Aboriginal Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We commit ourselves to actively working alongside Aboriginal people for reconciliation and justice.

Dear Families,

Last weekend we began the season of Advent in the Church Year. The four weeks of Advent allow us time to ponder how Jesus came into the world in such a stunningly humble way. As we contemplate His birth in a bed of straw, in a messy stable, perhaps we see our own life as being a little messy too. Our life is often distracted, self-centred and sometimes leaves us wishing we were better people. If we can slow down and refocus our attention, we might realise that God is there, waiting to love us, even though we have so many unfulfilled good intentions.

 “Are we there yet?” This is a question we have probably heard, and probably asked, multiple times throughout our lives. It is a question that frequently comes up, especially when the kids are sitting in the back seat wondering when they will finally arrive at the destination. It is also a question that we may be tempted to ask during the Advent season. We know that many people have now jumped right into their Christmas festivities, barely taking taking time to catch their breath but, with this Advent season, we are being reminded that we’re not there yet. This season of Advent, this beginning of the Church’s new liturgical year, is an opportunity for us to take the time to enjoy the journey. To proceed a little more slowly and intentionally towards Christmas – to notice what God is doing in our lives, and in the world around us, to help us be better prepared to welcome Jesus anew.

So, we may not be “there” yet, but, even now, Jesus is here, with us, as we begin this journey through Advent.

Jesus, through Your Holy Spirit, grant us the light and strength needed to journey through this Advent season, so as to always be prepared to encounter You.

First Eucharist

We congratulate our students and families who are celebrated their first Holy Communion last Sunday. We thank Fr Bing for his support in ensuring our students don't miss out on this very special step in their faith journey by putting on a special Mass on Sunday at 5.30pm in the Cathedral. We thank our Year Four teachers, for preparing our students, Mr Hatchman for his great organisation and support and Mr Whitney for his beautiful music.

Year Five Camp
On Tuesday our Year Five students are heading to Camp Goodenough for their camp. I know they will have a great time and we look forward to hearing all about their experiences when they return next Thursday.

The Be Centre

Last week we received 'Need to Play' bags from the Be Centre in Sydney. These bags were sent to us as our school was greatly impacted by the February floods. The Be Centre acknowledges the ongoing impact that these floods have on students and have put together bags for students at St Carthage's. 'In each bag is a selection of sensory toys and art materials which can help to reduce anxiety in children as they process the trauma from the floods. Encouraging children to play out their experiences is a powerful way for children to safely express their feelings and make sense of their experiences.' (Michelle Carlyle CEO Be Centre Foundation Limited)

The Be Centre have recently developed a short online course for parents/carers called 'Need to Play'. This is a free course and can be accessed at www.BeCentreAcademy.org.au

We are very grateful to the Be Centre for supporting our students by the provision of these bags.

School Reports

School Reports will be sent home on Friday, 9th December. Parents may not feel that an interview is required at this time and may prefer to wait and catch up with your child’s 2022 teacher during our Term One interviews next year. If you would like an interview, please contact your child’s teacher.

School Leaders 2023

Over the past week we had the privilege to listen to our Year 5 students campaigning for leadership roles within our school for 2023.

When I spoke to the Year Five group at their Leadership Retreat I began by telling them that leadership is not about being the most popular student or the best athlete or the best scholar but it is more about the qualities, attributes and values that you can bring to the role and about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could and supporting them along the way.

They were asked questions at their retreat such as; what makes a good leader, who is a role model for you in your leadership aspirations and what qualities do you bring to the leadership role you seek. As we know, leadership can be very rewarding but it can also be very challenging, sometimes lonely but always a privilege.

It is exciting to know that we have a group of children who are very excited to be a part of this journey of leadership within our school. I know that any of the children chosen for leadership positions will represent the school well and most importantly represent themselves and their family.  We look forward to congratulating the new leaders in a few weeks time.

Christmas Concert
Our school Christmas Concert will be held on Monday, 12th December, starting at 5:15pm with a BYO picnic tea. For those families who are not coming to the picnic tea, we will require all children to be at school at 5:45pm for a 6:00pm start. All our families are invited to bring a chair or picnic blanket along to enjoy the evening’s performance.
Students are asked to wear their Sports shorts and shoes, with a green or red T-shirt, Christmas T-shirt or Colour House shirt. They may wear a Santa hat or tinsel on their head. Year 6 students who have a character role will have their costume
provided.

End of Year Mass
On Thursday, 15th December we will celebrate the conclusion of our 2022 school year with Mass at 9:30am in the Cathedral. At the conclusion of Mass, we will farewell the 2022 Year 6 students and the 2023 student School Leaders will be announced. All members of our school community are invited to join
us for this important celebration.

2023 Date Reminders
Dates for starting school next year:

• Staff: - Administration Day: Friday, 27th January 2023
• Years 1-6: - Complete Maths Assessment Interview (M.A.I.): Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st January 2023. We will advise when bookings are open.
• Years 1-6 return: Wednesday, 1st February 2023.
• Kindergarten: - Complete M.A.I. & Best Start: Monday 30th January -Thursday 2nd February 2023.
• Kindergarten begin: Friday, 3rd February 2023.

Mathematics Assessment Interview Bookings 2023 - Reminder

Bookings are now open for our Mathematics Assessment Interviews (MAI) for next year for our Year One to Year Six students. MAIs will take place on Monday 30th January and Tuesday 31st January 2023. To make a booking go to: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/9fygg

or use the QR code below:

Follow the prompts to make your booking/s. Please remember to select the year level your child/ren will be in next year (2023).

Bookings must be finalised by Monday 5th December at 3pm.

"Where is God present in my life?"

The season of Advent is SUPPOSED to be a time of spiritual renewal – a chance to start again and to rediscover the joy of knowing Jesus Christ. A chance to start again, to come home if we’ve drifted away, to rediscover the joy of knowing Jesus Christ.

However, as the work year hurtles towards its conclusion and we can get caught up in all the busyness, Advent tends to recede into the background. Especially in a world dominated by the distractions of everyday life, busy-ness, complexity, and self-centredness.

Spiritual revival (recognising where God is present in my life) is vital to the healing of our own lives and the lives of the others.

So during Advent, it's a healthy choice to ask ourselves,

"Where is my God present in my life?"

"How much hope, love, joy, and peace do I have?"

What are the barriers?

What can I do about it?

Jesus comes to make his home among us and within us. Advent offers us a chance to rediscover this.

God-Moments!

Our students are encouraged to 'report' other children if they see them performing a God Moment! A God-moment is when someone goes out of their way to act to help someone in need. This 'helping' could be as simple as stopping to help someone you don't know to pick up dropped books or just helping someone who is not sure which way to go! 

Our most recent awardees are

Luka van der Walt and Nyah Marshall!

Congratulations Luka and Lana - thank you for letting your light shine!

St Carthage's School and Parish Sacrament Program

Our Christmas Hamper Drive has started again!!

Seasons for Growth

In 2023 we will be offering the Seasons for Growth Program for students. Parents and carers are invited to nominate their child for the program. 

The program is a loss and grief education program that uses the metaphor of the seasons to understand the experience of grief. It builds knowledge and skills to strengthen social and emotional wellbeing following significant loss by:

• Exploring the impact of change and loss
• Learning about effective ways to respond and adapt

Participants learn that they are not alone in their experience of change, loss and grief, and are able to build their communication, decision making and problem solving skills within a safe and supportive peer group learning environment.

The programs do not provide counselling or psychotherapy but offers children a safe space to come together, and share their experiences of change and loss.

If you would like to learn more about the program see these links:

https://www.goodgrief.org.au/sites/default/files/CYPP%20Web%20Fact%20Sheet_1.pdf

https://www.goodgrief.org.au/seasons-for-growth

Look for information early in 2023

St Carthage Parish Mass times over Christmas

Make a note of the Christmas Mass times. No capacity restrictions so the Cathedral will only have three masses this year – 5.30pm Vigil, Midnight and 9am Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve - Cathedral - 5.30pm and Midnight; Dunoon - 7.30pm
Christmas Day - Carmelite Monastery - 7.00am; Cathedral - 9.00am
Reconciliation
Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 December 8.30am - 9.00am

Synod of Bishops

The Working Document for the Synod on Synodality has been released for consultation. Don’t miss out on this chance to comment on what has resonated with us, where tensions lie between the document and our local church, and our suggestions on what should be prioritised in the Catholic Church. Find out more and share your contribution at https://catholic.org.au/synodalchurch or directly to Matt Digges mattdigges@scca.net.au , our Diocesan contact person. Portal closes on Friday 9th December.

St Carthage’s Cathedral "Nine Lessons and Carols"

St Carthage’s Cathedral Nine Lessons and Carols will take place on Sunday 18 December, 7.30pm. This evening is presented by Warren Whitney and the St Carthage’s Cathedral Choir. Come along and share in the Christmas Spirit.

Stage Three Mathematics Enrichment

Over the past two terms, students from Years 5 and 6 have been engaged in fortnightly groups where we have engaged in challenging tasks and exploring maths through problem-solving. The problem-solving tasks were based on questions from Maths Olympiad. Although students found these tasks challenging at times, they persisted and worked together, finding solutions to the problems. 

I would like to congratulate the following students who participated in these groups at various times over the two terms.

Year 5: Jimmi Matthews, Adrian Brickhill, Finn Martin, Keiran Nolan, Jordan Heath, William Curnock, Martin Barca, Darcy De Witt, Eamon Bailey, Isaac Wicks

Year 6: Eli Addenbroke, Achie Da Fre, Max Allman, Jimmy Field, Aiden Boyd, Zav Cohen, Zachary King, Poppy Andre, Grace Edmonds, Amelia O'Connor, Bella Sauer  

Due to the success of these sessions, we are hoping to nominate a Year 5 and 6 team in the Mathematics Competition in 2023. More information to come in 2023

Try this...

Ku-ring-gai Postcodes

Ku-ring-gai is a local government area in Northern Sydney.

From this image, could you determine the number of different postcodes in Ku-ring-gai?

Are postcodes cardinal, ordinal or nominal numbers?

Ku-ring-gai Postcodes - Answer

Cardinal numbers are the numbers that are used for counting.

Ordinal numbers are numbers that are used for counting.

Cardinal numbers are the numbers that are used for counting.

Postcodes are used to identify different areas, so they are nominal numbers.

For example, the postcode 2073 does not mean that there are 2 thousand and 73 of anything (cardinal) or that the area is 2 thousand and 37^th in some order (ordinal).

2073 is just a label used to identify an area

Because the numbers are nominal, we cannot assume that the consecutive postcodes from 2069 to 2076 are in Ku-ring-gai and no other postcode is within this local government area.

The postcodes are consecutive and are in the range of 2069 to 2076.

Therefore, the number of postcodes in Ku-ring-gai is:

2076 – 2069 + 1 = 8. (One is added because we are finding the difference between 2 numbers where the first number is included in the count.)

The 8 postcodes are: 2069, 2070, 2071, 2072, 2073, 2074, 2075 & 2076

Solid Mob Visit

During Week 3 we were fortunate to have some of the Solid Mob Health Workers visit our school. They promote healthy lifestyles and inform people on how to make healthy choices. They do great work in the local indigenous communities and are based in Ballina.

Solid Mob visited us during our NAIDOC Week celebrations in August and worked with our Year 5 students. We decided that Year 6 would also be a good group to hear about the harmful effects of smoking and vaping, before going on to secondary schooling next year.

Solid Mob told us about the thousands of chemicals that are found in cigarettes and e-cigarettes. They informed us about the health effects like heart disease, diabetes and the many cancers associated with smoking and vaping. They showed us jars of tar and phlegm that people have in their bodies, it was pretty gross. They also pointed out how expensive it was to smoke and vape. We found out the vaping is on the rise with young people and is just as bad for your health.

Hopefully our Year 6 students make some sensible decisions into the future and respect the bodies that they have. We would like to thank Leanne and Khiarlia for coming to St Carthage’s and for the great Solid Mob prizes (like footballs, singlets etc) they gave out.

Trinity Visit

Trinity Indigenous students visited our school recently and have been working with our students. We hope to continue this relationship in 2023.

Kindergarten Art

Our Kindergarten students have been creating some traditional artworks during my time with them.

Bugalbeh
Mr Condie
Indigenous Education Worker

$20 Boss Market Day

Congratulations to the students from Year 5 and 6 who participated in the $20 Boss Market Day on Tuesday 29th, November. 

It was a truly inspiring event that brought the whole school together to celebrate hard work, creativity, innovation and social good. The social entrepreneurships created by students far exceeded expectations, and many charities and organisations will benefit from the students' efforts. 

There are many ways that family and friends have supported the students in the $20 Boss Journey. 

• Thank you to the family and friends who were able to join us on the Market Day and make it such an amazing celebration. 
• Thank you to the family and friends who have assisted our Year 5 and 6 students in idea development, planning, production and implementation for their businesses. 
• Thank you to parents and carers for allowing your children to visit the Market Day, this greatly supported the Year 5 and 6 students and the charities chosen by each group. 

Please enjoy viewing the photos of the Market Day below. Many thanks and congratulations to all involved.

Hour of Code

Our students are changing the future with an Hour of Code

We live in a world surrounded by technology and we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works.

But only a fraction of us are learning how technology works. Only 51% of all high schools offer computer science.

That’s why our school has joined in on the largest learning events in history: The Hour of Code. During November and December students across the school have participated in coding activities with me that involve sequencing, branching, HTML, blocks and robotics. Our Hour of Code reflects our commitment that St Carthage’s is ready to teach these foundational 21st-century skills. Please enjoy viewing some of the students' experiences below.

Jan's Bucket Club