Term 2, Week 5 2024

Dear Families,

It has been great to finally see some rain this week. Hopefully it will be enough for our farmers to get their crops underway, otherwise it may end up with a shortage or higher prices for everyone later on. We continue to grow as a school with some unexpected enrolments. For our Term 3 Reception class we have at least 15 children joining us in July. This will take the number of students to around 190. If you know of any families with children turning 5 between now and October, please ask them to call our front office for an enrolment form or to arrange a tour of the school. We do currently have a number of spaces in Reception for this year and next.

Last week was National Volunteer Week in Australia. We are always thankful for the work that people do as volunteers. Sadly, with Covid-19, this has changed things a good deal in schools but we still welcome and appreciate any volunteer work that happens in and for our school. Sometimes people volunteer to go on excursions, sporting carnivals, listening to reading, cleaning up around the school or simply covering books for us (at school or home). You may have read about the South Australian Volunteer of the Year for this year, Dulcie Boag, who has been volunteering at the Hutt Street Centre in Adelaide for more than 40 years. This is a shelter for the homeless and they have a bus called Dulcie’s bus that provides shelter, clothing and food. What a great service she has given the community. I’m going to claim Dulcie as one of our own. All of her children came to St Mary Magdalene’s and they lived in the house on the corner, directly across Harvey Road from the staff car park. Congratulations and thank you Dulcie (and John) for your great contribution to our school community and now to Hutt Street!

This week is National Reconciliation Week with the theme ‘Now More Than Ever’. “It is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will - and must - continue. There have been many moments in Australia’s reconciliation journey that make us want to turn away. But when things are divisive, the worst thing we can do is disengage or disconnect.

Now more than ever, we need to tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation. We know that the 6.2 million Australians who voted YES are committed to better outcomes for First Nations people, and are with us. Reconciliation supporters must stand up to defend and uphold the rights of First Nations peoples. To call out racism wherever we encounter it, and to actively reinforce the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across this continent. Now more than ever, the work continues. In treaty making, in truth-telling, in understanding our history, in education, and in tackling racism. We need connection. We need respect. We need action. And we need change. Now more than ever, we need reconciliation.” (reconciliation.org.au)

The whole idea of reconciliation fits beautifully with our Mercy values, given to our school by the Sisters of Mercy who founded our school in 1957. Our Mercy values are Compassion, Courage, Hospitality, Justice, Respect and Service. At the moment we are having a focus in our school on the values of Justice and Respect with our children continuing to develop an understanding of what these mean and how we might use them in our interactions with others.

Thank you to Ms Hughes for running the Scholastic Book Fair and to all those who bought some items with their children. You helped us to collect $2620 giving us $600 to spend buying new books for the library. Thank you for your support.

This week and next our students will be undertaking the Classroom Pulse Check In survey. This is a survey that students complete each term to provide us some really useful information about their ongoing wellbeing.

Please note that the staff car park is for staff only during school hours. It is not for parents and caregivers, so please don’t drive in to drop off or to pick up your children. Drop off and pick up outside the normal school hours is fine for our OSHC families. Please also remember to respect the local by-laws when driving and parking around the school, including the use of the disabled parking outside the front gate. When on crossing duty we observe a number of cars each day speeding through our crossing when the lights are flashing. Sadly, some of these cars are our own families! The law says that the speed limit is 25km per hour when travelling past a school when children are present. This means that Harvey Road, Fairfield Road and Murphy Street are all 25km per hour when students are visibly present.

We would like to remind students and families to be wary of approaches from strangers, especially when they are unaccompanied or travelling to and from school. If they are approached, students should not respond and should not accept offers of rides or gifts. Students should seek the assistance of other nearby adults if they feel unsafe and should report any events to a trusted adult (parent or school staff member) as soon as possible. SAPOL advises that taking out a mobile phone and calling police can deter an offender and they recommend the student making a formal report to their closest police station. 

Please remember that we have the following dates set aside as Pupil Free Days for the staff to undertake professional development, staff reflection, complete hand over activities, etc. Our remaining set dates are: Friday 5 July, Friday 23 August, Monday 14 October, Thursday 12 December and Friday 13 December. Please mark them in your diary and book into OSHC if you require this service (spaces are limited).

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend next week!

Kind regards

Peter Mercer

Head of School

‘Shaping our Future Together’

CATHOLIC IDENTITY

LITURGICAL CALENDAR INFORMATION

A Liturgical Calendar shows the cycle of seasons in the Catholic Church. The Church year consists of six liturgical seasons: Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time after Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time after Pentecost. In each newsletter we aim to highlight different events in the Liturgical Calendar that we might be focusing on or celebrating in our school.

This term we celebrate many feast days that occur in our liturgical calendar. A feast day is a day when we remember and celebrate something or someone important to our faith.

Special celebrations that we focus on during classroom and whole school prayer throughout term 2 and those that come up in our liturgical calendar include:

Week 5

26/5 Feast of the Trinity

26/5 National Sorry Day

27/5 Reconciliation Week

Week 6

2/6 Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

5/6 World Environment Day

Week 8

20/6 World Refugee Day

22/6 Feast of St. Thomas More

Week 10

7/7 NAIDOC Week

FEAST OF THE TRINITY

The Easter season is over. Pentecost has passed. Now we are in Ordinary Time, which will last for the next 6 months. Ordinary Time is filled with its own feasts and festivals.  This week we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity. One of our oldest traditions has been to call God by the names of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are the three persons of the Holy Trinity. And yet we know that there is only one God. God’s life is a mystery. It is hard to understand in our minds, but we can deepen our understanding with our hearts.

RECONCILIATION WEEK

With the theme ‘Now more than ever’ for National Reconciliation Week 2024, it is a time to reflect and continue building momentum towards reconciliation in our schools and early learning services, workplaces, and broader communities. This theme invites all Australians to learn more about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and explore how everyone can contribute to promoting reconciliation in our everyday lives - in our homes, workplaces, and social circles.

In our prayer this week, we reflect on the millions of footprints that travelled the Dreaming pathways and give thanks for their wisdom and knowledge. We remember and recognise the people of the Stolen Generation and all those who were directly or indirectly affected by this terrible time in our history. Through our celebrations this week, we are reminded that God’s dream for humanity is one of justice and equality, of compassion and understanding, of forgiveness and mercy, to be shared by all peoples on earth. We join with God’s dream now more than ever for the first peoples of our land. May we walk forward together in a spirit of reconciliation and unity.

YEAR 3-6 MASS

Fr. Santosh will join us to celebrate Mass next week on June 4 at 12noon, in the Yarning Place with our Year 3-6 students. All families are welcome to join us.

ELIZABETH CATHOLIC PARISH SACRAMENT PROGRAM

For those families who have enrolled in the program, please be aware of the following dates:

Reconciliation Workshop Session

Saturday June 15

9am – 11am

St. Thomas More Church – 19 Laverstock Rd, Elizabeth North.

Reconciliation Celebration (TERM 3)

Friday August 2^nd

6pm

St. Thomas More Church – 19 Laverstock Rd, Elizabeth North.

Practice for Confirmation and First Eucharist (TERM 3)

Saturday September 7

9.30am – 11am

St. Ann’s Church – Midway Rd, Elizabeth East

Please contact Melissa Musolino for more information.

Phone: 82556144

Email: mmusolino@smm.catholic.edu.au

OR

Phone: 7285 1500

Email: mmusolino@sttmore.catholic.edu.au

In Miss Hill's Reception class this term, we've been learning all about lines. We've learned that lines are a very important part of visual art. There are lots of different types of lines such as straight, curly, zigzag, wavy, curved and dotted, just to name a few! We created some line artworks with Mrs Drewett's class using masking tape and watercolour paints. First, we placed masking tape carefully on the paper in all different directions. Then, we painted inside the shapes that the masking tape lines created. When our paintings dried, we slowly and gently removed the masking tape, revealing our awesome negative space artworks!

All families who utilise the St Thomas More vacation care service, please ensure your account is up to date and paid if full no later than 21/06/2024.

If accounts are not rectified by this date, you may be required to pay in advance for sessions or not be able to utilise the service at all during the upcoming July school holidays.

Thank you, we appreciate your support.

Hello Families,

I can’t believe we are almost halfway through the year already. We have been very busy in the OSHC space exploring, learning, and playing. The children have been particularly engaged in a range of messy and sensory play where they have been using their creativity and imaginations to build and create with Lego, slime, kinetic sand, musical instruments and drawing and natural materials.

Just a few reminders to all families to ensure your child is appropriately dressed for the weather as winter approaches the days are getting cold and wet – especially in the early morning and late evenings.

I would also like to alert families that Friday July 5^th is a Pupil Free Day. OSHC services will be available, but bookings are essential as spaces are limited.

To book your child into OSHC for this day please speak to office and OSHC staff or contact the OSHC Mobile on 0437609630 by Friday the 21^st of June.

Bookings made after this time may not be able to be accommodated.

Thanks,

Jenn and Sally

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS NETBALL/SOCCER CARNIVAL REPORT

On Thursday 16th May, 36 year 4-6 students participated in the Regional Catholic Schools Netball/Soccer Carnival at Argana Park. The round-robin competition allowed students to develop their skills and knowledge of soccer and netball. On a beautiful sunny day, all students showed enthusiasm, discipline, teamwork, and a high level of skill to produce some great results. It was fantastic to see students work together to create opportunities for team members to showcase their skills in a friendly environment. All the boys and girls enjoyed the day and are to be congratulated on their fine sportsperson ship during all matches. Thank you to all the teachers and co-educators that helped with coaching and supervision and the parents that attended on the day for their help and support during the carnival.

Kind Regards,

Cristian Morgado