Newsletter Term 4, 2024 Week 6

Principal's Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 4 Week 6!! It’s hard to believe that we only have 4 more weeks of school to go and yet so much to get through.  I have added some dates at the end of my newsletter entry for you to cross check with your paper calendars at home!

Thank you for supporting Blue Day last Thursday for Diabetes Awareness Day!

Our whole school were led in a lovely Remembrance Day liturgy last Monday at 11am in our hall. Thank you for your reverence boys and girls.

Congratulations Ollie G (Year 4) who has been selected for the Polding cricket trials in Lismore on December 4th 2024! This is a fantastic achievement as only 7 children were selected from the Broken Bay cricket representatives.

Our SBLM Year 6 Leadership team 2025 is in the making!  Our nominated Year 5s have completed their application form and now presenting their speeches next week.  These children have also placed their preferences between SBLM leaders, Sport House Captains, School Captains and Vice School Captains.  We look forward to welcoming a newly elected student leadership team fostering wonderful leadership skills, adhering to our SBLM expectations and willing to support our staff and student community in the future.

We had a great day at St Peter’s Catholic College, Tuggerah last Tuesday for the Stage 2 TechMatics Day.  Mrs S was there facilitating a group and our 12 tech savvy children immersed themselves into activities involving building, programming, coding, problem solving and working with others from other schools.  Well done and congratulations on a great day out!

We are so very proud of our two Year 6 Citizenship Award recipients, Brando A and Blake C.  Both Brando and Blake were presented their awards at Doyalson RSL on Monday evening along with many other schools in our community.  Brando and Blake consistently follow our SBLM expectations, their manners and kindness to others are impeccable and they are reliable in every sense of the word.  Congratulations Brando and Blake and your families too!

Today we held a “silly sock” day and gold coin donation to support both Alexia G and Rain R who are off to the Nationals at the end of this month.  We wish them all the best, Alexia in shot put and Rain in long jump.  It’s a tremendous achievement to reach this level of competition and we will be cheering you both all the way from Lake Munmorah!

For $60 your child could have their own St Brendan’s school bag. I am strongly encouraging all parents to purchase a school bag for the start of 2025! Most other Catholic schools in the area, it is compulsory to have a school bag.  A St Brendan's school bag will also be compulsory with a 2 year lead in, therefore before end of 2026 it will be compulsory for all children K-6 to have a St Brendan's school bag.

Why?

• They are sturdy
• They can fit everything in it
• It’s just for school so it lasts longer and better value than a Smiggle, a Van etc bag
• Helps your child to be more organised keeping this bag just for school and not the beach, not the pool, not the park etc.
• It looks better (see the lines of bags in the photo below of other school bags from other schools and then there is our line of pink, lime etc
• You can individualise your child’s bag with one or two key rings on the side of the school bag so not to mistake their bag for another bag

Lost property at school is a concern.  We counted $1000 worth of school jackets in lost property on Wednesday this week, thankfully most of the jackets had names on them.  Please be sure to re-label your children’s jackets, lunch boxes, drink bottles and hats!  Perhaps your child’s bag is too small can’t fit everything in it comfortably therefore a St Brendan’s school bag would be the better choice. 

Thank you to those parents who attended our PAG (Parent Advisory Group) on Tuesday at 5.30pm.  We discussed a few agenda items (see below) plus I presented a powerpoint on how parents can be aware of their children’s time online during gaming, communication etc and how you can help keep your children safe. 

Some points discussed at the PAG include:

• Assembly awards – should also include certificates from ICAS, Newcastle Permanent competitions etc
• Uniform shop “Yeronga” is up and running at school (at the moment Friday mornings, however we will be offering a couple of full days in December for all to visit) and online
• The Community Garden is thriving. The canteen has a fresh supply of lettuce at the moment.  Any parent who would like to cut some lettuce leaves from the garden, please do!
• Year 2 are currently attending their intensive swimming program this week.
• The double gates near the Early Learning Centre will continue to be shut until 2.20pm. We are aware of the congestion this causes when parents arrive at school early, however this precautions are put in place for the safety of your children.
• Communication from school – please check the Sunday night message on Compass about What’s happening that week! Plus the newsletter and any Seesaw messages from your child’s teacher.
• The tidiness, or lack of tidiness, is a concern. We encourage all children to place their own rubbish into the bins available, we have booked an extra weekly garbage truck to empty all bins and yet still we have issues with rubbish in our beautiful gardens and on our playground.
• Strongly encouraged to buy a St Brendan’s school bag (reasons above).
• Volunteers needed to help decorate the school for our Christmas carols.
• All children welcome to participate in our Christmas Eve mass – please RSVP on the form provided.
• All children should be wearing black polishable shoes to school with their school uniform.
• Cybersafety powerpoint presented. Please access the esafety commission website for some very important information.  Use this link > https://www.esafety.gov.au

• Parents and carers need to diligent to keep our children safe at home using technology:

  • Monitor what sites your children are accessing
  • Play games with them online
  • Collectively set rules for devices/ create a family tech agreement where all devices go away (including yours) at certain times (see below)

• Engage parent controls on all devices (find information in settings on Roblox, Instagram etc)
• Keep all devices out of your children’s bedrooms – keep them in sight of you!

I would also like to thank our parents who do attend our PAG meetings throughout the year.  I value your feedback, suggestions and the love you have for St Brendan’s community.

Some 2024 dates to note coming up, but also check your paper calendar sent home:

November

25^th – Year 6 fundraising pyjama day (no crocs to be worn) with gold coin donation

26^th – Ready, Set, Go

27^th – Year 6 parents zoom 5pm (End of year activities organisation)

28^th – Stage 3 oz tag

29^th – Stage 2 Oz Tag

December

3^rd – Ready, Set, Go

3^rd – SBLM Christmas carols, food trucks, stalls 3pm onwards.. Carols at 5.15pm

4^th – Children’s university at Ourimbah University 5pm

9^th – Semester two reports home

9^th – Year 6 Graduation mass 5.15pm (please wear full school uniform)

10^th – Combined Carters Road evacuation

10^th – Year 6 Graduation at The Doyalson RSL (Smart casual attire) 5pm-9pm (allow time to sign in)

11^th – Step Up Day

12^th – 9am Thanksgiving Mass and Spirit of St Brendan’s Award; 11am (tbc) End of Year Awards

13^TH – End of term reward

16^th – 350 dojo movie day/popcorn

17^th – Year 6 Beach Fun day

18^th – Year 6 clap out 2.10pm

18^th – Children’s last day for 2024.

2025

February

3^rd – Years 1-6 return to school

3-4^th – Kindergarten Start of Kindergarten screeners

5^th – Kindergarten’s first day

10^th – SBLM swimming carnival – years 2-6 at Swansea Pool

17^th – Central Coast zone swimming carnival at Mingara Pool

God Bless,

Charlene Reid

Principal

Assistant Principal Update

BUSES

Every year, the school advocates for safer bus travel for our students. We acknowledge that the buses are often overcrowded. To address this, we have been consistently reaching out to Transport NSW and our Local Member to request additional buses. We have also kept parents informed about the importance of students using an Opal Card and "tapping on," as this data is crucial for supporting our case with Transport NSW. This week, I spoke with every student who catches a bus to identify who does and does not have an Opal Card, and the graphs below clearly highlight the situation (orange indicating the quantity of students with no pass).  We will be emailing the parents and carers of those students without Opal Cards with the link and ask you to immediately take action.  

Percentage of students without Opal Card

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To support your child, please ensure you provide them with some type of wallet to keep their Opal card in.  I noticed many students who had a bus pass, used a holder such as this.  

Please work with us and ensure your child has a bus pass for their travel.

STUDENT HAIR

We have a range of students who have started to come to school with a range of colours and tints in their hair.  Our School Uniform Expectations state that students should have natural hair colour only; tints, dyes, foils and streaks are not school appropriate. Hair for girls and boys, at and longer than shoulder length must be tied up.

Please see the School Uniform Expectations from the Parent Handbook.

RETURNING TO SCHOOL AFTER AN INJURY

If your child has an accident or injury and will be returning to school with a cast, crutches, sling or wheelchair can you please ensure you:

1. Contact the office in advance to your child returning to advise us of the accident and injuries sustained.  Provide us with as much information as to what support/s your child will need.
2. Request a medical certificate from your doctor that indicates that your child can return to school and specifying what they are not capable of doing, such as sport and toileting etc. 

If your child does require additional support, we will organise a meeting, before they return, to ensure we have supports in place. 

REQUEST FROM TEACHERS - PLEASE WAIT FOR CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE PLAYGROUND / BEHIND THE ASSEMBLY AREA

Could we please ask that parents refrain from standing outside the classroom areas of a morning and afternoon. This allows students to smoothly transition into the classroom and gives your child greater independence. Whilst the children love to see you outside of an afternoon, it is very distracting to them during a busy time when teachers are giving out end of day instructions.  We would appreciate your cooperation in this regard.

CHRISTMAS CAROLS - 3 DECEMBER 2024

We are looking for enthusiastic parents to assist with our 2024 Christmas Carols event! Your support could include decorating the school, selling raffle tickets, or helping with clean-up at the end of the evening.

If you're able to lend a hand, please complete this form. Mrs. Fletcher will reach out to you soon.

Thank you for helping make this festive event a success!

School Updates and Upcoming Events

🎄 Join Us for Christmas Carols 2024! 🎄

Date: December 3rd
Time: 3 PM to 7 PM
Location: St Brendan's, Lake Munmorah

Celebrate the season with songs and cheer on December 3rd from 3 PM to 7 PM. Bring along your family, fold-up chairs, or a picnic blanket and enjoy an evening filled with festive fun!

Highlights of the Event:

• 🎶 Carols at 5:15 PM 🎶
• 🍔 Food Trucks
• 🛍️ Market Stalls
• 🎉 Entertainment for Everyone
• 🛒 Uniform Shop Open from 3 PM to 4:30 PM
  Try on and purchase uniforms during this time.
• 🚒 Firetruck Visit
  Come and see the firetruck and meet the firefighters!
• 🎅 Exciting Photo Opportunity with a Special Jolly Guest
  
• 🎟️ Exciting Raffle Draw
  Participate in our raffle for a chance to win amazing prizes!

It’s the perfect way to get into the holiday spirit and create wonderful memories with your loved ones. We look forward to seeing you there!

St Brendan's Giving Tree

Children’s Christmas Eve Mass & Vinnies Christmas Appeal

Join Us for Mass and Children's Nativity!

Date: Tuesday, 24th December 2024
Time: 5:00 PM
Where: St Brendan's Church

We warmly invite you to our special Christmas Eve Mass. If your child would like to participate in the Mass—whether as part of the nativity, a reader, dancer, or choir member etc —please complete the form here.

Please also see flyer regarding the Vinnies Christmas Appeal

We look forward to celebrating this joyous occasion with you and your family!

Religious Education

Awards

Week 5

Week 6

Community News

Compass Calendar