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“He said to them, ‘You give them something to eat’”
Luke 8: 13
(from the Gospel for the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Year C)
Dear Parents and Carers,
The athletics carnival held last Friday was a great success. We were blessed with a beautiful day. The carnival ran smoothly and the children enjoyed themselves. The athletics carnival culminated five weeks of preparation with our primary children. Each Friday since Week 2, we have conducted a field events athletics program where the children were taught the skills of discus, shot put, high jump and long jump. Every child in form Year 3 to Year 6 had ample opportunity to learn and demonstrate their skills in these two hour weekly lessons. Heats for the field events were held in Week 6 and the finals were conducted on the day of the athletics carnival. Some questions have been raised as to why we don’t conduct field event heats on the carnival day. It is simply a matter of time available to us and staff available to correctly supervise the events according the diocesan rules of competition. As it happened the organisation of the day ran smoothly and to time. The children, who are the focus of all we do, had a great day!
First Communion- Sunday 23 June
This weekend we are celebrating First Communion with the children and families from our parish who have been preparing as part of the Sacramental Program over the past weeks. There are two Masses on Sunday at 10:00am and 11:30 am. Families have nominated the Mass they will attend. It is only right and fitting that our children receive their first Communion in our parish church on the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (traditionally known as Corpus Christi). Please pray for the first communicants on this joyous day!
Feast of St Peter and St Paul Whole School Mass Friday 28 June
We are celebrating our parochial feast day with a whole school Mass next Friday 28 June at 9:30 am. This is a significant day in the life of our parish and school. Saints Peter and Paul were the Apostles who were instrumental in the establishment of the early church and sharing the Word throughout the Mediterraen world. St Paul’s role as an evangelist and author the large parts of the New Testament remains for us a role model in sharing the lived experience of Jesus’ message of hope, joy and salvation.
St Peter and St Paul Feast Day Parish Mass and Dinner- Saturday 29 June
On Friday night, the wider praish is celebrating the feast day with a Mass at 5pm followed by a free parish dinner at the Moss Vale RSL club. If you would like to attend this parish event, please add your name to the RSVP sheets available in the foyer of each of the parish churches this weekend. Numbers need to be confirmed for catering purposes by Monday 24 June.
COMPASS login information
Last week we conducted parent information sessions regarding the COMPASS app. COMPASS will be the school’s primary electronic point of contact in the future. It will replace SkoolBag later this year. More immediately, your child’s Semester 1 report will be delivered electronically via COMPASS on after 4pm on Friday 28 June for our Year 1 to Year 6 classes.
What to do next:
Download the COMPASS app- in order to access your child’s report you will need to download the COMPASS app. Go to your preferred app store to search “COMPASS school manager”, download and install the app.
Already got COMPASS and have used it? If you have previously downloaded the app and accessed it, your account will still be active. If you have forgotten your password, click on “reset password” and a prompt will be sent to the email or mobile number you nominated at set up. You can then reset your password.
Arrived at St Paul’s since 2017? If you are new to the school since mid- 2017 or have never accessed COMPASS previously, you will be issued with a username and password. You will receive a letter advising you of this information. You will need to search for our school within the app. We suggest searching for “Moss Vale”. You will be prompted to create an account and then reset the temporary password. The email or phone number you use will be account contact should you forget your password in the future. We suggest that you secure your personal accounts rather than work related details that may change in the future.
Each adult in your family will be given a unique login and password. It might prove useful for both adults to login or, alternatively, to keep one set of credentials as a backup. It’s up to you. You can always change passwords or reset forgotten passwords as described above.
Login before Friday 28 June to make sure everything is working
We strongly advise that you attempt to login before Friday next week to ensure that you can access your childs’ report.
Ask for help
If you experience any difficulties, please let us know so we can help you.
Semester 1 reports and parent teacher interviews
Children in Years 1 to 6 will receive their Semester 1 reports on Friday 28 June. Kindergarten do not receive a Semester 1 report as per diocesan policy. The Kinder children will, however, receive a brief update report that the school has developed. Kinder parents are invited to attend the parent teacher interviews in Week 10.
Parent Teacher interviews will be conducted in Week 10 of Term 2, commencing Monday 1 July. We invite all families to participate in a Parent Teacher interview to discuss your child’s progress. This is a very important element of the home and school partnership. The interviews are an opportunity to celebrate your child’s learning to date and plan for the future. A letter inviting you to make a booking has been sent home today. The booking period opens today and closes on Friday 28 June at 1pm. We urge all families to participate in these significant meetings.
Principal Appraisal Thursday 27 June- parent feedback group at 2pm in the library
Thank you everyone who completed the Principal Appraisal survey last week. Your confidential feedback has been provided to the appraisal panel and will inform their discernment processes next week.
The Principal Review Panel will be visiting the school on Thursday, 27 June 2019. The Panel is comprised of an external Educational Consultant, a peer Principal and a CEDoW Leadership team member. On Thursday the panel will meet with Fr Richard, members of staff, students and a parent group.
If you would like to be included in the parent group interview, which will be scheduled for approximately 30 minutes, please come to the school Office a little before 2pm. The group meeting will take place in the school library commencing at 2pm. The meeting will definitely be concluded before dismissal and pick up time.
Date claimers for Term 1 and Term 2:
|
Week 8 |
First Communion (Sunday 23 June) |
|
Week 9 |
Semester 1 reports available via COMPASS (Fri 29 June) Principal appraisal (Thurs 27 June) |
|
Week 10 |
Parent teacher interviews Director of Schools visit to St Paul’s (Tues 2 July) End of Term 2 (Fri 5 July) |
|
TERM 3 |
|
|
Week 1 |
Term 3 commences Monday 22 July Confirmation Sacramental Program enrolment period open |
A group of Year 6 students have been working with Sara Bryant, the school pastoral care worker, to produce a book called ‘The Bible Garden’. This book contains all of the plants that are referred to in the Bible. Students have drawn sketches of the different plants and included Bible references for each one. They have done an amazing job on this book and should be recognised for their time, effort and thoughtfulness.
Through to the grand final against South West Sydney. MacKillop have won 7 from 7 so far........ Well done Lillian!!
If you have recently received a copy of your child's personal plan, plese return the slip attached as soon as possible.
VEX robotics scrimmage day
The article is live at https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/about-us/general-news/vex-robotics-scrimmage-day-builds-students-stem-skills/
We've shared this on our social media channels, you can find this at the below links:
Facebook - http://bit.ly/2ZrRCMX
Twitter - http://bit.ly/2XUbxUn
Instagram - http://bit.ly/2ZzkpPQ
Thank you to everyone for your donations of second hand uniforms. Your generosity has been overwhelming and we are unable to store anymore.
Due to the inclement weather conditions the shire has received, we have had to make the decision to place a caution status on the sports fields in our shire. Please refer to the website to check your fields status.
The grounds crew will re-assess the situation on Wednesday, June 19, where each Sports Field will be assessed individually.
When Council has deemed the grounds open with Caution/Restrictions, Council requires Clubs or Schools (including referees and/or coaches) to make their own assessment as to the suitability of the grounds prior to their use, please consider the following:
- The potential for injury to players.
- The sport played and the potential for damage to the playing surface.
- The weather.
- The condition of the ground when inspected.
If the grounds are assessed as unsuitable for the intended use - they must not be used and their condition reported to Council.
You can refer to Councils Website for any updates at the link below.
<http://www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/services/sporting-fields>
We understand that this may impact our sporting clubs, therefore if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Julianne Billington Facilities Officer