Dear Parents and Carers,

At ACT Catholic Primary School’s Principal Meetings there is always much discussion about parent engagement and creating a new understanding of what that looks like in a primary school’s context, with the regular Facebook post that does the rounds often shared;

For me this quote highlights the statistic that children spend only 15% of their time at school and how vital the relationship between home and school is. Debbie Pushor, Professor of Education at the University of Saskatchewan and a leading expert in the area, states ‘how it’s done doesn’t matter, it’s the sense of the commitment to each other, then the rest will come’. For so long in schools we have been good at parent involvement, yet there is a distinct difference between engagement and involvement. The best example of the difference is the idea that if a year 7 student can do the job, that’s involvement, whilst anything that involves a child’s education and learning is engagement.

At St Clare of Assisi, we do want to engage parents and we have the best intentions, but realistically it can sometimes get lost, especially as a result of COVID. We are always looking for new ways to increase parent engagement, such as through Three Way Conferences and learning events. We are aware that majority of our parents work and are often unable to attend school events during the day, so are always looking for other ways for parents to be engaged, meet with teachers, other families and visit classrooms. If there are ways you think we can engage parents further, please feel free to email me rachel.smith@cg.catholic.edu.au

I will finish with the words of Pope Francis ‘education is a family matter, and rather than contradicting one another, parents and teachers must collaborate openly and constructively to form children in core values which enable them to face modern challenges’.

Thank you for your ongoing care and partnership in your child’s learning.

God bless.

Rachel Smith

Principal

Principal’s Notes

Year Six Camp

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend camp with our Year Six students and staff at Jindabyne Sport and Rec Camp. I believe camp is a wonderful opportunity for our students to grow and flourish as they challenge themselves to try new things. I thank the students for their fantastic behaviour and enthusiasm whilst on camp, and the staff for their planning and for ensuring every student’s need were met during their camp time. I also thank the staff for giving up time with their families to attend camp with the students. Please check out our school Facebook page for photos of the camp.

Athletics Carnival

As you read this, we will be attending the Athletics Carnival at Phillip Oval. Thank you to all staff for their organisation of this event. Thank you to those parents and carers who volunteered to help us on the day. We look forward to a wonderful day at our new venue.

Election Day Polling Booth

This Saturday, 21 May 2022, St Clare of Assisi will be a polling station. The Community Council will be holding a sausage sizzle to ensure you can snag your democracy sausage (or bacon and egg roll for the earlier morning run). If you can volunteer and help with the BBQ, please make contact at scaparentnetwork@outlook.com.au

Rugging Up in the Cold

We encourage a lot of play outside and during winter it can be quite cold. We encourage all of our students to dress with plenty of layers. Our uniform lends itself very easily to this.

Singlets, thermals or other simple long sleeve underclothes are encouraged under the shirt to add that extra layer. Our uniform policy then outlines:

Maroon jumper: worn over the shirt and dress. As it’s harder to take off it can be used inside and outside to keep warm,

Blue polar fleece jacket: to be worn when going outside over the maroon jumper and generally taken off in the classroom while the heater is operating,

Beanies/Scarves/Mittens: are very acceptable and preferably navy blue.

Sport uniform: If an extra layer is required then a simple navy blue top underneath the polo short is acceptable.

Kinder 2023 Enrolments Close on 27^th May

We will be holding our second open event this afternoon, Wednesday 18^th May 4.30pm – 5.30pm. Please spread the word amongst family and friends, reminding those with preschoolers that enrolments close on Friday 27^th May.

Reconciliation Day Public Holiday

On Monday 30^th May, the ACT will celebrate Reconciliation Day with a public holiday. As it is a public holiday, all schools in the ACT will be closed on that day. A reminder that Friday 27^th May, is the first of our two Pupil Free Days this term.