Term 4 Week 2 Newsletter 2024

Dear Parents, Friends, Staff and Students of St Catherine’s,  

Welcome to Term 4

The students have settled back into the school routine and it is great to see them enjoying each other's company. In my experience, students feel especially safe and supported at St Cath's. It was pleasing to see the 10% increase from last term in students indicating that they feel safe at school. (Source: St Catherine's Classroom Pulse survey student responses). 

Enrolment growth 

I am pleased to share that our enrolments continue to grow, and we are already on track for 6% growth in student numbers next year. With several tours planned over the next few weeks, I am expecting that number to grow for 2025 and it will be great to have an additional Reception class next year. We will never lose the sense of community that comes from St Cath’s being a nurturing school but the increase in numbers allows to better serve and support families at St Catherines. 

Ecology Mass 

Our School and Parish community came together to celebrate Ecology Sunday where the parishioners of St Matthew's Bridgewater joined us for a Mass at St Catherine's School. It was good to see the school families who attended and special thanks to the staff who attended and helped set up and pack up Narelle Brine, Bianca Foote, Andrea Williams, Jessica Barolo and Stefan Butler. The Mass was a celebration of all creatures, great and small with families invited to bring their family pets to share in Mass and receive a blessing. Ecology Sunday compels us to build a sense of community while sharing in the beauty of God's creation and reminds us that we have a role to play in protecting the planet through positive change, fostering a deep sense of responsibility and an enduring commitment to the our responsibilities as custodians of this planet. Thank you to Fr Fred for leading us in this celebration and to the Parish for their efforts with the BBQ .   

Grandparents Day 

What a delight it was to have so many grandparents and special friends join our students on Thursday morning this week. The event was a success but we already have some improvements in mind for next year. Thanks to the students and staff who welcomed our special visitors to our school and our classrooms. Thank you to the many volunteers who supported our P&F with providing delicious scones for morning tea.  

After School Sport 

This term we have a soccer sports clinic on Monday afternoons available for students in Reception to Year 2 to participate in after school.  

For further details about these clinics, please contact Steven DeGiovanniello (sdegiovanniello@stcaths.catholic.edu.au) 

Sun Smart - School Hats 

To keep them safe, students are to wear their hats in Terms 1 and 4 when they are outside. Thank you for making sure your child has their hat at school and that it is clearly labelled with their name.  

Pirates of Penzance the Musical 

We are very much looking forward to the Musical next week. Special thanks to our Performing Arts teacher, Kathryn Thompson who has spent endless hours preparing the students for one of the highlights of the year. Thank you to the parents and friends who have supported with costumes and in other ways. I look forward to seeing you there. 

Book Fair 

Book Fair was another resounding success and thank you for your support. Special thanks to Mrs Cathy Fischle and Mrs Narelle Brine for their organisation of this event. 

School drop off/ pick up reminders 

In the morning, children can enter the building via the double doors under the entrance canopy and make their way through to the courts OR children can enter via the grey side gate and move directly to the courts. 

At the end of the school day, students will gather under the entrance canopy and parents are welcome to continue to use the kiss and pick up driveway, or park and wait in the new garden space to collect their child/ren.  

To ensure the safety of students, please do NOT gather in the driveway area. 

Regards,

Mark

It has been a wonderful first week in the St Catherine's School community. Having come from Catholic Education Office as System Coach, it is lovely to be back with children and staff at one of the most exciting times of the year. The staff, children and families have been so welcoming and helpful in my first week as APRIM. 

Over the last week I have been privileged to attend two wonderful community events. 

Firstly, last weekend's Ecology Sunday Mass was a truly wonderful occasion that brought our school community together in a meaningful way. Held outdoors on a beautiful spring day, the weather was stunning, which helped to showcase the beauty of nature around us. It was especially heart-warming to see Father Fred back with us after his recent illness to lead the service. 

Students and staff participated reverently, adding to the sense of community spirit. We had the lovely opportunity to bless special family pets, demonstrating how we are all responsible  caring for all of God’s creations. It was wonderful to have the parishioners join us on the school grounds, creating a strong sense of belonging and connection between Parish and School working in partnership. 

We gathered after mass for a sausage sizzle prepared by our wonderful volunteers. The conversations shared over delicious food made the day even more special. I felt privileged to celebrate Mass with the community, connecting with more students, families, and parishioners.  

Also of special significance was Grandparents Day together on Wednesday morning. The joy that I saw as the children and Grandparent created new memories was wonderful to experience.  It was a real reminder of the deep bonds we share as community, with many Grandparents proudly sharing their connection with the School over several generations.  The morning was a beautiful celebration of love that I'm sure all will treasure.   

Jesus said "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." (Matthew 5:14-16) 

As the weeks progress, I look forward to forging even stronger relationships and continuing to nurture our shared commitment to both faith and ecology. 

Carla Thomas 
Acting Assistant Principal, Religious Identity and Mission 
cthomas@stcaths.catholic.edu.au 

R1B/P

In R1B we began the term talking about rhyming words and listening to poems. We have created some fun and entertaining poems about our world. With the warmer weather we have also enjoyed spending more time in the garden. Our school chickens have enjoyed our food scraps, and we have been busy watering the garden to watch the veggies grow. In Maths we started learning about the importance of money. We have explored what the Australian coins look like and ordered them based on their value. 

2/3F

After returning from the holiday break, our Year 2 and 3 students have been full of energy and excitement to dive back into their learning! They're especially thrilled to explore how countries are connected on a global scale as part of their HASS curriculum. This term, they’ll be putting their creativity and research skills to the test as they take on the exciting role of travel agents, learning all about different countries, cultures, and connections around the world. It’s going to be a fantastic journey of discovery

3/4W

After returning from our holidays between Term 3 and 4, 3/4W were full of information, stories, and a willingness to share!  We spent time at school and home turning a moment or event from our holidays into a narrative. From rose monsters to noodle demons to adventures in the kitchen to coconut beach and knee boarding excitement. We have been very enthusiastic about sharing our imaginative adventures with each other! 

4/5B

This term, 4/5B has begun diving into the world of poetry! Students will be exploring different types of poems, including narrative poems and haikus, while learning about poetic devices like rhyme, rhythm, and metaphor. They will be crafting their own poems, and I am sure we will see fantastic creativity and enthusiasm. In Maths, we are focusing on Statistics, where students will learn how to collect, interpret, and display data. They will be creating bar graphs and line plots to represent data sets. These skills are helping them to understand how data is used in everyday life. 

5/6O

Our 5/6s have jumped right in to their final term! Our focus has been preparing for the school musical, Pirates of Penzance. The students are collaborating to polish the songs and dances and have worked hard to learn their lines. Our learning for the beginning of this term involves a focus on enhancing our persuasive writing skills, in which we are planning to write to councils and/or businesses to make a positive difference to their waste structures. We will also be focusing on a range of measurement concepts in Maths, including converting between units and calculating the area and perimeter of regular and irregular shapes. In Science, we are learning about chemical reactions through an understanding of solids, liquids and gases. In HASS, we have a focus on business and economics and will explore resources and influences on consumer choices. 

Specialist Subjects

Music

This is going to be a very busy term for Performing Arts here at St Catherine's. After an extremely successful performance at the Catholic Schools Music Festival in Week 10 of last term, the Year 5 and 6 students are now spending every spare minute preparing for the upcoming school musical, the infamous 'Pirates of Penzance'. There will be two performances taking place in Week 3 of this term. The students have been truly amazing in both their attitude towards the musical and the effort they have put into its preparation. 

Meanwhile the Year R-4 students are also beginning to get ready for the end of year Christmas concert which will happen in Week 8. They are hoping to showcase some iof the instrumental learning that they have participated in throughout the year. 

Sport

The students will begin the Term with an Athletics unit which will help the year 3-6 students prepare for their Catholic Schools Athletics Carnival in week 4. The students will then participate in a Cricket Unit and end the Term with some T-ball skills focusing on the two-handed strike, throwing, catching and game play. This terms learn to play program for R-2 students is Soccer Skills with Mr D on a Monday after school. 

Congratulations to Zara in Year 6 who was Vice Captain for the Hills SAPSASA girls football team. The team ended up with all wins (except for 1 draw) and took out the gold medal. 

Congratulations also to Vea in Year 5 who has been selected in the Hills Cricket Team. Well done Vea, we wish you all the very best.