Term 2 Week 2 Newsletter 2023

Dear Parents, Friends, Staff and Students of St Catherine’s,  

Welcome back to Term 2. I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing holiday break following a very busy Term 1. The children have returned to school with smiles on their faces and have quickly settled into the school routine. At the start of this term, we gathered for a whole school Mass,  celebrating the Feast Day of St Catherine of Siena which occurred on the 29th April. It was a lovely way to bring our community together, to reflect on the life of St Catherine and connect with our own aspirations for this term.   

During the school holiday break we held our first ever holiday nature play morning, Explore, Discover, Create. Over a hundred children and adults joined the morning event, enjoying a range of nature based activities. I am grateful to our many staff who volunteered to help make this day a wonderful experience for all who came along. 

Vinnies CEO Sleepout 

It is only 41 days until I take part in this year's Vinnies CEO Sleepout to raise money for the St Vincent de Paul Society to support Australians in need. For one night, I'll be joining other CEOs sleeping outside as part of an eye-opening experience to raise awareness and bring home the realities of homelessness. My fundraising efforts for this event started last year and I am extremely grateful to all who have contributed so far. Any further support would be greatly appreciated and donations can be made via: https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/johnlow 

Term 2 Calendar and Curriculum Overviews 

Last week, the Term 2 calendar of events was sent to families via Skoolbag (now called Audiri). If you have not received a copy of the calendar, please contact Cathy Fischle (cfischle@stcaths.catholic.edu.au). Our classroom teaching staff have also sent an overview of the teaching and learning for their class for this term via email. Please make contact with your child's teacher if you have not received this. 

Term 2 After School Clubs 

This week our Term 2 after school clubs got underway - Art club on Monday, Basketball club on Tuesday and Code Camp and Debating on Wednesday. It is great to have so many children involved in the various extra-curricular activities on offer. 

Play Equipment Ropes 

Last year, our P&F dedicated much of their time and energy towards raising funds to support the replacement of the worn ropes across our outdoor play equipment. I am pleased to share that during the school holidays, these ropes have finally been installed. The children have been so excited to play on the new ropes and it has been wonderful to see them using the ropes as part of their play at recess and lunch. 

Enrolment for 2024 and 2025 

We are currently accepting enrolments for 2024 and 2025. If you have a child that is due to start school next year or the year after and are yet to enroll them, please contact Cathy Fischle as soon as possible.  cfischle@stcaths.catholic.edu.au

Safeguarding Policies and Child Protection Curriculum Information for Parents and Carers 

The Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide values the dignity of all God’s children and takes seriously our role in safeguarding their wellbeing and protection both within the Church environment and communities in which they are raised. The Archdiocese strives to maintain a child safe culture which recognises the welfare and safety of children and young people as paramount.  

The following documents are provided for your information.  

• Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy (Archdiocese of Adelaide) 
• Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum information for parents and carers 

These documents are also available with other Policies, Reports and Guidelines on our school website: https://www.stcaths.catholic.edu.au/our-school/policies-reports 

Photoshoot and Marketing 

At the end of last term, we engaged local photographer, Darren Clements to take photographs of our school and school community so that we can update our images across our website and prospectus and to use for our digital marketing presence for 2023 and beyond. We have some beautiful photographs, highlighting our connected and caring community. Keep an eye out for a flyer in your letterbox and a bus shelter poster in Aldgate, as well as some digital marketing presence throughout the coming weeks. 

Mother's Day 

It was great to have a Mother's Day stall take place today. The students loved being able to choose something special that had been hand-made by students from St Catherine's. A huge thank you to our parent volunteers who helped the students make these bespoke items and for the organisation of the Mother's Day stall. I hope all mums and mother figures have a wonderful day on Sunday. Thank you for all that you do. 

Loving God, 

You have loved us with an everlasting love (Jer 31:3) 
You have loved us even more as a mother loved her child. 
Today, we give you thanks and praise for the gift of mothers. 

We pray for the mothers-to-be, 
who are just beginning to be the bearers of new life in them, 
may they welcome their forthcoming child with loving anticipation and joy. 

We pray for the young mothers, 
may they cherish their child with tender care and unconditional love. 

We pray for the mothers who are separated from their children especially because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and because of war, poverty, conflict, violence and for any other reasons. 
Comfort them, strengthen their hope, and let them feel your loving embrace that wipes every tear away. 

We pray for all Mother-figures, 
those who have loved, surrounded and shaped us with motherly care and compassion. 

We especially pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us, 
Their sacrifices and care gave us a glimpse of the extent of your love for us. 
Thank you for them. 
Grant health, blessings, and well-being for those our mothers who are still alive. 

We also remember those mothers who are no longer with us. 
While they live forever in our hearts and memory grant them eternal rest and reward of their labours. 

Amen.

(Taken from https://catholicoutlook.org/a-mothers-day-prayer) 

Upcoming Events 

Monday 15th - Friday 19th May - Parent Teacher Learning Conversations 
Friday 19th May - Walk Safely to School Day, Coffee Van, R/1BP Assembly 
Tuesday 23rd May - Hills SAPSASA Cross Country Carnival 
Friday 9th June - Pupil Free Day 

Warm regards, 

John 
Together in Faith, Learning and Community  

Feast of St Catherine of Siena 

The feast of our Patron Saint, St Catherine of Siena, took place on April 29th with our school celebrations being held upon our return to school. Our Year 4 and Year 5 students prepared our Whole School Mass which was held in our affectionately named Siena Hall.  In classes students took part in a variety of learning activities to help them better understand the life and mission of St Catherine of Siena. St Catherine of Siena dedicated her life to Christ and spent time serving the poor and sick. Helping students understand the era in which she lived and her commitment to her faith is an important part of celebrating her Feast Day. 

Celebrating Mary and Mothers during the Month of May 

During the month of May we are honoured to celebrate our mothers but to also celebrate Mother Mary, our mother in heaven.  We are reminded on the important role she has as the mother of Jesus and the way in which she said "Yes" to God's calling. May is a time to reflect on the way in which we continue to honour Mary today, calling to mind significant rituals such as sharing in the Hail Mary prayer. 

Marian Procession 

You are warmly invited to attend this years Marian Procession. The Procession will be held on Sunday May 21 beginning at the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Gardens (next to the Torrens Parade Ground on King William St) processing up King William St into Victoria Square. The Procession will commence at 2pm and conclude after a short time of prayer at approximately 4pm. The booklet for the event is also attached for your reference.                                              

Project Compassion 

Our fundraiser efforts last term contribute to the work of Caritas Australia. Their main fundraising drive is held during Lent each year through Project Compassion and our ongoing commitment to supporting Catholic charities was very successful, having raised a total of $1522. This included money raised through classroom donation boxes, home donation boxes and our Walk for Water event which was organised by our school captains. I continue to be inspired by the generosity of our school community and the way in which they live out the Catholic Social Teaching principles through charitable works.  

Parent Faith Workshop 

The Family Faith Formation Team at Catholic Education South Australia are holding a one-hour workshop opportunity for parents. The topic of this session is "Nurturing your Child's Faith Life'. This will be a chance for parents to reflect on the way in which they can help journey with their children through their faith and will provide an opportunity for parents to ask questions and share ideas with like minded others. We are excited to hold these sessions on Wednesday May 31st at both 9.15am and again at 6.00pm. To help with planning, please complete the registration form on our school website.   https://www.stcaths.catholic.edu.au/community/parent-attendance-registration-form

Walk Safely to School Day - Friday May 19th 

Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy and active way to get around. Although walking all the way to school isn’t always realistic for many of us, it’s quite easy to figure our how you can build a walk into your family’s daily routine. 

• You can commit to the healthy habit of walking more by 
• Walking with your child the whole way to school 
• If you use public transport, walk past your usual stop and get on at the next stop instead 
• If you have to drive, park the car a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way 

Regular exercise like walking with your child, not only helps them beat chronic health problems like obesity and heart disease but has also been shown to improve mental health. It also gives you a great opportunity to teach you child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic and improve our environmental footprint.  

On Friday May 19th staff from St Catherine’s School will be walking to school from the Stirling Library departing at 8.00am to be able to return to school in time for a hot drink from the coffee stand. Parents and their children are invited to also walk to school from this location as part of our commitment to Walk Safely to School Day. If you wish to join us on this walk please register your attendance through the school website. We hope to see you there.

https://www.stcaths.catholic.edu.au/community/parent-attendance-registration-form

I would like to wish all those within our community a special Mother's Day. Thank you for the love and care you continue to show each and every day. 

Warm regards, 

Krystina Dawe 
Assistant Principal, Religious Identity and Mission 

SAPSASA Hills Cross Country Carnival – Years 4-6

The Cross Country registrations are still open on QKR.

The SAPSASA Hills Cross Country Carnival will be held at the Woodside Recreation Ground, Onkaparinga Valley Road, Woodside on Tuesday 23rd May. Students will be transported to and from Woodside Recreation Ground by private bus.

Distances run by each age group: Under 10 (Born 2013) = 2km and Under 11-12 (Born 2012,2011) = 3km  

Lunch time training sessions will continue every Monday and Tuesday at lunch time in preparation for the Carnival.

Catholic Schools Netball Carnival – Year 3-6

Registrations are now open for the Catholic Schools Netball Carnival which will be held in week 10, Tuesday 4th July.

Netball Carnival is open to both boys and girls and is held at Netball SA stadium at Mile end with all students being transported to and from the venue by private bus. This is a very popular carnival so the school will need lots of parent helpers on the day.

Students will play at least 6 matches on the day against various Catholic Schools across the state.

Registrations for the Carnival will close on Friday 2nd June, week 5.

Mr De Giovanniello

After watching his sister play netball for years, Jack (Year 5) started playing netball last year with Heathfield netball club.

After his first year of netball he won the Best and Fairest Award for the Hills Association in his division as well as Best & Fairest Award for Heathfield Netball Club.

This year he trialled to be selected in the Hills Netball Association Rep team for Under 11’s, he made the team and his first carnival was last Sunday and his team won the gold medal.

There are numerous carnivals around SA that he will be competing in, the next one is in a few weeks.

Jack went to the SAPSASA netball trials last night at Woodside and he was the only boy out of about 60 girls. There will be 2 netball SAPSASA teams selected.

Jack is also trying out to be in the boys state netball team for Under 12’s. The trials are next month. This is the first year they are putting a boys team together. If he is selected he gets to go to Perth for a week in September.

Congratulations Jack and well done. You are paving the way for other boys!

Upcoming Learning Conversations 

As you would be aware, next week parents are invited to attend learning conversations with their child's teacher. These will be an opportunity to further develop the partnership between teachers and families through discussions about each child's learning journey. As part of our formal reporting processes, it will be a chance to discuss progress so far as well as establish any further learning goals, and to celebrate successes. If you haven't already, don’t forget to make a time as per the communication recently sent out on skoolbag. 

Scholastic Book Club  

Recently students brought home a Scholastic Book Club catalogue for issue 3. Throughout the year there have been a few changes to the format of these catalogues, with the decision made to return to the original format. What has also changed is a reduction of prices to help keep the items comparable in price to other retailers. If you are interested in placing an order, these will close on Friday 19th May and orders can be placed through the LOOP app or at scholastic.com.au/LOOP. Through this platform payment can be made by credit card and the books will be delivered directly to the school. If you are hoping for the items to be a gift, simple select this option and we will hold on to the items until you are ready to collect them. Every purchased made helps contribute to rewards points which are then used to purchase new resources for our school Library.  

National Simultaneous Storytime 

On Wednesday 24th May the students at St Catherine's School will participate in the National Simultaneous Storytime.  The story which will be read in schools, libraries and homes across Australia is The Speedy Sloth by Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie.  

Spike the sloth trains for a whole seven days to get ready for the great animal race. Despite coming last, she is celebrated for both finishing the race, and making it home in time for dinner!  

Parents are invited to join the R-2 classes in The Treehouse to listen to the story and join in some fun craft activities from 11:30am. Please email your child's teacher to let them know you will be joining the occasion.  

Children's University 

For those involved in Children's University, don’t forget to log into the parent portal and search through the learning destinations and online activities to help build the learning hours. It has been wonderful to see a number of student passports and the accompanying documentation of learning. If you require any assistance please don’t hesitate to ask Krystina Dawe. You may also like to follow their Facebook page to stay up to day with announcement and upcoming learning events. 

https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensUniversityAdelaide   

Reconciliation Week Event – Nunga Screening Event 

Wednesday May 31 
Sessions at  
10am – 11am & 7pm – 9pm 
Venue: The Hut Community room 

Nunga Screen shares and celebrates First Nations culture, stories and language through film. 

A FREE annual event that spans National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week, and which tours across regional SA from big screen cinemas to remote communities, Nunga Screen presents a diverse film program for cinema-goers of all ages. 

For more than 10 years, Nunga Screen (formerly known as Black Screen) has provided the opportunity for emerging and established First Nations film makers to showcase their films across South Australia. In 2023 program will feature the premiere of a second Country Arts SA commissioned short documentary from an emerging First Nations filmmaker. 

Nunga Screen is an amazing opportunity to get together, connect and learn. 

Bookings essential via Humanitix 

Kind Regards,  

Narelle Brine and Krystina Dawe 
Leaders of Learning – Curriculum and Assessment  

 Dear Families,  

Welcome to the start of Term 2! It was wonderful to come back to school last Monday and have the children share their holiday stories. I trust that you found some time to relax and spend some quality time as a family. 

Action for Happiness - Meaningful May 

This month's calendar in the Action for Happiness series happens to be a personal favourite of mine. I hope you enjoy it too! 

Feeling part of something bigger is great for our wellbeing. This month, our focus is on the things that really matter and make life more meaningful.  

The Meaningful May calendar is full of great ideas to bring more fulfilment to daily life. Perhaps consider trying three ideas this month and take note of the difference you can make to others and feel in yourself. 

If you would like to know more about Meaningful May, you can watch the following video:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5cr5IzN3NE 

Wishing you a beautiful month ahead! 

Gifted Awareness Week (20th - 28th May, 2023) 

Students with gifts and talents have the capacity to perform at higher levels compared to others of the same age, experience and environment in one or more domains. While catering for children who may have a disability or those who experience challenges in their learning is crucial, it is equally important that children who are gifted and talented are also having their needs met. At St Catherine's School, we are working on building our capacity in this area as a school.  

The theme of Gifted Awareness Week this year is 'The Diverse Faces of Giftedness.' To celebrate as a school, we will be asking children to submit riddles or puzzles which will be displayed around the school for others to solve throughout the week.  

All riddles need to be emailed or handed to me by Friday 19th May.  

Here are a few riddles to get you started. How many can you solve as a family? I will post the answers in the next Newsletter! 

Catholic School Parents SA - Parent Session 

• Resilience with Gill Hicks 
• Date: 30 May 2023 6:30pm - 30 May 2023 8:00pm 
• Venue: Loreto College Performing Arts Centre, 316 Portrush Road, Marryatville, South Australia, 5068 
• Venue Website:  https://www.loreto.sa.edu.au/ 

Gill Hicks is globally known as a survivor of the London terrorist bombings on July 7th 2005. She survived, but suffered severe and permanent injuries, losing both legs from just below the knee. Gill is a published author, musician, award winning artist and performer. Gill’s appreciation and gratitude for life is present throughout all her creative works. 

Attendees will leave the event feeling empowered, inspired and grateful to continue to their parenting and education journey. 

The event will be limited to 300 in person Catholic school family attendees.  
There will be an online option with live streaming. 
To register: https://registrationcentre.cesa.catholic.edu.au/event-5247928 

Term 2 FREE Parent and Carer Webinars 

Please consider accessing one or a few of the below Parent and Carer eSafety webinars for this term available for FREE. Registration is via their website: esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars 

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend and to all the Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts, Sisters and other special women in our lives that care for us and love us unconditionally, Happy Mother's Day!  

Warm Regards,  

Kerry Cornelius 
Leader of Learning (R-6) – Wellbeing and Inclusion  
kcornelius@stcaths.catholic.edu.au