And He said to them,

 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.”

Mark 16: 15

(from the Gospel for solemnity of the ascension of the Lord, Year B)

Dear Parents and Carers 

FAREWELL MASS FOR MRS VAUGHAN (and CRAZY SOCK DAY!)

Tomorrow at 9:30am

Tomorrow (Friday 14 May) we will be celebrating a whole school Mass to give thanks for Mrs Vaughan and wish her well as she begins the next stage of her life with her family. Mass will be held at 9:30 am in the school hall. Everyone is welcome to attend. I know Mrs Vaughan would love to see you. There will be a morning tea afterwards to give families the opportunity to spend some time with Mrs Vaughan and thank her for her twenty nine years of faith filled service to our community.

Mrs Vaughan has asked that we hold a crazy sock day tomorrow. The children can wear their favourite, mismatched, craziest socks with their sports uniforms. We will ask for a gold coin donation from each child. The donation will go to St Vincent De Paul. Mrs Vaughan would like this to be her final activity at the school. It is a fitting legacy from one who has given so generously of her time and spirit over twenty nine years of service to our community. Mrs Vaughan leaves us in the same manner in which she worked with us - thinking of and caring for others.

FAREWELL FOR FR RICHARD

School farewell Mass: On Thursday 27 May, we will be celebrating a whole school Mass to farewell Fr Richard. This will be our school’s farewell to Fr Richard. The Mass will be held in the school hall. Everyone is welcome to attend. We will have morning tea afterwards.

Parish farewell dinner: On Friday 28 May, the parish farewell to Fr Richard will be held with a dinner at Moss Vale RSL at 6pm. The cost of the dinner is $35 for adults and $19 for children. We will require a finalisation of numbers by Thursday 20 May. If you and your family are planning to attend Fr Richard’s farewell dinner, please book and pay at the parish office by Thursday 20 May.

Singing for Fr Richard at the parish dinner: The school has been asked to sing two songs at Fr Richard’s dinner. We will be the first item for the evening (at about 6:30pm). We will be asking for children to come along to sing. They do not have to stay for the dinner and can leave after we sing. Parents can stay to watch the children and then leave with the children. This will of course be at no cost. If you could give some consideration for your child’s availability to this, I would be very grateful. We have sent home an expression of interest note yesterday.  I ask that you return these slips by Monday 17 May.

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL APPRAISAL AND CONTRACT RENEWAL PROCESS

Mrs Browne, our wonderful, hardworking Assistant Principal is participating in our system’s appraisal and contract renewal process later this term. All school leaders in our system engage in this process every four years. The objective of this process is to affirm the great work Mrs Browne does in our community and to help her set goals for her professional growth into the future. You will be invited to provide feedback via COMPASS shortly. Please take some time to complete the brief survey. Katie will certainly appreciate your input.

PARENTS and FRIENDS NEWS

Mothers’ Day Stall follow up

The Mother’s Day stall was a great success last week. Thank you to Mrs Cathie Curcuruto and Mrs Jess Harris for coordinating this event for the benefit of our community. Whilst the Mother’s Day stall is intended to be a service, we did make a small profit of $208.40. Thank you for your support.

P&F MEETING FOLLOW UP

Fundraising goal for 2021: At the P&F meeting on Tuesday evening, we discussed future fundraising priorities. We would like to have some playground markings for the children to use as well as brightening up our school grounds. We have sought a quote from EduMarkings, a company that specialises in this work. They have contracts with the NSW and Queensland education departments to provide quality, thermoplastic markings that have a ten warranty. They are very beautiful and striking. The children would love them! Here is a link to the company website where you can view a range of examples of their designs. We will consult with the community to have some say in choosing the final design choices.

These beautiful designs are not cheap! We will need to raise around $10 000.00 to have four designs installed. This is the fundraising goal for the P&F for 2021. Some of the fundraising activities planned for the year include:

Pie drive: with winter fast approaching we will conduct a pie drive towards the end of this term.

Cookie bake: early next term we will conduct a cookie dough drive. You will be able to purchase cookie dough to bake with your children at home.

Walkathon/Colour Run in Term 4: we will have a walkathon/colour run in Term 4 when the weather warms up.

 P & F WORKING BEE- Saturday 5 June between 1pm and 3pm

With our building project all but completed (the driveway was installed today!), we have a need to do some tidying up and getting ready for spring with our school veggie gardens. The children will plant and manage the gardens in spring. To get ready for this we need to weed, top up garden beds with mulch and get the chicken coop ready for the return of the chickens. We also have a need to do some repairs on the sandpit. We have chosen a Saturday afternoon which ought to be after Saturday morning sport for most people. If you are able to help, your time and energy would be greatly appreciated.

NEW PORTABLE PA – Thank You!

I would like to thank the P&F for paying for a new portable PA system for the school. Our former PA expired at the cross country and cannot be repaired. This new PA will make our carnivals much easier to hear and follow for all. Thank You P&F!!

KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS FOR 2022 ARE NOW OPEN

If you have a child who is ready for school in 2022 or you know someone who has, our enrolment period is now open. We have had strong demand for places in recent years for the limited spaces we have available. This year is no exception. Applications can be picked up from the school office or downloaded from the school website. The first round of interviews have commenced and will continue throughout Term 2. It has been delightful meeting the children and families for Kinder 2022! The first round offers of enrolment will be made in writing at the end of Term 2.

CANTEEN ONLINE SERVICE ON THURSDAYS

Our school canteen service operates on Thursdays each week. The service will be an online ordering service only. Orders for the canteen will need to be submitted each Wednesday before Thursday service. Please note that there is no canteen counter service at school.

If there is a problem with your child’s order please let our canteen supplier Fresh Start Canteens know. They will be only too happy to assist. If a child misses a lunch order, the school will make sure that your child has something to eat! We don’t want any child being hungry or unhappy!

COVID-19 safe reminders

The management of our response to the pandemic is ongoing. We thank you for your patience, understanding and cooperation in helping to keep everyone safe.

Please click here for the  current COVID- 19 guidelines for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Wollongong.

WINTER UNIFORM

The children look lovely in their winter school uniforms. We will wear the winter uniform throughout Term 2 and Term 3. With the weather now turning cool, we want the children to be warm and comfortable. Our uniforms are available through Whytes in Argyle Street and NSW Uniforms (online). Our uniform details including contact details for our suppliers are available under the “Parents” tab on the school website.

Sport Uniform days for Term 2

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

Kindergarten - Wednesday and Friday

Year 1 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 2 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 3 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 4 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 5 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 6 - Wednesday and Friday

School Terms for 2021

ONLINE SAFETY

With easy access to technology and the internet it is extremely important to ensure that your children are keeping safe and not being exposed to inappropriate content. The esafety commissioner has great tips for parents on the sorts of things you can do to keep your children safe.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars This link takes you to the parent webinar page where you can register for free online webinars that help you in keeping your children safe while online and are backed by research.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/big-issues This link takes you to the “Big Issues” page. There are serious topics on this page that have great information and resources on how to manage and deal with these big issues. Take a look. Knowledge and education in these matters is key in ensuring your child is safe on line.

You can access the esafety commissioner from our parent portal on the wellbeing page.

https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/st-pauls-moss-vale/wellbeing

Regards,

Katie Browne

Assistant Principal

Sacramental Program

Please continue to pray for the students who are preparing for the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

Farewell Mass for Mrs Vaughan

On Friday 14th May, we are holding a special Whole School Mass to bid farewell to Mrs Vaughan who is retiring. Mass will be held in our school hall, commencing at 9:30. All are warmly invited to attend.

Parish Farewell Dinner

As you may be aware, Fr Richard is sadly leaving our parish at the end of the month. I’m sure many of you would like the opportunity to bid him farewell. The Parish will be holding a special farewell dinner for Fr Richard on Friday 28 May at the Moss Vale Services Club. The cost is $35 per head and $18 for children. Guests are asked to arrive around 6pm for a 6:30 start. RSVPs and payments can be made directly to the parish office by the 20th May.

We are also seeking students who would be willing to sing a couple of songs at the beginning of the night. After the songs, these children have the option of returning home afterwards.

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

Caring_for_a_child_with_disability.pdf

2021_NDIS_Information_Sessions_flyer.pdf