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From the Principal...
Welcome back! It has been wonderful to see everyone back and to have a school yard and classrooms filled with joyful children. Thank you for all you did to prepare your children for the beginning of the year, it has been a very smooth start. The children have settled in well and are getting to know their new teachers, classmates and are learning new routines that will allow them to engage fully in their learning for what looks to be a promising year ahead!
Our Kindergarten children officially commenced their schooling journey on Wednesday! After a long lead up and lots of preparation, their first day was filled with smiles and many happy moments. We are so happy to have our newest students with us and look forward to growing and learning together.
Our staff members have returned from their well-earned summer holidays and spent the first two days of the school year engaging in prayer and professional learning. Our big focus this year is Mathematics. We look forward to sharing more about what we are doing in the weeks ahead. We are excited about the strategic direction of the school, and look forward to working in partnership with you to provide the best possible experience for all students.
This Week’s Gospel - Mark 1: 40- 45
In Mark’s Gospel this Sunday, Jesus heals a man with leprosy. The healing of the man with leprosy is a reminder of the coming of God's kingdom. In God's kingdom, there is healing, restoration, love and compassion. This passage invites us to join together in bringing about God's kingdom on earth by showing love, compassion, and justice in our interactions and relationships with others. I believe it is an important reminder as we begin our school year and as we embark on the season of Lent next week.
Parish Welcome Mass and Morning Tea
Father Henry has invited us to attend a special Welcome Mass and morning tea on Sunday, February 18th at 9am in our church. It would be wonderful to see many of our families at Mass on this day and I look forward to having a cuppa with many of you after Mass. If you can bring a plate to share, that would be wonderful!
Feedback
Many of you know that we appreciate and value parent feedback and seek it out at various times throughout the year. We can achieve great things when we work together. You may remember in the last newsletter of 2023, based on feedback from you in an end of year survey, we have made the following changes:
- From 2024, parents will be advised on Mondays of Assembly Week if their child is to receive a class award or special award.
- From 2024, P&F Meetings will rotate between morning meetings and evening meetings.
Unfortunately, due to the Parish Reconciliation program our first meeting scheduled for this year has had to be changed to Friday 1st March beginning at 8:45am in the School Hall. Subsequent meetings will be rotated between morning and evening meetings.
Homework
As a staff, we are reviewing our current homework procedures across the school. As part of this review, we seek your valuable feedback. If you could please take a few moments to complete this brief survey, it would be greatly appreciated. Homework will not commence until we complete this review which should take until approximately Week 5. Here is the survey link.
Beginning of the Year Parent Information Sessions
We invite all parents and carers to your child’s classroom for a 30 minute session where you can meet your child’s new teacher. This session will give you an overview of the teaching and learning expectations and other important information for the new school year. There will be two repeated sessions for each grade:
Session One: 3:15 - 3:45pm
Session Two: 5:00 - 5:30pm
Sessions will take place in the classrooms on Monday 26th February.
COMPASS Absences / Attendance
If your child has been absent and you have not entered an attendance note in Compass, this absence will be changed to an 'unjustified absence' after 7 days. This process is carried out by the Compass administrator at CEO. As a parent/guardian you only have these 7 days to add the attendance note - if it becomes 'unjustified' and you wish for it to be amended, you must contact the school office, either by phone or email, with the reason your child was absent and we can make the necessary amendments. All unjustified absences will be shown on your child's semester report.
When entering your child's reason for absence, we ask that you try and be specific e.g. coughing, flu, vomiting etc.
Leave During Term
When taking your child/children out of school, during the term for a holiday or extended leave (10 school days or over) you are required to complete and submit an Application for Student Leave form. This is available at the school office and will be given to our Principal Mrs Smith for approval. This is required for absences of 10 or more school days, an itinerary needs to be supplied, with the form.
Parent Contact Details
At all times, we ask that parents keep their contact details up to date. Phone numbers and email addresses can be amended, by you, through the Compass portal. Please advise the office, in writing/email, of any other change in details e.g. place of employment, emergency contact details.
Change of Routine
Please remember to inform the office by email if there is going to be a change in routine. If a parent is running late, please contact the school office. If you have organised for someone else to collect your child, please inform the office of this as soon as possible or write a note for your child's class teacher.
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COLLECTING CHILDREN EARLY If you need to pick up your children throughout the day, please keep in mind that it is very hard to locate your children during break times. If you need to collect your child during these times, it would be appreciated if you email the school in the morning and we can organise to have your child in the office. First Break - 10:45 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. Second Break - 1:25 p.m. to 1:55 p.m. |
Car Park
Student safety is a huge priority at our school and any carpark can be a dangerous place. We all need to remember, when driving through the carpark, to follow all arrows and drive slowly. Please remember that we have a ‘kiss and drop’ zone in operation every morning in the spaces outside the hall. Please do not park there in the afternoons as it is unsafe due to the high volume of cars going in and out of the parking spots. Thank you once again, for your support in keeping our beautiful children safe.
Have a wonderful week and see you at the school gate!
Mrs Amy Smith
Principal
Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion
The online enrolment and registration form and information regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Sacrament of First Holy Communion are now available on the Parish website: https://www.hfi.org.au/2024/02/02/2024-sacraments-of-first-reconciliation-first-holy-communion/
All children need to be registered by Wednesday 20 February 2024.
Preparation Sessions for Reconciliation begin as follows:
Session 1 - 26 February 2024 at 6.30 pm
Session 2 - 4 March 2024 at 6.30 pm
Session 3 - 11 March 2024 at 6.30 pm
Session 4 - 18 March 2024 at 6.30 pm (This session also includes a Rehearsal)
To be eligible to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, your child must have been Baptised & must be in Year 3 or above.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated with a liturgy on Friday 22 March at 5 pm in our Church.
In Term 2, the preparation sessions for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will commence, with the Sacrament celebrated on Sunday 2 June at 10.30 am or 12 midday.
Sacrament of Confirmation
For your information, the Sacrament of Confirmation will occur on Sunday 10 November for children in Year 6 or above.
If you have any questions about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, please contact the Parish Office on 9066 0340 or via email: ingleburn@dow.catholic.org.au.
Ash Wednesday Mass
We are attending Ash Wednesday Mass with the Parish on Wednesday 14 February at 9 am to mark the beginning of Lent and where all our children will be receiving ashes that symbolise repentance.
Welcome Mass
Father Henry has also asked that we attend a Welcome Mass on Sunday 18 February at 9 am. This is to celebrate and welcome in our new year and new people. This mass will be followed by morning tea. Father has asked for people to bring a plate to share following mass.
Whole School Mass
Our whole school Mass will be held in the Church on Friday 23 February at 11.30 am. We would love for you to join us at this very special Mass.
Kathryn Hampton
Religious Education Coordinator
Please find here a memorandum from Bishop Brian Mascord providing a health update regarding Bishop Peter, for your information.
The Holy Family Swimming Carnival for years 3-6 will be held on Monday 12th February 2024 at Macquarie Fields Leisure Centre, Macquarie Fields.
Just a reminder.....parents are welcome to attend the carnival but will need to be seated outside of the fenced area. Parents and students are not allowed to visit each other during the carnival, this is due to the strict supervision requirements around water.
Competitive races will begin at 9.15am
Children will be transported to and from the Pool by Bus. If you wish to sign your child out from the pool, they MUST be signed out by their class teacher - if someone other than yourself is picking students up, a signed note must be given to the class teacher.
Water Fun Day
On this day students in Year 1 and Year 2 will participate in a Water Fun Day, where they will learn about water safety and participate in some environmental water friendly games. We ask that students in Years 1 and 2 wear their full sport uniform and bring a towel in their bags as they will get wet.
Sporting Opportunities and Pathways in 2024
There are many sporting opportunities that students of Holy Family have the opportunity to be involved in each year. Sporting opportunities range from fun gala days to competing and progressing through the representative levels in our Diocesan and pathway sports program through to Diocesan, MacKillop, NSWPSSA and National levels. This document’s aim is to show a clear picture of what sporting opportunities are available to our students and the process for how to register, trial and participate.
Parents are encouraged to access sporting information and opportunities on the CEDoW Sport website. All primary sporting event information and dates can be found on the Sport Events - Primary website- https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/events-primary/
CEDoW have recently announced that their sport instagram is now active at cedow.sport
Please follow for up to date information and sport announcements.
Wollongong Diocese Gala Days
Gala days are fun, round-robin style days designed primarily for student enjoyment of the sport, participation and for the promotion of exercise and a positive sporting experience. Each year Holy Family students participate in the following gala days - Netball Gala Day, Soccer Gala Day and Basketball Gala Day.
Most Gala days are open to students in Yrs 3-6. Gala days are lots of fun and there are usually many students that wish to participate. In some instances, the school may require to run trials or limit the participants to allocated grades. Eg only Yr 4 and Yr 6. As this will allow students in Yr 3 and Yr 5 to participate the following year.
As we usually have large numbers of students and many teams participating in each Gala Day we require many parent volunteers to help coach and manage teams on the day.
Netball Gala Day (June 28 - Term 2)
Soccer Gala Day (Aug 23- Term 3)
Basketball Gala Day (Sep 19-20 Term 3)
Carnivals
Each year Holy Family runs a Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics carnival. These carnivals allow students to compete at a school level and serve as a selection process for Wollongong diocesan teams. Children may progress from school level, to Diocesan, to MacKillop, to NSWPSSA and ultimately national level in selected sports the representative levels. Please refer to the flowchart below for progression information for each carnival. The success of each carnival is dependent on the help of many parent volunteers.
Swimming Carnival - Monday, 12th February
Cross Country carnival- Term 1 TBC
Athletics Carnival - Monday, 18th March
Diocese of Wollongong Pathway Sport Trials
Opportunities exist within our school for students in Yr 5 and Yr 6 to access the representative sporting pathways. Students are invited to attend trials for positions in Wollongong diocese representative teams for the following summer and winter sports: AFL, Basketball, Tennis, Cricket, Touch, Softball, Football (soccer) Rugby League, Rugby Union, Hockey and Netball. These trials are held annually and link to the MacKillop selection trials.
Any student wishing to trial for a pathway sport needs to nominate and register for these events through the school Sport Coordinator at the start of Term 4 (October) for trials in the following year. These nominations will be advertised to the students of Yr 4 and Yr 5 through the Sport Coordinator and via the school newsletter. Nominations after the due date unfortunately can not be accepted.
The Diocese of Wollongong Pathway Sport trials are aimed at students that have adequate experience and training in the given sport. Representative experience is preferential. These trials are not for students wishing to give a new sport a go. There are many other sporting opportunities available for students to participate in a new sports such as the Gala Days.
Each Sport available has a set criteria for the nominees. Some sports such as netball and soccer are extremely popular, therefore proof of representative experience is needed to nominate for these trials. All nominations need to be approved by the Sport Coordinator and the School Principal before being sent to the event convenors. Nominations are then reviewed and finalised by the event convenors, who will inform the school Sport Coordinator of the successful and unsuccessful nominations. Successful nominees will be provided with the details of the Wollongong team trials.
Please refer to the flowchart below for further details on the nomination and trial process.
Fee Instalment
If you would like to change your existing Instalment amount and or frequency, please complete the attached Fee Instalment form. If you would like to continue with your existing arrangement there is no need for you to do anything.
2024 Consent for the use of student’s image and/or work – Consent required for every student
Each year parents are asked to give consent in relation to taking and using photographs, video, audio and other media of your child/ren and their school activities.
If you can access Compass and see the link “Insights Cycle Open” on the homepage, or depending on the device, you might need to click on More, Insights - Please select Yes or No in regards to your consent.
If you can’t see anything in this section the consent will need to be given by the other parent as only one parent will have the access to do this.
This consent is required by the end of February.
2024 Acceptable Use of Technology – Action Required by parents of students in years 4-6
If you can access Compass and see the link “Insights Cycle Open” on the homepage, or depending on the device, you might need to click on More, Insights - Please select Yes or No to confirm you have read and discussed the acceptable use of technology agreement with your child/ren.
If you can’t see anything in this section the confirmation will need to be given by the other parent as only one parent will have the access to do this.
This consent is required by the end of February.
| 2024 |
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| Wednesday 7th February 2024 |
Kindergarten 2024 Begin |
| Monday 12th February 2024 |
Swimming Carnival - Yrs 3-6 Water fun day - Yrs 1 & 2 (at School) |
| Wednesday 14th February, 2024 |
Ash Wednesday Mass - 9am |
| Sunday 18th February, 2024 |
Parish Welcome Mass - 9am |
| Friday 23rd February, 2024 |
Opening School Mass - 11.30am School Assembly - 2.10pm (hall) |
| Monday 26th February, 2024 |
Parent information sessions (in your childs classroom) Session One: 3:15 - 4:15pm Session Two: 5:00 - 5:30pm |
| Monday 26/2, 4/3, 11/3, 18/3 2024 |
Parish Sacramental Program - Reconciliation Program sessions - 6.30pm (Parish meeting Rm) |
| Wednesday 28th February, 2024 |
Year 6 & Year 3 - Mass 9am |
| Friday 1st March, 2024 |
P & F General meeting - school hall 8.45am |
| Wednesday 6th March, 2024 |
Year 5 & Year 1 - Mass 9am |
| Friday 8th March, 2024 |
Assembly - 2.10pm (hall) |
| Wednesday 13th March, 2024 |
Year 2 & Year 4 - Mass 9am Naplan testing commences |
| Friday 15th March, 2024 |
Feast of St Patrick |
| Monday 18th March, 2024 |
Athletics Carnival |
| Wednesday 20th March, 2024 |
Year 6 & Year 3 - Mass 9am |
| Thursday 21st March, 2024 |
School Photos |
| Friday 22nd March, 2024 |
Assembly 2.10pm - (hall) Sacrament of First Reconciliation - 5.00pm |
| Wednesday 27th March, 2024 |
Year 5 & Year 1 - Mass 9am |
| Friday 29th March, 2024 |
Good Friday |
| Sunday 31st March, 2024 |
Easter Sunday |
| Monday 1st April |
Easter Monday |
| Wednesday 3rd April, 2024 |
Year 2 & Year 4 - Mass 9am |
| Friday 12th April, 2024 |
PUPIL FREE DAY LAST DAY OF TERM 1 |
| Monday 29th April, 2024 |
PUPIL FREE DAY |
| Tuesday 30th April, 2024 |
STUDENTS RETURN - TERM 2 |
| Tuesday 11th June, 2024 |
PUPIL FREE DAY |
| Friday 5th July, 2024 |
LAST DAY OF TERM 2 |
| Monday 22nd July, 2024 |
PUPIL FREE DAY |
| Tuesday 23rd July, 2024 |
STUDENTS RETURN - TERM 3 |
| Friday 27th September, 2024 |
LAST DAY OF TERM 3 |
| Monday 14th October, 2024 |
PUPIL FREE DAY |
| Tuesday 15th October, 2024 |
STUDENTS RETURN - TERM 4 |
| Thursday 19th December, 2024 |
LAST DAY OF TERM 4 |