St Canice's Primary School Newsletter

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Parish

Parish Administrator Fr John McSweeney

 Presbytery Contact  Ph: 02 4782 2804

                                     Fax: 02 4782 6090

Website: marymackillopupperbluemountains.org.au

If you wish to come to come to a weekend Mass please use form below to book a Mass time. To avoid disappointment please book for the coming weekend before Friday 3pm.

https://forms.gle/LDSNjTP69UjtEJYs5

If you have trouble accessing the form or know others who would like to book but don't have computer access, please contact the parish office to book your preferred Mass time either by email bluemountains@parracatholic.org or phone 4782 2804.

Thank you for your understanding.

Weekday Mass times are no longer booked but are on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Looking forward to seeing more of your friendly faces at Mass!

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

Monday 8.30am Friday 12.00pm Saturday 9.30am Sunday 10.00am

Monday 9.00am Friday 12.30pm Saturday 10.00am

Before Daily Mass each day Saturday Cenacle Rosary and Consecration following 10am Mass

1st Friday of month, 12.30pm

Fridays (Except 1st Friday) 12.30pm

1st Saturday of month – (following Mass)

Sundays 12.00pm to 1.00pm

4th Monday of month – 6pm

Dear Parents and Carers,

please enjoy the news I have for you from St Canice’s for Weeks 3 and 4.

Religious Education:

Mrs Wedesweiler has been in touch via Skoolbag with news related to Mass attendance. Father John will be able to celebrate Mass with the children in the Church, ensuring the most stringent of COVID guidelines.

Learning in English and Mathematics:

This week, children in Years 2-6 participated in comprehension assessment tasks along with all children across the Parramatta diocese. The data we gather from their results will be helpful in providing us with yet another data set to measure student growth across our school. We welcome our Teacher Educator for Literacy back to St Canice’s in Week 5 to continue our work in Reading K-6.

Children in Years 2-6 will participate in Maths assessment tasks in the weeks ahead and we look forward to working with our Teacher Educator in Maths during Week 8.

On Wednesday 11th of  November, as part of a short Remembrance Day ceremony, we will honour those aboriginal soldiers who have helped to defend our country in the past and who largely have remained unrecognised. Many thanks to Mr van der Walle for coordinating this for us.

Gold Coin Donation:

We ask that the children donate a gold coin to Catholic Mission on Friday next, 13th November, to be donated to the Broome indigenous community. The children will offer prayer and thanksgiving for the gift of the land upon which we tread and the people who have been and continue to be custodians of the land.

Susan Templeman’s visit to Stage 3:

You may remember that our student leaders coordinated a leadership workshop for our Year 5 students at the end of Term 3. Following on from that, Susan Templeman came to speak to all of Stage 3 on Monday this week to share her insights into leadership and to offer advice to our upcoming leaders in Year 5 and to our Year 6 students, about to transition into Year 7. We look forward to getting the leadership process in place for our Year 5 students in the upcoming weeks.

Great news! Outdoor Learning Space for St Canice’s!

Parents and Carers, I received the excellent news on Friday last that St Canice’s Primary school is the recipient of a substantial grant to create an outdoor learning space on the grounds. Many will know that we have already installed two planter boxes at the back of the school, in a space that gets great sunlight and good shelter. Our Gardening Club is currently busy planting Australian natives in these boxes. We will enhance this area over the course of 2021 to include decking, shade cloths, privacy screens, a tool shed for our garden equipment and suitable outdoor furnishings. Some of our children in Stage 2 were concerned that a tree had to be removed to put our turf in place on the bottom playground and our new design incorporates a memorial space where we will plant a tree to remind us of those significant members of our past community who ensured our place in the history of St Canice’s. Many thanks to Mrs Nispel, Mrs MacPherson, Mr White and Ms Gillespie for their roles in coordinating our grant application and to the Parramatta diocese for awarding us this great gift.

Building Community:

Parents and Carers, we have a few meetings / events coming up for parents, as follows:

• Class Liaison Meeting for Term 4 on Tuesday, 17 Nov at 9:00-9:45am via Zoom. Ms Emma will be in contact with our Class Liaisons to provide an agenda for this meeting and to encourage a strong attendance.

• All Parents zoom meeting on Tuesday, 24 Nov at 9:00-9:45am

  Thank you: World Teachers Day

  Finally, a very big thank you to all of those parents who worked with your children to acknowledge the great work done by our teachers at St Canice’s on Friday last. The teachers were deeply touched by the children’s kindness.

God bless,

Miriam Meaney

School Principal

Year 6 Graduation ceremony will be held on Tuesday 15th December.

Further details will be given when they are available.

The last day for students 2020 will be Wednesday 16th December.

Students in Years 1 - 6 will return Thursday 28th January 2021.

Kindergarten 2021 students will begin on Monday 1st of February 202.

TSL Uniform Pop Up Shop will be held at St Canice's in the hall on Tuesday 10th November 2020

9:30am – 12:30pm

Due to current restrictions, personal appointment times need to be made online using the following link

https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code?code=n7uqc

No walk in visits will be permitted, so please get in quick and book your spot.

This week is a very significant week at St Canice’s. We welcome our parents of the Kindergarten class of 2021 to our school community. In addition, Kindy Orientation commences for our Kindergarten class of 2021. Due to COVID restrictions, we have been unable to welcome parents into the school as we traditionally would have. Instead we connected via Zoom. Many thanks to our current Kindergarten teacher, Kellie Clarke, who was a great source of information for our parents. Kellie will work with the Kindergarten 2021 children for the next four Wednesdays, helping them to become a part of the great St Canice’s community.

Parents and Carers, a date for your diaries.......

We will be holding the Term 4 Parent Group Meeting via Zoom on Tuesday Nov 24, 2020 9am – 9:30am

We encourage you to participate if possible.

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:    https://parracatholic.zoom.us/j/98241845525?pwd=bzcxMTQrZzNnKzY4bHRkazlJYWJCUT09    Password: 400372

Join from SIP/H.323 room system:    SIP: 98241845525@zmau.us    H.323: 202.177.207.158 (meeting ID: 982 4184 5525)    Password: 400372

Join from Skype for Business (Lync):    https://parracatholic.zoom.us/skype/98241845525

Stage Two students have been very busy in their learning about writing persuasive texts.

This week the Stage Two students are preparing for NAIDOC week.

In Maths the S2 students have been learning about making floorplans

( by Javier ) and creating maps with grid references (Joshua )

Sofia used her creative writing skills to write a beautiful poem about Panthers.

Maths is used every day in almost everything we do. Parents and carers can support their child's mathematical skills and understanding with these fun, practical and creative activities.

https://education.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/mathematics

Dear Families,

An exciting development has been bubbling behind the scenes this year at St Canice's.  A new program to positively support the behaviour and choices that the children make has been developed and is now ready to be trialled.  It is called the St Canice's Calling.  We have chosen this name to recognise that we are a Catholic school and Jesus calls us to be the best people we can be, every day.  The three pillars of the program are:-* At St Canice's we love selflessly* At St Canice's we live responsibly* At St Canice's we learn purposefully. The children have begun lessons to unpack the language and ideas contained in these pillars.  A key component of the program is consistency from Kindergarten to Year 6.  It is also crucial that this is a positive program so that the children are recognised for the times when they DO make good choices and act in a way that is outlined in the pillars.  We have chosen a Lyrebird as our mascot for the program.  The Lyrebird has connections to our Totem- the Three Sisters and is also, in Darug language,  a "bird of peace".  Later on this term we will have some fun and engaging sessions where the children can draw / paint / create some images of the Lyrebird and we hope to use their original artwork as our symbol for our motto. Once COVID restrictions ease we hope to have some information sessions for the community and a launch day.  We are hopeful that we will be able to do this early next year.

Watch this space for more information to come!

Kellie Clarke

Congratulations to students who have been responsible with their rubbish on the playground. There have been many Lyrebird tokens distributed.

Just a reminder to students that at St Canice's we are trying to reduce our waste, so if children have any plastic in their lunch box please remind them to keep it to recycle.

Food scraps are also collected daily and Mrs MacPherson takes these home to feed to her goats and chickens.

Many thanks to Ms Rose Gillespie who is coordinating an excellent NAIDOC week for us next week, from Monday 9-Friday 13 Nov. The theme this year is Always Was, Always Will Be. This celebration is an opportunity for all Australians and all of our students to come together to celebrate the rich history, diverse cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the oldest continuing culture on the planet. 

Susan Templeman presented us with our first Torres Strait Islander flag in Term 3 this year and we now have erected a new flagpole in our playground to enable us to proudly fly this flag, alongside the Aboriginal flag and the Australian flag. We will hold a flag ceremony to fly the flag and to also open NAIDOC Week on Monday next, 9th November. We look forward to a day of learning focused on our Aboriginal culture and history on Monday and welcome Uncle Chris, Uncle Lex and also the representatives from the Jarara Indigenous Education unit at Parramatta to help us in that endeavour.

The St Canice's Colour Fun Run will be held on Friday 6th October 2020!

Brochures and sponsorship forms have been distributed.

You can go to schoolfunrun.com.au to create a profile page for your child. Take time to familiarise yourself with the page by watching the video, creating your avatar and most importantly sharing your link!

Students who raise $10 or more will receive a reward and the more money you raise, the better the reward, and the more you help the school.

Remember for creating a page and getting at least one donation, you'll automatically be in the draw to win a $20,000 Ultimate Family Experience!

If you have any issues, please contact the School Fun Run Office on 1800 FUN RUN. 

Thank you in advance for being a part of our 2020 Crazy Colour Fun Run!

Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 Parents and Carers, 

Rev John McSweeney, our new Parish Priest has invited all of the classes to attend a Parish Mass this term. Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 have been invited on the 6th November. 

As the restriction is 60 parishioners and we have 42  Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students, we are unable to invite any parents to attend.

Fr McSweeney is very aware of the restrictions and protocols for us which is in line with the Diocese of Parramatta recommendations, available on their website:

Clergy and parish and staff have been made aware of the hygiene and social distancing protocols that must be followed during Mass and liturgies. While the number of Mass attendees was increased to 60, based on the size of the Church, strict hygiene practices remain in place.

These protocols are also available on the COVID-19 page of Diocese of Parramatta’s Website.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this.

Angela Wedesweiler

Religious Education Co-ordinator

Thank you for the overwhelming response to the St Canice's Annual Photographic Exhibition.

The creativity and perspective from all images are spectacular.

Images will be displayed in the school for 12 months and a digital display will be distributed to show off the incredible talent from all participants.

Thank you to Mr van der Walle and the clever ladies in the office who organised this event.

Entries have now closed.

Happy Birthday to all who celebrate in November

Audius

George

Alex M

Lily B

Aiden

Oliver M

Noah

Edie

Mikayla-Rose

Jonah C

Just a gentle reminder bubblers are not currently in use due to Covid19

Please ensure your child brings both a drink bottle and hat to school daily, clearly labelled with their name. 

Children who forget to bring their school hat will be asked to sit in the shade during recess and lunch time in order to protect them from the sun. 

Sometimes children try to avoid coming to school and can take a long time getting ready in the morning because of this, it’s a great idea to talk to your child’s teacher to make sure there aren’t any underlying issues that may be causing this reluctance.

At St Canice’s we care and value each and every student and are here to offer help and support in getting your child to school every day and on time.

• assist educators to engage families in the early learning of their children; 
• assist families and educators reflect on how children learn at home and at school;
• provide practical, evidence-based activities to support literacy and numeracy skills/development aligned to the NSW Syllabus and the Early Years Learning Framework; and
• reinforce Catholic schools’ commitment to work in partnership with all families to support children’s learning and wellbeing.

This project has benefited greatly from the expertise and wisdom of the early years consultants and teachers across our Catholic schools. We are also grateful to those educators, families and children who let us observe and film them while they were busy at work and play. 

CSNSW is also grateful to the Australian Government for the provision of funds under the Non-Government Reform Support Fund (NGRSF) which has made this project possible. 

• • Family School Partnership Framework (2008, Australia)
  • Through Growth To Achievement: Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, March 2018
  • Lifting Our Game Report: Report of the Reivew to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools Through Early Childhood Interventions
  • Early Years Learning Framework
  • NESA English Syllabus
  • NESA Mathematics Syllabus
  • National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.orci. Etiam volutpat lectus nec risus tincidunt, nec iaculis ligula ullamcorper. Praesent bibendum dictum turpis, non fringilla nisl tincidunt non. Donec rhoncus odio ut libero dictum, et ullamcorper nisl condimentum.

https://earlyyears.csnsw.catholic.edu.au/

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

When 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.

We continue to have good interest by prospective parents in our school and this often results in new enrolments. The children are always excited to welcome new children to St Canice’s and we too are always eager to expand our community by welcoming new families.  Parents who visit tell us that it is word of mouth that encourages them to have a closer look. Parents and Carers, thank you  for speaking highly of this great school in the community. I hear praise of our teachers and of our beautiful students from prospective parents time and again. I want to encourage you to keep up this great work. It has been proven beyond doubt that the single greatest advertisement for a school is the good word that is passed on. 

In accordance with advice from NSW Health, parents and carers are reminded NOT to send children to school if they are unwell, even if they have the mildest flu-like symptoms.

NSW Health have requested that anyone who is unwell or has even mild flu-like symptoms, to arrange to be tested through their local medical practitioner or one of the COVID-19 clinics.

Students  with flu-like symptoms will need to provide a copy of a negative COVID-19 test result before being permitted to return to school.

Additional safety measures for school activities have been put in place to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools.

As of Wednesday 19th August 2020

* Only providers that are essential to the delivery of curriculum can continue to provide services and programs until further notice. 

* Parents/carers and other non-essential visitors are not allowed on the school site. 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 a phone appointment.

To minimise risk to staff and in an effort to minimise disruption to students learning we request that if you must deliver items ( including food / drink)  to a student within school hours, we ask that this only be done during recess or lunch. Your child will then be called to collect items directly from you. 

Recess is at 10:40am - 11:10am

Lunch is at 1:10pm - 1:50pm

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

For those students participating in private 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

Payment for Term 4 is Overdue - please organise payment by this Friday 6th November.

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. 

EFTPOS is available for any other payments. 

We are still taking enrolments for Kindergarten 2021, if you know of people looking for a school for their child (even if it is for the other grades), please let them know about St Canice’s. The power of your words of recommendation has an enormous effect on our enrolments. Let’s keep working together to make St Canice’s that great school that has been in operation for the past 119 years.

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.

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

If you have any difficulty accessing the app, please contact the school so that we can ensure everyone is receiving information sent out.

Building Child Safe Communities - Volunteer Undertaking

Dear Parents/Carers 

All Volunteers have until 30th September 2020 to submit a new Undertaking in the new system.

In Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta (CEDP), we see parents and carers as partners in your child's learning journey. Parents and carers are encouraged to become involved in our schools in many important ways such as supporting classroom learning, being part of advisory groups, mentoring programs, coaching sporting teams and supporting other extra-curricular activities and other kinds of help.

A range of checks and undertakings are required for people who work for or provide services to CEDP. These checks reduce potential risk and form part of our strategy to build child safe communities.

CEDP has launched a new Building Child Safe Communities form and online training module that all volunteers are required to complete. 

The purpose of this training is to inform you of the standards of behaviour and other requirements that must be adhered to when volunteering for CEDP.

The undertaking should take no more than 5 minutes to complete and the training module approximately 10 minutes. Once the form and training modules are submitted, an automated email will be sent to you within two business days to confirm the status of your submission.

The undertaking form will expire within two years or when your Working With Children Check expires (if applicable), whichever is sooner. At that time you will need to complete the undertaking form and training module again. You will receive an automatic reminder email when this occurs. 

Further information on the new online form and training module can be found at www.parra.catholic.edu.au and clicking on about us/building child safe communities. Within the form you will also find help sheets and a video tutorial to assist you. 

Thank you in advance for your support.

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