Dear SCA Families,

With Remembrance Day coming next Monday I recalled a passage from a book I once read, “The Spirit of the Digger, Then and Now” by Patrick Lindsay which explores what it is that sets Australian soldiers apart.

Peter Cosgrove is an admired Australian who himself reflects the traits we admire in the Digger – courage, leadership, initiative and compassion. In the abovementioned book he is quoted as saying:

“I think we carry our national characteristics with us, we don’t subordinate any important element of the Australian character in the making and the life of a Digger. For example, we still very much have a sense of social justice which applies not just internally to the army but in our dealings with other people. So I would be amazed if Australian soldiers seeing people of other nations suffering hardship, which they do if they go to an area of operations, they will see people who are down and out, if this doesn’t strike a tremendous chord in the Digger’s heart”

On Monday we will pray in thanksgiving for the service and sacrifice of all who have worn an Australian uniform with pride and dedication. We will of course, also, pray for peace; for we know of the strife in many areas of our world today.

Strangers in the house!

For obvious reasons my wife and I always like to know who is in our house. Visitors are greeted at the front door and welcomed.

For the safety of your child, and the other 580 in the school, we also need to know who is in the school. Even if only visiting for a short time we require all visitors to sign in at the front office.

Did You Know…

Not only do your school fees (school levies) cover the cost of all classroom materials and learning resources; they also pay electricity, water, phone, cleaning, ISP costs, internet security, grounds and many other costs.

Please do all you can to get up to date with school fee payments. If you have any concerns regarding fees, please don’t hesitate to contact Jo McCarthy or me.

BYOiPad Program at SCA

I remember my Year 9 Maths teacher telling me we can’t use calculators at school because “when you’re an adult you won’t always have a calculator in your pocket”. Guess what Mr Norgate , in 2019 I always have a calculator in my pocket. (In fact my phone has more computing power than the whole school had back then!)

In 2019, students and teachers use ICT as an integral tool for learning. When students have a device for use in the classroom and at home, learning is improved in a number of subjects, including science, maths, and English. According to research by Michigan State University, “Students received more feedback on their writing, edited and revised their papers more often, drew on a wider range of resources to write, and published or shared their work with others more often” when provided with such access.

Since 2017 SCA has had a BYOiPad program in the upper grade, and this year it was extended to Year 4. We recently surveyed the Year 3 parents about their knowledge of the program, and invited them to attend an information evening (last night).

We received 45 responses (from 79 families) to the very brief survey and 9 parents attended the information evening.

Survey Results (Year 3 families):

Awareness of iPad program commencing in Year 4 – 56%

Likelihood of purchasing an iPad – Very likely 24%, Likely 33%, Wait till Year 5 31%, Unlikely 11%

The survey also asked for parents to share what they saw as both the benefits and potential pitfalls of the program. Mr Luke Brown and Mrs Priscilla Caragh addressed these issues at the meeting last night. If you would like more information, or to find out what you missed if you couldn’t make it, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher or either Mrs Caragh or Mr Brown.

To further support parents in encouraging appropriate use of ICT, we will provide online safety lessons for all Years 4-6 students early in the year. We also hope to run an information night on the same theme, for parents early in 2020.

Please, Please, Please…

For the safety of all, and because everyone’s time is important, please do NOT turn right when exiting the school carpark during peak times.

Please, Please, Please…

We have heard about unsafe behaviour of some of our children as they travel to and from school. If your child walks or rides, please emphasise with them the importance of:

• Travelling in pairs of groups
• Walking on footpaths (not roads)
• Being safe on bridges (staying on the right side of safety barriers)
• Using crossings or underpaths.

It was once said…

“Strong people don’t put others down… They lift them up.” ~ Michael P. Watson

Blessings to you and your family.

Matt Egan-Richards

Principal

National Prayer Campaign for the gift of rain, for people affected by drought, for support services.

Eternal God,

In wisdom and love you created our earth to sustain us and give us life.

We turn to you now in faith, hope and love, asking you to look with favour on our drought-stricken land, on our starving animals, on our failing crops.

Strengthen, sustain and give new heart to our farmers and to all who are affected by drought; be with those who support them.

In your loving providence, send abundant rain and restore our parched earth.

Father of all compassion, hear our prayer through Jesus Christ your Son, in whom the promise of new life has dawned, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life: Renew your faithful people; Renew the face of the earth.

Our Lady of the Southern Cross - Pray for us.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop - Pray for us.

St Clare of Assisi – Pray for us

Be the Light of… Leadership

Vision, Creativity, Innovation, Direction

Reconciliation Reminders

Celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation

• Thursday 28 November 6:30pm

Reconciliation Retreat Day  

Yesterday the Year Three students participated in the Reconciliation Retreat Day. This retreat day is an integral part of the students' preparation for celebrating the sacrament. The day was a worthwhile experience for all students, regardless if they are preparing to celebrate the sacrament or not. The students participated in activities such as making their stole that will be part of their three sacraments celebrated during Primary School, creating artwork that is displayed in the school entrance, learning about different parts of the church, a reflection run by high school students from St Clare’s College, creating artworks that will be displayed in the church, guided meditation and a rehearsal of the sacrament.

Archbishop Pastoral Visitation and Parish Expo

The Archbishop Pastoral Visitation and Parish Expo will be held this Friday 8^th, Saturday 9^th and Sunday 10^th November. Archbishop Christopher will be leading a half day retreat on Saturday 9^th November from 9am to 12.30pm at Sacred Heart Church Calwell. This is a great opportunity to listen and pray together with our Archbishop. Father James extends an invitation to all members of our parish family to make time to be part of this great experience please contact the Parish Centre.  

Our Parish Expo will be in Holy Family Church foyer from 5pm on Saturday until after Sunday 6pm Mass. Group members will be available before and after each Mass on the weekend. The Hospitality Group will be providing wine and cheese after the evening Masses and morning tea after the 8am and 10am Masses.

5 Green & Kinder Green will host Mass this Friday 8^th November

Congratulations to the children who will be awarded white cards at this Friday's assembly.

If your child/ren have an enrolment application pending at another school or will not be returning to St Clare of Assisi Primary School in 2020, please go to the link below and fill out the digital form.

https://stclareconder.schoolzineplus.com/form/10

Please note - due to kindergarten orientation the uniform shop will be open on Tuesday 19 November, instead of Monday 18 November.

Tuesday 19 November hours 8.45am - 11.00am

Congratulations to the following students who won prizes for their fundraising efforts for the 2019Walkathon!

Highest fundraiser in each class:

KB – Hunter B

KG – Archie K

KR – Emma A

1B – Jocelyn M

1G – Alexandra T

1R – Chloe M

1Y – Cooper R

2B – Cara L and Matthew N

2G – Jacob L

2R – Ava H

3B – Aiden B

3G – Alaina B

3R – Mackenzie F

4B – Jeremy J

4G – Jorge M

4R – Aidan S

4Y – Lincoln K

5B – Tabitha E

5G – Kasey R

5R – Alex T

6B – Jaxon J

6G – Zoe B

6R – Gemma McN

6Y – Cooper M

Class who raised the most money:

3 Red 

Draw for the ipad: (anyone who raised $150 or more went into the draw)

Mackenzie F

House which raised the most money:

Roberts

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all families for once again supporting our school.

Having the sniffles and itchy eyes isn't much fun especially at school.

If your child suffers from hayfever please consider giving them their antihistamine in the morning before coming to school and before the itchy eyes take hold. The school does not have antihistamine to administer.

Parents are generally encouraged to schedule their child’s medication so that they don’t need a dose during the school day. For example, a child who is on antibiotics to be taken three times a day can usually take all three doses outside school hours.

If, however, your child does need medication during school hours, the following guidelines must be followed.

1. All medication is to be brought to the Front Office. No medication is to be self administered or kept in the school bag (with the exception of Ventolin inhalers). All medication will be administered by Front Office staff and logged.

2. Medication must be brought  in the original container, as dispensed by a pharmacist, labelled with your child’s name. It must include instructions for administration, dosage and storage.

3. You must provide written consent for your child to be given the medication. You will need to complete a Consent to dispense medicine form  every time your child brings a new type of medication to school.

4. All medications must be in date.

5. The smallest possible amount of medication should be brought into school. The exception to this is liquid medication, which can only be accurately and safely dispensed from the original container.

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this.

Unfortunately there have been a number of confirmed cases of chickenpox in the school.  Chickenpox usually begins with a sudden onset of fever, runny nose, cough and tiredness. About one to two days later a rash appears, starting as pink blotches that quickly become fluid filled blisters. The rash is usually more concentrated over the trunk, face and scalp.

• Chickenpox is very easily spread from one person to another when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also be spread by direct contact with fluid from the nose and throat or contact with the liquid in the blisters. A person can be infectious from two days before the rash develops. 
• Anyone with chickenpox should be excluded from school, childcare or work for at least 5 days from when the blisters first appeared, and should not return until all the blisters have formed dry scabs.
• Vaccinated children may still develop chickenpox but the symptoms are often milder, with fewer blisters. Even if the symptoms are mild, the person is still able to pass the infection onto others and should be excluded.
• You should talk to your doctor if you are concerned that you or your child are not immune to chickenpox. Someone may be non-immune if they haven’t had the infection before or haven’t had the chickenpox vaccine.

Please contact your doctor or ACT Health on 5124 9213 if you require any further information about chickenpox.

WEEK 4  (4^th – 8^th November)

7^th November Thursday – Kinder Year 1 AFL Clinic

WEEK 5  (11^th November – 15^th November)

11^th November Monday – Remembrance Day Liturgy at 11.30

12^th November Tuesday – Year 1 Excursion to Lanyon Homestead (1B and 1R)

14^th November Thursday – Kinder Year 1 AFL Clinic

15^th November Friday – Purple Happy Day

WEEK 6 (18^th November – 22^nd November)

19^th November Tuesday – Year 6 Asian showcase

21^st November Thursday – Kinder Year 1 AFL Clinic

WEEK 7  (25^th November – 29^th November)

26^th November Tuesday – 2020 Kindergarten orientation (SESSION 1)

28^th November Thursday – Kinder Year 1 AFL Clinic

28^th November Thursday – Year 3 Excursion National Zoo and Aquarium

WEEK 8  (2^nd December – 6^th December)

5^th December Thursday – 2020 Kindergarten Orientation – SESSION 2

WEEK 9  (9^th December – 13^th December)

10^th December Tuesday – Thankyou BBQ

11^th December Wednesday – Semester 2 Awards

13^th December Friday – Semester Reports Go Home

13^th December Friday – Thanksgiving Mass and Handover Ceremony

WEEK 10 (16^th November – 19^th December)

16^th December Monday – Kindergarten Concert

17^th December Tuesday – Year 6 Graduation

18^th December Wednesday – Farewell Assembly

19^th December Thursday - Year 6 Big Day Out

19^th December Thursday - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL