Dear Parents,

Having strong relationships with parents in our school community is vitally important as it helps us to not only better support your child with their education but also to hear your voice in matters that arise within our school community. An effective and professional way of doing this is through a School Advisory Committee who meet regularly to discuss the happenings of our school. The purpose of the School Advisory Committee is to:

• act as an advisory body to the principal on matters concerning education in the school
• act as a forum for discussion on matters concerning education in the school
• provide a link between the parish priest, principal, teachers and parishioners in relation to the provision of Catholic education in the parish community
• promote community development by fostering a strong inter-relationship between the parish, the primary school and Catholic secondary colleges.

Our 2022 Advisory Committee is outlined below;

Chairman: Justin Greenwood
Secretary: Rachael Williams
Parish Priest: Fr Peter Slater
Parent Representatives: Kristy Telford, Kelly Bonacci, Amie De Battista, Paul Lecher

Another parent forum we have is our parents and friends committee. This committee’s sole responsibility is to help with fundraising initiatives for our school. Meetings are open to all of our parents and there are no set roles or responsibilities. Any potential fundraisers are discussed at our meeting and then once decided organisation of these fundraisers are shared amongst all.

Our first meeting for the year will be held on Friday 25^th February at Newmasons, please join us for a coffee and share any ideas. Please RSVP by completing the below web form.

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held remotely after school next Tuesday 22^nd and Wednesday 23^rd February.  These interviews are vitally important as they provide you with the opportunity to get to know your child’s teacher and set learning goals for the year. Positive partnerships and relationships between home and school are critical in allowing your child/ren to reach their full potential. Information will be sent home soon advising how to book for these interviews.

Our preferred model would be to meet face to face for these interviews, however, the current restrictions placed upon schools doesn’t allow for us to do this. We appreciate your understanding and hope in the near future we will be able to welcome you into our beautiful school.

Further information in relation to bookings will be provided via SZAPP over the coming days.

Hearing the voice of our students and giving them opportunities to develop as leaders and individuals is importance to us. For 2022 the school leadership team has decided that our three grade 6 students Frankie, Liam and Jaiden will be our school captains.

All students in Homegroup L will form the Student Representative Council (SRC). These students will meet twice termly to communicate what’s working well (WWW) in our school and Even Better If (EBI).

We are also asking for nominations from Homegroup L for four Social Justice Leaders to help organise and facilitate school awareness of fund-raising initiatives, care of our school environment and resources and providing examples of the behaviour and safety responsibilities of all students. These students will work closely with Mrs Williams throughout the year. Students interested in these positions have been asked to write a letter addressed to Mr Greenwood by Friday 11^th March. Successful applicants will be selected by the school staff.

Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sale aim for continuous school improvement. An essential element of this improvement is understanding how students, parents and staff perceive the Catholic identity of our school and what they might like Catholic identity at St Angela of the Cross Primary School to look like in the years ahead.

These surveys will assist us in better understanding how our Catholic Identity is expressed. The results will contribute to a reliable picture of our school’s Catholic Identity, which we will use to inform our School Improvement Plan for the next four years.

Whilst this survey is not compulsory we thank you for your consideration of this request and for your anticipated participation. Please see the attached letter for further information on how to complete this survey.

Golden Rule plus

Most major religions have directives that superficially read a lot like those from Jesus in this week’s gospel (Luke 6:27-38).

"Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you." "This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you." "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful."

These are prudent, careful sentiments. A wise way to keep out of trouble with our neighbour. If only the world tried to follow them! Some say they are all part of a universal “Golden Rule” and the “rule” in Luke 6:31 is another version of them.

But you’ve picked the difference already haven’t you! The others are all couched in the negative. What you shouldn’t do. Nothing is required of you. Nothing about love here; no positive action, just don’t bug other people.

Sure that’s a start, but Christianity has something altogether beyond this. In this gospel from Luke, Jesus commands us to “Be merciful as the Father is merciful” to “love our enemies”, “Do good to those who hate us”. That’s a whole new level! And the alleluia verse (John 13:34) underscores that this commandment is not about any old love. This is the love beyond all measure with which Jesus has loved us.

Jesus emphasises that we can afford to be courteous if we anticipate people being courteous back; generous in anticipation of generosity, but his radical command to love makes Christianity unique. This is way beyond! This is active, sleeves rolled up, crazy Christianity and a love beyond all other love! Elsewhere in scripture we are told, “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action”. (1 John 3:16-18) Mere humans will struggle to love as Jesus loves, but in the attempt we’ll draw ever closer to God.

Deacon Mark Kelly

Developed by the staff and students at St Angela of the Cross, Primary School.

At St Angela of the Cross Primary School we implement the Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour Support (WSAPBS) approach in order to create an environment that is predictable, known and safe for our students. Positive Behaviour approaches focus on the development of expectations, values, relationships and skills.

Our School Wide Expectations are:

• Safe
• Respectful
• Inclusive, and
• Persistent

Last year, the students unpacked the first two expectations : Safe and Respectful. 

The students developed positive behaviours expectations around how all school members can be safe and respectful at school. These are referred to in all areas of our school and are displayed in each classroom. 

The expectations they created are:

SAFE

RESPECTFUL

This term, we will unpack the next two expectations: Inclusive and Persistent.

This year we are fortunate to be able to provide After School Care through our partnership with Extend. We ask that all families sign up and register for this service. See further details below.

The Foundation students have been exploring what their job is as a learner at St Angela’s. They have learnt about good learning behaviours and how these behaviours help not only them, but others around them learn.  We have been practising the ‘Give Me 5’and have been investigating the difference between red and green choices made both in the classroom and out on the school yard. What a wonderful start to the year Foundation students and what such important skills to learn to help us all have a fantastic year together!

Homegroup B has been busy “Learning to Learn” as part of our Inquiry unit this term. We have been using our positive attitude towards learning to try new things and view our mistakes as chances to learn which will help with our learning for the remainder of the year. We have been playing new games and trying new activities and reflecting on how we feel when we are doing these things. 

Inquiry

The past few weeks the students have been reflecting on themselves as learners; their strengths and challenges and their goals for the term. This included a self evaluation where they reflected on statements such as “I ask questions to help me learn more about what we are learning” and “I take pride in my work and complete it to a high standard”.

The students have also been involved in rich discussions around our learning environments and how we can show respect to all and make everyone feel safe by following the classroom expectations. 

The students collaborated on an art project where they each designed a puzzle piece about themselves and joined the pieces together to show that we are all a part of the class and work together to achieve our goals. 

The students at St Angela of the Cross have had a great start to Physical Education this year. 

Students in Foundation and Grade 1 have been learning all about the importance of following rules in games and responding to the whistle, identifying boundaries and playing areas and how to move safely within these spaces at different speeds and directions.  

Students in Grades 2-6 have been focusing on cooperation games and how to work together in teams to solve problems. This includes being aware of the role each person has within team games and how we can encourage and support each other to be successful.  

The Warragul District Swimming Carnival will be held on Monday 21st of February from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm at the outdoor Warragul Pool. St Angela of the Cross students from grades 3-6 have been invited to compete in this carnival. This is a competitive event and to qualify students must be able to swim the full length of the 50m pool competently, without stopping.

If you think your child would meet these criteria in the swimming events freestyle, backstroke, butterfly or breaststroke please let Mrs Williams by Wednesday 16th February. rwilliams@stangelawarragul.catholic.edu.au.

Parents would be responsible for supervising and taking their children to and from this event.