St Raphael’s Catholic School Term 3, Week 3/A Newsletter 1 August 2016
This week Healthy Harold has brought his Life Ed Van to us. Additionally, Year 9 Science Students are participating in a local workshop on “The Science Behind Agriculture”. Dear Parents “Resilience” is a word often used these days in
relation to young people and refers to the ability to bounce back from difficult situations. It has been proposed that “cotton-wooling” the young has reduced their ability to deal well with the ebbs and flows of daily life. Let‟s seek out ways in daily life for our children to strengthen their “bounceback ability” in themselves and in their relationships. This week Cowra marks the anniversary of the POW breakout. All these years later we are still in desperate need of peace in our world … join the communal ceremonies, raise the awareness and grow peace.
Individual Learning Plans are being discussed with parents on August 17th – please mark this date in your calendar if your children are involved. Semester Reports were changed in Second Semester last year and after the second issue of reports in Semester One this year we are seeking your feedback. Please complete and return the survey attached to this newsletter.
Michael Gallagher Principal
A note of concern was received last week re the safety of the pedestrian crossing on Liverpool St. The crossing is legally activated within the defined times of the 40 km/h limit as well as when the Children Crossing signs are displayed. Please be vigilant in school zones. All the best to all the students travelling away this week to Sydney (Yr 4 – Convict Sleepover Excursion), Bathurst (Primary Representative Athletics) and to Burrendong (Quinn Cup). Thank you to all who were involved in the Year 6 Transition Day to Year 7 last week. It was lovely to host the St Eddies clan and generated plenty of excitement. Parents have their turn with the question of transition to secondary tomorrow evening. Congratulations to the Outward Bound expeditioners who last week showed us what $5000 worth of pies looks like. VET Hospitality and Construction students from Year 11 are away on the first of their Work Placements this week. We are most grateful to the businesses who so generously host our students. P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
“Happy the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!” Matthew 5:3 Condolences Late last week Stan Date passed away in South Africa where his family was gathered. Please support Genevieve Chamberlain and family and Guy Date and family as they deal with the loss of their beloved father. May Stan rest in peace.
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
Birthday Apologies! There were a few mistakes in last week‟s birthday lists – my apologies! Owen Munro and Luc Bruncher celebrated their th birthdays on Thursday 28 July, and Matilda Porter (not Matilda Proctor, as printed) celebrated her th birthday on Friday 29 July. Monday 1 Happy birthday to Samantha MacCabe, Brian MacCabe& Maddison O‟Reilly Tuesday 2 Happy birthday to Sarah Shady, Hugh Williams & Jamie Zarb Yr 4 Convict Sleepover Excursion - Sydney Yr 9 „Science Behind Agriculture‟- Civic Centre Yr 6 Parent Transition Meeting – 6.30pm in the Mother Scholastica Learning Centre Wednesday 3 Happy birthday to Dean Ryan & Bethany Wheeler Yr 4 Convict Sleepover Excursion - Sydney Thursday 4 Happy birthday to Seamus McCormick Quinn Cup – Lake Burrendong Friday 5 Quinn Cup – Lake Burrendong Eastern Regional Athletics Carnival - Bathurst Saturday 6 Mens Breakfast 8am Happy birthday to Jayden Azzopardi, Abigail Partridge, & Emma Tremble, who celebrate their birthday on Sunday.
Dates for the Calendar 6 August – Men’s Breakfast: Come and join us for Mass in the Church at 8am, followed by a hearty breakfast and warm company. Contact Louise at the Presbytery for catering purposes ph 6342 1369 8 August - Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop - School Mass 10am 15 August - The Feast of the Assumption - School Mass 10am Altar Servers’ Roster Sat 6 – Grace Richmond, Charli Hubber Sun 7 – Orlando Perry, Archer Howden, Maddison Tremble School Readers for Weekend Parish Masses: Sat 6 – Mrs J White School Computer Roster Sat 6 - Price Family Sun 7 – Mrs M McMurtrie P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Kinder and Year 11 Early Childhood As a part of the Year 11 Exploring Early Childhood course, we are completing a unit on „Infants Play‟. To help our theoretical learning, last Wednesday, and during lessons over the coming weeks, we will be attending some Kindergarten lessons. This is to both observe and interact with infants through play. If the first lesson was an indication of the coming weeks, this will be an incredibly positive and beneficial time for both Kinder and Year 11 students. Thank you to Miss Blazley and Kinder Green for allowing us to come into your classes! Secondary Mathematics News – “MATHS MATTERS!!!” Year 7 – 10 ~Classes are well and truly on the roll and some topics have or about to be completed. If this is the case your child/ren will need to make sure that they understand those areas of work as topic tests will be happening soon. Don‟t forget that they have their textbooks online, IXL as an internet site is great for review or just finding related topic interactive games could assist in their memory recall. Yr 7 have been either doing Measurement or Integers (+/- numbers). Yr 8 is covering Statistics or Geometry. Yr 9 is increasing to Trigonometry (which hasn‟t been too scary). Yr 10 is working through Geometry/Circle Geometry. All are going well, although must make sure that they are ready for pen/paper tests. Speaking of Testing – I‟m sure the current education news has made some discussion points for children heading into the HSC years in the future. Naplan will be their pathway to success. Please take the time to read/listen to the changes for students (especially the current Yr 8 year group and below). We as a team – student/parents/teachers – must be ready for these changes and the demands understanding that will occur. Reminder: At the end of each even week, students need to hand in their attempted and parental signed Mathematics Application portfolio pack. It will be collected and they will receive a new pack at the beginning of a new topic. Thank you for your continuous assistance to help our students/ your child/ren. Yr 11 General Mathematics ~ For a brief amount of time the class are going to be looking at Statistics Collections. For this year it will be rather relevant as the Census is happening for households. Please make sure that when your family completes these forms that the Yr 11 students can be
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
involved. There is lots of new terminology for this topic so students must be aware of the meanings. Reminders:Week 3 - some students are on Work Placement and will not be in class for that time – it is important for them to see me regarding work that continues to be covered. Due to time limitations, work will need to be caught up and understood. Week 10 - Preliminary Exams – please be aware that your child needs to be reviewing all work that has been covered over the three terms of Yr11. Viewing past papers from the internet is a great way to study for this exam.
Rory Sullivan stood out on the day, with referees and adjudicators awarding him the „best and fairest‟ award. As a part of his reward Rory was given a Penrith Panthers Jersey! Well done Rory and all the boys who participated on the day! A big thank you to the parents and friends that provided transport and helped out on the day! Exploring Conimbla National Park with Yr 11 SLR
Last Week's Challenge Answer ~ 7241 This Week's Challenge Question -
If there are any questions about the Student Application Portfolios (not the Challenge Question), please don't hesitate to contact the Secondary Mathematics teachers. Mrs Cherie MacCabe ScienceBehind Agriculture nd On Tuesday 2 August all Year 9 students will be attending an event hosted by the Cowra Natural Resource Management Advisory Committee and the Cowra Council at the Cowra Civic Centre. The event is titled „Science for Schools – The Science behind Agriculture‟. Two prominent Scientists in the field of Agriculture, namely Gordon Refshauge and Ed Fagan, will be Guest Speakers. The event will run from 10am – 11.30 and students will walk as a group to the venue.
Russell Richardson Cup In the last week of Term Two the St Raphael‟s Catholic School Russell Richardson team travelled to Dubbo to compete in the Western Region Finals. All the boys played extremely well, playing three games against St Ignatius Bourke, Holy Family Kelso and Forbes North Public School. The talent on display was outstanding, both the Russell Richardson (Stage Two) and David Peachey (Stage Three) had amazingly talented individuals and teams. P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Pastoral Care/Wellbeing This week begins with a plea to parents of our students, especially those students who have social media profiles and accounts across any of the available platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Kick and others. Last week the whole student body experienced entertaining presentations by Brainstorm Productions alerting them to the realities of living in the modern world and the possibilities created by all the technology which is available. Cyberbullying and online nastiness which so easily can happen to any of us, was the main focus – keeping young (and not so young) people safe and prepared with strategies to deal with these distractions. So, the plea is to parents and others in our students‟ lives to take an online tour and see what is open to the world of your child‟s life and yours via social media. Did you know that if someone “Likes” a post on a Facebook public page, say the local newspaper or a sporting body, and if the “Liker” does not have a Private Facebook Profile, then lots pf personal
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
information is there for the world to see? It might be OK for you to have photos of special family events, comments between family members or friends, personal information there for public viewing - you do need to know it‟s there, however. At school there are incidents brought to the playground and classroom as a result of comments which have been posted since school ended the day before – unhappy or angry students is the result and they are not ready for a day of learning and fun at school. The Brainstorm Productions team reminded us all of our responsibility to be good digital citizens, no matter what our age. We must all keep in mind that our words, once “Sent”, will be in the system forever; and they are able to be accessed at any time by potential employers, the police and perhaps people you would not want to see them. Help keep our students aware, safe and not exposed to unexpected upset – check what‟s happening online. The link below is interesting if your child uses Facebook. Check it out (legally you must be 13 to have an account; sort of like you have to be 17 to drive a car!) https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms Keeping our students safe. Sue Whiteley SES Cadet Program Cowra SES unit, in conjunction with St Raphael‟s Catholic School, has commenced a ten week cadet program. The program is designed to give the cadets training in a number of subjects including safety, teamwork, communications, principles of emergency management and team leading skills. The course will conclude in term 4 with a full day of training activities including flood boat operation at Wyangala Dam. Mr Karl Milic, Cowra SES Local Controller, said that he is “very pleased that the school has elected to do the program and the assistance of school staff and Cowra unit members in running the program has been excellent, ensuring that the program will be of enormous benefit to the students”. The cadet program is open to students in Years 11 & 10. We have 7 yr11 and 3 yr10 students participating. For more information, please contact Mr Lette.
Don‟t forget to visit our website for updates of all that is happening with the P&F and for adding your views. This can be done via the school website at www.straphaelscowra.edu.au
Community Connections Yoga 4 Kids @ The Perfect Health Centre Cowra Starts Wednesday 3rd of August Time: 3:30pm to 4:30pm Ages: 6-12 years Cost: $70- for 7 week course Yoga helps kids develop strong healthy, flexible bodies and calm, clear and creative minds. This is a small class to enable greater interactive development. Bookings essential, by Email, Phone or at the Centre. Email: contact@perfecthealthcentre.com.au PH: 63411817 Address: 45 Macquarie Street Cowra Cowra Squash Competition The next Cowra Squash competition starts the week of 30th August. A grading night for new players is on Monday 8th August at 7pm at the Cowra Services Club. Cost per competition is only $20 for juniors. Free coaching is run from 5.30pm every Monday by Pat Charnock. The Club is also putting on an "introduction rd to squash" on Wednesday 3 August 6.00pm – 7.00pm. Experienced male and female players will be on hand to show you the rules and to give you some pointers. Racquets and balls will be provided. If you have any questions please call Nicky Savage on 0417 423 219. Cancer Council NutritionTips
Canteen Update This week‟s roster is as follows: Tues 2 Rachel Elwin
Wed 3 CLOSED
Lisa Day
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Thurs 4 Ammie Broad
Fri 5 Lyn Terry
Mon 8 Kerrie Porter
Heather Keen
Kylie Kollas
Sally Bruncher
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au