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Newsletter Week 4
Trinity Sunday
With joy and gratitude we celebrate today the solemnity of the Blessed Trinity. When we think of the mystery we honour today, the question is not so much: who is God, but, as Scripture itself puts it: who is God for us? And the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, answers, in a variety of ways: God is a mystery of love. God loves us. With Psalm 8 we say: what are human beings that you spare a thought for them? Thank you, Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All praise to you through Jesus!
On today’s feast of the Blessed Trinity what can we really say about God? If we try to define God, to say who God really is, we can do no more than stammer and use images. We begin to understand God much more easily if we reflect on what he has done for us and for all God’s people. And then we discover that, above all, God has loved us and keeps loving us as a forgiving, merciful God, a Father who cares and is tender as a mother, as the Son who became one of us and made us free at the cost of his life, as a Spirit of love and unity and strength who keeps guiding and inspiring us and who prays with us and in us here in this Eucharist.
Let us pray to our loving God and ask that his Spirit may inspire us to respond to his love
Lord our God, we are too small to understand you, but we know that you care for us and have linked our destiny to yours.
Thank you for loving us and standing by our side in our sorrows and joys.
Thank you for giving us Jesus to take away our sins and to bring us life and happiness and trust.
Thank you for letting your Spirit lead us. Warm our hearts and unite us, dispose us to accept all your love and to respond to it by entrusting ourselves to you with all that you have made us and given us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
2024 Student Semester Reports: Parent Resources
CEDoW has developed parent resources to inform parents about the redesigned student academic reports.
The resources include:
Tell Them From Me Survey
Last opportunity to participate in this survey which closes on Friday. The more families who participate equals a more accurate indication of views across the school.
Survey link: tellthemfromme.com/sts24
WHO DO WE CONTACT?
To assist with the leading of initiatives and the general running of school activities each stage is allocated a leader. For 2024 the following staff have been allocated to the four stages:
Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) Mrs Kristy South & Mrs Vezinias
Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2) Mrs Kristy South & Mrs Vezinias
Stage 2 (Year 3 and Year 4) Mrs Amy Runko
Stage 3 (Year 5 and Year 6) Ms Bethany Tirchett
SPORT- Miss Jazmin Tikkeros
Should you have any questions or concerns, your first port of call should always be your child's teacher. Should you require further clarification you can make contact with the Stage Leader.
Winter Uniform
All students are required to be in their Winter uniform from next Monday (27 May). This includes shirts tucked in and ties.
P & F
P & F Social Media Role
Currently, the P & F are looking for an interested parent who has some available time to take over their Social Media role. The only experience is an ability to access and update our FaceBook presence (this rules me out!). If you are interested, please contact Louise in the office or one of the P & F executive listed below:
President: Michelle Ristov
Vice President: Rachael Dimitrievski
Treasurer: Christina Anastasiadis
Secretary: Carly Leighton
FaceBook / Social Media:
Upcoming Teacher Professional Learning Development
Throughout the year teachers have access to a variety of quality professional development opportunities. Casual teachers are employed to cover classes with the teacher ensuring the teaching program and routines are followed.
Week |
Date |
Staff Member/s |
Purpose |
|
4 |
20/5/24 |
Mrs South, Mrs Robilliard, Miss Turvey, Miss Shalala & Mrs Milner |
CLIL |
|
4 |
20/5/24 |
Ms Tirchett & Mr Bunder (Yr6) |
Report Writing and Collaboration |
|
4 |
21/5/24 & 24/5/24 |
Mrs South & Mrs Runko |
Maths Intervention Professional Development |
|
4 |
21/5/24 |
Mrs Calvert, Mrs Gilmore, Mrs Di Pietro & Mrs Devine (Yr5 & Yr6) |
Report Writing and Collaboration |
|
4 |
22/5/24 |
Mrs Calvert, Mrs Gilmore & Mrs Johansson Mrs Timpano, Miss McLachlan & Mrs Thomas (Yr2) |
Lamplighters Spiritual Formation Report Writing and Collaboration |
|
4 |
23/5/24 |
Miss Tikkeros. Mrs Merrett & Mrs Testa (Yr3) |
Report Writing and Collaboration |
|
4 |
24/5/24 |
Miss Turvey & Mrs Robilliard (Yr1) |
Report Writing and Collaboration |
Parent-School Partnership Framework
“We must take note of the changes that have affected both the family and the school, and renew the commitment to constructive collaboration – for the benefit of children and young people” — Pope Francis
Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) strives to create vibrant Catholic communities of faith and learning and believes this is best achieved when there is a genuine partnership between home and school.
The Lighting the Way Together Parent-School Partnership Framework has been developed to support the creation and maintenance of this partnership. It outlines for parents* and school the principles and expectations of the parent-school partnership so that together we can create:
- identifiably Catholic communities, inspired by the person and teaching of Jesus Christ, where all strive to act with hope, integrity, justice and compassion; and
- effective schools which enhance student learning and wellbeing.
The Parent-School Partnership Framework is available in six additional languages to help support you and your family.
The Framework is available in Vietnamese, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam, Tagalog and Arabic. They are all available for download from the below link:
www.dow.catholic.edu.au/partnershipframework
TO VIEW OUR PARENT PARTNERSHIP PRINCIPLES ONLY, CLICK HERE
SEL
St Therese Catholic School Core Values
Collaboration - Community - Excellence - Inclusion - Respect
Principal's Awards
Silver Medallion
Ivy L-P - 6G
Gold Medallion
Adam B - 5B
St Therese School Facebook Page
www.facebook.com/westwollongong.sttherese
School Vision Statement
“Immersed in faith, pursuing excellence in learning
and the positive wellbeing of all”
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Religious Education News
Reconciliation / First Communion Registration
Registration meetings to receive these Sacraments in 2024 are on the following dates:
- Tuesday 18 June
- Thursday, 20 June
These meetings will be held at 7pm in the St Therese Parish Centre. Attendance at one of these sessions is compulsory.
SPORT
Congratulations Jessica McL - 6B (AFL)
Yesterday we were advised that Jess has been selected to represent NSW in AFL. This is an awesome achievement having progressed through two trials to now represent at this level. Jess and her family will travel to Geelong in Victoria for a week of competition in August. This will involve teams from every State and Territory from mainland Australia.
Congratulations Jax M - 5B (Go)
Jax has been awarded the Tom Ellis Junior Sponsorship Award for 2024 by Wollongong Golf Club for his dedication and commitment to golf. This is a fantastic achievement in a sport which places Jax alongside adult golfers on a regular basis. Well done Jax!
Congratulations Bridie L - 5G (Basketball)
Over the weekend, Bridie represented the Illawarra Hawks in a NSW competition in Albury which saw Bridie’s team named State Champions! This is an incredible achievement. Next week, Bridie will be travelling to Newcastle representing the Wollongong Diocese in the Mackillop basketball trials with the aim of gaining selection through to the NSW All Schools Basketball Competition. Obviously this is a very busy time for Bridie (& her parents!) in her chosen sport. We wish Bridie well in the next stage of her representative commitments.
Congratulations to Llynx S - 5B, Zahra C - 5B and Tahlia C - 3G (Basketball)
NUTRITION
This week St Therese is participating in the ‘The Big Veggie Crunch & Vegetable’ Week. We have been promoting healthy eating habits and encouraging all students to simultaneously crunch on vegetables!
Try to include a rainbow of fruits and vegetables in your child’s lunchbox this week! It might even be a great opportunity to expose your child to a new type of fruit or vegetable.
Happy crunching and munching!
SWAP IT!
Take a look at this week’s reminder for the ‘Swap It’ Initiative. Check out the tips and tricks below to bust those lunchbox myths:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
NSW Government Student Learning Library
The NSW Government has created a valuable resource to support learning at home in English and Mathematics for Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students. Parents and carers are able to access the NSW Government student learning library at the following link:
https://education.nsw.gov.au/parents-and-carers/initiatives/nsw-student-learning-library#/
Additionally a video has been created to explain how to access and navigate this resource:
KEEP THE DATE
SCHOOL PHOTOS 2024 - 30 MAY 2024 - FULL WINTER UNIFORM
Extended Leave (10 days or more)
For extended leave for holidays, parents are asked to complete an ‘Application for Exemption from Attendance at School’ form. This is available from the office.
HOLIDAY GROUP PROGRAMS
Family Services Australia is currently recruiting for our upcoming school holiday groups which will be run over the July school holidays.
We will be running the following group programs:
- Tabletop games group suitable for young people aged 13-18 who have an interest in table top gaming, however no prior experience is required.
- Kids social group, suitable for young people aged 8-12 who would like to build social connections with other young people.
- Girls social group, suitable for girls/female identifying young people aged 12-15 who would like to build social connections.
There will be 2 sessions available for each group, so clients can choose if they would like to attend one or both of the group dates and NDIS funding can be utilized to pay for the groups.
If you have clients that would like to register interest or find out more information about this group they can do so via our website (https://www.
UPCOMING IMPORTANT EVENTS
19 - 26 Laudato Si' Week - Seeds of Hope
24 - Our Lady Help of Christians Liturgy 11.20am in Church
26 - National Sorry Day
27 to 2 June - Reconciliation Week
27 to 29 - Year 6 Camp to Stanwell Tops
30 - School Photos - WINTER UNIFORM
STUDENT BIRTHDAYS
Birthdays
22 May 2024 - 28 May 2024
Liam E - 4G, Elijah R - KB, Jordan M - 2B, Joseph A - KG, Aiden J - 2G, Freja K - 1G, Zaira T - 1B, Marli M - 4B.
PARISH INFORMATION
BAPTISMS
For any new requests please contact the Parish Office (email: westwollongong@dow.org.au any time or call 4243 9610 on Tuesdays 9am-3pm).
God bless you all,
Fr Duane
Calendar Dates 2024
2024
May 2024
19 - 26 Laudato Si' Week - Seeds of Hope
24 - Our Lady Help of Christians Liturgy 11.20am in Church
26 - National Sorry Day
27 to 2 June - Reconciliation Week
27 to 29 - Year 6 Camp to Stanwell Tops
30 - School Photos - WINTER UNIFORM
June 2024
5 - World Environment Day
7 - Year 1 Assembly 2.10pm in Hall
10 - Public Holiday - King's Birthday
11 - Sacrament of Confirmation 5.00pm and 7.00pm
13 to 14 - Year 5 Excursion to Cockatoo Island
14 - Year 4 Assembly 2.10pm in Hall
17 - Refugee Week
21 - Year 5 Gold Assembly 2.10pm in Hall
July 2024
3 to 10 - NAIDOC Week
5 - Year 1 Gold Liturgy 10.15am in the Church
Last Day of Term 2
22 - Term 3 Commences - Students Return
29 - Environmental Staff Development Day
CANTEEN MENU 2024
ST THERESE CANTEEN
WEDNESDAYS, THURSDAYS & FRIDAYS ONLY
