Dear Parents,

We have nearly finalised our teaching and support staff requirements for the 2023 school year. We welcome Miss Danielle Kemp, Miss Elisha Rose and Mrs Kellie Jones as new staff members commencing in the new year.

We farewell Mrs Holly Hatch who has resigned to spend some more time with her young family and thank her for the positive impact she has had in the Performing Arts. We also bid farewell to Miss Meg Lambell who is taking leave in 2023 to travel and Mrs Holly Peterson will also be taking leave to travel in terms 2,3, and 4.

We would also like to congratulate Mrs Chelsea Van Der Linden who will complete further study in nursing next year and reduce her hours to one day a week.

School Leadership Team

Principal: Mr Justin Greenwood
Deputy Principal | Teaching and Learning-Religious Education Leader: Mrs Rachael Williams
Teaching and Learning Leaders: Miss Danielle Kemp, Ms Leah Missen

Classroom Teachers

Grade structures and teacher placements for 2023 have been finalised as outlined below. 

Foundation:  Ms Leah Missen
Foundation: Miss Claire Henry
1/2: Miss Elisha Rose
1/2: Mrs Rachael Williams (2 days) & Mrs Lindsay Tweedie (3 days)
1/2: Ms Rachel Braun
3/4: Mrs Kellie Jones
5/6: Miss Danielle Kemp

Specialist Classes

In 2023 we will be adding a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) program to our specialist classes;

Physical Education: Mrs Kelsey Francis
Japanese: Ms Susan Taylor
Visual Arts: Mrs Sara Harris
Performing Arts: New Staff Member TBC
STEM Mrs Holly Peterson (Term 1)

Administration Staff

Mrs Lauren Soumilas
Mrs Chelsea Van Der Linden
New Staff Member TBC

Support Staff

Mrs Suzanne Zammit
Mrs Connie McKinley
New Staff Member TBC

Key Dates         

• November 8^th, 15^th,22^nd | Foundation Orientation Sessions
• Tuesday 13^th December | Meet your 2023 Teacher Morning
• Wednesday 14^th December | End of Year Mass and Graduation, 9:30am St Joseph’s Church
• Thursday 15^th December | Last Day for students, Christmas Carols and Final Assembly 2:30pm
• Monday 30^th January | School Resumes for all students 2023

School Attendance

In accordance with the legislation, parents are required to enrol their child at a registered school and ensure that their child attends school on a regular basis.  There must also be a reasonable explanation for any absence from school.  Parents can now be fined for not sending students to school without an acceptable reason.

Regular school attendance is vital for student learning;

Sunscreen Alternative

As a SunSmart school, we are committed to providing a safe environment for all students. St Angela of the Cross encourages all staff and students to wear a hat and apply SPF50+ sunscreen during Terms 1 & 4.

Some children may be sensitive to some sunscreens. If the sunscreen that we supply is not suitable, parents should supply an alternative for their child. 

If this applies to your child, please bring an alternative bottle of sunscreen to the school with your child's name on it. This will be kept in their classroom and used as required.

October is Mission month and St Angela of the Cross is proud to be supporting Catholic Missions with a focus on fundraising money for children and families in Ethiopia. Through classroom activities, students will learn what life is like for children from Ethiopia, specifically those facing food insecurity and malnutrition and take action to make a difference.

Icy Pole Thursdays

The Social Justice Leaders will be selling icy poles for 50 cents every Thursday during Term 4.

All fundraised money will go towards the Emdibir Goat Farm in Ethiopia, providing ongoing sustainable resources for Ethiopian communities.

The icon of Socktober, a tattered, oddly shaped ball, bound with string and filled with socks and recycled materials, has become a recognised symbol within Catholic school communities across Australia.  This ball was modelled on the very kind you will find being kicked about by children in laneways, plazas, and dusty playing fields from Addis Ababa to Chennai to Buenos Aires. Even Pope Francis hones his soccer skills with a ‘sockball’.

Last week the Social Justice Leaders were busy making a set of ‘sockballs’ to share with students and teachers in every class.  The ‘sockballs’ help students to make the connection in why we support people in need and illustrates the concept of the ‘haves and have nots’: what other advantages do we enjoy, and what can we do to even the balance?

We are very excited to be launching the Posischools program at St Angela’s. Over Term 4, students will be engaging in a variety of activities designed to teach the core concepts associated with wellbeing including gratitude, curiosity, connection and caring to help them build positive habits for life. 

Posischools was founded on the idea that everyday action, such as putting on socks could become a trigger for a more positive mindset. This week, each student will each receive a pair of Posisocks to take home that have a positive message printed on them. Students will be encouraged to focus on the sayings on the socks as they put them on in the mornings and use these words to help them “start their day on the right foot”.

To celebrate our involvement in the Posischools program, we encourage students to wear their ‘Posisocks’ to school each Friday during Term 4. 

We look forward to seeing the positive impact Posischools will have on our school community. 

Heavenly Hopes

Traditionally we express a hope, particularly at funerals, that eventually we will be reunited with our deceased loved ones and indeed, in some sense, we will. But, enjoy now your “marriage made in heaven,” because that is the one thing Jesus clearly tells us will not be in the afterlife. We wonder what our loving Creator has in store for us after death.

The Sadducees, who didn’t believe in life after death anyway, niggle Jesus in this week’s gospel (Luke 20:27-38) with hypotheticals about marriage in heaven. But he isn’t going down their blind alley. He shuts down their provocation about being married in the afterlife. Yes, we’ll have bodily resurrection but marriage isn’t an issue. We’ll be way beyond even marriage and family.

The Sadducees real question is about whether there is life after death. Jesus teaches both resurrection of the soul (which wasn’t a new concept), but also resurrection of the body! Which body? What does it mean?

We are so engaged in our earthly lives of family, career, marriage, concerns, interests, fears, that it is hard to imagine a world where these don’t matter. Our life after death is mostly beyond human comprehension but glimpses tell us we can look forward to even deeper relationships. Marriage is about growing love through shared joys and adversities along life’s earthly road. Heaven will be all that which we cherish of marital love, extended and perfected, without pain or suffering, only joy and peace. We will be “the same as the angels.” We don’t need earthly riches or protections or even earthly relationships. Death itself is abolished and all will be changed beyond our imaginations.

Faith assures us though that the Creator’s love, which upholds us in this life, will be there for us in the next. We really don’t need to know more.

Deacon Mark Kelly        

SchoolTV is an ongoing resource that is available to all St Angela of the Cross parents. Each online edition will address a major topic with expert interviews, fact sheets, a parent quiz, recommended apps, books and more. SchoolTV combines information from a host of reliable resources, including BeyondBlue and ReachOut. It provides a single stream of independent factual information that saves parents time and the confusion of searching across multiple online sites for information.

You can access the SchoolTV archive here or at https://stangelawarragul.catholic.schooltv.me/

You can also find a link on our website. Just go to the STUDENT WELLBEING tab and you will find the link to SchoolTV. 

Handling Tricky friendship days webinar voucher 

Parenting ideas is offering parents a free webinar on how to help children cope with tricky friendship days. 

Key learning and discussion points include:

• a trusted adult’s role in social-emotional education
• the importance of the tiny voice
• six guiding principles to help tweens navigate tricky friendship days
• how parents can help children with the gaps in their development
• tips for supporting extra sensitive kids

https://www.parentingideas.com.au/parent-resources/parent-webinars/webinar-handling-tricky-friendship-days 

Add the code “FRIENDS” to receive access to this webinar.

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 “Roblox”.

https://www.informandempower.com.au/post/i-played-roblox-for-two-days-and-here-s-what-parents-need-to-know

https://www.informandempower.com.au/post/roblox-parental-controls

https://www.digitalfamiliescounselling.com.au/blog/is-roblox-safe-for-kids

Puffing Billy

Last week the students were excited to take part in several activities as part of their history excursion to Puffing Billy Railway. 

As we arrived they were greeted by the bustling sounds and sights of the Puffing Billy Railway platform at Belgrave Station. We boarded the train and began our train ride from Belgrave on the Puffing Billy through the forests of the Dandenong ranges. We disembarked at the Lakeside Station and explored the Visitors centre where we learnt about Steam Trains in the past and present. 

The students participated in a guided educational session which involved a rotation of activities including sorting pictures into past and present times, dress ups as station workers, creating a timeline of events occurring at Puffing Billy Railway, matching labels to old tools used at the railway, creating an electrical circuit to light up a bulb, an exploration around Emerald Lake and a play at the playground. 

There were many tired students on the journey back to school, some even had a little afternoon snooze!

On Tuesday, we set off to explore Puffing Billy. After a very exciting train ride that showed the difference between trains now and from the past, we arrived at Emerald Lakeside station. We participated in a session with Puffing Billy experts that showed us the original 3A train that travelled the line over 120 years ago and how travelling has changed over time. We also had so much fun at Lakeside exploring the lake and what it has to offer. We saw lots of birds and different animals and even got to spend some time on the playgrounds. What a fun-filled day had by all!