Dear Parents and Carers,

Our teachers have been busily finalising assessments and preparing Semester Reports for distribution today via the Compass Parent Portal. A reminder that our Parent-Teacher Conferences for next week are also currently available to book via the Compass Parent Portal. We have 292 conferences booked for next week which is outstanding!

The 10-minute interview will replace comments on the Semester Reports and will focus on areas of strength, opportunities for growth and future goals. Students are not required to attend this interview which will be conducted in your child’s classroom. If you cannot make an appointment time, please contact your classroom teacher directly to organise an alternative arrangement. Interview bookings will close at 4 pm today.

Playground

The new playground equipment for Yrs 3-6 opened this week and has been hugely popular. We also added some extra equipment to the Yrs K-2 equipment. This was made possible through the fundraising efforts of our families in 2023 and also a significant contribution from BASCA. Thank you to Mrs McArthur for her organisation and for working with the Student Representative Council (SRC) to finalise the design.

Netball Gala Day

On Tuesday this week, I enjoyed attending the Yrs 5&6 Tuggeranong Catholic Schools Netball gala day at the Deakin netball courts. It was bitterly cold, and play was delayed for the first game to allow ice to thaw on the courts, but we eventually got some beautiful Canberra sunshine.

Our three teams played with enthusiasm and heart, representing the school so well. A big thank you to Mrs Stevens, Ms Gray and Ms Kim, who supervised the students on the day. I also thank our parent volunteers who coached, managed and umpired our teams. Our Gala days are only possible with your generous support. I also thank Ms Hay, who has been instrumental in surveying the community and has worked on providing increased sporting opportunities for our students.

Staff Update

Mrs Lauren MacDonald has taken LSL for the next four weeks to travel abroad; we wish her all the best on her travels. After an expression of interest process Ms Natalie Radanovich will be our Acting Literacy Coordinator during this period. I thank Mrs Katie Brook, who will increase her teaching load while Lauren is away.

Mrs Sharee Thomas will also take some leave next term to represent and lead a delegation of teachers from Catholic Education at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. Mrs Thomas will be overseas for 2.5 weeks from Week 2 until the end of Week 4. We will have an EOI process to appoint an Acting Religious Education Coordinator during this period.

Tell Them From Me (TTFM)

Thank you to everyone who responded to this survey. We had 45 responses to the parent survey and 115 student responses from Yrs 4-6, completed in classrooms. We are awaiting the data to be finalised and reports made available to us in the coming weeks. I will be able to give you a high-level summary of the data in one of our newsletters next term.

NAPLAN reporting

Parents of Yrs 3 & 5 students can expect to see results for their children from NAPLAN early next term. ACARA, the agency responsible for NAPLAN, has changed how the data will be presented to parents. The reports parents receive will no longer have numbered bands to describe achievement but progression statements designed to give parents a greater understanding of their child’s achievement.  Please see the attached flyer with more information related to this change.

ELC Breaking Ground

Today we will have a turning the soil ceremony to bless the project and celebrate breaking ground on this exciting project. We will be joined by Ross Fox, Director of Catholic Education, along with other invited guests. Photos will be published to the school’s social media pages over the weekend.

Blessings and best wishes

Sean Rutledge

Sunday Gospel Reflection Mt 10:26 - 33

Those who acknowledge Christ will be known to the Father.

‘Do not be afraid’ is one of the most commonly repeated sentences in the Bible. In one form or another, the command to ‘be not afraid’ or ‘fear not’ appears several hundred times throughout the Old and New Testaments. Today’s gospel passage is part of the sending out of the Twelve that occupies all of Chapter 10 in the gospel. It follows a little later in the chapter from last week’s reading in which Jesus called the Twelve and sent them out as Apostles. The remainder of the chapter provides an extended teaching on what it means and what it costs to take the message of Jesus out into the world. Jesus teaches the Twelve that the message they bear will not always be well received and there will be those who will seek to silence the Apostles through violent means. But then the teaching comes to the section of today’s passage and Jesus commands the Twelve, ‘Do not be afraid’.

The message to not be afraid is as much for the original intended audience of the gospel as it was for the apostles. The community for whom this gospel was written were on the verge of being ‘squeezed out’ and forced into secret. The passage reminds them to have courage and to have the courage of their convictions; to shout from the house-tops their message, not whisper it in darkness. It is a reminder of the abundant love of God who cares for them and sees all their efforts to continue to live out the message and ministry of Jesus.

It is equally a message for us, today. We are called to continue the spread of the gospel message; continuing the work of those early Christian communities, the Twelve and Jesus himself.

Adapted from reflection by Greg Sunter.

ENROLMENT FOR EUCHARIST PROGRAM

A reminder to our parents of Catholic students in Year 5 who wish for their child to receive the Sacrament of First Communion, that enrolments are open now on the Corpus Christi QkR! page. Enrolments are only open until Friday 30th June which is the last day of term 2. If you would like any other information about the enrolment process, key dates or have any questions, please do not hestiate in contacting our Parish Sacramental Coordinator, Anne Gowan on the following email TuggeranongSouth.Sacraments@cg.org.au 

Have a great week!

Sharee

Hi everyone,

I would love to invite your children to a retreat we are running at Corpus Christi Parish this Sunday the 25th of June. 

The retreat is aimed at children in years 6-8 who have recently celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation. 

Please use this link to register: https://www.trybooking.com/CIQBS

Let me know if you have any questions! 

Many thanks,

Lucy

Parish Youth Minister

Today’s presentation fromThe Resilience Project is all about Mindfulness. 

Mindfulness is our ability to be present at any given moment. We practise this by using intentional awareness and concentrating on what you are doing when you are doing it.

Thousands of studies into Mindfulness indicate that with regular practise, Mindfulness can lead to benefits such as; reduced stress, reduced rumination, increased memory, increased cognitive function and physical health benefits through improved immunity.

View Part 4 of the series here:
Part 4 - Mindfulness:https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-martin/

Mindfulness can be practised through meditation, yoga, flow-states and daily activities such as cooking.

Source:UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science,American Psychological Association

For mental health resources and support information, visitThe Resilience Project’s Support Page.

Hello everyone,

Volunteer opportunities for "Canteen Volunteers" are now open for Term 3.

Please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet:

https://volunteersignup.org/XQYHX

To sign up, just follow the instructions on the page. It only takes a few seconds to do.

Thank you for volunteering!

Kathy Crosbie

Kathleen.Crosbie@cg.catholic.edu.au