Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,


Book fair and Grandparents’ Morning Tea
Thank you and congratulations to Mrs Broers and Mrs Patmore for their organisation of the Book Fair and Grandparents Morning Tea. And thanks to all the families who supported the event – it was a tremendous success, with hundreds of grandparents and other family members visiting our school on the day. A very special thanks to everyone who contributed plates of food to share and to the many volunteers who helped with sales and service.


Swimming Carnival
Thank you, everyone, for your patience and understanding as we have been making alternative plans for our swimming carnival following the Yass Pool closure. The school selections ran very smoothly yesterday – thanks to all the families that made the trek out to Boorowa – and we have a team of 22 swimmers representing Mt Carmel at the Northern Region Swimming Carnival tomorrow. Congratulations to Mabel Adie, Vincent Da Deppo, Grace Deer, Sophie Donoghue, Harry Donoghue, George Dougles, Xavier Doyle, Juliette Glover, Asher Gorman, Jessica Hardy, Aria Hodgson, Ivy Howarth, Fletcher Lees, Jack Maher, Hannah Maher, Eleena Mattappallil, Zara McEvoy, Rosie Rainger, Barnaby Rainger, Archer Regan, Edward Shannon, and Neva Welsh; swim well, everybody!


Kinder Rest Days
The first few weeks of school have flown! A reminder that next Wednesday is the last of our Kinder Rest Days and Kindergarten students will commence full weeks from 11 March, Week 7.


Archdiocesan Catholic Leaders’ Retreat
Next week I will be away the the Archdiocesan Director's Day and Catholic Leaders’ Retreat. Mrs Jan Harvey will be Acting Principal in my absence.

May God’s peace be in your families, 

Michael Green
Principal

Religious Education in the Classroom

Welcome to Week 5! Mt Carmel School implements the Catholic Schools Youth Ministry International  (CSYMI) Junior program. CSYMIis a four-phase method that provides a model of student formation. It is an effective model of evangelisation and formation integrated into the Religious Education curriculum. The four-phase model consists of an initial retreat experience, Religious Education resources, implementation of the Junior Ministry team and connecting students into the broader Church community. 

Last Friday, Yr 6 students participated in the Journey with Jesus Retreat, led by the Youth Ministry team of the Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn. Journey with Jesus is a faith and ministry experience that delves into core concepts of the Catholic Faith. The retreat is tailored for primary school students and is based around the Gospel messages of love, salvation, and forgiveness.

Students had the opportunity to provide feedback on the retreat experience and below are some of their answers.

Camilla: The journey with Jesus' retreat was super fun and it was really engaging.

Arlie: I found it was fun because it taught us more about God and Jesus.

Chloe: I loved how they explained the ways of God and Jesus. I loved how they let us choose which way we wanted to go in life.

Heath: I thought it was good because we played fun games. I learnt that Jesus is with you when you need him.

Evangelique: The retreat was a day I will always remember. It showed me how to be closer to God.

Jack: It was fun and the team did a very good job explaining.

Olivia: The retreat helped me learn more about Jesus and how to be closer to him.

Rory W.: There was lots of talking about how religion is present in your life. For example, a torch can represent God leading the way and that God’s love is always there.

Religious Life of Mt Carmel School

Every year, countless people turn Lent into a demonstration of faith, love and generosity. You can be a part of this incredible community, who believe that there are simple actions we can all take to “be more” for our world.

Please remember to send in your donations for Project Compassion and help make the world a fairer place for all. Let us be more! 

Thank you for your support and donations for this great cause.


Prayer

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR THE ARCHDIOCESE

O God, who by the light
of the Holy Spirit,
did instruct the hearts
of the faithful,
Grant that by the same
Holy Spirit we may be
truly wise and ever rejoice
In his consolations.

Through the same

Christ Our Lord.

St Augustine’s Parish News

On Sunday 25 February, children focused on the Transfiguration of Jesus.

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

Enjoy your week!
Eva Karakotas
Religious Education Coordinator

Hail Mary, full of Grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Luke 1:26-28

Mt Carmel Swimming Carnival
We finally got our school carnival in yesterday at Boorowa pool. Thanks to all who participated, parent volunteers and teachers for all your support and hard work to make the carnival happen. Thank you also to the staff at Boorowa pool who have been very supportive and accommodating of us. A full results list will be published in next week’s newsletter.


Northern Region Swimming Carnival
We will be backing-up again tomorrow at the Boorowa pool for the Northern Region swimming carnival. Students participating received their notes and ribbons this morning and a Compass notification went out today for payment and permission. Good luck to all participating.


Gecko Sport
Gecko Sport hockey sessions will commence Tuesday next week for Years 3-6 students and will run every Tuesday from weeks 6-10.

Canberra Goulburn U11's & U12's Rugby League Trial - 2024
Date: 12 Mar 2024
Location: Southwell Park
Address: Northbourne Avenue, Lyneham, ACT
Location: Southwell Park
Address:   Northbourne Avenue, Lyneham
Time:  U 11's - 9:00am - 12 noon     12 & U: 12:30pm - 2:30pm

Please note: Students turning 13 in 2024 are no longer eligible to trial for primary rugby league

Registration: all students that are trialling for the Canberra Goulburn team are to complete the online registration through the CSNSW Sport Website; https://csnsw.sport/help/help-guide-for-parents

Cost: $20 per student – to be paid by the parents via the CSNSW Website on registration.

Uniform: School Sports shirt. Football Shorts and Socks and all protective gear that is worn. Please note that Mouthguards are Compulsory – Headgear is strongly recommended

Selection: An 11’s team and an Open team will be selected consisting of up to 17 players to compete at the MacKillop Trials to be held in Canberra on Friday 5th May
Coaches: 11yrs – Damian Kennedy
Opens – Paul Bush & Owen Gerrard
Enquiries to:
Sherree Bush
Sherree.bush@cg.catholic.edu.au

Ted Dunstan
Sports Coordinator

Scholastic Book Fair and Grandparents and Older Friends Morning Tea
The Scholastic Book Fair and Grandparents and Older Friends Morning Tea was held last Friday in the Lacey Library. It was a wonderful day for our school community with many families taking the opportunity to buy books, enjoy a fantastic morning tea, and spend some nice time together.

There were many helpers who enabled the Book Fair to be so successful. Thank you to Tanya McPherson, Claire Pholi, Liz DaDeppo, Belinda Reynolds and Melissa Carroll for coordinating the sale of books. The morning tea parent helpers were also very busy and a big thank you goes to Cassie Streatfeild and Alejandra Tapia for setting up and restocking the morning tea tables. Thank you also to Simon Streatfeild for making the hot drinks.

Thank you to all the families who donated food for the morning tea. There was an amazing selection of food and your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Thank you Emma McEvoy for your assistance in, preparing for the morning tea, and refreshments for our parent helpers.

The Year 5 Library Monitors were excellent helpers before, during and after the fair. Many visitors to our school were impressed by their confidence, maturity and friendliness. Thank you Library Monitors for your help.

A special thank you to Lynne Patmore, for her guidance and support before, during and after the Book Fair.

Thank you to the staff of Mt Carmel, for your support before the fair, and for allowing interruptions in your school day.

A very big thank you to everyone who bought books at the Book Fair. We had excellent sales, which will allow for many wonderful books to be purchased for the Lacey Library collection.

It was lovely to be part of the 2024 Book Fair and I hope you all had an enjoyable time.

Book Donation 
Thank you to Atticus Gilchrist and his family for the book donation made to the school library.

Morning Tea containers and plates
All of the containers with names have been returned to families, however, we have a small number of plates and containers in the front office to collect after the Grandparents Morning Tea. Please call into the office to collect your items.

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2024
The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge has commenced for 2024. All students K-6 are invited to complete the 2024 Challenge. 

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students. While completing the challenge students are able to experience quality literature from a variety of authors and literature styles.

Students can include books read from the end of the 2023 challenge, August 18 2023 on their 2024 reading record. The 2024 challenge will conclude on Friday 23 August 2024.

Some of the PCR rules have been updated for the 2024 challenge. Please refer to the rules page on the website for further details.

The booklist has been updated for the 2024 challenge. Click on the booklist on the website for further information. Many of the PRC books are available in our school library.

If your child has completed the challenge in previous years they can log on to the Premier’s Reading Challenge website using their existing login details.

www.premiersreadingchallenge.nsw.edu.au

If your child is completing the challenge for the first time, please email me at natalie.broers@cg.catholic.edu.au and I will provide you with login details.

Kind regards,
Natalie BroersTeacher Librarian

Congratulations to the recipients of last week's Mt Carmel Awards.
Awards will be handed out at morning lines each on Friday morning.

K Blue Harper Vukojevic Lincoln Goode	K Gold Olivia Logue Luca Davis
1 Green Winnie Smith Josie Mattappallil	1 Red Billie Taylor Feliks Burzynski
2 Blue Benedicta Barker Harrison Cunynghame	2 Gold Claudia Klemmer Ted Ward
3 Green Chloe Lyons Lachlan Miller	3 Red Chloe Tyndall Scott Tome
4 Blue Alia Campbell George Douglas	4 Gold Ivy Howarth Zoey Mitchell Charlie Jervis
5 Green Abby Hillman Beau Jones	5 Red Zoe Leahy Mabel Adie
6 Blue Evangelique Aniversario Jackson Shelton Lucas Marchei	6 Gold Reese Flynn Ellie Carroll Arlie Daly

Congratulations to all the participants who participated in the Mt Carmel Swimming Carnival yesterday at Boorowa Pool, and good luck to all the swimmers who will be competing at the Norther Region Carnival tomorrow. 

Last Saturday I had the privilege of attending the Calming Today’s Anxious Kids conference hosted by Maggie Dent, Dr Kaylene Henderson and Allison Davies. With the fast pace of modern life, children need our guidance more than ever to manage fear, worry and anxiety. We not only heard about anxiety and what today’s children are struggling with but also the importance of building secure relationships, emotional resilience, teaching problem solving, connection, empathy and how to support our children to thrive through the experience of music. These are all things that are incorporated during SIZZLE lessons to help our children build a ‘tool kit’ of supportive strategies to understand relationships, recognise emotions and develop calming habits to help manage the challenges of everyday life. I have included a website link to each of the presenters from the course. They each provide some wonderful resources and links which you may find useful. 

https://www.maggiedent.com/

https://drkaylenehenderson.com/

https://allisondavies.com.au/

“ The body of a child will not grow if it is not fed, the mind will not flourish unless it is stimulated and guided. And the spirit will suffer if it is not nurtured.”  (Rachael Kessler ‘The Soul of Education.’)

Kassie Miller
SIZZLE / Japanese Teacher

Unfortunately, the Canteen and Uniform Shop will be closed tomorrow, Thursday 29 February.
The canteen will open as normal on Friday 1 March. 

The Mt Carmel Community Council are working to establish a Clothing Pool, providing our Mt Carmel families with a dedicated space to purchase second hand school uniforms onsite at the school. 

The aim is to supplement the Uniform Shop and assist families to source second-hand uniforms at reasonable prices. Any profit made from the clothing pool will be directly donated to the Vinnies Food appeal generally held twice a year.

The clothing pool will be established through the donation of Mt Carmel uniforms that are no longer required by the family. The items may be too small, the children have left Mt Carmel etc.

Donations can be left in tubs located at the front office. We are aiming to have the clothing pool up and running by mid-March (a confirmed date will be advised and will depend on how many donations we receive), and open in conjunction with the uniform shop.

All Mt Carmel uniform items, with the exception of socks, can be donated (including school bags), provided they are in good condition, without significant wear and tear, stains or damage. To ensure appropriate hygiene standards are maintained, only clothing that has been washed will be accepted. 

If you have any questions, please contact Liz on lizdadeppo@gmail.com.

Junior and Senior Rego is OPEN NOW!

Winter competition starts Friday 15th March.
Junior and Senior teams will play Friday nights.
All junior teams (16 and under) will be allocated a team to ensure a fair competition.

Click here to register : https:www.playhq.com/netball-australia/org/yass-netball-association/d4eb7d69/register
Registration will close *MARCH 8th*

If you wish to redeem a 2024 Active and Creative Kids Voucher for this registration, please complete the form in PlayHQ. Your Code to reduce registration by $50 will be sent to you. This may take up to 48 business hours.

Any questions or queries don’t hesitate to email - ynaregistrar@gmail.com