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Newsletter Week 4
National Apology Day is commemorated annually on 13th February and encourages remembrance of - and apology to – the Stolen Generations and those whose lives have been blighted by past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation. This commemoration differs from Sorry Day which is held annually on 26th May, to mark the original tabling of the Bringing them Home report.
On 13th February 2008, the first sitting of the new parliamentary year, then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally acknowledged the immense suffering experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people due to past government policies of forced child removal and decades of mistreatment of Indigenous Australians.
The National Apology to the Stolen Generations remains a momentous turning point that demonstrates the importance of historical acceptance in paving the road to reconciliation. On February 13th 2022, it was 14 years since this apology was offered. National Apology Day is a day to remember and pray for the children who were taken away from their families and homes. It is a step on the path to reconciliation. It is a commitment to riggt the wrongs of past injustices and is about building a bridge of respect between all people.
Loving God, Creator Spirit, God of the Dreaming,
You who created all people in your image and likeness,
May we listen with care to all people of this land and treat all with respect.
Source of all creation and unity, bless us in our endeavours to live as one in
Christ.
May you our God of justice, give us the strength and courage to transform
the world according to the vision of Jesus.
May you our God, model of community and equality, inspire us to bring
harmony and a new vision of peace and reconciliation to all. Amen
Meet & Greet
These meetings are well underway this week albeit via Zoom. Thank you to the teachers for making themselves available which adds about 4-5 hours additional time to their week but seen as time well spent in getting to know the students in their care a lot better.
Personalised Planning (PP) Meetings
Mrs Vezinias has been in touch with relevant families whose child(ren) have a Personalised Plan. The purpose of these meetings, held at least twice per year, is to work together on setting realised goals for the students and to ensure they are being supported to achieve the best possible outcomes. These meetings will be held over the next couple of weeks.
P & F Annual General Meeting
Last night the P & F AGM was held. Election of the P & F Executive took place with the following results:
President: Michelle Ristov
Vice President: Rachael Dimitrievski
Treasurer: Matt Kari
Thank you to Michelle, Rachael and Matt who have all committed to another year in the roles they have previously held.
P & F POSITIONS VACANTTwo positions remain vacant after the AGM last night:
These are great opportunities for parents to become involved in your child’s school. Roles can be filled as a shared role if you would like to invite a friend. The meeting schedule for 2022 only involves 5 Tuesday meetings starting at 7pm. If you would like to know more about these roles, or to nominate yourself, please contact Louise in the office. |
Swimming Carnival
Thank you to Mr Bernardi for a very well organised and run swimming carnival last week. It was great to have some very excited and keen competitors although numbers were down on last year with only about 74 students competing. Thank you also to the parents who made themselves available to help with the smooth running on the day - very much appreciated! A squad has now been chosen to represent St Therese at the Regional Swimming Carnival on March 1.
A highlight for me was when one of our students from Iraq, lined up for the 50m freestyle and said that he didn’t know if he was a good swimmer or not as he had never competed in a swimming race before. He only needed to hold the lane rope once but to me, he was already a champion because he was in there having a go!
Enrolling Now for Kinder 2023
Enrolments are now open for Kindergarten 2022. Applications can be collected from the office or accessed from our website. Applications for first round offers close at the end of Term 1 (8 April).
School Counsellor
We have a new Catholicare counsellor who commences on Monday. Mrs Sahar Yazdani has had 10 years experience in working as a counsellor. She will be provided with a detailed handover of students who were seeing Simone last year before commencing any student or parent contact. Please contact your child’s teacher or myself if you would like your child to access the counsellor who will be working every Monday at St Therese.
Building Update
A revised schedule of works was tabled at yesterday’s site meeting. Unfortunately, the completion date has been pushed back once again till the end of Term 2. This is a very disappointing outcome but there have been quite a number of significant challenges and delays for the project.
MEDICATION 2022
The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) recommend that Action Plans should be reviewed and re-issued every 12 months by a doctor, or when a new Adrenaline Auto-Injector is issued.
The National Asthma Council Australia recommend that Action Plans should be reviewed and reissued every 12 months by a doctor, or more frequently if there has been any change in medications or in the child’s condition.
Upon return of the Students in 2022 could you please provide an updated plan and/or medication for 2022. Please ensure that you provide the school with an updated ( Asthma Action Plan / ASCIA Anaphylaxis Action Plan / ASCIA Action Plan for Allergic Reactions) applicable to your child's medical condition ASAP, completed by your doctor as it provides important information for the school if we need to administer medication to your child in 2022.
If we currently hold your child's medication such as Ventolin, Epi Pens etc. could you please either call, email or come into the office to check the expiry date and if required please update the medication and Action Plan for your child for 2022 upon the commencement of the school year 2022. Could you please update your child's medication plans by Friday 11th February 2022.
Change of School Times
As mentioned last year, we have decided to change our start time each day. The school timetable is as follows:
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8.20am Teacher supervision on the back playground 8.40am Morning assembly 10.20am Recess - Years 4, 5 & 6 10.50am Recess - Kinder, Years 1, 2 & 3 12.20pm Lunch - Years 4, 5 & 6 1.00pm Lunch - Kinder, Years 1, 2 & 3 2.50pm Dismissal
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Staggered recess & lunch breaks are required under current covid guidelines. We will revert to the second timeslots once guidelines allow. |
PE & Sports Days
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SPORTS DAY(S): |
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Grade: |
Days: |
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Yr3 & Yr4 |
Monday & Friday |
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Yr1 & Yr2 |
Monday & Thursday |
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Yr5 & Yr6 |
Tuesday & Friday |
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Kinder |
Tuesday & Thursday |
School Buses
School Swimming Carnival
OOSH - Before & After School Care
Nicole and Emily continue to coordinate the St Therese Before and After School Care program. This service is available to all St Therese students with operating hours of 7.00am to 6.30pm. Please contact CatholicCare if you would like further details.
Religious Education
Blessing of the Backpacks / Family Mass
Sunday, 27 Feb @ 10am
Family Masses were started at St Therese a number of years ago but Covid put a stop to them. Fr Duane is very keen to have these ‘special’ Masses start again each term. Students are asked to bring along their backpack and as part of the Mass, Fr Duane will call upon a special blessing to keep the children safe throughout the year and guide their learning. Some fun activities on the Big Bank will follow the Mass.
School Birthdays
16 February 2022 - 22 February 2022
Happy Birthday:
Charlotte Gorgievski, Kate Gorgievski, Liam Benedetti, Christopher Dias, Vila Schwenke, Natalia Carvana, Andre Tomeski.
Happy Birthday
Principal's Awards
Zahra Celebi - 3B
Aria Pantsos - 3B
Llynx Spain - 3B
Ayla Ristov - 3G
Pippa Kiley - 4G
Silver Medallion
Seth Momirovski - 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.”
Family Mass
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.
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 2022
February 2022
18 - Year 6 Leaders Commissioning Mass
Meet & Greet Parent Meetings conclude
21 - Personalised Plannng Parent Meetings commence
27 - 10.00am Family Mass - St Therese Church
28 - Kinder Meet & Greet Parent Meetings commence
March 2022
1 - Virtual Launch Caritas Project Compassion
Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday
2 - Ash Wednesday - Grade Liturgies
11 - Year 4 Excursion Ports Excursion POSTPONED
16 - St Patrick's Day Mufti Day - Fundraiser
17 - Cross Country - Kembla Joggers, Kembla Grange
21 - Harmony Day
23 - Maths Olympiad/Maths Explorer Day
April 2022
3 - Daylight Savings Ends
6 - Holy Week Liturgy
8 - Last Day Term 1
10 - Holy Week
14 - Holy Thursday
15 - Good Friday
16 - Holy Saturday
17 - Easter Sunday
18 - Easter Monday
19 - Easter Tuesday
25 - Anzac Day
26 - First Day Term 2 - Staff & Students Return
CANTEEN MENU 2022