Dear Families,

This week is bookended by two Sunday’s where we celebrate and remember two important women in the history of the Church. Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast Day for Australia’s first Saint, Mary Mackillop of the Cross and this Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption.

St Mary Mackillop devoted her life to ensuring that even the poorest of children had access to an education with her first school, St Joseph’s at Penola in South Australia opening in 1866. I was fortunate enough to visit this little schoolroom built in a converted stable a few years ago. It was amazing to see how different, but also how similar Catholic Education is today when compared to that little school in a rural part of Australia. Many who are not Catholic, but who chose to send their children to Catholic schools, name one of the main reasons for choosing a Catholic school as being how welcoming we are and our sense of community. As humans we are drawn to be in community, to connect to others and to be known by others. When Mary Mackillop started the Sisters of St Joseph, and opened up her first school, she created a community where even the poorest in society felt a sense of belonging.

Greg Sheridan wrote a piece in The Weekend Australian titled “Time to reassess Mary, the first Christian”. In it he spoke about Mary’s absolute devotion to God, such that when the Archangel Gabriel came to tell her she would become pregnant with the Son of God, her response was “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.” He also discussed the tradition of Mary being the original source for Luke’s Gospel. That is not to say that Mary sat beside Luke as he wrote the Gospel since Luke’s Gospel was written well after her Assumption into Heaven, but that his Gospel was partly based on an oral tradition of stories told originally by some of the Apostles and Mary the mother of Jesus. Luke’s Gospel is often said to be focused on fellowship and community. It is certainly the warmest of all four Gospels and it probably most closely mirrors what we create in Catholic Schools. It is the only Gospel to have the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, one a parable told to teach us how to care for others, and another teaching us about belonging and forgiveness. These qualities of caring for others, belonging and forgiveness are key features of Catholic Schools.

So this week, we can think about how Mary, the Mother of Christ passed on this tradition of community, care and fellowship through the oral stories eventually recorded by Luke and how St Mary Mackillop of the Cross, continued this tradition by creating school communities where we care for others and people feel a sense of belonging. It is now our role to continue to maintain communities where all are welcome, where all are cared for and everyone can feel a sense of belonging.

Congratulations to the Rhodes Family 

Emily Rhodes and family welcomed a healthy baby girl, Harper Jane Rhodes, in July. Congratulations and best wishes to the Rhodes family.

God Bless

 
Leah Taylor
Principal

A Year 1 Excursion, has been planned for Friday, 13 August 2021.
We will be going on an excursion to the Royal Australian Mint and Questacon. 

Date:            Friday, 13 August 2021
Time:            9:00 AM to 2:45 PM
Venue:          Royal Australian Mint - Denison St, Deakin ACT 2600
                    and Questacon - King Edward Terrace, Parkes ACT 2600
Dress Code:  Sports Uniform

Please return consent forms to your child's teacher.

Science Week 2021
National Science Week runs from 14^th – 22^nd August this year. To celebrate Science Week, students will be joining together in multi-age groups for a trivia competition on Thursday 19^th August.

As all students are studying living things during their weekly science lessons, questions will be themed around this, and the science week theme of Food: Different by Design. We look forward to the chance join together and acknowledge this event.

Book Week 2021
Book Week is running during Week 7 this term, with the theme this year being Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds.

Book week is a time to celebrate books, and highlight the importance of reading. To acknowledge Book Week, students are invited to dress as their favourite book character on Wednesday 25^th August, with a parade happening during the morning session. Please make sure appropriate clothing and shoes are worn along side the costume. Please note that dressing up is optional, and students are able to wear their regular uniform.

In this current climate, no child is to attend school if they are showing any cold or
flu-like symptoms. They must remain at home, and stay away from school, until they are no longer showing symptoms or have attended a GP who has instructed that they are fit and safe to return.  If you child has vomiting or diarrhoea, please do not send them to school for at least 24 hours after the symptoms have ceased. 

As a school community we all understand the difficulties of having a sick child, but please do not send your child to school if they are ill or if they have not fully recovered from an illness.  Keeping a child at home, when they are not well, not only helps them recover more quickly with rest, but it also prevents the spread of illnesses in the school community.

Also, if contacted by the school, please pick up your child up as quickly as possible in order to reduce stress for your child.

The Beginning of August is Hats On For All of Us  
    
The beginning of August marks the start of the sun protection period for Canberra primary school settings, this is because we begin to witness daily UV levels climb to 3 and above every day, and whilst it may not be all day, it will be for part of the day in August ie lunchtime. ACT schools need to know what time to enforce sun protection each day and never rely on temperature to gauge sun protection times. 

Yes, August is still very cold in the nation's capital but it also signals Hats On Again for all Canberra primary schools and early childhood services.

STA hats are availble for purchase from the Front Office for $15 each.

• School Fees for Term 3
  School Fees for Term 3 have been sent and are due by Friday, 20 August 2021. 

• COMPASS Kiosk
  Please note that our Compass Kiosk has been installed.  This requires all parents/carers to sign their child/ren IN/OUT/LATE.

Please note that all students are required to be at school by 9am each day.  If you drop your child/ren off after 9am, please enter the Front Office to sign your child/ren in.  

Parents who have dropped their children off after 9am, and not signed their child/ren in late, will be asked to return to school to sign-in their child/ren via the Compass Kiosk at the Front Office.  This is a CE compliance requirement.

• Absentee Notifications
  Whilst we await the introduction of the Compass Parent Portal, it is preferable that Absentee Notifications be advised electronically as they are now required to be attached electronically.  Notifications can be sent via:

• • SZapp portal - Choose Absentee - see menu below.  Instructions on how to install SZapp can be found here.
  • Email the teacher
  • Email the office via office.staquinas@cg.catholic.edu.au

Thank you for your co-operation.

• Enter the School via the Front Office Only
  For the safety of students and staff, all parents/carers/visitors must enter the school via the Front Office only.  Please do not enter the school via any other door, even if it is for a short period of time to talk to a teacher, check lost property etc.  Our COVID requirements also require all visitors to the school to register with the Front Office and to Check In CBR App.
  
  

Community News is located on our website.

AUGUST 2021
Congratulations to the following students who will be celebrating their birthday this month:

Marlie H;  Erin H;  Samuel B;  Atticus W;  Mason M;  Oscar C;  Joshua L-B;  Ari U;  Frederick N;  Skylar F;  Matilda P;  Blayde O;  Liam B;  Zoey M;  Sophia H;  Eleni M;  Tyler E;  Lachlan B;  Summer P;  Tyler F;  Michael P;  Vrishab G;  Adeline B; Peyton H