This Reconciliation Church prayer was written by a small group of Aboriginal Elder women and Reconciliation Church staff members in 2014.

Pupil Free Day

Monday, 18 July will be a Pupil Free Day. During this day, teachers will be involved in completing two NESA Learning Modules focusing on the new Kinder to Year 2 English and Maths Syllabus Documents which become mandatory in 2023. While the focus is K-2, these documents will extend through to Year 10 in 2024.

Each year there are 5 designated days available to schools two of which were used at the beginning of the year. The last day of the year (Tuesday, 20 December) will be another Pupil Free Day where all staff renew their first aid training. The fifth day is a designated Spirituality Day for which we are still awaiting confirmation of a date by our presenter - it is likely to be during the second half of Term 3.

This year, an additional Pupil Free Day has been granted to all schools due to workload issues. Once again, a date is yet to be set but likely to be during the first half of Term 4.

Thank you

Working Bee

Last Saturday we had 5 dads donate a few hours to continue the work on restoring the Big Bank. Students were very excited when they were told they could run on the steep part of this playground. Hopefully by next week, part of the flat area can be opened up. Huge thank you to the 15 or so dads who helped over the two Saturdays. The staff really appreciate your help but even more so, the children who just want to play! 

Pie Drive

Thank you to the P & F members who organised and then sorted pies yesterday. In putting children in cars yesterday afternoon, there were quite a few mums (and a couple of dads) very happy that they wouldn’t have to cook last night!! A pie with the State of Origin tonight is sounding quite enticing!!

Sports Events

Paul Kelly Cup (AFL)

After many attempts, this looks to be going ahead as planned this Friday, 10 June at Thomas Dalton Park, Fairy Meadow. We have 4 teams from Stage 3 representing our school.

Mark Taylor Shield (Cricket)

Also after many attempts, our school cricket team will play St John’s, Dapto this Friday at Reed Park, Horsley. We have a mixture of students from Years 4, 5 & 6 representing our school.

Congratulations Fabian (6G) 

Fabian was recently selected in the Mackillop Football (Soccer) Team at the Goulburn trials. Fabian will now travel to Griffith in August to participate in the 4 day State Championships which involve students from all schools in NSW. This is a huge achievement for Fabian. We are obviously very proud of him and wish him every success at this level.

Congratulations Koa (3B) & Texas (5B)

Both Koa & Texas will be travelling to the Gold Coast this weekend to represent NSW in Judo. This is an awesome achievement and we wish them both well in their competition.

Congratulations Amari (5B) & Jessica (4G)

The girls represented the Wollongong Redbacks in the U10’s at the Junior State Cup for OzTag held in Coffs Harbour last weekend. The girls had an awesome time winning most of their games. Unfortunately they were defeated in the Quarter Finals on Sunday. Well done girls!!

Congratulations Angelica C (6B), Mila G (3B), Olivia G (3B), Indee V-E (4B) & Savannah N (3B)

The girls were very excited on Monday morning to announce that they had finished First in the Dance & Dazzle Competition held at the Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Sunday. The girls competed in the 12 & Under category representing Totally Tumbling & Tricks Dance Club. Awesome girls!!

Winter Uniform

All students should now be wearing their full Winter uniform. This includes ties and shirts tucked in. There have been some questions asked about options for very cold days. Students can wear additional layers such as a warmer jacket, beanie, scarf, etc but we ask that colours are in keeping with the school colours. Being yellow and brown, this also causes some problems in availability. The other colour that is part of the uniform is Blue. Therefore, a navy blue parka, beanie or scarf would be suitable.

Kiss & Drop Zones

Generally this area flows very smoothly however issues arise from time to time when parents (or grandparents) don’t move to the front of the dropping zone. We have had a few near misses as try to manoeuvre around others who may be about to pull out. Please move down as far as possible. Students have shown through Covid how resilient they are in walking into school by themselves if they are allowed to show this independence. 

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS SEMESTER 1

RE NEWS

Mini Vinnies Winter Appeal

This term the Mini Vinnies Team, will be collecting donations and raising awareness for the Illawarra Vinnies Van. Please help support this very worthwhile cause.

Items like Food, Warm Clothes and Blankets will be collected. Eg: 

• 2 minute noodles, Cup of Soups, pasta, tinned soups, tuna.
• Gloves, beanies, scarves, jumpers, coats and jackets (can be secondhand but need to be clean)
• Blankets, quilts and sleeping bags (can be secondhand but need to be clean)

Students please leave your donations in your class prayer space and the Mini Vinnies team will collect them next Friday (Week 8, 9). These will be presented to the St Therese Vinnies Chapter at our end of Term Assembly

Any and all donations are welcome. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT- Upcoming Free Parent Webinar on Online Safety

The Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT have arranged to hold a free webinar with the eSafety Commissioner for parents and carers of children aged 5-12 years.

The title of this year’s seminar is: Helping Kids Thrive Online.

This Term 2 webinar offers tips on how to support young people to socialise, learn and have fun online in a safe manner. It explains how to access information, use technology safely and navigate new online platforms.

It will cover:

• how to talk to young people about online risks on different social media platforms and games
• how to help young people develop skills to protect themselves when they are online
• where to go for help if things go wrong and how to access mental health support and information through eSafety.

Click here to register.

Who should attend? Suitable for parents and carers of children aged 5-12 years

Date/Time: Wednesday 8 June at 7:30 pm

If you have any questions or require additional resources please contact Clare Dunstan. 

Access the webinar poster here.