St Canice's Primary School Newsletter

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

A very big thank you for supporting our Community Event last Thursday evening. It was wonderful to be able to welcome those of you who could come to the event. I could see how much you also enjoyed the evening. My thanks to the wonderful staff who put in so much extra time to enjoy your company and to promote community.

We introduced the teaching teams on Thursday last. The model in 2022 will enable more teachers to work with small groups of children more consistently, targeting the learning and monitoring improvement. Our teachers will be better able to cater to those students who need support, who are making good progress and who need extension. We consistently hear of the importance of the relationship a child has with a teacher / teacher aide. Students are more likely to build a relationship with a teacher in a small group setting. Remote Learning taught us all this. When the relationship is strong, the learning improves. 

K-2 2022:

The K-2 model will continue as it currently is. Kindergarten will work predominantly with Mrs Karatovic, Stage 1 will work predominantly with Mrs Szczypec (formerly Ms K). Ms Gillespie and Mrs Laznik will work across K-2. Students in K-2 already interact for activities such as Playpods, Gross Motor skill development and Assemblies and this will continue. 

Stage 2 2022:

Students in Stage 2 will be one class with a teaching team of four. There will be no S2 Blue and S2 White going forward. Ms Clarke, Ms Magann and Mrs Wedesweiler will share responsibility for your children. Mrs Sztelma will be the Teacher Aide supporting learning.

Stage 3 2022:

Students in Stage 3 will be one class with a teaching team of six, two of whom will be teacher aides. There will be no S3 Blue and S3 White going forward. Mrs Friend, Mr McCarthy, Mr van der Walle and Mr White will share responsibility for your children. Miss Kate and Miss Taylor (Ferey) will be the job-sharing Teacher Aides supporting learning.

Parents, we will invite you into the school in early 2022 so that you can see our team-based approach to learning in action. Meantime, should you have any questions about the 2022 Team-based approach, do not hesitate to contact me. mmeaney@parra.catholic.edu.au 

Many thanks to those parents who have reached out a helping hand recently. I am very grateful to Rochelle (Harry S2), Natalie and Greg (Alex K, Elizabeth S1), Lisa and Chris (Ella Rae S1), Kathleen (Grace S2) and Rosana (Jonah S3) for your support in a variety of endeavours.

Our Kindergarten 2022 class joined us for the first time last Wednesday. These beautiful children and their parents will return on Wednesday this week. We also have a number of families joining us in 2022 across the school. My thanks to those existing parents who are helping our new parents to become a part of our wonderful St Canice’s community. 

Finally, my thanks to our superb student leaders for 2021. Angie, Edie, Billy and Emilio have embraced this opportunity and have flown with it. They have shown their capacity to engage our students in learning, they have reached out a helping hand on several occasions and they have worked with our teachers and with me to promote our school in the community. Their capacity to collaborate has been outstanding. I see a great future for these students at St Columbas from 2022 and I thank them for leaving St Canice's a better place. We look forward to their most recent work, The Term 4 Bulletin, which they will share with us on Monday next as part of our Meet the Teacher day. 

My gratitude and best wishes to you all this festive season.

God bless,

Miriam Meaney, Principal

mmeaney@parra.catholic.edu.au

Our most important assembly of 2022 will take place on Friday, 10 December at 11:30am.

It will include our Christmas Liturgy and our most significant awards for 2021. Our hope is to have this event outdoors so that we can include vaccinated visitors. In the event of wet weather, we will hold Assembly in the hall. Parents of award recipients who are fully-vaccinated will be able to attend. 

Meet the Teaching Team on Monday, 13 December will provide us with the opportunity to welcome our new children for 2022 onsite. We have a great day of activities lined up for all students.

Children are asked to wear Mufti on this day. 

My thanks to the Year 6 Graduation team for their hard work in preparing our Year 6 students for Graduation on Tuesday, 14th December.

We look forward to celebrating this event with Year 6 families with Mass and Morning Tea. Then, as is our tradition, our Year 6 students will have a fun day with their teachers. 

Managing Online Time These School Holidays

We are fast approaching the end of the school year which means “the big holidays” in my household. Whilst many of us are looking forward to this much deserved break after this especially difficult year, the school holidays can also be a tricky time for many. This can mean we turn to screens and the online world for help in getting through. During the holidays, ask yourself these questions: Is online time impacting sleep and exercise routines? Is it affecting your child’s face-to-face connections with family and friends? Are you seeing behaviour changes around managing screen time- anger, anxiety, irritability? Don’t be afraid to ask questions and explore their online world with them.

Here are some tips for creating a healthy balance these holidays.

Set routines and boundaries

Keep existing routines and boundaries going as much as possible through the holidays to avoid kids falling into bad habits. If needed, create new routines that will make it easier for everyone to adjust when it becomes time to return to school in February.

Get out of the house!

As much as you can, arrange some family fun days outside the home. Take them somewhere new or even somewhere they usually love going. There are lots of free options. By distracting them and placing them in a new environment, they won’t even think about wanting to be online and using devices.

Arrange some activities that don’t involve screens

Painting, craft, drawing, reading, treasure hunts, board games, puzzles, building a fort, baking a cake, making models, gardening, imaginative play... the list goes on. There was once a time when we did not have screens and devices at all!

Moderate device use

Involve them in creating a clear plan that includes time spent on screens and time off, as well as expectations about where they can play (supervised for younger children), what sites can be visited and what games can be played. Encourage physical, creative and sensory play. Moderation is the key. I like things like no screens at the dinner table, and no screens an hour before bedtime.

Appropriate apps

Educate yourself to be able to help your child make good app choices. There are so many fun educational apps out there. As well as learning, they will develop important skills like hand-eye coordination, early literacy, building relationships and more. If you have the time you could even play with them. There are many social media apps being accessed by students that may not be age or developmentally appropriate and the use of these needs close monitoring. Use parental controls and time monitoring apps as needed.

Below is a link to an online safety book by the Esafety Commissioner that is an excellent resource covering many topic areas.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/online-safety-book

Stay safe and most importantly, enjoy the festive season and time spent with family and friends.

See you in 2022.

Emma HackneyWellbeing Counsellor 

Parents, I have a few tips for the holidays to help you and your child to enjoy the down time and also feel confident about the 2022 school year. 

• Maintain a healthy reading diet. Our younger students can continue to access the PM e-readers in the holidays. Reading to your children is a wonderful opportunity to share, to be close and to instil in them a love of literature. Take them to the local library- it is a treasure trove of resources that will enthrall your child and build lifelong habits around accessing books.

• Ensure plenty of the great outdoors. Fresh air and exercise will stimulate their appetites and ensure good sleep patterns. There is so much outdoors to arouse curiosity and to encourage them to develop a love of nature and a sense of responsibility for our natural world. 

• Organise playdates to maintain and encourage social interactions. The year that was put a halt to opportunities to socialise and we all know the importance of playing with friends, negotiating turn-taking and thinking of the other person.

• Focus on the beautiful message of family this Christmas season. Help your children to understand the source of the festivities and gift-giving. Participate, where you can, in Christmas liturgies. If possible, encourage your child to join the many others from St Canice's in the Nativity play at St Canice’s Church on Christmas Eve. 

  Ms Meaney

Many thanks and congratulations to Eva Garraway and Kamran Lynch for attending the event at Lawson Swim Centre on Wednesday 1st December 2021. Both Eva and Kamran have qualified to represent St Canice's Primary School at the Nepean Zone carnival in 50m Backstroke and Eva has also qualified for the 50m Freestyle.

Special thanks to  Mr White, Jim Garraway and Kylie Ranson for assisting with the morning.

If your child was unable to attend the event due to being unwell and would like to see if they can qualify for zone please contact Mrs Ranson in the office.

MAI assessments for students in years 1-6 will be held on Monday 31st of January.

Online Booking forms will be sent home in Week 11.

Students in years 1 - 6 first full school day will be Tuesday 1st of February

Kindergarten begin on Wednesday 2nd of February

Sunday 19th December 3pm to 5pm

Girls aged between 5 years to 16 years wishing to improve their soccer skills before the upcoming season in 2022 are invited to attend the training session at Pitt Park, Wentworth Falls.

Please contact Isabel on 042 212 006 for more information

 If you are interested in small private strings lessons - violin, cello, double bass.

Registrations have been extended, please complete the Google Form or contact the office if you require a hard copy. (https://forms.gle/uTWnS7ZYRvEwTji16)

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

 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. Work has progressed with the decking area and seating, screens and final touches should be completed during the school holiday break.  Hopefully we will get some fine weather to be able to enjoy learning in our new space.

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

Term 4 Sports Update 

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/

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

In the Sensational Sculpture Workshop, students will make and take home several fun sculptures made with air dry clay, wire, cardboard and more.

In the Garden Creations Workshop, kids are just going to love this fun workshop and they don’t even need a green thumb. They’ll be taking home their beautiful creations of stepping stones, sun catchers, a sun clock, leaf impressions, and more.

All materials, tools and even aprons are supplied. Students are welcome to bring a drink and a snack.

WHEN: Sensational Sculpture: 10.00am – 11.30am. Wednesday 5 January, 2022; Garden Creations Workshop For Kids: Wednesday 12 January, 2022.WHERE: Wacky Workshops Glenbrook Studio, 88A Glenbrook Rd, Glenbrook NSW 2773 (map).SUITED FOR: 4 – 10 yearsCOST: $35 – all materials includedHOW TO BOOK: Online: Sensational Sculptures Register here. Garden Creations Register here. Contact Tami on 0402732859; wackyworkshops1@gmail.com

Free with your Creative Kids voucher. Full day holiday workshops on the 20th (Years 1 & 2), 21st (Years 3 & 4) and 22nd December (Years 5 &6) in Yellow Rock.

Join us as we have fun exploring engineering concepts and building LEGO® models using levers, axles, pulleys and gears. You’ll also learn some cool coding concepts and get to apply them to motors, lights and sensors as you program robots and create new and amazing devices that may one day help you rule the world!

WHEN: 9.30AM – 3.00PM Saturday 20 December, Sunday 21 December & Monday 22 December, 2021.WHERE: Girl Guides Hall, Singles Ridge Rd, Yellow Rock, 2777 (map).SUITED FOR: Years 1 & 2 on 20/12; Years 3 & 4 on 21/12; Years 5 & 6 on 21/12COST:  $100 or FREE with your Creative Kids voucher.HOW TO BOOK: https://www.buildamind.com.au/

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