Dear Parents,

This week is National Child Protection Week (4-10 September) an annual event starting on the first Sunday of September. This year’s theme ‘Every child, in every community, needs a fair go’ aims to spread the message that to treat all of Australia’s children fairly, we need to make sure every family and community has what kids need to grow up safe and supported.

To highlight National Child Protection Week, we draw your attention to this edition of SchoolTV – CYBERBULLYING With the advent of the internet, smart phones and tablets, there is now a whole new digital dimension added to traditional schoolyard bullying. There was once a time when bullying victims were given some respite outside of school hours, but sadly these days, online bullying can occur 24/7. In today’s world, teaching your child about online and cyber safety, is as important as learning to swim or cross the road!

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents are provided with useful guidelines and advice on how to minimise the risks. Children have the right to feel safe, regardless of whether it is in the schoolyard or online.

Here is the link to the Cyberbullying edition of SchoolTV

https://stangelawarragul.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/cyberbullying-special-report

Celebrating Child Safety Week in the Diocese of Sale 2022

Grade Structure and Staffing 2023 School Year

With term 4 fast approaching we are now planning for the 2023 school year. After meeting with the school consultative committee, grade structures for next year have been finalised. With increased student numbers we will have a seven-grade structure;

1. Foundation
2. Foundation
3. 1/2
4. 1/2
5. 1/2
6. 3/4
7. 5/6

Miss Meg Lambell will be taking leave all of next year to travel and Mrs Holly Peterson will also take leave to travel during terms 2-4. We wish both Meg and Holly well with their adventures and look forward to their safe return to St Angela’s in 2024.

Replacements for these positions and for new positions available due to the growth in our school are currently being advertised. New appointments will be announced to parents in due course.

Portable Classrooms

With the increased numbers and our Stage 2 building works not being completed by the start of the 2023 school year we will have two portable classrooms placed onsite in December. These classrooms will only be temporary until the building works are completed. 

End of Term 3

A reminder that next Thursday 15^th September is the last day of term for all students. Friday 16^th is a Professional Practice Day for school staff.

Puffing Billy Whole School Excursion

Students will be attending a whole school excursion to Puffing Billy Railway in Belgrave on Tuesday 25th October. This excursion will allow students to explore technology and stories of the past and present. Consent forms to follow via PAM.

Tickets for our upcoming School Concert on Wednesday 14^th September are on sale. Please note that tickets will be strictly limited to two per family due to the limited venue capacity. For safety purposes and limited aisle space, siblings will be unable to be seated on parent laps.

If you haven't purchased tickets, please click on the following link to book:

Bookings will be closed this Thursday at 4pm. 

Any spare tickets will be released and available to purchase from Friday 9th September at 6pm.

Performance Reminders

The performance will take place at the Marian Theatre at Marist Sion College in Warragul.

All students are required to perform or be backstage for our Production. We have two rehearsal days at the Theatre on Tuesday 13^th and Wednesday 14^th of September during school hours. The actual performance is on Wednesday evening 14^th September at 6:30pm. Students will be required to be at the Theatre half an hour earlier at 6pm.

Costumes must be brought to school for the dress rehearsal on Wednesday 14^th September. Students can wear school uniform and get changed at the theatre.

Further Details on costume requirements can be found in the below link:

This week is Child Safety week. Feedback from parents in the school community has indicated that many are confused and worried about different apps and games that their children may be accessing or may request to access in the near future. To help parents to gain some information about these apps and games and how to keep their children safe while using them, we will be focusing on one app/game per newsletter for the next few weeks.The information is intended for informational purposes only. Parents and Guardians need to weigh the risks and benefits and make their own decisions about what is right for their family and child/ren. 

This week we will be looking at “Among us”.

Among Us is a hugely popular game amongst primary school age children. Whether your child has played the game or not, it’s likely they have heard their peers talking about it and have a basic understanding of the game. But like many online games, it does pose some cyber safety risks to children. The following articles provide parents with more information about the game and what they can do to make it safer for their children. 

https://www.informandempower.com.au/post/among-us-parent-guide

https://www.informandempower.com.au/post/among-us-update-for-parents-quickchat

The Inform and Empower website (https://www.informandempower.com.au/blog)  is a great resource for parents. The creators of this website play the games themselves and trial the different filters and parental controls to see how successful they are at keeping children safe.

This week as part of Child Safety week, the students will take part in Australia's Biggest Child Safety Lesson and will create a safety hand including the names of 5 people they can go to when they are feeling unsafe. You might like to talk to your child about which people they chose and why.

The students will also take part in an Ambulance education session.

The junior students will learn about  how to call 000, what they should call 000 for and what they need to tell the call taker (address) etc. 

The senior students will also learn about how to call 000 and what’s appropriate to call 000 for then they will learn how to check if someone is breathing or conscious and how to put them into the recovery position.

All students will then take a look through the Ambulance which helps to relieve their anxieties should they ever need to go in one. 

This Friday we will be having a Responsible Pet Program educator visit our school. This is a Victorian Government run program that targets responsible pet ownership and safe pet interaction. The children will be taught vital safety messages through animated presentations, song and role play. Each Homegroup will be take part in this program throughout the morning. We look forward to welcoming the educator and their furry friend into our school community!

Unjust God?

Sometimes it seems our Creator takes this “boundless love” business too far! What about the good guys for a change? Surely “we” should get preferential treatment?

Many of us, hearing the Prodigal son story (Luke 15:1-32), have sympathy for the faithful son rather than the reprobate who has blown his inheritance on wild living. Maybe that is because we feel we are the faithful sons and daughters and that, like the older son, we are maybe a bit ripped off. By our notions of “a fair go”, perhaps the younger son should get the paid servant role that he asked for; but as for embracing him, honouring him, celebrating his return with a party! Too much! This elder, wiser, faithful son feels he has a superior claim on the father and he is resentful of the usurper.

Faithful, steady, church goers can slip into the same mind-set as the elder brother. God - embracing, honouring and celebrating the return of our less savoury citizens is too much! What is God thinking about? Doesn’t he/she know how pious we are and how sub-standard these others have been? Where’s the justice?

How arrogant are we! Trying to place boundaries on God! Trying to make our almighty Creator jump to our ideas of justice; to get with our program. For that is what we do.

God doesn’t need to answer to us but, as the father in the parable reminds us, if we are truly constant and faithful, then we already live in the father’s bounty, so what is our problem about the brother?

Jesus’ core teaching is the Kingdom of a Father who loves each and every one of us equally, absolutely, infinitely and intimately, just the way we are. In this parable above all, Jesus gives us an example of the boundless mercy of the Father who loves us beyond human reckoning and upon whose mercy we all ultimately depend.

Deacon Mark Kelly

Next Thursday is R U ok? day; a national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that every day is the day to ask "are you ok?" and support those who are struggling with life's ups and downs.    

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge 

Congratulations to the following students who participated in the Victorian Premiers Reading Challenge this year. 

Maya Clements (Foundation)

Lucy Hunt (Foundation)

Sadie Van der Linden (Foundation)

Madelyn Vogrig (Foundation)

Georgie Harris (Grade 1)

Mckenzi Sharpe (Grade 1)

Antonette Thompson (Grade 1)

Anna Telford (Grade 1)

Ava Michaelides (Grade 2)

Max Vogrig (Grade 2)

Chad Van der Linden (Grade 2)

Gracie Paganaje (Grade 2)

Isabella Michaelides (Grade 4)

The collection period for the Wonder Recycling Rewards program is now closed, and all bread bags will be posted off for recycling.

A special thankyou to our School Commuinity who have rallied together and supported so many young recycling Superstars! 

Inquiry

As part of our Inquiry, ‘Faces and Places’, our Foundation students have been learning about what and who is in our local community. They have been busy identifying important people, places and events and have investigated why communities are important to us. We have learnt that all members of communities have responsibilities and that community helpers are important people, whose job is to help others. Together, we brainstormed a list of community helpers and discussed their roles. We even explored what our community might look, feel and sound like if these helpers did not exist. Well done Foundation students, you all are such valuable members of our St Angela of the Cross school community!

Inquiry

Our Inquiry focus this term has been on Geography and we have explored communities we are a part of, natural and man- made features and locations of places we have visited in relation to Victoria. This week we have focused on naming and locating the different states and territories of Australia. We even had a go at identifying the different states and territories using the compass coordinates of north, south, east and west to help us. We’ve found this really tricky but we learnt lots!

Inquiry

During this term the students in Homegroup TP have been learning about the different states and territories of Australia, how many there are, their location and their capital cities. They have spent some time looking at the map of Australia and labelling each state and territory, along with their capital cities. Students have also been exploring some of the natural and man-made features around Australia and distinguishing between the two.

During the weeks of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, our discussions revolved around what the word ‘Commonwealth’ means and we read about some of the famous athletes from Australia.

The students in Homegroup L have been exploring the impact of bushfires and floods on the environment and communities and identifying areas of Australia that are more prone to bushfires or flooding and why that might be the case. The students have also been learning how we can respond if we are ever in a situation where there is a natural disaster. 

We have been exploring the influence of Aboriginial and Torres Strait Isalnder peoples, and how they cared for the environment, identifying similarities and differences that we see in our world today. We will finish off the term learning about Australia’s connections with other countries.