Issue #12 7th August 2024
Principal's Update
Mary MacKillop is Australia's first saint. Mary devoted her life to teaching children and believed that everyone should have the chance to learn, regardless of their wealth. Her vocation was to “never see a need without doing something about it.” Pope Benedict XVI recognised Mary MacKillop as a saint in 2010. Her Feast Day is celebrated tomorrow, 8th August.
Mary Mac's Place in Woy Woy provides social, community and friendship opportunities for men, women, families, young people, the elderly, and the socially and economically disadvantaged. They supply a nutritious lunch Monday to Friday served to the companions by wonderful volunteers.
Tomorrow, on the Feast Day of Mary MacKillop, we encourage all of our children to wear a beanie and bring in a gold coin donation, as we raise money for Mary Mac's Place (find out more here). Mass will be at 11.30am in the church, you are always welcome to join us.
100 Days of Kinder
On Wednesday, our Kinder kids celebrated their first 100 days of school. They spent some of the day doing activities that were centred around the number 100 - counting to 100, building towers of 100, making 100 cuts on a piece of paper, and using playdoh and paint. They even used AI to make photos of themselves looking 100 years old! What a great day, so much fun was had by everyone.
Grandparent's Day
Last Friday our hearts and school were full to the brim! We so enjoyed sharing our school with the many nans, pops, grandmas and grandpas who came for our liturgy, open classes and lunch. Thank you for joining us, we hoped you enjoyed the afternoon.
Thank you to our PIP Team and wonderful parent helpers who attended to set up afternoon tea for the grandparents to enjoy - we appreciate your support!
CCC Athletics
We wish our CCC Athletes the best of luck this Friday. We have 60 children from U8-U12 attending Mingara to compete in a number of track and field events. Good luck to you all!
'Green and Gold Day'
This Friday we celebrate the conclusion of the Olympics and start of the Paralympics with 'Green and Gold' day. Children are encouraged to wear clothing and accessories that are green and gold (with enclosed shoes for sport). If they don't have green and gold clothes, they are asked to wear their sports uniform (conveniently, still matching the theme of green and gold!).
Book Parade and Book Fair
Our book parade is coming up in 3 short weeks! Our parade will be held on Tuesday 27th August at 9.15am. Children are encouraged to dress up as a book character and wear the costume to school on the Tuesday. Parents are invited to watch the parade, which will run between 9.15am-10.15am. In the event of rain, the parade will not take place (although costumes will still be worn to school).
The Book Fair is back this year. From Monday 26th August until Friday 30th of August, our library will turn into a book shop! Between 8-9am and 3.15-4.00pm each day during the week, student will be invited to attend the library with an adult and select a book or two they would like to purchase. Children have always loved attending the Book Fair, which comes to our school every second year.
Father's Day Breakfast and Stall
Our Parent Team are busy organising and ordering for our Father's Day Stall and Father's Day Breakfast. Below are details of how to order for both of these. Please take note that the closing dates are prior to the events, as we are unable to accept any late orders due to ordering restrictions.
Thursday 29th August: Father's Day Stall. All items must be prepaid through the Qkr! App by the closing date Friday 23rd August at 4.00pm. We are unable to allow for any late orders to be processed. Maximum of 2 gifts per child. Cost $10 each.
Friday 30th August: Father's Day Breakfast. All food must be ordered through the Qkr! App by 4.00pm, Friday 23rd so that orders with local suppliers can be finalised. It is also important to add what time you expect to attend so that food can be prepared. Please order for your family under just one child's name. Our breakfast is free, for all dads/father figures (pops, grand dads) and students, however we can not cater for other family members. All food must be pre-ordered, so that we can ensure that we have enough food and drink on the day. Once you arrive in the morning for the breakfast, please head to the designated area to collect your tickets, before you collect your breakfast.
Friday 30th August: Father's Day Liturgy. Our liturgy will begin at 9.00am on the top playground, all dads are welcome to join us if they can. More information about this will be available in future weeks. A Year 6 vs Dads game will follow the liturgy (weather dependant).
In Rhythm Drumming
I'm sure your children have spoken to you about all of the fun they are having each Tuesday with the team from InRhythm Drumming. Each grade spends 30 minutes learning about different drumming beats. On the last day of the program, Tuesday 17th September, we are looking to hold a small 'showcase', where each grade will show their new skills in a 5 minute performance. I will share more details with you once they are finalised, but it will likely be around 2pm on the Tuesday afternoon.
ICAS
Over the coming weeks a number of students will be sitting the online ICAS Assessments before school. ICAS Assessments are optional and are targeted at students who wish to extend themselves academically. The assessments will be held in the library. On arrival, students should go to the office to wait for the teacher to collect them.
Congratulations Max and Owen! On Monday Max A and Owen M competed in the CSNSW Golf Championships in Blackheath. They both played exceptionally well, Max scored 78 and Owen scored 106. Max's result was a PB and saw him place 2nd and progress into the Polding Team. Well done!
On Monday our netball team competed in the NSW Netball Cup. They played with great enthusiasm and skill, winning some of their games convincingly. The games they lost were only by a point. Congratulations on your positive attitude, it looked like a fun day.
Last Wednesday some Year 3-6 teams attended Doyalson on a cold and windy day for a Touch Footy Gala Day. Your teachers were impressed by your efforts and resilience. Well done!
In two weeks our Year 5 and Year 6 students will be attending a Stage 3 Soccer Gala Day. Please fill in the permission note (on Compass). We know you will be great representatives of our school.
From our REC
Granparent's Day
Thank you to all our Grandparents who attended our celebrations on Friday. It was wonderful to have so many of you at our school. Our students loved sharing their learning with you. It was lovely to see so many sharing lunch together and watching the students play. A special thank you to our Celebration Team, Mrs Doyle, Mrs Duncan, Mrs Fifita, Mrs Lynch, Mrs Nelson and Mrs Price (our PEC) for organising many of the details for Grandparent's Day. I know our grandparents enjoyed the tea, coffee and cake supplied by our PIP Team. Thank you to Corrine, Eileen, Kiara and our parent volunteers for organising this. We appreciate your support.
Sister Josie
Please keep Sr Josie in your prayers. Last Friday she was travelling to the Phillipines for the one year anniversary of her mother's passing and to be with her brother who was unwell. Before leaving Australia, she found out her brother, Brigido had passed away. May he Rest in Peace.
Feast of St. Mary of the Cross, MacKillop
This Thursday at 11.30am students in Years 2 -6 will be attending mass to celebrate the Feast Day of Mary MacKillop, Australia's first saint. Year 6 will be leading this mass. If you are free, please join us.
Beanie Day
To coincide with the Feast Day of Mary MacKillop, we are encouraging all students (and teachers) to wear a beanie to support CatholicCare Homelessness Appeal. We are asking students who choose to wear a beanie to bring a gold coin. The money raised will go to Mary Macs at Woy Woy. This organisation provides over 2000 meals a month for homeless people. They also provide washing machines and dryers to ensure they have clean clothes. Please join us in supporting this Diocesan initiative.
Assumption Mass
Next Thursday, 15th August is the feast of the Assumption. All students will be attending mass at 11.30am. Year 5 will be leading this mass. If you are free, please join us to celebrate mass.
Confirmation
Many of our Year 3 students and some students from Years 4-6 are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation. This will be celebrated on Saturday 17th August at 11am. Please keep them in your prayers.
Ignite Conference
The Ignite Conference is a beacon of inspiration and faith, drawing young people from across Australia to come together in a spirit of unity and worship. Located amidst the heart of our diocese at the Cathedral Precinct in Waitara, the Ignite Conference will be held from the 26-29 September 2024.
We are encouraging students in Year 5 & 6 across Catholic Schools Broken Bay to consider attending as part of the Ignite Kids stream.
Primary school registration for Ignite Kids is open to students from:
- 9am-3.30pm on Saturday the 28th of September and10.45-1.30pm (with mass at 9am) on Sunday the 29th of September.
Students from our Diocese are eligible for a 50% discount on the ticket which brings the cost down to $52.50. Please see Mrs Kyle for the discount code if you are interested.
There is no parent or staff supervision, excursion form or risk assessment required for Primary schools for the Ignite conference (similar to holiday care etc.), all supervision and duty of care is managed by Ignite Youth.
Father's Day
This year, Year 2 will be leading the Father's Day Liturgy. To prepare for this, we are asking families if they would like to share one image of the significant men in your children's lives. Could you send a high quality image to rebecca.hughes@dbb.catholic.edu.au by Friday 23rd August. We will be putting together an iMovie of these to share in classrooms and to put on Facebook. Landscape images are preferred for the program we use.
Sacred Space 3 Blue and 5 Blue
Thank you to 3 Blue for sharing their learning on Confirmation and 5 Blue for sharing their learning about Mary MacKillop. It is wonderful to see you sharing your learning with our school of a Monday morning.
Year 1 Sunday Parish Mass
Just a reminder to our Year 1 families to save the date for our upcomping Year 1 Sunday Parish Mass. Please save Sunday 25th August in your diaries from 9am- 10am. An invitiation will come home this week.
Indigenous Rock Art with Mr Gainsford
As part of our NAIDOC celebrations, Mr Gainsford took all our grades to design their own Indigenous Rock Art. He explained the meaning of traditional designs that are commonly used and encouraged all of our students to create a design on their rock that was meaningful to them. He shared a rock he had made, explaining the meaning to all the students. We then places them along the path in the garden for our grandparents to see on Grandparent's Day. Thank you Mr Gainsford for sharing your knowledge of Aboriginal culture with all our students!
Congratulations to all our Age Champions and Runners Up.
