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- Parents and Friends Update
- Student Art Prize
- Summer Holiday Fun
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- Our Patch
- Peter Mac Fundraiser
- Remembrance Day
- Tunnel Express Car Wash
- 2023 St Paul's School Fete
- Bayside Cricket Club
- Mentone Girls Secondary College
- Soccajoeys Bayside
FOUNDATION 2024 ORIENTATION SESSIONS & PARENT INFORMATION EVENING
We look forward to meeting our 2024 Foundation students tomorrow. The session will take place in the Foundation Classroom- 9:15-10.45. The Year 5 students will also get a chance to meet their 2024 Foundation Buddies.
Tuesday 24 October: First School Transition Session (Foundation Classroom)
Wednesday 1st November: Second School Transition Session (Foundation Classroom)
Wednesday 15th November: Parent Information Evening (LearningHub)
STAFFING- Foundation 2024 Teacher
Maree Hills will be the Foundation teacher in 2024.
STUDENT ABSENCES
Parents/Guardians are required to contact the school before 8.45am if their child is absent stating the reason. This can be done via the school App, by calling the school office or emailing the class teacher. Please note that class teachers do not have the capacity to check their emails after 9.00am as they are teaching. This is also required if students are late. Parents are required to sign students in, noting the reason in person at the office or on the App before the student goes to class. To meet legislative/childsafe requirements, schools are required to record student attendance twice a day, stating the reason for a student's absence/lateness. At St Catherine’s, class teachers mark the roll just after 9.00am and at 1.35pm each day. We are currently implementing a new procedure to check student absences if the school is not notified before 9.00am. Families will receive a text message at 9.15am, asking them to call the school to state the reason for their child’s absence. Please contact myself or the office staff if you have any questions.
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. Students are required to be in full summer uniform from week 3 (Monday, 16th October).
All uniform requirements are available at
PSW Pty. Ltd. 1 Age St. Cheltenham
Ph: 9768 0332
PARENTS & FRIENDS COORDINATOR- 2024
Julia Runci (mum to Felicity in Year 5 & Sebastien in Year 1) has been the St Catherine’s P & F Coordinator over the last 18 months. Julia has done an amazing job being the point of contact between the parent group and school leadership. She has been very well supported by a very active committee of wonderful parents. I would like to acknowledge Julia for her dedication, organisation and hard work. Julia is stepping down from this role in 2024 and we are looking for a volunteer to take up the role. The role involves being the point of contact between the parents and school leadership. The P&F Coordinator also represents the P&F Committee at SACS meeting each term (School Advisory Council). Please email Julia if you need further information regarding this role.
email:juliac.runci@gmail.com
Please email me if you are interested in taking up this very important role.
Email: principal@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au
The final P&F meeting for 2023 will be at 7.30pm on Tuesday, 21st November.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL 2024
We are now seeking new members for our School Advisory Council for 2024
The following are some examples of ways the School Advisory Council may support the school and the Principal:
- articulating and enacting the school’s vision and mission
- promoting the school’s Catholic ethos and culture
- promoting faith formation and development
- supporting school policies as required
- giving advice to the principal on issues such as school improvement plans and enrolment trends
- engaging in discussion with the principal about the annual school budget and other financial matters
- giving advice to the principal about the school master plan
- providing capital resource planning and maintenance support to the principal.
As an advisory body, the school advisory council develops processes of consultation that are an important expression of the educational relationship that exists between parents, schools, parishes and the wider parish community to support all students in the enhancement of their outcomes.
Please download and complete the application form and email it to: principal@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au
An Operoo was also sent home this afternoon to all families.
F/1/2 SWIMMING & 5/6BEACH PROGRAM
An Operoo will come out this week with information regarding these 2 Water Safety Programs. Please note that these are compulsory components of the PE Curriculum. Please contact me if you need to discuss any aspects of the programs.
IMPORTANT DATES
Week 4
24th October- 2024 Foundation Orientation (1)
26th October- Grandparent’s 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)
Grandparents & Special Friends Day
We are very excited about our Grandparents and Special Friends day celebration this Thursday 26th October.
A reminder that visitors can park in the front yard from 9:00am if they are unable to walk long distances. Please be aware that we will still have parents and toddlers attending Playgroup from 9:00am. We will have cones out to form a path for them to enter the hall safely.
Grandparents and special friends are invited to visit the classrooms from 9:05 am. We will make our way to the church for a prayer service at 9:50 am and then walk back to school where visitors are invited to the Learning Hub for morning tea.
Please contact me if you have any questions about the day.
Maree Hills
maree.hills@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au
Feast of All Saints and All Souls Day
Next Wednesday 1st November will be the Feast of All Saints. A day in the Church where we honour and pray to all the Holy men and women. On Thursday 2nd November we celebrate the Feast of All Souls, a time to remember those loved ones who have died. During the month of November we take the opportunity to keep in our prayers our loved ones, who are with God in heaven and who look over us. In the stillness and silence we hear their prayers and guidance.
Lord God, we remember with love all those who have died…
We ask for the support of all your saints who by their persistence
and example have shown us how to live and love in Your ways.
Give us strength to cope with the daily routines that wear us down.
Help us to act as your witnesses when we respond to each other with love, not with impatience, carelessness, rudeness or fear.
In your love, we can find our way forward into your promised heaven.
Amen.
St Catherine Laboure pray for us.
Catholic Mission Month : Socktober Tuesday 31st October
On Tuesday the 31st of October our school will be celebrating Mission month by holding a Socktober celebration. Thank youtube all of the junior school students for decorating the wonderful socks used in our Socktober display in the office.
During World Mission Month all across Australia Catholic schools raise money for the missions. This year we are fundraising to support better health, nutritional and educational outcomes for the vulnerable children in Timor-Leste.
The money we raise will be used at the Maria Auxiliadora Clinic and the Don Bosco Children's Home. An example of how the money is used would be, If we raise $80 we could provide life saving medicine for sick children or $50 could provide milk and food for babies at the children's home.
Our whole school community is hopeful we can make a big impact for children in need in Timor-Leste.
You can support our Socktober effort by bringing along a gold coin donation and wearing your school uniform and crazy socks.
We will have 3 prizes this year.
We will also have ball activities at lunchtime on the 31st October for everyone to enjoy.
Year 6 Faith Leaders
Term 4 Choir
We currently have 20 very talented singers in the choir this term. We have been meeting each Wednesday afternoon at 2:20pm and have started learning some carols and songs for upcoming events. Our favourite song so far this term is “My Lighthouse.” The choir have enjoyed the very energetic actions.
They are looking forward to sharing what they have been learning with the school community.
Navigating online friendships
This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary schooI.
It will cover:
- how to support young people to have safe and respectful online relationships
- what to do when something happens at school and ends up on social media or private messaging apps
- how to report to social media platforms and eSafety.
Term 4 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
- 2 November: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
Getting started with social media: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram
This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in primary and secondary school. It includes practical tech tips, conversation starters and digital parenting advice.
It will cover:
- creating a positive digital identity
- privacy and sharing online
- managing what you see online
- good practices in group chats
- help-seeking.
Term 4 dates (Australian Eastern Standard/Daylight Time)
- 21 November: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
Wellbeing and digital technologies
This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary school. It will focus on the digital skills to protect and support young people’s wellbeing online.
Term 4 dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
- 24 October: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
- 15 November: 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm
- 5 December: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
In Foundation, we have been learning about how to make predictions. While we have practiced making predictions in texts, this term, we are learning how to make predictions and pose questions about unfamiliar objects or events.
On Tuesday, we made predictions about what will happen next in our books, thinking about ‘What will happen if...?’
This week in Inquiry the students of 3/4 have been looking at 'survival' and the four basic needs of life. They explored how humans depend on the natural features of the environment to meet these needs.
Josh - I was on a deserted island and I chose to take a rope with me. Why? Because I thought I could use it to rope to a tree to climb and from there I could wait for animals to come out - catch them- and eat them. I could also tie branches together as shelter around where I sleep.
Vanessa - I was deserted in a desert and I took with me a first aid kit. Why?Because then if someone or myself was hurt, I could help. If animals were hurt, I could help them as well and we'd make friends. Then I'd eat those animals.
Abbey - I was deserted in the Amazon and I chose to take a First Aid kit with me. Why? If anybody got hurt, I would be able to give First Aid to get them better. In my First Aid kit I would have anti venom because if someone was bitten by a venomous creature, I would have the antidote to save them.
Benjamin - I was deserted in the middle of the desert and I chose to take a water detector with me. Why? I could find a well or a water source near a village and drink the water I found to survive. I know that you can only survive without water for three days so I knew this was important. It is essential.
Today was a really great day for wellbeing. We had REACH today and they helped everyone in 5/6 with being yourself. They really help you with your mental health
and they are not superficial in any way. They tell you some really powerful things like “You matter.” and “Be who you are.”. They don’t pass any judgment or make people angry. They want to improve your mental health by getting you to do something new or step out of your comfort zone.
by Lachlan
REACH Workshop
Sam and Cam did an awesome job running the REACH workshop. They helped everyone in the class learn more about each other and that we are not alone when we are feeling down. Now I know that there is probably at least one person in the class that feels the same way that I do which feels amazing. Sam and Cam also let some other people share their experiences. Many people didn’t expect the amount of people to have the same things in common. From this I have learnt and will take away that we should all support each other even though we are all different.
by Jacob
On Monday the 16 th of October. The 5 / 6 class had an incursion. THe workshop was called REACH. They encouraged people to share a time where their comfort zone was closed a little by people judging or criticising something they love and enjoy. Like an embarrassing moment to talk or perform in front of an audience or crowd from one negative experience. Something I have gotten out of this is that I thought I knew my classmates, but not as much as I thought. In the future, I want to make an effort to connect more with my classmates.
by Rebecca
Reach
The Reach workshop was a great experience. The instructors Sam and Cam started off by telling us the rules and then we got into a circle. They started playing music and anyone could jump in the middle and dance but only 2 people did. Knowing this, Sam and Cam talked about comfort zones and how comfort zones can get bigger or smaller based on past events. We all spoke about emotions and how to not overflow with negative emotions. We also learnt about how complementing is a great way to have a conversation and you should do it more often. After the talk we tried the dancing one more time and everyone was dancing. It was very fun and I highly recommend it.
by Albie
The Big Green Conference
On Friday the 20th of October, the Sustainability and Learning and Faith Leaders went to St Louis De Montfort to attend the Big Green Schools Conference Day 2 with other primary school leaders from the City of Kingston Area.
Kath Barca
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:
- Cans of Sprite, Fanta, Solo and Diet Coke
- Juice pop tops
- Tomato Sauce Bottles
- Barbecue Sauce Bottles
- Napkins
These items can be given to the office from now until November 18. Thank you in advance for your help supporting our fundraising efforts!
Christmas Raffle Update:
We are so excited to be at the final stages of organising our End of Year Christmas raffle! We have had amazing support from local businesses, with the shared prize pool currently at $3,700! There are some great prizes up for grabs! Last call for any donations - If you have a business or service that you’d like to contribute a prize on behalf of, please bring to the office by the end of this week or let Nat Taffe know at nattaffe@gmail.com. Raffle tickets will be sent home in November to be sold and returned for the Major Raffle to be drawn at the Christmas Carol evening, Thursday, December 7.
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. Invitations will be sent home with students in the coming weeks!
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.
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.
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.
Thank you 
Come on down to the Tunnel of Terror, the scariest car wash in town!
122 Jasper Road, Bentleigh
You are invited to join us at this fun-filled community event. Attractions will include carnival rides and games for all ages, inflatables, farm animals, Harley rides, showbags, crafts, cakes, food and drink stalls, Devonshire Tea, trash and treasure, face painting and much more!
Plus, with live entertainment, appearances from Bluey, Peppa Pig and Minions and over $4000 in prizes to be won in our major raffle, this is an event not to be missed!
