St Canice's Primary School Newsletter

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

I have been in contact with you about child safety related to traffic and road usage. I am concerned in particular about Studleigh Place at drop off and pick up. As we know, driving is a complex task. Children and other pedestrians are vulnerable. School pick up times are very busy and parents need to have their full attention when maneuvering or driving in Studleigh Place car park or in any part of the school zone. 

Studleigh Place may not be the best option for dropping off / picking up. Other options include:

• Parking in the Big W precinct and making the short walk across to the school

• Waiting for your child at Lurline Street each afternoon. 

We are more than happy to accompany children who are being picked up from Lurline Street to the pick up point, as we take students to buses each afternoon. Should this be an option for you, please e-mail us to let us know. stcanices@parra.catholic.edu.au 

There are many excellent resources available to you to help you to ensure child safety and to encourage your child to also develop an awareness of Road Safety.

The Keeping Our Kids Safe flyer from NSW Centre for Road Safety has some overall information https://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/downloads/keeping-our-kids-safe-around-schools.pdf

In addition, there is an excellent video on YouTube from TfNSW that explains rules around mobile phone use and driving: https://youtu.be/9j5wRfsWISQ

We have included a flyer from Blue Mountains City Council with this newsletter outlining the fines related to various driving offences in school zones. They are very nasty! My thanks to all for doing your part in ensuring the safety of our most precious children. 

Please stay safe and well and thank you as always for your support of St Canice’s

God bless,

Miriam Meaney

mmeaney@parra.catholic.edu.au

Best wishes to Ms Alice Krawczyk as she prepares for her wedding on Saturday, 20th November. We know that Ms Krawczyk will be a stunning bride and wish her health and happiness with her betrothed, Mark. Alice will return to us with a brand new surname: Mrs Szczypek. 

Kindergarten have been having a very exciting time since being back at school.  We had an incubator with 11 eggs arrive two weeks ago.  Since then we have welcomed three chicks and three ducks!  We had some interesting predictions before they hatched- was it going to be a dinosaur?  A snake?  A Unicorn?  But no, it was Ash, Chickety Chick and Rosie (our chicks) and Dippy, Sunny and Skylet (our ducks).  We were so lucky to see one duckling hatch right before our eyes.  We all agreed that it looked like very hard work for the duck to get out of his shell.  We have been keeping a diary each day and closely observing the changes as they grow.  We have noticed the chicks wing feathers growing, their combs and their tail feathers.  The ducklings love to paddle in water and the chicks are trying to fly.

We will be sad to see them go to their forever homes this Friday. 

We are still looking for a home for 2 chicks so if you are interested please let Mrs Clarke know.

We will celebrate World Kindness Day this Friday.

World Kindness Day is a global day that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world. 

Students can wear mufti and will have the opportunity to demonstrate

• Kindness through thoughts and words

• Kindness through play

• Kindness to the environment

Parents and Carers, you can help in this endeavour by donating to the St Vincent De Paul hamper items request, already sent home. We include that information in this newsletter for those who would like a reminder. 

To help spread a little kindness in our community we are asking the  Children to bring in items for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hampers this Friday 12th November.

If possible, so that there is a variety of items to fill the hampers, could the children bring in items as per the list below.

Kinder - Tins of fruit, christmas cakes, puddings or other dessert  items.

Year 1 - Tins of vegetables, pasta, gravox, rice, biscuits.

Year 2 - Custard, cream, milk (all long life), jellies, jam, honey, vegemite.

Stage 2 - Drinks eg. soft drink, fruit juice, cordial , coffee, tea, sugar,

hot chocolate, Milo.

Stage 3 -Tins of shoulder ham, salmon, tuna, stews, lollies, chips.

As well you might like to include Christmas Bon Bons, decorations or napkins to make Christmas a little more special for the needy families in our community.

Students in Years 3 and 5 completed NAPLAN earlier this year. We have used NAPLAN data, along with our own data, to identify gaps in student learning in Years 3 and 5 and to provide adjustments, where appropriate. Teachers spend part of every Tuesday planning in teams to ensure we are targeting your child’s needs. I have included below a table, identifying the teaching teams from Kindergarten to Stage 3. 

It is an ongoing challenge, Parents and Carers, to keep abreast of what we can and cannot do during these extraordinary times! Let me help you navigate where we are up to:

• All students should be at school (on time!) every day unless they are unwell / unless a special arrangement re attendance has been made with me.

• Student cohorts continue to be separated for indoor events such as assemblies. In general, K-2 have their assembly on Friday mornings at 8:45am and 3-6 have their assembly on Friday afternoons at 2:10. 

• All staff and visitors to the school must be fully-vaccinated, must sign in and must wear masks indoors.

• Ventilation is prioritised in all indoor spaces.

• The school is COVID-cleaned daily. All high contact areas are cleaned regularly each day.

• Parents can come onsite after school hours. Again, you must be fully-vaccinated, must sign in and must wear masks indoors

• This is important because we are planning to have a Parent Meeting in the hall in the near future and we are also looking at the possibility of a gathering in early December. More information to follow!

• One parent can accompany his / her child for Kindergarten 2022  transition if we can manage this outdoors. We are in regular contact with our Kindy 2022 parents to keep them updated.

We continue to work hard in this area. We have so much to offer at St Canice’s and once prospective parents come to see the school, they usually enrol their children. I am conducting after-hours visits for prospective parents at the moment. If you know of a family who would like to visit, please let them know!

Our Q and A sessions have proven very effective in attracting enrolments. We will continue them until the end of November. We will send a Q and A flyer to you in the days ahead and encourage you to pass it on to potential families. Our system (CEDP) is doing a wonderful job of advertising our school online and in local newsletters. 

Thank you, Parents and Carers, for your work in promoting St Canice’s!

Now that all our students are together again, so too is our spoonville community that our students spent time designing and decorating.

Thank you Ms Morley for all your enthusiasm and design tips to keep us all connected throughout lockdown.

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