Christ the King North Rocks Newsletter

Term 4 Week 4: Friday 29th October 2021

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents

This Sunday’s Gospel challenges us all to reflect on the first commandment “Love your God with all your heart” When Jesus says to love God with all our heart, he means us to give priority to God in all our thoughts, words and decisions. He wants our heart to be pure, that is to say, to be so clear that the face of God is always, as it were, reflected in it. If our heart is pure, then our thoughts and decisions and feelings will be good. If our heart is rotten, what comes from our heart will have the stench of sin about it.[Fr Michael Fullan] I’m sure we can all remember from our early years at school that Jesus preached the need for us all to “love your God with all your heart, with all your soul,  with all your mind and with all your strength “ This can be extended to love with understanding and to “love your neighbour as yourself” Jesus always told us in many ways that God will always love us unconditionally. Loving God and our neighbours will go a long way to us all keeping the commandments given to us all to enter eternal life. 


This week we saw all our students return onsite resuming school following the recent lockdown. Our staff were excited to see all our children who for the last four weeks worked on line from home. A special thank you to all our parents who supported our teachers last term supervising their children with their online studies. Under most challenging circumstances all parties students, parents and teachers worked in collaboration to continue the learning. Congratulations and thank you.


Thanks to everyone with your support and patience with the COVID safe protocols that have been introduced on the children’s return to school, especially in regards to drop off and pick up procedures. Can I encourage as many families as possible to try the new  Burradoo drive through pick up of an afternoon. It has flowed very well this week with no delays. My intention in introducing this new initiative is to reduce the number of families utilising the Statham Ave drive through by 30-40% thus reducing the traffic congestion in the afternoon .


If you have any feedback on the new system don’t hesitate to contact me -thanks. On another note, please insure your child has a water bottle each day as the students do not have access to the bubblers. Bottles can be topped up using taps in each learning space.


Please be reminded that supervision does not commence at school until 8:15am each morning. If you need to drop off your children any earlier please contact our COHSC [Before and After School Service] to enrol your child.


Our apologies for any delay in uniform orders being filled. Due to the recent COVID 19 lockdown, suppliers are struggling to fulfill our bulk orders. We will keep you informed of stock availability over the coming weeks. Please be reminded that joggers / sports shoes are NOT to be worn with the school uniform. They are only to be worn with the children’s sports uniform. Your support  in this matter is greatly appreciated.


Just a reminder that the final day of the term will be Wednesday 15th December. 

Have a great week

Cheers

Tony Hughes

Principal

Something to ponder

Want to feel a sense of community and reassurance, you can find it at Mass each weekend.

Upcoming Events

Term 4 Week 5

Monday 1st November

  • All Students in Sports Uniform

Tuesday 2nd November

  • PE: Year 5, Year 2 & Year 4 (Gr1)
  • Uniform Shop 8.00am-12.30pm   email only

Wednesday 3rd November

  • PE: Year 6 & Kindergarten

Thursday 4th November

  • PE: Year 3, Year 1 & Year 4 (Gr2)

Friday 5th November - Please note this date has been updated.

  • SCHOOL PHOTO DAY
  • Online Band

Term 4 Week 6

Monday 8th November

  • All Students in Sports Uniform

Tuesday 9th November

  • PE: Year 5, Year 2 & Year 4 (Gr1)
  • Uniform Shop 8.00am-12.30pm   email only
  • Sacrament of Confirmation Ceremony 7.30pm

Wednesday 10th November

  • PE: Year 6 & Kindergarten
  • Kindergarten 2022 Meet the teacher session
  • Sacrament of Confirmation Ceremony 7.30pm

Thursday 11th November

  • PE: Year 3, Year 1 & Year 4 (Gr2)
  • Sacrament of Confirmation Ceremony 7.30pm

Friday 12th November

  • Online Band

Dates for your diary


Wednesday 17th November

  • Kindergarten meet the teacher session


Friday 19th November

  • Kindergarten meet the teacher session


Monday 22nd November

  • Kindergarten 2022 Transition Day 1


Wednesday 24th Novmeber

  • Kindergarten 2022 Transition Day 2


Tuesday 30th November

  • Kindergarten 2022 Orientation Day 1


Wednesday 1st December

  • Kindergarten 2022 Orientation Day 2


Tuesday 7th December 

  • Year 6 Graduation Ceremony 7.30pm


Wednesday 15th December

  • Last Day for Students


Thursday 16th December

  • Staff Development / Pupil Free Day


Friday 17th December

  • Staff Development / Pupil Free Day


TERM DATES:

Term 4      Tuesday,      5th October         to      Friday, 17th December

Other School News

RE News



Over the past two weeks, we have been thrilled to see all of our students return to school after many months of home learning. We are so proud of the way the children have settled back into school routines and their resilience and energy has been a sign of hope and joy to us all during this challenging time.

On Monday 1st November, we will celebrate the Feast of All Saints as a school community. Due to restrictions, we are not able to gather as a school community in person so we will be holding a Zoom Prayer Liturgy. This will enable grades and any available parents to share in celebrating this special feast day. 

A saint is someone who is in heaven — it is as simple as that. While “saint” as a title is reserved to those whose lives the Church has thoroughly investigated (typically through whose intercession two miracles can be demonstrated to have occurred), the term applies to anyone in heaven. Everyone in heaven is part of the communion of saints. The Church commemorates all these saints on All Saints’ Day.

We invite all our families to join us in prayer via the following link at 9am on Monday 1st November.

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:

    https://parracatholic.zoom.us/j/66421625672?pwd=cXNQRWlJVmNlZllGaENHMG1TSndwZz09

    Password: 607289

Join from SIP/H.323 room system:

    SIP: 66421625672@zmau.us

    H.323: 202.177.207.158 (meeting ID: 664 2162 5672)

    Password: 607289

Join from Skype for Business (Lync):

    https://parracatholic.zoom.us/skype/66421625672

Please keep in your prayers, the children in our community from Years 5 and 6 who are currently preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Sacrament of Confirmation consists of the renewal of baptismal promises and the laying on of hands and anointing with the oil of Chrism. The anointing of the candidate is a sign of confirming the gift of the Spirit, and calling the candidates to use these gifts to become involved in the life and mission of the community.

May God bless these children as they continue their faith journey.

Erin Wynne

                                                                                                 Acting Religious Education Coordinator

'Compass Parent Portal' - New communication tool coming soon

Welcome back to Term 4.  It was wonderful to see the children arriving at school this morning.

At present, Skoolbag and our fortnightly newsletter are our primary communication tools. 

In the coming weeks, we will be introducing a new tool, the ‘Compass Parent Portal’ which will become our primary communication tool in 2022 and will facilitate effective communication between home and school.  We will also continue with our current email system. 

Skoolbag will continue to be used until the full implementation of the 'Compass Parent Portal' (approx. March 2022).

In week 5 (between 3rd – 5th November), a letter will be sent via email to all enrolled families with your login details for Compass. It is most important to keep your Username and Password secure, just like your bank account details, they should not be shared with anyone, including your children.

Using the Compass Parent Portal you will be able to:

·        View your child’s Semester 2 Learning Summary

·        Be informed of important updates, events and reminders

·        View your child’s timetable

·        Review your child’s attendance

·        Provide explanations for periods of absence

·        Update your contact details

·        Book Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences (this feature will not be open until mid 2022)

We will keep you updated with further information regarding the ‘Compass Parent Portal’.

2021 Term 4 Parent Fees Information Statement Update

Term 4 School Fee Statements for those on fee arrangements and/or have outstanding fees have been mailed out and should have been received.

Statements have an extended due date of 18th November, 2021.

Should you wish to discuss your account or if you are experiencing financial difficulties please do not hesitate to contact me at the school on 8846 2700 for assistance.

Thank you. 

Susan Ritchie 

Senior Finance.

Lunch Orders are no longer available

Sadly, we have been advised that due to the COVID pandemic and the ongoing uncertainties, Welcomeasy has made the difficult decision to cease our school catering business.

We will keep you updated as to when we have a new 'lunch order' provider.

                                                               

Captain's Chat

Welcome back Christ the King to Term 4. Congratulations on making it this far. COVID-19 has made this year a bit hard but God has answered our prayers and let us come back to school. It has been so exciting to see everyone and we hope everyone is back and ready to learn. 

We know we have all had some difficulties in the past term but now we are back at school we want to make it great for everyone. We hope that everyone has enjoyed the first week back of Term 4. We have seven more weeks and expect them to be amazing. Hopefully everyone has an amazing time and especially all the Year 6's as they prepare for HIGH SCHOOL!! Well done on making it this far, parents and children, you have all done so well. 


Just a quick reminder, we have school photos next Friday on the 5th of November. Make sure everyone looks great and prepared for the photos.

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY - PLEASE SEE NEW DATE.

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY / NEW DATE - Friday 5th November

ORDER NOW - go to www.advancedlife.com.au and enter the code: FYK386HDG

Online orders are the preferred method however cash may be secured in the order envelope. Exact payment only - no change will be given.

Band News

Parish News

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 2021 - FOR CHILDREN IN YEARS 5 & ABOVE

Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation commenced before lockdown. All families completed training and are now ready to participate in the ceremony. An email will be sent shortly to all families with details of the Sacrament and how to register for one of three evenings. Due to the physical distancing rules, a restricted number of families will only be able to attend each night.

Please mark the following dates in your calendars to not miss out.

  • Tuesday 9th November - 7.30pm
  • Wednesday 10th November - 7.30pm
  • Thursday 11th November - 7.30pm

Mass recommencing this weekend

COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and this weekend, Masses will recommence at Christ the King Parish again.

  • Daily Masses have commenced each Wednesday at 9am, Thursday at 9am, Friday at 9.15am and Saturday at 9am.
  • Please note there will be no Tuesday evening Masses until further notice.
  • Weekend Masses will recommence with the Vigil Mass on Saturday at 5.30pm and continue on Sunday at 8am and 10am. 

Please note the following: 

  • Registration for Mass attendance will occur via the QR code utilising the Service New South Wales application on your smartphone. Pre-registration is no longer necessary. 
  • The Christ the King parish QR Code will be located on the windows of the church for parishioners to scan and register themselves and any dependents. If you do not have a smartphone, wardens will invite you to register by recording your name and phone number/email address manually on the sheets located in the church foyer. Please remember to check out after you leave Mass. 
  • All attendees over the age of 12, must be wearing face masks before entering, inside and outside the church.
  • All attendees must adhere to the 1 person per 4sqm regulation. The wardens will count the number of attendees to ensure we do not go over a maximum of 120 persons. 
  • All attendees must sanitise before entering the church and sanitise the pews before leaving. 

We ask that these requirements be adhered to remain compliant, so we are not subjected to a maximum fine $55000 from the NSW Government Department of Health. Many thanks for your cooperation in remaining compliant with our parish COVID safety plan. 

For those who are still a little apprehensive of returning to the church, the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass has been recorded and is available to view by clicking on this link:

 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

May you still enjoy participating in the celebration of the Eucharist in this form.

Community News

Catholic Mission Appeal

This weekend, the parish will be holding the annual Catholic Mission Appeal. Should you wish to make a contribution next weekend or before, please see the following details. Thank you to everyone for their generous support of this worthy cause.

School Notes

Parent Volunteers at CTK should visit the Parent Involvement page and complete the ‘Volunteer Form’ to be able to assist in any capacity as a volunteer within the school.
Parent Volunteers at CTK should visit the Parent Involvement page and complete the ‘Child Protection Training Module’ to be able to assist in any capacity as a volunteer within the school.
Click on title, go to Administration, print and complete the ‘Application for Extended Leave’ form to apply for student leave other than illness