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Newsletter Week 6
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marks the moment the guns fell silent on the Western Front after the bloodshed of World War I. Over the past century, this moment has been adopted across the globe as a time to remember those who served and sacrificed in all wars and conflicts.
This Remembrance Day, RSL is asking all Australians to Remember to Remember – to commit to pausing for just one minute to remember those who gave their lives in service to their country, those who returned home injured or ill, and those who bravely serve our country today.
Come, let us walk in the Light of the Lord.
Let us not fear the past
when our hearts were heavy.
Let us Shine the Light of Christ. (Is. 2:5)
Come, let us bring light from the darkness.
Let us make evil good
and find sweet in the bitter.
Let us Shine the Light of Christ. (Is. 5:20)
Come, let us weep together
when the light grew dark with the clouds,
from the darkness and distress.
Let us Shine the Light of Christ. (Is. 5:30)
Come, let us walk with our brothers and sisters,
those who have walked in darkness.
Let them see the great Light of God
and let us Shine the Light of Christ. (Is. 9:2)
Semester 2 Reports
Due to the disruption caused by COVID-19, adjustments to curriculum have been made throughout Terms 3 and 4. Focus for Semester 2 has been on student wellbeing and learning, with priority given to Religious Education, English and Maths. As a result of this extended period of Remote Learning and the lack of opportunities for teachers to provide quality assessment tasks to determine student learning attainment and growth, student reporting in Semester 2, 2021 will look a little different to the one you received earlier this year.
This report will provide information about your child’s participation in learning during this time of extended Remote Learning. The reports will be available through Compass on Wednesday 8 December.
Year 6 Parents are reminded to print the school report when they are distributed on Wednesday 8 December. This is particularly important if your child is not attending a Wollongong Diocesan systemic high school, such as Holy Spirit College, as your access to your child’s Compass profile will cease upon completion of primary school.
Christmas cards
As this term progresses the children will become excited about the approaching Christmas season. It is very important that the children remain focused and settled throughout Term 4. When the children begin to bring Christmas cards, candy canes and the like to school too early, they tend to ‘tune out’. It is for this reason, and the fact that waiting is a part of our Catholic Christian tradition with the season of Advent, that the children may begin to bring Christmas cards, candy canes etc for their classmates from the end of Week 9 – Friday 3 December.
Please begin to speak to your children about appreciating the card, gift or candy cane that they receive no matter who it is from and that when they give something they shouldn’t always expect something in return.
Kiss & Collect
The gates are opened at 2.50pm for Kiss & Collect. Please don’t arrive too early especially on Mondays and Fridays when the basketball court is often used for PE / Sport. All students should be picked up from Kiss & Collect by 3.20pm.
Book Week / Dewey Awards
A decision has unfortunately been made to cancel the annual Book Week dress up day which we had postponed from Term 3. Staff are focusing on maintaining a settled learning environment and catching up on many of the learning opportunities missed during remote learning.
The Dewey Awards relate to the stories written and presented last term. This was an optional activity with many students from Kinder to Year 6 participating. The Dewey Awards will be presented at morning assemblies over the coming weeks.
Are your students watching Squid Game?
While streaming services can be great entertainment for the whole family, we have to be mindful of age-appropriate content.
The popular Squid Game series is receiving global attention for its depiction of violence and adult themes. This type of content is inappropriate for children and can be harmful - particularly as they tend to mimic what they see.
eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant's latest blog post discusses the importance of knowing what children are watching and provides advice for parents and carers on minimising the negative impacts of inappropriate content.
Learning Labs
The University of Wollongong invites our students to LITTLE and EARLY LEARNING LABS, an academic and creative arts enrichment holiday program. We are targeting students from Year 1 to 6 who are passionate, self-motivated and curious learners.
Dates: Little Learning Labs (Years 1 and 2): 10th – 12th January 2022
Early Learning Labs (Years 3 to 6): 17th – 21st January 2022
Venue: University of Wollongong (Wollongong campus only)
Applications close: Wednesday, 17th November 2021
School Birthdays
10 November 2021 - 16 November 2021
Happy Birthday:
Shila Al Hasan, Victoria Mitropoulous, Ester Lian, Louis Motoori, Alexandra Shields, Liam Dekker.
Happy Birthday
Principal's Awards
Silver Medallion
Alexis Momirovski - 3G
Abeba Bereket - 4B
Genova D’Amico - 4G
Sara Henriques-Thakur - 6G
Maxine Lavulo - 6G
Teni Ogunniyi - 6G
St Therese School Facebook Page
www.facebook.com/westwollongong.sttherese
School Vision Statement
“St Therese Primary School – a dynamic, Catholic community
educating and empowering learners for life’s journey.”
PARISH
Dear Parishioners,
As mentioned in my communication on Sunday, we begin public Masses this weekend, 23-24 October, with 6pm Saturday Vigil and 8am Sunday Mass at Unanderra, and 10am and 5pm Sunday Masses at West Wollongong, followed by usual weekday and weekend Mass timetable.
Having met with Immaculate Conception and St Therese (ICAST) PPCs last night, we have decided upon the following:
PUBLIC HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
As per the Diocesan Directives (attached):
- Vaccination is encouraged but not mandatory
- Masks must be worn inside the church
- 4 square metre rule applies at this time
- No congregational singing at this time
- Strong hygiene practices will be maintained
- QR Registration
REGISTRATION PROCESS
There will be no pre-registration for Masses. That process was demanding in terms of admin hours, and we will need to ensure ready availability of digitized records at short notice to the government in case of a Covid case. All attending Mass will be asked to use the Service NSW QR Code at first, and if unable to do so, the monitors will sign you in using a parish QR code.
4 SQUARE METRE CAPACITY LIMIT
Given that there will be no pre-registration, and the 4 square metre capacity, there is a chance that we will reach capacity at Sunday Masses. Based on average Mass counts this will be most likely at the Sunday Morning Masses. We ask your understanding if this occurs as monitors are legally bound to maintain 4 square metre rule (86 at WW, 96 at Unanderra)
7PM SUNDAY MASS DURING OCTOBER-NOVEMBER (STAGE 2)
During stage 2 only, starting this weekend, I will celebrate an additional 7pm Mass at St Therese on Sundays. Many are unable to attend such a late Sunday Mass. If you yourself are able to attend, please consider doing so to free up spaces at the 4 standard Sunday Masses. Only if attending this Mass please email Melissa at unanderra@dow.org.au
IF YOU ARE RELUCTANT TO ATTEND PUBLIC MASSES AT THIS TIME
We understand that some are concerned about attending public Mass during stage 2 as churches are among the only venues allowing "mixing" of vaccinated and unvaccinated. If you are concerned for this reason, please do not hesitate to contact us, and we will do our best to organize Communion to be brought to you at home. (All ministers attending your home will be double vaccinated.)
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 2021
November 2021
11 - Remembrance Day
December 2021
3 - Whole School Mass - End of Year - TBC
8 - Reports released to Parents
9 - Year 6 Graduation TBC
13 - 7pm Confirmation Ceremony - Immaculate Conception, Unanderra
14 - 7pm Confirmation Ceremony - St Therese, West Wollongong
15 - Last Day Term 4 Students
17 - Last day Term 4 Teachers and Staff
January 2022
26 - Australia Day
27 - Student Vacation (Pupil Free Day)
28 - Term 1 Begins - Student Vacation (Pupil Free Day) - Staff Return
31 - Student Vacation (Pupil Free Day)
February 2022
1 - Students Return
Best Start Assessments commence
7 - Best Start Asessments conclude
8 - Kindergarten 2022 commences