St Canice's Primary School Newsletter

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Parish

Parish Priest Fr Carlos Walker         Assistant Priest Fr Omar Mazzega

 Presbytery Contact  Ph: 02 4782 2804

                                         Fax: 02 4782 6090

Website: marymackillopupperbluemountains.org.au

Regular Mass Times live streamed via the parish Facebook page are as follows:

Monday through Friday 3:30pm followed by Holy Hour.

Saturday & Sunday 10am followed by Holy Hour.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/BlueMountainsCatholic

 Fr Carlos and Fr Omar are also distributing The Eucharist to parishioners in the school car park following that mass at 11am each Sunday. 

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Members of the St Canice’s School Community,

Winter has arrived to the Upper Blue Mountains. Although we can feel the Winter chill at St Canice’s, we are blessed to be surrounded by such beauty on a daily basis.

Rest in Peace, Sister Virginia 

Today we heard of the passing of Sister Virginia, a Sister of Charity and a past Principal of St Canice’s, Katoomba. You will be able to read  Mrs MacPherson’s beautiful words about Sister Virginia in this newsletter. Sister Virginia and the Sisters of Charity are central to our school’s history. Their legacy and gift to us is their capacity to demonstrate  Christ’s love in their actions- to be Christ for us. Their actions are directed to those on the margins, those Jesus sought out and advocated for. Their message to us is to also love all, especially those who most need our love, and to walk in partnership with them. Many thanks to Mrs van der Walle for leading the school in prayer to Sister Virginia today. Thank you also to Mrs Wedesweiler for including a reflection devoted to Sister Virginia and to The Sisters of Charity at our assemblies on Friday this week. We offer our condolences to the community of Sisters of Charity on their loss and particularly to our own Sister Colleen and Sister Mary.

Attendance

We are all very happy to have our students back at school. As you know, attendance is closely monitored by us and it is important that we now set it as our No. 1 priority. I have included some images below that are very clear in communicating a strong message about school attendance.

Parent-Student-Teacher Meetings: via Zoom

Letters will go home today, Tuesday 2nd June, giving you the information you need to book a time with your child’s teacher(s). 

• Meetings will take place during Week 7, from Tuesday, 9th June to Friday, 12th June

• Meetings will be via Zoom because of our need to maintain physical distancing

• Your child’s teacher will send you a link to the Zoom meeting 

• Students will attend meetings

• Parent and student input will centre on the survey you completed with your child 

• Teacher input will centre on your child’s progress in learning for Semester 1

• Parents, students and teachers will discuss area(s) for improvement

• Reports will follow the meetings. They will be sent to you in Week 10.

If this year’s Parent-Student-Teacher meeting plan poses a problem for you, please contact your child’s teacher.

God Bless,

Miriam Meaney

It is with sadness that we let the community know we have lost a truly wonderful woman that lived her whole life helping others.  Sr Virginia was Principal at St Canice's from 1987 to 1995 and she truly lived by the Charity Motto "The Love of Christ Impels Us".  In her time here she made many very good friends that has continued through the years and was an inspiration to all.  She was a compassionate, spiritual, strong and energetic lady that always took pride in our school. It was her vision to see St Canice's grow and she was instrumental in advocating and designing the major extension works at the front of the building, with the addition of the administration block, this enabled the children to have an extra classroom on the lower ground floor, a designated  library, a canteen as well as opening up the area upstairs for a whole school gathering and learning space. 

The Sisters of Charity have been a huge part of our community bringing friendship and love, we would like you all to keep them in your Prayers at this time of loss. 

Virginia, now At peace in the arms of God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhAmfhgCblA  

This term, the leaders and Mrs Meaney have started a new initiative. We are promoting kindness through “Growth through Love” tokens.

We are looking for random acts of kindness and good behaviour.

We want everybody to know that it is very important to live up to our motto ”Growth through Love and Learning” and that we keep up our kindness.

Airlie, Meenatchi, Owen and Lucas

We ask that only students and staff are in the school grounds.

If you need to speak with your child's Teacher, please call the office on 4780 6800 or email the school at stcanices@parra.catholic.edu.au to arrange an appointment.

We ask that students are dropped off and collected outside the gate.

Please be mindful to maintain social distancing when coming to the Administration Office.

We ask that no one parks in the designated disabled spaces in Studleigh Place without a permit.

We understand that parking can be difficult, however we ask that you only park in allocated parking spots.

Students that participate in Private Lessons as part of our Strings Program have had a change of times for their lessons.

Please ensure your child brings their instrument to school on the following days.

Violin Lessons - Wednesday with Bonita

Cello Lessons - Thursday with Paul 

Ensemble - Thursday 3 - 4pm

Cello & Ensemble start this Thursday 4th June.

Violin will begin Wednesday 10th June.

The Office is now unable to process cash payments.

Payment of School Fees can be made via BPay or direct debit, details can be found on your Statement.  If you have not received a statement and have a query about your school fees please call the office on 4780 6800.  

Happy Birthday to all who celebrate in June

Leah

Talish

Claire

Eva

Callum H

We have some very special staff members who are also celebrating during June - Ms Honeyman, Ms Magann, Mr van der Walle, & Mrs MacPherson

Well... well... it has certainly been a very unusual time of learning in St Canice's long history in the Upper Blue Mountains area.

The Covid19 event will stay in many students' ( and parents ) memories for a very long time as they experienced the Australia wide lock-down from late March with so many different feelings.

The Stage Two children, however,  were all on board again by mid week 5 and they were happy to see the familiar faces of their friends and teachers again. 

They spent quite a bit of time discussing the on line learning and many had different feelings and opinions about this. What was really impressive was that the chrome books they had taken home, returned all in one piece!! 

Returning to the routine of classroom learning and building a positive learning environment didn't take too long for the Stage Two students which continued to amaze the Stage Two teachers and the Teacher Assistants. Even though the Covid19 event was a bump in the road of 2020 learning, it didn't make much impact on the willingness and the preparedness of the students to learn and enjoy themselves once they returned to school.

In Week 5 everyone in Stage Two  was involved in the highly entertaining Chicken Divas reading as part of the National Simultaneous Storytime event throughout Australia. The Stage Two students were also involved in the learning about the National Sorry Day as they listened to the moving story Sorry Day by author Coral Vass and Dubb Leffler.

Week 5 was concluded by the Stage Two and Stage Three Assembly and some of the students received their Respect Awards and Silver Awards. 

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The NSW Premiers’ Reading Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students and enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge for each to read, to read more and to read more widely.

This year’s challenge started on 2nd March and finishes on 28th August. This challenge can be completed as part of the children’s home reading each week. It is expected that all students in our school will participate in the challenge. Many of the PRC books can be found in our school library, on line or your local library. A comprehensive list of books included in the challenge can be found on the PRC website.

Visit the PRC website now to download your Personal Reading Log and view the booklists. Visit http://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html or Google Premiers’ Reading Challenge.

The PRC Booklists can be accessed by clicking the “Booklists” link found on the left side of the website. You can also access them via the PDF or Excel booklists download options in the top right hand corner of that page. It is constantly being updated and evaluated to ensure an excellent source of existing and new additions of books, as well as approved series for students taking part in the Challenge. 

Your child is expected to read a certain number of books to complete the Challenge:

Your child’s login and password will be sent home with your child. I would strongly recommend you display it in a safe and accessible place, such as fridge or bedroom mirror for safe keeping.

The Challenge is well equipped to support student participation from home. The following adjustments will be applied to the challenge in 2020:

• Students on all Challenge levels are able to read 10 choice books – an increase from 5.

• Students on all Challenge levels will be able to include books on their reading records that they read collaboratively as a class, in person or online with their teacher or at home with their parents/carers.

• Students who complete the Challenge in 2020 will be able to count this towards cumulative awards.

• Students who do not participate in the Challenge in 2020 will not be disadvantaged in the receipt of cumulative awards.

If you have any questions with reading lists or issues with passwords, please feel free to see me. 

Wishing you and your child shared reading fun throughout the Challenge!

Kind regards,

Rosana Friend

Librarian

Snow and Bushfire Policy

In the event of snowfall or a bushfire during school hours the following procedures must be followed.

When heavy snow falls or there is a bushfire throughout the Mountains, the emergency personnel (Police and SES) provide advice to the school in respect of road conditions and closures and evacuation notice.

Should a decision be made for the school to evacuate, the school will take the following measures according to Police and SES advice:-

If it is safe to evacuate the students to their residence:

• Students who normally catch buses will be assembled ready for the buses.

• Students who live close to the school and normally walk will be given permission to do so unless otherwise advised by parents. 

• The school will attempt to contact parents where children are unsure if anyone is home and if they live a long distance from a bus stop.

• Students who do not catch buses or walk will remain at school until parents collect them.

or

If it is unsafe to evacuate the students to their residence:

•  The school staff will care for the students in a safe location according to the advice from the Police or SES.

It is impossible to telephone every family as the time frame for this operation is short. However, every avenue to contact parents will be sought. Communication will also be placed on Facebook and an alert sent via Skoolbag. 

The school will remain open and therefore parents of bus travellers and walkers who require their child to stay at school can make that choice. 

At all times the children’s best interests will be paramount.

Parents are asked to discuss arrangements they require with their children so that students know what is expected of them.

Miriam Meaney

Principal

The Parent Calendar can be found at the St Canice's website - please subscribe

https://www.stcaniceskatoomba.catholic.edu.au/In-the-Loop/Calendar-and-Term-Dates

The health, safety and wellbeing of our communities and our people remains our highest priority. Due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding coronavirus, the School Banking program will remain on hold. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed with any updates including how we will be managing Dollarmite tokens for students. 

In the meantime, here are some handy online resources for parents who wish to maintain momentum with their child’s financial education: 

• Start Smart: these resources have been created to improve children’s money management skills, and is aligned to the Australian Curriculum and the National Consumer Financial Literacy Framework. 
• The Beanstalk: offers videos and fun activities for children to learn about money.

A reminder that enrolment applications for Year 7, 2021 at St Columba's Catholic College are now due. For further information contact the Enrolment Secretary, Sandra O'Brien, on 4754 8900 or 4754 8907.

All messages and notifications from the school are sent through the "Skoolbag" app.

Please make sure you have this app on your devices for all current and up to date school alerts.

Download skoolbag from the app store

Select St Canice's Catholic Primary Katoomba

Log in to https://www.parra.catholic.edu.au/About-Us/Building-Child-Safe-Communities

Scroll to Volunteer Training        

Step 1 – Complete either Volunteer

Step 2 – Complete Training Module

You will receive a confirmation email once the forms have been submitted.

Parents and close relatives of a child who volunteer do not require a WWCC.

A WWCC is required if

• A volunteer is part of a formal mentoring program.

• Where volunteering involves intimate personal care of children with a disability.

• Volunteers are not parents or close relatives.

The Diocese of Parramatta’s Office for Safeguarding and Professional Standards (OSPS) has launched a new website, strengthening their ability to deliver advice and support to parishes, agencies and ministries to ensure the Diocese is safe for all people. Visit the website at www.safeguarding.org.au

Walking with Refugees and People Seeking Protection present a Pentecost Retreat Day on Saturday 8 June from 9am to 4pm at Mt Schoenstatt, Fairlight Road, Mulgoa. Join Bishop Vincent as we reflect and share. Registrations are essential by 4 June with indicated dietary needs. Register at https://register.eventarc.net/e/42849, call Sr Louise McKeogh 8838 3460 or lmckeogh@parracatholic.org

The Northern Deanery Pastoral Council is hosting a presentation from the Institute for Mission on The Jewish Jesus in the Eucharist on Wednesday June 12, at St Michael’s School Hall, Baulkham Hills from 7pm to 9pm. A light supper will be provided. To RSVP for catering purposes, contact Wendy on 0427 863 149 or deanerypc@parishofbaulkhamills.org.au

Youth aged 18 to 35 are invited to join The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth for the Holy Hour for Vocations at the St Joseph Convent, Quakers Hill, on Thursday 6 June at 7pm. Dinner will be served afterwards. RSVP to Sr Paula – vocationscsfn@gmail.com or 0449 656 406.

The Benedictine Abbey, Jamberoo invites women of any age and any experience in formal leadership positions, and for those who exercise leadership without a formal title in business, schools, homes, offices, parishes, anywhere to the Women in Leadership workshop. The aim is to support women to explore their unique gifts – as people, as women and as leaders. 4-7 July. 02 4236 0533 or cottageretreats@jamberooabbey.org.au for more information.