Dear Families,

I hope you all had a lovely Father’s Day, filled with special moments and cherished memories!

As we reach Week 8 of the school year, I am incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made as a community. The dedication and effort each of you brings to our school is truly appreciated.

Our students are progressing academically, actively engaging in extracurricular pursuits, and making meaningful contributions to our school’s vibrant atmosphere. This week, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate some key accomplishments and share a few exciting upcoming events:

Carmel Donlon - Long Service Leave

We want to extend our best wishes to Carmel Donlon, as she embarks on a well-deserved long service break, adventuring around Europe. After her dedication and tireless efforts, we hope she enjoys every moment of this incredible journey and returns refreshed and inspired. Safe travels and have an amazing adventure Carmel!

While Carmel is way, please forward any queries or success stories to me at - megan.moore@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au

School Review

Our school review process is nearing completion as Christine, our school reviewer, compiles all the information she gathered during her time here. She will return in Term 4 to share her recommendations. It's important to recognise the hard work and commitment that everyone has put into achieving our goals. Doing well in this review is a reflection of our collective efforts, and it offers an opportunity to showcase our strengths while identifying areas for growth. Let’s continue to focus on excellence in all that we do, ensuring our school remains a place of learning and success for everyone. A big thank you to the students and parents who worked with our reviewer during her visits .

Welcome Joyce Dunne - Year 6 classroom teacher

We were excited to welcome Joyce Dunne to our school community last week. We look forward to the fresh perspectives and enthusiasm she  will bring to our school. Please join us in extending a warm welcome and making Joyce feel at home.

If anyone needs to get in contact with Joyce, please do so at joyce.dunne@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au

M Cubed - Marvellous Magnificent Minds

On Tuesday, August 20th, I had the opportunity to work with Year 5 and 6 students at the M Cubed program hosted by St. Bede's. Dylan, Dararius, Lachie, Liana, Cooper and Benjamin demonstrated how to incorporate engineering into STEM by designing a 3D-printed home to combat homelessness. It was great to see them collaborate and take ownership of this sustainable project. For more details, check out the student write-up below.

Japanese Festival

We are thrilled about the upcoming Japanese Festival, which will take place over the next two weeks. Sensei has put in an incredible amount of effort to ensure it will be outstanding, and we anticipate that the planned activities will be enjoyed by many. Families are invited to attend their child's performance on Wednesday, September 11th, from 9-10 AM. Following the performances, everyone is welcome to stay for the Kendo sword fighting demonstration. Please see Sensei's write up for more information. 

Ethics Olympiad Competition

Our Ethics Olympiad students will be finishing up their training over the next week as they prepare for their online competition on Friday, September 13th. They will be competing against schools from all over Australia. Best of luck to Lily Mae, Gus, Daraius, Jensen, and Cameron in their upcoming challenge. A big thank you to Abbey for sharing her expertise and working with us. Your contributions have been invaluable, and we’re grateful for your support.

Father’s Day Stall

Thank you to Abbey and the girls from OLSH for all their hard work in organising the Father’s Day stall. Your efforts made the event special for our students and the special people in their lives. We truly appreciate the time and dedication you put into making it a success!

School Mural

Thanks to Suzanne and her team for the work they have put into this project so far. We are excited to see it come to life in the not so distant future. 

Student Absentee Process

We are currently revising our student absentee process to ensure it is as efficient and effective as possible. We will provide everyone with the updated procedures soon. Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we make these improvements.

MACSSIS Surveys

Each year our governing body MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools) asks for feedback around schools. This is through a survey known as MACSSIS. All families from our School Community were sent the survey on Monday. The feedback that we receive from these surveys is invaluable and helps us with forward planning for St. Catherine’s  

UPCOMING EVENTS

 IMPORTANT DATES

Wednesday 4th September - FMH & 6JD class mass

Wednesday 4th September Foundation Family Faith Night, 6:00 p.m. start

Thursday 5th September - Nick Staikos reading with the 1/2 class

Thursday 5th September - Music students lunchtime performance 

Monday 9th September - Pupil free day 

Wednesday 11th September - Japanese festival: student performance 9-10, Kendo sword fighting 10-11

Thursday 12th September - Big Greens Conference, Patterson Lakes school (select Year 6 students)

Friday 13th September - Ethics Olympiad onsite (select Year 6 students)

Sunday 15th September - Sacrament celebration mass (students in year 3, 5 & 6: Operoo sent)

Thursday 19th September - Colour Run (2:15 onwards)

Friday 20th September - Footy Day (students to wear their footy colours)

Friday 20th September - Last day of Term 3, 3:20 p.m. finish

Monday 7th October - Start of Term 4

More info on our Pupil Free Day -  Monday 9th September 

Youth Leadership Victoria, our after school care program, are offering a program onsite for the day. An Operoo has been sent to families with the following details - 

Congratulations to all of our students; Jimmy, Lucy, Kensie, Lachlan, Georgia, Abbey, Vanessa, Isabella, Emma, Juliette, Mitchell, Sofia, Manuel and June who received their First Eucharist on Sunday 25th August. It was a lovely celebration for our students, families and the parish community. We are grateful to our dedicated teachers and parents who have lovingly guided our students on this journey. Thank you to Mrs Donlon, Ms Burnet and Mr Knoll for all of their work preparing the students for this sacrament.

Parish Mass

This week our Foundation students and their year 6 buddies will be attending Mass on the 4th September at 10:00am, families are welcome to attend.

Sacrament Celebration 

The parish invites all of our students and their families that have received the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation this year to attend the 10:30am Mass on the 15th September. Families are asked to bring along a plate of food to share after Mass. We ask families to complete the Operoo sent out last week so we can confirm numbers with the parish.

Wellbeing News

R U OK? Day Thursday 12th September

During the week 9th - 13th September the staff and students at St Catherine’s will be completing activities to engage everyone in spreading the important message of checking in with each other and asking R U OK?  More information on these activities will be in our last newsletter for the term.

This year the theme is Ask R U OK? Any Day because life happens every day.  A lot can happen in a year, a month, a week.  Whether it’s your friend, family member, colleague, partner, or teammate, the people you care about go through life’s ups and downs every day.

By having regular, meaningful conversations, you build trust and normalise talking about what’s really going on, so when the people in your world find themselves struggling, they know you’re someone they can talk to.

So whilst R U OK?Day on Thursday September 12 is our National Day of Action, we encourage you to Ask R U OK? Any Day of the year because a conversation could change a life.

Dear Parents and Friends,

Another reminder that Weeks 8/9 of this term is when we are having our St Catherine’s 
面白い日本祭り (Omoshiroi NihonMatsuri) or Interesting Japan Festival!

On Wednesday, September 11, we will have our 日本コンサート(Nihon Konsaato) or Japanese Concert. And you are all invited!
At the concert, you will be able to see the children performing! PLUS, we have special guests to show us something uniquely Japanese. It will be held in the hall from 9am.  
Remember children are welcome to wear the Japanese colours of red, white, black and gold (yellow) or something ‘Japanese-y’.

Also, don’t forget that all students are eligible to enter the following competitions for prizes. You gotta be in it to win it!
 
 
1. Poster Competition:
To enter, students must design and create a poster that is about ‘omoshiroi’.

What do you think about when you close your eyes and think ‘hmm, omoshiroi nihon’? 
*paper size must be A4 or larger
*the design can be from any artistic medium (watercolour, texta, coloured pencils, crayons, etc) BUT NOT printed
*full name and class must be written on the back of the poster
*must be about ‘omoshiroi’
*have the word ‘omoshiroi’ somewhere in the poster
Once students have completed their poster, they can hand it in to their class teacher, to Sensei or to the office.

2. Trivia Competition:
*answer the following questions in English on a piece of paper
*make sure the answers are numbered
*you can answer in short answers
*there is no need to write out the questions
*write your name and class on the top of the piece of paper
*pop the paper into the entry box in the office
*it doesn’t matter how you find the answers. 

1. How many petals does a ‘sakura’ have?
2. Who are the top two dolls displayed on a hinamatsuri stand?
3. What year did Japan last host the summer Olympic games.
4. Name a Japanese anime or manga character.
5. What does ‘aka’ mean in Japanese?
6. What is the difference between sushi and sashimi?
7. What is ‘Studio Ghibli’?
8. What is the population of Tokyo?
9. What is the weather like if you have to make a teru teru
bozu/boozu/bouzu/bōzu?

10. If I add ni and san together, what do I get? Answer with a
numeral; NOT a word.

3. Cooking Competition
*pick one of the six recipes below
*cook it at home
*when you have cooked the recipe, dish out a portion of the recipe in a bowl or plate
*take a photo of the recipe in the dish/plate with your child in the photo and email it to Sensei: helene.lionakis@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au
*in the subject line, please put your child’s full name and class and the name of the recipe
Note: that there be one photo per student; if there are siblings, there needs to be another recipe made

Japanese Potato Salad:
https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cook/potatosalad/

Tempura: 
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/mixed-root-tempura
(if you don’t have the vegies listed, try medium sliced potatoes,
pumpkin, beans or any other hard vegie)

Okonomiyaki:
https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipes/japanese-okonomiyaki-recipe/2ok5pwis?r=easydinners/vfr9jov3&h=easy%20dinners
(you can leave out or sub the prawns and ginger if you want; you
can sub mirin for water or stock; you can sub the stock for water or
vegie stock)

Japanese Curried Rice:
https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cook/curry/

Yakitori with Japanese Slaw:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/chicken-yakitori-with-japanese-slaw

Hot and Sour Ramen: 
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/hot-and-sour-ramen
(you can leave out the chilli if you wish and sub spicy ramen with
non-spicy ramen)

Dorayaki: 
https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cook/dorayaki/
(baking soda is bicarb soda and the tsubu and can be left out)

4. Kyaraben Competition
Kyaraben are characters made out of food. For example, you could make a kyaraben snowman out of rice with two almonds for eyes, a corn kernel for the nose and an olive for the mouth.
For ideas, you can Google ‘kyaraben’ and have a look at the different characters portrayed.
*make the kyaraben
*take a photo of the kyaraben with your child in the photo and email it to Sensei: helene.lionakis@scmoorabin.catholic.edu.au
*in the subject line, please put your child’s full name and class and the name of the character
Note: that there be one photo per student; 
if there are siblings, there needs to be another kyaraben made

5. Ayatori (school) Competition
The students are practising ayatori at school to get ready for the school competition. If they would like to have a go to get ready for the comp, they will need a knotted piece of wool or string approx 150cm long. Here are some links. Of course, there are more ayatori than just these. You can Google ‘ayatori’ or ‘easy ayatori’ for heaps more.

Have fun! 

Solo Cat’s Cradle - With only one person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j-ADpQY3_k

Easy Cat's Cradle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j-ADpQY3_k

Jacobs Ladder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kr8jrc56eA

Hammock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIHfMkxVlnU

Flower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQSJW0G3D08

Fish Trap string figure tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWRKhweGpjU

Open the Gate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11omMUvluwQ

Star
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrveQloT7JQ

Cutting off Fingers trick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcBN_0Sf17U

リオナキス先生
(Rionakisu Sensei)
Lionakis Sensei

Magnificent Marvellous Minds Conference

Last Monday, Daraius, Dylan, Lachie, Cooper, Liana and Benjamin went to East Bentleigh campus of St. Bede’s. All of us were selected to go to be a part of the M-
cubed Magnificent Marvellous Minds competition. Mrs Moore came with us. We were directed to the auditorium where the teachers from St. Bede’s introduced themselves. 

Sometime later we were assigned to a classroom with other schools. We were participating in a workshop called Exploring the ‘E’ in STEM led by a teacher from Akorn Education. Our focus was all about sustainability in the field of engineering. We learnt a very cool mind bending trick with a piece of paper. 

After recess, we were tasked with making a prototype for a 3D printable house that could be recreated on a larger scale as a sustainable housing option for homeless people. We used special engineering tools and made our prototype out of cardboard and tape. We made furniture out of cardboard and we had to try and fit a couch, a kitchen, a TV, a bathroom and a bed in our tiny house. Lachie made the outside of the house and the roof. Dylan made a window at the back of the house and a functioning door at the front. Liana, Benjamin, Cooper and Daraius created the inside of the house.

We all did a lot of work to plan, build and create such a magnificent prototype of a house. We worked really well as a team, out in equal effort and all had fun creating our cardboard house! This was a really fun and beneficial day and we hope to get an opportunity like this again someday. 

Well done Daraius, Dylan, Lachie, Benjamin, Cooper and Liana!

WRITING

Foundation

This term the students have been learning about how verbs and adjectives make our sentences more interesting to read. The students have chosen a noun for example monsters, elephants, fish and many more to brainstorm adjectives and then have written sentences to describe them. They have used verbs to describe what their nouns can do. 

The students writing goals have been:

• Start each sentence with a capital letter
• End each sentence with the correct punctuation eg: full stop or exclamation mark
• Leave spaces between their words in their sentences
• Have a go at recording the sounds they can hear
• Include 1 or 2 adjectives to describe their noun
• Try to write on the correct lines

Year 1/2

In 1/2 HB, our big focus in Writing this term has been on information reports. We have been very busy learning about the purpose, structure and features of information reports, such as headings, subheading, images, diagrams, the classification and description. Some of our favourite information reports we wrote were about sharks, kangaroos, koalas and honey bees. To finish our Information Report Unit, we used our knowledge about information reports to write factual information about our Dads for Father’s Day. Check out some of our writing!

Year 3/4

In grade 3/4 this week we have been focusing on using persuasive devices and relating them to the real world. Students last week spent their time designing their own houses, using Minecraft Education. The students then had to create a short descriptive persuasive piece to accompany their houses and then try and sell their property to their peers. 

Year 5/6

In Literacy this term, the year 5 and 6 students have been refining the skills of note taking, paraphrasing and summarising. The students were given the opportunity to develop these skills further when completing their research assignment for the Science Expo. In groups, they researched a critically endangered animal and created a research poster reflecting their findings. The students used a range of sources and explored the difference between reliable and unreliable sources. 

In writing, the year 5 and 6 students have been working on their persuasive writing. They have been exploring the structure of persuasive texts and writing paragraphs using the PEEL structure, ensuring their persuasive paragraphs begin with a topic sentence or point, including explanation and evidence, then wrapping it up with a link. They have been exploring persuasive devices such as repetition, rule of three, inclusive language, emotive language, evidence, alliteration, rhetorical questions, hyperbole and similes. The students have been brainstorming different arguments for and against a range of topics and have been writing persuasive paragraphs using their strongest points. They have also been having verbal class discussions where they form an opinion and justify their reasoning. They are hoping to do some debating next term!

Father's Day stall

Thanks to Abbey Walters and her class from OLSH for running the Father's Day stall on Thursday. It was great to have the Year 12 students help the students select gifts for their loved Dads, Grandparents and special people. We appreciate your efforts in organising everything Abbey!

Colour Run

We are so excited to raise funds for some great things around our school. Colour Run will take place on Thursday 19^th September 2pm.

Each week we have been having prize draws – last week we congratulated Cameron, Jimmy and Aston for signing up! This week we congratulated students who have collected sponsors and raised more than $5 – we congratulated Jimmy, Harvey, Kimara, Kihayl and Haley (all drawn randomly!) Next week if you have more than 5 donations, you will be in the draw for some fun prizes!

As of Monday 1^st September we have raised $2071, we have 49 students raising money and with 17 days left to fundraise. Aston, Analia and Matteo are in the lead for individual fundraisers!

What do you need to do?

1. Have you Signed up?? If you need assistance with creating your account or sharing it on socials/email please see the information in the SZAPP from last week and visit https://stcatherinescolourrun2024.goraiseit.com.au/main
2. Get your white t-shirt ready to bring to school! School will provide sunglasses and headband for protection.
3. Parents – are you free to volunteer? Clear your schedule and let us know if you are free!

Any questions, email abbey61@hotmail.com or contact your wonderful teachers or PNF.

Mum's Group Welcome to Spring Day Dinner

As Spring approaches, let's celebrate we have survived winter with a Mum's dinner THIS Saturday 7 September. Vietnamese dinner and BYO at Bun Cha, 332 Highett Rd, Highett From 7pm. RSVP to Nat Taffe Wednesday 4 September on 0438548739. If you'd like to join the Mum's What's App group, please also contact Nat.

BUNNINGS BBQ

SAVE THE DATE

You know it... it is one of the most successful fundraisers of the YEAR!! Please save Sunday November 17 in your diary as we will soon be calling for helpers to run the bbq stall at Bunnings in Moorabbin. More info to come!

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