Principal's Award in Week 9

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Merit Award in Week 9

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Mission Star Award in Week 9

Please see below the calendar overview for Term 2 2022:

Please see below the calendar overview for Term 3 2022:

MINIROOS FOOTBALL HOLIDAY CLINICS

July_Holiday_Football_Clinics_2022.pdf

July_Holiday_Football_Clinics_2022 _pdf 426.17 KB

SCHOOL HOLIDAY ART CAMP

MOSS VALE BASKETBALL CAMP

CHRISTMAS IN JULY MARKET DAY - MOSS VALE SHOWGROUND

NGUNUNGGULA

Ngununggula Retford Park Regional gallery

Ngununggula School Holiday Program

NAIDOC WEEK