Principal's Report
Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,
Welcome, everyone, to the 2021 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. 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. A special welcome, also, to Fr Peter My, our new Parish Priest. Fr Peter has moved to Yass after 12 years at St Thomas the Apostle Parish in Kambah. As well as overseeing the diverse communities that make up St Augustine’s Parish, Fr Peter will also continue his important work as chaplain to the Vietnamese community. We look forward to working closely with Fr Peter to strengthen the ties between school and parish.
With various COVID-19 outbreaks over the holiday period and, in all likelihood, more to come, maintaining a COVID-Safe environment continues to be a high priority this year. Whilst many of the restrictions we were operating under last year have eased, it remains imperative that students, staff and parents experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness do not come to school, and there are still limits on gathering sizes that will affect the way many of our school events are run. Attached to this newsletter is a summary document of current restrictions for NSW regional schools, for your information.
Open, honest and timely communication is a very important aspect of our relationship with parents. 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. 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.
In addition to our overarching school theme, we will be joining the Catholic Church in marking a year dedicated to Saint Joseph. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, Pope Francis has proclaimed a “Year of St Joseph”, running from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021. Fathers have a vital role to play in their child’s education so, in this year dedicated to the earthly father of Jesus, we will be looking for opportunities to strengthen relationships with the fathers in our community.
Swimming Carnival
Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Mrs Esther Glover for the significant time and effort spent supporting student participation in sport at Mt Carmel as Sports Coordinator over the previous three years. Congratulations, Esther, on a job so well done; I'm very grateful. Mr Ted Dunstan will be taking on the role this year; thank you, Ted.
Weather permitting, our school swimming carnival will be going ahead this Friday. Thank you to the families who assisted by completing the online registration form this year. To minimise numbers at the pool, we are limiting the carnival to a Year3-6 event this year. Parents are able to attend as spectators and/or volunteers but must sign in using the Service NSW app.
Opening Events
Fr Peter My will be celebrating our Opening School Mass next Thursday 11 February at 9:45am. Because of social-distancing requirements the Mass will be held in the PAC rather than St Augustine’s Church and unfortunately, with the exception of parents of our 2021 school leaders, we are unable to invite parents to attend.
We would normally hold a Welcome BBQ early in the year, coinciding with Open Classrooms. Unfortunately, limits on numbers for gatherings make this impractical. It is extremely important, however, for parents to establish a relationship with their child’s teacher early in the school year so we will still be holding Open Classrooms in Week 3. To limit numbers on site, in accordance with our COVID-Safe Plan, families will be required to book a time for their visit. More information and RSVP details to follow next week.
Another traditional event early in the school year is the Pancake Breakfast. Shrove Tuesday this year will be on 16 February, Week 3. Like the Welcome BBQ, however, limits on attendance will make it impractical to host an open breakfast; instead, we will be providing a Pancake Recess for all students. All dietary requirements will be catered for; please contact the school office if your child has any dietary needs that you are concerned may not be on our records.
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, if your child is sharing a classroom with another student who suffers from a food or contact allergy, you will receive a letter outlining precautions that we ask you to consider. 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.
Kindergarten Rest Days and Assessment
I hope that everyone’s first days of ‘Big School’ have been filled with learning and fun. Kindergarten Rest Days commence today and will continue on Wednesdays until Week 5. The final rest day will be on March 3, with full weeks commencing in Week 6. 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.
Playgroup
Katrina Hodges will be running our Mt Carmel Playgroup again this year, starting Thursday 18 February, Week 3, 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 are welcome, and we are very happy to have playgroup back at Mt Carmel!
Catholic Care Counsellor
This year we have a new CatholicCare Counsellor, Nadia Ho, who will be at school every Friday and every second Tuesday. 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.
May God’s peace be in your families, 
Michael Green
Principal