3 June 2024

Upcoming Events

Term 2 - Week 6

• Monday 3rd June 2024
  • Assembly led by 2I @ 9:00am
  • Stage 2 Soccer activities with Mrs Maher
  • Mini Vinnies @ Recess
  • Year 6 Boys Netball training @ Recess

• Tuesday 4th June 2024
  • Choir with Mrs Sadler @ Recess
  • SRC Committee meeting @ Recess

• Wednesday 5th June 2024
  
  • Netball Gala Day
  • Cross Country Eastern Creek (Good luck Millie!)
  • Guitar Group @ Recess
  • P & F Meeting @ 5:30pm

• Thursday 6th June 2024

  • Senior Band @ 7:50am-8:50am

  • Junior Band @ Recess

  • Years K, 1 & 2 Mass @9:10am - The Cathedral

  • Alpha @ 12pm
    
    

• Friday 7th June 2024

  • Agriculture Club @Recess

2024 Important Dates

Week 7: Please note that due to the Public Holiday & School Photos, there will be no Weekly Assembly in Week 7

• Tuesday 11th June 2024
  • School Photos (Individual and groups)

• Wednesday 12th June 2024
  • School Photos (Famiy photos if purchased)

• Friday 5th July 2024
  • Last day of Term 2

More important dates listed here Website Calendar Link

For those with a Google Account the calendar can be added to your Google calendars for
easy access on your phone or device Google School Calendar Link

From the Principal

Belonging is an important part of life. Last week I noticed the many ways that our children feel like they belong at Cathedral. I saw special celebrations in classrooms, intense (yet joyful) games of soccer at lunch, students standing around having a chat while eating their cheese toasties on a cold Bathurst morning, our musicians having a laugh as Mr Dove cracked a joke at band, little squeals of excitement as some our Year 2 students recalled their History excursion across the road,  Stage 3 students excitedly collecting their netball uniforms from Mrs Bowman and Mrs Condon as they prepare for the upcoming gala day, excitement as students learnt to finger knit with Mrs Baird, the appreciation of God’s creation in sharing a love of autumn leaves with their Principal. Shared experiences help us to feel like we belong.

Like in a family unit, when our students spend time together and share special moments together they bond. New experiences are often confronting and sometimes bring with them feelings of worry and anxiety but one of the special features of a school is that our children have a group to share these worries (and the eventual joys) with. We have each other.

This year, our teachers have planned many special experiences for our children. Excursions that ignite and reinforce their learning, sporting events and opportunities to perform outside of the school. We thank you for the vital role that you play in encouraging your children to participate and as we prepare for the upcoming Bathurst Eisteddfod and some exciting overnight camps for Years 5 and 6, we encourage you to always approach the classroom teacher if you have any concerns about participation in these events. We would much prefer to support our children with adjustments if needed then for them to miss out on these special times of building resilience and belonging.

Camille da Silva Tavares   | Principal

Staffing

This week we welcome Mrs Courtney Muldoon and Mrs Katrina Whitehead as they get to know 1JV.
This is a special time of transition so that our students can become familiar with their new teachers and the teachers can learn about their students, getting to know the routines and structures already in place in the classroom.

Mrs Muldoon will officially take over from Mrs Jenkins in Term 3 and Mrs Whitehead for Mrs Vickers in Term 4. Both teachers are already well known by many in our school community and are excited to share their expertise in early years education with our school. 

Mrs Jenkins will be beginning her maternity leave a little earlier than expected. We wish Jerdin all the very best during this special time as her family awaits the arrival of their little bundle of joy. Mrs Jenkins will be visiting her class on Tuesday morning so that students have a chance to say farewell.

Miss Charlotte Brien joins our support team this week. We are so proud that Charlotte is a past student of Cathedral and has chosen to return to support our current students. Charlotte will be supporting students across the school.

From the Public Relations Committee

Last week we had an amazing incursion where three talented musicians came to our school to show us different wind instruments. They played the didgeridoo, trumpet, and loads more. It was incredible to hear the unique sounds of each instrument. Some people got to get up on stage. We had so much fun and definitely would invite them back to our school if we could.

Thank you Mrs Dubojski for this opportunity.

Caitlyn, Flynn, Jacky, Minh Minh, Oliver, Oscar, & Ralph

School Photos

A reminder that students are to wear their full winter uniform to school next Tuesday (11th June) and Wednesday (12th June) for school photos. Individual and group photos will be taken on the Tuesday and family photos (if ordered) will be taken on the Wednesday. Year 6 students are to wear their Year 6 jerseys and all students must wear their tie and black enclosed leathers style shoes.

*Hair should be tidy with only school coloured hair ribbons to be worn.

Student Representative Council (SRC)

Thank you for all of your entries for our design a duck competition.
Mrs Tavares has almost run out of room in her window!

The SRC meet tomorrow at recess time to finalise the entries and we will keep you updated next week.

Teaching and Learning

Celebrating Achievement
Congratulations to the talented students who represented Cathedral School so capably last week at competitions in Public Speaking and Spelling. These events, which featured participants from across the diocese and regional area, showcased the remarkable skills and dedication of our students.

Particular congratulations to Nitesh, who won the Year 3 section of the CWA Public Speaking Competition held in Orange. Nitesh’s outstanding performance has earned him a spot in the Western Region competition to be held later in the term. We wish him the very best as he continues to excel and represent our school with pride.

Competitions like these play a crucial role in developing and extending students’ skills. They provide a platform for students to apply their skills, build their confidence, and engage with peers in a meaningful way. Participation in such events encourages personal growth, fosters a spirit of healthy competition and helps students build essential life skills that will benefit them in the future.

Congratulations once again to all our participants, and especially to Nitesh for his remarkable achievement. We look forward to celebrating more successes in the future.

Catherine O’Neill   | Assistant Principal

Religious Education & Catholic Life

Feast of Christ the King
This feast is to solemnly commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist and it was wonderful to see some of our school families join other parishioners yesterday for Adoration, Mass, Procession and Benediction. Another highlight was seeing current and past Cathedral students giving their time to participate in some of the ministries during Mass and the Eucharistic Procession.

Stage Masses
We are excited to be recommencing these celebrations this term. Last Thursday Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4) came together to celebrate Mass together. These smaller gatherings allow us to focus more closely on the meanings and significance behind many of the special rituals and actions of the Mass

This Thursday, Years K,1 and 2 will come together in the Cathedral. Please feel very welcome to join us in the Cathedral Church where Mass will commence shortly after classes arrive at 9:10am.

Pre-Confirmation Day
Last Friday Year 5 attended Mackillop College and participated in a special day led by MacKillop and St Stanislaus’ Colleges’ staff and youth ministers. This gathering and formation opportunity is an important step as our Year 5 students commence the school components of their preparations for Confirmation next semester.

We thank Mrs Amber Calleja and her student ministry team for supporting our students in the development of their faith and for our Year 5 staff and students for your participation and representation of Cathedral School last Friday.

RISE!
RISE is for young people in Years 6 to 9 (anyone in Years 10-12 can be involved as Youth Team members).
A festival full of fun, friendship, small group challenges, workshops, games, music and lots of opportunities to encounter Jesus.  Don't miss the chance to be part of something that changes lives and it's great fun!
RISE will be held in Bathurst during the school holidays on the 11th and 12th July in Bathurst. Register HERE!

Sacramental Program:
It has been wonderful to hear about many of our students receiving sacraments through Parish Masses recently. Please email a photo through to me if you wish to have this celebrated in the school newsletter. We kindly request that names are not visible in the provided photograph

Information on First Penance, First Holy Communion and Confirmation and how the parish based, but school supported, Sacramental Program will function  this year was provided last term via grade overviews, school and the parish information session.   Please speak to your child’s teacher or myself if you require further information about registrations.

Monday Liturgy & Assembly: 
Please join us each week between 9:00 and 9:30 am as we pray together and acknowledge the achievements of those in our school community. Classes, Grades and Committees each take responsibility for leading these celebrations and it is a wonderful way to find out all of the special things happening inside and outside of our learning spaces.

Our Parish
We are proud to be an important part of the Cathedral Parish of Ss Michael & John.  Please follow this link for more information about the many formation opportunities, ministries  and other ways that you can participate in the life of our parish. 

Coming up:

Ashley Boylan   | Religious Education Coordinator

Awards

Library

The students earn a stamp each week they borrow in the Library.
When they reach 15 stamps they can choose a special book to keep at home. Congratulations to Noah in 2I for being the first person in the school to earn 15 borrowing stamps.

Library classes last week focussed on Reconciliation week.
The students listened to different books about reconciliation and completed activities on the theme. Students enjoyed completing Indigenous artwork puzzles as one of the activities.

Merryn Sadler   | Teacher Librarian

Class in Focus | 4BR and 2I

🆆🅴 🅰🅳🅾🆁🅴 🅱🅴🅸🅽🅶 🅸🅽 🆈🅴🅰🆁 🅵🅾🆄🆁
It’s been another exciting and productive week of learning in our 4BR classroom.

Our English lessons this week have coincided perfectly with Reconciliation Week, as we have been studying the text ‘Stolen Girl’ which is a fictional account of the Stolen Generation. Students in 4BR were thoroughly captivated by the story and engaged in deep discussion on the topic. We harnessed our emotional responses to create our own metaphors and complex sentences based on how we would feel in the same situation as the stolen girl character. 

In Mathematics, our exploration of place value has taken us into the realm of decimals, with a particular focus on understanding whole numbers, tenths and hundredths. We enjoyed applying these skills when measuring the height of our classmates in centimetres, then converting into metres to get a decimal value e.g. 145cm = 1.45 metres. We have spent lots of time arranging our heights into both ascending and descending order, giving us lots of practice with decimal notation, comparisons and converting units of measurement. 

In our Science and Technology lessons, we have been investigating how energy makes things happen. Over the past two weeks, we've focused on heat transfer and conducted an experiment with three spoons (metal, plastic, and wood) placed in boiling water. We observed that the metal spoon, a conductor, quickly melted the butter and the bead fell into the water, while the plastic and wooden spoons, being insulators, did not melt the butter even after a week. We now have an excellent recall of electrical energy sources in our homes and classrooms, as well as a strong understanding of how heat transfers in various devices. 

Mrs Bowman and Mrs Rice

2I 
2I students have enjoyed another wonderful week of learning and fun. 

In English lessons we have been studying the text ‘Great White Shark’ by Claire Saxby and have been focussing on writing descriptive sentences. We are looking forward to linking our knowledge from the text with our Art lessons next week to begin our air dry sculptures. 

In Mathematics this week we have been consolidating our addition and subtraction skills using a range of strategies. We have enjoyed the opportunity to work collaboratively with others to support our learning this week.

2I students also enjoyed the engaging performance from Musica Viva on Thursday. We had some students in 2I who were lucky enough to be selected to be a part of the performance. We thank Mrs Dubojski for her support in facilitating this performance for our students. 

After our wonderful excursion to the Carillon last week, 2I have continued to build on their knowledge of significant sites in Bathurst this week by investigating the story of Wahluu (Mount Panorama). 

We completed our final gymnastics lesson this week and would like to pass on our appreciation to the wonderful Aspire instructors for their time over the past four weeks in supporting our gymnastic skills.

Miss Inwood

SPB4L

We thank our P&F and Mrs Bowman for the purchase of our new sports equipment. Our students relish the freedom to take part in so many activities throughout the day. From the quiet of the Library to the back and forth of the tennis courts. This week we are learning about how to care for this equipment. We will be reminding students that we should be grateful for these items and that we should care for them so that they can be used in the future. 

Next week due to the King’s Birthday Public Holiday and School Photos we will not be having our Weekly Assembly, giving us the opportunity this week to briefly direct our focus from the acknowledgement of the amazing individual achievements by instead spending additional time reviewing our Shared Universal Expectations (revised in each classroom every day) in all of our learning spaces.

Students will be asked to identify their understanding around our established awards systems and how this aligns with our universal shared expectations of being Respectful, Safe, Responsible and Kind.

Teachers will also dedicate time in this week’s Staff Meeting as part of our Professional Learning Teams (PLTs also reviewing our daily shared expectations  presentations (please see below for an example  of this):

Wellbeing

Mindfulness
Working on mindfulness gives us opportunities to develop our ability to pay attention to the present moment and our thoughts. Practising mindfulness daily can help us stay focused on set tasks and reduce stress and anxiety.

Whole Family Activity:
Mindful Walk

• As a family, go on a walk outside in nature. This might be around your local walking track, at your local park, or just around your streets.
• While walking, tune into your senses and observe what you can see, hear, and feel. Or you might choose to focus on one of the senses. Eg: Hear: what are all the noises you can hear on your walk?
• On your way home or when you return home, share what each person saw, heard, or felt.

Family Habit Builder:
Each night at dinner, ask everyone to take one mouthful of food more mindfully than the rest and think about the flavours they can taste and how it makes them feel. (They can also thank the chef!).

Breakfast Club
Please contact Alana in the canteen on 0417 044 116 if you would like to be included in the morning breakfast roster. Food is served from 8:30-9:00am. If you could spare some time at drop off it would be greatly appreciated.

This program is voluntary and only students presenting to the canteen will be given breakfast. Please contact the school if you would like to opt your child out of this program as all students who present to the canteen will be given breakfast unless instructed otherwise.

Alice Gallagher and Abbie Bowman   | Wellbeing Teacher/Primary Coordinator 

Sports

Netball Gala Day
We have the Netball Gala Day coming up this week on Wednesday 5th June at the Bathurst Netball Courts for students from Year 3-6. If you haven’t completed your child’s registration on PlayHQ QR code, please do so ASAP. If you have any difficulty with this process please reach out to Mrs Bowman for assistance. This must be completed to participate in the day. 

Eastern Creek Cross Country
Our school community wishes Emilia all the best as she competes at Eastern Creek Cross Country on Wednesday 5th June. We are very proud of her making it to this level already and will be cheering her on from school!

Infants Gymnastics Sessions
Infants have had an excellent four weeks with Aspire Gymnastics teaching us all things gymnastics! We thank Aspire Gymnastics for their expertise and skills and look forward to continuing sessions next term with different grades. Infants sports day will now return to their regular Thursday.

Community Sport Site
Our Diocesan sports coordinator Mr Steve Maguire has created a Community Sport Site (has reports from events) for parents, families & teachers which can be accessed to assist with Diocesan Sports pathways. You may like to bookmark this site for reference:
https://sites.google.com/bth.catholic.edu.au/cedbsportcommunity/home

Abbie Bowman   | Primary Coordinator

Mini Vinnies Club

Parents and Friends

Next P&F Meeting: Wednesday 5th June 5:30pm - School Library
Everyone is invited to attend our monthly P&F meetings, which are held on the first Wednesday of each school month at 5:30pm in the Library.

There is NO PRESSURE to attend every meeting or volunteer bucketloads of time - the P&F is a great resource to keep track of what’s happening at school and connect with other parents, caregivers and school staff.   

For those who cannot attend in person, we have a zoom link, if you would like to join from home!
https://bthcatholic.zoom.us/j62675200979?pwd=duYyV3M2MvdoTVVjclRKZE5jdnlMdzo9
ID:62675200979@zmau.us
Password: 106688

Friday 21st June- Trivia Night
Put your thinking caps on, plan a babysitter and get ready for a fun child-free night
Start organising your table of up to 10 adults, If you need help finding a table, please contact us.

OPTIONAL School Jackets
The Cathedral School logo is embroidered on the chest, the jackets are lightweight, windproof and water-resistant perfect for the cold weather. These optional school jackets are available to try on at the school office and ready to order via Flexischools under shop.

Please note: The optional jacket is NOT compulsory - All maroon/navy/black school jackets are also acceptable.

If you have any enquiries about our projects or would like to get involved, please email us at cathedralpandf@gmail.com

Melissa Bray   | P & F Publicity

Music

Cathedral School Ensemble Times & Days:

• School Choir Tuesdays at Recess
• Guitar Group Wednesdays at Recess
• Concert Band Thursdays at 7:50am
• Junior Band Thursdays at Recess

If your child is interested in participating in any of these groups please feel free to contact me chris_dove_trumpet@hotmail.com 

Chris Dove   | Band Director

School Calendar Handy Hints

For those who are not familiar with Google Calendar an easy way to keep up to date with the school calendar is to check the school website. Here is the link that will take you straight to the Calendar section of the site where the calendar can be displayed by month. If you click on the event more details (if confirmed) will be available for the event. 

Most end of year events and special celebrations have already been added to the calendar and all
other events appear as soon as we can confirm the details.  Website Calendar Link

For those with a Google Account the calendar can be added to your Google calendars for easy access
on your phone or device. Google School Calendar Link

Update your Details

Update your email, phone number, address, your child’s medical details or emergency contacts by emailing the information to cathedral@bth.catholic.edu.au

Canteen

   Canteen Roster Term 2 2024

The Canteen is open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

We are in need of helpers in the Canteen on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. 
For the canteen to run smoothly 3 volunteers are essential.

Please contact Alana Watson on 0417 044 116 if you would like to be included in the canteen roster,
any time offered is welcomed.

Thank you to all our friends and family for all your ongoing support of the Cathedral Canteen.

Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)

Community Notices

Bathurst Bus Lines - School Bus Tracking App
The school bus tracking app is available for parents to download on their phone and track their child's bus in real time.  This might alleviate some of the anxiety related to putting students on the bus. Please see instructions below.

Parents requiring any bus pass or general bus travel information are welcome to contact our office and we will be able to discuss their needs accordingly.

If you have any queries please contact us on 6331 2744

Kind regards,

Carolyn
Bathurst Bus Lines