Term 3, Week 7 2023

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This coming Tuesday evening at St Ann’s Church, three of our students: Jia, Jasmine and Cassie, will celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation. Then on Saturday they will receive the sacrament of Eucharist for the very first time. These are the final two sacraments of initiation in our Catholic church with the first being Baptism. Usually, children are presented to the community by their parents and baptised with holy water, when they are still babies. Then, when they are old enough, they are able to choose to ‘confirm’ their baptism, become full members of our church community and receive communion each week. We believe that during this ceremony, those children being confirmed are filled with the holy spirit. For adults, confirmation usually takes place at the Easter vigil. I pray for these children and their families at this very special time.

To align with students’ learning about internet safety, Catherine McAuley School is hosting a presentation by the Carly Ryan Foundation to share vital information for parents and carers addressing the current risks posed to children online, and how to manage these. The date is Tuesday 19th of September at 5:30pm and an invitation has been extended to the St Mary Magdalene’s Community. The Carly Ryan Foundation, a certified eSafety Education Provider, has developed an hour-long program designed to provide parents with the most essential and up to date information needed to keep their children safe online. I encourage you to make this a priority in your diary. The presentation is free and will be held at Catherine McAuley School. This session is designed specifically for parents/ carers and is not child appropriate. Please return the tear off slip below if you are intending to attend.

With this in mind, students and families are reminded 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 the event to a trusted adult (parent or school staff member) as soon as possible. 

Our school counsellors (Shannon O’Toole (SMM) and Dave Hillard (STM) are repeating a course that they ran last year called “Bringing Up Great Kids”. I know those that participated last year found it very informative and useful and I encourage you to consider participating this year. It will be held over a number of weeks on a Monday. Please check elsewhere in this newsletter for further information.

I would like to say congratulations to our OSHC Director, Jenn Firth and her family, on the birth of their baby boy Brooklyn. May you be filled with every blessing at this very special time. Welcome Brooklyn!

On the topic of Out of School Hours Care, we have been unable to find a suitably qualified replacement for Jenn at this stage. There is a real shortage of OSHC staff (and teachers) at this particular time. You may have heard about this in the media as it is an Australia wide problem, not just here in Elizabeth or South Australia. In the mean time I thank our other staff who are working extra to ensure our OSHC service remains open for our families. I am currently doing much of the ‘book work’ and ‘accounting’ for our OSHC service so I ask that you be patient as I endeavour to get bookings and invoices sorted each week. Please remember to notify us if you wish to cancel a booking - at least 24 hours before the booking, otherwise you will be charged. I have hopefully fixed a few problems for people around the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) but please contact me if you are still having trouble. I want us to get to the stage where everybody’s OSHC fees are manageable and don’t get out of hand!

This week we have updated our SunSmart Policy. I have attached it to this newsletter.

Good luck to our students competing in the Touch Football Carnival on Friday … let’s hope the weather is kind to everyone!

Peter Mercer

Head of School

Liturgical Calendar Information 

Special celebrations that we focus on during classroom and whole school prayer throughout term 3 and those that come up in our liturgical calendar include: 

5/9 Feast of Mother Teresa 

4/9 Child Protection Week 

21/9 International Day of Peace 

24/9 Mercy Day 

27/9 St. Vincent De Paul 

Catholic Charities  

Each year, during term 3, our school supports the work of Catholic Charities and the agencies they support.  The Catholic Charities Appeal was founded in 1941 by Archbishop Beovich to help people in the community. This week your child will bring home a brochure which contains stories from the agencies supported by Catholic Charities.  

Mercy Day 

Mercy Day is celebrated on September 24 each year. This is an important day for all of us who belong to schools founded by the sisters of Mercy. It is also a day to remember and give thanks for the life of Catherine McAuley. On this day in 1827 Catherine’s House of Mercy in Baggot Street in Dublin was opened.  

In our celebrations this year we think about how we live our call to be merciful people by reaching out to help others. Through our fundraising, we will support the works of Catherine House, who like Catherine McAuley, work to support women and children in need. 

This year we will celebrate Mercy Day with a whole school liturgy on Monday September 25 at 9.30am in the Yarning Space. Our Year 5/6 students along with students from R-6 will help to prepare and lead the liturgy. 

Throughout the day students will be involved in learning about Catherine McAuley and the sisters of Mercy and the work that Catherine House does to support women and children in need. Our year 5/6 students have organised a variety of activity stalls and games for students to visit and play for a small donation. All proceeds will go to support Catherine House. More information will be provided via Seesaw next week.  

Child Protection Week 

Next week is Child Protection Week. The overarching message for Child Protection Week is ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’. This very important message is about making sure that children grow up safe and supported, and how every child in every community just like each of the students in our school, deserves a fair go. We think about how we can promote a safe and supported life for every child, now and into the future. Mrs Carritt helped us learn more about Child Protection Week during our <span style="user-select: text;-webkit-user-drag: none;-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image:var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url(" data:image="" svg+xml;base64,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"='));" border-bottom:transparent;background-position-x:0%;background-position-y:100%'="">teams prayer this week.  

  Religious Literacy Assessment Tool (ReLAT) 

Our Year 4 students will complete the Religious Education Literacy Assessment (ReLAT) this week. The assessment focuses on students’ knowledge and understanding of key concepts that are addressed in the Crossways Religious Education Curriculum, the achievement of the outcomes set out in the curriculum, and the ability of students to communicate this knowledge and understanding about the Catholic tradition. Questions are based on general religious knowledge gained from participation in RE lessons and the religious dimension of the Catholic school. The data produced from the assessment is designed to give teachers’ meaningful feedback about the students’ learning and to assist in developing the classroom teaching of Religion. All students in Year 4 have received a separate letter regarding this. 

Elizabeth Catholic Parish Sacramental Program 

Jia, Cassie, and Jasmine are now ready to receive the sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist. As a school community we look forward to joining them in these celebrations and we wish them continued prayers as they continue their faith journey. 

Celebration of Confirmation 

Term 3 Week 8 Tuesday September 12 – 7.00pm – 8.00pm at St. Ann’s Church 

Celebration of First Eucharist 

Term 3 Week 8 Saturday September 16 6.00pm – 7.00pm at St. Thomas More Church 

OR 

Term 3 Week 8 Sunday September 17 10.00am – 11.00am at St. Thomas More Church 

Students and families are reminded 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 the event 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 the offender and they recommend the student making a formal report to their closest police station.