Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,

Student Leaders for 2024
It is my pleasure to congratulate the following students who, following a comprehensive selection process, have been appointed as Student Leaders for 2024:

Captains – Sofia Da Deppo and Harry Donoghue

Vice-Captains – Juliette Glover and Blake Foster

Year 6 SRC – Camilla Bremner and George Ballenger

Hartigan Captains – Rosie Rainger and Henry Gooley

McAuley Captains – Isabelle Pidgeon and Xavier Doyle

Fielding Captains – Reese Flynn and Jackson Shelton

Mullungang Captains – Lucy Miller and Lewis Matthews

The appointment process is never easy, and this year was no exception. There was a very strong field of candidates who put themselves forward for consideration and, although everyone cannot be successful in this process, each student represented themselves with immense pride for their school, teachers and classmates and will no doubt show their leadership potential in other ways as Year 6 Leaders in 2024. My sincere congratulations go not only to the successful appointees, but to all students who put themselves forward to be a part of this process.


Uniform Shop Additional Opening Times
The Uniform Shop will be open from 10am to 3:00pm on Monday 4 December and Monday 11 December, in addition to the usual Tuesdays 2:30-4pm. The Uniform Shop will also be open from 2:30pm to 4pm on Tuesday 30 January and from 10am to 3:00pm on Wednesday 31 January, before school commences on Thursday 1 February.


Term Dates 2024
At the beginning of next year, Catholic Education is holding a System Day for staff professional development on Tuesday 30 January, which will be followed by our own staff Faith Formation day on Wednesday 31 January. This means that all students, K-6 will commence Term 1 on Thursday 1 February. Term 1 will be an 11-week term, with the Easter break falling at the end of Week 9, and the term concluding on Friday 12 April.


Advent

Advent, our season of waiting and preparation for the birth of Christ, commences this Sunday. The passing of the weeks of Advent are traditionally marked with the lighting of five candles in an Advent wreath: one for each Sunday of Advent and one for Christmas day. The first candle is violet and represents hope; the second, also violet, represents peace; the third candle is pink and represents joy; the fourth, violet, represents love; and the final, central, candle is white and represents the light of Christ coming into the world. Please join us for our Advent Prayer Service next Monday at 9am in the PAC, led by 1AH, as we light out first candle, beginning our journey towards Christmas, and pray for hope:

Christ our Hope,
Shine in our lives with hope and promise. Open our eyes to see you in others. Help us to be people of hope.
We await your coming with gratitude.
Amen 

End of Year Events
At 12pm next Friday 8 December we will be holding our Christmas Concert, featuring a Nativity play and a range of traditional and modern Christmas performances. All families are warmly invited to attend and celebrate this special time of year in our school community. 

At 9am on Wednesday 13 December, we will have a Year 3-5 awards assembly to recognise the efforts and achievements of our Primary students; parents will be notified in advance if their child will be receiving an award and are welcome to attend. On Thursday 14 December, we will be holding our Graduation Mass at 9:30am in St Augustine’s Church, with Year 6 awards being presented in the church at the conclusion of Mass. After Recess, at 11:30am, we will hold our traditional Farewell Assembly to wish our School Leaders well for their journey to High School.

All of these events are listed on our school calendar, which can be found on our website at https://www.mtcarmel.nsw.edu.au/calendar.

May God’s peace be in your families, 

Michael Green
Principal