St Canice's Primary School Newsletter

Dear Parents, Carers and Members of the St Canice’s Community,

You should have received a copy of our school schedule to the end of 2021 both electronically and in hard copy. I am sure you noticed that there are many events on the calendar between now and the end of term. We hope that you can join us where that is possible and that we can foster community in the weeks ahead, as we embrace the Advent season and the ultimate celebration of family.

We are hoping to see you and your family at our Welcome event on Thursday 2 Dec from 5-7pm. We will do a “Bunnings style” sausage sizzle on that evening and will give you lots of opportunities to chat with other parents and with our staff. 

We have a number of new families joining us in 2022 and we have invited these families to come along on the evening of 2 Dec to meet you. We also look forward to introducing you to our teaching teams for 2022 at that event. Please come and encourage your St Canice’s friends to join you! 

This is an outdoor community event. We are unable to host it indoors due to current restrictions. Please join with me in praying for good weather on that evening so that we can ensure the event goes ahead! In the interest of your child’s safety, we will require you to RSVP, to be fully-vaccinated and to check in that evening. A note will go home in the days ahead with everything you need to know. 

Parents, we need your help! We need helpers who are double-vaccinated for our Welcome evening on Dec 2nd and also for our Moving Day on Dec 3rd. I have outlined the duties below. If you think you can help, please contact the office: stcanices@parra.catholic.edu.au or ph 4780 6800.

Many thanks, as always, for the great support you give St Canice's. Thank you for your wonderful work with your children in helping them to keep committed and focused as we head towards the end of this extraordinary year.  

God bless,

Miriam Meaney

mmeaney@parra.catholic.edu.au

Congratulations to Ms Alice Krawczyk who got married on Saturday, 20th November.

The day was PERFECT!

Alice will return to ST Canice's with a brand new surname: Mrs Szczypek. (Sh-ch-peck)  

My thanks to Mrs Wedesweiler for coordinating Confirmation for the children in Year 6 who missed that opportunity this year. These children will receive their Confirmation on Tuesday 7 December at 10:00am in the Church. Mrs Wedesweiler has been working with these children to prepare them. This is a very big gesture from Mrs Wedesweiler; you would be aware that the sacraments are normally coordinated at parish- rather than school level. My thanks also to Fr John McSweeney for confirming the children. We look forward to a return to normal in 2022, when the bishop will visit to confirm the children who wish to be confirmed in Stage 3. 

Congratulations to the 10 Year 5 students who have put themselves forward for leadership positions in 2022. I was very impressed by their thoughtful speeches about leadership. All of the students discussed how they would promote our school values in their speeches. All of them are very worthy of leadership. It augurs well for our school to have such strength of character and such a strong sense of values in our Year 6 2022 students. There are four identified positions of leadership at the school. We are now finalising our four leaders for 2022 and will advise of the result very shortly. Inevitably, four children will be very happy and six children will suffer disappointment. Our message to all of Year 6 is that they are exceptional students who all lead our school. No title or badge is needed to demonstrate leadership at St Canice’s. 

S2 watching the online Musica Viva performance from last Wednesday! Students had been preparing for this concert with Ms Fraser. Students were able to participate through the chat functions and had been thoroughly prepared for the concert by Mrs Fraser!

We will celebrate Ms Honeyman, her love of St Canice’s and her dedication to our community for over 16  years during a farewell assembly on Tuesday 7 Dec at 2:15pm.

Sadly we can not have parents / carers attend the assembly, however if you have a message / well wish for Ms Honeyman, please email to stcanices@parra.catholic.edu.au  and we will ensure students read out your messages.

Ms Morley and Mini Vinnies

A very big thank you, Parents and Carers, for your incredible generosity on Kindness Day. We had a “truckload” of donations that will be very gratefully received by our local St Vincent de Paul branch. These donations will go to those in our local community who live on the fringes and who will now have something to look forward to, thanks to your generosity.

Ms Meaney

My thanks to Mr van der Walle and Mr Scanlan for organising e-Safety sessions for our students in Stages 2 and 3. This will take place this week and in the weeks ahead. We are very conscious that the children in Years 3-6 have had more access than usual to electronic devices over the past 16 weeks. It is timely and essential to reteach them appropriate use of devices and their responsibilities related to safety and wellbeing online. 

As we approach Summer, we are getting closer to commencing work on our outdoor learning area. The site for the Outdoor Learning Area is at the back of the school, facing Lurline Street. We already have two large planter boxes in this area, housing an indigenous garden. Some of our students in Stage 2 work with Ms Gillespie in managing the garden. We will install a decking area, seating, screens and further planting options in this area.

Ms Morley

By Five Strengthening Care for Children and Yarra Communities That Care are proud to once again partner to deliver a FREE webinar; 

'Thriving Kids - Engaging with Sport, the Arts & Community'.

Dr Billy Garvey will be joined by Olympic Gold Medallist, Lucy Stephan, Former Soceroos Captain and A-League Champion, Mark Milligan, and Lawyer, Media Commentator and Activist Nyadol Nyuon, to share stories and practical strategies to inspire and encourage (re)engaging with sporting, artistic and community activities that bring joy.

This free webinar is suitable for parents and children, and recognises the social connections and self-worth that comes from engaging in joyful pursuits following a period of lost opportunities. The panel will reflect on their own experience of community, overcoming adversity & important adults along their journey to success in the context of child and family wellbeing. 

This free webinar will be held on Thursday October 14th at 7pm and you can register your attendance above or via this link. 

In 2018, Council, together with Stronger Families Alliance measured the perceived resilience and wellbeing levels of the Blue Mountains community. This provided a baseline measure to which future action could be planned and measured.

A lot has happened since then. Fire. Flood. Pandemic. Everything has looked and felt very different compared to 2018.

Parents, grandparents and carers; please take our 10 minute Community Resilience and Wellbeing Survey, so that we can see how our community is tracking https://yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/resilience-and-wellbeing.The survey is open to all residents 12 years and over. It closes on the 30th of November.Regards,Kristy Lenon | Data Management Officer | e klenon@bmcc.nsw.gov.au<mailto:klenon@bmcc.nsw.gov.au>Blue Mountains City Council  l  council@bmcc.nsw.gov.au<mailto:council@bmcc.nsw.gov.au>   l  www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au<http://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/>  l  Locked Bag 1005 Katoomba NSW 2780

We encourage parents and carers to contact us at any time to arrange a tour of our school, meet our staff and see our learning in action. Please phone 4780 6800 during our office hours 8:30am - 3:30pm or email stcanices@parra.catholic.edu.au

Please share this post with our community -

Everyone is welcome at St Canice's

Katoomba!https://youtu.be/TNhJBt6ofY8

St Columbas College is a top co-educational Catholic College set in the beautiful Blue Mountains that equips each student with the skills and passion to make a difference in the world.

As a Catholic College, St Columba's continues to articulate and to live the values of the Gospel and to take the life of Jesus Christ as its model. In educating young people, St Columba's continues to challenge students to be people who value justice and to help create a College community that is characterised by relationships of care, trust, respect and forgiveness.

There is a strong focus on learning, faith development and student care. A high priority is given to developing quality relationships between staff and students, and to the provision of support structures for every student.

Enrolments are considered at any time throughout the year, however, the Year 7 enrolment process commences in February each year. If necessary, your application will be held on a waiting list until a position becomes available.

You are welcome to contact the College Enrolment Secretary at any time to help you obtain further information or guide you through the enrolment process.

Contact the College Enrolment Secretary on 4754 8900 to obtain the enrolment pack. If you need any further information or help in completing this application, the Enrolment Secretary will be happy to provide assistance.

St Columbas Tour

Term 4 Sports Update 

St Canices - Swimming Carnival 

Due to the current covid situation, St Canices will only be hosting trials for the 2022 Nepean Zone carnival. Our carnival will be held at Lawson Swim Centre, St Bernards Drive, Lawson on Wednesday 1st December  2021 as renovations are in place at Katoomba Aquatic Centre. 

The carnival will start at 8.00am and finish at 10.30am. Children that qualify can  represent St Canices at the Nepean Zone carnival which will be held at Glenbrook Pool on Wednesday 23rd February 2022. More information will be provided in the upcoming weeks.

Local sporting activities 

Tennis - Honour Ave, Lawson

Make your booking now and we encourage you to use your active kids voucher for your lesson. Please use the link below to book your lesson. 

https://fairplaytennis.com.au/tennis-programs/

Cricket -Katoomba Falls Reserve, Katoomba

If you don't have a team yet, come down to Katoomba Reserve on Wednesday 3rd November from 4:00pm and see Dan, Tony,  or Ian and we will slot you into a team.

Competition will commence and break for Christmas on the  15th December.

Details on our Play Cricket Page - Stage 1 Junior program

https://play.cricket.com.au/.../fcadcf87-87d8-eb11-a7ad…

AFL for the parents - Tom Hunter Park, Faulconbridge 

All over 35s welcome!

Beginning on the 11th November 2021, Arrive 6.00pm for 6.30pm kick off, every Thursday night until Christmas  

Footy for Fun - social games and Competition teams available or just come for a kick with some new mates on a Thursday night.

Contact 0447 695 006 for more information.

Little Athletics - Pitt Park, Wentworth Falls 

Pre-competition Trial Days will be held on 20th & 27th November starting at 830am. This is open to all registered members and those who have registered to Trial, but anyone over 16 must be double vaccinated. You can collect bibs and purchase uniform on those days too.

Athletes must register for the season through the Little Athletics NSW website (www.lansw.com.au). Athletes wishing to trial must also register in advance through the same website.

Competition will start on 4th December for all registered athletes. We're aiming to run through until April 2022 except for Christmas and New Years days.

As always, it’s important to reinforce that no child will be refused enrolment at our school due to a family's inability or difficulty to pay school fees’.

As per Catholic Education Office Parramatta school fee policy, a term's notice (10 school weeks) in writing must be given to the Principal before the removal of a student or a full term's fees will be payable.

One exception is that notice in writing will be accepted at any time during term 4 in relation to the following year's enrolment, that is, the notice period of 10 school weeks will be waved in this circumstance.

Special circumstances that may warrant 6 weeks notice include moving out of area due to employment transfer or sale of house.

if you have any queries, please call the office on 4780 6800 or email jmacpherson@parra.catholic.edu.au

We look forward to welcoming parent / carer volunteers into St Canice's in the future.  If you are interested in volunteering your time either in the classroom or at any of the exciting upcoming events, please ensure your Building Child Safe Communities training is up to date.

This module must be completed every two years and is mandatory for anyone wanting to volunteer regardless if you hold a WWCC number or not.

Please follow the link to complete your training

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

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 https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-creative-kids-voucher

Your creative kids voucher can be used to purchase items via approved websites, check out the links below.

Creative Kids Wonderland
Artzee Kids

BrickTastics

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.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Parish

Parish Priest 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

Get into the spirit at the Bunnings Christmas Night Market

Thursday 9th of December

6pm - 8pm

Celebrate and shop with your local community