Filter Content
- Principal News
- Important Dates 2023
- Religion News
- Term Overviews
- Performing Arts in the Spotlight!
- Global Handwashing Preps
- Sport News!
- Day for Daniel - Friday 27 October
- Hayfever season
- Camp Australia
- Remembrance Day 2023
- Grandparents Day - Friday 10 November
- Student Celebrations
- School TV
- Canteen
- Lost Property
- Sunsmart
- Lunch Time Club
- Uniform News
Dear Parents
Week 4 in Term 4 , the year just seems to have flown.
We are starting to build reports and work on the end of year arrangements for graduation ,whole school Mass and 2024 Prep Orientation sessions. Our staffing for 2024 is still a work in progress and the class lists will start to be created. Staff put in a lot of work to ensure the class cohorts are the combination which looks to be the most successful based on all the knowledge we have collected form teachers, parents and our data. It is quite normal for students to feel a little anxious about what the next year will bring. Our children often take their lead from the adults around them, so it is important to reassure your children and talk to them about the positives that come with the next year and the next step of their schooling life. It is also important that we remember that in the busy lead up to the end of the year and to Christmas that regardless of our religion, the example Jesus set is evident
through our interactions with others and the dignity of all, is the core value and message of his teachings.
We have finished our physical swimming program for 2023, but still have the incursions onsite for the years that did not participate in the actual swimming program . Grade 1 have had their sessions and Prep, 3 and 5 will have their sessions over the next week or so.
Planning has started for Grade 6 Graduation celebrations. More information will be sent out about what that week will look like, which will conclude with the Grade 6 Graduation ceremony. Supervision will be available for any 2023 grade 6 students who wish to attend school on Friday 15 December but we understand if they do not wish to attend school on the day after the ceremony.
Camp Australia
Camp Australia have been continuing to run their Out of Hours School Care program in a very professional manner and held their launch last week for all families to access and have a look at their program.
Staffing News
We continue to recruit for 2024, and have been interviewing for classroom teachers. We have made some appointments which we will be able to announce shortly once all paperwork is finalised with appointments still to be made and announced.
The Deputy Principal role advertisement has closed and the interview process has started.
As all positions are confirmed, they will be announced to the community.
The Sacrament of First communion
First Holy Communion Masses continues on the weekend and will run over the next few weeks. This Sacrament is taking place during the Parish masses at St Michael’s. We pray for those students receiving this Sacrament and wish them well with this step in their Faith Journey.
Learning Buddies for 2024 classes.
Students will be working through the process of choosing their five learning buddies to assist teachers with the 2024 class selections. Your child will be guaranteed 1 choice from their list. If you know you are going on holidays please reach out to your child’s current classroom teacher so we can assist with getting this done prior to them going away.
Grandparents Morning November 10 2023
We have decided to make this a grand parents morning dedicated to Grandparents and special others who play a similar role to our students on Friday 10 November. This event will be held annually on the Friday AFTER cup day.
Unfortunately, we will have to restrict this morning to 2 grandparents or special people per family for this year due to our limited spaces.
We will start the morning with classroom prayer, followed by activities that the students can do with their grandparents or special people. The morning will finish up with coffee and cake for our visitors.
We will be sending a letter requesting RSVPs for catering purposes.
There will also be student work on display for our visitors to look at.
Please make these special people aware so they can save the date for this year and other years.
Student attendance
We have a number of students coming after the bell most mornings. This impacts the
specialist subjects and also leads to missing vital instruction as our teaching starts at
8.50am.
Students on scheduled out of classroom intervention programs may also miss their sessions which will also impact student learning.
Regular late arrivals trigger our attendance/absence processes which means parents and carers will be contacted by classroom teachers at first but may be escalated to other governing bodies.
Car Parking
Due to the restricted car parks, we have had to close off the very end of the driveway to all cars except our contractors, admin and DOSCEL staff. We have regular visits from these people and need to be able to give access to then and if necessary emergency services.
To allow this to happen and to keep our children safe, we have put bollards out to restrict access to allow the crossing near the chapel to be a safe zone for children to cross the driveway.
These Bollards will be moved each morning at 8.30am and each afternoon at 3.00pm to allow traffic through when the chapel gates are open.
Student access and child safety
We request all students accessing the administration Office and who may be coming in late do so via the SFX driveway. Students are to walk down the SFX side of driveway on the footpath and cross at the Chapel crossing.
We remind parents that the driveways are limited to 5 kilometres an hour for the safety of our students.
Hats and Uniform
Hats are needing to be worn at all break times and must be worn properly by our students to ensure that we are remaining safe smart school. Summer uniform is to be worn for the remainder of the school year with sports uniform
being worn on PE lesson days and SPECIAL sports days as notified by the office/classroom teacher.
Students leaving St Catherine’s for the 2024 school year
If there are any students leaving St Catherine’s at the end of the 2023 year we ask that you notify the office as soon as possible by emailing enrolments@stcberwick.catholic.edu.au
This assists the school with planning and ensuring that all students are sent home with relevant documentation and belongings.
Warm Regards
Anna
Monday 6 November | Cup Weekend School Closure |
Tuesday 7 November | Cup Day |
Friday 10 November | Grandparents Day |
Tuesday 21 November | Prep Orientation session 1 |
Friday 24 November | SPORT - St Catherine's Athletics Day - Casey Fields |
Wednesday 29 November | Prep Orientation session 2 |
Thursday 7 December | Prep Orientation session 3 |
Thurdsay 7 December | Christmas Carols |
Monday 11 December | 2024 new families orientation and meet the teacher |
Wednesday 13 December | Graduation activities |
Thursday 14 December | Graduation |
Friday 15 December | Students Last Day - End of Term 4 |
Monday 18 December | School Closure Day 2024 Planning |
Tuesday 19 December | School Closure Day 2024 Planning |
In Term 4, students will be looking at the Life and Mission of Jesus through different lenses. They will use the scripture from Mark 1: 1-8 where John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus.
Our whole school inquiry question is “Preparing and Waiting”. Students will engage with this question through dialogue and incorporate their experiences, perspectives, cultures and backgrounds. By relating this to their life, and the life within our community and world, they will be able to engage in rich and meaningful discourse.
The month of October is devoted to the Holy Rosary in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are reminded to pay gradittude for the protection she give the Church in answering our prayers through the Rosary. We also recognise the important work of the lay people and missionaries who dedicate their lives to the calling of Jesus, much like Mary. We are called on the last Sunday of the Liturigical year to honour and recognise Jesus and respond to the world by emulating his total gift of self by serving others. Advent is the first week in the new Catholic Liturgical calendar and the four weeks before Christmas where we celebrate the birth of our infant Saviour, Jesus Christ. Its name comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming." Whilst it is easy to be distracted by the gifts and glamour at the shops, we are reminded to prepare and wait for the second coming of Christ and look inward on ourselves to be the best versions of ourselves.
The school community will integrate the following important days into lessons:
October
- Whole month - Month of the Holy Rosary
- Sunday 22 - Catholic Mission Theme: Hearts on Fire, Feet on the Move
- Friday 27 - Day for Daniel Morcombe Foundation
November
- Wednesday 1 - All Saints’ Day
- Thursday 9 - The Dedication Of The Lateran Basilica
- Sunday 11 - Remembrance Day
- Sunday 26 - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
December
- 3 December - First Sunday of Advent
- Friday 8 - The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Monday 11 - Friday 15 - Christmas
Important Sacramental Dates for Term 4:
First Communion
- October: Saturday 14, Sunday 15, Saturday 21, Sunday 22, Saturday 28, Sunday 29
Have a great final term for 2023.
Rian Prestwich
Acting Deputy Principal: Religious Education Leader and School Operations
First Communion Masses.
The First communion Masses are held over four weekends from the
7 October till the 28 October.
You may have received emails regarding these . You must book a date and time for candidates as spaces are limited for each Mass. Please ring the Parish and do so as soon as possible.
Anna Viney
Deputy Principal/Religious Education Leader
Division Athletics Results from Wednesday 18 October
A huge congratulations to our students who represented St Catherines at the Southern Metropolitan Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 18 October! The 10 students represented St Catherine’s with distinction competing against a strong caliber of students from the Southern Metropolitan Region. They should all be very proud of themselves for reaching this level.
Year 4
Jacob O Bradley M
Kepler P
Zane M
Year 5
Hudson B
Alexander P
Rocky G
Year 6
Isabel M
Charlie E
Sienna P
A huge congratulations to Jacob O in year 4 who finished 2nd in the 200m and was unlucky not to finish 2nd in the 100! Jacob has qualified for the State athletics carnival! What a fantastic effort!!! We all wish him well for the State championship!
There are some other notable results below. Also a big thanks to Isabel and Zane M’s parents for enabling them to compete after flying in from Bali at 3:30 in the morning.
Thanks to all the parents who supported their students on the day.
Jacob O year 4 2nd 9/10 Boys and 200m
Isabel M year 6 3rd 12/13 Girls 200m heat
Hudson B year 5 4th 11 Boys 80m by .03 and ran a PB!
Mr Kenez
On Monday 16 October St Catherine’s had a Future Stars team compete against other teams at Dandenong Basketball Stadium for the Future Stars Regional Finals. The students faced some stiff competition with many of the other teams much taller and with more playing experience. To their credit the students tried hard and improved each game. St Catherine’s had a final match against a similarly ranked team in another pool and they ended up winning by 20 points! This was a great ending to a fun day. Congratulations to everyone who participated! It was a fantastic achievement to qualify!
On Monday 23 October St Catherine’s also fielded an All Star Girls team at Dandenong Stadium for the All Star Regional Finals. The girls prepared well and won their first two matches in tight contests. The girls also won their next two matches comfortably and progressed straight to the Grand Final!
The Grand Final was a tight contest with the lead changing between both teams regularly. A timeout was called with six seconds to go with the scores level. A tough foul call was made against St Catherine’s and unfortunately Hillcrest were able to sink their free throws. I couldn’t have been prouder of the girls' efforts and they will use this experience as a great learning for the State Finals.
Congratulations to the girls for progressing to the State Finals at Dandenong Stadium on December 5 for the Senior All Stars Final!! Details regarding this event will be sent out in November. Please expect the day to run from a 9:15am arrival – 3:15pm departure.
Congratulations to everyone on an awesome display of teamwork and skills.
A big thanks to all the parents from both days who assisted with the scoring and supported their children.
Mr Kenez
PLEASE NOTE THE CANTEEN WILL BE UNAVAILABLE FOR PURCHASES ON THE FOLLOWING DATES
Wednesday October 25 | |
Thursday October 26 |
Our Canteen runs from Tuesday - Friday. To register please follow the following link Quickcliq registration, then once registered you can login to Quickcliq. When registering if your child is in Prep you will need to click foundation. Your UID (student ID) number can be found on the home page of your Simon App. For further information please see the attached flyer. Ordering cut off times will be the day before at 8pm, to receive your child's order the very Our next day, any orders placed after 8pm will automatically be placed with orders placed the following day, this allows for time to purchase any extra items needed on the day. For those children with dietary requirements there will be a folder placed in the school office outlining ingredients of certain items. Please see the attached Menu, which will also be available when ordering through Quickcliq.