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Newsletter Week 1
Prayer to help you through
our Current Challenging Times
God of expansive and faithful love, giver and sustainer of life,
You know the depths of our pain as we journey through this time of unknowing.
Hear our voices and the cry of our hearts.
Guide us to see the most life-giving ways open to us.
St Joseph, Man of courage, you protected Mary and Jesus when they were in danger.
Cradle us now safely in this same protecting embrace.
May we, like you, extend this care to our world that is in need.
St Mary of the Cross, you faced difficult times with a heart filled with trust,
always believing in the watchful presence of God.
Walk with us now in this difficult time,
and may we be for others, examples of hope and trust.
St Joseph, and St Mary of the Cross pray with us in this time of need.
Amen.
God has said: “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
So we may say with confidence,
“God is my Helper, and I will not be afraid.”
Hebrew 13:5-6
Annie Bond rsj
Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart
Happy Holidays Fr Duane
Monday, last week, Fr Duane flew off to Canada to catch up with his sister and her new baby. Duane will be travelling with his mum and will also have time to catch up with his brother who lives in the US. This is a very well deserved break for Fr Duane and we wish him all the very best on his travels. Duane is due back around September 10.
Welcome to St Therese
- Charlize Hodge commenced this week in 3 Blue. As usual, the students in Year 3 were very excited when they were told of this news at the end of last term.
- Mrs Helen Markovic has commenced as a School Support Officer assisting EAL/D students in various classes.Helen will work Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Mrs Jane Stackhouse will join us every Friday. Jane is a teacher with EAL/D experience and will work with Megan Johannson in supporting our many students with a language other than English background.
- Mrs Melissa Farrell has taken over from Nicole as the coordinator of OOSH.
I know Charlize, Helen, Jane and Melissa will be made to feel very welcome and will settle in quickly to feel part of our wonderful St Therese community.
Cyclic Review
Every 5 years, each school goes through a process called Cyclic Review. Our last review was in 2015 but due to Covid, our review has been delayed. This will now occur on Wednesday, 3 August. The review involves an panel of about 6 members coming to the school to go through the following questions with members of the school leadership team:
- Where have we come from? (what has happened since the last Cyclic Review)
- Where are we now? (what is the current data telling us)
- Where are we heading? (what are strategic goals for the next 5 years)
Input will also be sought from a small group of parents as well as the Student Council. Fr Duane was interviewed prior to his trip to Canada.
In preparation for the review, members of the leadership team have been working on a 26 page document which contains the answers to the above questions but the sessions on the day allows the panel an opportunity to ask questions and to clarify the document’s intent.
Morning Arrival
No students should be arriving at school prior to 8.15am.
Hall gate opens at 8.20am
Now that we no longer have the morning OOSH service, the gate located off the basketball court near the hall will not be opened until 8.20am.
Afternoon Kiss & Collect
Please remember the gates into the presbytery will be opened at 2.45pm. We have been advised by police that drivers can be booked if they are at a standstill on Powell St prior to this time.
Car Name Signs (for Kiss & Collect)
With the new term starting, I ask that parents who come through the drive through pick-up, please ensure the ‘Family Name’ sign is clearly displayed. To ensure we can organise children quickly, teachers refer to the names several times therefore please keep the name on display not simply holding it up once. If you need another sign, please let Louise or Mary-Anne know in the office.
Staff Development Day last Monday
Staff were engaged in a very worthwhile day of Professional Development on Monday. A speech pathologist spoke to the whole staff for 1½ hours about some tips and tricks to better support students in the classrooms. It was very interesting to hear her opinion on the development of oral language and the decline in standards over recent years. This is an area teachers are aware of and one which we have been attempting to address in classroom activities. Teachers then completed NESA learning modules in preparation for the new K-Yr 2 English and Maths Syllabus documents which will be implemented from 2023. These documents will extend up to Year 10 in 2024. Our School Support Officers engaged in a session with an Occupational Therapist, once again offering tips on simple things that can make a big difference in supporting our students.
Congratulations Angelica (6B), Indie (4B), Mila (3B), Savannah (3B) and Olivia (3B)
On Sunday, 26 June the girls competed in a Dance and Dazzle competition at East Hills Boys Technology High School. They finished first with a score of 86/100. The girls were representing their dance studio - Totally Tumbling and Tricks.
ICAS
RE NEWS
MINI VINNIES WINTER APPEAL
Thanks to the generosity of the families in our school community, and the hard work of our Mini Vinnies Student and Staff Teams, our school was able to present Mr Duggan from St Therese Parish Vinnies Team over 400 items of food, 150 warm clothing /blankets and $187 dollars in Cash (from our Bear raffle) for the support of the Vinnies Winter Appeal. Our knitting team has been very busy over the holiday and we have 9 completed scarves to also present to the Vinnies Van Volunteers later this week.
Thank you for all your support you have given to the people who are less fortunate in our community.
May God Bless you all for being so generous with your money, goods and time.
The beautifully knitted Bear (donated by the Thompson Family) was won by Maria Moreira.
Year 4 Religious Literacy Assessment (RLA)
Students in Year Four will be sitting the Diocesan RLA on the 1st August and will be having a practice at connecting on their class ipads tomorrow. This will be completed through Google forms.
Year 6 ACTIVATE Day
Next week, we will be welcoming Year Six students from four other Catholic primary schools to the ‘Activate’ program run by the Diocesan Youth Ministry Team and student volunteers from Holy Spirit College, in preparation for our students receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation later this term. The students will be involved with activities, games, music, prayer and making friends with other year 6 students.Thank you to the Year 6 parent helpers who have volunteered their time to cook a sausage sizzle lunch for the 200 plus participants. Please let the office know if you are able to assist on the cooking or serving team.
WONDER RECYCLING REWARDS
Once again this year we will be participating in the Wonder Recycling Rewards for Schools initiative.
The Wonder Recycling Rewards programme is a fun and easy program created to collect and recycle soft plastics and bread tags that might otherwise go to landfill, and earn rewards points to redeem on new sports equipment for our school.
Once collected they can be placed in the special collection box in the Library (Year 3 classrooms)
The campaign closes 9 September.
Thanking you in advance
Ms Elizabeth Pellizzari
School Birthdays
20 July 2022 - 26 July 2022
Happy Birthday
Ruby Koo, Nahla Oliveira, Ellie Simpson, Jayden Ilcevski, Anthony Naumovski, Zane Betguen.
Happy Birthday
Principal's Awards
Stella K - 1 Gold
Harrison B - 3 Blue
Brock S - 3 Gold
Aaliyah M - 6 Blue
Silver Medallion
Christina D - 4 Blue
Kobi M - 6 Blue
Mia S - 6 Blue
St Therese School Facebook Page
www.facebook.com/westwollongong.sttherese
School Vision Statement
“Immersed in faith, pursuing excellence in learning
and positive wellbeing of all”
TEENAGE YOUTH GROUP, 13 – 17 YEARS
LIVE LOCAL Catholic Youth Ministry Wollongong (CYMW) has arrived in the Illawarra! LIVE Local is a Regional Youth Group run by the CYMW and NET Team, who are excellent at engaging with youth at whatever stage of faith. Come along for snacks, games, formation, prayer and music. Every Friday night in the school term from 7 - 9pm, at St Therese West Wollongong school hall. For more information, please contact our Deanery Youth Group
Coordinator, Luke Vail at luke.vail@dow.org.au
RECONCILIATION
Normal times for Reconciliation to resume from 5pm Saturday 23rd October, please refer to the weekly bulletin this Friday for the details. In addition, Fr Jerzy will be offering Reconciliation from Monday 25th October until Saturday 30th October after Mass as needed.
BAPTISMS
We are in the process of rescheduling baptisms that were postponed during lockdown. For any new requests please contact Kathy at the Parish Office (email: westwollongong@dow.org.au any time or call 4229 1074 on Tuesdays 9am-3pm).
God bless you all,
Fr Duane
Calendar Dates 2022
July 2022
22 - Year 4 Excursion to the Ports
28 - Year 6 Activate - School Hall
August 2022
3 - Year 4 Excursion to The Rocks, Sydney
5 - CENSUS Day
9 - South Coast Athletics Carnival
11- Year 6 Mass with Bishop Brian - All Saints Catholic Church, Shellharbour City
18 - Surf Sense Water Saftey Program - Year 2, 4 & 6
23 - Shoelace Tying Workshop - Year 1 & 2
September 2022
5 - Staff Spirituality Day - Pupil Free Day
5 - 9 - National Child Protection Week
9 - Aboriginal Cultural Incursion - Boori Monty Pryor
9 - 13 - Electricity Safety Week
10 - P & F Fundraiser - Bunnings BBQ
20 - Sacrament of Confirmation
23 - St Therese Feast Day
Last Day of Term 3
October 2022
3 - Labour Day Public Holiday
10 - First Day Term 4 - Students Return
CANTEEN MENU 2022