19 February 2024

Upcoming Events

Week 4

• Monday 19th February
  • First Week of Lent & Assembly (9:00am - Hall)
  • Assembly hosted by Mrs O'Neill and the Social Welfare Committee

• Wednesday 21st February
  • 8:00am AFL Training 2024 
    

• Thursday 22nd February
  • Pupil Free Day

• Friday 23rd February
  
  • Year 6 MacKillop College Taste of High School
  • Year 6 St Stanislaus College Taste of High School

Week 5

• Monday 26th February
  • LENT (Week 2) Liturgy & Assembly (9:00am -Hall) 
  • Assembly hosted by 5A
  • Parent Information Session (and volunteers induction)

• Thursday 29th February 
  • Fr Karl Grade Visits
    
    
• Friday 1st March
  • Clean Up Australia Day @Cathedral School - 11:40am - 12:00pm -REC & Environment Committee

2024 Important Dates

• Thursday 22nd February
  • Pupil Free Day
    
    
• Friday 23rd February
  • Big Steps (kindergarten photos) published in the Western Advocate

• Monday 26th February
  • Parent Information Session (and volunteers induction)

• Friday 1st March 2024
  • Tomorrow's Leaders (Year 6 photos) published in the Western Advocate

• Thursday 11th April 
  • Last day of Term 1

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 welcome picnic was such a fitting way to begin the school year. Thank you to all who were able to attend and a huge thanks to our P&F for providing this worthwhile event. It was lovely to see new families (and old) connecting and the children having a delightful time with bubble wands, ice-blocks and a bit of soccer.

We also thank the many parent and P&F volunteers for their efforts for Shrove Tuesday.
This was a special day for our students and they were so delighted to see the many family members preparing the pancakes. Thank you!

Along with Fr Karl, we also welcome Fr Thao and Kieu (seminarian) to the Cathedral parish. Fr Karl will minister to the students of Cathedral, while Kieu will support the works of the parish. Kieu has already visited the school and it was a delight to see his soccer skills on the field at our welcome picnic.

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.

From Our Student Representatives

Our SRC met last week to review our current School Wide Behaviours for Learning (SPB4L). Our SRC and House Captains developed ideas around encouraging and building on our merit system along with some ideas of how to improve our focus lessons. The school is certainly being steered by a fine young group of minds.

Parent Information Evening and Volunteer Induction

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 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.

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

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 Year 6 Farewell Dinner along with the event.

Teaching and Learning

This week is Bus Safety Week. This is an initiative of New South Wales Transport and aims at raising awareness among all road users on how to stay safe on and around buses, helping to reduce injuries and fatalities.

This week we will be focussing on important road safety messages and reinforcing how to be safe in different circumstances through our SPB4L lessons and followed up within the Key Learning Area of Personal Development, Health and Physical Education. 

Below are some important safety messages for parents as well as practical activities that you can follow up and model at home to reinforce safe practices related to road safety. 

Keep your children and others safer during drop-off and pick-up times during the school week:

• Make sure your children are secured in the correct child car seat for their age and size and that it is fitted correctly.
• Stick to the 40km/h speed limit in a school zone and look out for children who may be about.
• Watch for flashing lights on buses. They let you know that there may be children crossing or about to cross the road. A 40km/h limit applies when school bus lights flash.
• Always give way to pedestrians particularly when entering and leaving driveways.
• Always park and turn legally around schools. Manoeuvres such as U-turns and three-point turns are dangerous during busy school drop-off and pick-up times.
• Drop your children off and pick them up on the school side of the road at the school’s drop-off and pick-up area. Never call out to them from across the road – they may run to you without checking for traffic.
• It’s safest for children to get out of the car through the Safety Door (Passenger side), away from passing traffic. 
• Remind your children to always wait until the bus has gone before choosing a safe place to cross the road.

Walking together safely to and from school
Here are a few things you can do to help keep your children safer as a pedestrian:

• Talk with your children about being alert in the road environment.
• Plan and practice your trip to school so you use pedestrian crossings where possible.
• Always hold your child’s hand. Children need your help to spot dangers such as vehicles coming out of driveways. They can also be easily distracted and wander into traffic.
• Remind your child to STOP! LOOK! LISTEN! THINK! every time they cross the road and keep checking until safely across.
• Talk to them about why they should stop, look, listen, think before crossing a driveway, road or carpark.

Hold Your Child’s Hand
As pedestrians, children can be easily distracted and are often too small to be seen by drivers. They may be unable to predict or identify dangers and tend to act impulsively. Talk with your child about safe behaviour on the footpath – it’s not a safe place to play as it is near the road and vehicles may be entering or exiting driveways.

Until your child is at least eight years old, hold their hand:

• on the footpath
• in the car park
• when crossing the road.

For more information on keeping our kids safe around schools visit the families section on safetytown.com.au

Catherine O’Neill   | Assistant Principal

Religious Education & Catholic Life

Ash Wednesday: Last week we came together as a faith community to celebrate the beginning of the Lenten season. Fr Karl reflected on how special this time is to all of us and its significance in the Easter Season. We enjoyed hearing about how important it is to look at the whole story of the great things in our lives, just as Lent is to the Easter Story.

Project Compassion  Our Year 6 Social Welfare Committee launched our fundraising initiatives for Project Compassion in 2024 at this morning’s Weekly Monday Assembly. We thank these students and Mrs O’Neill for leading our proud annual fundraising activities. All Cathedral students brought home a small money box for your generous donations. Please return donation boxes  to school once full and the total will be added to class tallies.We also look forward to the fun ways that classes will challenge each other in their fundraising efforts.   

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.

This Year at a Glance:  

Coming up Next Week:

SPB4L

At Cathedral School we strive to provide an inclusive, supportive and safe learning environment by encouraging all students to care for themselves, others, their learning and their school.

Our Cathedral universal behaviours are to:

• be Safe
• be Respectful
• be Responsible
• be Kind

Across the next two weeks we will be focusing 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

This week is Bus Safety Week. This is an initiative of New South Wales Transport and aims at raising awareness among all road users on how to stay safe on and around buses, helping to reduce injuries and fatalities.

With ‘Bus Safety Week’ running across New South Wales, particular emphasis this week will be given to Road Safety.
Topics will include:

 Catherine O'Neill   | SPB4L Committee

Awards

Wellbeing

The Resilience Project and Resilience Survey
Resilience and wellbeing are key factors to ensure a happy and fulfilling future for our young people. We are proud to partner with The Resilience Project to assist our students in their wellbeing journey. In order to gain an accurate understanding of our students’ strengths and challenges, we will be conducting a resilience survey developed by Resilient Youth Australia and the University of South Australia. In recent years, they have surveyed more than 500,000 Australian school students. 

We will administer the Resilience Survey this year online in class time. Students typically take 30-50 minutes to complete the survey. The data from the survey will be reported in aggregate descriptive form only, by year level and gender, and no individual student responses can be identified. 

The Resilience Survey is completely voluntary and anonymous. The survey will provide valuable information to assist us to create and maintain the best culture of wellbeing and resilience that we can. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s participation in this survey project, please contact Abbie Bowman through the school office.

We thank you for your support. 

Stage 3 VIBE Survey 
We are thrilled to announce an exciting addition to our school's support system—the brand new VIBE (Valuable Insights, Beliefs and Experiences) Student Survey! Designed with your child’s wellbeing in mind, this innovative survey aims to track and support each child’s emotional health in real time. Through a weekly check in, students will have the opportunity to share how they’re feeling and ask for help when they need it, ensuring they have the support they deserve throughout their academic journey.

At the heart of this survey is a simple yet crucial question: "How are you feeling today?" This question provides a powerful starting point for understanding each child’s emotional state and serves as a gateway to proactive support. Each week, students will be asked five randomised evidence based questions, encouraging them to reflect on different aspects of their life and emotions.

The VIBE Student Survey has been carefully crafted using evidence based techniques to ensure its effectiveness. The randomised nature of the questions helps cover a wide range of emotional experiences and encourages self reflection. Rest assured that the survey is designed to be a helpful tool on each child’s path to emotional wellbeing.

Alice Gallagher and Abbie Bowman   | Wellbeing Teacher / Primary Coordinator

Parents and Friends

 Cathedral School Parents & 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.

DATE FOR THE DIARY:

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

THANK YOU
We would like to THANK all the parents that volunteered their time to come and help cook pancakes for all the children on Shrove Tuesday. This day couldn’t go ahead without you and all the kids enjoyed eating the pancakes.

Our school community came together on Friday night to welcome in the school year. The Children enjoyed playing with the bubbles and icy poles, and the parents enjoyed meeting new families. Thank you to all the families that took the time to come on the night.

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

Sports

Winter Sports Trials
Thank you to all students in Year 5 and Year 6 that trialed at school last week to represent the school in the Winter Sports Trials. Students showed great talent, sportsmanship and humility. We would like to extend a big thank you to Mrs Keech who assisted in trials. Congratulations to the following students that will be attending Winter Sports Trials on Friday 8th March (with the exception of Rugby Union that is on the 24th May):

Archie, Maximus, Liam, Flynn, Geowin, Emilia, Maya, Patrick, Thomas, Jase, Henry, Harrison, Harryson, Willow, Maximus, Braith, Samson, George, Joseph, Pipa, Georgie, Peppa, Lara and Molly. 

Permission notes and instructions on how to register your child on the CSNSW website have been sent out last week. Please ensure these are completed ASAP.

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

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

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