Principal Report
Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,
Welcome, everyone, to the 2020 school year. I hope that the school holidays were a restful and rejuvenating break for all our students and staff and that everyone is looking forward to a joy-filled year of learning. I am, of course, very conscious that this summer has been a very difficult—and sadly, for some, tragic—one for many of our fellow Australians; and, doubtless, there will be members of our immediate community who have been affected by the terrible fires and extreme weather conditions, personally and through family and social connections. Our prayers remain with all those who are at the start of the very long road that is bushfire recovery, and, as a school, we will be supporting the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal throughout the year.
A Prayer for Those Affected by Bushfire and Drought
A very special welcome to Mt Carmel’s new Kindergarten students (How exciting... big school!) and to all students and families who are joining the Mt Carmel community this year. I hope you and your children will soon feel very at home here at Mt Carmel School.
Open, honest and timely communication is very important in achieving this. If you have any concerns about any aspect of your child’s progress, you are encouraged to speak first with their class teacher. If you wish to speak with a teacher please do so before or after school and not during class time. It would always be preferable if you could make an appointment, as teachers have duties and meetings on various days.
Please do not hesitate to make contact with me directly if you have any concerns, questions or feedback about any aspect of school life at Mt Carmel. You can make an appointment at the front office, send an email to michael.green@cg.catholic.edu.au, or stop me for a chat in the playground.
As always, there has been much going on around our buildings and grounds over the Christmas break in preparation for the new school year. The work being done on our Infants’ playground is almost complete; we should be climbing, digging and playing any day now!
I am very grateful to all staff for their preparation of classrooms and learning spaces throughout the school over the holidays; they look very welcoming. Thanks to Robbie Shepherd for preparing the school grounds; he has spent many hours making our school look beautiful. Thanks also to Roger Meyers, our Network Manager, who has spent numerous hours over the holidays maintaining our technology facilities.
Opening Events
Fr Mick Burke will be celebrating our Opening School Mass next Thursday 13 February at 9:45am. Our 2020 school leaders will be formally inducted to their leadership positions at this Mass as well. We look forward to seeing as many parents as possible at our first school Mass for the year. Then, on Wednesday 19 February, Week 4, we will be holding our welcome BBQ at 5pm, followed by open classrooms at 6pm. More information and RSVP details to follow next week.
2020 School Theme
Our school theme this year is inspired by the words of Pope Francis: As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to make the earth a beautiful garden for the human family. Pope Francis spoke these words in an address to a gathering of young people in the Phillipines in 2015, the year that he wrote his encyclical letter on ecology and climate, Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home, in which he challenges the whole human family to engage in a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet and collectively work to protect our common home. Throughout the year we will be striving to respond to Pope Francis’ call to, “hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”.
Read Laudato Si’
Kindergarten Rest Days and Assessment
I hope that everyone’s first days of ‘Big School’ have been filled with learning and fun. I’m sure that there were lots of tired little people at the end of last week. Kindergarten Rest Days will continue on Wednesdays until Week 6. The final rest day will be on March 4, with full weeks commencing in Week 7. The Best Start Kindergarten Assessment Program commenced today, so if you have not yet made an appointment time with your child’s teacher, please contact the school office as soon as possible – bookings are filling fast!
The start of the year is a good time to give a reminder about traffic safety around the school. I ask all parents to model safe behaviour when driving, parking and crossing roads around the school. Also please be mindful that the length of Dutton St from the school office to the Meehan St intersection is a no parking zone before and after school, so you can use these spaces to drop-off or pick up, but if you leave your vehicle, you may be booked.
200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia
This year marks the bicentenary of Catholic education in Australia, and Mt Carmel School has an important part in that history, having 175 years of education on this site. There will be special celebrations and promotions at different times this year to mark this important event. Thank you to each of our families for their support of Catholic education; you all play an important part in our ongoing story.
In recognition of the fact that many families use Facebook as a primary means of communication, Mt Carmel School will shortly be launching a new Facebook page. We will be using this to share important information and to promote and celebrate significant events and achievements around the school. We will continue to use the SZapp app to push out notifications and urgent messages and to publish the Carmeletta, so I encourage any families who have not yet installed this on their phones to do so.
A reminder to all families to please read the Too sick for school? guidelines that were sent home last week. A copy has been placed on the Forms and Documents page of our school website, for your information.
Food Allergies
Although Mt Carmel does not declare ourselves to be a nut-free school, we do encourage all our students and families to be allergy aware. This week you will receive a letter outlining precautions that we ask you to consider if your child is sharing a classroom with another student who suffers from a food or contact allergy. Please also have a conversation with your child about the importance of not sharing food or canteen money at school, as it contributes to our Stay Safe rule.
Playgroup
Katrina Hodges will be running our Mt Carmel Playgroup again this year, starting Thursday 20 February, Week 4, in the Playgroup Room off the Dutton Street entrance to the Performing Arts Centre from 9-11am. Cost is $3 for the first child, then $1 for any additional children and includes morning tea. All welcome!
Catholic Care Counsellor
This year we have a new CatholicCare Counsellor, Lauren Lucey, who will be at school on Tuesdays. Student counselling can help children to better manage social and emotional issues, supports improved mental health and reduces the likelihood of them engaging in risk taking behaviour. It supports children to develop ways to stay happy, healthy and improve their experience of school. If you believe that your child may benefit from speaking with our counsellor, you can fill in a referral form at the front office.
Our grateful thanks to Bernadette Collins, who has generously donated a copy of the book Young Dark Emu, by Bruce Pascoe, for every classroom. This fascinating book provides important perspectives on Australia’s pre-colonial history and I’m sure that our students will benefit from and enjoy reading it.
May God’s peace be in your families,
Michael Green
Principal