Principal's Report
Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,
Kindergarten Orientation
Today we had our first day of Kindergarten Orientation for our new Kinder students for 2021. It was very exciting to have them in our school and everyone had lost of fun! There are two more weeks of Orientation to go and on each of those weeks, the uniform shop will be open for Kinder fittings in the PAC from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.
Next Wednesday is Remembrance Day and 5/6TC will be hosting a prayer service throughout the school at 10:50am, ready for a minute’s silence at 11am. A link to the prayer service will be shared on Wednesday morning for those families who would like to join us.
Student Leadership
It’s hard to believe that we are already at the stage of preparing for student leadership positions for 2021. Next Friday, nominations open for Year 5 students who are seeking formal leadership positions in 2021; that is, School Captains, Vice-Captains, House Captains and SRC Representatives. At Mt Carmel, our student leaders are appointed, not elected, and the process begins with students completing a nomination form addressing a selection criteria. These forms must be submitted by Friday 20 November, Week 6. Nominees then present a speech to the school in Week 7 and meet with an interview panel in Week 8. The panel will then decide on appointments, taking into consideration each nominee’s interview, application and feedback from students and teachers (via voting slips, following the speeches). I wish all who are considering nominating for these positions the very best. Many families will be aware that I have a child in Year 5 this year. For the record, to avoid any conflict of interest I will be taking no part in any aspect of the selection process.
BYOD
We would, under normal circumstances, hold a parent information evening for Year 4 families in Week 5 about our Year 5 and 6 BYOD program. Unfortunately, we are still unable to hold this kind of face-to-face parent meeting so we will be sending home an information pack about BYOD next week.
Class Placements 2021
Parents are invited to email me with regard to any considerations you may have for your child’s class placement for 2021. These considerations should be important for the education and wellbeing of your child. Requests for a particular teacher, gender of a teacher, multiple friends etc, are usually not appropriate nor a priority. It is very important for parents to understand that creating classes is detailed and exacting work completed by the teachers to ensure that your child is placed in an appropriate class group each year. When considering class groupings, teachers will look specifically at your child’s educational and social needs and place them with a teacher and peers that will support their development. Requests are to be emailed to me at: michael.green@cg.catholic.edu.au by this Friday 6 November 2020. Please be aware that each request will be considered separately and by no means are all requests met. Requests from previous years are not kept on file or considered, as situations change each year. If you would like a previous request to be considered again, you are asked to send in a new request for 2021.
Departing Students
Schools are required to record destination schools for all departing students. I ask that all families of Year 6 students inform us as soon as possible of the high school your child will be attending. In the Forms & Documents tab on the school website and app is a Year 6 2021 Destination eForm. I also request that any K-5 families moving from Mt Carmel at the end of this year send me an email (michael.green@cg.catholic.edu.au) as soon as possible indicating your intentions along with your destination. Much of this term is spent preparing for next year and our student numbers need to be accurate. Thank you for assisting us with this information gathering.
May God’s peace be in your families,
Michael Green
Principal