St Canice's Primary School Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

COVID restrictions have eased. We can now welcome all of our families on site. Parents are still required to sign in using our app and to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres from others. 

We invite you to join in our participation in Holy Week on Thursday. All children K-6 will recreate the significant events leading up to and including Christ’s crucifixion. We are hoping that you can join us on this faith journey and also that you can continue it with your children all the way to Easter Sunday. Please join us in the playground area at 2pm on Thursday (Holy Thursday).

Our community has been impacted yet again, this time by the torrential rains of a few weeks ago. For those of you who have been impacted, we hold you in our thoughts and prayers. The school has suffered some leaks that have not impacted on student wellbeing or learning. We hope to have our site back to normal by the return to school on Tuesday, 20th April.

Upgrades have already occurred this term in the Art Room and “Sister Colleen’s Room”. Benching has been added in both locations to enhance the learning space. Additional turf has been installed in the cricket run, rendering it safe for student use. 

Whilst the children will be enjoying holidays, the school site will be a hive of activity. Thanks to your generosity and that of our system in supporting us financially, the following building projects are underway:

• Painting of the stairwells throughout

• Rendering our shared driveway “safe’

• Installation of a wet area in the Art Room. During the holidays, we will install lino and a sink.

I wish to thank all of our staff at St Canice’s for their commitment and hard work throughout Term 1. It has been a very rewarding, yet a challenging term. The teaching staff has focused in particular on improving student writing skills and on problem-solving in Maths. The students have enjoyed specialist Music and Art lessons each week. Thank you to Ms Frazer and Ms Morley for their passion and expertise in these areas.  Our school-based Cross Country was a great success and our Open Day, so well supported by you, provided a great window of St Canice’s to the broader community. We welcomed you back on site for all of the above and for assemblies. All of this is wrapped up in our Christian faith, guiding us in the way of Jesus, the greatest of all teachers.  

There is so much to get excited about in Term 2. Staff will return on Monday 19th April for a Staff Day so make sure your children stay at home on this day! We will have a day of planning in English and in Maths in preparation for a great Term of love and learning.

I wish you and your family the joys of the easter season and thank you for your support throughout Term 1,

Miriam Meaney, Principal

This term stage 3 has been making 2 to 7 minute documentaries about early settlement in Australia. Each group was given a topic and thoroughly had to research it. We learnt how to find primary and secondary sources.  On Wednesday and Thursday week 9 we watched the videos and they were spectacular. 

This year there have been some changes in the learning system. Mr White, Ms Ferey and Mrs Friend have been working together with the diversity and extension groups. 

 This term, the school has had a wonderful season of learning music.  Stage 3 has been making a short music piece with a partner or two.  We also recently had children from the choir go down to the Three Sisters to sing Faith in Future with Ms Frazer to celebrate the 200 year anniversary of the catholic education diocese.

2021 new kindies have arrived and have made many new friends and met their year 6 buddies. Year  6 and kindy have been doing activities before Friday's assembly.  

This term we had our cross country however we had the cross country at school which was different but we still had the same amount of fun (maybe a bit more :) . Gold team won in athletic points and green won in motivation points. We had cross county mini games which were very fun. At the end  of the day it started to rain but the year sixs kept running 3 kilometers. 

On thursday a couple of weeks ago , the FIAT team had some dominos pizza at school and had a prayer to celebrate the money we raised for project compassion, we raised about $400. 

The Fiat team is a team that does prayers, fun days and more to raise money for charities. Recently we had the FIAT(Faith in action team) organise the purple day. On purple day we raised about $400 for project compassion which is an organization that raises money for immigrants.

Although covid restrictions were still in place and we couldn't have families into the school, that didn't  stop us from showcasing  what we are learning on Open Day. The great ensemble performed a couple of pieces and the year 3s and 4s  also performed what they were doing in strings. Kindies performed some nursery rhymes they also showcased some reading that they have been doing in kindergarten. 

This term has been amazing and we can’t wait to come back for another round of fun; Next term, we're going to fly

Billy, Edie, Emilio and Angie

Many thanks to Mr White and Ms Emma for providing parents with the opportunity to catch up for a cuppa ahead of assembly on Fridays, commencing in Term 2. Parents will be able to gather and chat in “Sister Colleen’s Room”. 

The dates for The National Assessment Program- Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests are as follows:

Tuesday 11th May - Year 3 WritingTest

Wednesday 12th May - Year 5 Writing Test

Thursday 13th May - Year 3 and Year 5 Reading Test

Monday 17th May - Year 3 and Year 5 Conventions of Language Test Wednesday 19th May - Year 3 and Year 5 Numeracy Test

Parent/Carer NAPLAN Support

As children progress through their school years, it is very important that checks are made along the way to see how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and mathematics – skills that will set them upon the path to success as adults. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress. Preparing for NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students have already learnt through the school curriculum. Teachers will ensure that students are familiar with the test formats and will provide appropriate support and guidance. Excessive preparation is not useful and can lead to unnecessary anxiety. If you have any questions about your child's preparation for NAPLAN, please make a time to speak with your child's Teacher.

NAPLAN tests are constructed to give students an opportunity to demonstrate skills they have learnt over time through the school curriculum, and NAPLAN test days should be treated as just another routine event on the school calendar. The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure them that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to advise them to simply do the best they can on the day.

Many thanks to Mrs Wedesweiler and Ms Emma for coordinating Breakfast for our NAPLAN students ahead of their NAPLAN tests in mid May. We expect that the breakfast will be a great incentive for the children to be at school bright and early and will also ensure that the brains are fully fed ahead of the assessments. Details of the breakfasts will follow.

Our traffic plan for the shared driveway is well underway. Pedestrian strips will be painted onto the driveway in the holidays, running alongside the fence adjoining Studleigh Place. No cars will park in this area going forward. Bollards and a chain will be installed at the entrance to the school on Katoomba Street. The school will not be accessible to vehicles from 8:15-9:00 and from 2:30-3:15. Further consideration will be given by Blue Mountains City Council to a Kiss and Drop facility on Lurline Street. Our application for a “lollipop person” sits with the RTA. This body assesses our needs and then informs us of the outcome. 

Families who wish to engage therapists to work with children on site should contact the school to arrange an appointment with me. It is likely that we can proceed with access to students at the school for therapists beyond 1st April. Thank you to those parents who have already been in contact.

Congratulations to Ms Kylie for securing a sports grant for our school, providing us with the opportunity to access experts in a variety of sports for our children in Term 2.

Congratulations are also due to Mrs Karatovic and Mr McCarthy, who were commissioned as teachers in the diocese by Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen at a beautiful ceremony in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, last week.

We welcome two new families to our school in Term 2. Welcome to Cody in Stage 3 (Year 5) and to Skye (Year 3) and Kael (Year 4) in Stage 2. Many thanks, Parents, for reaching out and helping our new families to settle in.

School attendance is compulsory for children over the age of 6 years until the minimum school leaving age of 17 years (students may leave earlier only to attend TAFE or work in full time employment). The Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta has a set standard for all schools that every student be present at school for at least 90% of the time. 

To achieve this student absences need to be minimised. While we understand the impact of COVID and the need to keep children who are sick at home we need to balance this with the impacts on student learning.

Additionally students who have been ill due to COVID related symptoms have provided the school information and certificates that explains this illness and this will be acknowledged. 

It is a requirement of all schools to acknowledge, inform and follow up student attendance patterns and absences. 

This week letters will be mailed to families if students have had patterns of absences forming. This information may be confronting for some families, we ask that you work with us to understand student absences and develop strategies to improve attendance if required.

For students  arriving late to school, we ask that students  are walked to the office by their parent/carer so they can receive a late note. It is unsafe to let your child wander down the driveway unaccompanied by a parent.  We are currently having a large number of students arriving late, thank you for your patience while we are entering late arrivals into the computer.

I want to thank all parents for their continued support in this area and for maximising student attendance in what has been a challenging time.

Cross Country Carnival 

Was held on Tuesday 23rd March on school grounds due to Katoomba Falls reserve being too damp. It was lovely to be able to welcome our wonderful parents and carers as spectators back into the school.  The students had fun and showed great sportsmanship throughout the day. The cheering was definitely an enjoyable event to watch.  Many thanks to all the parents who helped on the day,  Mr White, Ms Honeyman, Ms Magann and all the staff for your excellent organisation skills throughout the day. Please make sure you watch Mr van der Walle’s footage of the day's event on the St Canices facebook page.

House results for the carnival 

1st  - Green 123 points

2nd - Yellow 118 points

3rd  - Blue 106 points

4th  - Red 104 points 

Congratulations to all students involved. We are proud to announce the following students that have qualified within the required times for the Diocesan carnival next term on Tuesday 4th May at Eastern Creek.

We are still waiting for confirmation regarding the final details of the carnival, therefore permission notes will be going home hopefully in Week 1 of Term 2 if not earlier. 

Mr White will be holding two cross country training sessions before school on Thursday 22nd & 29th April at 7.45 am a note will be provided this week.

Kind Regards, Kylie Ranson

Notes were sent home last Wednesday. Please note the change of date back to the original date of Friday 14th May 2021. Can all permission notes please be returned to the office by Thursday. Currently we only have had 7 notes returned. If we do not  have more players we will be unable to enter teams into the Gala day. More notes are available at the office. Please remind your child that this event is a fun day for students.

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Local Holiday camps are at Dukes Oval, Emu Plains – Wednesday 7th April & Tom Hunter Oval, Faulconbridge – Friday 16th April. 

For more information please contact Brooke Bailey at brooke.bailey@afl.com.au.

Cost: FREE

Who: Children aged 5-12

Time: From 9am to 3pm

Parents of school-age children are reminded to register for their Active Kids and Creative Kids vouchers. The NSW Government’s Active Kids program provides  vouchers for parents, guardians and carers of school-enrolled children to use towards sport and active recreation costs each year and also vouchers that can be redeemed for creative activities  such as drama & visual arts. Creative Kids vouchers are also available to be redeemed for creative activities and craft supplies.To find out more information on how to apply please visit www.service.nsw.gov.au

Good Friday Public Holiday - Friday 2nd April

Staff Development Day - PUPIL FREE DAY - Monday 19th April

First Day of Term 2 - Tuesday 20th April

Our Easter Liturgy will be held on Thursday 1st April at 2pm. Familes are invited to attend. 

All visitors will be required to sign in via the the Service NSW QR code as well as sign in the school visitors register.

Dear parents and carers, This year Ms Frazer has a tiny school choir. At this stage we have no year 6s, two year 5s, five stage 2s and two stage 1s. It will be almost impossible to create a strong, solid sound and confident harmony with such a small number of students. If you know your child loves to sing, or wants to sing, can you please encourage them to join choir? Ms Frazer would love to see them there on Wednesday (even weeks) at recess in the conservatorium.Thanks so much!

Choir is on Wednesday every even week at recess in the conservatorium. Students need to bring their recess and their voices.

I just wanted to share with you all how proud I am of our talented singers at St Canices. In the last few weeks, out of the many Catholic primary and secondary schools in the Parramatta diocese, St Canices was chosen as one of the 5 schools to participate in the audio recording and video performance of a special commemorative song which celebrates 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. The song, Faith in the Future, was written by Fr Rob Galea. 

So, firstly, thank you to the many St Canices students who auditioned for me during recess time several weeks ago, to be part of this special performance. It takes bravery to step up to the challenge. 

Secondly, thank you to our generous office staff for their positivity, energy and organisational skills, particularly when I was unwell and unable to be at school. You all took charge and ensured that everything ran smoothly. 

Lastly, congratulations to the 6 students who were successful at being chosen (Tom H, Silvio, Sebastian, Grace L, Ava M, and Tamryn) to represent our school in the recording and performance of Faith in the Future. What an honour! Thanks also goes out to their parents who supported their children by assisting them with learning the words and getting them to Echo Point at 8am!

Leading up to the audio recording and video performance, our six singers worked with me and again with Mrs Francoise Deunionville from Captivate to learn the tune. They then had to study hard in their own time learning the song by heart.

On the morning of 17th March, our six singers met Mrs Meaney, Mrs Deunionville, the cameramen and myself at Echo Point for the first of our video shoots at the Three Sisters. The weather was, well, very mountainy, to say the least! It was extremely cold with thick mist and constant rain, but our performers continued for hours, moving from location to location, singing from their heart, constantly smiling like true professionals. In the times between filming, they played a mean game of charades! We arrived back at school after hours of work in the cold to a warm welcome and hot chocolates in the library. 

On 24th March, a gale was blowing, but the sun was shining at last, so our chosen six were back again at Echo Point with Mrs Deunionville and me for a slightly less challenging attempt at videoing a performance of the song with our totem, The Three Sisters as our beautiful backdrop. This time, they faced wind and glare, but they got the job done! 

I’m so looking forward to watching the video clip, when the editing is done, alongside the thousands of people in the Parramatta Diocese, when we celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia in the near future! 

Ms Frazer

St Canice’s Music Teacher

The beginning and end of the school day are busy times for pedestrians and vehicles outside of schools.  It is helpful for everyone if you drive and park safely, even if you have to walk further to the school gate.  This is also a good time to model positive road safety behaviour and physical activity for your child.

• Always supervise your child and hold their hand when crossing the road.

• School-aged children might seem independent, but they still need a hand around traffic. 

• Wait until buses has gone then use a safe place to cross the road. 

• Never wait on the opposite side of the road and call out to children from across the road - this is dangerous as they may run to you without checking for traffic. 

• Drop your child off and pick them up on the school side of the road if possible. 

• Make sure your child uses the Safety Door (rear kerb-side door) to get in and out of the car. 

• Help keep all children as safe as possible during the busiest times of the school day. Remember road safety is about Every Child-Every Day.

For further road safety tips for parents see: https://www.safetytown.com.au/parents/

Other Child Pedestrian Safety Resources that may be helpful:

Safety Town Website– road safety resources for Parents / Teachers/students: https://www.safetytown.com.au/

Child Pedestrian Safety for Parents and Carers: https://www.safetytown.com.au/parents/#continue-to-hold-hands

Pedestrian Safety:

Kids Safe: https://www.kidsafensw.org/road-safety/pedestrian-safety/

Keeping children safe around schools:

https://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/downloads/keeping-our-kids-safe-around-schools.pdf

For those students participating in private lessons, please ensure your child brings their instrument to school on the following days

Ensemble - Wednesday Morning 8.20am - 9am with Bonita Silva

Violin Lessons & Strings Program - Wednesday with Ms Frazer & Ms Silva

Cello - Friday with Paul Smith

We are now taking enrolments for Kindergarten 2022, if you know of people looking for a school for their child (even if it is for the other grades), please let them know about St Canice’s. The power of your words of recommendation has an enormous effect on our enrolments. Let’s keep working together to make St Canice’s that great school that has been in operation for the past 120 years.

All messages and notifications from the school are sent through the "Skoolbag" app.

Please make sure you have this app on your devices for all current and up to date school alerts.

Download skoolbag from the app store

Select St Canice's Catholic Primary Katoomba

If you have any difficulty accessing the app, please contact the school so that we can ensure everyone is receiving information sent out.

Building Child Safe Communities - Volunteer Undertaking

Dear Parents/Carers 

All Volunteers have until 30th September 2020 to submit a new Undertaking in the new system.

In Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta (CEDP), we see parents and carers as partners in your child's learning journey. Parents and carers are encouraged to become involved in our schools in many important ways such as supporting classroom learning, being part of advisory groups, mentoring programs, coaching sporting teams and supporting other extra-curricular activities and other kinds of help.

A range of checks and undertakings are required for people who work for or provide services to CEDP. These checks reduce potential risk and form part of our strategy to build child safe communities.

CEDP has launched a new Building Child Safe Communities form and online training module that all volunteers are required to complete. 

The purpose of this training is to inform you of the standards of behaviour and other requirements that must be adhered to when volunteering for CEDP.

The undertaking should take no more than 5 minutes to complete and the training module approximately 10 minutes. Once the form and training modules are submitted, an automated email will be sent to you within two business days to confirm the status of your submission.

The undertaking form will expire within two years or when your Working With Children Check expires (if applicable), whichever is sooner. At that time you will need to complete the undertaking form and training module again. You will receive an automatic reminder email when this occurs. 

Further information on the new online form and training module can be found at www.parra.catholic.edu.au and clicking on about us/building child safe communities. Within the form you will also find help sheets and a video tutorial to assist you. 

Thank you in advance for your support.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Parish

Parish Administrator Fr John McSweeney

 Presbytery Contact  Ph: 02 4782 2804

                                     Fax: 02 4782 6090

Website: marymackillopupperbluemountains.org.au

Monday 8.30am Friday 12.00pm Saturday 9.00am Sunday 10.00am

Saturday 9.30am Confession outside this time is available on request

Saturday Cenacle Rosary and Consecration following benediction after 9am Mass

1st Friday of month, 12.30pm

Fridays (Except 1st Friday) 12.30pm

Benediction Saturdays following 9am Mass

Sundays 12.00pm to 1.00pm

4th Monday of month - 6pm

The Diocese of Parramatta’s Office for Safeguarding and Professional Standards (OSPS) has launched a new website, strengthening their ability to deliver advice and support to parishes, agencies and ministries to ensure the Diocese is safe for all people. Visit the website at www.safeguarding.org.au