St Canice's Primary School Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am sure you are as happy as we are that COVID restrictions have eased sufficiently for us to be able to welcome you on site. Many of you have been able to attend student assemblies in recent weeks. A number of you helped us to showcase our school beyond the school gate on Open Day. Our Parent Group meeting was another opportunity to connect as a community. More such opportunities are on the near horizon!

We have our Easter Hat Parade to look forward to in Week 10- on Wednesday, 31 March at 9am and our Easter liturgy will take place on Thursday, 1 April at 2pm. You are all invited to attend these events. Our only requirement is that you RSVP to our invite if you are attending so that we can manage numbers and ensure we keep both you and your children safe from any risk.

Our first priority at St Canice’s is to keep your children safe. Mrs Karatovic and I attended the official Youth Mental Health First (MHF) Aid Course recently and are now accredited as MHFAiders. This accreditation holds equal weight in the Mental Health space as First Aid does in the medical space. We are accredited for three years. We look forward to providing advice and guidance to staff, students and parents going forward and see ourselves as an additional resource in supporting our children. Please do not hesitate to chat to us if you have any concerns that you think we can support.

In the course of our training, we were encouraged to share the link to the Child Safety Handbook with you. This is a beautifully-presented resource that comprehensively covers all aspects of child safety from child protection to pool safety. It is available as an app and online and I encourage you to download it. The link copied below will give you all of the information you need about accessing it.

http://nsw.childsafetyhub.com.au/handbook/

With every good wish for the weeks ahead,

God bless,

Miriam Meaney, Principal

mmeaney@parra.catholic.edu.au 

We are very aware of concerns among parents and carers related to changed protocols at system level, related to Allied Services Providers working in our schools, supporting students with learning needs. You would know that from 1 April, CEDP schools are restricting access to external service providers to our schools. The key word here, Parents and Carers, is “restricting”. If you believe that your child will be disadvantaged by this change in protocol, I invite you to come and have a chat with me so that you and I can work out a mutually satisfactory outcome. 

Our learning agenda at the moment focuses on Writing. All teachers at the school have worked with Kim Platts, the Literacy Leader from CEDP in developing action plans related to Writing. Students are currently writing daily in all classes and we are collecting their writing samples and identifying their next steps so that they become better writers. We will work on improving writing skills in the weeks ahead and will measure our success in early Term 2. Great questions to ask your child are:

• What are you learning in Writing and why? 

• How are you going?

• What do you need to do next to improve?

Many thanks, Parents and Carers, for your great support of Purple Day. We raised $331 and created great interest among the children in supporting our Project Compassion families. The Faith in Action Team (FIAT), led by Mrs Wedesweiler, did a wonderful job of leading our students and keeping us focused on our purpose of raising funds for those less fortunate. Holy Week will be central to our spirituality in Week 10. The children will learn of the events that are at the heart of our Catholic faith. Each class will represent these events and share them with the community on the last day of term.

Parents and Carers, please keep our previous Principal at St Canice’s, Mr Mark Geerligs in your prayers. Mark underwent a bone marrow transplant late last week. His son was able to provide him with this gift. We pray that the transplant is successful and continue to keep Mark and his family in our prayers. 

   Tomorrow Wednesday 17th March is a great day for all, especially the Irish and those connected to the Irish. It is of course St Patrick’s Day. Children are asked to wear a splash of green to adorn their uniforms and all will have opportunities to learn about St Patrick in class on this day. Thank you in advance for those splashes of green!

A survey has been sent home to all parents and carers today seeking your input into Parent Engagement at the school from Term 2. Thank you in advance for responding to it and encouraging others to also respond. It takes all parents and carers into consideration and gives everybody the opportunity to participate in the community so please have your say! Resposes are due back to school by Wednesday 24th March

Cross Country Carnival 16th March, Many thanks for your patience as we made a quick decision late Monday to move the carnival to school grounds as Katoomba Falls reserve was still too damp.

If your child makes a qualifying place in the carnival, (for ages 8 up) a note will be sent home within the next couple of weeks with details about the Parramatta Diocesan Cross Country Carnival which will take place on Tuesday 4th May 2021 at Eastern Creek Raceway.

Rolling your way - Roadshows presentation 

We are very excited to announce that we have a special presentation coming up for all students in Term 2. 

On Tuesday 11th May, each stage will have an hour long presentation about living with a disability/life in a wheelchair as well as receive some important information about road safety. 

There will be interactive sessions where children can ask questions, Then students will have the opportunity to form two teams, jump into wheelchairs and play a game of wheelchair basketball. 

Changes to Futsal Dates 

Unfortunately Stage 3 Futsal  will not go ahead as it occurs on Friday 7th May which is the same day as their camp at Yarramundi. We have spoken with the lovely Mrs Kondek, who has advised us that some of the public schools would like to have another competition later so she will keep us posted in the future. 

Stage 2 Futsal has been changed to Friday 21st May. Notes will be sent out next week.  We will be asking for volunteers that are able to be a Team Manager on the day. It is a very easy job and the day cannot go ahead without parent helpers. 

Please note that all volunteers are required to complete the Building Child Safe Communities online training modules which can be found at www.parra.catholic.edu.au by clicking on aboutus/building child safe communities section.

Take Care,

Kylie Ranson 

Sports Coordinator 

We have noticed a significant decrease in both absences and students arriving late to school. We understand the morning struggles and that sometimes children do get sick,  but ensuring that you leave your home 15 -20 mins earlier and having a routine in place is important as arriving on time reduces classroom disruptions, helps your child  to understand the importance of routine and punctuality which they will need throughout their life. 

Partial absences are kept on record and the reason must be explained to the office on arrival. If your child is absent and an explanation for the absence has not been received within 7 days you will be contacted by phone. If you have not been receiving the SMS notifications when your child is absent can you please contact the office so we can have this problem resolved. 

Keep up the great work

Warm Regards,

Week 10

 Easter Hat Parade -  Wednesday 31st March 9am

Easter Liturgy - Thursday 1st April 2pm

Good Friday Public Holiday - Friday 2nd April

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

First Day of Term 2 - Tuesday 20th April

As Easter approaches St Canice's will hold an Easter Hat Parade to celebrate on Wednesday 31st March at 9am.

Families and siblings are most welcome to join in the parade.

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

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.

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