Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,

The Jubilee Year – Pilgrims of Hope
In this week’s Carmeletta, I will draw your attention to the distinctly maritime symbols in the Pilgrims of Hope logo. There are a number of significant gospel stories and miracles involving water – Jesus calming a storm, walking on water, travelling by boat or fishing with the disciples. The waves underneath the four figures indicate that life’s pilgrimage does not always move in calm waters. Life’s circumstances and the events of the world often demand a greater call to hope, and because of this we see that the lower part of the cross has been turned into an anchor, which stands out in the wave. The anchor has often been used as a metaphor of hope and, as a matter of fact, the 'Anchor of Hope' is the name given in maritime jargon to the reserve anchor used by vessels involved in emergency manoeuvres to stabilise the boat during storms.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Jubilee Year, go to https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/segni-del-giubileo.html.

Anyone who watches the news will be aware of Pope Francis’ current health concerns. As a part of the world-wide Catholic community, we join the faithful in prayer:

Loving God,
As Francis, our beloved pope, suffers from grave illnesses, we come before you in prayer.
We ask you to look with mercy on your servant Francis, who has served you devotedly and tirelessly as a Jesuit, a priest, an archbishop, a cardinal and as pope.
Most of all, he has served you as a faithful Christian sharing the love, mercy and compassion that your Son showed to all he encountered in his public ministry, especially those who were poor or in any way struggling.
During his papacy, Francis has striven to imitate your Son by reaching out to all who were feeling abandoned, ignored or neglected, making it his special task to care for those who were in any way sick.
As Francis himself now faces serious and complex illnesses, help the doctors, nurses and medical team who care for him, help him bear any pain with grace and help him to heal quickly.
Send your Holy Spirit, your own breath, into his weakened lungs to heal him, inspire him and raise him up again so that he may live out his vocation as the Vicar of Christ.
But if it is your will, loving God, to take him to yourself, let his passing into new life be painless and peaceful.
We ask all this in your Holy Name.
Amen.


Shrove Tuesday Pancake Breakfast
On Tuesday 4 March, next week, we will be holding our traditional Pancake Breakfast, and all students and families are invited to join us.
Pancakes will be served from the Food-Tech room (just through the red doors that go up to the Music Room and Uniform Shop) from 7:30am. All dietary needs will be catered for, but please RSVP using the following link to help with our planning and to make sure no-one misses out. We also wait with bated-breath to see which house will be victorious in our annual Pancake Race!

RSVP Here: https://mtcarmelsyass.schoolzineplus.com/form/20


Ash Wednesday
Next week we will be celebrating Ash Wednesday, the day that marks the start of the season of Lent – a time of prayer, almsgiving and fasting in preparation for the celebration of Easter. Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the forehead. The ashes symbolise the dust from which God made us and to which we will all, one day, return. 

On Ash Wednesday, 3 Red will lead a prayer service in the PAC at 9am, in which our community will receive ashes on their foreheads as a symbol of humility and penance. As always, parents are most welcome to attend.

Project Compassion, Caritas Australia’s annual Lenten appeal also begins next week, and we encourage each family to contribute to this appeal via the Project Compassion Box that your child will take home. Many will be familiar with the idea of giving something up for Lent; however, this is also a time of reflection of where we can listen to God’s word and follow his call through our loving actions. Lent is the perfect time to commit ourselves to a positive action for the good of others.


Playgroup
The Mt Carmel Playgroup will commence tomorrow, running each Thursday between 9 and 11am. All families with pre-school aged children are welcome, so please spread the word if you have a family friend who may enjoy attending. The cost of $3 for the first child and $1 for each subsequent child in the family covers morning tea and art/craft supplies. Thanks to Amber Maher for leading our Playgroup.


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 12 March, Week 6.


Canteen News
Thanks to all families for their patience as we get the Canteen up and running for 2025. We are now recruiting for a Canteen Manager – a temporary position until the end of Term 2.

Please use the link below for detailed information, including how to apply.

https://careers.cg.catholic.edu.au/cw/en/job/505106/canteen-manager-mount-carmel-school-yass-nsw

NAPLAN
The annual National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) commences on Wednesday 12 March, Week 6, for our Year 3 and Year 5 students. We treat participation in NAPLAN as just another day at school, so please don’t feel the need to do anything at home to help your child prepare for any any of the tests; a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast are the best assistance you can provide to help your child perform at their best. If you have any concerns about your child’s participation in NAPLAN, there are a variety of adjustments that can be put in place to assist. Please contact our Classroom Support Teacher, Mrs Allan (melissa.allan@cg.catholic.edu.au), to discuss which adjustments may be appropriate.

There will be an opportunity for students who have are away to sit catch-up tests; please email jan.harvey@cg.catholic.edu.au if your child is absent and you would still like them to complete NAPLAN.


Northern Region Swimming
Congratulations to all students who participated in the Northern Region Swimming Carnival last Thursday. We are extremely proud of your determination and competitive spirit towards swimming at representative level, and for the pride you take in representing Mt Carmel – well done! A special thank you Mr Dunstan, and to all staff and parents for your assistance at these events.

The Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival will be held on Monday 3 March in Boorowa. Best of luck to Mabel Adie, Fletcher Lees, Jack Maher, Zara McEvoy, Evie Mitchell, Oliver Ryan and Neva Welsh.

Clean up Australia Day
This Friday is Schools Clean Up Australia Day, so we will be giving the school grounds and immediate surrounds a good going-over to do our bit for the environment. If you have child-sized garden gloves for your child to wear, please send them on Friday, clearly labelled with their name, of course. There’s no need to buy a pair specially if you don’t have them on hand (pun intended, sorry!), because we do have spare gardening gloves and disposable gloves at school for anyone who needs them.


Archdiocesan Catholic Leaders’ Retreat
I will be away for most of the next fortnight, with the Archdiocesan Catholic Leaders’ Day and Retreat, followed by a brief period of leave. Mrs Jan Harvey will be Acting Principal in my absence.


May God’s peace be in your families, 

Michael Green
Principal

Religious Education in the Classroom
School Theme 2025 
Welcome to Week 4! Teachers and students have been exploring our school theme, Pilgrims of Hope, through different learning experiences.

Year 3 students went on their own pilgrimage around Mt Carmel School and St. Augustine’s grounds.

2 Blue and 4 Gold explored the theme through creating art.

2 Blue

4 Gold 

Religious Life of Mt Carmel School
Opening School Mass
Mt Carmel School celebrated the new school year with a Mass, focusing on our school theme Pilgrims of Hope, and a School Leadership Induction Ceremony. Congratulations to our new school leaders!

Lent Season

Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday was named after the custom of Christians to be "shriven" before the start of Lent. Mt Carmel School will be holding our annual pancake breakfast and students, parents and friends are invited. Please RSVP via the Compass invitation.

Ash Wednesday
Next Wednesday 5 March marks the start of the season of Lent and 3 Red will be leading our Ash Wednesday Prayer Service, at 9 am in the PAC. Parents and friends are invited to join us in this special celebration.

Ash Wednesday is a time for spiritual growth and change as Christians make a special effort to be the kind of people God wants them to be. During Lent, Christians give up luxuries to remember when Jesus went into the desert for forty days to fast and pray. 

Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the head. The ashes symbolise the dust from which God made us. Traditionally, the priest applies the ashes to a person's forehead, and says: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (https://www.catholic.org/lent/ashwed.php).


St Augustine’s Parish News

 

Enjoy your week!

Eva Karakotas
Religious Education Coordinator

Mt Carmel Swimming Carnival
Congratulations to McAuley for being the winning house for our 2025 swimming carnival with a total of 760 ponts! Congratulations also to all the age champions (see below).

Northern Region Swimming Carnival
Congratulations to Mabel Adie, Fletcher Lees, Jack Maher, Zara McEvoy, Evie Mitchell, Oliver Ryan and Neva Welsh for making it through to the Archdiocesan carnival in Boorowa on Monday 3 March.

Finally, congratulations to Evie Mitchell who was awarded Junior Girls Champion, Jack Maher who was Intermediate Boys Runner-up, Fletcher Lees, Senior Boys Runner-up and Mabel Adie, Senior Girls Runner-up.  

All students will need to wear school swim caps as no Northern Region caps are available at the moment. Good luck everyone.

Sports Trials
If you have children in Year 5 or 6 who are interested in trialling for Canberra Goulbourne sporting teams, please check the following website regularly for upcoming events:

https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/calendar

Ted Dunstan
Sports Coordinator

Book Fair and Grandparents Morning Tea
The Scholastic Book Fair and Grandparents and Older Friends Morning Tea was held last Friday in the Lacey Library. It was a wonderful day for our school community with many families taking the opportunity to buy books, enjoy a fantastic morning tea, and spend some nice time together.

There were many helpers who enabled the Book Fair to be so successful. Thank you to Tanya McPherson, Claire Pholi, Belinda Reynolds, Melissa Harvey and Melissa Carroll for coordinating the sale of books.

The morning tea parent helpers were also very busy and a big thank you goes to Alejandra Tapia, Anne Mattappallil and Sally Aksenov for setting up and restocking the morning tea tables.

Thank you to all the families who donated food for the morning tea. There was an amazing selection of food and your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Thank you Emma McEvoy for your assistance in the lead up to the Book Fair, and supplying refreshments for our parent helpers.

The Year 5 Library Monitors were excellent helpers before, during and after the fair. Many visitors to our school were impressed by their confidence, maturity and friendliness. Thank you also to the Year 6 students who helped pack away tables and chairs after the morning tea.

A special thank you to Lynne Patmore, for her time, guidance and support before, during and after the Book Fair.

Thank you to the staff of Mt Carmel, for your support before the fair, and for allowing interruptions in your school day.

A very big thank you to everyone who bought books at the Book Fair. We had excellent sales of around $10,000 which will allow for many wonderful books to be purchased for the Lacey Library collection.

It was lovely to be part of the 2025 Book Fair and I hope you all had an enjoyable time.

Morning Tea containers and plates
All of the containers with names have been returned to families, however, we have a small number of plates and containers in the front office to collect after the Grandparents Morning Tea. Please call into the office to collect your items.

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2025
The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge has commenced for 2025. All students K-6 are invited to complete the 2025 Challenge. 

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students. While completing the challenge students are able to experience quality literature from a variety of authors and literature styles.

Students can include books read from the end of the 2024 challenge, August 23 2024 on their 2025 reading record. The 2025 challenge will conclude on Friday 22 August 2025.

The booklist has been updated for the 2025 challenge. Click on the booklist on the website for further information. Many of the PRC books are available in our school library.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge website has reset all previously participating students' usernames and passwords. If your child has completed the challenge previously they will not be able to use their previous usernames and passwords.

I will distribute the new passwords to students who completed the challenge in 2024. Once you have your new login details you will be able to start completing your 2025 Reading Log online.

www.premiersreadingchallenge.nsw.edu.au

If your child is completing the challenge for the first time in 2025 or you are returning to the challenge after not completing it in 2025, please email me at natalie.broers@cg.catholic.edu.au and I will provide you with login details.

Kind regards,
Natalie Broers
Teacher Librarian

Congratulations to the recipients of the Week 2 Mt Carmel Awards.
These awards were handed out last Friday, 21 February, at morning assembly.

K Blue Svetlana Mulcair William Maher	K Gold Nova Irwin Gus Coster
1 Green Heeya Chaudhary Adelaide Raymond Peter Gorman	1 Red Lucia Reid Logan Bennett
2 Blue Billie Taylor Ryan Tome Kit McLeod	2 Gold Phoebe Platt Claire Kundolam Finn Mulholland-Brown
3 Green Elisabeth Morris Ted Ward	3 Red Camille Walker Max Hanns Hugh Davaris
4 Blue Olivia Aksenov Isaac Reynders	4 Gold Hannah Maher Angus Dando
5 Green Zoey Mitchell Franklin Pitt	5 Red Neva Welsh Cooper Moses
6 Blue Paul Coady Benjamin Webster	6 Gold Mikayla Black James Roe Harrington Roser Macy Camilleri

Congratulations to the recipients of the Week 3 Mt Carmel Awards.
These awards will be handed out this Friday, 28 February, at morning assembly.

K Blue Shae Spring Beau Tome	K Gold Leo Bush Hugo Julian
1 Green Ruby Kim Lucy Ward Anna Leighton	1 Red Elyse Carter Hamish Lyons
2 Blue Aurora Irwin Arabella Merriman Logan Hodgson	2 Gold Sophie Aksenov Josephine Mattappallil Brax Carter
3 Green Eli Driver Hayden Spring	3 Red Evie Mitchell Sasha Ramadan Ethan Kim
4 Blue Eleena Mattappallil Asher Gorman	4 Gold Madison McGurk Mikayla Clements
5 Green Esther Payne Madeline Caldow Benji Carroll Mnqobi Nyathi Vincent Da Deppo	5 Red Esther Nyathi Ezra Whimpress
6 Blue Lily Butt Riley Pholi William Dake Alice Miller Zara McEvoy Abby Hillman Rory Doyle Jaxon Field Fletcher Lees Lachlan Inkster Milton McDonald	6 Gold Ruby Laughton Kalon Vu Zoe Leahy Mabel Adie Mikayla Black Amelia Hooper Beau Jones Spencer Crocker

EVENTS

Friday 28 FEBRUARY - House Spirit Challenge - bring your gloves to help Clean Up Our School in preparation for Clean Up Australia Day

Friday 28 FEBRUARY - Zooper Dooper Day! Bring 50c if you would like to buy a treat from our pop up stall on Friday

Tuesday - 4 MARCH - Pancake Breakfast and Pancake race by our school leaders

Have you met our School Captain Zoe?
My name is Zoe Leahy and this year I am the School Captain on the Student Representative Council for 2025.

Some of the things I enjoy are:

• Netball
• Reading
• Playing with my friends
• Helping others 

My favourite animal is a dog. My favourite sport is netball and my favourite teams are the Diamonds and the Giants. My favourite song is “Raised Like That” by James Johnston. One day I hope to travel to France and Scotland. When I grow up I am going to be a teacher.

Year 5 2025 Camp dates: 14-16 May (Warrambui) 

Year 6 2025 Camp dates: 4-6 June (Narrabeen) 

Teach your child ‘ninja-style’ friendship tricks

There are few things more painful than watching your child struggle to make friends. Fortunately this is a skill that can be improved like any other. 

Dana, who runs the friendship programme Friendology - URStrong, which is taught in schools internationally, says making friends doesn’t come easily to everyone, as evidenced by that grown-up you know who still lacks social skills. She adds that kids’ friendships are often aligned with their interests and hence can change quickly, particularly at certain ages.

“We want kids to get really comfortable with that natural ebb and flow that happens in their friendships. Friendships change, and that’s OK,” she says. Dana helps kids build skills to become ‘friendship ninjas’, describing this as an empowering way for kids to think about themselves and their friendships. These ninja tricks are well-defined and can be rehearsed with kids. “We don’t just naturally learn how to do friendship, or relationships very well through osmosis. So that’s why we need to be very explicit in our instruction for children.”

Teach your child how to introduce themselves
Learning how to introduce themselves is a good place for kids to start. Teach them to make sure they have “kind and friendly” body language and to look the other person in the eyes and then put out their hand and say: ‘Hi, my name is…’ Dana suggests roleplaying this or using teddy bears and toys at home for little ones to help them feel comfortable practicing these skills. “It’s clearing those neural pathways in the brain so that it feels very natural and organic for children,” she says.

Ask and pass
Dana teaches children to be ‘interested’ and ‘interesting’ – the second and third ‘i’s’ after eye contact. This includes asking a question after introducing themselves. “Children often do not know how to have a conversation, which is why when we’re talking to them, we sometimes feel like we’re talking to a brick wall,” Dana says. This is where the concept of ‘ask and pass’ comes in, which she describes as like a game of catch. “The idea is that I might say, ‘Hi, my name is Dana, what’s your name?’ That’s like throwing you the ball. “We want to try to find   something that we have in common with them. So maybe we say, ‘Do you play soccer?’ or ‘What activities do you do outside of school?’” She suggests physically practicing this – perhaps throwing a toy to illustrate the ‘catch’ or back and forth nature of how a conversation should work. Dana says once the kids find an area of commonality – something they’re both interested in – it’s like planting a seed for a new friendship to grow.

Have a ‘quick question’ ready for awkward moments
Dana teaches kids to have a strategy for when they hit an awkward moment with new friends – known as the ‘quick question’. They need to lock this into their minds to use if they hit an awkward patch with a child they’re talking to. “For example, as a grown-up I ask someone: ‘Tell me about where you grew up?’ For kids it might be: ‘Do you have a pet at home?’ Or, ‘What’s your favourite subject at school?’”

Be an ‘inviter’
It’s important to empower children with the skills to build healthy friendships themselves – not just to sit back and wait for friendships to come to them, Dana says.

“A lot of kids will say, ‘I have no friends to play with at school. Nobody likes me.’ But they’re just sitting there waiting. We want them to be the ones to invite others.” Dana suggests practicing inviting kids to play, but rather than saying, ‘Can I play with you guys?’ Or: ‘Can I play with you?’, teach them to say: ‘Do you want to play with me?’ and have a game in mind. For example, they might say: “Do you want to come and play with me on the monkey bars?”

“This subtle difference helps to take them from disempowered to empowered”, Dana says.

Be an ‘includer’ - Help your child take responsibility for introducing their friend to another friend when the situation arises. If someone walks up to their group and they know that person, they need to say: ‘Hey Val, this is my friend Joe.’ Dana encourages children to then ‘ask and pass’ to help make that person feel included in the group. Also, when a child comes up to join in with a group, teach your child to explain to them what the group is up to, so they feel included (particularly as the others may be absorbed in what they’re doing). For older kids, Dana suggests standing in a horseshoe, rather than a closed circle. This is more inclusive, making it easier for children to come and go from the group.

Tips for shy kids
Kids need to be mindful they are not inadvertently sending the message they don’t want friends, or that they are unfriendly through their body language. This is particularly important for shy kids who can sometimes come off as looking unfriendly. “Get comfortable putting your back up (straight), looking the person in the eye, maybe waving hello. And then we’re going to move towards helping (the child) feel strong and confident in using their voice and having a conversation, asking someone to play.”

Use the power of playdates
Sometimes all kids need to hotwire a new friendship into place is one-on-one time, Dana says. They can go from strangers to besties in a very short time if they’re given the chance to have uninterrupted time with a friend. It could be having a friend over to their house, meeting at a park, or inviting a friend to join them at the movies. These “high-quality connections” help lock in a friendship, Dana says. Often at school, kids are trying to carve out one-on-one time with their friends – which can look like they’re excluding others. But school is not for playdates, so work to offer these opportunities outside of school, she says.

Choosing your friends
Another important lesson of Dana’s programme is that children don’t have to be friends with everyone. “We see it in the classroom and in the real world, there are some people who bring out the best in us. And there are some people who bring out the worst. “We want to be kind and friendly to everyone, but friendship is a relationship that we choose.”

Mt Carmel Playgroup will commence tomorrow, Thursday 28 February.

Mt Carmel Swimming Champions for 2025! Well done to all recipients of ribbons and medals. 
Congratulations to McAuley sports house for winning the swimming carnival.  

If any of these items belongs to you or your child, please pop into the office to collect it.

Has your child ever thought about playing guitar?
Spaces are now avalable for 2025. Fill in the below form and drop back to the office to secure your place with Den.

Has your child ever thought about learning piano?
Margaret Hanson teaches lessons from the school Monday to Friday during school terms.

Please contact Margaret on 0407 285 420 if you have any questions or would like to secure a space for your child this year. 

We are currently seeking additional players in a variety of age groups and would appreciate your help in spreading the word.

We are particularly looking for players in the following age groups:

Mixed Tackle Ready U7s
Mixed U8s League Tag
Mixed U12s Tackle
U12s League Tag
U15s Male Tackle
U16s League Tag
U16s Male Tackle

The Yass Show will be held on Saturday 15^th March with lots of fun activities to make, do and see.

How about making a ‘Creepy Critter’ for the Decorative Flower section;

some scones and/or cakes in the Cooking section; some vegetables from your home or school garden; a decorated pumpkin - in the Vegetable section;  Lego and/or ‘Best Pet Bird’ in the Poultry section.

Look up the Yass Show web site -  Yassshow.org.au - for all Junior classes and information.