Listed below are some important dates for Term 1 & Term 2.

Grade Mass 

Grade Mass has been postponed for the students until further notice. 

Assembly

Year 4 will lead assembly on Friday 26 March at 2:15 pm on the school hall. (ONE parent/carer per Year 4 student will be invited to attend assembly)

Awards

Congratulations to the following students who will receive an award at assembly on Friday 26 March, for being a great learner and wonderful community member.

Gold Pennant - Nicole Mohanna, Bella Noble, Harry Houghton

Gold Awards -

K - Billy Bantick, Lucy Page, Lilah Moon, Estelle Eckler

Yr 1 - Louis Phillips, Harlow Spiteri

Yr 2 - Angelina Mohanna, Elizabeth Smith, William Jones, Elizabeth Dunlop, Indigo Webster,  Hudson Bulgar-Craig, Hazel Kyle

Yr 3 - Charlotte MacBeth, Grace Moody, Benjamin Morschel, Benjamin McMullen

Yr 4 - Nicolas Piscioneri, Lilliana Martins, Ella Fiatarone, Ciara Lillyman, Jade Lawrence

Yr 5 -  Drew Mason, Brayden Garner-Haddad

Yr 6 - Jeremiah Galbraith-Marten, Riley Quinn

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

Our school will be participating in NAPLAN Online between 11 and 21 May 2021. 

In preparation for NAPLAN Online, our school will also be participating in practice tests between 22 March and 1 April. The practice test is a trial-run and key preparation activity for NAPLAN Online in May. It is not an assessment of student ability and the tests will not be marked.

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN Online is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in the NAPLAN Online tests.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN Online, please contact the school office.

Harmony Day is a day of cultural respect for all and a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism with the ongoing theme of ‘We Belong’. St Anthony’s will celebrate Harmony Day on Friday 19 March with students adding one orange accessory (wristband, headband, scrunchie etc) to their full summer school uniform. Orange ribbons can be purchased in the morning out the front of the school library for 50c and all money raised will go to Caritas. Students will each receive an orange cupcake and an orange popper, kindly donated by our P & F.

As part of our wellbeing and support structures here at St Anthony's, we have been running a group for the past two years called 'The Coffee and Cake Group'. This initiative began as a way to help parents network and build relationships with other parents who may need support with behaviour and wellbeing and seek support in the way of sharing a morning tea and having conversations that are positive and reassuring.

We would like to encourage any parents who feel that they would benefit from joining our group to know that you are most welcome to attend our  next morning tea which will be held on Friday 26 March at 9:15 am in the school library.

Please click on the list below to RSVP by Wednesday 24 March.

PLEASE CONSENT FOR YOUR CHILD TO ATTEND VIA THE COMPASS PARENT PORTAL

All students are expected to participate in this fun day unless there are good medical reasons why they cannot. Children who are unable to participate should still attend school that day as they will be able to assist the teachers. All children will return to school to resume normal classes at the conclusion of the carnival.

All primary children will be participating in the 2km run. A team of runners from the 8/9, 10, 11 and 12 years age groups will be selected to represent St Anthony’s at the annual Diocesan Cross Country Carnival. The infants children will be competing in the St Anthony’s Fun Run over a shorter distance.

The carnival will begin at 9:45am. Please see age group events timetable attached below.

To make the carnival an enjoyable and successful event, we will need assistance from parents. If you can help on the day we would be grateful if you could respond to the Questions contained within the online consent by Friday 19 March.

Students are required to wear their full sports uniforms including school hats and we strongly recommend that students apply sunscreen at regular intervals. Students may wear their purchased house coloured t-shirts available from the uniform shop.

Children will be walking to and from the Hume Oval, Picton

St Anthony’s is a sustainable school and on

 Wednesday 24 March

We will be having a Waste Free lunch day at school. Our waste free lunch program helps educate our  students about how we as individuals, can reduce the amount of waste we generate and send to landfill.  Waste free lunches encourage the first step in the waste hierarchy - AVOIDING waste. Choosing products that have less packaging results in less waste that you have to dispose of.  It not only makes good environmental sense but it makes good economic sense too. Waste free lunches are often cheaper and in most cases a lot healthier too! Each student that has a “Waste Free” lunch, will go in the draw to win a little prize to help promote the importance of trying to reduce waste where we can.

This week Issue 2 for Bookclub 2021 will be sent home with your child.

Ordering has become much easier through LOOP. This is the online service for you to access, to order and make payments. The books are then delivered to the school to be distributed to the students.  All orders need to be completed by the due date as stated in the school newsletter. 

There are usually 2 orders per term, though we will not send home book club if we are also having a book fair (2021 end of May).

For Issue 2 LOOP orders need to be completed by Thursday 18 March for processing.

The instructions are on the order forms, or follow the link below.

https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent.aspx

We are happy to promote Scholastic Bookclub at St. Anthony’s, as we receive points which are used to buy resources for our students. 

If you have any concerns about this please feel free to contact me through the school office.  

Anne Cordingley

Teacher Librarian 

Kindergarten enrolments for 2022 are now open. If you have a child or know a family with a child starting school in 2022 please collect an enrolment form from the school office.

Enrolments close on Friday 26 March.

Please wear a face mask.

What is Caritas? That is a question that you should most likely know the answer too.

Caritas is a charity that sends out a box named Project Compassion that is used to put extra change in and it is sent out to help the poor and those in need. It helps all around the world and saves people's lives. You can help these people by just putting a few cents in the Project Compassion box. 

Because of all these lives this charity has saved, the charity grew and now there are places like schools offering to help and some are already helping and luckily we are one of those schools. As you already know every student received a Project Compassion box and there is one in each classroom. We will be checking every couple of weeks to see if we have made enough money to help others.

If it's not too much trouble, ask your parents for any extra change or maybe put some canteen money in the Project Compassion because even little things like just putting coins in a box could help half the world.

Thank you and hopefully you would start considering what to do with your extra change.

Sacramental Programs

Religious Education is a priority in Catholic schools. It provides the knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith and outlines what is needed to live a Catholic life. Sacramental programs are Parish based, Parish coordinated, family focused and school supported.

Each year the Sacraments of Penance, Eucharist and Confirmation are celebrated in the Parish.

• Year 2 Sacrament of Penance 
• Year 3 Sacrament of the Eucharist
• Year 6 Sacrament of Confirmation 

A Parish based program caters to the needs of all participants. In this way children from all schools receive the same preparation for each sacrament.

The Parish based, family focused approach to Sacramental programs is widely used throughout Australia as the preferred approach. This approach acknowledges the important role of parents and families in the whole preparation process. Parents are the first educators of children in the faith and traditions of the Catholic Church. Parents involvement in Sacramental preparation is crucial in shaping the values and attitudes of each child. So it is vital, for the continual spiritual growth of the child, that the families involve themselves in the Sacramental life of Parish.

P & F MEETING

We invite all St Anthony's parents, carers and friends to join our P & F for a meeting on Monday 3 May at 6:30 pm in the school library. 

Life presents us with many joys and challenges, it may be the birth of a child, the loss of employment or the death of a family member. We are privileged to, and benefit from, living in a community that cares for us, no matter what our circumstances. At times, we may find ourselves in a position where some extra care and support would be welcomed to help us through a period of hardship or need. If you are in need of support, please contact Sister Julie on 0418 674 452 who will respond to you confidentially.

All students should now be wearing our new school hat. If a student is not wearing the new hat a uniform slip will be sent home.

Every year, by law, we have to receive consent from parents to photograph and use images of your child. The photos taken will be displayed in newsletters and/or Facebook to celebrate the fun times and achievements of students. Consent forms have been sent home today with your child, if you consent or do not consent to your child's photo being taken please tick the appropriate box and return the form to school.

If we do not receive a form for your child we will not include your child in photos.