St Raphael’s Catholic School Term 4, Week 3/A Newsletter 23 October 2017 next year. Only TAFE Apprentices get access to the top international level of competition (last year conducted in Abu Dhabi). Congratulations to Macquarie Region winner, Ben Price. Dear Parents As the Year 11 students receive their reports that mark the finishing of their Preliminary studies Year 12 start their second week of HSC Exams. Today they have Maths, tomorrow Ancient History, Wednesday is Biology, Thursday is Business Studies, Friday is Studies of Religion and Hospitality. We continue to hold them closely in our prayers. In the last two weeks there have been numerous occasions when St Raph’s students have demonstrated not only their excellence in their chosen activities but also a remarkable range of activities. The Cowra Show gave a forum to display considerable talent. We have award winning students in the arenas of Equestrian, Dog High jumping, Photography, Art, and Vegetables. Notably Abby Baker (Year 5) was awarded Supreme Champion Rider of the show among many other awards to her credit. Our student helpers at the show also featured in activities like the Animal Nursery. Another extraordinary achievement last week was by Ky Garratt who qualified to represent NSW in discus at the Pacific School Games in December in Adelaide. High level representation in martial arts has been achieved by Misty Williams. Results from Dance Exams are arriving at this time too with some outstanding performances and well deserved awards. Worldskills is a competition that selects the very best trainees and apprentices internationally in every trade. On Friday St Raphs was represented by three Construction students in Brick and Block Laying in the Macquarie Region competition. Our next level of competition is Zone Worldskills which includes Illawarra, Riverina and Macquarie, then National Worldskills at around Easter time P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
It’s wonderful to see such engagement, commitment and talent that puts our young people in touch with such passion and excellence. Let’s make this a wonderful week.
Michael Gallagher Principal
Saint Theresa’s Prayer May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us. Amen Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
tyres, batteries and light globes are all recyclable. We also learned that many things that we regard as rubbish do not need to end up in landfill. We'd like to thank Cowra Council for helping us out with the transport. Special thanks to Anthony Collins for coordinating our visit and to Steve, Tim and Mark who were our guides for the
Monday 23 Tuesday 24 Happy birthday to Bryson Sciberras and Madyson Webb Dance Excursion Year 7 Vaccinations Wednesday 25 Happy birthday to Brady Lucas, Jayden Millar and Raziq Shaji
Thursday 26 Happy birthday to Rachel Myers and Charlie Stephenson Year 8 Excursion Kindy Start Stage 5 STEAM Webinar Year 11 Excursion Friday 27 Happy birthday to Yoi Yap Year 8 Excursion Leadership Day Orange Parent Satisfaction Survey Due Happy birthday to Benjamin Azzopardi, Kaitlyn Rutledge, Jordan Ryan and Codie Thompson for the th 28 and Crystal Holmes, Lucas Shepherd and Amelia th Thomson for the 29 .
Altar Servers’ Roster th Sat 28 Oct: Tianna and Alisha Azzopardi th Sun 29 Oct: Volunteer
morning. From the MRF, Mr Collins then drove Kindergarten to the Rutledge's farm where we watched Erin's pet sheep, Charlie being shorn. Mrs Rutledge talked to Kinder about their farm and how they look after their special place. Kinder even attempted to count lambs two by two. After some map reading, Kinder then checked the water cleanliness of one of the dams by attempting to carry out streamwatch for the first time. It was very exciting when Mr Collin's group discovered a sensitive bug.(We were quite sure it was a diving beetle.) Next Kinder searched for artefacts and found many bones. Kindergarten used the bones to reconstruct a cow or was it a dinosaur! We thank Mrs Clarke our Streamwatch guru and Mr Collins who were very helpful during the day. We also would especially like to thank the Rosewarne and Rutledge family for sharing their farm with us and making our excursion a fantastic and memorable experience.
School Eucharistic Ministers for Weekend Parish Masses: th Sat 28 Oct: Karla Slaven and Renae Downes th Sun 29 Oct: Claire Spora School Computer Roster th Sat 28 Oct: Rachel Myers
Last Tuesday, Kindergarten ventured to the Cowra MRF where we toured the grounds and learned about how we can recycle many of our house hold items. Things like paint, electronics, engine oil,
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Stage One Trip to Canberra Last Thursday, 61 Year 1 and 2 students travelled to Canberra for a day of fun. They were accompanied by four teachers and four parents, who were charged with not leaving anyone at the National Zoo and Aquarium! 7am saw the roll out of the two buses, with parents and carers waving madly as we left. A fun and sometimes noisy trip saw us stop quickly at Murrumbateman for a quick comfort stop, before Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
heading on into Canberra to have recess just outside the Zoo. Upon entry into the Zoo, the children split up into their small groups, searching the grounds for the many animals on offer to see, both land and sea. We were very fortunate with the weather, with our walk around the Zoo in beautiful sunshine. Monkeys, pandas, ostriches, tigers, lions and of course the mighty eels in the Aquarium were just some of the sights we were able to take in. Some of the sounds included, "When can we stop and sit down!!!"
Our three Year 11 construction students Aiden Roberts, Ben Price and Joe Waters competed. With Ben Price winning the gold medal and a chance to compete at a national level in 2018. The competitors are given 5 hours to complete a project which they are given the plans for only on the day.
On we charged for two and a half hours, before hopping back onto the bus and going across town to Cockington Green. Sitting on the grass outside to have lunch, we watched the darkening clouds roll in ever closer. We just had to stay dry for one and a half hours more! Into Cockington Green we marched, hearing a talk from Tour Guide Sam, before heading off in all directions to investigate the 'small' villages, buildings and people. It was a great time of the year to attend, with many beautiful flowers on display. Just as we were getting ready to leave, Zac thought he might add some excitement to the day by taking a trip on the loose gravel, taking a chunk out of his knee. Dr. Blazley to the rescue and we were underway again. The trip home was a little quieter, except for the snoring of some of course! Home at 5 o'clock all safe and sound and on time! All students present and accounted for and most importantly, we didn't lose any
parent helpers!
Local builder Ray Kelly judged the competition. His expertise greatly appreciated. He congratulated all the boys on their tradesman like approach to the task and outlined the great opportunities that exist in many aspects of the construction industry.
One child had a step counter on and informed us the next day that we had completed 32 000 steps. No wonder we had some whinging, I mean tired children. Many thanks go to our great parent helpers, Mrs. Allan, Mr. Tydd, Mr. Rush and Mr. Pullen. Special thanks also to Mr. Brown, our bus driver. Finally, thank you to all of the children. On the whole, they represented our school with distinction. Worldskills Bricklaying Competition St Raphael's Catholic school hosted the Macquarie region Worldskills Bricklaying competition on Friday 24th. The World skills competitions are designed to showcase the trade skills of apprentices and vocational education students.
Construction and Hospitality run as a Vocational Education opportunity for Year 11 and 12 students at St Raph’s. K-6 Bushwazee On Friday November 3 Bushwahzee will be coming to St Raphael's Catholic School to workshop with all K-6 students during school hours. Students are asked to dress up for the day in country/bush attire. An evening performance/school show will be presented for parents commencing at 6pm-7.30pm. The performance area will be in the secondary playground. Please feel free to bring your own picnic blankets and/or camp chairs,etc. Students will be
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
asked to remain with their parents until their item is announced.
ring the office and make an appointment to see the principal.
Please note that if the weather is inclement there will be a K-2 performance from 6.00-6.45pm and a 3-6 performance from 6.45-7.30pm. These will be in the St Raphael's Catholic Church Hall.
Book Club This issue of Book club will be available from the Library if anyone should wish to order. Orders will need to be back at school by Friday, 3 November.
More information and updates will be via the school newsletter and Facebook. Come along and have a fantastic night of fun!
Canteen Update This week’s roster is as follows: Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Mon
Skye Muddle
CLOSED
Fiona Kerin
Nicky Hudson
Rebecca Fahey
Dianne Franks
Mary Campbell
Lisa Mallon
Off to the Nationals On Wednesday 18th October, Ky Garratt from Year Four competed at the State Athletics Carnival in Discuss. Representing the Polding Team, Ky came fourth in Junior Discuss. His best throw was 33.99 metres. Ky will now represent New South Wales at the National Carnival in Adelaide in December. Well done Ky, this is an amazing achievement. What's next the 2024 Olympics? New Zealand Bound Year 7 student Misty Williams will be heading off to New Zealand this week to compete in the New Zealand and Australian Martial Arts Championship. Misty is a part of a team of athletes, ranging from 11 years to senior competitors, has been training three days per week on the lead up to the competition. Congratulations and good luck Misty, this is a huge achievement!! We look forward to hearing about your results.
2017 SCHOOL FEES All payments of school fees should now either be finalised or a payment plan in place to have them finalised by the end of term 4 (15/12/2017). If you still have a payment to make to finalise your account then please do so immediately. If you are on a payment plan (Direct Debit/BPAY/Centrepay) then check that your payments are sufficient to have your account finalised by end of term 4 2017. If for any reason your school fee account is unable th to be finalised by 15 December 2017 then please P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Robyn McAlister
ST RAPHAEL’S P & F ASSOCIATION 2017 CHRISTMAS FAIR FRIDAY 24th NOVEMBER 2017 The Christmas Fair is one of our biggest fundraisers for the year. We can’t do it without your support. The playground renovation is the major focus of fundraising at present. Stage 1 Kindergarten courtyard is complete, the Stage 2 outdoor interactive learning area ‘Move and Groove’ is almost complete. Stage 3 involves the perimeter of the K-2 playground which is scheduled to take place in the summer holidays followed by the resurfacing of K-2 at the end of Term 1, 2018. However we continue to also support Yr 9 Outward Bound excursions, and Yr 6 Canberra excursions and various other undertakings within the school. A CHANGE THIS YEAR....no call outs for donations for a wheelbarrow raffle...our raffle has been run and tickets are SOLD OUT! The $5000 travel voucher will be drawn at 7pm the night of the fair. We are replacing jazzy containers with CRAZY CUPS..so we would like contributions for the cups. We will be calling for baked goods for the cake stall...closer to the date. All infant and primary year groups will be conducting a stall, some requests have already been made for specific items for these stalls, watch out for notes and follow updates on Facebook. As always we are looking for volunteers to help with the many facets of the fair. Donating just 30 minutes of your time will make a huge difference. Volunteers are needed to help set up and pack down the fair, help with the Cake, Food Garden, or Crazy Cups stands and so on. You can help before, after or during the Fair. Please complete the form at the end of the newsletter and send it in to school as soon as possible.
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au
WELL DONE Congratulations to the following students who have achieved the next level on the Behaviour Management Programme. Level 5 Ellie Garlick 10 Gold Mitchell Sparkes 10 Green Dustin Walker 10 Gold Aiden Roberts 11 Green John Terry 11 Green Level 6 Aaron Dhrygck Georgia Hanley Raziq Shaji Maguire Sciberras Matthew Terry
3 Gold 6 Green 7 Green 10 Gold 10 Gold
Level 7 Jasmine Whitty
3 Green Chelsee White
Bailey Core Cameron Forsyth Digby Williams Brian MacCabe
3 Gold 7 Green 7 Green 10 Green
6 Green
Your Teachers are very Proud of You!
St John’s Anglican Church Book Fair Extended over 2 weeks with bargains galore! th th th Dates: Thursday 9 Friday 10 and Saturday 11 November Doors open at 8:30am For donations please contact Bruce Pietsch on 0427 722810 or email bpietsch28@gmail.com
P.O. Box 7, Cowra 2794 Tel: 6342.2940
Email: straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au School Website: www.straphaelscowra.catholic.edu.au