Dear Families,

Welcome to the 2021 school year! We have had an exciting start as we officially welcomed 38 students on day one at St Angela’s. We have since continued to grow to 42 enrolments, it will be interesting to see what our numbers are at the end of the year.
Our school newsletter will be distributed through the SZAPP App on a fortnightly basis every Tuesday. We encourage you to read all sections of the newsletter to ensure you keep up to date with the happenings of our school.

Regards

Justin Greenwood

Principal

For any classroom correspondence/concerns, the classroom teacher is your first point of call. Please note that teachers will not respond to emails over the weekends and they will endeavour to respond to emails within 24-48 hours (weekdays). A phone conversation is sometimes much more appropriate than an email.

Ongoing Professional Development and Planning is vital for teachers as it allows us to improve our knowledge and also reflect on current practice and trends in education. Throughout 2021 we will have a number of closure days focusing on improving our teaching and learning. Please note the following school closure days.

• Thursday 1^st April 2021
• Thursday 24^th June 2021
• Friday 25^th June 2021
• Friday 17^th September 2021
• Monday 1^st November 2021

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held after school on Monday 22^nd and Tuesday 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

As previously communicated some of our school uniform supplies are still to arrive. Both Beleza and the school will keep you posted when new stock comes in. For the interim period we will be flexible with our uniform policy, please send your children to school in any St Angela uniform you have.

Visitors including parents, guardians and carers will be required to wear a face mask when on school sites in indoor locations, including reception areas and classrooms, unless an exemption applies.

A reminder to all families that all vehicles must access the school via the Downton Street entry only. Children can be dropped off at the kiss and drop parking on the left-hand side of the road way. If you wish to park and enter the school please park in the designated spots adjacent to Mills Road.

The culvert under Copelands Road in Warragul located immediately north of Bella Vista Drive is due for upgrading. The works are anticipated to take up to 3 weeks to complete (subject to weather) and are expect to commence on Monday 8th February and be completed by Friday 26th February 2021. Detours will be in place for the duration of these works. Local residents are advised to use Mills Road, Stoddards Road and Normanby Street. 

Next Wednesday at 2:00pm Home Group 2 will attend a school Liturgy for Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, blessed ashes are put on your forehead in the shape of a cross. These ashes are made by burning palm leaves which have been saved from last year’s Palm Sunday. Lent lasts for forty days and is a time where we aim to improve our relationship with God and others. Unfortunately, due to current mass gathering restrictions parents will not be able to attend this event.

Which program am I with?

Jews in Jesus’ time saw illness as punishment for some kind of sin or unfaithfulness. Jesus wasn’t having any of that! His message is that God doesn’t see them that way. Instead Jesus is especially devoted to the ill, marginal, unwashed and unwanted above everyone else. He came nearest to those who were seen as God’s forsaken, touching the lepers (Mark 1:40-45) whom no-one else would touch, assuring them of the Father’s boundless love and restoring their dignity.

Beyond the crippling physical effects of bodily disease, the overwhelming tragedy of these sufferers is the shame and humiliation of being shunned as dirty and repulsive. Ostracism and exclusion from normal lives and participation in community activities and events eroded their dignity. We meet such people in the streets of our towns today.

Jesus Program: Caring lovingly for the unwashed and unwanted. Catholic icons like Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Saint Mary McKillop,  Pope Francis and other Christians and non-Christians have made Christ-like care their life’s work. Ambiguously Christian, Eric Blair (aka George Orwell), the profoundly influential author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four,  lovingly served the dirty, shunned and unwanted, those with horrendous skin conditions; cleaning and binding disgusting ulcers and wounds, restoring dignity to the ostracised. 

Anti-Jesus Program: Excluding from their love and the community’s care those who don’t fit a particular work ethic or moral code, class, ethnicity, race or gender profile. Those (including erstwhile Christians) who by act or omission, directly or indirectly, shun, ostracise, berate, deprive, neglect and humiliate the poor, unwashed, lonely, ill, frightened or fleeing are following the anti-Jesus program.

Jesus’ followers must bind and comfort where we can, support the experts who can do what is beyond us and, as citizens and taxpayers, ensure our governments wisely and compassionately spend our resources.

Deacon Mark Kelly   

Marist Sion College | College Chaplain  

Take a look at our beautiful Prayer space that Home Groups 1 and 2 have created!

Each morning students participate in morning Prayer together. Our focus has been learning how to respectfully make the Sign of the Cross, responding appropriately during Liturgies and Masses and learning some beautiful hymns with actions.

Students have been doing a wonderful job showing reverence and respect in our collaborative Prayer space!

Konnichiwa (hello),

Watashi wa Taylor desu. The students call me "Taylor Sensei"

My aim in Japanese classes is to teach students how to speak spontaneously with each other. It will be words and phrases to help them work together on their school activities. You might like to help at home too.

Last week we learnt how to ask for things.

[what you want] o kudasai.  Eg: Train track o kudasai. Salt o kudasai. My socks o kudasai.

This week we are finding out if you have something, then asking for it.

[thing] ga arimasu ka? Eg: Bolt ga arimasu ka? Hai. Bolt o kudasai.

In addition, older students will use their problem solving skills to read  new words by referring to the words taught in today's class. This is a literacy reading strategy, and the decoding skills use powerfully enhance the same skills in English reading.

If you have some fun, and feel like sharing, please pop some of the phrases you used at home on our facebook page or email them to us. I would love to hear from you about anything Japanese related. Just send your thoughts or questions in an email to the school. office@stangelawarragul.catholic.edu.au

We are currently looking into provides for Before and After School Care. In order for us to obtain quotes and availability of providers, we first need to have an indication of student numbers. Please see the below poll for parents/guardians wishing to express their expression of interest in using this service.  We ask that you only express interest if you are confident that you will use the days in the immediate future.