24 June 2024

Upcoming Events

Term 2 - Week 9

• Monday 24th June 2024
  • Year 5 Goldfields excursion
  • Assembly led by 6T
  • Mini Vinnies with Mrs Avinash @ Recess

• Tuesday 25th June 2024
  
  • Choir with Mrs Sadler @ 8:35am
  • SRC Committee / PR Committee meeting @ Recess

• Wednesday 26th June 2024
  
  • Guitar Group @ 11:00am - 11:40am

• Thursday 27th June 2024

  • Senior Band @ 7:50am-8:50am

  • Junior Band @ 11:00am - 11:40am

  • Alpha @ 12pm
    
    

• Friday 28th June 2024

  • Agriculture Club with Mrs Angelucci @ Recess

Term 2 - Week 10

• Monday 1st July 2024
  
  • Assembly led by KA
    
  • Mini Vinnies with Mrs Avinash @ Recess
    

• Tuesday 2nd July 2024
  
  • Choir with Mrs Sadler @ 8:35am
  • SRC Committee / PR Committee meeting @ Recess

• Wednesday 3rd July 2024
  
  • Guitar Group @ 11:00am - 11:40am

• Thursday 4th July 2024

  • Senior Band @ 7:50am-8:50am

  • Junior Band @ 11:00am - 11:40am
    

  • Alpha @ 12pm
    
    

• Friday 5th July 2024

  • Agriculture Club with Mrs Angelucci @ Recess

2024 Important Dates

• Friday 5th July 2024
  • Last day of Term 2
    
• Monday 22nd July 2024
  • First day for Term 3

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

A Focus on Wellbeing

Our Wellbeing data is monitored through the Year 5 & 6 Vibe Survey. Our Wellbeing team at Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst were pleased last week to share with us some wonderful growth in the area of wellbeing. In all surveyed areas, our students reported significantly higher areas of wellness with the school. Since the inception of the Vibe student survey we have worked to grow our focus on wellbeing as we know and understand the importance of supporting mental well health. The following strategies have been built upon and some developed over the past year:

• The opportunity for all students in Years 5 & 6 to complete the Vibe Survey which reports on their feelings of wellness. This survey also gives students the opportunity to reach out for additional support.
• Check-in  and supports from our Wellbeing Officer for those seeking assistance and case management if required.
• Referral and case management support for students and their families through the school counselling program. 
• Early identification of students requiring support (referred by parents/teachers and supported by the Diverse Learners Team).
• The Hub providing routines and rostered check-ins along with a calm space for morning drop off.
• Breakfast club 
• The Resilience Project delivered to all students across the school.
• Revised Attendance Guidelines with the provision of additional pastoral care check-ins with families.
• Behaviour monitoring with the provision of parent contact where patterns of behaviour are occuring. 
• Cultural Engagement Officer/EALD teacher connecting with new families and supporting students with Language Backgrounds Other Than English. 
• Development of our school mascot, with activities driven by our Student Representative Council (SRC) to build school belonging and community.

 We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have supported these initiative, including Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst, our staff, the many parent volunteers and our students for actively taking up the support as we work towards a school culture where wellbeing is promoted, talked about and acted upon. 

A Focus on Learning

Tonight, our staff meet for an extended staff meeting to further develop our processes for Three Way Conferences that will take place in Week Three next term. We are excited to develop a school wide system whereby students, parents/carers and staff can work together to drive individual learning growth at each child’s point of need. 

It has been my pleasure to read over each child’s student report over the past week. To read about their strengths and their areas of development. We hope to send home information with the report about how our conferences will operate and will give you and your child the opportunity to identify areas  for growth for the coming semester.

Kindergarten Enrolments

This Wednesday, we will send out our Kindergarten offers of enrolment for 2025. It is our hope across Bathurst diocesan schools that an earlier engagement with families will ensure that we have time to transition both Kindergarten children and their parents/carers to the Cathedral community before Kindergarten begins. Please ask any friends or family who have not submitted their enrolment forms to do so as soon as possible.

Camille da Silva Tavares   | Principal

Staffing

We wish Mrs Jordana Kissell all the best as she begins her maternity leave this week. Jordy has become such a pivotal part of our support team and has assisted many children and their families over the past two and half years. We wish Jordy and her family all the very best during this time. We will communicate to families regarding Jordana’s replacement once this position has been finalised with Centacare. 

Our beloved Learning Support teacher,  Anita Burke will be taking leave for the next two terms at the conclusion of term Two. Anita journeys beside many of our students and their families requiring additional support at school. We are so very grateful for Anita's dedication to this role. Anita is usually the first at school and last to leave and her knowledge, expertise and love of our children is a true blessing. We aim to have this position filled by the commencement of Term Three.

Congratulations

A huge congratulations to Mrs Jerdin Jenkins and her family on welcoming their new son, Zander. We wish many blessings to the Jenkins family during this special time.

Religious Education & Catholic Life

Outreach

Thank you to dedicated student volunteers who form part of our Mini-Vinnies Club, led by Mrs Avinash. This week sees their annual Donations & Knit-In Day. Please see more information in this newsletter. We can’t wait to hear about the donations, catering by our very own Agriculture Club and the generous members of our school, faith and local communities giving of their time to support those in need. 

RISE!

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!

Last Friday we were lucky enough to participate in an online presentation with other schools and youth ministers from around our diocese. Deacon Josh and his amazing team of youth ministers shared additional information and highlights about this year’s Rise!  My highlight was confirmation that Cathedral School is privileged to be the host location for the daytime components of the  festival this year. Many of our Year 6’s are excited to not only participate in Rise but to be proud hosts and ambassadors for Cathedral School!

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: 

Our Parish 

Coming up:

Ashley Boylan   | Religious Education Coordinator

Awards

Library

Please help your child to remember their Library bag and books to return on their Library day.

Kinder, 4BR and Year 6 - Tuesday

Year 2, Year 3 and 4W - Wednesday

Year 1 and Year 5 - Thursday

Merryn Sadler   | Teacher Librarian

SPB4L

This week sees the introduction of our final whole school focus for Term 1. Our students have been working very hard in many areas but we also appreciate that tiredness and fatigue can have an impact on us all.

Sometimes this may come across when we are a little impatient, forget our manners or react more quickly to a situation in a less positive way. With our SPB4L practices and focus areas being informed by data that is entered into our student management system we have observed that positive and negative behaviours indicate that a renewed focus on conflict management and resolution is needed to support all learners to be their best as we finish the term.  Please see below the focus for Weeks 9 & 10, along with an overview of activities occurring in class. Please take the time to sit down and have a discussion about our class activities but also ways in which your child feels that they can best be supported by you as we navigate and celebrate the end of Semester One.

In responding to Student Voice last week through information gathered from the SRC, we are excited to bring back Golden Time next week, where the House receiving the most individual SPB4L Raffle tickets will have some special time together next Thursday.  This is in addition to the individual weekly rewards raffle.

 SPB4L Committee

Wellbeing

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.

Gratitude 

Some benefits of practising gratitude are:

• After 21 days, you start to scan the world for positives.
• After 42 days you become:

• • More optimistic, energised & focused.
  • Less likely to get sick.
  • You will sleep better.
  • Anxiety and depression decreases.

A few quick and simple ways to practise being grateful are:

• Journaling; each night write down 3 things that went well for you that day or purchase a gratitude journal with gratitude prompts.
• Write a gratitude letter to someone special, telling them why you are grateful they are in your life.
• Have a family discussion on the way home from school or around the dinner table about the things that went well that day or made you smile.

You can purchase 21-day, 6-month, and family journals from The Resilience Project website if that is something you’re interested in.

(03) 9113 9302 | theresilienceproject.com.au

Alice Gallagher  | Wellbeing Teacher

Sports

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

Soccer Gala Day

Congratulations to the 103 students who attended the annual Soccer Gala Day hosted by Assumption School Bathurst on Friday 21 June 2024! This day was a chance to gather in friendship to share our soccer skills. All 7 teams played with positive team spirit, displaying excellent soccer skills throughout the day. 

A special thank you goes to: all the parents who volunteered to coach individual teams; the parents who transported their children to and from Proctor Park with some managing to stay and watch games; the Cathedral School Staff for their organisation and supervision during the day and all the students for their wonderful soccer skills and excellent displays of sportsmanship. Thank you Cathedral School staff,  parents and students for a very successful day.

Eastern Region Athletics Carnival

The Eastern Region Athletics Carnival is to be held on Wednesday 7th August 2024 (Term 3 Week 3)  Students will be notified this week of their selection and events. A permission note indicating attendance will be posted on Compass this week. Please complete as soon as possible to allow for school organisation of this event.

Softball Trials

Congratulations to Carter who was chosen to represent the Diocese in Softball at the end of last year at Summer Sports Trials. He participated in the CPS Softball trials in Sydney last Thursday. We are so proud of Carter and his softball achievements. Well done!

A crisp, clear winter’s day  saw 13 Stage 3 boys represent Cathedral School at the annual Rugby Union 10’s day played in Orange. The boys are to be congratulated on their skill development throughout the day,  which resulted in an excellent win in their final game. Positive displays of sportsmanship and team spirit were also evident during the day! Congratulations and well done to all!  A special thank you to Mr Froebel for coaching the team once again. A huge thank you to all the parents for their ongoing support, especially transporting team members to the early morning training session and side line support during the day.

Abbie Bowman   | Primary Coordinator

Teaching and Learning

Student Assessment Reports

This week, teachers are finalising assessment reports for all students from Kindergarten to Year 6, in preparation for their distribution next week. These reports are designed to help parents stay informed about their children’s progress and achievements.

Our report format employs a grade reporting approach that reflects student achievement over the reporting period. The upcoming report will indicate your child’s level of achievement across various Key Learning Areas for Terms One and Two of this year as well as their engagement with learning. 

The A-E grading scale, used across New South Wales schools for students in Year 1 - Year 10, is applied to each Key Learning Area and describes performance at each of five grade levels. The common grade scales summarise the standard or quality of achievement associated with different  grades or levels. The scales describe the knowledge, understanding and skills that students working at each grade typically demonstrate. 

A: The student has extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. Additionally, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.

B: The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. The student can apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.

C: The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main content areas and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.

D: The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.

E: The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few content areas and has achieved very limited competence in some of the  processes and skills.

Congratulations to our students, whose progress and achievements are clearly reflected in these reports. These reports are the culmination of extensive work by our teachers, not only in recent weeks but also throughout Terms One and Two, involving careful planning, teaching, and assessments. I extend my gratitude to our dedicated teachers for their unwavering commitment to the school and our students.

Early next term, Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences will be held. These conferences will offer a valuable opportunity to share unique perspectives on the educational journey thus far, identify student strengths, and discuss areas of focus along with strategies to maximize growth opportunities in the future. In contrast to previous years, students will form an integral part of the conversation. Further information about these conferences, along with booking details will follow shortly.

We look forward to these opportunities to strengthen the partnership between home and school.

Catherine O'Neill   | Assistant Principal

Year 6 Fundraising Event

Celebrate the End of Term with Winter Woolies Day!

Whether it's an oodie, a beloved hoodie, a special jumper, or a unique beanie, scarf, or pair of gloves, we encourage all students to participate and get creative. Your contributions will support our Year 6 fundraising efforts and help spread some holiday cheer.

Friday 5th July - Join us in celebrating the season and showing off your winter woolies!

Thank you for your support and participation!

Mini Vinnies Club

Mini Vinnies Donations Day and Knit-In
This term at Cathedral, the Mini Vinnies Club has recommenced and students have been meeting each week to discuss ways to help others.

In particular, the students have been learning to knit, in preparation for our charity Knit-In.

On Friday 28^th June, we are asking for your support a few different ways. Firstly, we will be collecting any warm winter goods you may have that no longer fit and are still in good condition eg. Coats, jumpers, blankets, boots, and hats. These can be dropped into the school hall throughout the day, starting at 8.30am. Secondly, we are holding a charity knit-in with the Mini Vinnies members inviting any willing members of the school and parish community to help knit scarves or beanies. Please call the school office to register if you can attend on the day, starting at 12pm with a brief induction. We are also looking for anyone who is able to sponsor the Mini Vinnies club and make a donation, as we would be very grateful for your help. A QR code has been provided below or you may also find the link on the school facebook page. All funds go directly to the local region.

We have also collaborated with our Cathedral Agriculture Club who have grown fresh produce this term which will be made into delicious food to serve our guest volunteers on the day.

Congratulations to all Mini Vinnies and Agriculture Club members on your great commitment to this worthy cause. We look forward to a successful Knit-In and donations day in Week 9.

 Mrs Avinash   | Mini Vinnies School Coordinator

Mini Vinnies Winter Appeal Knit-In
Friday 28^th June Cathedral Mother Ignatius Croke Hall

Order of Events
8.30am – Donations of Winter goods can start being dropped at the school Hall.
12pm – Induction for guests / volunteers in the Cathedral Hall, led by Mrs Camille Tavares (Principal)
12.30pm – Lunch for volunteers hosted and prepared by Cathedral Agriculture Club
1pm – Official Welcome and Prayer
1.10 – Knitting Begins
2.40 – Afternoon Tea is served for volunteers and children
3pm – Close of the Knit-In

Parents and Friends

 Cathedral School Parents & Friends 

Next P&F Meeting: Wednesday 3rd July 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

TRIVIA NIGHT 28th June 6pm for 6.30pm start

Cathedral School P&F Trivia night is coming up on Friday 28/6/24. Doors open at 6pm for 6:30pm sharp start.

The whole community is invited and welcome, this event is open to EVERYONE, not just school families! Get your brains trust together and grab your tickets today! If you need help finding a table please let us know, we already have people waiting to join a table.

Visit http://www.123tix.com.au/.../cathedral-pf-trivia-night-2024 or scan the QR code on the flyer to buy your ticket now!

Bring gold coins and cash for buying answers and playing additional games on the night. BYO nibbles and drinks. 

We hope you can join us!

Melissa Bray   | P & F Publicity

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

Music

Cathedral School Ensemble Times & Days:

• School Choir Tuesdays at 8:35am
• 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.

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