Friday 25^th February 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

Firstly, a big thank you to our whole school community for commitment to the RAT testing regime. We have very little transmission and families are keeping their children at home with any symptom. This is keeping us safe and ensuring our school stays open.

The Grade 6 Leaders have been presented with their school captain’s badges and the house captains have been elected.

Congratulations to…

Ursula captain and Mayah vice-captain for Francis (yellow house)

Simon captain and Isabella-Rose vice-captain for Sebastian (blue house)

Mary captain and Brylie vice-captain for McKillop (red house)

Denzel captain and Rahni vice-captain Patrick (green house)

On Monday we will be reviewing the applications for Sustainably Warriors, Social Justice Team, PBS (Positive Behaviour Support) shop leaders, and leaders for “Prayer of the Air”.

There is still time for students who are keen to be part of the leadership opportunities. Priority is given to the Grade Sixes, however, we strongly encourage the Grade Fives to put their hands up.

PBS shop

Our PBS shop has been open weekly on Fridays. This shop has lots of fun things that the children can buy with their reward coins. Last year favourite things were a ride in the elevator, free time, art club, cooking and the most prised was lunch with the principal.

All children have to opportunity to earn coins for particular focused behaviour around our expectations Respect, Inclusive and Safe. Earning coins happens when children go over the expected and follow in the steps of Mary McKillop, caring for each other and “Never seeing a need without doing something about it.”

Currently the school captains are running the PBS shop, next week we will have formed the Green and Red PBS teams who will take it in turns to run the shop.

UNIFORM

The focus on uniform for black shoes has been well taken up. Coins are distributed after lunch to children who wear the correct plain black shoes. Sports day is Wednesday so any coloured pair of runners is fine on Wednesday or an official sport day or if told on an excursion and definitely on camp.

On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday we expect black shoes to be worn. They can be comfortable, they do not have to be leather, just plain black shoes. We ask that shoes with brand markings not be worn. A white sole is acceptable.

HOT LUNCH FRIDAY

A great big thank you to the team at LA Takeaway for the fabulous service they offer our school. The menu has a great variety of options with sandwiches, HSPs and so much more.

Remember orders need to be in on Thursday. Please make sure you have the correct money and that you order off the current menu.

CAR PARK

When dropping off students in the morning please either park in the car park and have the students walk across the crossing, or drive to the bottom gate. For safety reasons we cannot have cars parking where the morning flags are to let children out.

Cars must move in and around the car park at walking pace and enter and leave the road slowly.

The sink hole is still under review and we are working with the parish to repair this. Thank you for your patience here.

 I wish you all a restful weekend,

God Bless,

Anne-Marie Robb

Baptism
Baptism is one of the Sacraments of Initiation in the Catholic Church. Baptism can be celebrated at any age. We have had a number of families and children express their interest in finding out more information and beginning this journey. If you would like more information, or would like to begin the journey to becoming baptised, please fill out the interest form that will be sent home on Monday or email either Michelle Inchincoli minchincoli@shmorwell.catholic.edu.au or Anne-Marie Robb principal@shmorwell.catholic.edu.au for further details.

Reconciliation
Preparations for baptised students in Grade 3 and above to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation will begin shortly. Families are required to attend two workshops to assist candidates preparing for the Sacrament Reconciliation. Below are the important dates and a note will be sent home on Monday with an enrolment form due back by Thursday 3^rd March, 2022.

Workshop 1- Tuesday, March 8th at 5pm- held via a Google Meet.

Workshop 2- Wednesday, March 23^rd at 5pm- Google Meet or onsite- TBC- COVID restrictions pending.

Sacrament of Reconciliation- Thursday 31st of March at Sacred Heart Church at 5pm.

Shrove Tuesday
We will be celebrating Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday) on Tuesday 1^st March. With some of the school leaders, staff will cook and share pancakes. Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the season of Lent begins and traditionally, Christians would use all their flour, milk, butter, sugar and eggs to make pancakes in preparation for fasting through Lent. This year, for Shrove Tuesday, we invite students to make a voluntary donation of a gold coin to begin our Lenten Fundraising for Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion. The money raised is used to help support people living in the most vulnerable communities across the world.

We will be using Green’s Pancake Shake Original Mix. Please notify your child’s homeroom teacher of any dietary requirements. We will have jam, honey and butter, however, if there is something else your child would like on their pancakes could this be bought to school in a small container for them to use.

Ash Wednesday
Wednesday 2^nd of March, 2022 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The blessed palms from the previous years Palm Sunday are made into Ash and used to place the sign of the cross on the forehead. Lent is a time for prayer and reflection on how we can improve and live our lives and finishes on Good Friday.  We are still awaiting directions on how COVID restrictions will allow us to gather and participate on this special occasion in the Church calendar.

Prayer for Lent

Dear Lord,

Guide me as I begin the Lenten journey with you. Help me to look into my heart and reflect on the times I have turned away. Help me to listen and grow to return to your love and guidance. Guide me and give me strength to accept your love each day.

Amen.

Congratulations to all the swimmers who participated in the Regional and District Swimming Carnivals.

Your representation of the school, your commitment and sportsmanship was commendable.  Well done.

Ourpatch our are the schools before and after school care are offering Basketball Mondays with Makenzie from Gippsland United.

This specialist offering allows children to learn and practice their basketball skills. Shooting, dribbling and passing.

This program will run for the next 5 weeks, taking a day off on the Public Holiday on March 14th.

To register and book: visit www.ourpatch.education/before-and-after-school-care/ or call the Customer Care Team on 1300 018 310.

Please see attached flyers for upcoming courses

Mark Brookes runs a free on-line "123 Magic & Emotion Coaching Parenting Program.  This program is specifically targeted to help parents of 2-12 year olds and is designed to help mums and dads learn some new evidence-based parenting strategies in these challenging times.

Please see attached flyer for more information.

To support the AFLW’s future milestone of fielding teams for all 18 clubs by the end of 2022, we think it is more important now than ever that all aspiring junior-aged girls in Gippsland have access to a fun and engaging introduction to Australian Rules Football.

Starting in February and running through to April, AFL Victoria will be providing girls aged between 7-14 with the opportunity to experience female-only footy. With over 10 locations across Gippsland, girls will be able follow the roadshow and attend as many training sessions as they’d like. The events will go for roughly 1 and a half hours where they will learn the basic skills of AFL like kicking & hand-balling but more importantly, will walk away with a great experience filled with fun! Girls of all abilities and levels of experience are welcome to these training sessions.

Click here https://www.canva.com/design/DAE2_uIIZrc/oUtJzuk-GRAeWw1_JgfXGQ/view?utm_content=DAE2_uIIZrc&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

Students can register at the bottom within the link!

The school communicates with parents and carers via the Skoolbag App.  It is important that you download the free app which will enable you to received correspondence from the school.

Please see attached the steps to download the app.

Please note, the Open Evening scheduled for Wednesday 16th March, 2022 for Year 7 students who will attend in 2023 has been postponed until a later date.

Details will be passed on when to hand.