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Dear Parents and Community,
It is certainly a jammed packed end of the term. Normally things are starting to slow down a little by this time with only one or two major events happening. This year we are still going flat out with Confirmation, major excursions, a building project finishing off, end of year Liturgies etc. I think everyone is looking forward to the break next year.
Staffing List: We would normally have our staffing list in this newsletter, but we are still finalising a couple of the positions. We will have a short newsletter next week that lists all staffing appointments. Students have met their teachers for next year already and as you can see we really have had only one move with Kerri Gunn moving to Year 6 and Laura Banks moving to Year 4. The only new staff member joining us at this stage is Hannah Power, who replaces Trish Roberts as our Learning Diversity Leader. Gina Coetzee is also returning as our Dance Teacher.
Building works: We have now locked in a couple of jobs for next year. We will replace the glass doors with an electronic door. Hopefully that helps with the cold as those winds sweep through the whole school. The other job locked for next year is re-carpeting the whole school. It is a big job and the carpet is on order from America so it will be spaced out over next year trying to work around all the furniture we have in the school. Both these jobs have come from the School Building Fund so I want to acknowledge the contribution from the community o this. Without this, these jobs would not be done. We are also hoping our footpaths are completed before Graduation, they keep telling me it will be!!
P and F: It is also a good time to acknowledge the work of the Parents and Friends (P and F) who have managed to still run many events and support the school and families. From online Discos and Jogathons, raffles and Christmas cards, they do tireless work. I know fundraising is always difficult, but it does allow us to do those extra things. Thanks to the P and F we have been able to update the technology in the school to the point where we have some of the best equipment going around.
Traffic Plan: All looks good for next year on this. Council are still telling me it is all going ahead. We should see some great safety improvements for the streets around our school making it easier to get to school.
School Board: Thanks also to our School Board who offer me great insight and advice about the direction of the school. Members certainly get to see the bigger picture of the school where we try to balance the needs to students, families and staff. I want to also thank Rose McVicar who leaves the School Board after many years of service. She brings great vision and has really supported the school with Sustainability, Uniform and how to work with Council. We will make a new appointment to the school Board in early 2021.
Community Portal (Parent Portal) Next year we will be introducing the next stage of our administrative package which is the Community Portal. This will be where parents login for absenteeism, updating contact details and uploading medical forms (asthma plans etc). It will make it easier for families to manage all these things. Instructions will be sent to families about how to create an account at a later date.
So what are some of the exciting things happening in 2021
- The Maclean's Reserve Upgrade
- Traffic Plan for the streets surrounding the school
- School Review
- Parent Night with Michael Gross
- Andrew Chinn visiting the school for a concert and workshop.
- The staff doing a lot of work around Mathematics.
Last day for students: Just a reminder that the last day for students is Wednesday the 16th of December with the students finishing at 1:40.
God Bless
Anthony
“Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.”
James 5:7
This week we light the candle of love. For God so loved the world, that a Child was given; a Savior in the form of love incarnate. As we light these candles of hope, peace and love, Let us give thanks for God’s enduring love.
Feast of the Immaculate Conception - Tuesday 8th December
Contrary to what many people seem to think, it is not the conception of Jesus. That feast is on March 25th – the Feast of the Annunciation. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception commemorates the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne.
In order to become the mother of Christ she was conceived free from the burden of original sin.
Saints Joachim and Anne prayed for a child for a very long time. Just when they had begun to lose hope, Saint Anne became pregnant with Mary. In order for Mary to become the mother of Christ, her soul never suffered the effects of original sin.
Confirmation Reminders
Congratulations to the children who received the sacrament of Confirmation on Tuesday night, it was truly a beautiful evening for all.
A reminder for Year 6 families for Thursday 10th December 6pm:
- We ask that you arrive at the church 15 minutes prior to the liturgy starting.
- Every family will have a pew allocated to them.
- The limit of 5 people per family remains (candidate plus 4 others).
- The proxy sponsor will also remain in place for each liturgy, Mr Anthony Hockey or Mrs Laura Graham will undertake this role.
- We ask that after the liturgy you leave the church as quickly as possible as a deep clean is required. We ask that photos take place outside of the church.
- Masks will need to be worn inside the church by guests over the age of 12.
End of Year Liturgy
An event that many of us look forward to at the end of the year is our school Mass. Unfortunately this will be unable to go ahead as a whole school in the church due to restrictions on numbers. Instead, each classroom teacher will run an end of year liturgy in the classrooms with the children.
Another highlight at the end of the year is the announcement of the recipients of the Christian Leadership awards. Once again, this is unable to take place in the church as a whole school community. Instead, the recipients of the Christian Leadership awards will be announced by classroom teachers during the end of year class liturgy. A recording of each teacher announcing the children will be provided through the school newsletter on the Wednesday of week 11. (16th December)
Upcoming Liturgies
As we are still unable to gather as a whole school group in the church, we will continue to provide liturgies of important feast dates and occasions over the loudspeaker.
Celebration |
Date |
Year Level |
Confirmation Ceremony |
Thursday 10th December 6pm |
Year 6 |
3rd Week of Advent |
Friday 11th December |
Prep |
End of year liturgy |
Wednesday 16th December |
Classroom teachers |
Christmas Masses
CHRISTMAS FUN!
On Monday 14th of December we would like to have some Christmas Fun! The children will be able to wear something Christmas themed to school. They can wear a hat, headband, earrings or tinsel with their school uniform. We will also have a Christmas Singalong over the speaker in the afternoon.
Canberra Camp 2021
Students in Years 5&6 in 2021 will be attending camp in Canberra in May. The cost of the camp is $720. The payment form went home to students this week.
PLEASE NOTE: No child should not go to camp because of financial difficulties. Please email principal@smwilliamstown.
We would love to give your child a t-shirt. Please pop in when you can to pick one up. Just like Sophie!
Christmas Cards
The Christmas Cards have been sent home. Any last minute orders that were put through on Tuesday 8/12 at 5pm for the Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2’s will organised over the next couple of days. We think that the final products are impressive, such a creative and budding community of artists. There have been lots of requests and interest to get this going for next year so we have added it to the list for a possible 2021 return.
Wishing all our families a very merry and safe Christmas and New Year, and hope that you have some time to relax after a very difficult year.
St. Mary’s Epic Christmas Raffle
Thank you!
We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our school community when we appealed for donations for our Christmas raffle. The school office was inundated with beautiful gifts, wine, food, vouchers, stationery, toys, games and more. Our storeroom currently looks like Santa's workshop and is full of Christmas hampers including over 30 runner-up prizes plus more than 80 lolly bundles to give away! Please help us raise money for the school and spread some Christmas cheer by buying some raffle tickets, sales close this Thursday at 11:30pm.
https://smwilliamstown.cdfpay.org.au/
Look at the amazing runner up prizes!!!
Winners will be drawn on Friday 11th December and hampers distributed the final week of school. Ticket numbers will be allocated electronically. All funds raised go towards the Parent and Friends Committee Fund which funds school projects, ancillary costs and community engagement activities.
Icy Pole Roster Term 1 2021
Monday Feb 1 - Genevieve Frisby and Lauren Ditmar
Tuesday Feb 2 - Lea Kriaris and Mariza O'Keefe
Wednesday Feb 3 - Helen Allison and Michelle Matina
Thursday Feb 4 - Nicole Primall and Mark Carter
Friday Feb 5 - Lisa Cusmano and Sue Laws
Volunteers for 2021
A reminder that you if you able to volunteer in 2021 we would love to hear from. Please use the online form https://forms.gle/4amHWsxmMZNpE1wq8, we are asking if you could please do so by Friday 11th December.
For those of you that have already completed the green forms for Maclean Reserve and Icy Poles you don’t need to complete those fields on this form.
If you have any questions or queries for the P&F Committee, please submit via email vicepresident@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Many thanks
Jemima Bowen
Vice-President
GUITAR LESSONS 2021
Enrolment forms for guitar lessons are now available from the office for any parents who wish to enrol their child(ren) in Grades 2-6 into lessons for 2021. Parents are asked to complete and email the completed form to michelleguitarmusic@hotmail.