Dear Parents and Carers,

Week Four of term has seen many different weather types and of course we’ve remembered to drink lots of water on hot days, and found our school jumpers for the cool and wet days.

We hope that you have received just the right amount of rain this week.

Last week’s Canberra excursion was a busy learning time for many.  We learnt about many things ranging from why some portraits of past prime ministers are painted in certain styles to remembering to keep our belongings tidy when sharing a room with others… some of this learning was very challenging!!

Armistice Day – The Remembrance Day service will be held on Sunday (November 11) commencing at 10:45am.  Everyone is welcome to join us at the service at the Cenotaph.  For those attending the commemoration service, please wear your summer school uniform, we will meet at the Cenotaph at 10:30am, in order to be in place before the start of the service at 10:45am.

Please note the change of date for our end of year Mass and graduation celebration. Our end of year Celebration and Yr. 6 Graduation Mass will now be held on Tuesday December 11.

Our Presentation Night is set down for Thursday December 13.

Please note these changes on your calendars.

Sporting Schools – during this term, our sporting schools sport is Tennis.  Our coaching sessions begin next Thursday.

School Fees – Thank you to those families who have already paid the fees for this term.  Thank you also to those who are keeping us up to date with making payments, this is very helpful.

If your family is experiencing difficulties paying school fees, please make contact with Therese Clancy at school for assistance.  There are a number of options available to assist when people are experiencing financial challenges.

ABC – during this term, we have been speaking with the children about using a simple method of reminding ourselves to be the best people and learners possible.

Our ABC explains what we need to be doing in order to be able to make the most of each day both at school and elsewhere in life.

Aspire – to be our best

Believe – that Jesus is with us

Connect – with each other, the world and God

When we remember these three aspects of our day at school then days will flow smoothly and we will get the most out of our learning.

Kinder Transition – We held our first Kinder orientation morning yesterday, and it was a terrific morning for all of our visitors.

All children are welcome to join us for the Kinder Orientation program. If you are aware of any parents who would like their child to participate in our transition program, please invite them to make contact with us at school.

The dates for this year’s program are as follows: November 14, 21 and 28. 

Thank you to those families who have already returned completed and returned enrolment forms for our new Kinder students.

If you need an enrolment form, please let us know and we will send one home to you.

K/1/2 English – K/1/2 are asking for your help – if you have any empty cardboard boxes, plastic containers, plastic bottles or netting, please send these to K/1/2. The items will be put to good use in their English unit of work this term. Thank you.

PACER Support of our Canberra Excursion - Students from our school have recently undertaken, an education tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Please be aware that we used the rebate to reduce the overall cost per student of the trip.

Sincerely,

Therese Clancy

Principal

REC News

Father Tom has decided to reinstate students participating in the weekly masses. This means that each week, students from a particular classroom or, at times, more than one classroom, will read the readings and some of the prayers during the mass. This helps the students to understand the parts of the mass better, and it helps them engage better with the message of the homily.

This week the Year 3/4 students are having their turn and here are some of the prayers they wrote in preparation for the mass.

We pray that the farmers can get rain but also harvest their crops successfully.     Henry C

We pray that people will take care of animals and not be cruel to animals because they deserve just as much respect as us.      Hamish G

We pray for rain to help us out of the drought. Jacky X

We pray for the poor children that they will get fresh water, proper meals and proper houses like us.       Ruby N

We pray that the new Kinders will be confident when they come to visit our school.      Genevieve M

Please join us at St Joseph’s Church on Wednesdays at 10 am for our weekly masses when you can.

In Religious Education we are looking at signs, symbols, rituals and rites of passage. The focussing activity looked at each student’s life, family and clubs they belong to. We discussed the various aspects of each family and club to determine the traditions and symbols, rituals and rites of passage. From this we looked at the sacraments within the Catholic Church and created posters containing title, description of the sacrament and symbols.

English has provided some engagement in debating. Students are enjoying the opportunity to discuss and put forward ideas, they do enjoy a good argument.

Mathematics has looked at reviewing basic skills of applying the four operations in problem solving. We are now moving into statistics and probability for the next two weeks.

Science this term has a digital technology focus. We are learning about binary numbers and how they work in computer programming. Students are also investigating how game designers build games according to audience and how they decide on functionality, rules and engagement elements into a game design. While most students were at the Boorowa football/netball carnival we built robot cars and programmed them to achieve certain tasks, all the students had a great time with their robot cars.