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Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,
Welcome, everyone, to the 2022 school year. I hope that the school holidays were a restful and rejuvenating break for all our students and staff and that everyone is looking forward to a joy-filled year of learning. A very special welcome to Mt Carmel’s new Kindergarten students and to all students and families who are joining the Mt Carmel community this year. I hope you and your children will soon feel very at home here at Mt Carmel School. A special welcome also to Mrs Andrea Abbott, who joins the Mt Carmel School staff this year in Year 5/6. Mrs Abbott is very excited to be teaching at Mt Carmel, and we are thrilled to have her as part of our teaching team.
It would have been lovely to begin the new school year without the restrictions that have impacted schools and the wider community over the last couple of years, but it seems Omicron had other plans for us! I would firstly like to thank all of Mt Carmel’s wonderful staff whose preparation time for the new term has again been impacted by uncertainty about the classroom situation and the added pressures of contingency plans and health concerns: each of you is a gift to our school community, and I am grateful every day for your dedication and professionalism. I would also like to thank parents and families for their cooperation with the collection and use of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits, which will be an important surveillance tool to help keep our community safe over the coming weeks, and for their understanding of the necessary restrictions in place for the start of the school year. Sufficient RATs have been provided for each family to test their children twice-weekly for the first two weeks of school. Arrangements will be made for the collection of RATs for Weeks 3 and 4 as soon as we have received our allocated supply. My final thank you for now is to each of the magnificent students who have taken the unusual start to the school year in their stride and are already filling our classrooms and playground with joy and excitement; it’s wonderful to have you all back!
Because of the necessary restrictions, many of our regular start-of-year events (Opening Mass, Student Leadership Induction, Welcome BBQ, Open Classrooms etc.) will need to be postponed or modified. Rest assured, we will keep families informed of any plans as soon as they are finalised.
Open, honest and timely communication is a very important aspect of our relationship with parents. If you have any concerns about any aspect of your child’s progress, you are encouraged to speak first with their class teacher. Although we are unable to hold parent meetings in person at the moment, if you have anything important to discuss with your child’s teacher, please email them directly or phone the school office and they will be able to organise a telephone or Teams meeting at a time that is mutually convenient.
Likewise, please do not hesitate to make contact with me directly if you have any concerns, questions or feedback about any aspect of school life at Mt Carmel. You can make contact the school office or send an email to me directly at michael.green@cg.catholic.edu.au.
As always, there has been much going on around our buildings and grounds over the Christmas break in preparation for the new school year. I am very grateful to all staff for their preparation of classrooms and learning spaces throughout the school over the holidays; they look very welcoming. Thanks to Robbie Shepherd for preparing the school grounds; he has spent many hours making our school look beautiful.
Swimming Carnival
Weather permitting, our school swimming carnival will still be able to go ahead next Friday, although we are still seeking confirmation about how the current restrictions will impact the event. A detailed letter about this will be provided by the end of the week.
Student leadership
As already mentioned, we do not yet have finalised plans about our formal Student Leadership Induction process for this year, but I am very happy to announce that the Year 5 SRC representatives have now been decided: congratulations to Emma Barker and Toby Gillard.
Although Mt Carmel does not declare ourselves to be a nut-free school, we do encourage all our students and families to be allergy aware. This week, if your child is sharing a classroom with another student who suffers from a food or contact allergy, you will receive a letter outlining precautions that we ask you to consider. Please also have a conversation with your child about the importance of not sharing food or canteen money at school, as it contributes to our Stay Safe rule.
Kindergarten Rest Days and Assessment
I hope that everyone’s first day of ‘Big School’ yesterday was filled with excitement and fun. Kindergarten Rest Days commence today and will continue on Wednesdays until Week 5. The final rest day will be on March 2, with full weeks commencing in Week 6. The Best Start Kindergarten Assessment Program commences next week, and families are asked to contact the school office to book an appointment time with their child’s teacher. A separate letter containing details about Best Start will be sent to Kinder parents today.
Road Safety
The start of the year is a good time to give a reminder about traffic safety around the school. I ask all parents to model safe behaviour when driving, parking and crossing roads around the school. Also please be mindful that the length of Dutton St from the school office to the Meehan St intersection is a no parking zone before and after school, so you can use these spaces to drop-off or pick up, but if you leave your vehicle, you may be booked.
May God’s peace be in your families,
Welcome to Term 1! It is fantastic to see everyone after the holidays.
Our school theme for 2022 is “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” 1 John 1:7
The theme is about synodality, connection and relationships. When we are connected, we walk together to develop positive relationships with each other and with God.
Reading: 1 John 1:7
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John+1&version=NIV
Reflection
The main themes of this passage are love and fellowship with God. Most people understand that the important things in life are not things at all – they are the relationships we have. God has put a desire for relationship in every one of us. A desire He intended to be met with relationships with other people, but most of all, to be met by a relationship with Him. In this remarkable letter, John tells us the truth about relationships – and shows us how to have relationships that are real, for both now and eternity.
So let us ask the question, ‘What must we do?’ or make it more personal, ‘What must I do?’ in our lives in 2022 to have fellowship with God and with one another? Our response and engagement will depend upon personal circumstances. But let us respond by pondering what might be Jesus’ hopes for us today:
“If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another”.
Have a great week!
Eva Karakotas
Religious Education Coordinator
Mt Carmel Swimming Carnival - Friday 11 February
Weather permitting, our school swimming carnival will still be able to go ahead next Friday, although we are still seeking confirmation about how the current restrictions will impact the event. A detailed letter about this will be provided by the end of the week.
Summer Trials for Year 5 and 6 students
Registrations are currently open for the following sports’ trials:
Cricket – Friday 20 March (Gundagai)
Basketball – Friday 5 February (Belconnen, ACT)
Tennis – Friday 5 February (Belconnen, ACT)
AFL (Combined Canberra Goulburn/Wollongong Boys trials) – Tuesday 16 March (Wollongong)
Soccer – Friday 12 March (Lyneham, ACT)
For more information or to register, please go to https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/nominations. Please check the C & G website and the Facebook page for information about upcoming events including winter trials for netball, rugby league, hockey and touch football.
We are very excited to announce that the Book Fair is back at Mt Carmel for 2022 from the 16th to 22nd February.
Due to the Covid restrictions, it wil be run a little differently this year. Unfortunatley we are unable to have visitors to the library, however your child will be given the opportunity in their library lesson, to look at the books and select two for a wish list.
The list can be shown to parents/grandparents/friends and if you wish to purchase a book, there are two ways this can be done.
1). Complete the wish list and pay online using the online payment method. Your child will need to return the record of payment to the library and will be given the book/books.
2). Your child can come to the library with the money and their wish list.
Please Note: If the book is not available or sold out, an order will be placed for the book and your child will be notified when the book/books arrive.
Additional small stationary items such as rubbers, pencils, sharpeners etc, will only be available for sale on Friday 18th and 25th February. These items are for sale for CASH only and are generally retaining for less than $5.
Cathryn Williams
Acting Teacher/Librarian
Lunch tubs will be collected from the canteen at both recess and lunch by each class. All items ordered will be delivered to the classrooms in these tubs.
Ice creams will not be available to pre-order at lunch time, as due to hot lunch items being sent in tubs to the classrooms, ice creams will melt. Ice creams will be available at recess time only.
Please order all recess and lunch orders via Qkr before 9am on Thursday and Friday mornings.
If you have any questions regarding the canteen menu, please email emma.mcevoy@cg.catholic.edu.au or call the office on 6226 3357.
Sacrament of Reconciliation March 2022
For further details and to print an enrolment form (please complete prior to arriving at the presbytery) please visit the parish website www.staug-yass.org.au/wp/sacraments or contact Dianne Carey 0419 276 889 Sacramental Team Leader.