Dear Families,

Today you will be sent a survey link for our annual school survey. Please take some time to complete this survey. Typically, we only receive between 15-20% of families responding to the annual survey. We would like to hear from as many of you as possible. While the suggested time allocated is 20 minutes, please don’t let this put you off as this is the maximum suggested time. I look forward to receiving your feedback.

We have been very lucky this year in being able to take students to a variety of Gala days and sporting events. Students have represented the school extraordinarily well, some have gone through to the next rounds and all have demonstrated excellent manners and fair play on and off the field. It has been wonderful for students who enjoy and excel on the sporting field to once again have these opportunities. I thank Mrs Thomas and the many teachers and Classroom Support Assistants who have organised these events and have provided supervision.

Today, teachers will be completing further training in COMPASS. Many teachers are already using COMAPSS to communicate with families. From this week, all staff members will use this portal for communication. You will still receive notifications via email and should still be able to read these notifications through your email and be able to respond via email. As we move all administration across to COMPASS it is important that all families have access either through the app on your phone or online. If you are struggling with COMPASS, please either call the front office or pop in so we can help you.

Take care and God bless

May Birthdays

Ella D, Jesse R, Cooper K, Rohan T, Lorelei M, Clarence G, Alice T, Zahli A, Nikola G, Amelia M, Oliver H, Arianna R, Connor W, Hunter B, Emily L-B, Brooklyn S, Ashan H, Scarlett F, Mayen K, Theresa V, Shaela S, Lyla M, Aston P, Evangeline G, Gabriel T, Tudor C, Chimaobi M, Nuer D

June Birthdays

Millie A, Maeve J, Flourish O, Leilani MH, Lucinda B, Maddison J, Samin M, Emily M, Sammuel B, Phoebe S, Om B, Anna D, Zachary M, Ivy LH, Luke S, Liam M, Angok C, Mason S, Annabelle M, Violet W, Tobenna M, Emma O, Nash H, Aleisha MA, Leo W, Toi D, Georgia R, Jordan C, George B-C, Nella W-S, Mackenzie C, Lachlan M, Annabella L, Lucas G, Xavier V, Chuol C

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 4 came home last week.

All orders are online or via the Loop app: https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent.aspx

Orders are due 13^th June 2023.

Our school receives credits each time a student buys a book.  This helps with building our library collection.

Winners of National Simultaneous Storytime Colouring-in Competition

We all enjoyed reading and viewing The Speedy Sloth story on Wednesday for NSS.

Thank you to everyone who entered the competition. It was very hard to select the winners!

Congratulations to:

ELC: Mila D

Kinder: Rabik B

Year 1: Ebadat S & Isaac R

Year 2: Tori D

Year 3: Sophia H

Year 4: Layne M

Year 5: Natalia O

Year 6: Ethan M

Don't forget to keep returning your overdue library books - we want to keep our books circulating through all of our families.

Happy reading,

Mrs Hind

School photo day is fast approaching! ELC photos will be taken on 13th & 15th June with the Primary School on Wednesday 14th June. You will receive notification within the coming days from MSP for ordering via the Compass app. If you do experience any difficulties, please do not heistate to contact the front office.

Sibling order forms are available from the Front Office. 

Please note that it is expected that all students are in full Winter Uniform on photo day.

In late term 3 the school’s finance system will be changing. As a result, the school will no longer be able to support Direct Debit as a way of paying school fees. All school fees will either need to be paid via BPay, EFTPOS or cash. All invoices for school fees will carry a unique BPay reference. While the rollover to the new system is still a few months away, we wanted to make families aware of this change so you can talk to your bank and/or the front office if you are not familiar with BPay and require support.

Please feel free to contact the front office if you have any questions or concerns regarding these changes.

Our Semester 1 reports will be available for families on Monday of Week 10 (26 June).  As a system our reports have continued to change. This Semester, the usual grading will happen for each of the learning areas, however there will again be no comments. This is in line with the majority of Primary and Secondary schools in our Archdiocese.   

We invite parents and carers to the Semester 1 - 3 Way Conference Interviews. The 3 Way Conference bookings will go live and will be available to you on COMPASS in Week 7, 5th June 2023.  It will remain open until Friday 16 June.  Please ensure that you access COMPASS to lock in a meeting time with your child’s teacher. Please note that bookings will close strictly at 3pm on Friday 16 June 2023.

Your child should also come along to this meeting. This is a great opportunity to discuss how your child is progressing in their learning and to have a real time conversation about growth and development.  

The Conferences will be held on Tuesday 21 June from 3-7 pm and Wednesday 22 June from 8:00am - 8:45am and from 3pm - 6pm. Each Conference will be for a maximum of 15 minutes.

Last week our ELC received Commendation for Naturescape in the 2023 LEAD Awards.

Visit the Education Today newsletter article here to view our mention of Commendation.

Over the next several weeks students will be introduced to Ngunnawal vocabulary. This week students will be learning "Ngaralda" meaning Sorry. Thank you Miss Evans for continuing our learning of our Ngunnawal Country.

Winter is well and truly on it's way and with that we start to witness the UV levels dropping. With UV levels considered low (under 3) during the months of June and July we adopt the advice of the Cancer Council ACT and begin our Hats Off period.

From Thursday 1 June (Week 6) hats will not be required on the playground. 

Hats will be on again from August as UV levels start to rise again. 

Read more about UV exposure and the healthy balance for Vitamin D benefits here.

The Seasons for Growth program will be offered to students again this year, commencing later in Term 3. The program is designed to support students who are dealing with some aspect of change, separation, loss or grief through small group discussions and activities with a Seasons for Growth Companion. If you would like your child to participate in the program this year, please see the attached nomination form. It is recommended that students who participated last year take a break this year and complete the next level program in 2024.  For more information please contact Mrs Skye McPadden (skye.mcpadden@cg.catholic.edu.au)

Transport Canberra and City Services (TCCS) is undertaking an evaluation of the school active travel programs, including the Ride or Walk to School, Active Streets for Schools and School Crossing Supervisor programs.

As part of the evaluation, TCCS is requesting school communities to complete a short online survey about their travel habits to and from school. The survey can be accessed through this link or via the QR code below.

TCCS has engaged First Person Consulting (FPC) – a Melbourne-based evaluation consultancy – to manage the evaluation and the surveys. FPC will not be collecting any identifiable information from anyone completing the survey, and all responses will be kept confidential and anonymous.

TCCS appreciates your support to evaluate these programs to continue to enhance the program offerings to schools.

Parent Talk newsletter is distributed electronically twice a term by the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT (CCSP).  The newsletter aims to provide parents and carers with relevant and timely information about developments in education, wellbeing, CCSP advocacy program and significant Catholic news and events.  Find the latest online newsletter here.

We encourage families to subscribe to the newsletter to keep up to date with the latest information from CCSP.

For further information please contact Sarah Rose, Family Engagement Officer on Sarah.Rose@cg.catholic.edu.au or 0447 888 326 or Service Area Leader, Tim Elliott on Tim.Elliott@cg.catholic.edu.au or 0409 042 130.