26 February 2024

Upcoming Events

Week 5

• Monday 26th February
  • Eastern Region Swimming Carnival - Bathurst
  • LENT (Week 2) Liturgy & Assembly (9:00am -Hall) 
  • Assembly hosted by 5A
  • Parent Information Session (and volunteers induction)
    • 5:00pm Volunteer Induction (Mother Ignatius Croke Hall)
    • 5:30pm Parent Information Session (Mother Ignatius Croke Hall)
    • 6:30pm Meet the teacher (Classrooms)
    • 7:00pm Finish
      
      
• Thursday 29th February 
  • AFL Paul Kelly Cup - Bathurst
  • Fr Karl Grade Visits
    
    
• Friday 1st March
  • Tomorrow's Leaders (Year 6 photos) published in the Western Advocate
  • Clean Up Australia Day @Cathedral School 11:40am - 12:00pm -REC & Environment Committee

Week 6

• Monday 4th March 
  • LENT (Week 3) Liturgy & Assembly (9:00am -Hall)
  • Assembly hosted by 4BR
    
    
• Thursday 7th March
  • First Rite of Reconciliation (9:00am - 11:00am -Cathedral) Years 5 and 6 - grade timings to be confirmed
  • Sacramental Meeting @ 6pm (Assumption Church)

• Friday 8th March
  • Bathurst Winter Sports Trials

2024 Important Dates

• Friday 1st March 2024
  • Tomorrow's Leaders (Year 6 photos) published in the Western Advocate
    
    
• Thursday 11th April 2024
  • Last day of Term 1
    
    
• Monday 29th April 2024
  • Pupil Free Day - Professional Development Day
    
    
• Tuesday 30th April 2024
  • First day of Term 2 - Winter Uniform

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

The success of our school relies heavily on the connection of our families. We are so grateful for the input and the support of our volunteers and the continued support of our school initiatives. Tonight is not only an opportunity to induct volunteers, meet teachers and learn about the direction of our school but it also serves as a celebration of where we are. A celebration of our students and their every day achievements. Cathedral is such a special community to be part of and for this we give thanks. 

Parent Information Session
We invite all parents and carers to join us on Monday 26th February at 5:30pm in the school hall for our Parent Information Evening. This year we welcome a guest speaker, Senior Constable Jane Heffernan to share information about online safety. We will outline our focus areas for the year and then you will have time to meet our teachers and have a look around your child’s classroom. This evening is for parents only. Limited supervision will be provided in the Library for families unable to find care for their school aged children.

Annual Volunteer Induction
Before the session begins, we invite any parents wishing to volunteer throughout the school year to join us for a brief volunteer induction. This induction takes place annually and to support our efforts to promote a safe environment for our children, we ask that anyone wishing to volunteer throughout the year attends this session (canteen, sporting, P&F,  etc). 

Monday 26th February - Session Outline
5:00pm Volunteer Induction (Mother Ignatius Croke Hall)
5:30pm Parent Information Session (Mother Ignatius Croke Hall) 
6:30pm Meet the teacher (Classrooms)
7:00pm Finish

Camille da Silva Tavares   | Principal

Cuppa After Assembly

You are invited to join us for a cuppa after assembly each Monday morning.
Bring your coffee from Cafe Viva or make yourself a cuppa in the hall kitchen.
All are very welcome.

Staffing

Mrs Carolyn Wood will be on leave from Tuesday until the remainder of the term. Mrs Naomi Dubojski will teach 4W for the Remainder of the term and Mrs Merryn Sadler will teach Primary Music along with her Library allocation. Mrs Wood will return to 4W in Term 2. 

Enrolments

Enrolments for 2025 are now open. We thank all those families who have already submitted Kindergarten enrolment forms and we ask those wishing to enrol their child for 2025 to do so as soon as possible.

Year 6 Farewell Committee Meeting

We invite all parents of Year 6 students to a brief meeting on Wednesday 20th March @ 3:30pm in the Library. At this meeting we will begin planning fundraising events for the Year 6 Farewell Dinner along with the event.

Teaching and Learning

Professional Learning for Staff
Last Thursday, Cathedral School teachers and teaching assistants, along with teachers from Catholic Schools in Bathurst, Lithgow and Oberon, participated in a day of professional learning to build our expertise in developing a culture of learning within our classrooms that reflects the learning of today.  

Key strategies focused on implementing routines and practices to ensure that every student:

• learns with understanding
• builds skills in applying and transferring knowledge
• develops skills to take responsibility for their own learning
• has strong foundations for what comes next in their learning.

Our teachers are keen to implement new strategies and routines to focus on elevating our existing practices to fully engage students using discussion, collaborative strategies, feedback and quality assessment with the aim of deepening knowledge and skills across Key Learning Areas in their classrooms and across the school. 

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 
NAPLAN will take place this term for Year 3 and Year 5 students beginning on Wednesday, 13th March (Week 7 and 8). NAPLAN is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. As students progress through their school years, it is important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress. NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy. 

Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is a part of their school program and reminding them to simply do their best. Some explanation of NAPLAN is useful to help students understand and be comfortable with the format of the tests; however, it is not necessary for parents/carers to do this. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance.

From 2023, NAPLAN results are reported against proficiency standards. There is a standard for each assessment area at each year level. Proficiency standards provide clear information on student achievement. They are set at a challenging but reasonable level expected for the child at the time of NAPLAN testing, based mainly on what has been taught in previous years of schooling. Student achievement is shown against 4 levels of proficiency: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support.

The proposed timetable for NAPLAN is detailed below:

NB Wednesday 20th March to Friday 22nd March will be used as catch up days for students who have missed tests due to absence.

Catherine O’Neill   | Assistant Principal

Religious Education & Catholic Life

Clean-Up Australia Day: This Friday our Year 6 Environment Committee and Public Relations Committee will lead our school’s participation in Clean-Up Australia Day. As Stewards of God’s Creation and Pope Francis’ call for us all to take care of our ‘Common Home’, we will come  together to clean up our local school environment. This is part of our schoolwide approach to learning about the importance of taking care of the environment and understanding that each of us has the power to create a cleaner and healthier environment for all. 

In alignment with the theme of the day and to support safe handling practices, students are asked to bring in a pair of labelled gardening gloves from home before Friday.

Project Compassion  Our Year 6 Social Welfare Committee launched our fundraising initiatives for Project Compassion in 2024 at last week’s Weekly Monday Assembly.
We thank these students and Mrs O’Neill for leading our proud annual fundraising activities.  Keep up the wonderful fundraising initiatives at home and at school! 

Last week we were lucky enough to receive some Project Compassion items for
our Social Welfare Committee and  a large promotional money box from
Mr Samarawickrama that will feature at our Monday Liturgies during Lent and pop up around our school during the week.

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 this important event weekly.

Sacramental Program: Please join us in the Assumption Church on Thursday 7th March at 6:00pm for information on First Penance, First Holy Communion and Confirmation and how the parish based but school supported Sacramental Program will function  this year.

Coming up:

This Year at a Glance:  

A Message from Year 6

Easter Egg Raffle to support Project Compassion  
It is time to begin preparations for Cathedral School’s annual Easter Egg Collection and Raffle. We would appreciate donations of eggs from all children from Kindergarten to Year 6. All money raised will go to Caritas Australia and Project Compassion and will add to contributions already donated by students in their classrooms. Being involved is a great way to win some Easter treats and help to make a difference to struggling communities in underdeveloped countries.

We ask students to take care when bringing items to school to avoid breakages.

Donations of baskets or bags which could be used to create ‘prize packs’ would also be greatly appreciated.

Raffle tickets will begin to be sold next week at recess at a cost of 50 cents each or 3 for $1.00.

Happy Easter Egg collecting!

Zoe, Ruby M, Peppa, Josephine, Charley and Ruby Y  | Social Welfare Committee

Library

Please help your child remember to bring in a library bag and their books on their library class day.
Tuesday - 4BR, 6T, 6BG, KM, KA
Wednesday - 4W, 3G,3B, 2I, 2M
Thursday - 5A, 5C, 1JV, 1M

Infants classes have been learning about rules in the Library and Primary classes are learning how to choose a book that is just right for them and discussing why reading is good for you.

Merryn Sadler   | Teacher Librarian

SPB4L

This week we will continue to focus on Safety with the overarching message that at Cathedral School we 

show care and respect for our safety and the safety of others by …

• following teacher instructions in the classroom and on the playground
• following school rules
• taking care on the way to and from school
• playing in the appropriate areas of the playground
• wearing our school hat
• playing friendly and co-operative games
• resolving disputes peacefully
• remembering safety rules when using email and internet
• moving around the school in a safe and orderly manner

Particular emphasis this week will be given to:

• safety on the playground
• playing safely
• being safe when using technology

Catherine O'Neill   | SPB4L Committee

Awards

Sports

Paul Kelly Cup 
On Thursday 29th February, we have three (two boys, one girls) Stage 3 teams participating at the local AFL Paul Kelly Cup in Bathurst. We are proud of the training efforts of all students in these teams and wish them all the best on Thursday. 

 Eastern Region Swimming 
We wish all students that are attending the Eastern Region Swimming Carnival today, Monday 26th February, the best and look forward to hearing about their success and fun on the day.

 _____________________________________________________________

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

Parents and Friends

Next P&F Meeting: Wednesday 6th March 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 the zoom link, if you would like to join from home!

https://bthcatholic.zoom.us/j/62675200979?pwd=dUYyV3M2MVd0TVVjclRKZE5jdnlMdz09
ID: 62675200979@zmau.us   
Password: 106688

DATE FOR THE DIARY:

• April:
  • Wednesday 3rd April - P&F Meeting 5:30pm
  • Friday 5th April - School Disco
    
    
• May:
  • Wednesday 1st May - P&F Meeting 5:30pm
  • Thursday 9th May - Mother’s Day Breakfast & Liturgy
  • Friday 10th May - Mother’s Day Stall
    

Melissa Bray   | P & F Publicity

Music

Thursday 29 February 2024

• Concert band at 7:50am
• Junior band at 11:00am 
  

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

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.

Community Notices