St Raphael’s Catholic School Term 1, Week 4/B Newsletter 20 February 2017
Dear Parents Every one of us is officially a member of the P&F Association. Tonight at 7pm in the staffroom, the Association will meet for the first time this year. You are invited to become an active member of this vital part of our school. Our Representative Swimming Squads travel to Bathurst (Primary) and Dubbo (Secondary) to compete at the next level of Diocesan Swimming Competition. Thank you to those parents providing transport and support. Real Talk worked with our secondary students (711) last Friday and addressed some very important issues rather directly. Maybe it’s a great chance to have a discussion with your children about their experience and their learnings. Year 11 has a busy time next week: Biology Field Trip is on next Monday to Lake Cowal, RYDA Workshops on Tuesday and the Mulgoa Retreat on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The “Crocus” is the school magazine and we did not get the magazine published the calendar year. Every family will receive the 15/16 Crocus at the start of Term 2. My apologies for the delayed circulation. Last Thursday Year 7 and their families had a great gathering in the Convent Courtyard (and beyond)! A very solid start for our fine young students new to secondary schooling. On Wednesday evening there is a Meet the Teachers session for Kindergarten and Year 3 where there are new routines and responsibilities to be adopted.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5: 44
Monday 20
Tuesday 21 Happy birthday to Ayanna Goyal and Erin Rutledge. Study Centre @ S17 (Computer Lab 3) 3 8-8:45am. Wednesday 22 Happy birthday to Madison Harcombe and Max Myers. Study Centre @ S17 (Computer Lab 3) 3 8-8:45am. Thursday 23 Study Centre @ S17 (Computer Lab 3) 3 8-8:45am.
Friday 24 Happy birthday to Lucy Tydd. th
Happy birthday to Mitchell Sparkes for the 25 .
Tuesday evening, Feb 28 Cowra Speech, Language and Literacy Summit at the Civic Centre, Free. Hugely important issues for every parent, student and professional educator. Excellent Keynote speakers plus allied health and learning professionals on hand. A whole Cowra community event. Mark it on your calendar and get along to it.
Dates for the Calendar 1 March- Ash Wednesday 1st -3rd March - Year 11 Retreat Molgoa
Michael Gallagher Principal P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
difference between a good fire and a bad fire. We have some budding little fire firefighters in our midst as some Kindies were very good at holding the fire hose. Year 3 Parents Year 3 Parents are warmly invited to come and meet the Year 3 teachers, check out your child’s place of learning and have a quick look through the fantastic work Year 3 have already completed this year. When: Wednesday 22nd February 2017 Time: 5:30pm Place: Year 3 Classrooms We will have a quick chat about some of the following topics: BMP 1st Eucharist Passwords/Emails Cyber Safety Naplan Support and Enrichment Homework Followed by any questions you may have regarding your children. We look forward to seeing you all there, Amy O’Reilly, Amanda Edwards and Renae Downes Kindergarten Parent Information Gathering All parents and carers of Kindergarten warmly welcomed and encouraged to attend an information session with Mrs Colemane and Mrs McNamara on Wednesday the 22nd February. The meeting will be held in the Kindergarten rooms at 6pm. We hope to see you there. secondary aRT STUDiO news : "Archibald fever has arrived in Cowra"!! Welcome to 2017 Visual Art news! A new year with many talented and enthusiastic creative students. Thank you Year 7 for taking on the new creative challenges and producing such excellent work in the first few weeks. It is an exciting time for our new "art studio" as we witness the production of our Year 12 Bodies of Work. We look forward to an art exhibition later in the year. The Archibald Portrait Exhibition is on at the Cowra Gallery till the 19 March. Consequently Year 7–12 Visual Art students will be visiting this wonderful exhibition over the next two weeks. They will walk down during their art lessons or there may be a lesson swap to fit in with the Gallery timetable. Year 9/10 – Tuesday 22 Feb Year 11/12- 23 Feb Year 7 Green- 23 Feb Year 8-1 – 1 March Year 7 Gold- 2 March Year 8-2 – 15 March Many thanks to Kirsty Langfield who donated a digital camera to our Art department. Year 9 and 10 are sourcing old musical instruments and surf boards to paint on. They obviously need to be items that you are throwing out and not functional anymore. Let us know if you have anything to add to our collection. Ms Inel Date
Firetruck visit to Kindergarten Green and Gold On Wednesday, we were very fortunate to have Georgia Dunford introduce her dad and his firetruck to the class as part of her 'Show and Tell.' During the visit, Kinder learned how to "get down low and go, go, go" in the case of a fire. They also learned the P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Eastern Bathurst Swimming Carnival 30 students Year Three to Six will be travelling to Bathurst tomorrow to compete at the Eastern Bathurst Swimming Carnival. We wish them all the best as they compete for a place in the Eastern Bathurst Swimming Team to compete at the Diocesan Swimming Carnival to be held in Dubbo on Wednesday 8th March. Summer Sports Trials On Friday, 10th February, Ky Garratt travelled to Newcastle to compete for a place in the Polding Tennis team. He was representing the Bathurst Diocese, a team he had qualified into from trials at Dubbo in term four from last year. Hot conditions greeted Ky on the courts at Newcastle, along with some very stiff opposition. Unfortunately Ky was unable to win any of his matches, however he was happy with how he played. Although Ky didn’t make it through to the next level at Newcastle he followed this up with a tournament in Wagga on Sunday 12th and was the winner of the 10/under boys. Well done, Ky. Keep up the great attitude! The Davis Cup team needs well-behaved and humble players like you! Years 7-10 – Tuesday 21 February 'Hogs for the Homeless' rugby league clinic is on tomorrow (Tuesday 21st February) – see article below. All
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
students in Years 7-10 must be in full and correct sports uniform. All students must bring a drink bottle and a hat. We will be leaving school after recess so no food is required.
February) and then every Thursday after that (2nd March, 9th March, 16th March, 23rd March). Students from Years 3 to 6 will be walking to the Cowra Aquatic Centre to participate in a range for swimming and lifesaving skills.
Hogs for Homeless - Western Region Tour
Stage Three (Years 5 & 6) will start at 11:20am, concluding at 12:05pm. Stage Two (Years 3 & 4) will commence at 12:05pm and run until 12:50pm. Students need to:a) Bring their swimmer (DO NOT wear them underneath your sports uniform!) b) Bring a towel in a bag with underwear to replace wet swimmers c) Bring sun screen and a water bottle. d) Season Ticket Card or Number.
Brad Fittler (above) and a host of former professional rugby league players including Steve Menzies (on bike) will come to Cowra. As a part of the Hogs for Homeless western region tour, the team of former rugby league legends will stop in Cowra to host a clinic with St Raphael’s at River Park. On Tuesday, February 21 from 11am the likes of Brad Fittler, Nathan Hindmarsh and Steve Menzies will roll into town and spend about an hour and a half with St Raphael’s students from years 7 to 10. The kids will get an opportunity to take part in some basic skill development and rugby league games and will receive a free drink bottle. Brad Fittler says it’s important to raise awareness of homelessness. “The key to all our messages is just to be grateful. Be part of a club, whether it is footy, chess or anything, but get out and enjoy it,” Fittler said. “Every kid we meet gets a football and we hope it can make a difference.” From Cowra, the team will continue the tour to Dubbo where they’ll be based overnight hosting a dinner at Dubbo RSL. Kinder Sport The Kindies are making good use of the the newly refurbished courtyard. In this photograph, the children are working on their core strength, try very hard to be supermen and women! Thank you to our wonderful hard working parents who made this possible.
Athletics High Jump John Terry had another successful weekend with his high jump. First in the U18s at the ACT Athletics
Championships in Canberra. He jumped another respectable 195cm to win gold. Well done John!
Important Notes re School Fees 2017 The annual school fee statement was sent home last week with your youngest child at school. If you have not received it please contact the school office to request a replacement. Please note that the statement represents the whole year and not just this term as it has previously. Please note that the single fee model captures costs for all compulsory activities and tuition. You shouldn’t be charged anything unless you are opting in as an extra / representative activity. If you are paying periodically by Direct Debit, Bpay or Centrepay payments you will also need to contact the school office to confirm that your payment amount is correct. Amounts vary from year to year with fee increases, students enrolling and completing school. All parents/carers on enrolling agree to pay fees. However, if your family is experiencing financial difficulty, please contact the school office for an Application for Fee Relief and make an appointment with the Principal. Completed applications must be available for presentation at the interview. Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you would like explanation or assistance with any matters relating to school fees. Book Club The first edition for this year was sent out last week. Orders th are due back to school by this Friday, 24 February. Please make sure your child’s name and class are clearly written on the order and that the correct amount of money is placed with the order. Thank you.
Canteen Update This week’s roster is as follows: Tues 21 Jodie Toohey
Primary Swimming Program - Year 3-6 Sport St Raphael’s will be running a five week Primary Swimming Program, commencing next Thursday (23rd
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Tammie Penyu
Wed 22
Thurs 23 Lisa Mallon
CLOSED Nicole Pearce
Fri 24 Kristy White
Mon 27 Sian Tangye
Anna Thirkell
Karen Clarke
Kirsty Langfield
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
Parents and Friends are welcome to join us for the first P&F Meeting of the year tonight at 7pm in the staff room at school. Please come along and share your ideas for how we can help the school, your input would be greatly appreciated.
Cowra Leo’s Club (Junior Lions Club) Hey guys, we need your help. If you are 12 to18 years old, (up to 30 for adults) and you like helping people, then keep reading. I am a representative from the Cowra Leo’s Club and we are desperate for members. The Leo’s Club is a group that encourages young men and women to help the community by fundraising, creating awareness and helping people in need. If you are interested, call 0487 567074 for details or meet us at our next meeting on 22nd February at OCTEC, 39 Macquarie Street Cowra at 4:30pm. Thank You! Hope to hear from you soon. Alex Duff, Cowra Leo’s Club
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au