FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear SCA families,
This week we celebrate the feasts of St Mary MacKillop of the Cross on Thursday 8th August and St Clare of Assisi on Sunday 11th August. In anticipation of the Feast of St Clare we will celebrate Feast Week this week. We acknowledge and celebrate 25 year of excellence in education in the Lanyon Valley.
St Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne in 1842. She died in Sydney on this day in 1909. Mary took the religious name Mary of the Cross. Responding to the isolation of colonial families, she pioneered a new form of religious life to provide education for their children. She and her sisters shared the life of the poor and the itinerant, offering special care to women and children. Remembered for her eagerness to discover God’s will in all things, for her charity and for her abiding trust in God’s providence.
Mary MacKillop was a truly inspirational Australian who lived her life for the poor and needy – for those whom society rejected. Mary made a tremendous contribution to education in Australia by setting up many schools in the towns and in the outback of this land. She chose a life of poverty and simplicity.
“Never see a need without doing something about it. (1871)
St Clare is special to us all. She was a woman of deep faith and a strong prayer life. She would spend many hours of the night in prayer to open her heart to the Lord and gather in silence the words of love from the Lord. Many times, during her prayer time, one could find her covered with tears upon experiencing the great joy of adoration and presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. Her life is a model for us to follow. Her ultimate faith in the Lord helps us to grow and shine our light of faith on the world.
Be the Light
ST CLARE OF ASSISI FEAST WEEK
We will be celebrating throughout the week with classroom activities and a special Feast Day Lunch, culminating on Friday with a whole school Feast Day Mass at Holy Family Church in Gowrie. All parents are invited to attend. Please get on to schoolszine to acknowledge your child’s permission for bus travel. On Friday night we dine and dance the night away at the 25th Anniversary Dinner.
GRANDPARENTS DAY
Thank you to the many grandparents who joined us last Friday for our annual event.
Many grandparents and special friends spent the middle session visiting classrooms, reading books, completing activities, going on tours and sharing a morning tea. Special thanks to Mrs Karen Snowball and Mrs Karen Haines and all the staff for the work and preparation that went into ensuring the success of the day. It was lovely having a chat with many of our guests, enjoying their company and listening to the many positive comments they had about the school, their teachers and the great work being done by their grandchildren.
WALKATHON
This week we will launch our fundraiser, the Walkathon. It is the only fundraiser we will have this year as we hosted the Catholic Schools Soccer Carnival and the Fete will happen again in 2020. Please save the date for this year’s walkathon as Friday 27th September in Week 10 Term 3. The Walkathon gives all families a great opportunity to support the school by raising money to improve school facilities. Relations, friends, neighbours or businesses are all great sources of sponsorship! Proceeds of past walkathons have seen major improvements to our school and all of these have been of direct benefit to your children.
More information is going home today with your child/ren. This year we will have an added option of sponsorship payments made via Qkr although cash sponsorship payment can still be made. Please get on board to support our only fundraiser for 2019.
ANNUAL SATISFACTION SURVEY
An annual satisfaction survey of parents, students and staff will be conducted on behalf of all Catholic schools in the Diocese this term. The surveys are designed to gather feedback from parents, staff and students about our school and will be used to inform school improvement. Responses are confidential and individuals can not be identified.
The surveys close on 9 August 2019, there is still time to complete the survey:
https://www.research.net/r/stclareofassisiparent2019
Hats On
Though it’s still cold, the UV is on the increase so we remind you of the School policy regarding exposure to the sun: Simply stated, from August until May, there is a ‘No Hat – No Play’ policy. Therefore, from next Monday (5th August) all children must wear their school uniform hats while outside during recess and lunch.
Learning Journey
We are looking forward to opening our school on Tuesday 20 August and the children would love to show you their classroom. We will welcome any and all visitors from 3.30 until 6.00pm.
It was once said…
“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God's compassionate love for others.” ~ Clare of Assisi
Enjoy the week ahead.
Regards,
Transport Canberra and Access Canberra have provided schools with the following information to remind families of the need to park safely around schools.
Safe parking behaviours
Unsafe driving and parking behaviours increase the potential road safety risk for children around schools. Road safety is a shared responsibility, it is important the road rules are followed near our school to ensure the entire school community feels safe. Please remember children are more at risk than adults around schools because they are smaller and less visible to drivers. They are also less predictable and less experienced, which makes them more likely to make errors of judgement. Failing to follow simple road rules like parking on the verge, in no stopping zones, in bus stops, near children’s crossings, on footpaths or across driveways increases the risk to children around schools.
Please do the right thing to create a safe environment around our school.
Parking Operations use a Licence Plate Recognition vehicle (or electronic chalking), which regularly patrols school environments to increase safety for children. Motorists that commit an offence will receive their infringement notice in the mail (rather than on their windscreen) 5-7 days after the offence. While the school can become congested during the peak times, illegal parking should be avoided at all times as it creates an unsafe environment for children and local residents. Parents are welcome to park on side streets around the school, but please remember to park legally. Infringements for parking on nature strips, footpaths, verges, street corners and near children’s crossings start from $114.
More information is available on the Transport Canberra website to promote safe behaviours around schools. Please help to make our school community safe.