St Anthony's Primary School Girraween

Term 2 - Week 4 - 2021

2021 SCHOOL CALENDAR

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=parra.catholic.edu.au_3135383639343030393337%40resource.calendar.google.com&ctz=Australia%2FSydney

Refer to our school calendar, newsletter and Skoolbag to stay up to date with all upcoming school events.

NEWSLETTER UPDATE:

The St Anthony's school newsletter will now be sent home FOUR times per term (every 3 weeks) in Weeks 1, 4, 7, 10 of each term.

From the Principal

COSHC Opening at St Anthony's next month - Enrol Now

A new service provider for St Anthony's Before and After School and Vacation Care is opening onsite from Monday 28 June, 2021. They are accepting enrolments now for St Anthony's students, please refer to the following flyer for all information. A Vacation care program will be available soon. 
Download

Leadership Team News

Congratulations to the following teachers who have been appointed to Leader of Learning (Coordinator) positions for terms 2-4, 2021.

Mrs Caitlin Mackey - Numeracy and Stage 3 Coordinator (Years 5 & 6)

Ms Kate Robertson - Literacy

Miss Sarah Graham - Digital Technologies


Ms Linda Ducksbury will be on long service leave from Friday 21 May to Friday 4 June.

Mr Patrick Cairns will be Acting Principal and Mr Robert Barden has been appointed Acting Assistant Principal during this time.

Mrs Annette Peatman will teach 2G on Mr Barden's class days in Weeks 6-7 of Term 2.

Catholic Faith and Life

Community Circle of Prayer

News reports in recent times have made us aware of the distressing COVID-19 situation in India.  The pandemic has had a severe impact there, but also in our community, where families here feel distant and separated from their relatives and friends in desperate need.

This coming Monday, 17 May, we will gather as a school community at 10:30 - 11:00 am for a special time of prayer.  We will pray for an end to the pandemic, for the care of those living in India and elsewhere, and for the safe return of those waiting to come home to Australia.  Parents are invited to join us for this prayer.

As we are a culturally and religiously diverse community, we would like to provide an opportunity in this prayer for all to be able to engage in their own way.  Something common across many religions is the use of different forms of beads to support people in their prayer.  As such, we invite everyone to bring with them for this prayer any prayer beads they may have (such as Rosary beads or Mala beads) to hold and use as a focus for contemplation during this prayer.  Alternatively, you bring some other handheld item, such as a small cross.

Caritas Australia India COVID-19 Emergency Appeal

https://www.caritas.org.au/donate/emergency-appeals/india-covid-19/
Caritas, the Catholic Church's international aid agency, has launched an appeal to provide direct assistance in response the the COVID-19 crisis.  You can visit their site to donate online today.

First Reconciliation at St Anthony's Parish

The parent information session for First Reconciliation is tonight.  Please see the details in the letter below.

Letter to Parents from St Anthony's Parish regarding First Reconcilation
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School News

Important Term 2 Dates

 

Tuesday 11 - Friday 14 May

NAPLAN Years 3 & 5: Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language & Mathematics
Friday 14 MayWalk Safely to School Day 
15-21 MayNational Families Week - SCG Family Promotion
Tuesday 18 MarchPeer Support Launch - sports uniform with house colour t-shirt
Wednesday 19 MaySchool Photo Day - full winter uniform
Friday 21 MayYear 2 Excursion
Monday 24 MayK-6 AFL Clinic - sports uniform
Wednesday 26 MayStage 3 Girls Soccer Gala Day
31 May - 21 JuneAFL Clinic operating on Monday afternoons at St Anthony's 3:20-4:20pm - register now
Thursday 3 JuneAthletics Carnival K-6
Friday 11 JuneSt Anthony's Feast Day celebrations - parents invited 9:30am-12:00pm for Open Classrooms, Picnic Recess and Mass
Wed 16 and Thurs 17 JuneFirst Reconciliation Liturgies
Friday 18 JuneSemester 1 Student Reports sent home
Tues 22 and Wed 23 JuneStudent Led Conferences - student/parent/teacher

Walk Safely to School Day - Friday 14 May

On Friday the 14th of May, we will be encouraging students and their families to participate in the annual Walk Safely to School Day. Please read the flyer attached. If you are joining us on this walk, please complete the form linked below to nominate one of three meeting points for your child/ren to meet teachers to walk to school.

NOMINATE YOUR CHILD'S WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL POINT HERE

Download

National Families Week - SCG Family Connection Initiative

Build connection and time for talk into your family's daily routine using Conversation Cards!
Build connection and time for talk into your family's daily routine using Conversation Cards!
Build connection and time for talk into your family's daily routine using Conversation Cards!

Save the date and join us for Feast day celebrations

Safeguarding - protecting our children

St Anthony's as a primary school of Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta is committed to providing child safe communities for our students, children and young people. This short video about the Safeguarding Commitment Statement emphasises CEDP’s commitment to provide child safe communities that recognise and uphold the dignity and rights of all children and explains how we meet this commitment. All St Anthony's staff complete annual mandatory training in the areas of Safeguarding and Child Protection.

https://parra.catholic.edu.au/About-Us/Building-Child-Safe-Communities

School Photo Day

School Photo Day will be held on Wednesday 19th May. The individualised order forms have been sent home with students.

Please review the following information for a successful day:

  • Each student needs to have their OWN Order form on photo day.
  • Each student will have a family shoot key included at the bottom of their individual Order form. The family section only needs to be filled out if you wish to order family photos.
  • If you do wish to order family photos, please fill out the form of the ELDEST student only.
  • All orders are to be made online.
  • Online Ordering – Logon to www.msp.com.au and click ‘ORDER ONLINE’. Place your order using the online system. Record your Order Reference number on your student’s Order form. The student must present their own Photo Order form to their photographer. Click ‘CHANGE SHOOT’ to place multiple orders in one transaction.
  • Credit Card payments – Will only be accepted for online orders, or a $5.00 administration charge is applicable for phone credit card payments.
  • The available photo packages to order can be viewed online at: www.msp.com.au
  • All late orders placed with MSP Photography (after photo day) will incur a minimum $20 late fee (per order).
  • If you misplace your child's order form, please contact MSP directly who will support you in completing your order.

Privacy Awareness Week - tips for Parents and Carers

Last week was Privacy Awareness Week (3rd-9th of May). This is an Australian Government initiative that reminds and educates both adults and children about the importance of being safe when using devices. This year’s campaign is an important reminder to both adults and students, about the need to protect personal information and make privacy a priority both at work and at home. You might like to have a conversation with your child or family at home about the importance of protecting personal information such as usernames, passwords and email addresses. Sharing personal information online can be risky, so it’s important to educate children on how to make good decisions and limit those risks. Click on the link to read about Privacy Tips For Parents and Carers that you can implement at home. You might also like to browse the Privacy Awareness Website for more information.

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ICAS 2021

ICAS returns in 2021 for grades 2-6!

ICAS Assessments are designed to recognise academic excellence where students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts, using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills

Once again, payment for ICAS will be made online through the Parent Payment System. To confirm your child’s participation, visit https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps and enter our unique school code NHT764 to make a direct payment to ICAS Assessments.

Please see below for sitting windows and closing dates for St Anthony's.

St Anthony's Sitting Dates - ICAS

Writing Stimulus - The Golden Eggs

Earlier this term, there were 3 gigantic, mysterious golden eggs laid in the school playground. This sparked students' creative minds and they captured some of this creativity in their writing. Please enjoy some examples of this writing by clicking here.

Volunteer Referees - Sporting Gala Days

When we enter student teams into a CEDP Sports Gala day, we are required to provide one referee for each team entered. So, we are putting the call out to any older brothers and sisters of St Anthony's students who may wish to volunteer as a referee for one of the following events when they arise. This is certainly a role which can also be done by a parent so please express your interest and we will be in contact with you. We are currently looking for a soccer referee for Wednesday 26 May. 

* Soccer

* Basketball

* Netball

Please contact the office if you are interested, leaving the name, grade and current school of the volunteer. In the past these volunteer days have been counted as community service from some of our local high schools.

Community Events

Parents Representative Council - Invitation

HELPING YOUR CHILD MANAGE ANXIETY 

This Year our Parent Representative Council (PRC) Wellbeing presentations are focused on student, parent, family and spiritual Wellbeing.

We would love to see as many people as possible to attend the event and bring along another parent or caregiver from your community. 

The PRC has had overwhelming requests from parents to have a presentation to cover this topic

Anouska will cover ways parents can help learn effective ways to deal with child’s and their own anxiety. What can they do and how to encourage positive behavior practices?

Anoushka is a Clinical Psychologist and is currently working as the School Wellbeing Coordinator at Santa Sophia Catholic College.  Anouska has been an integral part of shaping the way the Diocese of Parramatta schools deal with mental health and wellbeing of its Students.

Although trained to work with all age groups, Anoushka has specialised in working with children and adolescents in a variety of settings and anxiety has always been a particular professional interest to her.  

Download

Invitation from the Parents' Representative Council

St Anthony's Uniform Shop

St Anthony's normal uniform shop opening hours:

TUESDAYS  & THURSDAYS 8:30-9:15am            WEDNESDAYS 2:15-3:00pm

Outside of these times, orders can be placed in person through the front office if the size of the item is known.

See our school website for uniform requirements and price list.

Mel's Tasty Bites - Canteen Update

MENUS - check out the St Anthony's menus at melstastybites.com/menu

CANTEEN ACCOUNTS - consider opening a canteen account to minimise cash handling, see information on our website

BIRTHDAYS - Please contact the Canteen for options.

St Anthony's Primary School, Girraween