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- Principal's Report
- Religious Education
- House Spirit Challenge - Week 1
- Fun in the Sun to Start Term 4
- Special Group Photo Order Form - SRC & Year 6 Photos
- Lacey Library News
- Term 4 Canteen News
- KJG & KNB Ready for Term 4
- 4KF Enjoying Gecko Sports
- Smiling Faces in 5/6GZ
- Geography in 5/6ML
- Lego Club
- House Spirit Challenge - Term 3 Week 10
- School Banking
- COVID-19 Update - 29 September 2020
- St Augustine's Youth Group
Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,
Welcome to Term 4
A very warm welcome back to all our students, staff and families. I do hope that the two-week break was restful and enjoyable for everyone. Term 4 is always busy and I’m sure that this year will be no exception, even though many of our regular Term 4 events will not, in all likelihood, be able to occur in their usual form. Rest assured that all efforts are being made to ensure that your child’s experience of school in our final term of 2020 will be as ‘normal' as possible.
COVID-19 Update
Attached to this newsletter is a copy of the latest COVID-19 guidelines for schools; I am very relieved that restrictions have not been tightened following the school holidays, as occurred last term. At this point in time restrictions still apply to school assemblies, parent attendance at school events and mixing of year groups in classroom activities. We are, however, now able to hold Kindergarten Orientation, which will commence on Wednesday 4 November, and can plan for Year 6 Graduation events. It remains imperative that students and staff who are unwell with flu-like symptoms do not attend school and are tested for COVID-19, and negative test
results must be provided before returning.
Kindergarten Orientation
As mentioned above, Kindergarten Orientation will be commencing on Wednesday 4 November, Week 4, and will run for three consecutive weeks. This year, in order that parents can safely assist with their child’s drop-off, we will have staggered start-times commencing at 9:20am. Families will be individually notified of their starting time in Week 3. Orientation concludes at 12:30pm. We are very excited to be able to welcome our new students to Mt Carmel; Kindergarten Orientation is a very important step on the journey to starting ‘Big School’.
Book Week
Book Week is next week and there is definitely a literary buzz in the air! Each class is preparing a display for the Library, and once complete we will create a Virtual Library Tour so that families can look around and enjoy our students’ creativity. On Friday we will be holding our Book Parade and, again, this will be shared as a virtual event. Details of how to view the parade will be provided next week. All students will be provided with a sausage sandwich for lunch (dietary needs will be catered for), but please bring your own drink bottle and other snacks; the canteen will be open for lunch orders as usual.
Departing Students
Schools are required to record destination schools for all departing students. I ask that all families of Year 6 students inform us as soon as possible of the high school your child will be attending. In the Forms & Documents tab on the school website and app is a Year 6 2021 Destination eForm. I also request that any K-5 families moving from Mt Carmel at the end of this year send me an email (michael.green@cg.catholic.edu.au) as soon as possible indicating your intentions along with your destination. Much of this term is spent preparing for next year and our student numbers need to be accurate. Thank you for assisting us with this information gathering.
Class Placements 2021
Parents are invited to email me with regard to any considerations you may have for your child’s class placement for 2021. These considerations should be important for the education and wellbeing of your child. Requests for a particular teacher, gender of a teacher, multiple friends etc, are usually not appropriate nor a priority. It is very important for parents to understand that creating classes is detailed and exacting work completed by the teachers to ensure that your child is placed in an appropriate class group each year. When considering class groupings, teachers will look specifically at your child’s educational and social needs and place them with a teacher and peers that will support their development. Requests are to be emailed to me at: michael.green@cg.catholic.edu.au by Friday 6 November 2020. Please be aware that each request will be considered separately and by no means are all requests met. Requests from previous years are not kept on file or considered, as situations change each year. If you would like a previous request to be considered again, you are asked to send in a new request for 2021.
Ooshie Swap Day
An OOSHIE Swap Day will be held in the PAC at Mt Carmel next Thursday 22 October at lunchtime. Bring any OOSHIES you want to swap; do not bring along the ones you want to keep. Also, any DONATIONS of OOSHIES—both the current type as well as previous types—will be accepted as they will be given to some outback NSW schools where the students have not had access to a Woolies store. If you have any of the Woolies cards these will be collected as well for donating.
May God’s peace be in your families,
Welcome to Term 4! I trust that you have had a relaxing holiday break and enjoyed quality time with your family. As announced in the last newsletter of Term 3, 2020, I will be the acting Religious Education Coordinator for Term 4, 2020. I am looking forward to working closely with the Mt Carmel community.
GOSPEL: Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus began to speak to them in parables once again, “The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding.” He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants with the words, "Tell those who have been invited: Look, my banquet is all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding." But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business,and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town.Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy,go to the main crossroads and invite everyone you can find to come to the wedding." So these servants went out onto the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, "How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?" And the man was silent.
Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and throw him into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth." For many are invited but not all are chosen.
World Behind the Text (Background of the text)
In New Testament times, a wedding was a very sacred and joyous thing. Some even lasted up to or more than a week. When Jesus told this parable, many people were able to understand the picture he was trying to create because he used a Jewish Wedding - specifically, a Seudat Nissuin - as the setting of the story.
It was customary to send out an invitation, and to prepare food according to the number of those who accepted. The master of the house invites all to the feast. Those who decline to come to the wedding banquet in Jesusʼ parable are assumed to have already formally accepted the initial invitation. However, they are more interested in their own affairs. It was common in that time to mistreat and kill the servants sent to insist that they come. The punishment seems to be expressed in terms of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD (Sourced from: Biblical commentary, Michael Fallon).
World of the Text (What is the text saying? What does it mean?)
The point of this parable is that enjoyment of the blessings of God is always a matter of free choice. God invites all but forces no one. Jesus speaks to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables. He begins with the parable of the king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. The king sent his servants out to invite his family and friends to the wedding. However, many of them refused to come and offered a variety of excuses why they could not attend the banquet. The king, however, was determined to have a grand celebration of his son’s wedding so he sent his servants out once again. This time he instructed his servants to tell the invited guests: “I have everything prepared for a grand celebration: the banquet is ready, come to the feast.”
The servants went out and issued the invitation once again to the invited guests. However, all of the guests once again refused the invitation.
When the servants went back and told the master that none of the invited guests would be coming to the celebration, the king was astounded and enraged. He immediately sent his troops to destroy the murderers and burn their city. Then the king instructed his servants to go out to the highways and by-ways and bring in all the people they encountered to the wedding feast. The king was determined to have a great feast for his son’s wedding; he would not have his son and his bride slighted. And many people came to the wedding feast. The servants did as the king instructed and a variety of people filled the banquet hall.
As was the custom at that time, each guest was given a wedding garment to wear. This ensured that everyone was dressed appropriately for the occasion. As the king was visiting with his guests, he noticed that there was one guest who was not wearing a wedding garment. The king approached the man and said to him: “My friend, why are you not wearing a wedding garment?” The man did not respond; he remained silent. After a time, the king told the servants: “Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness! Many are invited, but few are chosen” (Sourced from: Sr Kristine Anne Harpenau).
World in front of the Text (What does this text mean today?)
What does this passage teach us about God and about mankind?
What is a command to obey in this passage?
What has God revealed in your life that needs changing?
What truth can be applied to your life about the gospel?
2020 Marian Procession
Due to COVID restrictions, the 2020 Marian Procession will take place online. Led by our ethnic communities, the event is an opportunity to pray the Rosary together as a community.
We encourage participants to gather online in hubs with members of their families, local parishes, friends, or just individually to pray the Rosary during the week leading up to the celebration of the live-streamed Multicultural Mass Sunday 25 October.
Find out more information and register for notifications at https://hozana.org/en/community/9352-marian-procession
May peace be with you,
Eva Karakotas
Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)
Special Group Photo Order Form - SRC & Year 6 Photos
Book Week Theme: Curious Creatures Wild Minds!
Celebrating Book Week at Mt Carmel School is going to be a little different this year.
Each class has been given a shortlisted book, which were chosen by the Children’s Book Council of Australia, to study and prepare a display for the library.
Unfortunately, parents will not be allowed to visit the library to see all the fantastic class displays as done in previous years, instead we will be creating a Virtual Tour in the Library for you all to view.
As we can not have the usual Book Character Parade in the Playground, next Friday 23rd October, the children will still come dressed as a book character to parade in their class rooms. This will be recorded for parents to watch as a shared virtual event.
We will be providing a free sausage sizzle for the students on Friday. The canteen will be open for lunch orders as usual if your child does not want a sausage sizzle, and of course they can bring their own lunch and snacks.
We are looking for to celebrating Book Week 2020 in a different way!
Regards,
Evelyn Turner
Teacher/Librarian
Options: Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetarian (carrot and cucumber).
Both options will be gluten free.
Removed from menu in Term 4
The below items have/will be removed from the recess and lunch menu for Term 4:
Mini Pizzas, Cheese and Garlic Rolls and Apple Pies.
Macaroni Cheese and Fried Rice will continue on the menu until all sold out.
Dietary requirements
Banana Muffins are both lactose and gluten free.
The mayonnaise and butter we use in the canteen are both lactose and gluten free.
Hot Dog Meal Deal Day - Thank You
Thank you to all the students who ordered a hot dog meal deal on the last Friday of Term 3. It was a very busy day with 193 hot dog orders, and along with an additonal 70 lunch orders placed, we had a total of 263 lunch orders. A very big thank you to Tara Leighton who came and helped in the canteen on the day. With such a wonderful response we may plan to do another meal deal on the last Friday of Term 4!
A copy of this menu can also be found on the school website, located under the Forms & Documents tab or the Parent tab.