Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,


Reconciliation Week
Next week is National Reconciliation Week, and this year’s theme, “Now More Than Ever” is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will —and must —continue. We’re not at all jealous of Canberra’s public holiday on Monday, because last week we got to experience a hugely entertaining concert by performer Ryka Ali, who dazzled us with his instrumental skills and kept everyone in engaged with his story-telling and audience participation.


Athletics Carnival
Our 3-6 Athletics Carnival will be held, weather permitting, on Friday 31 May (Week 5) at Victoria Park. Primary students who are running in the 800m event will need to be at Victoria Park by 9am; all others will start the day at school and walk to and from the carnival with their class. Spectators and parent-helpers will be welcome to attend, please see the link in the Sports News if you would like to voluenteer on the day.

The canteen will be running at the carnival, with assorted snacks options and a sausage sizzle for lunch (the sausage sizzle will be the only hot-food item available and dietary needs will be catered for). All items will be cash-sales only, no pre-ordering this year, so your child will need to bring money to purchase any snack or lunch items. The canteen will not be open for lunch or recess orders at school.


Community Council News
Last week we had our first Community Council meeting for the term (meetings are typically held in Weeks 3 and 7). One of the first nations of the Community Council this year has been to seek feedback from families about community engagement in our school. Attached to this newsletter is a flier with a QR code to access the feedback form, or you can use the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/b2mvbmjhVG.

In other exciting news, planning is underway for a Community Council Trivia Night to be held in early Term 3, and we are looking for volunteers who may be able to assist with an organising committee. Again, there is a flier later in this Carmeletta with a QR code linked to a volunteer form.

Also, as we are now in a Winter Uniform term, the Council discussed the school Uniform Policy, particularly in regards to jumpers and jackets. It is our intention to conduct a thorough review of this over time, but for now the Council has endorsed the current policy, which is attached for your information. The Uniform Policy is that the school navy jumper is to be worn in colder weather, but this may be supplemented – not replaced – by a plain coloured (navy or black) parka. Over the last couple of years, staff have noted the increase in popularity of puffer jackets amongst students, and there are concerns that these are being worn by some as exclusive fashion items, putting pressure on families to buy particular brands (most often quite expensive ones) and functioning as a highly-visible sign of belonging to certain groups. This goes against the philosophy of school uniform as an issue of equity, being inclusive of all. To this note, we ask families to support the standing policy of wearing the school jumper, knowing that a plain-coloured parka may be added (i.e. worn over the jumper) for extra warmth on cold days. Please stay tuned for the opportunity to provide feedback as the Uniform Policy is more thoroughly reviewed.


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.

May God’s peace be in your families, 

Michael Green
Principal

Religious Education in the Classroom

Welcome to Week 4! On Sunday 28 May we celebrated Pentecost and the birth of the Catholic Church. Pentecost is the liturgical season after Easter and it celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. It begins the eighth Sunday, or 50 days, after Easter Sunday. The descent of the Holy Spirit ushered in a new era for the people of God (About Catholics, 2014, Pentecost).

Year 6 students are examining the history of Judaism and its rich heritage of law, culture and traditions which have influenced beliefs in the multicultural world we live in today. Students will identify key elements of the High Holy Days (e.g. themes, messages, rituals) and make connections between the practices of the High Holy Days and the faith life of believers.

A few students shared what they have learnt so far:

Rosie: I learnt that Rosh Hashanah is an event that is celebrated in the Jewish culture.

Ellie: I have learnt that Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in one God. The Torah is made up of five books.

Lola: Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Muslims pray five times each day and follow the five pillars of Islamic practice. 

Arlie: The pomegranate is an important fruit to the Jewish people and their customs.

Ava: Jews, Christians and Muslims have things in common but also differences too. For example, each religion prays in different ways.

Mother’s Day Prayer Service
Thank you to Mrs Green and KBlue for leading a beautiful prayer service. 

Religious Life of Mt Carmel School

Mt Carmel’s Mini Vinnies News
Centenary Mass Celebration of St. Augustine Conference of St. Vincent de Paul
Thank you to Olivia, Grace, Evangelique and Ellie who represented Mt Carmel’s Mini Vinnies and read the Prayers of the Faithful. 

Social Justice Workshop
On Thursday 23 May, Year 3-6 students will participate in Social Justice workshops focusing on homelessness and the importance of the Winter Appeal for our Yass community.


Vinnies Winter Appeal
Mt Carmel’s Mini Vinnies will launch the Vinnies Winter Appeal and each classroom will be provided with a basket for donations. At the end of the term, we will be delivering them to the St Augustine’s Conference, Yass, of St Vincent de Paul. 

We are seeking your support to help those less fortunate in our community through generous donations of non-perishable food items. Your generosity and support is most appreciated. St Augustine’s Conference has requested the following items:

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.

On Sunday 12 May, children focused on celebrating mothers. 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 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 Canberra Goulburn cross country carnival at Stromlo last Friday. Good luck to Juliette Glover, Reese Flynn and Zoey Mitchell who all made it through to the next round and will run at Homebush Stadium Sydney on Wednesday 5th June to vie for a position on the MacKillop or CCC team to compete at the NSWPSSA.

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

National Simultaneous Storytime
Today the students of Mt Carmel participated in the National Simultaneous Storytime. Along with over 2 million other students across Australia, we watched an online reading of Bowerbird Blues written and illustrated by Aura Parker.

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

Book Club Issue 3
All students who placed an order from Issue 3 should have received their items earlier this week.

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

Lincoln Goode
Rosalind Clark
Archer Jones
William Walsh

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 

Kind regards,
Natalie Broers
Teacher Librarian

Congratulations to the recipients of the Week 2 Mt Carmel Awards.
These awards were handed out on Friday 17 May at morning assembly.

K Blue Elyse Carter Harper Vukojevic	K Gold Emily Reynders Acacia Aniversario
1 Green Scarlett Klemmer Chris Privett	1 Red Phoebe Platt Brax Howard
2 Blue Adelaide Honen Dane Hewett	2 Gold Archer Jones Benny Shoring
3 Green Mikaila Hooper Ashton Dorris	3 Red Olivia Aksenov Eleena Mattappalil
4 Blue Esther Payne Jack Maher	4 Gold Gracie Lyons Heidi Tyndall Vincent Da Deppo
5 Green Ava Eldridge Abby Hillman	5 Red Lily Butt Zoe Leahy Milton McDonald
6 Blue Camilla Bremner Isabella Soeira Mendonca Josh Northey Hunter Cullen	6 Gold Lily Cassidy Ellie Carroll Rosie Rainger Archer Regan

Congratulations to the recipients of the Week 3 Mt Carmel Awards.
These awards will be handed out this Friday, 24 May at morning assebmly.

K Blue Ruby Holt Lincoln Goode	K Gold Mia Smith Abigail Morris
1 Green Aurora Irwin Ollie Ryan	1 Red Poppy Sargent Ryan Tome Toby Reardon
2 Blue Charles Jol William Rothwell	2 Gold Rosalind Clark Hayden Spring
3 Green Elsa Baptiste Isaac Reynders	3 Red Constance Potter Lachlan Black Johnathon Hamilton
4 Blue Cecilia Candido Pinheiro Joshua Salzke	4 Gold Lucy Pearce Benjamin O'Reilly
5 Green Beau Jones Xavier Arnold	5 Red Ruby Laughton Marlowe Clark
6 Blue Anika Lyons Lewis Matthews Harry Donoghue	6 Gold Zoe Seselja Lola Finnigan Phoenix Streafeild Rory McCall Adam Holman

Last week the Extrusion Club gave a successful demonstration at the parents information evening and many prospective 2025 kindies went home happy with samples of our products. After much experimentation, we have worked out that LDPE plastic gives us the best results. Look for the number 4 if you would like to help us boost our stocks of plastic to recycle for the club. Number 4 lids of any colour are probably the best and easiest for us to shred and melt. The club will hopefully kick-off in earnest after the athletics carnival when all kids who are interested, will have the opportunity to be a part of the process of recycling plastic into useable items right here at school.

The Community Council met last week and and had productive discussions around how we can contribute to building and bringing the school community closer together. 

Firstly, we welcome your feedback on how you would like to contribute to school community building activities or any other suggestions you may have that will further contribute to Mt Carmel. We invite you to complete the form so we can reach out and connect with you.

Secondly, the Community Council would like to hold a Trivia Night in Term 3 and are currently calling for family members of our kids to join the organising committee. If this sounds like something fun you would like to be involved in please complete the form and we will be in touch.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Katie Davis 
President
On behalf of the Mt Carmel Community Council 

Dear Parents and Carers, Year 7 2025 Enrolment Forms must be submitted by Friday 31 May 2024. 
Enquiries can be sent to enrolments@sfx.act.edu.au or telephone 6258 1055

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