Dear Parents

We had the inaugural election process of the SRC in Years 3 to 5 last week. It gives me great pleasure to announce the student leadership as follows:

• Year 3B: Harry H and Kate L
• Year 3W: Zac B and Emily L
• Year 4B: Marcus F and Maddison R
• Year 4W: Leon A and Grace P
• Year 5B: James G and Sophie M
• Year 5W: Jacob B and Mila C

I look forward to hearing the ideas of these students in the areas/topics that matter to them on the behalf of the student body when we meet.
 

 
On Tuesday night Miss Wright, Mrs Hocking and I met with a highly engaged Kinder parent group.  The meeting was well participated and hopefully parents gained some guidance, support and practical information about the expectations of Kindergarten and processes that set the students up for success. Tonight we meet the Year 1 parents via Zoom meeting at 6pm.  We look forward to meeting with you next week as follows:

• Monday 21 Feb - Year 3 @ 6pm Zoom and Stage 3 @ 7pm Zoom
• Tuesday 22 Feb - Year 2 @ 6pm Zoom
• Wednesday 23 Feb - Year 4 @ 6pm Zoom

Your Zoom meeting links will be sent by the teachers shortly.  These meetings will also be recorded and sent to you so you can listen and watch at your convenience.
 
This week I met with some parents on the P&F Committee who are as excited as I am to plan some fun activities and events that will reconnect us again as a school community after so long.  The first P&F General Meeting will be held on Monday 7 March.  I had hoped we could meet face-to-face, but with Covid restrictions, we need to meet via Zoom. We hope that you can meet via Zoom with us as we share with you the exciting events planned for the year, meet all the committee members including the P&F, Class Parents, and volunteer where you can to support the school.  I am inviting any interested parents to join the committee in a new and exciting role to the team.  The role is for a Sponsorship & Grant co-ordinator. It involves applying for the grant opportunities available from the local community, seeking sponsorship from the local community and creating sponsorship packages that will attract small businesses to support the school.  If interested, you are welcome to talk with me about the role or simply email me via the school to let me know of your intention.  You will be supported by an enthusiastic team on the committee, and we welcome your input and value-added experience.
 

We will hold our school Open Day on Tuesday 15 March at 9.15am and 6.30pm.  There is an Open day for prospective new families to enrol for 2023.  If you know of a family seeking a great school experience with a difference, I encourage you to recommend St Kieran’s to them.
 
Aboriginal prayer from the anniversary of Sorry Day 
 Almighty and loving God,
you who created ALL people in your image. 
Lead us to seek your compassion as we listen to the stories of our past.
You gave your only Son, Jesus, who died and rose again so that sins will be forgiven.
We place before you the pain and anguish of dispossession of land,
language, lore, culture and family kinship that
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced.
We live in faith that all people will rise from the depths of despair and hopelessness.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have endured the pain and loss of loved ones,
through the separation of children from their families.
We are sorry and ask God’s forgiveness.
Toughen the hearts of the broken, homeless and afflicted and heal their spirits.
In your mercy and compassion walk with us as
we continue our journey of healing to create a future that is just and equitable.
Lord, you are our hope.
Amen.
Aboriginal and Islander Commission of the National Council of Churches in Australia, (NATSIEC) 2003.
 
Kind regards
Anna
    Anna Marsella
    Principal

Parish Sacramental Program 2021- 2022
The Parish Sacramental Program has recommenced for Year Four children with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 
Sacramental family groups are beginning their learning.  Let us remember in our prayers those families and children who are preparing for this peaceful and heart calming Sacrament.
 Any child in the school is welcome to join in the Sacramental program. Please contact Janette at the parish office to do so.
 
For further information please contact Janette on 0408 866 521 or at sacraments@northharbourcatholic.org.au .

Family Prayer Packs
Prayer is a way of communicating and strengthening our relationship with God. Prayer can take many forms and one way that many people pray is as a family. To assist you in your family prayer life, or get you started, your child will soon be bringing home a Family Prayer Pack. Each class has one prayer pack which will be shared with the children over the term. The pack has user friendly instructions and is tailored to your child’s age. There is also a prayer cube for you to make and keep for your family. Families are invited to use the pack for one or two days then return it to school for another family to use.  You are encouraged to add your family intentions to the book provided so other families can pray for you.

Yours in Religious Education
     Mrs Kerrie Wetzlar

Teachers are on duty at school from 8.15am to 3.10pm.
Classes commence each day at 8.45am.
Dismissal times:

• 2.45pm for Carpark - Blue and Green Colour House
• Colour HousesYellow and Red 2.55pm for Carpark -
• 2.55pm for bus and playground pick up

All parents should have received an email via Compass asking for permission to use your child’s photograph/video for school and other purposes. There are two areas where we are seeking your consent.
 

1. Consent for your child's photograph/video being used by the school for internal school purposes, such as newsletters, on-site displays and our school's Compass portal.
2. Consent for your child's photograph/video being used by the school, CSBB office and CSNSW office for promotional, marketing, media and educational purposes. This includes the school website, social media, newspapers etc. I give permission for a photograph/video of my child to be used by the school, CSBB and CSNSW in the agreed publications without acknowledgment, renumeration or compensation.

 
If you haven't yet completed this form please access it from your Compass notification. You can give or deny consent for both questions. If you do not complete this online questionnaire your child’s photo cannot be used in any publications.
Please email the office if you are having any issues accessing this form.

This Valentine’s day don’t say I love you with chocolate, don’t say it with flowers, say it with undies !

This year the Mission Team is organising a collection for the homeless people of the city.

We are collecting new men’s undies, ladies undies, children’s undies, granny undies to be delivered to the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross, Sydney. At the Wayside Chapel homeless people can have a clean shower, however, when they get dressed again they have to put on their old undies. YUCK !

We want to change that so that when people have finished their shower they can put on a clean pair of undies. Next week, Week 4, we are collecting new undies. You can leave your donation under the noticeboard or in your classroom and we will collect them.
Thank you for participating in our undies project.
     The Mission Team. 

Welcome to a new year in our Library!
Please see the attached note about Library expectations and borrowing days for your child.
As per previous years, I would really appreciate help from parents covering our beautiful books in either plastic or contact. If you have done this before and wish to continue, please drop me a note and I will begin to send books home with your child (don’t forget to add your preference for plastic or contact).

I would love to welcome new parents on board as soon as we can have visitors onsite to show you the process.
 
The Premier’s Reading Challenge
 

The Premier’s Reading Challenge runs opens on Monday 28 February and closes on Friday 19 August. All the teachers like to encourage every student to participate in the PRC every year.

Students use existing user names and passwords. Kindergarten and new students will be given a user name and password once the PRC opens and they can be generated.

If your child has already read some of the books from the PRC reading list, please keep a note of these so they can be recorded once the challenge opens.
Please see the list below showing how many books your child needs to read to complete the PRC.


Happy borrowing! 
     Liz McGuire

The P&F met with Miss Marsella this week to discuss our Events Calendar for 2022.  

The first item on the agenda was the first P&F Meeting of the year, which will take place on Monday, 7 March at 7pm via Zoom. All parents are welcome to join this meeting and we especially encourage any families new to St Kieran’s.  A link to the meeting will be sent to all families prior to the meeting.

The next event on the calendar will be the Welcome Drinks.  These were sadly postponed due to Covid but a new date will be put forward soon.  As before, we would like to see as many parents there as possible and more information regarding this will follow shortly.

Other events are still in the planning stage and more details will be released via our school newsletter once they have been confirmed. 
 
As well as school events, Miss Marsella and the P&F discussed the importance of school communication to parents and it was confirmed that Compass will continue to be the main source of communication for the school.  Facebook will also be used but as not all parents use Facebook, Compass messages will be used primarily to update parents regarding important events and other relevant pieces of information.

We look forward to organizing more school social events for 2022 and we can’t wait to bring our school community back together as soon as we are able.  In the meantime, the P&F is here to help with any queries that we can and we hope to see many of you at the next P&F meeting.
    The P&F Team
    Bec Tomas, Alicia, Eleanor, Conor, Cath, Bec Mirabito, Tammy and Gemma  

St Paul’s Catholic College, Manly will be holding the Year 3 boys visit on Tuesday 15 March 2022. For details please click here.
 
The College Open Day will be held on Wednesday 23^rd March, 2022 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm here at the College.

The Canteen is open for online orders only for recess and lunch.  Orders will be taken to the classroom for students.  There is no over-the-counter orders or service.  
Facebook

Thank you to our volunteers over the past week:

•  Andi West
• Alicia Unkovic

Please remember to update your child’s Year Group in Qkr.
 
Any questions please feel free to make contact, on either 0438 433 231 or email me.
Thank-you,
     Hannah Davidson

Evergreen Music
Enrolments are now open for Mixed Ensembles on a Tuesday morning prior to school.  All instruments including voice are catered for. Please click here for information. 

Young Investigators Science - Term 1 Enrolment
We have two classes available in Term 1 on both Wednesday & Thursday mornings commencing next week.  The topic for Term 1 is 'Space - Exploring the wonders of the universe'. To enrol or for further information please click here.  
    Alana Wylie PhD - Eye Heart Science 

Term 1 Drama
To enrol click here.

     Stephanie Waites, Drama Teacher -  0407 235 914