Issue #15 18th September 2024
Principal's Update
After what seems like the busiest term so far, there are lots of students looking forward to the upcoming school holidays. Next Friday 27th is the last day of term.
We have been blessed to share in so many wonderful experiences during Term 3 including our Book Parade, school disco, Grandparent's Day, gala days, Masses, public speaking, drumming and Father's Day celebrations. Our Term 4 calendar is later in this newsletter.
We hope you have a wonderful break, and we look forward to seeing you back on October 14th.
Wellbeing Olympics
Last Friday our school celebrated Wellbeing Week with the Wellbeing Olympics. There were lots of fun activities involving the students working together in country teams, which focused on our theme 'Stronger Together'. Congratulations to Greece, who were the winning country for the day! A thank you to Mrs Cousins, Mrs Hodgson and Mrs Doyle who organised the day for our students to enjoy.
K-1 Athletics Morning
Tomorrow, Thursday 19th, we are very excited to be holding our Kinder-Year 1 Athletics Morning (due to the cancellation of the carnival last term). The morning will be held on our school oval from 9.15am until approximately 10.45am. The children will compete in a number of running and fun activities and relays across the morning. On the day, students will wear their sports uniform with a coloured t-shirt that represents their colour house. There will be a parent area around the perimeter of the events and parents are invited to watch.
Drumming
This term we were lucky to have the ‘InRhythm Drumming’ group visiting our school each Tuesday. Each grade has attended a 30-minute weekly session, using African drums to focus on musicality, group bonding, mindfulness and resilience. Yesterday we heard the wonderful drumming from all grades in our showcase on the oval. The drumming sounded outstanding from each group, well done! Thank you to the parents who joined us.
Uniform
Thank you for the support you give our school and your children, particularly regarding their school uniform. Both staff and parents recognise the importance of the ‘little things’ in a school. Our school uniform is one of those. Correct school shoes, sports shoes and socks are expected from all students K-6. In the attached photo you will see a snippet from a letter that was sent out to parents last year and also at the start of this year regarding shoes.
Andie's Fundraising 'Wigs for Kids'
Andie N (Year 3) is preparing to cut her hair, raising money for 'Kid with Cancer Wigs for Kids' to help sick kids throughout Australia. Andie's hair will be cut short during these holidays on October 3rd, and her long hair will become a beautiful wig for someone in need. I was shocked to learn that the cost of making a wig is $2750! You can follow Andie's journey or make a donation on this link. Well done, Andie, we are so proud of your amazing and selfless act! Kids with Cancer - Andie Nowland
Building Works
Over the school holidays I expect to receive word from CSBB that the final approvals and contracts have been completed for our new building works. We are hopeful that work will begin end of October/start of November. I will update you again early next term when I have more information.
Wiseberry Finalists
Congratulations to Tianna and Ashley, who have been selected as a finalist in Wiseberry Heritage's Sold for Schools competition. As a finalist, these two students will be eligible for a prize, which will be awarded once the winner is drawn on the 18th of September. We hope you were able to follow the link on our school Facebook page to vote.
Term 4 Calendar
To the left is a small copy of our Term 4 calendar, including starting dates for 2025. At the bottom of this newsletter is a downloadable PDF version of the calendar, which will also be sent home in the coming days.
Term 4 events to note:
Our Award Ceremony, Advent liturgies, Masses, assemblies and gala days are included. Events can change from these dates due to unforeseen circumstances.
Please note a significant change has been made for our swimming carnival. The CCC Swimming Carnival is always held very early in the year, meaning our School Swimming Carnival is usually held in Week 2 of the school year. We have, like many other local schools, made the decision to hold our swimming carnival at the end of the year from now onwards, to enable the start of the year to be more settled. You will notice the date on the calendar is Wednesday 11th December. This carnival will be held for Year 1-Year 5 students, to qualify them for the February CCC event. The newly elected Sports Captains and Vice Captains will lead the events as usual and the carnival itself will run in the same format. Year 6 and Kinder students will remain at school, and Year 6 will run a water fun day with their Kinder buddies on the oval. Please call the school office if you have any questions.
Explosion of Colour
Our 'Explosion of Colour' is coming! It will be a fun-filled community event that will take place on our oval. The children being squirted with colour powder as they run through an obstacle course set up by our Colour House Captains and Vice Captains. It will be held on Friday 18th October (Week 1), beginning at 2pm.
It costs $7 to participate in our Explosion of Colour, this must be paid through Compass before the day (you will have an event appear in Compass this week, to give permission for your child to participate and to pay). The $7 cost includes participation in the course and coloured sunglasses. Some of this money will also go towards raising funds for a new portable sound system. Children should wear a white top and dark pants/shorts to school on the day. Please expect the clothes to become extremely dirty/colourful. Parents, you are invited to sit on the perimeter of the oval to watch the afternoon of fun. More details will follow early next term.
Parents, we would love your help with this event. If you can volunteer some time, please register your interest on this link https://signup.com/go/KMJNCza.
Polding
Congratulations to Mia, Emmanuelle, Archer, Hunter, Owen and Abel who represented our school and Broken Bay Diocese last Friday in the Polding Athletics competition, with some outstanding results:
Mia competed in the high jump, finishing 16th overall.
Emmanuelle competed in the 100m sprint, making it through to the finals where she then came 3rd overall. This result means she will now compete at state level. Emmanuelle also competed in the long jump, finishing 10th overall.
Archer, Hunter, Abel and Owen competed in the 4 x 100m relay, making it through to the finals where they finished in 4th place overall. They also set a PB in their heat and another in the final, producing another record for Central Coast Zone.
Congratulations to you all for these wonderful achievements.
Morning Supervision
A number of children are arriving to school well before our supervision begins at 8.30am. While we understand some students need to be dropped off to school from around 8.10am, and sit on the seats and wait for supervision to begin, some children are arriving before 8.00am. These children are unsupervised during this time, we encourage families to utilise OOSH if your child arrives at school prior to 8.00am.
Debaters
Good luck to our debating team, who tomorrow will decide if 'school uniform should be compulsory' against MacKillop. Good luck to Archer G, Ellie C, Summer G and Charlie B.
Piano Tuition
There are currently vacancies for piano tuition during school hours. Please contact Mr Chris Hochkins for further details. Ph. 0414 186 044.
Excursions
This Friday Year 3 will enjoy their final Science incursion, and Year 5 will travel to the movies to experience watching 'The Wild Robot', the novel they studied earlier in the year. We hope both grades enjoy their day.
From our REC
Diocesan Creative Arts Competition
Congratulations to the following students who have been awarded a place in the Diocesan Creative Arts Competition. Selkie R and Isla P have been awarded third place in the Dance section for Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2), Zara B has been awarded third place in the Music section for Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6) and Katy-Leigh P and Finley G have been awarded second place in the Music section for Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). Their recording will be available to view shortly on our school Facebook page. We are looking forward to attending the Showcase in November where the girls will attend and receive their certificates.
Year 2 Sunday Parish Mass
This Sunday, 22nd September our Year 2 students will lead our Sunday Parish Mass at 9am. They are practising all their roles and are looking forward to sharing their talents with you. Please remember to bring a plate to share with our community after mass.
Sacred Space - Kinder Blue and Kinder Green
Thank you to our Kinder Blue class for sharing their learning in Religion. We loved hearing about the Church's Litugical Colours.
Thank you to Kinder Green for sharing their learning about Jesus' parables especially the parable of the Mustard Seed. We loved your song as well.
We are looking forward to watching Kinder Gold's Sacred Space on Monday morning.
Socktober - Crazy Sock Day
Next term we will be supporting Catholic Mission by having a Crazy Sock Day. This will occur on Friday 25th October. We encourage all students to wear funky socks. Catholic Mission work around the globe helping those in need. The focus country this year is Mongolia. We will begin our day on Friday 25th October with a Mission Mass led by our Mini Vinnies Team. Following this, grades or stages will play soccer in their crazy socks. We look forward to supporting our global community.
Term 4 Calendar
