Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,


The Carmeletta is Moving to Fortnightly
Starting this week we will trial a fortnightly Carmeletta, to be published in even weeks each term (Week 2, 4, 6, 8. 10).

Currently, families need to read the Carmeletta each week to see if their child will be receiving a Mt Carmel Award on Friday morning, so we will send a Compass notification directly to parents of our award recipients instead. Names of award recipients will still be published each fortnight, so that students can receive the public recognition that their efforts deserve. And if you are ever unsure about dates for upcoming events, the school calendar on our website (https://www.mtcarmel.nsw.edu.au/calendar) is updated regularly, to ensure that information is accurate.

Walk Safely to School Day
This Friday 10 May is National Walk Safely to School Day, and Mt Carmel is encouraging as many families as possible to participate. If there is anyone who lives too far from school to walk the whole way but would still like to participate, we will be hosting a “Walking School Bus”. We will meet at the Liberty Theatre corner from 8am, and at 8:15am we will walk down the main street, crossing Meehan St at the lights, up Rossi Street and then enter school via the Dutton St entrance. Parents and families are welcome to join in; no bikes or scooters, please. 

Walk Safely to School Day is part of National Road Safety Week, so I will also take this opportunity to remind all families about the importance of traffic safety around our school. I ask all parents to model safe behaviour when driving, parking and crossing roads around the school. If you park opposite the school on Dutton St at pickup time, please cross the road to collect your child from the gate in person, rather than calling them across the road, and do not cross Dutton St in the Bus Zone. Please also be mindful of courtesy to our neighbours when parking, and remember that 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.


New School Counsellor
Next week our new school counsellor, Damian Gerber, will commence. Damian will be at Mt Carmel on Mondays and Tuesdays and has already had a comprehensive handover with Prisca, our previous counsellor. If you believe that your child may benefit from speaking with our school counsellor, have a conversation with their classroom teacher or contact the school office for a referral form.


2025 Enrolments 
Our enrolment drive for 2025 has begun. If you have a pre-school child ready for Kindergarten, it’s time to enrol now. Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn has an online enrolment form, which can be accessed by clicking the link below. An interview will be organised once the enrolment application is received. If your friends have a child starting in Kindergarten next year, please encourage them to consider Mt Carmel as an option for their children’s education. We will be holding Open Day tours on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 May, with a School Showcase Evening in the Lacey Library at 6pm on Wednesday 15 May. To book a tour or to RSVP for the Showcase evening, go to https://forms.gle/SLYm3hswhVixHQwW6.

Enrol Now: (https://enrolments.mtcarmel.nsw.edu.au/nsw-schools/start).


School Photos 
School photos will take place next Monday 13 May (Week 3); students are to wear their full winter uniform, including jumper. Photo orders can be placed via your child’s Compass profile. If you experience any difficulty accessing this, please contact the school office. Families with three or more siblings at the school are eligible for a free family portrait if they order three individual student packs but need to call MSP directly on 6255 9208 to organise this deal. Please note that there will be a scheduled outage on Compass this weekend for mainenance, which may cause difficulties for families ordering photos at this time; however, you will still be able to order photos retrospectively up to midnight on the 20th of May. If you would like to order family photos, please ensure orders are placed before Friday or, if you miss the outage cutoff, send a note with your children on Monday so that we know to have a sibling photograph taken.

Vinnies CEO Sleepout
In Week 8 I will be joining a team of Catholic Principals from our Archdiocese in support of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. On Thursday 20 June, I will be sleeping rough at Parliament House to help raise funds and awareness for the vital work Vinnies does in our region supporting individuals and families experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness. Whether because of cost of living pressures, the experience of domestic and family violence, mental health concerns, addiction, or any number of other causes, the problem of homelessness is a terrible one; and although it is less visible in regional areas than in the metropolitan centres, families in our own community will be relying on Vinnies this winter for support.

My personal goal is to raise $4000 for this important cause this year. If you are in a position to help, please consider going to https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/michaelgreen/act to make a donation.


100 Years of Vinnies in Yass
Next Saturday 18 May, a special Mass will be held in St Augustine’s Church at 9am to commemorate the foundation of St Augustine’s Conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Yass 100 years ago. This occasion marks a century of unwavering service, compassion and love for our community. Congratulations and thanks to all past and present conference members and volunteers, and thanks to the Mt Carmel School community who are always so generous in their support of the Vinnies appeals that our school always endorses.

Happy Mother’s Day
And finally, I would like to wish a very happy Mothers Day to all the mums in our community. Our Mother’s Day Prayer Service will be at 9am on Friday, hosted by K Blue, and parents are welcome to attend. I hope that you have a wonderful Sunday, filled with love and joy, and may God bless each and every one of you.

May God’s peace be in your families, 

Michael Green
Principal

Religious Education in the Classroom
Welcome to Week 2! Kindergarten’s Religious Education unit of work explores Jesus, the Storyteller. Students were invited to bring in their favourite story to share with their class and explain why it’s special. During my visit to KGold, I shared one of my favourite stories, The Carrot Cake Catastrophe by Elizabeth Dale.

Religious Life of Mt Carmel School

Mother’s Day Prayer Service
Students are excited about Mother’s Day and are busy preparing something special for their mothers and creating cards for St Augustine’s Parish mothers. KBlue will be leading a Mothers’ Day Prayer service on Friday 10 May 2024 at 9 am in the PAC. Parents and the wider community are invited to attend. 

St Augustine’s Parish News

First Eucharist – 2nd June
Please pray for . . .

Atticus Gilchrist
Benjamin O’Reilly
Billy Field
Gabriel Dunstan
George Douglas
Isabelle Davis
Jack Maher
Jessica Hardy
Madeline Caldow
Mikayla Black
Sophie Donoghue
Vincent Da Deppo
Lucy Pearce

Please pray for the children as they prepare for their First Holy Communion.

Lord Jesus, 

Bless all the children preparing to receive Holy Communion for the first time.

May that day be an initial step into a life-long love of the Eucharist.

Give them a hunger for this sacred food so that they will turn to you for comfort, guidance and wisdom as they grow into full discipleship.

May their hands, extended in anticipation of your Body and Blood, inspire all of us to cherish this sacred sacrament.

Amen.

The next one is on Sunday 26 May. All children are invited to be part of the activities centred around the particular weekend’s Gospel. 

Parish Mass
Click on this link for further details http://staug-yass.org.au/wp/sacraments/. 

Enjoy your week!
Eva Karakotas
Religious Education Coordinator

Hail Mary, full of Grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Luke 1:26-28

Mt Carmel Athletics Carnival
Our athletics carnival is booked-in for Friday 31 May at Victoria Park. Over the next few weeks, students will be practising basic athletics skills and techniques during their sport sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays. The high jump event will be conducted at school prior to the carnival once the students have had a chance to practise. We will require lots of parental assistance for the carnival, if you are free on the day and would like to help out, please complete the Google form using the link below to register your interest. All Primary students (3-6) will be automatically registered for all events. If you know your child will not be present on the day or is unable to participate for any reason, please let me know on the Google form using the link below. If your child is in Year 2 and is 8 or turning 8 and you wish them to participate in the Primary carnival, please complete the Google form using the link below. Finally, we will be running the 1500m event prior to the carnival on Friday 24 May. Students who have registered will walk down to Victoria Park with me after lunch to run the event. The 1500m event is an open event so only 3 boys and 3 girls are selected from the school to represent Mt Carmel at Northern Region. Therefore, it is recommended for, but not restricted to, upper primary students. If you would like your child to participate in this event, please complete the Google form using the link below.

To be a parent helper at the carnival, click here.

If your child will be absent or unable to participate in the carnival, click here.

If your child is in Year 2 (8 or turning 8 years of age this year) and you would like them to participate in the primary carnival, click here.

If you would like to register your child for the 1500m event, click here.


Cross Country
Congratulations to those students who participated in the Northern Region Cross Country in Braidwood on Friday. Good luck to those students who made it to the next level and will compete at the Canberra Goulburn carnival at Stromlo on Friday May 17.


Trials 
Please check the C & G website and the Facebook page for information about upcoming events https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/calendar.


Ted Dunstan
Sports Coordinator

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge
Congratulations to the following students who have completed the 2024 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge.

Peter Gorman
Asher Gorman
Alia Campbell
Marlowe Clark

The 2024 challenge will conclude on Friday 23 August 2024.

If you have any questions about the Premier’s Reading Challenge please email me at natalie.broers@cg.catholic.edu.au.


Mid-Week Movie
Every Wednesday, at lunchtime in the Library, students are invited to enjoy a movie. Today students started to watch Captain Underpants adapted from the Dav Pilkey series of books.

National Simultaneous Storytime
On Wednesday 22 May, Mt Carmel is participating in the National Simultaneous Storytime event. The story for this year's event is Bowerbird Blues written and illustrated by Aura Parker. Students will participate by simultaneously watching an online reading of the text provided by ALIA.


Kind regards,
Natalie Broers
Teacher Librarian

Next Thursday, 16 May, the school is hosting Troubie indigenous presentations at school. Presented by Ryka Ali, whose heritage stems from the Yidinji clans of Cairns, the Kuku Yalinji clans of Mossman and the Torres Strait Islands. A winner in the Young, Black and Deadly Talent Quest (2003) he is a proud ambassador for Australia's Indigenous youth. Ryka will introduce Aboriginal culture, 'painting up' with ochre and explaining its importance and the significance of the designs. He will perform and teach native dances for audience participation ending with a demonstration of the didgeridoo.

A Compass notification has been sent to all families for payment of $6.50 per student. If you have ay questions regarding this incursion, please contact the office on 6226 3357. 

Unfortunatley the Canteen will be closed tomorrow, Thursday 9 May. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. 

If you would like order from Issue 3, orders need to be placed by Tuesday 14 May.

 Please note that the front office is no longer able to accept cash/order forms for Book Club Orders. All orders must be placed via Loop. 

Everyone who orders earns a $5 promotional credit to spend on Issue 4! If parents still have an existing $5 credit, they can spend it on this issue as well before it expires.

To view Issue 3, click on the image below.

To order from this issue, you will need an account on Loop.
To access Loop, please click below.

Flu Shots are now available from 5 years of age. Call Priceline Pharmacy Yass to book your appointment or use the QR code below. 

A Zoom Course to Strengthen Your Relationship – Thursday Evenings in May & June

Whether you’ve been together 1 year or 61 years, married or in a long-term relationship, in a good place or struggling, The Marriage Course offers practical support and ideas to strengthen your relationship, in a fun-packed format, via Zoom.

Participate from the comfort of your home, 7-9pm Thursdays over May & June. Optional In-Person Introduction Evening (Thu 2 May) and Final Dinner (Thu 27 June). Hosted by the Catholic and Anglican Parishes of Inner North Canberra.

First Zoom session begins 7pm Thursday 9th May.

Enquiries: helenazobec@cg.org.au or 0405 440 463

More Info: https://cgcatholic.org.au/marriagefamily/married/

Register at: tinyurl.com/y3fw859r