Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,

Welcome BBQ and Open Classrooms
Tomorrow afternoon we will be holding our welcome BBQ and Open Classrooms. The BBQ will commence at 5pm on the school playground, and the classrooms will be open between 5:30pm and 6:30pm. Thanks to families who submitted an RSVP form; those unable to RSVP are still very welcome to attend. The open classrooms are an opportunity for your child to show you their classroom and introduce you to their teacher. Each class will have an information letter for parents to familiarise you with routines for the year and topics of study for Term 1; if you are unable to attend, this letter will be send home with your child on Friday.


Canteen Open This Week
The school canteen is open for business this week. All orders are requested to be made via Qkr! before 9am each Thursday and Friday.


Swimming Carnival
Weather permitting, our school swimming carnival will be held next week, Tuesday 14 February. The event is a Primary (Year 3-6) carnival; however, students in Year 2 who will be turning 8 in 2023 are able to attend if they are competitive swimmers. Registration slips were provided to all students in Years 3 to 6 yesterday; please complete your child’s registration by Friday. If you did not receive a slip for your child, or you would like to register your Year 2 child for events at the carnival, please email edward.dunstan@cg.catholic.edu.au.


Road Safety
Dutton Street is always extremely busy straight after school, and the safely of everyone in our community is of vital importance. Please remember that from Rossi St to the front of the PAC is a Bus Zone, that from the Office building to Meehan St is a No Parking Zone (pick-ups and drop-offs only) and that the parking spaces in front of the main gates are reserved for drivers with a valid permit under the Mobility Parking Scheme, and that the entire length of Dutton St in front of the school is marked with double unbroken lines, so U-turns are not permitted at any time. I request that any parent or care-giver who parks on the side of Dutton St opposite the school crosses the road themselves to collect their child to cross safely together. With traffic coming from two directions, including buses parked and pulling out, and no dedicated pedestrian crossing it is unsafe to call children across the road unaccompanied. 

Hours of Supervision
A reminder to all families that school supervision commences at 8:30am and concludes at 3:40pm; outside of these hours, children should not be left unsupervised on school grounds.


Playgroup
The Mt Carmel Playgroup will commence this Thursday 9 February, between 9 and 11am. All families with pre-school aged children are welcome, so please spread the word if you have a family friend who may enjoy attending. The cost of $3 for the first child and $1 for each subsequent child in the family covers morning tea and art/craft supplies. We’re very excited to welcome playgroup families back into the school for the new year.


Gecko Sports
A reminder that Year 4, 5 and 6 will be having their Sports days on Thursdays (starting tomorrow) rather than Fridays for the next four weeks. For these year groups only, Sports Uniform will be worn on Tuesday and Thursday; all other years will wear their Sports Uniform on Tuesday and Friday, as usual.


Phones
Many families provide a mobile telephone for their child for safety reasons, especially when travelling to and from school independently. Mobile telephones are not to be used during the school day, and we ask that students leave them for safekeeping at the school office, to be collected at 3:10pm. Developments in technology have seen a variety of phone-enabled watches now available on the market; if families choose to provide one of these for their child the same policy applies: telephones are not to be used during the school day and we ask that they be left at the office for safekeeping or set to school-mode (telephone disabled) during school hours. Telephones used during school hours, including watches, will be confiscated.

Book Fair and Grandparents' Morning Tea
On Friday 24 February, Week 4, Mt Carmel School will be holding the Scholastic Book Fair. We’re also very excited to announce the return of our Grandparents' Morning Tea, so save the date and keep your eyes out for an invitation from your child.

May God’s peace be in your families, 

Religious Education in the Classroom
Welcome to Week 2! Mt Carmel school has been buzzing with excitement and everyone is happy to be back. Teachers and students have been exploring our school theme: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” John 15:12. I asked a few students to explain what the theme means to them. Below are their answers:

Billy: Helping people and letting others play with me.

Eddie : Being nice to everyone and letting people join in our games.

Emma B.: Even if someone looks different or acts differently, you should still love them.

Cooper: Playing with each other.

Claudia: Being kind, sharing and helping people when they fall over.

Evie: It doesn’t matter what a person looks like, you still need to care for them.

Photo displays by 2LS and 2SS

Congratulations to our 2023 School Leaders! 
Last Thursday, Mt Carmel School celebrated the new school year with a Mass and a School Leadership Induction Ceremony. At the end of the Mass, student leaders gave each class a candle featuring our 2023 school theme. The candle reminds us of the light of God that guides us on our journey and to love one another as Jesus loved us. 

Gospel - Luke 5:1-11

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%205%3A1-11&version=NIV 

Reflection
Is there a better Scripture passage than this Gospel with which to start the new year? If there was ever a time we need to be reminded of our call as baptised Christians to go and “put out into deep water,” it is now. Whether we are just beginning or continuing in a teaching vocation, a leadership position or the precious work of raising a family – whatever our current situation, Jesus’ words can be a source of great encouragement for each one of us. At some stage in our faith journey, we all get to a point where we realise we are either working from our own strength and therefore failing to see real fruit, or we come to recognise an area of our life that requires detachment – something that we know is holding us back from truly going deeper with God. Either way, Jesus’ call to the fishermen in today’s Gospel is the same call he makes to us: to be true disciples. He wants us to leave such things behind and allow Him to do the work in and through us. It is only by this letting go and trusting that we can truly do the work of God, in whatever vocation we have been called to. We can be greatly encouraged by Jesus’ words to the disciples: “Do not be afraid.” Can you trust in him today? (N.Galea, Project Officer ‑ New Evangelisation in Catholic Schools, Canberra and Goulburn).

Parish Mass
Click on this link for further details http://staug-yass.org.au/wp/sacraments/. 



Enjoy your week!
Eva Karakotas
Religious Education Coordinator

Love One Another

“This is my commandment,that you love one another as I have loved you”
John 15:12

Gecko Sports
This term, grades 4 - 6 will be participating in softball clinics run by Gecko Sports. The clinics will run from week 2 - 5 every Thursday. To accommodate this, Sports days for Years 4 - 6 from weeks 2 -5 will be Tuesdays and Thursdays . From week 6 onwards, sports days will revert to the normal Tuesdays and Fridays. If that makes no sense, below is a table that might clear things up for you:

Swimming Carnival
Students now have their login details for the Sports Tracker program and are able to login and self register. Registrations will close on Friday 10th February at 3pm so please complete them if you have not already done so. If you experience any difficulties with this process please contact me on: edward.dunstan@cg.catholic.edu.au

Our school swimming carnival will be held at the Yass Pool on 14th February 2023 (Tuesday Week 3). The Northern Region carnival will also be held at the Yass pool on Thursday 23rd February 2023 (Thursday Week 4). If you are able to help out at our school swimming carnival please complete the Google form using the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12EMXHIjJ1rP8AwzhKCu5QCoZXusELod1vSKakwtMcx8/edit

Pool Entry Fee: Students $1.50, Spectators $1.00 and a Season Pass may be used. 


Ted Dunstan
Sports Coordinator

1KG enjoyed their Creative Arts lesson last Friday as they explored the theme: Think Outside The Box.

Year 2 are exploring the art associated with printmaking, inspired by the exhibition at the NGA by Cressida Campbell.

Scholastic Book Fair and Grandparents and Older Friends Morning Tea

When: Friday 24 February

Where:  Lacey Library

Book Fair: 9.00am - 3.45pm

Morning Tea: 10.00am - 11.30am

Selling Afternoons:
Monday 20 February   3.30 - 4.00pm
Tuesday 21 February   3.30 - 4.00pm

On Friday 24 February we will hold a Scholastic Book Fair in the Lacey Library. The students will be able to purchase books from the great range which Scholastic have provided. The more books sold, the more free books can be bought for the Lacey Library!

Parents, you are most welcome to visit the Book Fair on Friday with your children. If you can’t make it, we will visit the classrooms and collect any students who want to make a purchase and take them to the Book Fair. Alternatively, If you are unable to attend the Book Fair and you would like to purchase the book/s your children have chosen on their Book Fair Wish List you may do so online, using the steps outlined below.

There will be two selling afternoons, where you can purchase the books or place an order before the actual Book Fair.  This year you will be able to visit the Lacey Library on Monday 20 February and Tuesday 21 February from 3.30-4.00pm, to browse, purchase, or order books. Any orders will be sent off by email and returned to the school as soon as possible.

We would like students to invite their grandparents and older friends to the Book Fair and to have morning tea at Mt Carmel. If you can provide food for our morning tea that would be fantastic. Please drop off any morning tea donations to the front office on Friday morning. Remember to label any reusable containers with your name so they can be returned to you promptly.

We ask that any visitors to the library on the browsing afternoons or those attending the Book Fair sign in to the school via the Front Office. Library monitors will be in the Front Office to assist you on the Friday and collect students from classrooms.

Please find attached an invitation which you may like to give to grandparents or older friends. We look forward to seeing you at the Book Fair!

Kind regards,
Natalie Broers
Teacher Librarian

Dear _______________________________________

You are invited to the Scholastic Book Fair and Grandparents and Older Friends Morning Tea at Mt Carmel School.

When: Friday 24 February

Where:  Lacey Library

Book Fair: 9.00am - 3.45pm

Morning Tea: 10.00am - 11.30 am

From _______________________________________

This Thursday 9 February, the school canteen will open for both recess and lunch. Orders are to be place via QKR! prior to 9am each morning of canteen. If you have any problems submitting your order, or miss the cut off time, please contact the front office on 6226 3357. If you have any questions regarding the menu, please email emma.mcevoy@cg.catholic.edu.au or call Emma in the office. 

Has your child ever thought about learning piano?
Margaret Hanson teaches lessons from the school Monday to Friday during school terms.
Please contact Margaret on 0407 285 420 if you have any questions or would like to secure a space for your child this year. 

Have you ever thought about playing guitar?
Spaces are now avalable for 2023. Fill in the below form and drop back to the office to secure your place with Den.