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Thursday 18 March |
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Friday 19 March |
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Saturday 20 March |
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Friday 26 March |
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Monday 29 March |
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Dear Parents, Students, Staff and all associated with St Catherine's School Community
Which type of person are you, a risk-taker or a security-seeker? Some people really love taking risks, as is instanced in the emergence of extreme sports; these participants love the rush of adrenaline and the feeling of escaping the ordinary. However, most of us are not risk-takers, but security-seekers committed to a lifestyle of playing it safe. Playing life too cautiously could have us fall into the following description:
“There was a very cautious man who never laughed or played; he never risked, he never tried, he never sang or prayed. And when he, one day, passed away his insurance was denied; For since he never really lived, They claimed he never died.” Author unknown.
Strange as it may seem, Jesus told a story that seemed to encourage risk-taking. The Parable of the Talents tells the story of a wealthy man who was about to go on a long trip. He called his servants and according to their ability, gave one 5000 gold coins, another 2000 gold coins and the other 1000 gold coins. He told each to take care of what had been given to them.
The first two servants invested the money and made an equal amount, but the third servant buried his money and made nothing. When the wealthy man returned, he applauded the enterprise of the two servants who had made the successful investments and promoted them to positions of greater responsibility. The third servant he deemed to be useless and threw him out of the household. Paraphrased from Matthew 25: 14 – 30.
Risk-taking is actually part of everyday life and is taken for granted in matters from food consumption to travelling by car. The great motivational speaker and author, Zig Ziglar, put it neatly when he said, “It’s risky when a plane leaves the runway, but that’s what planes are for. It’s riskier for the plane to sit there and accumulate rust.” There are shades of the Parable of the Talents in that statement.
As the Season of Lent is upon us, it is a time for us to focus intentionally on what helps or hinders our commitment to Christ. It may be better not to give up something, but to take on something, to build up our spiritual muscles. How about this for taking on something:
“There was a woman in Swaziland, Orma Mavimbela, who had a well-paid job in the civil service. She felt called to do something for the AIDS orphans whom she saw daily around her. So, she gave up her job and paid for three feeding centres where children could get a meal, receive some loving care and play games. Pretty risky; what happens when her money runs out?”
Of course, few of us are in a position to do as Orma did, but what can each of us do? We are all made in the image of God, but we may not be so Christ-like in our behaviour. Maybe this Lent we could take part in some minor risk-taking. One more quote from Zig Ziglar:
“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough people to get what they need.”
“Father in heaven, May Your love be the foundation and motivating force for my life. Help me to step out of my sheltered life and take Your love to other people in a way that is personal to me. Amen.”
Happenings Around the School
- Year 6 Commissioning Mass - Last Thursday, our Year 6 students gathered in the Chapel for the beginning of year commissioning Mass. Ordinarily, this would have been a whole school initiative, but density limits within the Chapel saw a much smaller occasion. Our 2021 School Leaders were offically commisioned and presented with their particular badges of office as a tangible sign of the responsibility entrusted to them as well as a reminder to each and everyone of us of the faith that we have in them to represent our school with respect, confidence and pride.
- School Advisory Committee - Thursday, March 11 saw the first meeting of the School Committee for 2021. The primary function of the Committee is to improve the capacity of St Catherine's as a Catholic school in order to deliver quality educational outcomes for its students. As an advisory forum to the Principal, it provides input on matters around educational, pastoral and financial matters as well as project development and facility management. School Advisory Members generally meet at least 5 times a year on a Thursday, but may also be called together at other times when specific projects or issues are being discerned. The role of the School Committee is very much one of support, stewardship and collective representation in working for the best interests of the school and its student body.
Our current Committee Members include:- Kevin Browning (Principal)
- Fr Jeff Kleynjans (Parish Priest)
- Anthony Taranto
- Jeremy Shu
- Elyssa Hackett
- Stacey Odwazny
- Melissa Musgrove
- Joanne Riley (P&F Representative)
- Peggy Harvey (Staff Representative)
I am sincerely grateful to each of our members for their time and input into this space and I look forward to working alongside them in delivering our school's core moral imperative - improved student outcomes and wellbeing within our unique faith.
General Information
- Year 4 Camp - Our Year 4 students are eagerly looking forward to attending their first school camp. The 2-day/1-night camp experience at Phillip Island will provide our students with a range of experiences that will certainly keep them very busy. A huge thank you to those parents are able to support us as volunteers for this initiative.
Our Year 4s will be away on camp for the final two days of term.
Yours in Catholic Education
Kevin Browning
Principal
Whole School Approach to
Positive Behaviour Support
Here are our Shine expectations to focus on during the next two weeks. How do we teach these at school? Read on to explore one of the resources we use her at St Catherine’s.
At St Catherine’s, we utilise many resources. One particular resource we use from Prep to Year 6, is the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships learning materials. This has been designed for us to develop students’ social, emotional and positive relationship skills. Efforts to promote social and emotional skills in children has been shown to improve health related outcomes and wellbeing. It also reduces antisocial behaviours. Below is an abridged excerpt from the introductory document.
Developing students’ personal and social capabilities via social and emotional learning
As well as teaching academic skills, it is part of the core business of schools to promote student resilience, wellbeing and positive social attitudes.1, 2 One way we can achieve this is through the teaching of evidence based programs that explicitly foster personal and social capabilities.Social Emotional Learning is the process through which children build and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to:
- Understand and manage emotions
- Set and achieve positive goals
- Feel and express empathy
- Establish and maintain positive relationships
- Make responsible decisions
- Develop resilience to deal with change
- Create positive gender norms
- Contribute to social cohesion.
Social and emotional skills help students develop resilience to deal with change, challenge and unpredictability.4 Efforts to promote personal and social capabilities and build resilience can be fostered through a whole school approach. A key component of a whole school approach is promoting positive teacher-student relationships. Positive relationships are significantly associated with increased ‘school connectedness’ and engagement.8
A sense of connectedness or belonging to school and to family is the single most important protective factor for young people.9, 10Students who experience discrimination or stigma are more likely to also experience reduced connectedness to school.13 In contrast, students who feel cared for by people at their school and feel connected to learning are more likely to be motivated and show improved academic outcomes and mental health. This resource covers a range of topics important to the personal and social capability.
Throughout the year, your child will engage in learning activities using this resource, along with others, through their integrated inquiries and religious education curriculum, ‘To Live in Christ Jesus’. Our SHINE expectations permeate and are recognised in each of the above mentioned topics. ‘Having respect’ is not just a gift bestowed on someone based on their age or situation. It takes time, practice and a teaching of these skills in a supportive and empathetic manner, both at home and at school.
Yveie Tonks
Leader for Positive Behaviour Support Implementation
From our SHINE Leaders
Fortnightly Parent Learning Overviews
Please see the attached fortnightly Parent Overview to find out about the upcoming learning experiences for each year level for the next couple of weeks.
Specialist Learning Showcase
Find out about all of the wonderful experiences that your children have been having in specialist classes this term, by reading the Learning Showcase article for each specialist subject:
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The Year 6 World Fair
In Year 6 we have been learning about the diverse countries within North America and Europe. As part of our final action for this unit of work, we began a project for Geography which was a World Fair. The task asked us to create a stall which represented a chosen country within the two continents that we had focused on.
In the stall, we had to include demographic information, political information, the country's unique traditions, cuisines, a map, a flag, a Venn diagram comparing our chosen country with our home country Australia, some famous landmarks, some native animals, the climate and a pitch to sell our country to our principal Mr Browning.
Each group consisted of one student from each class in the Year 6 level. With this, we were able to utilise our new learning space by spreading out across the 4 classrooms and working with different teachers. Every member of the group had certain tasks to complete, this meant we had to manage our time and be responsible with our work. This task also taught us how to collaborate with people that we weren’t familiar with.
We had many visitors including the Year 5’s who are located on the level below us and the principal of our school who we mentioned before, Mr Browning who we had to impress with our presentation and pitches.
Overall, the World Fair was an excellent project which displayed the Year 6’s learning about countries in North America and Europe. All teams collaborated extremely well even overcoming challenges such as people being away, the time limit, etc. This task had its challenges but it also showed that as a Year 6 level we can achieve anything! This was a chance for us all to show our full abilities!
Written by
Tahlia Shu, Sam Milton, Ali Kuster and Rajveer Chandra
On Wednesday 10 March, nineteen students from Years 3-6 competed at the Casey South Division Swimming Carnival at the Noble Park Aquatic Centre.
All students were successful, finishing either 1st or 2nd. A super effort!
A big thanks to the parents of the student representatives who arranged the transport for their child and supported their child at the Carnival.
Results
Of the nineteen students, nine who finished 1st officially, progress to the Southern Metropolitan Swimming Carnival which will be held at MSAC (Melbourne Sports Centre) on Monday 29 March.
A massive congratulations to these students and our very best wishes for the upcoming event!
Justin Kenez
Physical Education Coordinator
Results of the Casey South Division Swimming Carnival as below
Hello Everyone
As we enter the fourth week of Lent we are reminded of the importance of God’s great love for us as referenced in John’s Gospel: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.’
The Gospel reading speaks about people and actions that are ‘of the darkness’ and ‘of the light.’
What are some actions in our world today that are ‘of darkness’ and ‘of the light’?
What are some actions ‘of the light’ that we can take on that would make a difference in other people’s lives? In doing this we can show God’s love to each other.
The Parish Sacramental Program is continuing with the Confirmation of our 2020 candidates. Congratulations to all of those being confirmed and we pray that you be filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit as you continue on your faith journey.
The Year 4 students will be celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation early next term. Reconciliation ceremonies will be held in the Chapel during school hours. We are currently finalising the details which will be communicated to you as soon as possible.
Wishing you kindness and compassion as we continue this Lenten season.
Yours in Faith
Nerida Byrden
Leader of Catholic Identity and Religious Education
TRAFFIC
When entering the school between 8:00 - 9:00am traffic is ONE WAY.
When entering the school between 2:30 - 4:00pm traffic is ONE WAY.
During these times, cars must travel along the driveway onto the basketball courts and along the road near the oval and exit via the double gates closest to the Adventure Playground.
Diversity encompasses all learners across cultural, academic, social emotional and physical attributes noting these are not mutually exclusive.
Learning diversity in Catholic schools is enacted through an inclusive pedagogy and a
commitment to uphold the rights of all to be:
• welcomed
• valued
• acknowledged
• actively engaged in education
All students regardless of race, age or gender, by virtue of their dignity as human persons, have a right to an education that is suited to their particular needs and adapted to their ability. (Pope Paul VI 1965).
Catholic schools uphold the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and are committed to unified actions designed to provide every child with access to quality education as a fundamental human right and as a prerequisite for human development.
Catholic learning communities enact inclusive policies and practices to accurately identify the diverse learning needs of individuals, consider effective approaches of support, provide appropriate adjustments and monitor the progress of all learners.
All students with diverse learning needs have a right to access a full and engaging education on the same basis as their peers.
With adequate support, all children, irrespective of their different needs, should be able to learn together in mainstream classrooms in their local communities. (UNESCO 2015, p. 101)
As educators in a Catholic school, we foster an environment that embraces the education of all students regardless of their cultural background, socio-economic status, learning needs, exceptional ability or disability, and create educational communities that celebrate diversity and combat discrimination.
Horizons of Hope 'Learning Diversity': Catholic Education Melbourne 2017
Our school Canteen operates on Tuesday and Thursday.
- Orders are online only.
- Orders are via CDFPay.
- Orders must be complete by 8:45am on the day.
- Orders can be placed in advance.
- Please ALWAYS check the date BEFORE you continue with your order to ensure that the date is correct, so that your child gets the order on the correct day!
Please see the link below. Create a CDFPay account and then simply place your order.
Cancelling Orders
If your child is sick or will not be attending school and you have placed your order you need to:
- Contact the School Office to advise that you wish to cancel the order.
- Your CDFPay account will be credited.
- No refunds are possible.
Jundis F | Jasmine B | Ryan C |
Davin D | Minuka H | Eden E |
Senuthi T | Nicole T | Jacob C |
James F | Alex V | Levi D |
Emerald S | Alyssa B | Amelie F |
Joy A | Louis C | Natalie M |
Jacob T | Payton C | Skylie P |
Katelyn B | Carla B | Ethan R |
Nathan R | Emmanuel S | Soren S |
Jairus B | Rian M | Phoenix P |
Alfonzo S | Maxene M | Mia R |
The Uniform Shop
Owned and operated by Jan Kennewell
Location: Multi-Purpose Room
Monday | 8:30 – 10:45am |
Tuesday | 8:30 – 9:00am |
Wednesday | 8:30 – 9:00am |
Thursday | 8:30 – 9:00am |
Friday | 8:30 – 10:45am |
Access
- Enter the school grounds via the gate near the School Office, opposite the Chapel
- Sign in at the School Office
- Go to the Multi-Purpose Room.
- Purchase and pay. Note: Payment is by credit card only. NO CASH.
- Sign out at the School Office
- Exit via the same gate
ONLINE Ordering
Order online using QKR!
- Download the app
- Create a login
- Locate St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School
- Add a profile
- Order
Orders will be sent home via your child
Additional Opening Times
Open Tuesday and Friday afternoon from 2:30 – 3:30pm in the FIRST two weeks of every and the LAST two weeks of every term.
Book Club Issue 2 is now open for orders.
Before placing your order you will need to update your child's class and year level.
Once your child is set up there are drop-down boxes for both the year level and the class code with the teacher's name.
If your order is a gift for your child, you can click on 'GIFT ORDER' and the order will be delivered to the School Office not your child's class. The Office staff will contact you directly to arrange a collection time.
Wednesday 31 March – Thursday 1 April
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Thursday 1 April
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Monday 19 April
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Wednesday 28 April – Friday 30 April
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Friday 7 May
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Thursday 13 May
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Friday 28 May
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Monday 14 June
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Wednesday 16 June
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Friday 25 June
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Monday 12 July
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Friday 23 July
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Monday 26 July |
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Friday 30 July
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Friday 6 August
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Monday 9 August
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Thursday 12 August
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Friday 13 August
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Friday 20 August
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Friday 27 August
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Tuesday 31 August
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Thursday 9 September
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Friday 10 September
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Wednesday 15 September
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Friday 17 September
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Monday 4 October
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Thursday 14 October
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Wednesday 27 October
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Monday 1 November
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Tuesday 2 November
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Thursday 11 November
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Wednesday 15 December
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Thursday 16 December
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Friday 17 December
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