Term 1 Week 5 Monday 28th February

Our Prayer This Week

God of stilled waters,
God of calmed seas,
on a night of a difficult crossing,
as your friends began to lose faith, you awoke and hushed,
the turbulent waves,
with the power of unearthly peace. May we respect the sheer force,
of what we cannot control,
and believe in the strength that sleeps in this storm.
 
Amen.

From the Principal

There is always a lot happening at school.  This week marks the beginning of Lent. We'll be commemorating the occasion on Wednesday with a liturgy at school and with pancake day on Tuesday (of course!). There has been a slight relaxation of Covid restrictions, however, mask wearing remains in schools. QR check in is longer required. Thanks to everyone who is working hard to ensure that we keep everyone as safe as possible. Please take the time to read our newsletter carefully and please contact the school if you have any questions. 

Have a great week, Stacey 

Mayor for a Day

The students were very fortunate to have an incursion with comedian, playwright, author and former primary school teacher, Damian Callinan last Tuesday. Damian was preparing for his show 'Mayor for a Day' in Mortlake that evening. The children were thoroughly entertained during the workshop and were gifted with two copies of his book 'Weird School'. Damian pitched some future book titles including the day that the octopus invaded the St Colman's swimming carnival and the day that Max Gawn came to footy colours day. We thought they'd be pretty good books! The children were then asked to imagine what they would do if they were Mayor for a Day. It seems that lollies and making things edible featured highly. Damian then used some of these during his performance that night.  

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Athletics Day Friday 11th March

Our Athletics Day at the Terang Rec Reserve is fast approaching. A range of helpers will be required on the day to ensure that the day is a success. There are four different options for volunteering. 

1) 7.30am and 8.30am: setting up

2) 9.20am-11.30am: supporting events 

3) 11.30am-2pm: supporting events

4) 1.30pm-2.30pm: packing up

Please contact Jane, Stacey or Brianna at school  if you are able to help.  

Covid Update

The next batch of RATs will be sent home Tuesday night. If you do not wish for your child to receive a packet please email me at school.  Please find following a visual schedule for administering RATS. If you'd like a printed copy please let me know. 

principal@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au 

The mask mandate for primary school children is here to stay for a little bit, so please remember to send a mask to school with your child. Masks are mandated for children in Grades 3-6 but we strongly encourage the rest of the school to wear them due to the vulnerability of some people in our community. 

Staff are now required to have had 3 shots of the vaccine along with volunteers and other people working closely with children. Visitors require 2 shots. 

A reminder to inform us if your child has tested positive or is a close contact. 

QR Checkins are no longer required. 

The Season of Lent

On Wednesday we are invited to participate in Ash Wednesday. I have very vivid memories of receiving the ashes as a student and wondering what the mark looked like on my head and having a good look at my friends. I wondered where the ashes came from and I really didn't know why we received them. 

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a season of preparation and penance marked by prayer, fasting and going without. The season begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Thursday and is traditionally represented by the colour purple. 

Lent is an invitation for Christians to ‘turn around,’ to head back in the right direction. To reconnect with our faith and to make amends. During Lent we travel with Christ to Easter. Some people decide to go without something whilst others take something up. However you mark the season, we are all invited to take a moment to think about how we can prepare, with Jesus, for the Easter season. 

Communication

Don't forget that student diaries are checked daily and are a great place for quick messages. 

To help create the most productive, safe and effective environment for the children at St Colman's could I please ask parents to adhere to the following protocols. 

If you need to get a message to your child during the day, have a query about the bus, require uniform or have any other messages could you please contact Jane in the office 03 5599 2285. 

This will ensure that other staff can focus on teaching.

If you would like to contact your child's teacher please consider sending them an email to arrange a time to speak with them. 

Junior Room, Shandell Moloney smoloney@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au 

Middle Room, Maddie Tegelhuter mtegelhuter@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au

Senior Room, Rosie O'Connor roconnor@scmortlake.catholic.edu.au

Sacraments 2022

This year there will be one parent information evening for all children celebrating any of the sacraments.  It is very important that this evening is attended.

Please complete the linked  Google Form if your child/children will be participating in the sacraments. 

This will be held at St Thomas' Church on Wednesday 2nd March at 7pm. 

Children in Grade 3 or above are invited to celebrate the sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Eucharist. 

Any parents of children who have not celebrated these sacraments in Grade 4, 5 or 6 are also invited to attend the parent night. 

Reconciliation: Wednesday 30th March

Sacramentof Confirmation: Sunday 5th June at 9am Mass.

Sacrament of First Communion: Sunday 20th November

If you have any questions please contact Stacey at school. 

The School Bus

Parents are asked to please update any changes to regular bus routines via PAM. This ensures that all children are accounted for and heading in the right direction. 

School Advisory Council Update

Please find attached the minutes from our last meeting.  Our next meeting is Thursday March 31st. 

Congratulations

Congratulations to our award winners this week. 

Connor, Leonie, Remy, Mason, Indi, Zoe, Dakota, Scarlett, Liam, Gus, Jack, Imogen and Isabella. 

Happy Birthday

Key Dates for the Diary

1st March- Shrove Tuesday

2nd March- Ash Wednesday

11th March- Sports Carnival

14th March- Long Weekend

16th March- School Closure Day 

23 March- Mercy Regional College Open Day

29 March- School Phots

31st March- SAC Meeting

8th April- Final Day of Term

Upcoming school closure dates:

Term 2 

2nd May- Parent Engagement with Tony Dalton

23rd May- Literacy focus

Term 3

1st August- Literacy Pedagogy

8th September- Liturgy (Religious Education) 

TBC: First Aid closure day to update CPR and other First Aid requirements. 

Pastoral Care in Schools

The Pastoral Care Program in School is designed to nurture students’ wellbeing while supporting their academic, social, emotional, and cognitive development.

The Pastoral Care Worker in your school is Clare Jehu.

The Pastoral Care Worker role is to:

• Work alongside teaching and wellbeing staff as part of the team to support children, families, and the community so school can be a positive experience for all children and their families.
• Identify and provide appropriate referrals to community services as required.
• Provide support for a range of day-to-day matters affecting the school community.
• Work within the school community to implement programs for students and parents or individuals as needed.

This service can support students with:

• Grief and loss
• Family Separation
• Self-esteem
• Resilience and coping with anxiety
• Developing social competence
• Social issues within the school e.g., bullying, conflict, friendship.

Referrals and bookings

Requests and referrals for students to access this service can come from parents, staff members or the community by contacting your school’s Pastoral Care Worker or school staff.

There is no cost for this service.

Lost Property

Do any of these items belong to you? 

The the blanket have been here since last year and the chair was left at the swimming on Friday. 

COVID Reminders

Please find following, an extensive letter outlining the current COVID arrangements. This will remain here in case you need to refer to anything. Some key points include things we are doing to protect our community:

• Mask wearing for all staff and Grade 2-6 students is compulsory. It is highly encouraged for all other children. Students must provide their own masks. 
• Masks are required for ALL children who travel on a bus. 
• Visitors must check in via the QR code and be vaccinated. 
• RATs have been delivered with each member of the community being invited to test themselves twice a week. The school must be notified if there is a positive case.  The school will inform the community if there is a positive case. Head to this link for a video on how to conduct a RAT. https://youtu.be/AyrggazYk_0

Please contact me at school if you have any concerns or queries. The new school mobile number is 0409 539 167.

Mercy Regional College Open Day

Please follow the link to register your attendance at the MRC Open Day. 

Emergency food relief

EMERGENCY FOOD RELIEF

Mortlake Community Health Centre - 23 Boundary Rd, Mortlake

The THIRD Thursday of every month from 1:00pm – 3:00pm

The emergency relief consists of food packages, prescription vouchers and social support to people who are in need financially and emotionally through the Mortlake Community Health Centre.

All are welcome when the need arises and confidentiality and discretion are assured.

For bookings, phone Louise on 0458 750 351.

Auskick

Auskick kicks off in Mortlake on May 1st. Please see the flyer for details on how to register. Contact Jess Dennis on 0422 808107 for details.

Parish Bulletin

Mass is celebrated at St Colman's every Sunday at 9am. All welcome.