Principal's Report
Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,
Swimming Carnival Assembly
The medallions that we had on back-order have arrived so we are now able to hold our Swimming Carnival Assembly to present ribbons to place-getters and announce Age Champions and the overall winning house. Thank you for your patience!
Please remember that all heats were timed finals, so if your child placed first in their heat, they may not be first overall as another child in a different heat may have swum a faster time.
The Swimming carnival Assembly will be held this Friday morning, 26 February, at 8:55am.
Book Fair
The Book Fair is continuing this week and is open for browsing and sales tomorrow afternoon and all day Friday. A reminder that we are asking any parent or family member who wishes to visit the Book fair to phone ahead and book a time. Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, we have strict limits on how many can visit at any one time; those who have booked ahead will be given priority entry.
Bus Safety Week
A reminder that this is Transport NSW Bus Safety Week. All classes at school this week will be learning about traffic safety, with a particular focus on safety on and around buses. Attached to this newsletter is an information brochure for families from Transport NSW. Again, I remind all families of the importance of modelling traffic safety around our school.
200 Years of Catholic Schooling
This morning I attended a Mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral, with our two School Captains and Mr Ziebowski, to celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. Mt Carmel’s own history dates back to at least 1845, when a Mr. Lacey (after whom our school Library is named) ran a school on this site at the behest of Father Charles Lovat, who was the Parish Priest of St Augustines from 1839 to 1849.
Over 200 years, Catholic schools have grown to become the largest provider of schooling in Australia (outside government) with one in five school age students attending a Catholic school. This represents some 768,000 students in 1,751 schools across the country and employing 98,000 teachers and staff. Nearly 40 per cent of Catholic schools are located outside of metropolitan cities in regional, rural and remote communities.
The formal celebrations were due to be held from October 2020 to October 2021. However, due to pandemic restrictions, the celebrations are now being held during the 2021 school year. A National Mass will also be celebrated in every state, territory and diocese on the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians on 24 May 2021. Additional events and activities will be added to our events calendar throughout the year.
Open Classrooms
Thank you to all who were able to attend our Open Classrooms last week. For any parents who were unable to come on Wednesday, please know that you are always welcome in our school and our classrooms and that you can make an appointment to meet with your child’s classroom teacher whenever the need arises. An open and trusting relationship with your child’s teacher is an important factor their success at school.
Tomorrow evening, Thursday 25 February, from 5:30pm to 6:15pm in the Yass Golf Club, Mrs Gaye McManus, principal of Trinity Catholic College Goulburn, will be hosting an information evening for families who are interested in finding out about this educational pathway. Please note the change of venue — this event was originally scheduled to occur at the Soldiers Club. More information can be found in the flier later in this newsletter.
Kinder Rest Days
The first few weeks of school have flown! A reminder that next Wednesday is the last of our Kinder Rest Days and Kindergarten students will commence full weeks from 8 March, Week 6.
Archdiocesan Catholic Leaders’ Retreat
From Tuesday afternoon until Friday week I will be away the the Archdiocesan Director's Day and Catholic Leaders’ Retreat. Mrs Jan Harvey will be Acting Principal in my absence.
Gloves, Please
We have a few things planned this year that it will be useful to have a good pair of gloves for, beginning with Schools Clean Up Australia Day next Friday. Each year group will also be adopting a garden area of the school to take care of throughout the year. For safety and comfort, we are asking families to send in an appropriately-sized pair of gardening gloves with their child, labelled with their name, that can be kept in the classroom.
May God’s peace be in your families, 
Michael Green
Principal