St Raphael’s Catholic School Term 2, Week 4/A Newsletter 16 May 2016 the parent body. You are warmly invited to attend the monthly meetings on the third Monday of each month. Tonight’s meeting begins at 7pm in the Staff Room. Dear Parents Items are being performed at the annual Cowra eisteddfod and I want to acknowledge the dedication, perseverance and teamwork of all those involved. On Friday our campaign began with choirs (with a win and two Highly Commended) and will progress through bands, skits, verse speaking, dance and instrumentals in coming weeks. All the best to our talented representatives. All the best to our Year 11 students, undertaking this week the first exam sessions at Stage 6. I am immensely proud of these pioneer students and the attitude they have collectively adopted to their work, to their school, to their leadership role and to their fellow students. Associate Professor Catherine Attard (University of Western Sydney) will continue her work with primary teachers this Thursday afternoon. Since Term four last year Catherine has walked with us as critical friend in the process of reviewing, rethinking and restructuring the way we do our primary maths. The main thrust is to ensure a high level of buy-in from each child. A Pupil Free day is on next Monday (May 23) to enable our staff to gather with colleagues from St Joseph’s at Eugowra and St Edwards from Canowindra to participate in an annual retreat. This year we are once again privileged to have Father Richard Leonard leading us. Fr Richard is also doing a presentation for the community the evening before (Sunday 22 @ the school @ 7pm). He is a most entertaining but challenging speaker on matters of faith and life. There is no charge to attend but there is a guarantee that you will view life differently after listening to Richard. Come along. The Diocesan Catholic Education Committee have taken a high degree of interest in how St Raph’s is developing along the way to going from Kindergarten to Year 12. At a meeting with the DCEC last week they were most supportive and encouraging and have generously cleared away several obstacles for us – mostly of a financial nature, to ensure a sound transition to K-12. The Parents and Friends Association is your chance to participate in the discussions and decision-making of P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Michael Gallagher Principal
Holy Year of Mercy “But the most important thing is to walk together by working together, by helping one another, by asking for forgiveness, by acknowledging one’s mistakes and asking for forgiveness. Also by accepting the apologies of others by forgiving - how important this is!” Pope Francis th Address 4 October 2013
God of the journey, we are often blinded by anger, pain, jealousy and revenge, and are unable to acknowledge the times when we have failed. May we find comfort in the forgiveness of Jesus. In so doing may we strive each day to walk with others, help others, and ask for forgiveness - acknowledging that we are human, that we are weak and that we seek the tenderness of your love in our lives. Amen
Monday 16 Year 11 Exam Week. P&F Meeting at 7pm. Tuesday 17 Happy birthday to Cooper Hurst, Jamara Lambshead and Aiden Roberts Eisteddfod: Year 3-6 Dance Eisteddfod: Year 2 Verse Speaking Wednesday 18 Outward Bound BBQ at lunch. Thursday 19 Friday 20 Happy birthday to Flynn Hindmarsh. Primary Assembly led by 1 Green. Happy birthday to Archie Brown for the 21st. Monday 23 PUPIL FREE DAY.
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
Altar Servers’ Roster st Sat 21 May: Alisha and Tianna Azzopardi. nd Sun 22 May: Mikelli and Ky Garratt. School Readers for Weekend Parish Masses: st Sat 21 May: Mrs J White. School Eucharistic Ministers for Weekend Parish Masses: st Sat 21 May: Mr A Casey.
the local area, the crossing of the Blue Mountains and the settlement of Bathurst. Students then played some games and were taught how to throw a boomerang. After lunch Year 4 headed up to the Bathurst Goldfields on Mt Panorama where they were informed of life in the times of early settlement. Students were then able to participate in mud brick making, games, damper cooking and tent building. They also were able to look at old machinery, tools, transport and housing. The students gained a lot of knowledge from the excursion and were complimented on their excellent behaviour by the tour guides.
School Computer Roster st Sat 21 May: Mrs R Downes. nd Sun 22 May: Lynch family.
K-6 Assemblies K-6 Assemblies are now held in St Brigid's Hall. This week’s assembly will be hosted by1 Green and will be commencing at 2.00pm. Diocesan Primary Spelling Bee Primary students have recently participated in our school Spelling Bee. The year group finals were extremely close and the extra dedication towards practice from these students was evident. Congratulations to Mikelli Garratt, Chelsee White, Poppy Starr and Kate Proctor who will be representing th our school at Wellington on the 26 May in the Diocesan Spelling Bee Finals. Year 4 Excursion th On Wednesday 11 May, Year 4 travelled to Bathurst for an excursion to complement their History unit ‘First Contacts’. The first part of the excursion was a guided walk along the banks of the Macquarie River where students dressed as convicts, soldiers and colonial women.
I enjoyed the excursion because we got to play games and throw a boomerang. My favourite bit was making and cooking damper. – Isabelle Doorey I enjoyed the excursion because we made damper and mud bricks. – Maddison Tremble I got to see where the first inland settlement was and I got to learn how to throw a boomerang and make damper. – Natasha Smaluck I enjoyed the excursion because there was games and I got to eat damper. I learned a lot from the excursion and I loved it. – Adam Dhrygck Primary/Infants Eisteddfod Performances The primary and infants performance times and dates are presented below. Specific times cannot be given, only section times. This information can also be found on the Cowra Eisteddfod website. All students should wear full winter school uniform for their performance. Dance and skit performances should adhere to their specific costumes as directed by the teachers. Tuesday, 17 May, 2016 Morning Commences at 9:30 AM SECTION 219 EARLY CHILDHOOD 5YRS & UNDER SPEECH & DRAMA ENTERTAINMENT 1 Carinya Wattle Room, Cowra, NSW 2 Carinya Waratah Room, Cowra, NSW SECTION 221 STAGE 2 SCHOOL VERSE-SPEAKING Choir 2 . 1 Stage Two Verse Speaking St Raphael's Catholic School, Cowra, NSW 1st SECTION 225 SMALL SCHOOL (up to 100 students) VERSE-SPEAKING Choir 1 Lyndhurst Public School, Lyndhurst, NSW SECTION 220 STAGE 1 SCHOOL VERSE-SPEAKING 1 Mulyan Public School, Cowra, NSW 2 Yr 2 St Raphael's Catholic School, SECTION 222 STAGE 3 SCHOOL VERSE-SPEAKING Choir 2 contrasting poems. 1 Cowra Public School, Cowra, NSW 2 Mulyan Public School, Cowra, SECTION 224 STAGES 1/2/3 SCHOOL VERSE-SPEAKING Choir (maximum 20 voices) Stage Three Verse Speaking St Raphael's Catholic School, Cowra,
During the tour students were informed of the Aboriginal and European wars that occurred around P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
SECTION 217 12 YRS/U SHORT SKIT Solo or Group PRIZES: 1 Cowra Ballet School, Cowra, NSW 2 Stage 3 Skit A St Raphael's Catholic 3 Stage 3 Skit B St Raphael's Catholic 4 Stage 2 Skit B St Raphael's Catholic 5 Stage 2 Skit A St Raphael's Catholic 6 Stage 3 Skit C St Raphael's Catholic Tuesday, 24 May, 2016 Morning Commences at 9:00 AM Stage Two and Three Dance Please note that we are the 4th Section of the morning. There are approximately 30 individual dances before we perform. Wednesday, 1st June Morning Commences at 9:30AM Kindergarten Choir Kindergarten are in the 3rd Section of the morning with 7 performances before them.
Small Schools Rugby League It was reported in Week 2’s newsletter that we would be sending some Year 6 and 7 boys to Dubbo on Thursday, 5 May, to play in the annual Small Schools Rugby League tournament. Sadly, only two schools nominated and so they have postponed the event till Thursday, 30th June, Week Ten. Coolah Cross Country On Tuesday 3rd May seven of Primary students and their parents travelled to Coolah to compete in the Diocesan Cross Country. Our Year 3 and 4 students completed the 2km course whilst our Year 5 and 6’s completed the 3km course which includes the famous 'Heart Break Hill.' All students competed extremely well. Most age groups had over 80 competitors. Our results were as follows: nd 8/9 Girls Laura Price 2 th 10yrs Girls - Phoebe Smith 10 , Kaitlyn th rd Rutledge 35 , Georgia Williams 53 st st 11yrs Girls - Inka Wilson 21 , Alizah Walker 41 rd 12yrs Boys - Jock Stephenson 33 Special congratulations to Laura Price who will now represent our Diocese at Eastern Creek later in the term. Primary Athletics Carnival The St Raphael's Athletics Carnival that was held on the last day of Term 1 (8 April) was not completed due to inclement weather. The final 3 events for each age group will be held on Thursday 2 June. These events will commence at 1.00pm at River Park and will involve all students in Year 3-6 as well as Year 2 students who competed at the carnival.
Outward Bound Wood Raffle Congratulations to Karen Thurtell – the winner of our wood raffle. Thank you to all those who supported us and bought tickets and in particular to the Amos family for donating the wood. P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
BBQ Lunch Fundraiser – 18 May Outward Bound BBQ fundraiser will be held this Wednesday Week 4, 18 May. Sausage sandwich $2 Poppers (Primary) $1 Cans (Secondary only) $2 Zooper Doopers 50c That is lunch for under $5!! Don’t forget to bring your money to school on Wednesday. Red Shield Appeal We will hold a Mufti Day for the Salvation Army on Friday 27th May. Gold coin donation in Home-Room. Please wear something red :) Canteen Update This week’s roster is as follows: Tues 17
Wed 18
Thurs 19
Fri 20
Karen Campbell
CLOSED
JoAnne Graham
Mary Campbell
Carrie Simunic
Leanne Twigg
Mon 23 PUPIL FREE DAY
Tues 24 Karen Campbell Nikkara Brennan
Report back We have been a bit quiet on reporting in the newsletter to the St Raphael’s family due to the fact that there has been excessive activity occurring in the background and, to be honest, we forgot to keep you up to date about the associations progress. Obviously there are some of you reading the up to date information via social media and we trust that this is helping you understand the great efforts that your representatives, along with parent volunteers, are busily doing in the background. We are in the process of updating the P&F website to include the profiles of present members and the newbies. Laura Cranney, Publicity Officer & Donna O’Brien, Treasurer, are doing a sterling job at getting this job done and we hope that we will have a new look soon. Donna, your treasurer, is controlling the finances in a very orderly fashion. Tony Williams has come on board as the new Vice President and is quietly learning the ropes. Angela Kollas, vice president, along with her sidekick Deenita Mitchell, have been going above and beyond the call of duty with fundraising initiatives in the forms of the Mother’s Day gift sale and Balloon Glow which were highly successful in contributing more funds to the associations pool. Alison Rutledge has stepped up to the secretary role and is to be commended for putting her hand up in conjunction with her work with the school garden. Damien Stephenson is still your president and is still learning the ropes but hopes he is steering your association in the right direction. A thank you must be extended to our volunteer parents who have stepped up to run the Deb Ball this year with Nat Rush, Skye Muddle, Kristy White, Melissa Thompson, Cherie McCabe & Amy O’Reilly. This group of talented mothers and parents of the school have taken over the reins from Helen Barker who has run the Ball so well for so many years – thank you Helen! The association is stepping up a gear this year with our main focus being the playground area. The long awaited shelter is
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
up and our plan is to brighten up the surface area via a beautification process. We are in the process of obtaining quotes for resurfacing the court area and inquiring into a soft fall surface for the infants but overall we have made it our priority to make the playground area an extension of the classroom by making it a fun and interactive arena to play and for the children to be children. As stated before, the website will be updated soon but our Facebook page is extremely handy at keeping everyone up to date with what your association is up to. Our next meeting will be held tonight at 7pm in the staff room and if you have the time, come along and have your say in how you would like things done by your representatives. It’s very inclusive and we like it that way. We want our school family to be positive and forward thinking to enrich the learning of life for our children. You don’t need to be on the committee but just help out with making the school environment a positive and happy place.
Additionally, families who may not be able to access the online application can call 131 500 for assistance with completing their applications. Transport for NSW will provide information brochures to schools in the coming weeks. Transport for NSW- School Student Transport Scheme April 2016 Rural and regional school travel. Find out more about the SSTS at transport.nsw.gov.au/customers/ssts/schools
Damien Stephenson - President P & F Association
WELL DONE Congratulations to the following students who have achieved the next level on the Behaviour Management Programme. Level 5 Amelia Cranney Jocelyn Thomas Jackson White Mitchell Casey Level 6 Bella Bright Laura Casey Joel Stendell Alex Duff Lucas Pearce Michelle Grech
3 Green Mackinlee Charnock 3 Green 3 Green Broc White 3 Green 3 Green Ben Smith 5 Green 5 Gold 7 Green 7 Green 7 Green 8 Green 8 Gold 11 Green
Alexie Buchtmann Rugbi Murray Ethan Thomas Benjamin Myers Richmond Bush
7 Green 7 Green 7 Green 8 Gold 11 Green
Your Teachers are very Proud of You!
Transport for NSW- School Student Transport Scheme April 2016 Rural and regional school travel New single application for School Opal cards and free school travel in rural and regional areas. An updated online form to apply for free travel between home and school will be available for students attending schools in rural and regional NSW from 12 May 2016. The form can be used by parents, guardians and students applying for free school student travel under the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) and provides a single application process for School Opal cards and free school travel across NSW. Forms are completed by parents or guardians. Students 16 years of age and over must complete and sign the application form themselves. With 2016 rural and regional travel entitlements already issued for the year, most parents, guardians and students won’t need to re-apply and should continue to use their current travel entitlement. A new application will only be required if students change their school, campus, home address or name. Bus operators will make their own arrangements with students as to whether a pass is required for travel to and from school. Please note, blue forms that have already been completed and submitted to Transport for NSW or a transport operator will be processed and do not need to be resubmitted.
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au