St Cecilia's Newsletter Term 2, Week 8 2024

A word from the Acting Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to the wonderful staff and many parents/carers I have crossed paths with who have welcomed me to St Cecilia’s this week. Even though I will be here as relieving principal for a short time (until end of term), already I have experienced a very tangible and warm welcome. Yesterday I visited all classes and met your children. They were absolutely delightful and were able to articulate what they were learning when I asked them, and were very proud to do so.

While Mrs Chylewska is away, my aim is for the school to run as seamlessly as possible – with no change of routine for the students.   

Congratulations to our Year 6 leaders, all of whom attended Canberra for their three day excursion last week. Reports were our students were outstanding in their behaviour and participation, and I congratulate each of them. A special thanks to our staff Mrs Chylewska, Miss Clancy, Mr Murton Mrs Dowling, who gave up family time to be with the students.

Next week the school is running two events, designed to support our students’ safety, both online and physically.

On Wednesday 26^th June, all students in Kinder to Year 6 will be attending a presentation called “Bullying Zero”. This will include important strategies in managing bullying behaviours in others – but also recognising those behaviours in ourselves.  

The day prior on Tuesday 25^th June, the students in Years 3-6 will be attending a presentation on online safety and awareness, including the dangers in social media and online strangers. This will be a timely presentation and we look forward to the students learning some vital safety advice.

A parent education event on Cyber Safety will occur on that same evening (25^th June) from 6.30 – 7.45pm in our hall. We believe this will be a very insightful evening and we strongly encourage all parents to come along. More information will be sent in separate communications to our parents / carers, and I look forward to meeting some of our families on the night.

Yesterday I had the privilege of witnessing some of our talented St Cecilia’s students and also their talented teachers in action at St Peter’s. They were joined by like minded students across Central Coast Catholic schools for a “TechMatics” Day. The day involved challenging mathematical tasks which really stretched the thinking of the students utilising digital tools! To say I was impressed would be an understatement!!!  Apart from the talent of the St Cecilia’s students on display (which was excellent), two of our very own teachers were responsible for the day in its entirety. Staff from other schools were all impressed by the talents of our St Cecilia’s teachers, and my sincere congratulations to Chloe Harrison and Emily Adcock on their outstanding professionalism and gifts in teaching with technology!

Well done to our St Cecilia’s students who represented us so well also.

Kind Regards,  

ROBERT PEERS

From the Office!

Nut Allergy Reminder

A reminder that we do have some students who are extremely allergic to nuts, so we ask all parents to keep this in mind when preparing your child's lunch box.

St Peter's Year 7 2025 Enrolments

St Peter's are currently reviewing all enrolment forms that have been submitted for their 2025, year seven cohort. If you currently have a year six child who you are hoping to enrol into St Peter's I would encourage you to submit the paperwork by the end of this week, to avoid any disappointment. I know the spaces are limited due to increased interest in the school.

Head Lice Alert!

We have had a number of cases of head lice reported. Please check you child's and hair and treat them accordingly. Thank you for your support in trying to stay on top of this.

Staying Connected

Staff Devlopment Days Reminder!

A reminder to families that we have three staff development days in the coming weeks.

Friday 5th July ~ System Wide Strategy Day 

Monday 22nd July ~ Curriculum Reform Day #3 

Tuesday 23rd July ~ School Staff Development Day

Join us to celebrate Grandparent's Day! 
On July 31st we would like to extend a warm welcome to all our grandparents for our Grandparents Open Class, Liturgy and Smoking Ceremony as part of NAIDOC week.

The schedule and order of events is as follows:

8:00am – Grandparents welcome in classes for Open Classrooms

8:45am – Liturgy in the hall

9:30am – Smoking Ceremony on Oval for NAIDOC week.

 Please RSVP here!

Save the Date: School Disco!

We are so excited for the St Cecilia's school disco which is to be held in Term 3 Friday 16th August. Pop the date in your diary and stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

Teaching and Learning Matters

Our students are engaging in the use of technology more frequently each day, both for school and socially.

They can use it to research, communicate with teachers and other kids, and play interactive games.

But online access also comes with risks, like inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and online predators. Using social media apps and websites where children interact, predators may pose as a child or teen looking to make a new friend. They might prod the child to exchange personal information, such as address and phone number, or encourage children to call them, seeing their phone number via caller ID.

Parents should be aware of what their children see and hear online, who they meet, and what they share about themselves. Talk with your children, and below are some helpful links with tools to protect them, and keep an eye on their activities.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-03/Keeping%20children%20safe%20online%20-%20advice%20for%20parents%20and%20carers%20%28English%29.pdf

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

https://www.savethechildren.org.au/media/media-releases/safer-internet-day-top-tips-to-keep-your-kids-saf

We encourage all parents/carers to attend our Online Safety seminar on Tuesday the 25th June if you are available. Full details in PEC Update below.

PEC Update

ONLINE GUARDIANS

A reminder to RSVP for Nathan Verinder’s visit from Online Guardians – "Live in the real world".

Nathan gathers data on usage, trends and cultures with students and feeds this back to parents with tangible strategies that can help. His interactive parent sessions are very popular and enable all data and analysis to be available for discussion during these events. If there is an interest in our parent community to hear Nathan speak, he can present a one hour talk to parents raising awareness and sharing practical strategies for the many complexities of the online world. Nathan truly is inspiring to listen to.

Please express your interest (EOI) in attending this talk on Tuesday 25th June at 6:30pm in the hall through the attached link.  https://forms.office.com/r/jX4JQkjjd4

Religious Education Update

 WHOLE SCHOOL NAIDOC MASS CELEBRATION 

NAIDOC Week, which commences on the 7th of July, is a vibrant celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. During this week, we honour the significant contributions made by Indigenous Australians to our land. This year’s theme is “Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud, and Proud”. 

Join us for our whole-school NAIDOC mass celebration on Wednesday, the 3rd of July, at 9:30 am in the school hall. Everyone is welcome to participate and celebrate our rich indigenous heritage! 

ST VINCENT DE PAUL WINTER APPEAL 

Thank you for donating to our 2024 St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal. It is wonderful to see so many families at St Cecilia’s coming together to make a difference. This appeal is important in enabling our services and members to support people experiencing disadvantage and hardship.  

This year’s theme is “What if your mum, grandma, or sister became homeless?” The focus is on women over 55, who are one of the fastest-growing demographics at risk of homelessness in Australia. We pray for these women who are at risk of homelessness. 

Dear God, 

We call upon you for the homeless women who wander our streets, struggling in their physical reality. May they understand their intrinsic value, precious in your sight. Encourage them amidst trials and protect them from harm’s way. Empower them, oh Lord, to rise above their situation with grace and dignity. 

Amen 

Classroom Connections

Canberra Excursion

AUSTRALIA PARLIAMENT HOUSE 

Visiting Australia Parliament house was a great experience to learn more about parliament and Australia and see the three parts of the house. The parliament house is a place where we learnt that the Sergeant at Arms bring in the mace as a symbol of protection for the Speaker in The house of Representatives and similarly with the Black Rod to protect the Governor General in the Senate. At parliament house we got to see most of the paintings hung up on the walls. And visit the three parts that make the parliament and we got to do a role play for a new law. Going to the parliament house helped me learn a lot about parliament and Australia.   

By Leo C.

WAR MEMORIAL  

Visiting the war memorial was a great experience to remind ourselves and pay respects to the brave soldiers who fought for our country. In the War Memorial you will see two walls filled with just names carved into the wall for recognition of the soldiers. At the end of the wall there is a big room just for an unknown soldier who was found on the beach, it is better if you stay silent while walking in. The Unknown soldier was a member in WW1, now he's resting place is in the war memorial as a reminding of all those that fought for Australia.  

Lizzy N 

AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE OF SPORT 

On our 2nd day in Canberra we went to AIS, Australian Institution of sport from 8:00pm – 9:00pm. There was a range of simulation sports such as, Soccer- penalties with an AI goalie, Biking, Half-court basketball arena, Rowing machine, skeleton, chin up machine, rock climbing, and a reflex machine. But before we went into the simulation room, we went into the AIS souvenir shop where there was a range of clothes, sporting balls, little toys and much more. Everyone had a great time! I would definitely recommend going there.  

By Noah M 

DEEP SPACE COMMUNICATION CENTRE 

We arrived at the Canberra Deep Space Communication on Friday 14th our last day in Canberra. We walked in to see our host Ariana - she walked us in gave us an introduction of the deep space communication complex. After she was finished we got 15 minutes to explore by ourself for independent research. In the fifteen minutes I looked at old astronauts’ suits and the mars robot’s Curiosity, Spirit, and Opportunity. Then we watched a couple videos about astronauts and rockets launchings in the middle of Ariana explaining the names of planets. The dish outside started to move pointing at Mars, Then Aariana introduced us to the planet Olympics we looked at some planets hanging up from the ceiling and then we started playing the planet Olympics the questions introduce us to a lot of new stars, planets and facts. After the ‘Olympics’, Ariana said her goodbyes.  

By Kate M 

Sports News

Upcoming Sporting Events!

Paul Kelly Cup Final - Thursday 20th June

Stage 3 Netball Gala Day - Friday 21st June

Stage 2 Netball Gala Day - Friday 28th June

Awards & Acknowledgements

Congratulations to the following children for their achievements! The listed award recipients will receive their award at Friday morning's assembly at 8:45am!

Academic Achievement Award

PBL Award

Personal Best Award

Light of Learning Award

Term 2 Key Dates