St Raphael’s Catholic School Term 3, Week 2/B Newsletter 21st July 2014 determine readiness for kindergarten. If you want to be included in our communications please notify Genevieve at the front office. Dear Parents Bishop Michael McKenna will visit the school tomorrow. With limited time, Bishop Michael has three focal points: spending time with Confirmation candidates, spending time with senior students and spending time with staff members. It is our privilege to host Bishop Michael for the morning and thank him for his visit. Tonight the P&F Association meets in the staff room at 7pm for the first of three Term 3 meetings. All parents and friends of the school are warmly welcomed. On Thursday evening the next information meeting about Year 11 & 12 is being held. The purpose of these meetings is to enable everyone in the community to stay abreast of developments as they occur and to have questions addressed. Set aside an hour and a half on Thursday evening at 7:30 in Computer Lab 3. The annual K-10 Schools Athletics Competition will be held on Friday here at Cowra. As organizers, there has been a huge quantity of liaising with other schools and entry of data and I pay tribute to the people responsible for preparatory work, particularly Mr Steve Thomas and Mrs Cherie MacCabe. We wish our representative athletes strong competition, good performances and close friendships. Later in Term 3 information sessions will being conducted for parents and children in Stage 3 who are preparing to progress to Stage 4. Parents of and children in Years Five and Six will have the chance to familiarize yourselves with the offerings of the secondary department. Later in the year, orientation sessions will be conducted specifically for the students. Secondary elective courses are up for re-selection. So parents and students of both Year 8 and 9 will be guided through the process of elective course selection. Each student will study three courses from the range offered. Kindy Start is a chance we offer, later in Term 3 and into Term 4, for parents and children to have a very close look at the offerings of “big school” and to P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Learning and teaching are central to the work of our th school. On Friday, August 20 we are conducting a professional development day for all of our teachers. This day will be pupil-free.
Michael Gallagher Principal
The Parable of the Mustard Seed Matthew 13: 31-32 We see the power of the mustard seed image in our lives, where a very little teeny tiny bit of faith and love goes a very long way. Think about the impact of a kind loving word, a sincere apology, a heartfelt thank you. Think of how the smallest bits of kindness, of love, of grace, can change the course of our whole day, or week, or even lives. Earnestly stepping out in just the tiniest bit of faith can change the course — not only of our own lives — but the countless lives of all those whom God chooses to touch through our minute faithfulness. This is the mustard seed. Think of today. What will you do to make a difference to the world around you? Will you say a kind word to someone who is sad? Will you help someone to do something difficult? Will you take care of the earth's resources by recycling something? Will you cheer up the people around you with your smile? Will those you meet today find that the world is a brighter place because of you? Dear God, Though we are so small and the world is so big, help us to make a difference to all whom we meet today. Amen. Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
Dates for Calendar: 26th/27th July -Third confirmation home sheet 30th July - Vinnies Winter Appeal. Mufti and gold coin donation. Monday 21 P&F Meeting at 7pm. Tuesday 22 Happy birthday to Braith Amos, Lillian Lawler and Zara McKenzie. Bishop Michael’s visit to St Raphael’s. Wednesday 23 Happy birthday to Ryan Hudson and Charlie and Digby Williams. Thursday 24 Stage 6 Parent Information Meeting at 7:30pm Friday 25 Happy birthday to Jorja and Mackenzie Bone. K-10 Schools Athletics Carnival at River Park. Primary assembly led by 2P. th
Happy birthday to Madeline Sim for the 26 .
Catholic Schools at a Crossroads As part of the process to assess the implementation of Catholic Schools at a Crossroads, the Bishops of NSW have decided to use surveys prepared by the Catholic Eucation Commission of NSW. There are two surveys, one for priests and one for parishioners and parents. Bishop Michael has invited parents to complete their survey online. The CEC will then forward the information collated from the survey directly to Bishop Michael. The link for parents in our diocese is: http://stage.cecnsw.catholic.edu.au/bathurst/bathurst_ parish_survey.asp Vinnies Winter Appeal 2014 This winter we are reminded that the reasons to donate are all around us. As the months grow colder and the cost of living continues to escalate, we see many families who are struggling to buy food, pay the bills and simply make ends meet. The reasons to help someone out are all around us in the many cities, towns, neighbourhoods and streets, where people are struggling to keep their heads above water. Please find your reason for giving this winter and donate to the Vinnies 2014 Winter Appeal so that with your continued support, Vinnies can provide much needed assistance to the people in our community who need it most. Our school will be supporting the appeal with a mufti and gold coin donation day. The day will be Wednesday 30th July. Let’s make a difference!
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Altar Servers’ Roster th Sat 26 July: Hayden and Marcus Mullins and Ben and Rachel Myers. th Sun 27 July: Madelyn Stead and Bernadette Zarb. School Readers for Weekend Parish Masses: th Sat 26 July: Mrs B Healy. th Sun 27 July: Mrs T Johnston. School Eucharistic Ministers for Weekend Parish Masses: th Sun 27 July: Mr M Gallagher, Mrs S Whiteley and Mrs T Johnston. School Computer Roster th Sat 26 July: Harry Waters.
th
Katoomba Excursion 29 August 2014 Thank you very much for the many parent helpers who put their names forward to attend our Stage One’s Katoomba Excursion. There were so many parents wishing to help, we had to pull names out of a hat. The parents whose names were drawn were, Mrs Emma Thompson for 1W, Mrs Jen Shady for 1SO, Mrs Rachel McKenzie and Mr Mal Bird for 2P and Mr Will Bennett for 2W. Thank you once again for you kind support. Thank you to all parents who have finalised payment for the excursion. The remainder of the payment for th the excursion is due by Friday 15 August. Thank you Mark Wisemantel - Teacher NAPLAN Trialling Tests St Raphael’s Catholic School has been selected to participate in Literacy and Numeracy trail tests for the NAPLAN programme. These tests are important for the development on the final NAPLAN test items. The classes that were selected to undertake these exams are Year 7-2 and Year 9-2. th Year 9-2 will sit the exams on Monday 28 July and st Year 7-2 will sit the exams on Thursday, 31 July. Students will need to ensure they are equipped with a calculator for the Mathematics portion of the testing. 4J Blog 4J have developed a blog to share information what is happening in 4J with parents and the wider school community. Students will be posting short recounts to share their learning journey with you. There will also be other information as well. If you would like to access this blog and share in the learning journey of 4J, we invite you to view posts and to post a comment. The blog is found at: www.4jstraphaels.blogspot.com Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
You can also download the Blogger app for free and view the blog via smart phones, IPads, etc.
Primary Physical Education Lessons Wednesdays rd This week on Wednesday, 23 June Year 2, 5 and 6 will be wearing their sports uniforms as they will be involved in Physical Education lessons.
Kindy Start – Siblings Parents are asked to please complete the form at the end of the newsletter and return it if they have a son or daughter about to start school next year so we can start collating numbers. Watch this space for more information about the Kindy Start programme and Parents’ Information Meeting. Thank you. Outward Bound Congratulations to J. Houghton for winning the wood raffle. Thank you especially to the Nixon family for organising the wood and well done Outward Bounders and their families on all your fundraising activities. Our next raffle is also being sold at the front office- a monster raffle - which includes a patio heater and a swag. This will be drawn at our Art evening on 14 August. All pies will be delivered this Sunday to the families that supported usmany thanks! Thank you in anticipation for your wonderful support! Mrs Inel Date
Don't forget to organise your ticket for the "Le Cabaret" evening on Thursday 14 August Delicious French food, a table of friends and wonderful entertainment! They are $30 each and can be purchased from the front office. Tickets can be purchased individually or as a table. Many thanks to Lil Wilson who has been working with the primary students creating milk bottle bunting and groovy "Paris" shoes. We now have enough milk bottlesthank you! Please support our wonderful teachers and enthusiastic students in their creative endeavours!
K-2 Tea Towel orders. Extended for one week by popular demand – please make sure your orders th are finalised by this Friday, 25 July. They are $15 each. Please complete the order form at the end of the newsletter and send in by the end of this week.
Lost Jumpers/Jackets Please could you check students’ bags for any jackets or jumpers that may not belong to them. Often these items are picked up in error in the rush to line up or at the end of the day pack up. All jumpers and jackets can be returned to the front office. Thank you Canteen Update This week’s roster is as follows: Tues 22 Jodie Toohey Anna Triming
Wed 23 CLOSED
Thurs 24 Nikki Howden
Fri 25 Zelda De Wet
Mon 28 Leanne Coady
Lis Robertson
Lisa Mallon
Sally Bruncher
Soccer Canteen Lyn Terry Rachael Duff
“Passport to Paris”
There is much excitement throughout the school for our upcoming exhibition "Passport to Paris". The secondary have been finalising their canvases and painting the "Paris" lanterns. All primary classes are working on items for auction. These canvases will be auctioned at the opening of our exhibition on Wednesday 13 August. Entry is gold coin with free canapés and drinks. See the collage of work in progress...
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Jacinta Hines
There will be a canteen running at the K-10 Athletics Carnival. There will be other hot food, drinks and treats sold at the canteen on the day. If the helpers can please arrive at the old Soccer Canteen after they have dropped their kids off or at 9:00am. All children competing will have a sausage on a roll and a juice. This is include in their athletics Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
payment. Each child will be issued with a ticket – NO TICKET NO FOOD. Parent helpers and teachers will be supplied with lunch. Regards Donna Stokes – Canteen Manager
Siblings for Kindergarten Enrolment 2015 Please return to the front office Family Name: _______________________________ Kinder Child (for 2015): ________________________ ___________________________________________ DOB: __________________________ Preschool: ________________________________ Other children at the school and classes.
P&F Meeting tonight, all are welcome. Please don’t forget to keep visiting our website for all information: www.straphaelspnf.wordpress.com There is also a link to the website via the school website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
Name:
Class:
___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________
KINDERGARTEN AND YEAR 1 TEA TOWELS WELL DONE Congratulations to the following students who have achieved the next level on the Behaviour Management Programme. Level 6 Lachlan Pullen Mackenzie Bone Chloe Wilson
3S 5O 5O
Phoebe Simunic Matilda Proctor
3S 5O
Your Teachers are very Proud of You!
Student name:______________
________
Class: ________________ Number of tea towels: ________________________ Money enclosed: ____________________________
AFS Bathurst Student Exchange Open Day Date: Saturday 2nd August Time: llam-lpm Venue: Bathurst Public Library 70-78 Keppel Street, Bathurst AFS Open Days are where your students can come along to find out if an AFS Student Exchange is for them, hear stories from past AFSers and the team from AFS. Ph: 1300 131 736 Web www.afs.org.au
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au