Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,


Welcome Back for Term 3
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Term 3 to all students, families and staff, especially those new to our school community. I trust that the two-week break provided an opportunity to refresh and unwind, and that all are now ready to take on the challenges of a new term. It’s been lovely catching up with students on the playground and hearing about their holiday break. We have a busy term ahead of us, with lots of exciting things planned; the calendar on our school website (https://mtcarmel.nsw.edu.au/calendar) is kept up-to-date with all events, but reminders will always be published in the Carmeletta, too.


School Attendance - Every Day Counts
A reminder that any student absence is required to be explained promptly, preferably with an absentee note submitted via Compass. Notwithstanding the importance to public health of keeping children at home when they are sick, it is worth remembering that many small absences can quickly add up to have a big impact on your child’s learning – if your child misses as little as one day per fortnight, this equates to almost three full terms by the end of primary school. 

The Catholic Education Attendance Policy identifies the following levels of attendance:

• Excellent Attendance: 95% and above (e.g. 2.5 days absence or less in a term or 10 absences over a year)
• Regular Attendance: 90-94.9% (e.g. 2.6 to 5 days absence in a term or 10.1 to 20 absences over a year)
• Emerging Absenteeism: 80-89.9% (e.g. 5.1 to 10 days absence in a term or 20.1 to 40 absences over a year)
• Chronic Absenteeism: Less than 80% (e.g. more than 10 days absence in a term or 40 absences over a year)

Our attendance rates by year group last term ranged from 88 to 91 percent, with Kindergarten, Year 2 and Year 3 all falling into the ‘Regular’ range. I am very aware that Term 2 was a hotbed of bugs and germs, but hopefully, as we come out of the winter flu-season, we will see a rise in all year levels’ attendance so that everyone can make the most of their learning in Semester 2.


Community Council Trivia Night
The Trivia Night is happening this Saturday, and there are still tables and individual seats available if you would like to join in the fun. We have a wonderful committee, who are working hard to organise great night to raise funds for a shade structure on the Infants Playground. Book a ticket here.


100 Days of Kindergarten
This Friday 2 August is a milestone for our youngest students: one hundred days of big school – time flies when you’re having fun! The Kindergarten classes will mark the occasion with a special dress-up day, lots of fun activities exploring the number 100, and a party with their big buddies.


Mt Carmel Day
The actual date of Mt Carmel Day is July 16, which falls almost every year in the school holidays. Consequently, we will be celebrating our school’s Feast Day on August 15, which is the Feast of the Assumption – another important day on the church’s calendar in honour of Mary. So on Thursday in Week 4, we will celebrate with a whole-school Mass and a day of fun activities. More information on the day will follow, closer to the event.


Canteen Manager
As Mrs McEvoy is taking on a greater workload in the school office, we are seeking to recruit a Canteen Manager for Mt Carmel School. The position of Canteen Manager is a part-time role, 9am-2:30pm on Thursdays and Fridays during school terms.

NSW Working With Children Check and Food Handler Basic Training Certificate are required. Applications must be submitted via the Catholic Education Employment portal: https://careers.cg.catholic.edu.au/cw/en/job/503443/canteen-manager-mount-carmel-school-yass-nsw.


Altar Servers
The parish is recruiting Altar Servers to serve at Mass on Sunday mornings. Serving on the altar helps children to become more engaged with the Mass and to better understand its rituals. It is also a great way to encourage our children to become active citizens, with a positive attitude towards community service. 

Servers must have received the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Anyone from Year 4 and up would be most welcome to participate in this important role. Training will be provided during school hours and at Mass by the Liturgy committee and experienced servers. Please return the commitment slip (attached to this newsletter or collected from the front office) if your child would like to help with this special job.


Council of Catholic Schools Parents​​​​​​​ Free Webinars for Parents and Carers
In the coming months, the Council of Catholic Schools Parents are hosting a couple of excellent webinars that parents may be interested in:

‘Consent and online boundaries: how to support your primary-aged child’ – Tuesday 20 August from 7.30pm – 8.00pm
Run by the eSafety Commissioner’s expert education and training team, the FREE live webinar addresses how children can safely navigate the online world and how to make decisions around consent and boundaries. 
This 30-minute webinar will outline strategies for parents and carers, as well as support those hard-to-have conversations.
To register click here.


'Breaking Point, with Dr Justin Coulson’ – Wednesday 11 September from 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Join Dr Justin Coulson, Australia’s leading parenting expert, as he unpacks the mental health crisis enveloping our kids. He’ll cover:

• The root causes behind the deteriorating state of mental health, and who (or what) is responsible
• The tools you need to reverse this trend for your children
• Science-backed, relationship-focused strategies to remedy school refusal
• Realistic approaches for managing screen time in a way that protects your child’s wellbeing without completely alienating them from their peers
• Creating margin in your home and family life to protect and promote mental wellness

To register click here.


May God’s peace be in your families, 

Michael Green
Principal

Religious Education in the Classroom
Welcome to Term 3! It is fantastic to see everyone after the holidays and I hope you have had a restful break with your family and friends. Last term, Year 2 students examined God’s covenant with mankind. I asked a few students what this meant to them and below are their answers:

Evie: It tells me to listen to God and help others. 

Benny: God makes the rules so the world is a better place.

Ethan: Making relationships with other people to help everyone do the right thing.

Claudia: God makes covenants with everyone and it is made up from the words man and kind.

Year 5 students had the opportunity to visit Lovat chapel to learn about the features of the Mass using the Little Australian Missal. 

Religious Life of Mt Carmel School

NAIDOC Mass - Year 2 students, a representative group from the school Youth Ministry Team, Mrs Karakotas, Mrs Swadling, Mrs Hogan and Mrs Hodges attended a special Mass at St Peter and Paul's in Goulburn to celebrate NAIDOC Week. After Mass, we walked to Belmore Park to have lunch before driving back to Yass.

NAIDOC Prayer Service - Thank you to Mrs Swadling and 2 Gold for preparing and leading a beautiful prayer service. 

Prayer

Aboriginal Our Father
by Andrew Chinn

You are our Father, You live in Heaven
We talk to You, Father, You are good.
We believe Your Word, Father, we Your children.
Give us bread today.
We have done wrong, we are sorry.
Help us Father, not to sin again.
Others have done wrong to us
And we are sorry for them, Father, today.
Stop us from doing wrong, Father.
Save us all from the evil one.
You are our Father, You live in Heaven.
We talk to You, Father, You are good. 
Amen.

St Augustine’s Parish News

Sacraments of Confirmation 2024
Sunday 22 September, 10.30am, St Augustine's Church

Please pray for the children as they prepare for their Confirmation

Alicia Hardy
Ava Leighton
Chase Collins
Darcy Bell
Fletcher Douglas
Harry Donoghue
Isabella Dunstan
Isabelle Pidgeon
Jack Butt
Josephine Streatfeild
Lucy Miller
Natalia O’Connor
Olivia Scanlon
Phoenix Streatfeild
Sophia Da Deppo
Zali Lenon
Zoe Seselja

Children's Liturgy

The next one is on Sunday 11 August 2024. All children are invited to be part of the activities centred around the particular weekend’s Gospel. 

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

Todd Woodbridge Cup
The Todd Woodbridge Cup is a primary school team tennis competition for Stage 2 (years 3 & 4) and Stage 3 (years 5 & 6) students that uses modified equipment, numeric scoring, and mixed gender teams. Events are designed to be fun and inclusive, meaning it is not just for experienced tennis players. Anyone who wants to give tennis a go is encouraged to come and have a go. 

The Todd Woodbridge Cup will be held in our region on 28/8/24 (Stage 2) and 13/9/24 (Stage 3). If you would like to nominate your child for the event, please use the links below. Please note there will be a small fee if your child attends the day. 

Year 3/4 Todd Woodbridge Cup

Year 5/6 Todd Woodbridge Cup

Gecko Sport
Gecko Sport will be running a 5 week fundamental movement program with our infants classes every Friday from Week 6-10. We are looking forward to all the fun and games we will have with the Gecko Sport team!

Ted Dunstan
Sports Coordinator

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge
Congratulations to the following students who have recently completed the 2024 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge.

The 2024 challenge will conclude on Friday 23 August 2024. 

If you have any questions about the Premier’s Reading Challenge please email me at natalie.broers@cg.catholic.edu.au.



CBCA Book Week 2024

Book Week is a celebration of books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. This year’s theme is Reading is Magic.

There will be various activities for students to enjoy during Week 5 including a Book Week Parade on Wednesday 21 August.

Students are invited to dress up as a book character for the day. The Book Week Parade will commence at 12:30pm.

A sausage sizzle lunch will be provided for the students to celebrate this special day. Dietary requirements will be catered for.

During our week of celebrations we will be having a Magic Show! Students are invited to perform a rehearsed magic trick at the show. There will be a sign-up sheet in the library for anyone who wishes to participate. Start rehearsing your tricks now!

Kind regards,
Natalie Broers
Teacher Librarian

This week, all student will be spending time in the Food Tech room making a Japanese dish called Oyakodon - Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl 親子丼.

Oyakodon is a classic comfort food of Japanese home cooking. Tender pieces of chicken, onions, and eggs are simmered in an umami-rich sauce and then poured over a bowl of fluffy steamed rice. Simple, delicious, and utterly comforting, this is the kind of one-bowl meal you can cook in less than 30 minutes!

If you would like to get the kids involved at home and make this dish, please click the following link - Oyakodon Recipe. 

Please note that the Clothing Pool will be closed tomorrow, Thursday 1 August.
We apologiese for any inconvenience this may cause, but will be open again in Week 2.

The Southern Tablelands Group of the Country Women's Association of NSW, are awarding 15 Year 7 Educational Grants for 2025. If any current Year 6 student would like to apply for the 2025 Educational Grant, please collect the application form from the front office. 

Applicants must submit a letter addressing the selection criteria along with a letter from Mr Green supporting their application.

Applications close 11 October 2024.

If you would like order from Issue 5, orders need to be placed by this Friday, 2nd August.

 Please note that the front office is no longer able to accept cash/order forms for Book Club Orders. All orders must be placed via Loop. 

To view Issue 5, click on the image below.

To order from this issue, you will need an account on Loop.

To access Loop, please click below.

What you'll find on Healthy Made Tasty.......

✅ Recipes: the website has hundreds of free recipes that contain:

• Nutrition information so you know why the recipe is good for you.
• Tips and ideas for cooking on a budget.
• Practical ways you can reduce waste to help our planet and more!

✅ Filter functions: new to the recipe section is a handy filter to help you find what you are looking for. You can filter by meal type, time to make, allergy friendly, budget friendly and much more.

✅ Healthy tips: practical information and advice on healthy eating, preventing cancer and more.

✅ Healthy lunch box: all the original Healthy Lunch Box information can still be found in one section of the new site. It’s a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about packing a healthy lunch box.

✅ Interactive lunch box builder: get kids involved in planning and packing a healthy lunch box with foods they like using our interactive lunch box builder.

✅ Resources: videos, fact sheets and printouts for families, schools and health professionals

Has your child ever thought about playing guitar?
Spaces are now avalable for 2024. Fill in the below form and drop back to the office to secure your place with Den.