As we enter into the third week of Advent, we light the candle of joy, the pink candle."Rejoice: the Lord is nigh." As Christmas draws near, the Church emphasizes the joy that is in our hearts over all that the birth of our Savior means for us. The rose or pink candle reminds us that Christmas is near. As we anticipate  the coming of Christmas, we ask Christ to grant us His grace that we might be prepared for welcoming His Birth.

2021 School Fees Information

Parents will find hard copy information about payment options for 2021 School fees in their child’s report envelope. Report will be sent home tomorrow. If you wish to pay in installments you must return the direct debit form by Thursday 28 January.  The form can be emailed to office@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au, posted to the school office or returned in person to the school office by the end of term 4. As previously advertised, there is no increase to school fees for next year.

School Board

On Monday 30  November the School Board and the School Leadership team met for our last meeting of 2020. We spent time reflecting on the year. We celebrated all that we have achieved this year and goals from our 2020 Review process that will take us into the future for 2021- 2024. I asked both parents and teachers  at this meeting to indicate what they have learnt about St Catherine’s this year and below are their responses?

“Dedicated and supportive community throughout 2020”

“We learnt, we taught and we all did it together”

“How truly blessed we are as parents to have the staff at St Catherines’ guiding our children”

“Resilience, love and community”

“We are resilient!! Teachers, parents and students can work through anything.”

“Shared intent, learning goals and experiences”

“We are adaptable and resilient”

“St Catherine’s was here for all our needs. The community is flexible and passionate about learning”

“Communication has been effective”

“St Catherine’s got home/remote learning right, right at the beginning of term 2.”

I wish to once again thank the school board for their ongoing work in supporting the school.

Staff

A very big thank you to all staff this year for all their efforts in supporting the learning and wellbeing of our students. Our staff have demonstrated exceptional skills and adaptability this year, ensuring students and  families/parents were well supported throughout the COVID-19 restrictions.

We congratulate Debra Bruenjes (who has been on leave this year)  on her new position at St Mary’s Hastings. Debra has worked at St Catherine’s since 2011. She has shown dedication, professionalism and a love of learning. We wish her well for the future.

2021 Classes

Each year the school carefully considers class structures for the new year. Many factors are considered including, student numbers in the cohort, friendships, student needs, staffing and any special considerations. Next year our class structure will be:

Reflections on the Year

What a year it has been for students, families and staff! One of the highlights for me was attending camp with our year 5 and 6 students way back in term one. It was fantastic to see our senior students take on challenges, work in a team and participate in activities some had never tried before. I was so excited at the beginning of the year to launch our playgroup. We did manage to squeeze in a few sessions before restrictions prevented us from gathering and connecting with our school families. We are ready to launch back into playgroup next year and I welcome school families, along with neighbours and friends to join us in the new year. In term one our staff eagerly engaged in the school review process, highlighting to the Reviewer the school’s commitment to ongoing improvement.

 I wish to sincerely thank families for adapting so quickly to support remote/home learning during term 2 and 3. The staff are so proud of what students achieved and acknowledge the part families played during this difficult time. Many positives can be taken from this unique experience. We have seen increased independence of students, growth in the use of Information Technology skills of all members of the school community and more time for families to connect. The staff feel they have strengthened relationships with families and look forward to continuing to build on these positive relationships with you into 2021.

While the remote/home learning experience provided challenges, our staff felt energised by the experience of learning new skills and collaborating with colleagues. Remote/home learning has highlighted the calibre and professionalism of staff here at St Catherine’s. Our school made huge changes shifting curriculum and instructional materials online. Teachers spent many additional hours in preparing instructional resources, differentiating the curriculum and carefully planning to ensure they were supporting students’ engagement and wellbeing. The dedication and skill required to nurture and challenge our students in an online environment is one that our teachers worked tirelessly to uphold.

Term 4 saw the return to onsite learning and some very happy faces (especially that of parents). Once again our staff quickly adapted programs to focus on transitioning students back into learning at school. Connecting students back to school routines, constant changing conditions, social interactions and face to face teaching, all of which have gone smoothly. Teachers have worked steadily to find the balance between rushing to make up for lost time and allowing students time to settle back in and build back up their stamina for learning. Teachers have spent time on prioritising  literacy and numeracy learning, along with student wellbeing. Student reports this semester reflect this. School semester 2 reports will be sent home tomorrow Tuesday 15 December.

I give thanks to our Year 6 school families who over the years have made significant contributions to our school community. They have formed strong partnerships in learning  with staff and friendships with other families. Sadly this time at our school now transitions into something different. Our year 6 students and families become alumni of our school, observing from a distance , but still somewhat connected, having been valued members of our school community.  I wish the following families who will be leaving our school, all the best for the future.

Al Halabi

Baldwin

Bowen

Canning

Griffin

Jones

Langdon

Licastro

Murphy

Taylor

We now all look forward to a well earned break and the New Year ahead. I wish all our school families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Please take the time to watch our adorable Foundation students recreating the Christmas Nativity...

https://youtu.be/JxVWvvkp7bU

2021 YEAR 6 STUDENT LEADERS

IMPORTANT DATES- TERM 1 2021

YEAR 6, 2021 LEADERS

Congratulations to the Year 5s on their 2021 leadership positions.

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY LEADERS

Linus Hupfeld and Anika McGuire

FAITH, SOCIAL JUSTICE & LEARNING LEADERS

Lola Grainger, Alexandra Pound and Jay Koronowicz

VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS LEADERS

Jasmine Lee and Lucy Bartleman

9 December 2020 

Parents of children in Catholic Schools

Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne 

Dear Parents, 

As the days rush by towards Christmas, may I write in thanks for the tremendous love and care you have given your families in such a hard year. 

Many of us are joyful at the simple prospect of 2020 being over! 

For parents in Catholic schools, I am grateful for the collaboration between our incredible teachers and principals and yourselves, in guiding your children through long days and weeks of learning from home, with all the ups and downs of the lockdown situations. 

For a number, some heartbreak and loss has been mingled with other challenges, as well as distance from loved ones. My own prayer has been for you and your families, and I am trusting that in the time ahead the Holy Spirit will bring fresh joy and encouragement, and some well deserved rest. 

As the year comes to a close, may I also bring to your attention a significant change that has been taking place in the background this year, in which principals and parish priests have been acutely involved: the creation of a new company, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), to govern Catholic schools in Melbourne as of 1 January 2021. 

For you, as parents, you will notice no real change in your Catholic schools. It will be largely 'business as usual as the year begins and students find their way into a new grade and new challenges. However, the day-to-day business of Catholic schools will not alter as such. 

In fact, the Constitution for MACS makes it crystal clear that the parish and the school, especially through leaders such as the parish priest, principal, and the School Advisory Council, will have a responsibility to collaborate and continue to build up Catholic schools as the faith filled, generous learning communities that they are. 

St Patrick's Centre, PO Box 146, East Melbourne VIC 8002 Australia 

Tel: +61 3 9926 5612 Email: archbishop@cam.org.au 

If you would like to learn more, please consult the material at the following website, which has been available throughout the year as this work has developed: 

https://governance.melbourne 

For my part, the change from Catholic Education Melbourne to MACS has been the fruit of much hard work, in which the legacy of Catholic education is being upheld with gratitude for the past and much hope for the future. 

Let us work together in the time ahead to continue to provide the best, the very safest, and the most generous learning environment we can for students and their families. 

Catholic schools are a fruit of the Gospel and I give thanks to the Lord Jesus and his faithful disciples in Melbourne for building such schools, filled with so many gifts and diversity. 

May we celebrate the birth of the Lord this coming Christmas, filled with gratitude, blessed with some time away from it all, and sharing that manifold joy with one another for which Catholic faith has always been so famous. 

With appreciation, and blessings on you and your family. 

Yours sincerely in Christ Jesus, 

Most Rev Peter A Comensoli Archbishop of Melbourne 

St Patrick's Centre, PO Box 146, East Melbourne VIC 8002 Australia 

Tel: +61 3 9926 5612 Email: archbishop@cam.org.au

Why Give Thanks?

A teacher once remarked that at the end of the day, it’s not about the lesson plan. It’s not about the fancy stuff we teachers and other Schools make—the crafts we do, the stories we read, the papers we laminate. No, that’s not really it. That’s not what matters most.

They won’t remember how organized your bulletin boards were. How straight and neat the desk rows are .

No, they’ll not remember that amazing decor you’ve designed.

But they will remember you.

Your kindness. Your empathy. Your care and concern. They’ll remember that you took the time to listen. That you stopped to ask them how they were—how they really were. They’ll remember the personal stories you tell about your life: your home, your pets, your kids. They’ll remember your laugh. They’ll remember that you sat and talked with them while they ate their lunch.

As teachers and staff we hope at the end of the day we have made a difference in the children’s lives.

If a student wakes up in the morning and wants to come to School then that is a great sign.  If they finish the School day wanting to come back the next day that is also great.  At one level we have done our job.

A person’s happiness is the key to everything in life.  One of the greatest gifts my parents gave to me was they never said to my teachers and also me to me that I was no Einstein.  Today, I would be a billionaire, if not a trillionaire, for the number of times parents have described their child as bright, special or gifted.

Every child is special, bright and gifted because every child, like you and I, have God within us.  But we are often too quick to parade our child as better than others.  To me, a child’s happiness is the core gift and value in life which will then transfer, hopefully, into adulthood.

The greatest disservice we can do for our children is to pressurise them beyond their limits.  Yes, we all want them to be successful but if success is at the price of happiness then we do a disservice.

We are all on our own journey.  None of us know the path this will take.  At times it will be rocky and other times a breeze.  The God we believe in says to us to find the blessing in whatever we are doing and give thanks.  When we give thanks, we learn something about ourselves and therefore about God.

In Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 25, the story of the Sheep and the Goats is a wonderful story which in many ways is a list we could keep to check off at the end of our lives.

I can assure you, that when we have our meeting with God, to enter eternal life, God will not ask what score we got in our VCE, or why you couldn’t play an instrument, etc.  But the God I believe in will ask whether I was kind, forgiving, loving and happy.

This is not to dismiss academia in any way but it is time we focussed on what life is really about.  If there was a blessing in the lockdown this year it was the blessing of looking at the priorities in our lives.  The quiet streets were a blessing to many, the curphew for many was a blessing, crime was down, people having dinner around the kitchen table was up, board games were up and parents saw much of what their children were learning in remote learning.

Now that we are coming out of lockdown, have we returned to the past rat race or have we started to live in a different way.

Joan Chittister says, “All of life cannot be planned. Our life is God’s and gratitude is its key”.
 
She says, Giving thanks to God is good psychologically to keep our thoughts light and full of energy. It is not true, psychologists tell us, that we think the way we feel. On the contrary, we feel the way we think, and thoughts can be changed.
 
Giving thanks to God is good spiritually. That is the beginning of contemplation.
 
Giving thanks to God is good socially. It makes us a positive presence in a group. (Only negative people want to be around negative people.)
 
We need to stop and thank God—consciously—for the good things of the day. We spend so much time wanting things to be better that we fail to see our real gifts.   The ordinary is what reveals to us, little by little, inch by inch, “the holiness of life, before which, we bow down in worship.”

Do we ever stop to just Give Thanks?  How often do we stop and say, Thank You God?

To be more than Catholic by name is to take these little things seriously.  Giving Thanks is a courtesy we all want, and so too does God!

And back to the start….as I say farewell to the Federated Schools of Holy Trinity Parish I say thank you to the Staff, Students and Families for all you have given me these past four years.

I say thank you to Fr Michael Sierakowski whose vision was the birth of a wonderful and inspiring collaborative leadership which gave Michael Juliff, Lynda O’Donnell, Catherine Tammesild, Michael Hanney and myself a supportive network in what at times are lonely positions.  Sadly, the vision was not seen worthy enough to continue and for that I am saddened and disappointed.  

But I do not allow disappointments to stop what has been a joyful and happy four years where I truly believe I have learnt more than I was able to give.

If any of the students ever remember me perhaps they will remember two things: The optimism of a true Dees supporter and the different wacky socks worn everday at School!  Hopefully they saw glimpses in me which displayed that following God can bring true joy, peace, compassion and love to others and oneself.

As we all continue our journey in life may everyone be kind to each other, gentle with each other and show the love and empathy that Jesus showed to all who came in contact with his message of love.

Edward Dooley (Mission and Faith Leader)

Dear Parents,

After a year of so many challenges I have attached an article that may be useful to refer to over the Christmas break. I wish you all a very happy and Holy Christmas that is filled with time to relax, unwind and celebrate all of your extraordinary efforts this year supporting the academic and social and emotional wellbeing of yourchildren. 

Take care,

Maree

This term the Foundation students have been thinking about the ways we can show kindness towards others. During a literacy session we read the story

“Even Superheroes Have Bad Days” by Shelly Becker. After reading we reflected on all of the ways we could be a ‘kindness superhero’!

Haley U and Dominic F composed fantastic simple sentences telling us how they can show kindness. 

“I can be a friendly superhero by doing good deeds”

Haley U, Foundation

“I can be a friendly superhero by doing meditation. I can be a friendly superhero by saving people”

Dominic F, Foundation

This term in 1MH, we have been busy learning about lots of different things from coding, chess and our new goldfish, Bubbles and Jet to perfect christmas gifts.

During our location unit this term the students have created a “dot to dot” drawing.They used coordinates on a cartesian plane.

Jasmine Lee used all 4 quadrants to create this unicorn.

During remote learning we learnt about different forms of poetry.

Ned Lovegrove created this Ode to Pizza.

Your melted cheese,

so smooth

and thick,

makes golden threads

that glisten and stick.

Your pepperoni in chunk after chunk 

adds circles of spice

with extra spunk.

Your crust that crunches

crisp and loud

is puffy inside

like a cumulus cloud.

Oh, luscious pizza,

I don't think twice.

I always gobble

slice after slice.

For the past five weeks, we have been learning about Australia’s democratic system of government. The Year 5/6s undertook a study on a Prime Minister of choice. Ramy and Cohen chose Malcom Fraser. The boys worked together as a formidable team - researching, writing this research into their own words and preparing for their presentation. We learnt a lot not only about Malcolm Fraser but also about what good teamwork looks like. 

Ironman and Ironwoman 2020

Congratulations to Holly Anstee and Oscar Bowen for taking out this year's competition.

Both races were hard fought but Holly and Oscar were too strong on the day.  

Vivienne Ronchi and Cohen Walters came 2nd, Sophie Langdon and Miles Brown, 3rd and Chiara Chiodo and Jakob, 4th position.

Well done everyone.

Sport Leaders

Thank you to Holly, Oscar, Hamza, Jakob, Nick and Ed. I am always sad to say goodbye to my Sport Leaders but I know they are ready to start their next journey. Thanks for all your help this year.

Susan Pattinson

• Fun competitions and reading challenges
• Reading games for car trips
• Author and illustrator tutorials
• Book recommendations
• Extra special book sales and promotions
• Reading tips and more!

Go to www.scholastic.com.au/summer
 
Happy summer reading!