Welcome to Term 4. I hope you and your families are all well rested and have had lots of opportunities for quality family time over the break. I wish Lynda a well deserved break with her family as she sets off to explore new places. I’m looking forward to working with all the staff to support our students and families.

STAFFING

We welcome Maree Hills back this term on a part time basis to lead in the areas of Religious Education/Faith and Wellbeing. Maree has a wealth of knowledge and experience in these areas and will be a valuable resource for students, staff and families. Megan Moore will continue to work in 3/4MP Monday-Wednesday and will work in Leadership on Thursday & Friday.

WORLD TEACHERS' DAY- 5th OCTOBER

World Teachers’ Day 2023 is a day of recognition and appreciation for teachers around the world. It was established by the United Nations as a day to celebrate the profound impact teachers have on society by equipping students with the skills, knowledge, and values needed for success. This day also serves as a reminder of the importance of quality education and the role of teachers in achieving it. All our wonderful staff were gifted with a sustainable drink bottle as a small token of appreciation for all the work they do with students and families.

SCHOOL HATS & SUMMER UNIFORM   

Students are required to wear hats during Term 4. Students without hats will be required to sit in the shade (no hat- no play). Hats are available from PSW, our school uniform supplier if your child requires a new one. The first two weeks of Term 4 are the transitional period from Winter to Summer uniform. Students are required to be in full summer uniform by week 3 (Monday, 16th October). 

All uniform requirements are available at

PSW Pty. Ltd. 1 Age St. Cheltenham  

Ph: 9768 0332

IMPORTANT DATES

Week 2

10th October- Beachside Athletics- Cameron & Alexis

Week 3

16th October - Yr 5/6 REACH Incursion

20th October - Big Green Conference (Selected Yr 6 Students)

Week 4

24th October - 2024 Foundation Orientation (1)

26th October - Grandparent’s and Special Friends Day (9.00-11.00)

Week 5

30th October - 6pm School Advisory Council- AGM

31st October - Socktober (Wear colourful socks to school)

1st November -  2024 Foundation Orientation (2)

Week 6

6th November - School Closure Day- Staff Professional Practice Day

7th November - School Closure day- Melbourne Cup Day

10th November - 10.30am Remembrance Day Prayer Service

Week 7

14th November - 6.30-8.00pm Arts Showcase

15th November - 7pm Foundation 2024 Information Evening

Week 8

20-24th November - Book Fair

22-23 November - 5/6 Beach Program

Week 9

27th November - 3/4 Melbourne Zoo excursion

29th November- St Catherine Laboure Feast Mass

29th November - 11.30-1.00pm Kaboom Sports Incursion

1st December - School Athletics

Week 10

4th December - Year 6 Big Day 

4-8th December - F-4 Swimming

7th December - 5.30-7.30pm Christmas Carols

Week 11

13th December - End of Year Mass & Nativity

13th December - Reports go home

13th December - 11.45-1.35 Meet & Greet (2024 teacher/s & classmates)

14th December - 3.15pm Year 6 Guard of Honour

14th December - 6-9pm Yr 6 Graduation

15th December - Last day of term for staff & students (3.20pm finish)

The following information has been taken from the World health Organisation:

World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2023, is an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind the theme ‘Mental health is a universal human right” to improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right. 

Good mental health is an integral part of our health and wellbeing. Good mental health allows us to cope with challenges, connect with others and thrive throughout our lives. It’s vital and deserves to be recognised and respected.

Beyond Blue definition of Mental health

Throughout the year our Social Emotional Learning and Health lessons help and assist our students to learn how to express their feelings and act on those emotions in a positive way, seeking support when needed. The children have the opportunity to reflect on how they are feeling through our wellbeing surveys and activities completed in class. 

The following link is a Wellbeing booklet produced by the Queensland Government and the Department of Education that you might like to read and you may find some helpful activities to support your child’s wellbeing. 

Wellbeing Activity booklet 

Religious Education News

It was great being back at St Catherine’s last week and lovely seeing all of the students' smiling faces at our beginning of the term prayer service on Wednesday afternoon. The theme for our prayer service was “Let your light shine.” The students were encouraged to reflect on all of the things they have achieved so far this year and think about how they are going to shine this term. Each class was given a snapdragon seedling to nurture in their classrooms as a visual reminder how we all grow and change and the importance of supporting each other this term. Mrs Moore shared the work completed by the students who represented our school at the Ethics Olympiads last term and presented them with their certificates of participation.

Please mark the following dates in your diary for this month:

Thursday 26th October - Grandparents and Special Friends Morning

Tuesday 31st October - Socktober 

Grandparents & Special Friends Day

Parents we will be celebrating Grandparents and Special Friends day again this year on the 26th October. Please offer a warm welcome to your family members or special friends inviting them to come along. We appreciate some grandparents may not be able to make it so parents are welcome to attend to celebrate with the children. We always look forward to sharing and celebrating our learning and our school community with others.

Please note the asphalt area will be open for parking for visitors from 9:00am. It is important not to enter earlier as the students will still be arriving at school. Please only park in this area if visitors are unable to walk longer distances as spaces are limited. Visitors are also welcome to park in the church car park.

We are looking forward to celebrating with you all.

Maree Hills

Catholic Mission Month : Socktober Tuesday 31st October

We are excited to announce that our school is once again participating in Socktober, an inspiring initiative of the Catholic Mission. Socktober is a meaningful way for our students to engage with social justice and the very important work of global mission.

This year, the focus of Socktober's fundraising efforts is on Timor-Leste. Specifically, the proceeds will benefit vulnerable young people attending a medical clinic and a children's home in Venilale. Our contributions can help children who truly need it to access better health, nutritional and educational outcomes, showcasing the spirit of solidarity that defines our school community.

The following link provides further information about the island of Timor Leste 

Catholic Mission Month

On Tuesday 31st October we are inviting the students to be creative for our Socktober day fundraiser and bring along a gold coin donation. The students are to wear their school uniform on the day and are encouraged to use socks in creative ways, for example in their hair, wear odd socks or decorate a pair of old socks.

During the day the students will have the opportunity to participate in some fun activities that will be organised by our Year 6 leaders. All students will have their names entered into a draw to win prizes on the day.  

Thank you for your continued support in making Socktober 2023 a success at our school. Together, we can create positive change and teach our students the importance of empathy and kindness.

Yours sincerely,

Maree Hills

Bunnings Barbecue - Sunday, November 19th

We have locked in a date to hold another Bunnings Barbecue before the end of the year to continue raising funds for our mural and garden projects and we'd love your help! Please visit https://volunteersignup.org/J3LKX to sign up to volunteer for a timeslot now. We'll also need supplies for the day, including drinks, sauces, hand sanitiser and napkins, and will send out a detailed list of supplies needed in early term 4. Thank you in advance for your help supporting our fundraising efforts!

School Years Photo Frames Fundraiser Opportunity

Thanks to everyone who purchased a School Years frame! As well as getting a beautiful way to remember your child's school years you helped us raise $130 to go towards our various school grounds improvements and end of year events.

Dad's Group

The end of the year might be approaching, but you can still join the Dad's Group to stay in the loop for upcoming events! Text Bernard Laville on 0429 055 911, Pete Brook on 0422 082 281 or Darren Brady on 0490 502 108 to join the WhatsApp group today.

Mural Update

We are excited that 14 students have nominated to be part of our mural working group focused on 'the many faces of belonging'. In other exciting news, we have appointed our artist, Tricia "Vandal" Van Der-Kuyp  a proud Wiradjuri woman and Melbourne-based artist (Bundadhaany). You can see some of her work here - Tricia's work appears on trams, the Royal Children's Hospital and other spaces around Melbourne so we are lucky to have her collaborating with us on this project. You can see some of her work here: https://www.artistvandal.com  Tricia will work with the students, families and staff on the design for the mural.

We have also applied for a $10,000 grant to apply the final design to the entirety of the wall so the timelines for the project have been extended to July, 2023 to allow us to incorporate this funding. The first workshop will be held in November, to introduce the project to the students and begin to design the collaboration process, with this work continuing in 2024. 

We will also be reaching out to families next year to explore their ideas of belonging and what helps them feel like they belong in our school community, so look out for ways to get involved early next year.

Graduation dinner

The P & F have been working with Ms Tavcar, Mrs O'Donnell and the year 6 students on the graduation function for Thursday, December 14 (Evening). The students had lots of ideas about how they would like to celebrate this important milestone with family and supporters and a save the date will go home with more details at the end of this week. The function will commence at the Church and include a liturgy and presentation of awards before a celebratory dinner and activities in the hall. While not giving too much away, they have gone with a 'round the world' theme for a buffet and high energy activities so make sure to wear some comfy shoes and watch out for upcoming Operoos.

Mums Time Out events

Axe Throwing - JOIN US!

Ever wanted to throw something as hard and fast as you could? Now you can, in a safe, controlled fun environment at Lumber Punks! With axes starting as light as 300grams, let loose with the St Cath's Mum's group on Sunday 22 October. This is an adult only event, closed toe-shoes must be worn. Price: $40 each if our group is 11 Mums+ otherwise $45.Or want to join us for lunch afterwards? Lumberpunks 11am session and St Ali Coffee Roasters, 12.45 booking.

Please let Nat Taffe know if you have any questions and if you can come to either or both - nattaffe@gmail.com or 0438548739

More info: https://www.lumberpunks.com/what-to-expect-lumber-punks

End of year Christmas raffle!

Can you believe we're already counting down to Christmas? We are getting organised early, with our end of raffle already in planning! If you have a business or service that you’d like to contribute a prize on behalf of, please let Nat Taffe know at nattaffe@gmail.com. Raffle tickets will be sent home early in Term 4, to be sold and returned for the Major Raffle to be drawn at the Christmas Carol evening, Thursday, December 7.

Pancake Parlour School Rewards Program

St Catherine's is registered in the Pancake Parlour Rewards program - and every spend at a store adds to St Catherine's tally! If we score the most points in our local area, we will win $1,000 cash! We are currently in first place at Southland!

Parents - please familiarise yourself with the options to attribute the points to St Catherine's tally - becoming a member (free) via their app, instore when ordering or via their website: https://bit.ly/447hLSs Thanks to those families who have dined already and added to our tally! Competition runs until the end of December 2023.

Uniform shop:

If you are in need of summer uniform items please feel free to browse the uniform shop - keys can be obtained from the school office to have a look, and payments can be made to Laura Bailey in the office. Alternatively the uniform shop will be open on Thursday at school pick up time - there are plenty of summer shorts, button down shirts, and dresses, however we don't have any navy zip jumpers, polos or jumpers yet.

Click on the image to catch up on the latest Parish News

Good luck to Cameron and Alexis who will be competing at the Beachside Athelics tomorrow!

Welcome back to term 4 from the Sustainability Leaders. This term, we need your help with taking better care of the school environment. How? By following these three simple rules of reducing, reusing and recycling. 

First you can put your tissues and wipes in the landfill bin and try not to grab out new paper. You can just use scrap paper and cut off the parts you don't need. When you're finished and there's a lot of paper, just put it back where you found it.

Second, if you grab a piece of paper and only use a littlebit cut out what you want and put the remains in the scrap paper, other people might need to use it.                         

Third you can remember to put your tissues and wipes in the landfill and put your paper in the recycling bin. This will help us not stick our hands in the recycling bin and take out your tissues and wipes

  Thank you! ♥️

This October I'm challenging myself to walk as far as I can over 10 days for Peter Mac and cancer research - and you can help without breaking a sweat! Will you support my walk? Just chip in online here: https://my.walktofightcancer.org.au/a-chiodo

Thank you  

Poppies for sale at the office

Come on down to the Tunnel of Terror, the scariest car wash in town!