Dear SCA families,

I have decided this year to spend more time on my mountain bike. Last year I found life was too “busy” (COVID may have had something to do with that) for this great love of mine.

My plan is every Thursday to head straight to Mount Stromlo after school and hit the trails. Last Thursday I was on my trusty Trek by 4.30. ABC Switchbacks, Skyline, Trebuchet, Willow’s Loop, Double Dissolution, Breakout and Old Duffy Decent were my trails of choice. The climbs were slow, but the descents were a lot of fun. (One rabbit I encountered might be thinking otherwise!) After a busy day at school I enjoyed the tranquillity of the bush surrounds and the opportunity to be by myself.

With Lent starting today we might all like to make some time each week for the sake of our spiritual lives. In this season we have a wonderful opportunity to step back and take a long, hard look at our lives, both personal and communal. It can be a time of review, a time for evaluation of our relationship with our God.

Choosing to spend time daily in reflection on our lives and discovering where God is in our lives, brings us nourishment as well as challenges. What a far cry from the ‘giving up’ of some favourite food or pastime which was the sole focus of my childhood Lenten experiences! This alternative Lenten habit can be a new beginning, and a life-giving experience.

I haven’t been able to verify it, but I am told Mother Theresa had a business card, on which was printed:

“The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service.”

My prayer for us all this Lent is that we can make the time for silence in our lives (even if it is on your mountain bike).

Welcome

We warmly welcome to SCA Miss Deanne D’Ambrosio who will be teaching 3 Yellow, along with Mrs Jo Thomson.

Year 6 Camp

Plans are well underway for our Year 6 Camp at Narrabeen in 2 weeks’ time. As you could imagine, our usual risk management and safety plans have been supplemented by COVID safe plans from us, the camp provider and the transport company. After missing out on Year 5 camp last year, the students are looking forward to it with great excitement.

We will continue to take a risk-adverse approach to all activities, and will closely adhere to all health and safety guidelines from ACT and NSW Health authorities. It’s reassuring also, that while at camp, our students and staff do not interact with any members of the public. I am excited and looking forward to spending the time, along with the rest of the Year 6 teachers, with our student leaders.

Student Leaders

Our Year 6 students spent last Wednesday reflecting on what it means to be a leader, in particular, what lessons Jesus taught us about leadership.

This Friday we commission our Year 6 students as leaders in our school, and wish them every blessing for a wonderful final year of primary school.

Opening Mass

Sadly, we do not have the space to invite parents to attend our opening Mass this Friday. Please know that we will be praying for all in our community, especially all of our parents who do so much to support our students and school.

Year 6 SCA News and Video Images

Each week our Year 6 students publish an online SCA news report. It’s a great initiative by the teachers, and the children have already commenced doing a great job. Though the link is only shared in our community, it is on a public website.

They will occasionally speak with and record other children across the school. They will, though, never use a child’s last name or other personal identifying details in the SCA News. If you have concerns about this, or would like to find out more, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at school.

Swimming Carnival

The Swimming Carnival at Queanbeyan Pool is on next Thursday (25^th February) with the first 50m+ competition races starting around 9:30am. The 15m races will be hopefully starting some time around 12:00pm. Though parents may attend, the COVID safe guidelines of Queanbeyan Pool will apply. To ensure we are compliant, parents will be asked to not enter the student area, but instead remain in the spectator designated zone.

Permission notes must be returned this week.

Outside of School Hours Care

Have you enrolled your child for 2021? We are unable to accept children in care unless you have completed and returned the documentation for this year.

The school offers Before & After school care via the SCA OSHC program. If you are interested in using this service please contact OSHC directly, on 6294 8004, email sca.oshc@cg.catholic.edu.au or call our Front Office.

We provide this facility for working parents. Therefore, there should be no child dropped off to school before 8:30am, nor left at school after 3:20pm. Your child is not supervised before or after these times and dropping them off before this time or not collecting them leaves your children in a potentially dangerous situation. This is done entirely at your own risk.

Staff may be on site early for work purposes, or there may be no staff on site. Supervision of students is a carefully managed arrangement between the school and the staff. It is not fair to expect staff to supervise students before official work hours commence. Your child’s best interests are paramount to us all. We provide OSHC to ensure these interests are met safely.

Care Meals

We have a number of families in our community who would benefit from a care meal and our freezer is empty. It would be much appreciated if you could provide a clearly labelled care meal with ingredients in a disposable container for our freezer. Thank you in anticipation.

It was once said…

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.   

- Confucius

Blessings to you and your family.

Principal