Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we were excited to welcome back Mrs Hughes after her recent surgery. Mrs Hughes looks well rested and very ready to take on her multiple teaching roles once again. Please continue to keep Mrs Wilson in your prayers. We hope that it won’t be too long until she is also back with us again too. A huge thank you to Mrs Denise Reardon and Miss Hannah Baron, who have done such a wonderful job supporting our students while our teachers have been absent.

ARCHDIOCESAN SWIMMING CARNIVAL:

Congratulations to all of the students who represented us at the Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival in Boorowa yesterday. From all reports it was a fabulous day and lots of new PB’s attained. Congratulation to all our swimmers on giving their best in the pool as are very proud of the efforts of all our swimmers.

LIFE EDUCATION VAN VISITS-TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY:

The Life Education Van visits began today with Year 4/5 and K/1 being the first classes to attend the education program and meet up with their friend Healthy Harold! Tomorrow the rest of the classes will also get the same opportunity. Pleases see times and topics below. The students will be provided with a workbook that will support their PD/Health units while exploring more about the topic they were introduced to during their visit.

LACROSSE SPORT: Our swimming program has now concluded. All students K-6 will now be participating in the Lacrosse Sport program run by Gecko Sports. Please remember our SPORT Day has now changed to TUESDAY for the next five weeks. Today’s Lacrosse lessons were very much enjoyed by all of our students.

STEPH COOKE MP VISIT: MEMBER FOR COOTAMUNDRA

Last week we were very privileged to have Steph Cooke, MP visit our school. Steph’s main reason for a visit was to present Taite Johnson with his award after he was named one of the winners of a Vegemite drawing competition, celebrating Vegemite’s 100^th birthday at the end of last year. Taite was presented with his very own jar of Vegemite with his name on it as well as some lovely art and craft materials. Congratulations Taite!

Steph also took time out to meet with the School Captains and Year 6 leaders, to discuss leadership. During the discussion Steph noticed the students’ beaded bracelets and commented on them. Dylan Ryder spent his lunchtime beading time making a bracelet for Steph with the word ‘humble’ in lettering, as he felt that reflected Steph as a leader. A photo was sent off to Steph who was very taken by the beautiful bracelet. She is keen to come back soon for another visit to accept the beautiful gift from Dylan. Well done Dylan!

PRINCIPAL’S RETREAT:

I will be away this week attending the annual Principal Retreat in Bowral. Mrs Kate Howe will be Acting Principal during this time. I am very grateful to Mrs Howe for stepping up into this role while also continuing in her roles as teacher and REC.

Best wishes for the week ahead.

Christine Baron

Principal

Altar Serving

The latest Altar Serving roster was sent home last week for you to place onto the fridge for easy access. I want to say thank you for the amazing families who have already arranged swaps as their allocated date was not convenient for their families. Thank you for being so responsible and easy to work with. Compiling rosters is never an easy task, however you as families are always so very helpful in reorganising when necessary.

If possible, could you please advise Jackie in the Office or myself, if a swap has been arranged so we can add this to our School Newsletter.

Mass this Friday

This Friday Year 4/5 and Mr Makeham, will present our School Mass. The theme of almsgiving has been chosen. During Lent we are encouraged to give to those who are less fortunate than ourselves. The readings and prayers of the Mass will remind us of our Christian duties.

Project Compassion

Third Week of Lent (Week beginning Monday 4 March)

Samoa may be a country surrounded by water, but access to clean drinking water is scarce in some areas, with many families facing extreme hardship as a result. Leaia lives with her five children, husband, brother and sister-in-law on the island of Upolu in Samoa. Not having access to a reliable source of clean water caused Leaia a lot of worry. Their home is not connected to a piped water system, so they had to rely solely on rainwater collected in old fridges. When their water ran out, Leaia had to walk with her young children to collect water in buckets and containers from a neighbour down the street. With the support of Caritas Australia's local partner, Caritas Samoa, a water tank was installed at Leaia's home. She and her family now have a steady supply of clean drinking water at home. Next year, they will also have a toilet built, with the support of Caritas Samoa, which will further improve their health and living conditions. “We are very thankful and grateful for the water tank. It has helped us so much and made our daily life easier,” Leaia said. Watch Leaia’s Story Please donate to Project Compassion. Together, we can help vulnerable communities face their challenges today and build a better tomorrow for all future generations. You can donate through Project Compassion donation boxes, online by visiting caritas.org.au/project-compassion or by calling 1800 024 413. Photo: Laura Womersley/Caritas Australia.

For decades, Project Compassion has been the heart and soul of Caritas Australia and has touched the lives of so many. It brings us closer as a community, as an organisation and ultimately, as a human family.

Once again, the theme for Project Compassion is ‘For all future generations.’ Inspired by the Bible’s story of the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-20), this theme reminds us that the good that we do today will create a lasting impact for generations to come.

Family Mass

An invitation has been set home inviting all our families to a special Family Mass on 16^th March at 6 pm, to honour our Patron Saint, St Patrick.

We would love to make this a special occasion and involve as many families as we can. Everyone is most welcome to come along and be part of this Family Mass. Dress in your green clothes and celebrate our ‘Patron Saint’, St Patrick.

Children / or families that are willing to assist in the Mass with Readings, Prayers of the Faithful, Offertory, Choir are asked to complete the slip on the invitation and return it to Mrs. Howe by Thursday 7^th March.

Special dates leading up to Easter.

24^th March – Palm Sunday Mass 6 pm

28^th March – Holy Thursday Mass 7 pm

29^th March – Good Friday Stations of the Cross 10 am and Passion of the Lord 3 pm

30^th March – Holy Saturday – Easter Vigil Mass 6 pm

• We will be asking for Alter Servers for all these ceremonies. If you can assist, please let me know.

Kate Howe REC

Saturday 9th of March 

Where: Carberry Park 

Time: 9.00am - 2.00pm 

Gundagai Visitor Infomation Centre will be holding their first Gundagai Producers Market for 2024 on this Saturday. 

Drop in and support the amazing local producers and grab some goodies.  Stallholder applications to attend this market are available via the Visitor Centre Website:  https://www.visitgundagai.com.au/gundagai-producers-market 

Some very excited students visited the Life Education Van today! Topics for the visits are below:

Tuesday 5 March:

• 11.30-1.00pm: Year 4/5-BCyberwise
• 2.00-3.00pm: Year K/1-Harold’s Friends

Wednesday 6 March:

• 9.30-11.00am Year 3-Friends and Feelings
• 11.30-1.00pm: Year 6-Take a Breath
• 2.00-3.00pm: Year 2-Growing Friends

A huge thank you to Miss Baron and the Clever Creators for spending their lunch times giving students the opportunity to create beautiful, beaded bracelets. The activity has been very popular with most students participating across the two weeks. Special thanks to Miss Baron for supplying all the materials needed to create the bracelets. Library lunchtime with Miss Hughes will resume again this week.

Just a reminder to our Kindergarten class that this will be the first full week of learning.  No More Kinder "Rest Days" 

Family Connect and Support connects families with the right services and support to help them overcome challenges they may be facing. 

This may include:

• Parenting challenges
• Financial stress
• Substance abuse 
• Family breakdown
• Housing issues
• Mental health
• Domestic and family violence

The service is funded by the NSW government, and is free and voluntary.

54 reasons, the name Save the Children’s work here in Australia is delivered under, provides Family Connect and Support services in Murrumbidgee including the regional centres of Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga and Griffith. Our team consists of six highly skilled social workers and senior practitioners who can help families access the support they need to make positive changes. 

Please use the link provided if you would like to find out more about this great support for families, parents and children.

https://www.savethechildren.org.au/our-work/our-programs/australia/family-support-and-connect

Life Education Van Visits

St Patrick’s Day Celebrations-Friday 15 March (Week 7)

St Patrick's Family Mass - Saturday 16th March 6pm

NAPLAN Years 3 and 5 - Monday 18 March to Friday 22 March (Week 8)

• Harmony Day-Friday 22 March
• Good Friday-Friday 29 March
• Easter Sunday-Sunday 31 March
• Easter Monday-Monday 1 April.
• St Patrick’s Cross Country-Thursday 4 April (Week 10)
• Term 1 concludes-Friday 12 April

Thank you to parent’s who have nominated students for the Netball/Soccer and Rugby Gala Days.

The Soccer Gala Day will be held THIS Thursday 7 March at the Tumut Bull Paddock. Mr Makeham will be in charge on the day. Parents are asked to please provide transport for their children to attend the Gala Day or contact another parent for assistance.

Working With Children Checks (WWCC) are now mandatory for all parents who volunteer on a regular basis for school activities. Volunteers who volunteer more than five days in a calendar year are now required by law to have a WWCC (Volunteer) clearance. This is will include all our canteen workers and anyone who volunteers on a regular basis. If you are rostered on our St Patrick’s Tuckshop or a regular volunteer, could you please go to the https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-for-a-working-with-children-check and apply for a WWCC for Volunteers. There is NO cost involved.

Once you have obtained the WWCC (Volunteer) certificate, could you please present it to the front office so that it can be verified. As this is a new requirement, we are asking all tuckshop volunteers to have it completed by Friday 12 April (end of Term 1). Thank you to all our wonderful parent volunteers, for your continued support of our school, as we would be unable to conduct many school activities without you. It is greatly appreciated.

Years 3 and 5 will be completing their NAPLAN assessment from Monday 18 March through to Friday 22 March (Week 8). It is important that all Year 3 and 5 students are here at school during that week.

The assessments will be completed on the following days:

Monday 18 March-Writing

Tuesday 19 March-Reading

Wednesday 20 March-Language Conventions

Thursday 21 March-Numeracy

Friday 22 March-Catch Up Day

Congratulations to our Week 5 Student of the Month and Principal's Awards

Kindergarten - Anna Nicholls 

Year 1 - Hamish Tobin 

Year 2 - Imogen Graham 

Year 3 - Lane Johnson 

Year 4 - Leila Gaskin 

Year 5 - Eliza Graham 

Year 6 - Emily Ryan (Absent) 

Principal's Awards (week 5) 

Chase Robinson, RV Calub, Pippi Nicholls 

Congratulations to our Week 4 and Week 5 Class Awards 

Friday 23rd February (Week 4) 

Kindergarten - Tannah Elliott for asking great questions in class discussions - Always keen to learn

Year 1 - Charlston Rizalde  for doing well with number work in Maths 

Year 2 - Claudia Worldon fo rhaving a go and working independently

Year 3 - Lilly Ferguson for showing her happy and positive attitude 

Year 4 - Mackenzie Little for perserverance when things get tough 

Year 5 - Oliver Crowe for an outstanding start to 2024

Year 6 - Taite Johnson for listening carefully and working with diligence

Friday 1st March (Week 5) 

Kindergarten - Lilly Barton for trying hard with her writing 

Year 1 - Olivia Smart for showing a responsible attitude towards all classwork

Year 2 - Toby Nicholls for his application to his learning especially in Maths 

Year 3 - Kingsley McDonnell for excellent class participation 

Year 4 - Charlie Ryder for an improved effort and application to learning 

Year 5 - Conor Cotterill for great participation in Maths tasks

Year 5 - Indi Cole for consistent high standards

Year 6 - Charlie Brown for giving 100% in core activities 

Year 6 - Harry Peterson for great participation in class discussions

Congratulations to our WildCat Awards for Week 4 and Week 5 

RESPONSIBLE - Reuben Smart, Sam Hufton, Harley Rose, Hamish Tobin, Charlotte Kennedy, Chelsea Crowe, Anna Nicholls, Harry Ryder, Pippi Nicholls, Gus Hufton, Taite Johnson 

RESPECT - Molly Lott, Max Zhu, RV Calub, Mackenzie Little, Eliza Graham, Kaydee Smith, Sarah Gailey, Lilly Ferguson x 2, Indi Cole 

SAFE - Parker Melksham, Harley Rose 

Tune into "Sounds of the Mountains" radio station (FM94.1) every Wednesday at 2.15pm to hear about what our classes and school has been up to over the week. Catch up with our Yr 6 leaders as they share our weekly news report:

Week 10 (3rd April) - Chase Robinson and Andrew Cole 

Week 11 (10th April) - Emma Ferguson and Emily Ryan

Sending out a Birthday Cheer to the following students & staff who have recently celebrated birthdays

21st February - Michael Winters 

22nd February - Gus Hufton 

26th February - Billy Eccleston, Max Zhu, Charlie Brown

1st March - Parker Melksham 

2nd March - Lane Johnson

Mr Makeham also celebrated a special birthday over the weekend