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| Important Dates & Reminders | |
| 22 August | Winter Woolies Day |
| 24 August | Book Week Parade & Dress Up Day |
| 22 - 25 August | Scholastic Book Fair |
| 31 August | Confirmation Retreat Day & Parent/Child Formation Meeting |
| 1 September | Father's Day Liturgy |
| 5 September | Confirmation @ St Michael's |
| 22 September | St Michael's Feast Day |
Dear Parents and Carers,
I saw this image of St Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore in the 2022 National Catholic Education Commission Report (NCEC) which has recently been released. The Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools was particularly impacted by flood waters and a number of students, their families and staff also suffered personal losses.
I share this image because it speaks to me of courage amidst adversity and resilience against the odds. May this help us to grow in gratitude for the gifts we have knowing that Mother Mary and her son Jesus walk with us.
Yesterday Year 5/6 students attended our Parish Mass to celebrate the Feast of St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
Father Mick shared this prayer:
God, source of all goodness, who have shown us in Saint Mary a woman of faith living by the power of the Cross, teach us, we pray, by her example to live the Gospel in changing times and to respect and defend the human dignity of all in our land.
Thank you for your continued support.
Many blessings,
Judy Egan
Student absences
Information has been going home via the Compass portal regarding student absences. We are currently working with the Compass team to ensure we have systems in place to assist families to successfully log student absences via the parent portal. Current Government regulations make it a legal responsibility for parents to inform the school regarding student absences. We have discovered the system works best when parents only log full day absences, please do not log partial absences.
As of Monday 14 August, Compass reminders will be sent to parents at 1pm daily if the student is absent requesting an absent note.
If you are having any issues with the parent portal or would like support completing processes, please contact the front office staff who are happy to assist.
Community Council Corner
Community Council Meeting Update for newsletter
A broad range of agenda items were discussed at the recent Community Council meeting.
The school Disco and the Athletics carnival were all deemed to be great successes and the Community Council thanked all for their input into the running of both events. The school Greenhouse requires considerable ongoing work to maintain its functionality and the alternate options are being considered. Should any member of the school community be interested in being involved in the Greenhouses future, please approach the school.
The possibility to re-introduce lunch orders for the students was proposed, which will be investigated by a parent committee and school staff. Enrolments for Kinder 2024 are tracking well.
A key topic of discussion centred around the Catholic Education (CE) Office model for Community Councils across the diocese. The model provides a broad guide to the makeup and conduct of the Council and the CE were looking for feedback, which was collated and provided. This is a great opportunity to promote the Community Council as a genuine way to have an input into the culture and future of St Michael’s. Should member of the school community be interested in becoming a member, please reach out to any of the current Council, who would be more than happy to help!
Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Harmony Award this week.
Well done!!
| KD | Layla M |
| 1/2K | Nicholas F |
| 1/2T | Carol G |
| 3/4B | Aryan G |
| 3/4O | Gursirat K |
| 5/6H | Anthony A |
| 5/6M | Peyton A |
| 5/6S | Oliver M |
Parish Sacramental Program 2023
Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated on:
Tuesday 5 September 2023 at 6pm in St Michael’s Church, Kaleen;
Wednesday 6 September 2023 at 6pm in St Monica’s Church, Evatt; and
Thursday 7 September 2023at 6pm in St Monica’s Church, Evatt.
Home Booklets – Parents should now be working through the home booklet with their child in preparation for the Sacrament. The booklets will need to be completed ready for retreat day and the child/parent formation night on 31 August 2023.
Home booklets will then to be handed back to the school for collection so that they can be signed with the parish stamp and then be available with certificates at the liturgy celebration.
Saint Name and Sponsor Name – If you did not yet provide this information in the registration form, please email the Sacramental Program Coordinator (NOT the class teacher) as a matter of urgency at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au
‘Trybooking’ for the Sacrament of Confirmation – Fr Mick would like to cap the bookings to a maximum of 20 candidates for each liturgy celebration.
Please note: When you make your booking, please only book 1 place in the name of the candidate celebrating the Sacrament – all families will be allocated a pew in the church (if you have additional guests they will be able to overflow across the aisle).
If you have more than 1 child celebrating the Sacrament, please only book 1 place and put both names of the candidates in the name spot.
The ‘trybooking’ will be open from 8am on Monday 14 August 2023 and will close on Friday 18 August 2023. The links will be available on the Parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Stoles for First Eucharist
Purchased stoles have now been delivered to the schools. If you purchased a stole and you have not yet received it, please send me an email at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au
Alternatively, if you did not order a stole and would still like to purchase one, please email Sue at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au
Note: It is not compulsory to order a stole, you can borrow one on the night.
Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated in term 1, 2024.
For further Information – please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or check the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Mary MacKillop
This Week we celebrated the feast day of Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia’s first saint. Mary MacKillop was born in Victoria, the eldest of 8 children. While working as a teacher, she met and was inspired by Fr Tennison Woods who wanted to provide education to children in the outback. In 1866, along with Fr Tennison she founded Australia’s first religious order, the Congregation of Sisters of St Joseph and opened the first Catholic school. After her vows she became known as Mary of the Cross. Mary spent her life giving and caring for others by opening orphanages, homes for the homeless, schools and hospitals. Throughout her life Mary faced fierce opposition and was even excommunicated. In the face of trial, Mary showed forgiveness, insisting no ill be spoken to those who wronged her. Mary was a remarkable, strong female leader in Australia during the 1800s. She died on the 8thAugust 1909 at the age of 67. Pope John Paul II declared that she could become Australia’s first saint on January 9th, 1995.
Prayer for Mary Mac Killop
God of compassion, God of all people,
we praise you for your servant, Mary MacKillop,
who gave her life to serve amongst the poor and oppressed.
As she is honoured in our world,
may we continue to learn to share her vision.
Be with us as we strive to follow her and
carry out her mission of service and care.
Amen
Winter Woolies Day 22nd August
Tuesday of week 6, we will be having a Winter Woolies Day in support of the Vinnies Winter Appeal. The day will begin with mass at St Michael’s at 9:30am. Parents are most welcome to join us for mass. During the day staff of Saint Vincent de Paul will run workshops to help educate students on homelessness. One of the ways we are asking families to support the day is by donations. Donations could include warm winter clothing and blankets and/or new adult sized gloves and socks. The night patrol van is also in particular need of toothpaste and shaving cream. If you don’t have items to donate, a gold coin donation would be appreciated. On the day we will have labeled tubs in which you can place your items. Donations will be gratefully accepted by the team at Vinnies and be distributed to those experiencing homelessness in our local community. On the day students can wear their own Winter Woolies, comfortable warm clothing suitable for school.
Key Dates RE for Term 3
|
22 August |
Winter Woolies Day |
|
31 August |
Confirmation Retreat and Parent/Child Formation Evening |
|
1 September |
Father’s Day Liturgy |
|
5 September |
Sacrament of Confirmation (St Michael’s) |
|
6/7 September |
Sacrament of Confirmation (St Monica’s) |
|
22 September |
St Michael’s Feast Day Celebration |
For all Religious Education enquiries please email Erika Tokich at:
erika.tokich@cg.catholic.edu.au
We are proceeding with our plans to again enter teams in this year’s Boorowa touch and netball carnival. It is fantastic day that sees over 4500 students from country and city schools both government and public come to support the town of Boorowa and the wider community. Last week, interested students met with Mrs Hardwicke to find out a little more about the day. If you would like your child to participate please return the permission note via Compass. We will enter teams based on the responses we receive via Compass and ask that you respond by no later than Friday 11th August. Once we have confirmed our numbers we will send teams lists home.
Please note that on some occasions we are unable to enter teams due to not having a sufficient number of players. It is a requirement of the organisers that each team is able to provide a coach, umpire/referee and manager. We are dependent on parent volunteers for these roles, so if you are able to help please let us know by answering the questions on the Compass form. We greatly appreciate your support, but it is even more greatly appreciated by our students.
Parents need to arrange their own transport/car pooling to and from Boorowa. It is 1.5-2hr drive from Canberra.
Belconnen Region Athletics Carnival
Chief Minister's Reading Challenge - Last Weeks
Remember to place your completed forms in the barrel by 11 August for your chance to win a prize.