St Raphael’s Catholic School Term 2, Week 6/A Newsletter 2nd June 2014 I publicly pay tribute to all staff members and to the many parents who have contributed to these wonderful achievements because the events are characteristically well-orchestrated and that only results from tremendous co-operation and a sprinkle of constructive tension. Dear Parents Professional learning doesn’t necessarily sound exciting yet it is crucially important. We expect our doctors and health workers to be up with the latest treatments; our mechanics need to be up to date with innovations in the latest vehicle models and we rightly expect our computer technicians to handle current issues in hardware, software and network developments.
The focus shifts in this second part of the term back to the academic element of schooling through assessment and reporting. In addition, several training opportunities for staff members are available.
Michael Gallagher Principal
Equally and, I would argue, more importantly teachers must keep their knowledge and skills honed and current. At St Raphael’s we enjoy the privilege of having an extraordinary percentage of staff members holding post-graduate university qualifications. Additionally, numerous staff members are currently undertaking further university studies and will boost that percentage even higher. Professional organizations provide access to research, people and resources of the highest quality. The investment we make at St Raphael’s in professional learning is very significant – this week for example, we have staff attending a curriculum & learning conference in Sydney, we have office staff attending a two day conference at Dubbo and we have Executive staff (Primary) attending a conference at Orange. This represents the “behind the scenes” work being invested in our children. At the “front of stage”, in the classrooms, fields and community many events have been packed into a small period eg: Peer Support, Confirmation and Eucharist preparations, several excursions, National Testing, representative Rugby League, Rugby Union, Netball and Touch Football, Public Speaking, Spelling Bee and numerous Eisteddfod categories. (Best of luck to School Band members for their performances this week). These “iceberg” events have the invisible, vast bulk of planning and preparation.
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
THE ASCENSION of the LORD Jesus led his disciples out to the area near Bethany. Then he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left Them. He was taken up into heaven Luke 24:50-51 Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
Gospel Challenge Term 2 Week 6 “They all ate and were filled” Matthew 28:16-20
Altar Servers’ Roster th Sat 7 : Tom Heilman th Sun 8 : Owen Munro School Readers for Weekend Parish Masses: th Sat 7 : Kelly Price School Computer Roster th Sat 7 : Harry Waters th Sun 8 : Anna Steel
Monday 2 Tuesday 3 “P” Day for Kindergarten. Wednesday 4 Outward Bound Cup Cake Fundraiser. Thursday 5 Happy birthday to Grace Gallagher, Matilda and Layla Healy and Josette Lynch. Friday 6 Happy birthday to Isaak Dawes, Jyedon Goard and Cassandra Toohey. Diocesan Principals’ Netball Carnival in Orange.
Primary Leaders attend GRIP Leadership Day th On Tuesday 20 May the Primary prefects and House Captains attended a leadership conference in Bathurst. Leaders from across the central west schools were in attendance to help develop their leadership skills. The students were involved in several discussions, role plays, analysing scenarios and confidence building activities. The primary leaders in attendance enjoyed the day and were pleased with the practical knowledge they gained to help strengthen their leadership roles within our school.
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Happy birthday to Kate Price for the 7 and to Julia th Cains for 8 .
First Eucharist Please keep all our First Eucharist Candidates in your prayers as they continue their preparation to receive First Holy Communion on the 21st of June. Dates for the Calendar Weekend Masses 7th/8th June - Fifth Eucharist home sheet Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th June Confirmation Enrolment sheets given to parents at both Weekend Masses. Tuesday 17th June - Confirmation Enrolment meetings with parents 3.30pm and 7pm in St Brigid’s Hall. Fundraiser for Caritas Don’t forget Madeleine Cooper’s Bingo Night Fundraiser for Caritas Australia. It will be on Saturday, 28th June at the Cowra Services Club. Time 7.30pm to 10pm. Ticket price per person is $15 and $40 a family. RSVPs would need to in by th Friday 20 June. Tickets are available at St Raphael’s School front office and after both Cowra and Canowindra Catholic Mass services on Saturday and Sunday.
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Bards and Bytes News from the English Department Semester 1 has been full of activity, busy times and new projects. Year 7 students have settled well into their studies and are adjusting to their new timetables. Please remember to check if they have homework each week for English as this is most often the case. A spelling list is part of the homework. NAPLAN testing was conducted for all Year 7 and Year 9 students in May. Students in these two grades are also the first to be introduced to units of work written in line with the National Curriculum. In 2015 Years 8 and 10 will be undertaking new units of study. Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
The Diocesan Spelling Bee was a competition conducted in Houses through Homerooms in Term 1. The exciting final saw Mackenna Cusack (Raphael) and Lauren Thomas (Xavier) take out the Stage 4 final and Darcee Nixon (Kilbreda) and Callista Ford (Kilbreda) were the Stage 5 winners. These four students represented St Raphael’s in the Diocesan Finals held in Wellington. In a tight competition th Mackenna and Lauren tied 4 place and Darcy came 4th in the respective finals. Fantastic effort in a competition against the best spellers from nine secondary schools in the Bathurst Diocese. As well in Term 2 the St Raphael’s Public Speaking Competition was held with every student competing at the class stage. A team was chosen to represent us at the annual CWA Competition held in Bathurst. Members were Jessica McLeish, Xavier Lynch and Patrick Heilman from Stage 4 and Katie Brown, Josette Lynch and Maddison Johnson from Stage 5. In sections of 36 competitors the standard was excellent and all our speakers performed impressively and confidently. Patrick Heilman was awarded Highly Commended. Again a great effort from our students. There will be another Gifted and Talented opportunity later this year with the annual Academic Olympics held at James Sheahan School in Orange. No pressure being exerted here of course, but one of our two teams won this event in 2013 from 35 other teams! With the semester coming to a close we say a very special thank you to Mrs Margaret McMurtrie for her generous work with Year 7 and 8. We are grateful for her tireless efforts in the English Department. We hope that Semester 2 is successful for all students. Students are reminded that completing all set work is essential to achieving their best and homework especially is not an optional extra as it assists learning and extends understanding. With access to Google Drive now, a greater variety of learning tasks can be addressed for home study. Sue Whiteley English Department repare for ‘ ’ Day Kindergarten (and Year Six) Please remember 'p' day tomorrow and come to school as a pirate, a princess, a policeman, a post man, a priest, a painter, a pop star - anything beginning with the letter 'P'.
Secondary Fri, June 6 - Diocesan Netball (Orange) Fri, June 13 - CCC Cross Country (Eastern Creek) Tue, June 17 - Stage 4 Netball (Bathurst) Primary Wed, June 4 - Regional 7-a-side Rugby Finals P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Fri, June 13 - Polding Cross Country (Eastern Creek) Tue, June 17 - Stage 3 Netball (Bathurst) Mon, June 23 - Polding Rugby Selections (Forbes) Wed, June 25 - Regional 7-a-side Rugby League Finals
Primary Assembly 3M will be presenting this week’s primary assembly on Friday. If your son / daughter is to receive a class award a note will be sent home early next week. Although 3M will be leading the assembly, 3S will join with them in reciting the poems that they prepared for the Cowra Eisteddfod. The Year Five and Six students will also present their two eisteddfod poems during this Week Six Assembly. Parents and friends are very welcome to come and share the afternoon with us. Clothing Pool Clothing Pool will be open after assembly on Friday th 13 June. Lots of winter clothing items are currently available. Please contact the office for Chantel Wheeler’s phone number if you would like to organise a time to view the clothing. Donations of clothing are always welcome – these can be dropped into the front office. All funds collected go towards supporting the P&F. Primary Physical Education Lessons th This week on Wednesday, 4 June Year 1, 3 and 4 will be wearing their sports uniforms as they will be involved in Physical Education lessons. Next week, th Wednesday 11 June the students needing their sports uniforms are Year 2, 5 and 6. For Your Diary Fri, June 20 - Kinder - Year 10 Assembly Tue, June 24 - NAIDOC Celebrations Wed, June 25 - School Reports (To Parents) Thu, June 26 - Secondary Social Year 7-10 (St Raphael’s Hall) Fri, June 27 - Last day (Term 2)
“Passport to Paris” Bonjour all… St. Raphael’s is going to “Paris”… For your calendar: ** “Passport to Paris” art exhibition and art auction. Wednesday 13 August. ** “Le Cabaret” – Thursday 14 August, seated dinner and entertainment. Watch this space for the ticket release and more information.
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
** “Milkcrate Events” a Sydney based artistic duo will be workshopping with the Primary students and creating a 3D Eiffel Tower out of milk bottles. We need 400 bottles!! Can students/families recycle 2 LITRE MILK BOTTLES, NEED TO BE WASHED AND LABELS REMOVED. HOT WATER DOES THE TRICK. BRING IT IN WITH THE LID ON TO YOUR CLASS TEACHER. Mrs Lil Wilson will be co-ordinating this event and will keep the bottles for us until we need them. Au revoir The Creative & Practical Arts Departments Crunch and Sip - Morning Fruit Break Before school every morning the Primary and Infant children are encouraged to eat a small piece of fruit or vegetable. This can include some sultanas, dried fruit or small containers of fruit salad. Please don't send cheese and biscuits or fruit strips to be eaten at this time. We are trying to encourage healthy eating as we are a registered Crunch and Sip school. The Gigalees Circus. What a fantastic afternoon of entertainment Kinder, Year One and Year Two experienced last Tuesday afternoon. The Gigalees juggled, made balloon animals, performed acrobatic tricks and danced and sang. The children laughed and laughed which was lovely to see. Everyone stood up and joined in the singing and the actions with Daisy and Wilma, our visiting clowns! Kate Proctor – It was fantastic! I liked when they were doing the juggling. Charlie Coombes – I liked the missed handshakes. Mackinlee Charnock – I liked when they stood up on each other. Darby Hubber - …Daisy was doing cartwheels. Laura Price – Daisy nearly touched the ceiling. Ashley Langfield - I liked when Wilma fell asleep. Book Club Book club is due back to the school by this Friday. Please make sure you put your child’s name and home class on the order. Thank you. Outward Bound News
"Outward Bound" students are having a "Cupcake Fundraiser" on Wednesday 4 June. Bring in your coins for some delicious treats. Mary and Paul Booth of "Stainbusters Central West" are willing to donate for every carpet clean over $130 (ie 4 rooms) $20 to Outward Bound and every lounge clean $150 for 5 seater we will donate $30. You just need to mention "Outward Bound" when you book. What a generous contribution. You can contact Mary and Paul on 63424992.
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
School Fees A reminder that school fees for Term 2 are now due. Prompt payment would be appreciated. Canteen Update This week’s roster is as follows: Tues 3 Vickey Dorahy
Wed 4 CLOSED
Nicolette Savage
Thurs 5 Jane Stendell Nikki Howden
Fri 6 Lyn Terry
Mon 9
Margaret Stewart
QUEENS BIRTHDAY
Laura Proctor
WELL DONE Congratulations to the following students who have achieved the next level on the Behaviour Management Programme. Level 5 Matthew Grech 6C Cameron Prescott X1 Griffin Keys K2 Level 6 Philippa Elwin 3M Elizabeth Heilman 3M Dekota Hindmarsh 3S Kate Cumming 4J Katherine Johnston 4J Katie Brown X1 Tom Statham X2 Madeleine Caine K1 Anna Johnston R1 Matthew Mood K2 Jessica Savage R1 Samantha MacCabe R1
Julian Garling Melanie grogan
K1 K1
Eppie Emseis 3M Stanley Rush 3M Benjamin Varela 4D Rachel Myers 4J Mitchell Beer R2 Hannah Nobes R1 Cassandra-Lee Toohey K1 Daisy Heilman R1 Sophie McKillop K2 Holly Proctor R2 Ella Gruessing K2 Elia Murray K2
Your Teachers are very Proud of You!
The Henry Lawson Festival th When June 7 , 2014 Time 9:30am-3:30pm Where Meet at Cowra Information & Neighbourhood Centre before 9:30am 15 Vaux Street COWRA All enquiries to Cowra Community Transport at 15 Vaux Street or call us on 6342 4900. Seats are limited so get in quick! The bus will be a small charge of $10 Departure: It would be very much appreciated if everyone could meet where they were dropped off as the bus will be departing from Grenfell at 3:30pm to arrive in Cowra at 4:15pm.
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au