Term 3 - Week 9, 2022

Principal's Message

Dear Parents,

It has been a busy week here at Mt St John’s. On Tuesday evening we held a trivia night to build connections with our families. We were very pleased with the turnout - it was fantastic to see so many friends and family in our school having fun.

Our sincere thanks go to Kerry Miller, our canteen manager, for cooking dinner for us. It was delicious and she did an amazing job ensuring we were all well fed.

My thanks also go to the staff who worked on the night, making sure that it all ran smoothly. Some photos from the night are below.

This week we also held our Public Speaking Competition. Our congratulations go to the following students, who were the winners of the first round:

Year 3 - Xavier Beckett

Year 4 - Cooper Harrison

Year 5 - Ivy Mila

Year 6 - Abbi Maples

These students will go on to compete in the Regional Public Speaking contest at Mary Help of Christians School in Sawtell at the beginning of Term 4. We wish them all the best and look forward to seeing how they go.

Next Tuesday, we are showcasing our students in a Creative and Performing Arts Assembly. Parents and friends are invited to this assembly, which will involve all students in some form. We have the school choir performing, the Stage 3 puppet show, Stage 2 are dancing while K - 2 will share a song they learnt in music. The assembly will commence on Tuesday at 2pm. 

I am pleased to announce that Mrs Sue Darby has been appointed to the position of  Instructional Leader in 2023. She will work closely with the students in Kindergarten and Stage 1. More 2023 staffing announcements will be made next term.

Finally, next Wednesday 21st September will be the last day of Term 3. This is due to the public holiday on Thursday 22nd September and the Staff Spirituality Day on Friday 23rd September. School resumes for Term 4 on Monday 10th October.

Regards,

Nathan Trezise,

Principal

Weekly Awards

Congratulations to the following students, who received class awards this week:

Evie J - For your beautiful reverence in meditation and setting a great example.

Billie T - For great work in Maths when adding and subtracting dots.

Ryan B - For trying hard and sounding out three-letter words. Great spelling, Ryan. Keep it up!

Ruby M - For your amazing story on digging a hole. What an imagination!

Cayden W - For great work in Mathematics when working out the relationship between Multiplication and Division facts.

Rosie W - For her great improvement in reading and her awesome dance moves.

Harry W & Clay B - For the ability to teach students, in KTK, Oz Tag rules and skills, so all children could participate, regardless of age or skills.

Freya W - For 100% effort in all Maths tasks and for your ability to help peers draw representations of cubes using isometric dot paper.

Creative & Performing Arts Assembly

On Tuesday of next week we are holding a Creative & Performing Arts (CAPA) Assembly at 2pm. Each class will showcase some of their CAPA learning from this term. There will be some artwork on display, plus expect some great entertainment in the form of singing, dance and a puppet show! Family and friends all welcome. The assembly will be held in the Stage 2/3 classroom.

No Canteen in Week 10

As we now have a public holiday on Thursday 22nd September and the last Friday of term is a pupil-free staff development day, there will be no canteen next week.

Canteen - Week 1 Term 4

There will be a $5 canteen special on Friday 14th October, the first week back next term. The menu will be:

Recess - finger bun & fruit cordial

Lunch - sausage sandwich, icy tube & fruit cordial

A gluten free option is available for an extra $1. Please order as usual through the Compass canteen module.

Kindergarten Orientation

In Term 4, we have scheduled some Kindergarten orientation dates to support the students to transition to school. We look forward to meeting our new students in the coming weeks!

Our 2023 Kinder Orientation sessions will be held from 8:30am to 11am on the following days:

Tuesday 18th October

Tuesday 1st November

Tuesday 15th November

Tuesday 29th November

Students should bring a hat to wear in the playground, a snack for recess and a bottle of water.

Enrolments Open for 2023

Enrolments are open for Kindergarten and all other grades for 2023. Please call the school on 6657 2552 to request an enrolment pack. When you have returned your completed application form to the school, you and your child will be invited to attend an enrolment interview. 

Last Day of Term 3

Please note that the last day of Term 3 for students will be Wednesday 21^st September. Thursday 22^nd September is the National Day of Mourning for Her Majesty the Queen, then we have a pupil free day on Friday 23^rd September for our Staff Spirituality Day. 

eSafety Webinar: Cyber-Bullying & Online Drama

The Council of Catholic School Parents is hosting an eSafety webinar designed for parents and carers of young people aged 11 - 18 years, on Cyberbullying and online drama.

Cyberbullying is sending or sharing seriously threatening, seriously intimidating, seriously harassing or humiliating online content to or about someone under 18. The behaviour might include abusive texts and emails, hurtful messages or creating fake accounts to trick someone or humiliate them. One in five young Australians aged 8 to 17 years say they have been socially excluded, threatened or abused online.
In partnership with the eSafety Commissioner the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT will run a free webinar for parents and carers of students aged 10 -18 years.

The webinar will cover

• starting conversations with your child about their online friendships and positive ways to deal with changing relationships
• understanding the rights, laws and community expectations that govern social media use

Next week, Tuesday 20 September, 7.30 pm.

The link to the webinar is below.

How to Cancel a Canteen Order

If you need to, you can cancel canteen orders before 8:30am on Friday mornings. If you know your child is going to be away you can go into Compass Canteen and select "cancel order". The money goes back into your Compass "wallet" so you can use it next time you order - when you get to the Confirm & pay screen, click on the down arrow and select Compass Credit. 

School Facebook Page

Check out our school Facebook page! It is wonderful to be able to share the good news of our school with our families and community. 

Library Day - Wednesday

Library day for all students is Wednesday - please make sure your child brings in his or her cloth library bag on this day. Each student may borrow four books per week. 

School Bus Travel

Applications for student travel can be made online. Apply here 

School Drive Subsidy

The School Drive Subsidy is available for eligible school students where there is no public transport available for all or part of the journey. If you have to drive your child more than 1.6km to a school bus stop, you may be eligible for this subsidy – go to the link below to apply. 

GLUE

GLUE "God Loves Us Eternally" KidsClub is held each Wednesday during school terms from 3-5pm at the Anglican Hall. Afternoon tea, games, fun worship and craft. All primary kids welcome, as are newcomers. For more info, ring Gwenneth on 6657 2135. COVID-safe practices will apply.

The final Kids Club of Term 3 wil be held on Wednesday  21st September.

Instrumental Music With Hazel

Hazel Buchanan is offering individual music lessons on Friday afternoons at school again this year, and currently has a couple of spaces. Hazel teaches woodwind, brass and piano. For more details, please call Hazel on 0458 572525.

Service NSW Visits

Due to the Public Holiday being announced for next Thursday the 22^nd of September, the below Service NSW visit has changed. 

The new dates and times are as follows. 

Dorrigo - Tuesday 20^th of September from 10:00am - 3:00pm 

Bellingen - Wednesday 21^st of September from 8:30am - 2:30pm 

September School Holiday Activities @ Dorrigo Library

Healthy Lunchbox Website

Cancer Council’s Healthy Lunch Box website is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about packing a healthy lunch box.  For recipes, information and health tips please visit the website below.