St Raphael’s Catholic School Term 2, Week 3/B Newsletter 12th May 2014
Dear Parents The Mother’s Day liturgy on Friday was an enormous gathering of (slightly tearful) mothers. I hope the pampering for all mothers lasts longer than just Mothers Day and that your nurturing is both recognised and cherished. We are approaching the climax of the Sacramental Programme with First Eucharist being conferred on st June 21 .Please hold the candidates and their families in your prayer as they prepare for First Eucharist A squad of Primary and Secondary students will be representing St Raph’s in CWA Public Speaking at th Bathurst on May 28 . The Diocesan Spelling is also at that time – secondary on May 28 at Wellington and primary on May 29, also at Wellington. All the very best to students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 who will be sitting for their literacy and numeracy tests next week (NAPLAN). The results of these tests will be reported to parents and to the school in term 3. Stage 6 preparations continue in the form of meetings, video conferences and school visits. Working closely with people who have made this Year 11 and 12 journey before us will keep us safely away from pitfalls they discovered. Our DA for expanded facilities goes before council are this time. This week some members of the School Leadership Team will be participating in executive development and another in the diocesan working party on designing professional learning for leadership. Best of luck to our school choirs competing at the Eisteddfod on Friday. Such hard work has been invested in preparation. Keep abreast of all that is happening at the school by using the calendar on our website. If you click on a particular event you’ll usually find additional details about time and location. All additions and modifications are made there, so you’ll be absolutely up to date. Have a look back over the scope of current events – St Raph’s really is about educating the whole person.
Michael Gallagher Principal P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
John 10: 1-10 Gospel Challenge Term 2 Week 3
“As he blessed them, he was carried up to heaven” John 10:1-10
Monday 12 Happy birthday to Soneita Cotter, Drew Langfield and Madeline Roe. Tuesday 13 Happy birthday to Breanna Burton. NAPLAN. Wednesday 14 Happy birthday to Cael Bowen-McCarthy, Rebecca Lynch and Henry Sant. NAPLAN. Thursday 15 Happy birthday to Luke Britten and Matthew Mallon. NAPLAN. Friday 16 Happy birthday to Anthony Liang. Eisteddfod – Choirs performing in morning session. Primary Assembly led by 1W. Happy birthday to Cooper Hurst, Jamara Lambshead th and Aiden Roberts for the 17 and Samara Tedeschi th for the 18 .
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
School Eucharistic Ministers for Weekend Parish Masses: th Sat 17 May: Miss R Downes. Bishop’s Message for Good Shepherd Sunday th 11 May 2014 This Sunday we thank God for the priests we have been given and renew our commitment to support them in prayer and with our material help. It is also a good moment to renew our willingness to give our time and energy to accompany them as fellow disciples. Only when priests and people are working together does the Church come alive. This is also a day to thank God for the coming th Ordination of Thuc Le in Bathurst on July 4 . We pray for him and the five other young men at various stages of formation and discernment for priestly ministry in our Diocese. In earlier times, the families of seminarians paid for their education and upkeep. Today, this responsibility is rightly shared by all the faithful. In recent years the collection on Good Shepherd Sunday has fallen short of what we need. To provide for future priests, we need to lift it. Above all, this is the day when we pray for more vocations. Last Holy Thursday Pope Francis said: “On this priestly Thursday I ask the Lord Jesus to enable many young people to discover that burning zeal which joy kindles in our hearts as soon as we have the stroke of boldness needed to respond willingly to his call.” May the joy of the gift of ordained ministry be received gratefully by us all. + Michael McKenna Bishop of Bathurst Fundraiser for Caritas: Bingo Fun Evening Madeline Cooper is holding a Bingo Night Fundraiser for Caritas Australia. It will be held on the 28th June after Saturday Mass in The Falcon Room in the Cowra Services Club. Time 7.30pm to 10pm. The night will contain Bingo, fun games, light music with light snacks being served at 7.30 pm. Major and Minor prizes available for bingo and other games. A raffle is going to be run leading up to the event and drawn on the bingo night. Ticket price per person is $25. RSVP would need to th in by Friday 20 June. Tickets will be sold at St Raphael's school and weekend masses. Dates for the Calendar th th Weekend Masses 17 /18 May – Second Eucharist sheet home Altar Servers’ Roster th Sat 17 May: Kate and Ben Price, Chris Gibb and William Norton. th Sun 18 May: Isobelle Lynch and Mikelli Garratt. Emily Beath-Pearce and Flynn Bennett at Gooloogong.
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
School Computer Roster th Sat 17 May: Kelly Price. th Sun 18 May: Meg Ellison.
Library News Chess Knockout Years Five and Six: Games commenced last week but if students still want to be part of the competition, please come and see me so I can arrange a game.
Thank you to all the students who have been returning/ renewing their library books so efficiently. Our winners of the Lucky Return Book Draw for the end of term one received their books on Assembly last week. The students were: Mackenzie Sim KF, Nicholas Varela 1SO, Tyler Bird 2P, Dekota Hindmarsh 3S, Rachel Myers 4J, Amy Gruessing 5O, Duncan Muir 6S (absent) Congratulations and happy reading! Kerri Skinner, Librarian Recycled Art Well done to all those students who participated in the Recycled Art for Cowra. There were some really fabulous entries and many winning entries for our students. Congratulations to the following students:
st
Infants Group – 1 Mad Hatters Tea Party – St Raphael’s Kindergarten Finlay Infants Ind: st 1 Garden Trolley – Kaitlyn Rutledge nd 2 Dinner Chime - Kaitlyn Rutledge rd 3 Quiz Light – Kaitlyn Rutledge Primary Individual: nd 2 Billy Cart – Alex Duff rd 3 Dress Bag – Eloise Cains High School 7 – 9 Individual: st 1 Cassette Lamp – Jessica McLeish nd 2 Lotus Burning – Anna Johnston rd 3 Mechanical Chess – Chloe West Highly Commended: Comfort Chair – Ben Price Flower Wheel – Oliver Groves William Cart – Mackenna Cusack Ploughman’s BBQ – Hanna Nobes Garden Horse Statue – Lucy Pattingale High School Individual st 1 Castrol Drum Seat – Joe Herden nd 2 Fruit and Nuts – Hannah Chamberlain rd 3 Flower Child – Tarnia Palmer – Field Best in Show Cassette Lamp – Jessica McLeish People’s Choice – Hanna Nobes
Fabulous efforts all round! Primary Assembly The next primary assembly will be held this week, th Friday 16 May. It will be led by Mrs White’s class, Year 1W. If your son / daughter is to receive a class award a note will be sent home early this week. Parents are always most welcome to attend any primary assembly. Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
NAPLAN Tests May 13, 14 & 15 This week the Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will be involved in NAPLAN tests next week. The timetable is: Tue, May 13: Language and Writing Wed, May 14: Reading Thu, May 15: Numeracy Visiting Shows Notes for the Kinder – Year 2 show, ‘The Gigalees’ were sent home last week. This show will be performed on Tuesday, May 27. Centacare Centacare Bathurst is presenting a program called “Acting Out” which is designed for primary school students and their parents. The presentations are delivered by Centacare’s trained facilitators and are sponsored by the Catholic Education Office. Parents are invited to a session that provides an overview of the strategies with an emphasis on the current research on cybersafety. Notes will be sent home this week to help determine numbers for the parent session which is to be held on Tuesday, May 27. Dates for the Centacare visits are: Monday, May 19 and Tuesday, May 27. Eisteddfod 2014 Choir sections will be held on th Friday 16 of May at the Civic Centre. It will commence at 9.30am. Our students will be performing in the Infant, Primary, Secondary and Central school sections. Please check with your child if they are involved in these performances.
to Blayney and Orange to fit in training after the Cowra Aquatic Centre had closed! First up was Hannah in the 16 years and Over 50m Freestyle Multi-Class event. Her dive was spectacular and got her off to a wonderful start. She propelled herself down the pool in a fabulous time of 1:25.49. A few hours later it was Lauren’s turn to shine. She lined up like a professional in her pet event of the 12 years Girls 50m breaststroke against the fastest Catholic secondary girls in metropolitan and country NSW. Diving off the blocks, she was stroke for stroke with the eventual winner. Powering down the pool, Lauren had a sensational swim, and was pipped out of a medal by a mere one one-hundredth of a second. Her CCC fourth placing is now referred to as her “James Magnussen moment”! An incredible swim with a personal best time of 41.69 seconds. Hot on her heels was Hannah’s final swim: the 16 years and Over 50m Breaststroke Multi-class event. As she stood behind the blocks, she was able to soak up the big event vibe, smiling excitedly at her fans in the stands. From the moment she sprang off the blocks, Hannah looked like a superstar, touching the finish pads in 1:22.58 seconds. This shaved a couple of seconds off her personal best time. A wonderful effort. A huge congratulations must go to both Lauren and Hannah on their CCC swims. You made us all so proud!
All students will be walking from school to the Civic Centre and returning with the school following their performance. Full winter uniform (jumpers, not jackets) is to be worn for the performances. Thank you, Grazyna Swansborough - Music Teacher
CCC Swimming Sensations Leisel Jones would have been so proud of St Raphael’s two swimming stars, Lauren Thomas and Hannah Chamberlain, when they competed at the Combined Catholic Colleges (CCC) Swimming Championships in Sydney on April 29. Lauren and Hannah are no strangers to the renowned Sydney Aquatic Centre at Homebush. Having both competed in previous years in Polding and CCC teams, they weren’t at all daunted by the bright lights and electronic results boards. Instead they were ready to give their State Catholic events their best shot. After all, they’d done the hard yards in the three weeks leading to CCC in Sydney, where they’d had to travel P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Primary Physical Education Lessons Wednesdays th This week, Wednesday 14 May there will be no PE activities due to the NAPLAN tests. In the following st week, 21 May Year 1, 3 and 4 will be wearing their th sports uniforms. Physical Education classes for 28 May are Year 2, 5 and 6. Sporting Events Congratulations to Mikelli Garratt and Emma Wilkinson on running their way into the Diocesan Cross Country team at Coolah last week. Their team, comprising Philippa Austin and Annaleise Prescott also won the 10 years girls teams event. Anna McNamara and Michelle Grech competed at Lake Canobolas last week, successfully making the Secondary Diocesan Cross Country Squad. Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
The Primary and Secondary Diocesan representatives th will be competing at Eastern Creek on Friday, 13 June. Secondary Mon, May 19 Hockey v Cowra High Primary Fri, May 30 Polding Touch Trials (Mudgee) Primary Cross Country Last Monday, 22 Primary long distance runners travelled the long distance to Coolah to run in the annual Cross Country run. 8, 9 and 10 year olds run over the 2km distance, whilst the 11 and 12 year olds go over the 3km journey. All students represented the school with distinction. Two of our girls have made it on to the next level. Mikelli Garratt (6th) and Emma Wilkinson (8th) will now run around the Eastern Creek circuit in Sydney, representing the Bathurst Diocese. Our school also won the Teams Event in the 10 year girls. Along with Mikelli and Emma, Annaleise Prescott (20th) and Philippa Austin, as a team of 4 runners, finished before any other school in our Diocese. Other notable finishes include: Kate Price and Eoghan Killick - 14th; Riley Langfield - 16th; Inka Wilson - 20th; Imogen Chambers and Will Cain - 22nd; Ben Varela 24th; Oliver Wilson - 25th; Luke Banks - 26th; Hugo Skene - 28th. When you consider that 92 students lined up for one of the events, our results were pretty impressive! Congratulations to all our runners on your efforts. Thank you to our dedicated parents who make the effort to provide these types of opportunities to their children. A long way to go for a short race, but it was a chance for some of these students to shine. Again, thanks. We wish Mikelli and Emma all the best for Sydney later this year. Keep training hard girls. Small Schools Rugby League U13 On Tuesday, St. Raphael’s were represented in the Under 13 division of the Small Schools Rugby League Gala Day in Dubbo. 4 games of football lay ahead of us. The winners of the day would progress as the Western winners, ready to take on the Northern winners, most likely in Coonabarabran. Ours was an eleven-a-side event, with our team ready with 2 reserves. Year 6 and 7 students made up the majority of this team, with 2 Year 8 boys qualifying due to their January births. Game 1 was against Nyngan High. A 16 to 4 loss was not the start that we were after, however with the amount of mistakes that we made, we should be grateful that the score was not a lot worse. The boys looked half asleep, making errors that saw many players "hooked" for basic stupidity on the football field. Hayden 'Hayne' Mullins was our lone point scorer. Game 2 was against St. Matthews Mudgee. Energy levels were raised and we won 14 - 8 against our 'sister school.' We played more as a team in this match, with greater urgency and enthusiasm evident. Hayden again crossed, along with Will 'Norman' Austin and Sam 'Hopoate' Frazer. Tom converted one attempt. P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Game 3 saw Henry Lawson High from Grenfell take the field against the now, switched-on St Raphael’s outfit. A 28 - 0 win followed, with tries to Hayden who now had his hat-trick, Ben 'Mannah' Statham, Matt 'Peats' Wilkinson, Tom 'Lussick' Thuaux, Joe 'Terepo' Sullivan and Sam 'Radradra' Coady. Tom and Eduan both kicked a goal. Game 4 was against the combined Dunedoo/Coolah team. We needed to win this game and hope that Nyngan lost theirs. Well we did our part. A 22 - 4 win really showed how well this team had gelled as the day had gone on. Eduan 'Moi Moi' VanEeden, Will A, Matt and Cameron 'Ma'u' Trengove all scored, with Cameron kicking 2 and Eduan 1. On the day, we scored 68 points, only letting in 28. 3 wins from 4 matches. Pretty good, but not good enough. Nyngan finished the day undefeated and we were left rueing our missed chances against them. We all would have loved to have a 2nd go at them where we were confident the result would be changed. Not to be I'm afraid. Still, a lesson learnt. Turn up to play from the 'get-go!' Will 'Sandow' Cain, Ky 'Allgood' Johnson and Jacob 'Tonga' Bugeja didn't score any points for us on the day, but were an integral part of the team and our sound results. With 10 out of the 13 boys scoring tries, it shows how good we were across the park, not just relying on a couple. Thanks to the parents who came to watch or supplied lifts to our players. Your support of sport in the school is greatly appreciated. Well done boys on your strong representation for your school. Soccer On Wednesday 6th of May, our Boys Under 15's Soccer team travelled to Canowindra for the first round of the Bill Turner Cup. The boys were looking their best in the new Soccer Uniforms (Thanks Parents and Friends) and this boosted their confidence. However, the result eventually went against us, with a final score of 3-1 being recorded. Man of the match was Canowindra's full back who stopped many of our attempts and kept us out of the game. Congratulations boys and thank you to all the parent who travelled over with us and made the day possible. Mr Thomas
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
Small Schools Rugby League U16 Last week the opens rugby league team competed in the country small schools competition in Dubbo. The boys had four games resulting in two losses, one draw and one win. The first game was against Canowindra High. After a tight first half where Canowindra led 6-0 at halftime the bounce of the ball did not go our way and we were beaten 16-0. The second game of the day was against Oberon High ( the eventual winners of the day). St Raphael’s again started well and made it hard for Oberon who were booming with representative players. However, as good as our effort was it was not good enough to halt the Oberon team who ran out winners 24-6. The third game of the day we were up against Nyngan High who again boast representative players and looked to be on par with the powerful Oberon outfit. St Raphael’s went into old school mode from the kick off and led by Joe Herden, Harry Waters and Rick Nobes the boys produced a master class in front on defence and sent the highly fancied Nyngan into state of panic. The game was locked up at 10-10 after the siren and Nobes had the chance to claim victory with a conversion from the sideline but it was waved away. The final game saw Nobes, Prescott, Waters, Ryan, Garling, Stead and Herden play their last game of rugby league in the school colours. This emotional charged team was going to deliver no matter who we played. Enter Grenfell High. With Nobes playing hurt but fought on like a caged lion, Herden was Paul Gallen like breaking the line more times than Rex Hunt, Waters could have been mistaken for Greg Bird, Prescott ran like a thousand gazelles handing out free windburn , Ryan was as tough as a hob nail boot, Stead was almost scouted by Melbourne with his sniper like defence, Garling was a tower of strength, Statham eating meters like hot dogs, Beer screaming orders like a general, Day chipping away like a stonemason, Baron bombing like his namesake, Thurtell turning Grenfell into turnstyles Clements running like Shirvo and Aston was as elusive as a coffee fuelled fly. Therefore Grenfell stood no hope and we won 30-6. All in all it was an enjoyable day. I would like to thank the students in the way they played. Their sportsmanship and respect of the other players was second to none. Also thank you to the parents who made the trip, without your time and help these days would not get off the ground. Craig Jeffries Polding Selection Trials Last Thursday, 5 Primary students travelled to Tamworth to compete for a position in the Polding teams in the sports of Girls Soccer - Madeline Webster; Opens Rugby League - Hayden Mullins and Ky Johnson; and 11s Rugby League - Bill Statham and Alex Brown. Representing the Bathurst Diocese is a big honour, with all 5 players enjoying the experience, gaining valuable lessons and skills along the way. Well done to these 5 students and their parents who made the journey to Tamworth to share in their child's success. P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Secondary Diocese Cross Country On Thursday 8th of May our Cross Country Running Team travelled to Orange for a fast 4km run around and through Lake Canobolas Reserve. Two students were successful in gaining a place in the Diocesan team which will now travel to Sydney (Eastern Creek) on June 13. Congratulations to Anna McNamara and Michelle Grech. CCC Rugby League Jack Thurtell travelled down for the selection trials last week for the 15s NSW Southern Country League Team. Congratulations to Jack on being selected for the team. Jack’s next stop is the NSW CCC Rugby rd League Trials on the 23 May.
Winter Uniform- Girls The uniform code indicates mid-calf length skirts - this allows the children to be active and safe. Long skirts create a trip hazard so please make any necessary adjustments before injuries occur. Thank you A very big thank you to the families who brought the children to Mass on Saturday night to help with the singing of 'Making a Difference' for all the mothers. Canteen Update This week’s roster is as follows: Tues 13 Sharon Groves
Wed 14 CLOSED
Nicky Savage
Thurs 15 Raelene Nelligan
Fri 16 Nicky Hudson
Mon 19 Jacqui CCusack
Lisa Mallon
Jane Webster
Raelene Nelligan
WELL DONE Congratulations to the following students who have achieved the next level on the Behaviour Management Programme. Level 5 Louis Carson Joshua Gocin Kelsey Pollard Adam Vardy Amelia Gundersen Breana Evans Angel Wall Richmond Bush Jack Thurtell Level 6 David Mood Richard Scott
4D 5G 5G 5G 6S K1 R2 K1 R1
Lakelan Goard Alaska Marold Brendan Stendell Hayden Mullins Brady Lucas Brittany Jacobsen Zachery Ashton Lara Rust
4D 5G 5G 6C 6S K1 R2 K2
K2 R1
Anna McNamara
R2
Your Teachers are very Proud of You!
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
25 Years of National Volunteer Week 12-18 May 2014 Celebrate National Volunteer Week & Neighbourhood Centre Week with Cowra Information & Neighbourhood Centre. Where: Cowra Information & Neighbourhood Centre 15 Vaux Street Date: Tuesday 13 May 2014 Time: 11 am RSVP: 6342 4900
National Simultaneous Storytime is an important annual campaign that aims to encourage more young Australians to read and enjoy books. Now in its 14th successful year it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy using an Australian children's book that explores age appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Grades F to 6 and the pre-school Early Learning Years Framework. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. By facilitating National Simultaneous Storytime we aim to; promote the value of reading and literacy; promote the value and fun of books; promote an Australian writer and publisher; promote storytime activities in public libraries and communities around the country; provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au