Dear Parents
 

Welcome back to Term 4 in what has been an unforgettable and extraordinary year. I hope you and your family had an opportunity to make the most of the Spring weather and to get some time to rest and recharge, ready for the final term of the year. This term we welcome to St Kieran’s the Carroll family in Year 3. It is a pleasure to welcome the family to our school community.

During the holiday break, eight of our classrooms were given a new lease of life with the installation of new LED lighting, carpets, paint and wall coverings. The results are wonderful with the students returning to bright, fresh classrooms ready to fill them with their work.

The term ahead is full of events that we hope go ahead as planned, subject to COVID-19 restrictions. These include the swimming carnival, class masses, leadership camp for Year 5, Kinder 2021 transition mornings, cricket clinics and competition day, Year 6 graduation ceremony and lunch to name just a few. With regards to COVID-19 restrictions, parents are only allowed on the school site for specific reasons and must sign in at the front desk. Please phone the school beforehand to check if your visit is deemed necessary.

Year 5 are spending the day at the Collaroy Centre, taking part in what was supposed to be an overnight leadership camp. Unfortunately for the students, the sleep over did not happen this year but they still have had a fantastic and exciting day, taking part in a variety of leadership activities which we look forward to hearing more about. Year 6 missed out on their overnight trip to Canberra in Term 3 but will also be visiting the Collaroy Centre later this term.
 

We had the pleasure of hosting our second Kindergarten transition yesterday, even if it was a Zoom meeting. We will hold the third transition on Tuesday 3 November and all being well, we will be hosting the children and their parents at school.

Congratulations to Philippa Q from Year 5 who competed with children from across the state in two NSW Cross Country Championships run by Athletics NSW. Pip came 3rd in the U12 category in both the 2km race in July and the 3km race last weekend. This gave her automatic selection into the NSW team and the Australian Championships that were cancelled for this year due to COVID. Pip has made the NSW honorary team and will be able to compete in the 2021 Australian Cross Country Championships.

The school has been asked to remind parents about the need for children who catch buses to use their Opal Cards each trip. Due to the privatisation of public transport on the Northern Beaches, there will be an evaluation of the viability of school buses, which will rely upon Opal Card data. If a child does not tap on and off, their trip will not be counted and may determine the future viability of that service.

Staffing for 2021 is being processed at this time with the intention of having teachers named for next year in the coming weeks. I will keep you updated on this process.

Congratulations to Mrs Clifford and her family on the slightly early arrival of Violet in the school holidays. Vanessa and Violet are doing well and the family is very appreciative of all the thoughts and prayers for them during this time.
 

Congratulations to the following students who received Merit awards this week:

KB:  Gordon T, Lucinda B and Flo C
1B:   Emily A and Lincoln D
1W:  Thomas M and Olivia P
2B:   Tommy D, Nadia I and Maddison R
2W:  Bobby P and Grace P
3B:   Jacinta W and Olivia R
3W:  Chelsea A and Sampo C
4B:   Jj Paver, Sienna S and Daniel M
4W:  Brooke B and Teddy H
5B:  Madhulika S and Lachie W
5/6: Lennox L and Philippa Q
6B:  Mikayla L and Braylon D
PE:  Freddy W and Emilia G

This term all classes explore the idea of “Mission.”  Mission comes from the Greek word ‘missio’ meaning to be sent forth. As Catholics our mission is to go forth to proclaim the Kingdom of God here on earth.  We do that by bringing justice, peace and love to all. Chris Wright expresses the idea of mission as follows:

“It is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world, as God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission – God’s mission.”

Christopher J.H. Wright, The Mission of God's People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission

From this extract we can glean that what is God’s mission was also Jesus’ mission, then the mission of the disciples and passed to the Christian Church. As members of the Church and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit it is now our mission.  

Using Scripture passages appropriate to their age, students study the concept of how we can bring God’s Kingdom of justice, peace and love to others. Justice for the marginalized, peace to the hearts of the troubled and love to all.

Yours in Religious Education
Mrs Kerrie Wetzlar

Book Week is in Week 2 (October 19-23). The theme this year is, “Curious Creatures, Wild Minds.” link
Each year since 1945 the CBCA (The Children’s Book Council of Australia) has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. During this time schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators.

The students at St Kieran’s will be participating in a variety of activities throughout Book Week and may come dressed as a character based on the theme or as their favourite book character on Tuesday October 20. Students in K-2 have already read several shortlisted books and completed activities to go with them. They have even voted on which book may win!

There will be a colouring-in competition for the K, 1 and 2 students and the students in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 can enter the draw your own curious creature competition. Class teachers will have the entries.

On Tuesday this week, students in K-3 attended the performance of “The Greatest Discovery!” in the Parish Hall. Please see the link for further details: link
.

Applications for student travel in 2021 opened from Monday 12 October 2020.
Students who require a School Opal card or travel pass for 2021 can now apply online. A new application should be submitted if a student is applying for a school travel pass for the first time or requesting an additional pass as a result of a new shared parental responsibility situation (e.g. joint custody). 

For full details click here.

Have your child’s school memories captured forever!
Please take time to read the relevant information on the MSP Photography payment letter and remember these helpful points:

ONLINE PAYMENTS:
Parents can order and pay online through the Compass Portal. Instructions are included on the back of the letter. All Credit cards are accepted.
 
Orders accepted until Monday 26 October 2020

1. ALL PAYMENTS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE ONLY. 
2. WE DO NOT ACCEPT CHEQUES OR CASH
3. CONNECT: Log into your Compass Portal at:  skmvdbb-nsw.compass.education
4. Order:  Place your order online and keep a record of your Order Reference Number.
5. Family orders:  ** Must be placed no later than the day before photo day, to capture their photo. **
   Please order this with your eldest child. Order online by scrolling down below the individual packages to find your family ordering options.
6. Orders received after photo day are subject to a $20 Archive Fee.
7. Sport/Specialty Photo Orders will be organised after photo day on a separate Letter that will be sent home

For all enquiries please phone MSP Photography directly on 9499 6555

Over the years we have all embraced the concept of sun safety. The Cancer Council has a slogan which has been a timely reminder to us all.  Slip, slop, slap, seek and slide.

At St Kieran’s, whilst in school, at sporting events and excursions, teachers and parents have made a concerted effort to provide students with sun safety reminders. Students wear protective clothing, slop on sunscreen and slap on their hats. Students are regularly reminded to seek shelter in extreme heat or sunny days.  It seems the only part of the sun safe plan we haven’t addressed is slide on sunglasses. It is interesting to note that all teachers wear sunglasses whilst on playground duty, yet our children, who have more sensitive eyes, do not.

Like our skin, sun damage to our eyes surfaces when we are older. Please see the following articles for more discussion about the value of sunglasses for children. Some of the information contained in these articles was very interesting.  

• ABC article  
• Normalising sunglasses at school 
• Schools take sunglasses protection 
• Sun safety for kids 

With this in mind we will be encouraging the use of sunglasses for playground and excursion use. The wearing of sunglasses is OPTIONAL and does not replace the school hat.

Sunglasses deemed suitable for school are those from the Cancer Council’s School Sunglasses collection.  Let us remember that the sunglasses are an additional option to our school uniform and not a fashion accessory. It is important that students wear good quality, polaroid sunglasses which can be purchased from the Cancer Council shop.  A sports strap in black or navy blue is also and important addition to sunglasses. This will allow students to run around without worrying about their sunglasses coming off.

The October Broken Bay issue celebrates one year since Bishop Anthony Randazzo's appointment as the fourth Bishop of Broken Bay, as well as testimonies from our seminarians on their next steps in their journey to priesthood, CatholicCare's services for domestic violence and the Social Justice Statement for 2020-21 on Mental Health. There is also an update on Towards 2025 in our Catholic Schools, new building projects at St Brendan’s and much more!
 
Read it now online.