Dear SCA Families,

The Easter eggs on the supermarket shelves have been on display for more than a month now, so Easter must be soon, right?  Well, not quite yet. Lent has more than 5 weeks to go, so I share with you the following reflection.

Jesus retreated into the wilderness and fasted for forty days to prepare for his ministry. It was for him a time of contemplation, reflection, and preparation. By observing Lent, Christians join Jesus on his retreat.

Lent consists of the forty days before Easter. I didn’t know until recently that we skip over the Sundays when we count the days of Lent, because Sunday is always the joyful celebration of the Resurrection.

Early societies relied on wood fires for heating and cooking, which meant that keeping ashes under control was a major task. Then as now, if a person was preoccupied with something serious, they didn’t always tend to the housekeeping (at least that’s my excuse) — it’s the least of their concerns. Imagine that there is a death in the family. A friend stopping by to pay their respects might gently say, “Did you know you have ashes on your face?”

So ashes became a sign of remorse, repentance, and mourning. Today someone might wear a black armband to signify they are in mourning; back then people put ashes on their foreheads.

During Lent, ancient Christians mourned their sins and repented, so it was appropriate to show their sincerity by having ashes on their foreheads. The custom has persisted in the Church as society has changed around us. It is most appropriate that, when we commenced Lent last week on Ash Wednesday, we began a period of reflection, self-examination, and spiritual redirection.

Welcome

We offer a warm SCA welcome to our newest member of staff, Miss Bri O’Keeffe, who is teaching 4 Green.

Strategic Planning

We have commenced work on drafting a new strategic plan for SCA, to build on our work from previous years. Our present Annual Improvement Plan identifies three key improvement goals:

1. That every student is a competent reader
2. High impact teaching practice is visible in every classroom
3. Creating a religiously literate school.

We will work with the Community Council and Staff to produce a well-informed, holistic roadmap for the school, providing a framework and accountability for the next three years. We will work with the guidance of Tim Smith, our CE Performance Improvement Leader, to follow a process that is genuinely inclusive, involving not just the Leadership but all of the school’s stakeholders – staff, parents and students.

Jewellery and Hair

To work effectively as partners, we respectfully ask parents to ensure each child follows the school guidelines, as documented on our website, in relation to jewellery and hair:

• No jewellery may be worn other than small, plain (silver or gold, no colour) ear studs, a watch and medical alert identification.
  In some cases the wearing of small, plain sleepers may be permitted If there is a health reason. Only one stud or sleeper per ear (i.e. earlobe)
• Hair should be clean and neat. A student’s hair should be cut off their face and, if longer than shoulder length, it must be tied back in an appropriate school coloured band. Hair should also be of natural colour and extreme haircuts are not allowed. Rats tails, dreadlocks and geometric shapes cut into the hair are not permitted.

Year 6 Camp

Congratulations to each and every Year 6 student for your participation, cooperation and team work shown in Jindabyne on your camp last week. It was a pleasure to spend the time with you. Thanks to Mrs Adams, Miss Warren, Mr Purcell, Mrs Philippa and Mrs Reed for giving of your time to ensure the children had a great time.

Fence, and closed gates

Our fence is certainly not to keep our families away. It is to ensure a safe environment for all in our community. Visitors are welcome, but we need to know, especially in case of emergency, exactly who is on the school grounds. If visiting, please sign in via the Front Office while saying “g’day” to our friendly office team. We also have a couple of children who need the fence to keep them from going astray and into danger.

Sunsmart

You are no doubt aware of our “no hat, no play” policy which is in place for most of the year. We also take other measures to ensure our school is sunsmart:

• Children eat (recess and lunch) under shelter
• Movement between classes is under shelter
• Outdoor assemblies are under shelter
• Children are encouraged to bring and use sun screen (we cannot provide it for all, as some children are allergic to specific products)
• Sporting activities are moved to cooler parts of the day when extremely hot
• Children are allowed to wear sunglasses at school
• Playground equipment is covered and inside areas are provided for use during lunch time

Swimming Carnival and Water Fun Day

The Swimming Carnival (Years 3 – 6) is at Queanbeyan Pool tomorrow (2^nd March) with the first 50m+ competition races starting around 9:30am. The 15m races will be hopefully starting some time around 12:00pm. Please come along to help out or support your children on this fun day.

Infants parents are reminded of the Water Fun day here at school. Please ensure appropriate clothing (see previous notes) is worn and a towel and thongs are recommended. 

Facebook

Please follow us on Facebook. We use it to supplement our other communication methods (newsletter, COMPASS, Notes, Meetings, emails etc). Search for @scaconder on Facebook

While the Cat’s Away…

I will be away from school next Wednesday for a CECG Leaders’ Day and then Thursday and Friday while I attend the annual Archdiocesan Principals’ Retreat. During my absence Mrs Jo Reed will be in charge.

It was once said…

Blessings to you and your family.

Matt Egan-Richards

Principal

St Clare of Assisi’s Library plays a significant role in the life of students. Amongst the comfortable couches, reading pods and soft carpets, students of all ages can be found with their eyeballs glued to the pages of the various novels that fill the bookshelves around them. It gives them the unique opportunity of being transported to another world, one filled with magic and imagination, one that doesn’t involve the blue light of a screen.

However, in the age of digital media, sometimes this enrichment ends outside of school time hours. Many children have become physically attached to their tablet, laptop, or home television from the moment they leave the school yards. We are committed to ensuring our students do not fall into the trap of the increasingly enticing and under stimulating content that may regress both their education and emotional sensitivity.

International studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have concluded that children who spent two hours on non-educational screen time scored significantly lower in both language and thinking tests. Contrastingly, those who spent the same time reading, scored astoundingly higher in cognitive development, social and cultural perception, and growth of empathetic and emotional aptitude.

Our library offers a safe and comfortable space for students to develop these lifelong skills. Outside of the teaching staff, parents too are in a great position to encourage reading habits in their children. For our younger students, stories read at bedtime by parents may include ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’, ‘Just So Stories’, ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’, and ‘The Giving Tree’ – all of which are wonderfully sweet stories that include values such as friendship and kindness. For our older students, authors such as Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll, C. S. Lewis, and Jeff Kinney are highly recommended for their exciting imagery and inventiveness that will take our children on an immersive and enchanting adventure. Katherine Austin, our wonderful Librarian is always available to help your children pick quality texts in which they can be transported to another time, place and world.

There are many wonderful sources of education that can be found online and on television and children, like us, sometimes need to switch off for a bit and have some downtime. Outside of this time, St Clare of Assisi encourages us all to continue our lifelong learning through the wondrous joys of reading.

Yours in Faith,

Jo Reed

Assistant Principal (Acting)

During Lent, we focus on the love of Jesus and the sacrifice He makes for us through the Crucifixion. Fr Namora celebrated Mass with the Year 5 students last week, where he reflected on how often we take time to see the greatness of God’s love in our own lives. He challenged the students to look at themselves in the mirror each day and tell themselves how ‘beautiful and wonderful’ they are – a good challenge for us all!

Confirmation: Thank you to all those who have enrolled in the Sacrament of Confirmation. Two important dates for families that are coming up are:

Parent Formation Session:

Option 1: Wednesday 15^th March, 6pm

Option 2: Thursday 16^th March, 6pm

Confirmation Commitment Masses (Families must attend 1)

Sat/Sun 18/19 March

Sat/Sun 25/26 March

Harmony Day: We look forward to recognising Harmony Day at SCA on Wednesday 22 March. On this day, students will be encouraged to wear the colour orange or dress in clothing that represents their family's culture. Please see the flyer with more information below!

Lenten Reconciliation: As part of your personal Lenten preparation, you may wish to attend Reconciliation. The Corpus Christi Parish offers Reconciliation at Holy Family Church on Saturdays 10-10:30am, or 5-5:30pm then again on Sundays 5-5:30pm. It is no problem if you haven’t been for a while, our priests will kindly walk you through the process again.

As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions

Kind regards

Rachel Kennedy

Religious Education Coordinator

Congratulations to the children who will be awarded white cards at the 8.45am Friday Morning assembly

SAVE THE DATE

Tuesday 14 March 2023

Please do not make any appointments on this day, as make up class photos are not taken for absent children.

Full school uniform to be worn, no sports uniforms.

Last week your child should have taken home a photo envelope for school photo day; please check their school bag. If you have not received one please contact the Front Office.

SIBLING PHOTO FORMS can be collected at the Front Office.

Please email the office if you would like a form sent home or alternatively you or your child can collect an envelope from the office.

Any questions please do not hesitate to email sca@cg.catholic.edu.au or phone 6294 1860

A big thank you to the volunteers on Tuesday and Wednesday that allowed for the canteen to have counter sales for the children. The kids love having the canteen back open at the breaks!

If you would like to volunteer please just drop in and see Michelle at the Canteen or email michelle.wood@cg.catholic.edu.au  Everyone is always welcome and greatly appreciated.

Mums, Dads, Grandparents, Carers everybody is welcome. Babies in prams, toddlers and younger siblings are more than welcome!! 

Your children are in safe hands!

The SCA Staff participated in a CPR course run by ACTWELL. As you can see by our photos, they all passed with flying colours!

The Staff learned and refined their CPR skills in line with the Australian Resuscitation Council guidelines. This included using an automated external defibrillator (AED), how to rotate first aiders with minimal interruptions to compressions, and what to do if the casualty regurgitates or vomits. The course also covered conveying accurate incident details when handing the casualty over to emergency services.

The Lost Property bins are again getting very full. If your child has lost a uniform, jumper, hat, shoe, drink bottle or lunch box please direct them to the Lost Property Bins which are beside the canteen counter.

Just a reminder to please clearly label school clothing (especially before the
swimming carnival). Many items that end up in lost property are unmarked.

• Week 8 and 10 (Wednesday) this term.

• Week 3 (Tuesday) and Week 8 and 10 (Wednesday) of Term 2,3 and 4.

• All labelled items will be returned to the children. Unlabelled clothing will be given to the clothing pool or donated to Vinnies.

This year we have many events that require parent assistance. To volunteer in a classroom, in the canteen or at a school event such as carnivals or fete, you must hold a current Working With Vunerable People (WWVP) card. A volunteer WWVP is free. 

The link below will take you to the WWVP application.

https://mydigitalaccount.force.com/WWVPNDIS/s/wwvp-ndis-new-application-v2

The kids love seeing you there!

Congratulations to Dakota O, Jasmine S, Darren L and Alex C who recently represented the ACT Cougars in the NSW State Cup Tournament in Sydney and Coffs Harbour, February 2023.

WELL DONE!