13 Nicholas St, Newtown 3220

13 Nicholas St, Newtown 3220 Newsletter 10 Telephone 03 5221 1075 Term 4 Week 10 10th November 2014 Email [email protected] Together We Can Make Our School Even Better in 2014

Dear Families Tonight we gather as a school community at St Mary’s Basilica to give thanks for what has been another great year at St Robert’s. Celebrations, such as this, are very special as we have the opportunity to reflect on the year in a spiritual way as a family of friends and classmates. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge those members of our community who will be leaving us. Our grade six students, some of our long time parents who end their association with the school and on this occasion a very valued and much loved staff member who will be beginning a new chapter in her teaching life after many years of dedicated service to the children and the community of St Robert’s. I look forward to seeing you all tonight at 6.00pm. Next week’s newsletter will be a condensed version so I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who have contributed in some way this year. One of the great features of our school is the willingness of parents to find the time to come up to the school and help out in a wide variety of ways. Some are able to do more than others but every contribution is important. Thank you to; our classroom helpers, those hardworking members of the P&F, and Advisory Board representatives, our fete committee, workers and stallholders, our book week artists and library helpers, costume sewers, gardeners, ‘chickensitters’, uniform coordinators, our Parents for Parent’s coordinators and “cookers”, kitchen helpers, class parents, our book club coordinator, PE helpers and all those spare bits people who are always willing to do the odd job when asked. You are all very much appreciated and in no small way responsible for the great school that we have. I thank you all and look forward to working with you again next year. School finishes for the year next Wednesday 17th December at 3.30. Our final assembly will begin at 2.30pm and children will be dismissed from their classrooms at the regular time of 3.30.pm.

Have a great week, Mark

ENHANCING OUR CATHOLIC IDENTITY The Season of Advent 3rd Sunday of Advent – " Look, your God is coming!

Rejoice: the Lord is nigh." As Christmas draws near, the Church emphasizes the joy which should be in our hearts over all that the birth of our Savior means for us. The great joy of Christians is to see the day drawing nigh when the Lord will come again in His glory to lead them into His kingdom. The oft- repeated Veni ("Come") of Advent is an echo not only of the prophets but also of the conclusion of the Apocalypse of St. John: "Come, Lord Jesus," the last words of the New Testament.

Today is known as Gaudete Sunday. The term Gaudete refers to the first word of the Entrance Antiphon, "Rejoice". Rose vestments are worn to emphasize our joy that Christmas is near, and we also light the rose candle on our Advent wreath. Again we light the candles of hope and love and today we add the pink candle of joy. As the feast of Christmas draws closer we rejoice, Our God is coming and Joy is the mood of all earnest seekers. Let us not grow weary, but steady our hearts and be glad, for the Lord is close at hand! How dark outside! but see - a star's in the sky; Mary and Joseph are passing by. So let's light a candle to welcome them as they go on their way to Bethlehem. We'll light a candle in church each day, We'll light one candle each week and pray. ‘ GREGOR McLEOD DAY ’ Following on from the success of last year’s event, we would again like to honour the memory of Gregor with this year’s ‘Gregor McLeod Day’ this Friday, December 12th. Children are invited to wear casual clothes, and contribute a gold coin to our fundraiser for the ‘Very Special Kids’ charity organisation. Children might like to add a ‘touch of Christmas’ to their outfit! Please note, students from grades 3-6 will still be attending swimming, so will need to wear bathers underneath; no thongs/flip-flops please! We have also declared this day an official ‘swap day’ for card collectors. We hope that all families can support this special event, and help us raise some funds for this worthwhile charity! Kind Regards, Julie Prendergast

GRADE 6 FAREWELL CELEBRATION DINNER The 2014 Grade Six Graduation Dinner is being held on Monday 15th December at 6:00pm,Grade 6 students are to meet in the St Robert’s Chapel and parents in the St Robert’s Staff Room. At 7:30pm the parents will join the student celebration to watch the Grade 6 DVD. Special thanks to Susan Palmer for putting this together. Each student needs to bring a ‘Sharpie” pen on the night so they can sign the Grade 6 tops. Many thanks to the Grade 5 parents who have volunteered to assist with the evening. If you are able to assist please contact Trudy Antonac 0448 238 595. Finally, thank you to the Parents and Friends for supporting this evening and to all the Grade 6 Graduation Committee members – well done , your input and time are sure to make ths night a memorable one.

END OF YEAR MASS A reminder that the St. Robert’s end of year, thanksgiving Mass is on tonight, Wednesday, December 10th at 6:00pm at St. Mary’s Basilica. During this Mass there will be a collection for our partner parish of Mary Immaculate, Timor Leste. We hope all families will take this opportunity to come together in praise and thanks to God. Thanks Annice Lappin

ONLINE BOOKINGS FOR 2015 STUDENT ASSESSMENT INTERVIEWS Families with 2 or more children attending St Robert’s in 2015 will have received the online booking information for the 2015 Student Assessment Interviews today. It would be an advantage for these families to make their bookings now in order to allow for these interviews to be closely grouped. Families with one child attending St Robert’s in 2015 will receive their information on Monday 15 th December. Bookings are now open and will close on Wednesday 28th January 2015. For parents who do not have any internet access a computer kiosk will be available in the Deputy Principal’s office to enable parents to make their own bookings.

HOUR OF CODE – COMPUTER SCIENCE WEEK DECEMBER 8 - 14 In the largest learning event in history, tens of millions of students around the world have participated in the Hour of Code, a one-hour self-guided tutorial designed to introduce the basics of computer programming. Congratulations to all the Year 5 and 6 students at St Robert’s, who recently completed the Hour of Code event and received certificates for their efforts. Grade 4 students will be attempting their Hour of Code this week.

GRADE 3 EVENING All parents of both Grade 3JS and Grade 3KH are invited to an end-of-year gathering & farewell for Mrs Julie Snowdon. To be held at The City Quarter Bar on Cunningham Pier on Wednesday 17th December at 7pm. Please rsvp to Donna Carroll ph/sms 0408 476 276 by 12/12/14.

CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations to St Robert’s Blue on winning the Grand final on Monday night. That makes three back to back Grand Final wins, well done to all.

LOST PROPERTY Our lost property baskets are overflowing!!! We ask that families please check these baskets if you have mislaid any items recently. At the end of the year whatever remains will be washed and used for spare clothing or offered to the Uniform Shop for second hand sales. Please check to ensure that items are returned to their owner. Also we ask that parents be diligent with swimming items at this time. We seem to be accumulating lots of swimming odds and sods.

EXCHANGING CHRISTMAS CARDS In line with Food and Healthy Eating Policy the school does not permit Candy Canes or Chocolate Santas etc. to be exchanged. Please stick to Christmas Cards only, thank you for your co-operation.

SCHOOL BANKING Last day of school banking for the year next Tuesday 16th December. Please note rewards have been ordered but won’t be received until early Term 1 2015. Thank you to everyone for your support this year. Corinne and Michelle ST ROBERT’S PARENTS & FRIENDS BUSINESS DIRECTORY – EXPRESSION OF INTEREST Coming to families by separate email, current emailing system cannot cope with excess pages, is a new initiative from the Parents & Friends. Please take the time to check this email and respond accordingly.

MERCY RENUNION Reunion Mercia Primary School Grade 6 class of 1981 Save the date: Saturday 31st of Jan 7.30pm ( venue to be confirmed) All past students who attended Mercia Primary School grade 6 in 1981 are invited to a reunion .For further details or to RSVP please contact Kelly McLachlan 0417 211 874, Margaret McDonald (Shannon) 0400 697 793 or Michelle Appleford (Brown) 0419 878 854

BABYSITTING My name is Pep Salmon, and I am an ex St Roberts student. I am 18, have just completed year 12 at Sacred Heart College and have my licence. I also have some baby-sitting experience and my level 1 first aid certificate. I am available every evening of the week and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during the day. I can also provide references upon request. So if you’re looking for a babysitter, I would love to help you out! Contact me on: 0458 660 906 INFORMATION RE: COMMENCEMENT OF 2015 SCHOOL YEAR There seems to be a little confusion regarding the Student Assessment Days taking place on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th January. These two testing days apply to all St Robert’s students from Grade 1 through to Grade 6. The opportunity for families to log on and register a time for the assessment tasks will be made available online in the last weeks of this school year. It is our hope to accommodate families with multiple children in multiple grades at the same time. It is anticipated that the assessment tasks will take one hour to complete. More details on how to register a time, to follow at a later date. WEDNESDAY 28 th JANUARY Pay 1st Instalment payment of $450 on this day and collect books from, 11:30am until 2:00pm. (Uniform shop is not open on this day) THURSDAY 29 th JANUARY First Day of Testing 8:30am-3:30pm (Timetabled Students) FRIDAY 30 th JANUARY Second Day of Testing 8:30am-3:30pm (Timetabled Students) MONDAY 2 nd FEBRUARY First day of school for all children. (Prep-Six) ` (Prep children finish at 12:30 pm for Monday & Tuesday) BEGINNING OF SCHOOL YEAR FOR PREPS All Prep students, along with students from all other classes, will commence school on Monday 2 nd February. Prep children will finish at 12:30pm on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday will be a rest day. All Prep children are expected to attend school for the whole school day (9:00am-3:30pm) from Thursday 5th February with the exception of Wednesdays which is a recommended day of rest for all Prep children. This will continue for a period of five weeks. (The last rest day will be Wednesday 4 th March). All prep children will be expected to attend full time – 5 days a week thereafter.

STUDENT AWARDS Joshua Power Congratulations to the following William Tarrant students who have received 13th December Matilda Pidgeon certificates this week for 16th December Matthew Croce outstanding work. Mackenzie Tayler 17th December Zara Madden Gr FCC To all Foundation CC Harriet Maskell students for a fantastic year Gr FJP Silas Kanellos PIANO LESSONS Gr FJP Maggie Walker Piano Lessons with Qualified Teacher Gr FJP Lucas De Stefano Clare Hurley Gr 1YE Jagger Mooney HIghton/Queen's Park Classical and Contemporary Gr 1YE Isabelle O’Sullivan Preparation for AMEB Mob: 0412 615 080 Gr 1MC Christopher Watkins Gr 1MC Mikayla Whelan Gr 2LO Whole class for being such a DATES TO REMEMBER fantastic group throughout the year, will miss you all Wed 10th End of Year Mass, 6:00pm at St Gr 3JS Lucy Watts Mary’s Gr 3JS Olivia Bryant Fri 12th Senior Swimming concludes Gr 3KH Emily Brooks Mon 15th Grade 6 Farewell Dinner Gr 3KH Owen Sanigorski Tues 16th Grade 6 Excursion, Adventure Gr 4MA All of 4MA for a wonderful Park year Wed 17th Christmas Sing A Long 9:15am Gr 4MM All of 4MM for a wonderful End of Year Assembly 2:30 pm year Gr 5SP Thomas Brooks End of Term 4 at 3:30pm Gr 5SP Alexandra Layton Gr 5NF Scarlett Sinclair JANUARY 2015 Gr 5NF Jack Northey Wed 28th Payment of First Instalment of Gr 6DB Madison Antonac 2015 Fees, 11:30am until Gr 6DB Adele Stack 2:00pm Gr 6PB Mia Doherty Thur 29th First Day of Testing, 8:30am – Gr 6PB Isabelle Auld 3:30pm, timetabled students Fri 30th Second Day of Testing, 8:30am BIRTHDAYS – 3:30pm, timetabled students The St Robert’s School community wish to FEBRUARY congratulate the following nd children on the celebration of Mon 2 First Day of School for all their birthday this week. children, Foundation to Six, Happy Birthday to: Foundation children finish at 12:30pm for Monday & Tuesday th 10 December Emma Carroll Mon 14th Foundation Photo Day Emma Markovic 12th December Dana Mackay School Advisory Board Committee Members Fr Kevin Dillon [email protected] Website: www.srnewtown.catholic.edu.au Mark Soldani [email protected] Anita Thomas [email protected] Fiona Fitzgerald [email protected] Angela De Grandi [email protected] Sonia Mackay [email protected] Kym Brooks [email protected] Katey O’Sullivan [email protected] Louise Clatworthy [email protected]