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“And those in the boat worshipped Him, saying” Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matt 14: 33
(from the Gospel for the nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)
Dear parents and carers
This weekend’s Gospel is the story of Jesus walking on the water. It is perhaps one of the most familiar of the Jesus miracle stories. It is ultimately a story of faith, faith even when confronted with a seemingly impossible situation. Placing our trust in God, in Jesus and in each other, we can overcome anything. It was only when Peter began doubting and questioning the impossibility of “walking on water” did he begin to sink. In our present situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and all the assumed sureties of “normal life” being questioned, faith in Jesus' message of love, hope and faith has an added resonance for us. We truly are all in this “boat” together. We need to ask ourselves daily, “How am I being called during this time to respond to God’s love?”
Crazy Hair Day tomorrow Friday 7 August
In our rapidly changing and somewhat uncertain world, keeping a positive mind set and intentionally working on positive mental health outcomes has become more important than ever before. Last term, we held several “fun days” for the children with no goal other than having fun and cheering everyone up. We intend to continue this throughout Term 3.
Tomorrow we are having “crazy hair day”. We have received a COMPASS notification about this day earlier in the week. Children will wear their school uniform and some “crazy hair”!
I hope this will cheer everyone up and put a smile on everyone’s face!
Parents and Friends (P & F) News
Our P&F have not been able to meet this year under the COVID-19 restrictions. We were due to meet next Tuesday 11 August. This meeting has been cancelled. The community work of the P&F is impossible to do given the Phase #3 restrictions we must operate within. We will revisit the possibility of meeting in Term 4 towards the end of this term.
Update on Sports Arrangements for 2020
Our annual sporting calendar has been profoundly interrupted this year. The children have continued with their regular pattern of sports lessons and PE each week. However, they are missing the gala days and carnivals. Interschool diocesan sport has been cancelled for the year.
Taking all this into consideration, we think it would be best for the children if we attempt at school level to facilitate some of the sporting events we have missed. It would be most unfortunate if our Year 6’s missed the opportunity to participate in these important elements of our school calendar in their last year of primary school. We have all the ribbons, medals and trophies including age champions ready to go for 2020. We would like to try to give the children the opportunity to be awarded these acknowledgements of sporting excellence.
It is obvious that whatever we plan we will need to continue to meet COVID-19 safe protocols. These are directives we are obligated to and must operate within. Under the phase 3 restrictions we currently have in place, gathering adults to spectate is not going to be possible unless the government directives change.
Consequently and unfortunately, parents and spectators will not be able to attend these planned events (unless the directives change to permit such access).
We are planning to conduct adjusted and modified versions of the cross country, athletics carnival and the basketball gala day. We are looking into the feasibility of technological solutions to give the families something to view and celebrate either remotely or at a later date.
Cross Country: we will run age based cross country events each afternoon spread over a week for Year 2 to Year 6. Single age based events will be run by age group after second break during Week 6. Kindergarten and Year 1 will run their modified cross country after second break on Tuesday 1 September.
Basketball gala day: earlier this year, we worked with the diocese to host a highlands basketball gala day at the Moss Vale Basketball Stadium. This planned event has necessarily been cancelled for 2020. Instead, we are organising weekly class based basketball clinics at the stadium on Fridays commencing in Week 7 until Week 10. This would involve the children in Year 2 to Year 6 walking down to the stadium for a 30 minute clinic one class at a time. We will confirm this planning once all the details are finalised. Parents will also not be able to attend the Basketball clinics.
Athletics Carnival- we plan to conduct the range of events of the athletics carnival over a period of weeks at the beginning of Term 4. For the track events, we plan to conduct single age events on different days over a period of a couple of weeks in a similar fashion to the cross country noted above. For the field events we will offer a modified version of our normal practice. In the past we have conducted skills clinics and then competitive heats for field events in the weeks leading up to the carnival, with just the finals of each field event being held on the carnival day. We intend to use a similar approach this year with finals being held immediately after the heats.
Water Safety Programs- we are hoping these can proceed at the end of Term 4. We are working with the service providers. We will keep you informed as to the progress of these negotiations.
Clearly, all this planning is contingent on COVID-19 restrictions. Our plans may be subject to change at short notice or may need to be cancelled. In all casses we will keep you informed. Meanwhile, we will continue to work to provide these opportunities to our children.
Have you checked the CEDoW COVID-19 website?
Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) has created and regularly updates a COVID-19 specific website to communicate accurate information to all our school dicosean communities. The CEDoW COVID-19 Information centre is available here. We ask that you review this website regularly. A link to the COVID-19 Information Centre has also been placed on our school website home page. It is also available on the CEDoW website. Have you checked it recently?
Sport Uniform Days by Class
Your child will need to wear the sport uniform on the following days each week.
Kindergarten- Friday
Year 1- Thursday & Friday
Year 2- Thursday & Friday
Year 3- Wednesday & Friday
Year 4- Wednesday & Friday
Year 5- Wednesday & Friday
Year 6-Wednesday & Friday
LOLS: Lessons and Liturgy and Scripture
Check out the latest LOLS episode on our school Facebook page. The theme for this episode is ‘New Beginnings’. The LOLS videos are also uploaded onto all of the Google Classrooms to support students with their learning in Religious Education.
Reconciliation Program
In Term 1, a group of students commenced the Reconciliation Program. This was postponed due to covid-19 restrictions. The sacramental team has developed an online program so that these students can continue the program. The families that have opted to participate in the online program will be sent the modules and activities to complete online. If you have any further questions about this program, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Mary MacKillop
Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day is held every August 8th, in honour of the revered Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. She was the first Saint of Australia, and her influence in the country has spread far and wide. She is recognised for her commitment to the poor, helping those who needed it the most in any way she could.
Catherine du Bois
Religious Education Coordinator
Kindergarten | Ziggy Parmenter | Max Xu | Year 1 | Riley Meuleman | Bridie Culpeper |
Year 2 | Maggie Mckeon | Indianna Hucker | Year 3 | Taliah Sidorenko | Lexi Wotton |
Year 4 | Edan McDade | Noah Gawthorne | Year 5 | Luca Rochaix | Mitchell Norman |
Year 6 | Isaac Hucker | Lilly Collins |
YEAR | STUDENT NAME | REASON |
KINDERGARTEN | Jasmine Solari | Making others smile to cheer them up. |
YEAR 1 | Maddie Hely | She includes children when she plays. |
YEAR 2 | Aarav Basnet | For being a friend to everyone. |
YEAR 3 | Cooper Salmond | Helping someone in need. |
YEAR 4 | Nate Williams | Helping a fellow classmate. |
YEAR 5 | Angus McVie | For making everyone feel happy. |
YEAR 6 | Millie Hook | For considering others |











Registrations open on August 15 for our 2020/2021 summer season. The season will run from October to March.
Athletics is one sport that all schools across Australia compete in the same system. Why not give the kids the opportunity to join our local club and prepare them the best we can to represent your school in next seasons Athletics carnivals. We are an Active Kids provider too, which means parents can use a voucher from the NSW government to contribute to the cost of registering their children.
Additionally, we are a Covid-19 safe club that is meeting and exceeding local Councils, State Governments and our own sanctioning body Little Athletics NSW’s Covid-19 guidelines for safe operation.
Bowral Little Athletics is run purely by unpaid volunteers and any funds it generates are poured back into the club.