5 August 2024

Upcoming Events

Term 3 - Week 3

• Monday 5th August 2024
  
  • Assembly led by 1M @ 9:00am (Cup of tea in the hall from 8:30am)
  • Mini Vinnies with Mrs Avinash @ Recess
  • SRC Meeting @ Recess
  • Stage 2 Gymnastics
  • 3 Way Conferences Meeting (3:30pm - 6:30pm)

• Tuesday 6th August 2024
  
  • Choir with Mrs Sadler @ 8:35am
  • PR Committee meeting @ Recess
  • 3 Way Conferences Meeting (3:30pm - 6:30pm)

• Wednesday 7th August 2024
  
  • Bathurst Eastern / Regional Athletics Carnival at MacKillop College
  • Guitar Group @ 11:00am - 11:40am
  • Didgeridoo Group @ 1:40pm
  • 3 Way Conferences Meeting (3:30pm - 6:30pm)

• Thursday 8th August 2024

  • Junior Band @ Bathurst Eisteddfod (meet at CSU 8:45am)

  • Concert Band @ Bathurst Eisteddfod (meet at CSU 8:45am)

  • MacKillop Day
    Feast of Saint Mary MacKillop | Invitation to wear red casual clothes for a gold coin donation to the
    charitable works of the Sisters of St Joseph. Class and Buddy Class activities during the day
    

  • 3 Way Conferences Meeting (3:30pm - 6:30pm) (4W only)

• Friday 9th August 2024
  • Guitar Group @ Bathurst Eisteddfod (meet at CSU 9:00am)
  • Year One Percussion @ Bathurst Eisteddfod (meet at school by 9am to catch bus to CSU)

  • Agriculture Club with Mrs Angelucci @ Recess

Term 3 - Week 4

• Monday 12th August 2024
  
  • Assembly led by 4BR @ 9:00am (Cup of tea in the hall from 8:30am)
  • Mini Vinnies with Mrs Avinash @ Recess
  • SRC Meeting @ Recess
  • Kindergarten Bathurst Library Excursion

• Tuesday 13th August 2024
  
  • Choir with Mrs Sadler @ 8:35am
  • PR Committee meeting @ Recess

• Wednesday 14th August 2024
  
  • Year 4 Waste Management Excursion
  • Guitar Group @ 11:00am - 11:40am
  • Didgeridoo Group @ 1:40pm
    

• Thursday 15th August 2024

  • Senior Band @ 7:50am - 8:50am

  • Junior Band @ 11:00am - 11:40am

  • Feast of the Assumption Mass in the Cathedral (11:45am for a 12:00pm start)

• Friday 16th August 2024

  • Book Week Dress Up Day

  • Agriculture Club with Mrs Angelucci @ Recess

2024 Important Dates

More important dates listed here 

For those with a Google Account the calendar can be added to your Google calendars
for easy access on your phone or device

From the Principal

The application of learning to produce a product or perform a piece is an important opportunity for our children. It provides a sense of purpose and belonging which is an integral part of wellbeing for our young people. This week we have a strong team of athletes competing at the Eastern Region Athletics Carnival and later in the week we see our Junior Band, Senior Band, Guitar Group and Year 1 students performing in the Bathurst Eisteddfod. We thank our dedicated students for their determined attitude in preparing for these experiences along with their parents and teachers for providing the climate and support for them to succeed in these areas of learning. We wish all of our competitors the best of luck. 

Last week our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys began to learn the mechanics of playing the didgeridoo. Our didgeridoo group will meet weekly under the musical guidance of Chris Dove with cultural learning supported by Jordan Boney. We thank our Aboriginal Education Officer, Miss Ryan for organising this wonderful initiative.

 Last night as my mother and I spoke of a friend who has recently completed the Portuguese Coastal Camino, my mother reminded me that although at this moment, we may not have the opportunity to trek across Europe, we are all pilgrims. We are all on a journey of personal transformation as we move towards our holy destination. None of us, not ourselves, our family or our children have arrived yet. We have been placed here on this journey so that we are not alone. We are human, so we will fumble on the journey, our  family will fumble and our children will fumble too and that is ok, just as long as we continue the journey together.

This is a photo that was taken last week and perfectly captures this sense of journey. These students took themselves to the side of their group lesson to enhance their learning and support each other to master a new skill. What we expect of our students is not perfection, but an openness to transformation as they continue to learn, to celebrate their personal joys and to learn from their trials.

 Christian teaching leads us to understand that our place in life is to be the love of Christ to others. In a school such as ours, where we are blessed with so much opportunity, we encourage our students to take their talents out into the world, to share their talents with one another. To use their gifts to bring joy and peace to others. To walk beside one another on the pilgrimage of life.

 At this exciting time in our school we acknowledge in gratitude the special opportunities that we have been blessed with in our school community and pray that we journey with one another in a spirit of faith, hope and love.

Ephesians 4:24
Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.

Camille da Silva Tavares   | Principal

Building Resilient Children

Taking risks and finding purpose in life are an important part of building positive wellbeing in our children. Maggie Dent explores how we can support our children in growing to be resilient young people in this podcast -  How to Raise a Resilient Child - Maggie Dent Podcast

Discipline: To Learn

If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we… teach? …punish?
Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically as we do the others?
Tom Herner (NASDE President, 1998)

 At the core of our approach to discipline at Cathedral is the human dignity of every child involved. Negative behaviours are usually the function of an underlying need of a child. While safety and wellbeing are of utmost importance at Cathedral, we as a community must acknowledge that children (as with adults) will at times make mistakes. While in the past, society may have looked to a public punishment for undesirable behaviours, we now know that this approach rarely works, does not uphold the dignity of the child and it certainly does not express our belief that we are the expression of Christ’s love for us.

 So what does discipline look like at Cathedral?
Discipline at Cathedral is focussed on learning. While consequences such as time away from play spaces, parent meetings and suspensions are used, these form only part of our approach. Whole school learning around positive behaviours takes place each week and individual case management takes place for students displaying repeated or unsafe behaviours. Case management includes the involvement of students, parents, teachers and often specialist support staff. It includes restoring relationships and taking steps to increase safety for all. Confidentiality means that we do not declare the interventions in place for these individual students, however these interventions are frequently applied when required. 

We can support our children by listening to them when they report unkind behaviours, we can coach them through appropriate responses and encourage them to report these behaviours if they are repeated or aggressive in nature. As we encourage our students to be resilient independent young people we must provide opportunities for them to deal with day to day social interactions whilst knowing what needs to be reported to an adult.

Adequate supervision is provided on the playground and in the classroom however, negative behaviours will still take place and are not always reported to teachers. If you are ever concerned about behaviours, we ask that in the first instance that you contact your child’s classroom teacher, as they are best placed to observe and monitor these situations. They are also best placed to comment on any environmental factors or additional information that you may not be aware of. The involvement of the leadership team will usually take place for major behaviours or for case management.

Religious Education & Catholic Life

Solemnity of Mary of the Cross MacKillop
MacKillop Day at Cathedral School will be celebrated a little differently this year due to a number of factors, including priest leave and staffing and student impacts with our involvement at the Bathurst Eisteddfod. Instead of our planned Mass and House Tabloid Activities, our MacKillop House Captains will lead a number of alternative activities.

Students are invited to wear a little or a lot of red for a gold coin donation towards the charitable works of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Band students can add a touch of red after returning from their Eisteddfod commitments if they wish. In our classes knowledge will be shared about the amazing life and impact of Mary MacKillop and the impact on Cathedral School and our Diocese. Classes will also join together during the day with another ‘Buddy’ class to participate in a choice of various activities, including art and colouring activities, quiz and Buddy Class activities in the afternoon. Thank you to our MacKillop Captains, Willow and Tom, for leading our events.

Year 3 First Eucharist Retreat Day
Thank you to our Year 3 students and staff for joining other schools to celebrate the important journey that our young people will undertake this year with support from their families, friends, school and other parishioners.
Thank you to the student ministry team from MacKillop and St Stanislaus Colleges, led by our Parish Youth Minister, Ms Tahnaya Mercieca and staff from both colleges including Mrs Amber Caleja and Mr Mark Elliot.

Feast of the Assumption
Families are warmly invited to join us next Thursday at the Cathedral Church for the Feast of the Assumption, a significant Feast Day and Holy Day of Obligation recalling the spiritual and physical departure of the mother of Jesus Christ, when both her soul and body were taken into the presence of God.

Our celebration will include a combined liturgical ensemble from MacKillop College and Cathedral School, led by Mr. Paul Hughes (CEDB). We are also excited to welcome students and staff from Years 3-6 of St. Philomena's and other members of our parish.

We will gather at the Cathedral Church from 11:45 am for a 12:00 pm start. Your presence is greatly appreciated, and it means so much to our students and staff when you can join us at Mass. We sincerely hope to see you there. 

Monday Liturgy & Assembly:
Please join us each week between 9:00 and 9:30am as we pray together and acknowledge the achievements of those in our school community. Classes, Grades and Committees each take responsibility for leading these celebrations and it is a wonderful way to find out all of the special things happening inside and outside of our learning spaces. Families are invited to enjoy a cuppa from 8:30am in the hall before the commencement of the assembly.

Sacramental Programme
It has been wonderful to hear about many of our students receiving sacraments through Parish Masses recently. Please email a photo through to me if you wish to have this celebrated in the school newsletter. We kindly request that names are not visible in the provided photograph.

Information on First Penance, First Holy Communion and Confirmation and how the parish based, but school supported, Sacramental Program will function this year was provided last term via grade overviews, school and the parish information session in Term 1. Please speak to your child’s teacher or myself if you require further information about registrations.

In Our Parish
We are proud to be an important part of the Cathedral Parish of Ss Michael & John.  
For information about our parish please click here. This includes Mass Times, Ministries, Sacraments and current edition and archived stories from the Catholic Observer and Parish Bulletin. 

Coming up:

Ashley Boylan   | Religious Education Coordinator

Student Representative Council

A huge congratulations to Lily Burke who is the winner of our Design a Duck competition. We have now sent Lily’s image, along with the other three finalists to the mascot designers so that they can start working on a Cathedral mascot! Stay tuned for our upcoming fundraisers as we work to raise enough money to buy our new mascot!

Student Representative Council

Teaching and Learning

Three-Way Conferences
We are excited to begin our Student-Parent-Teacher 3-Way Conferences today and continuing across the week. Using insights from Terms 1 and 2, these conferences will bring together the unique voices of students, parents, and teachers to both celebrate achievements and set goals for the rest of the school year. This collaborative process is key to promoting growth in our students and strengthening the partnership between home and school. We believe that by working together, we can create a supportive environment where every student can thrive.

As we embark on this journey, we value your participation and feedback. After the conferences, we will be seeking your input on how we can further improve this process for the future. 

Thank you for your positive involvement in this new initiative. We look forward to these meaningful discussions and the positive impact they will have on our students' learning journeys.

Catherine O'Neill   | Assistant Principal

Awards

Library

Reminders for Book Week Activity day -  Week 4 Friday 16th of August

1. Organise a costume or casual clothes to be worn on Friday 16th of August.
2. Place your order for the Canteen Book Week special lunch order on Flexischools.
3. Save some coins for the Preloved Book Sale (most books will be priced between $1-$2).

Parents are welcome to attend our Book Week Assembly and Parade on Friday morning which will be held outside on the pavers. The preloved book sale will be on in the Library from 8.30am.

Exciting Excursion to the Bathurst City Library!
I had a lovely time accompanying Year 1 on their excursion to the Bathurst City Library last week. We loved walking to the Library in the sunshine. The Librarians Tori and Louise played heads and tails with us to teach us all about the Library. Did you know it is free to join the Library and you can borrow 50 books at a time?! We read stories, did craft and even had a fun scavenger hunt. Year 1 loved going to the Bathurst City Library!

Merryn Sadler   | Teacher Librarian

Class In Focus - KA

Super Learners!
Kindergarten students have begun their second semester of school with great enthusiasm. In KA we have been continuing to make excellent progress in daily phonics lessons and love showing what we know in sentence writing. In Maths, we have been looking at position and enjoyed using little teddies to demonstrate under, in front, on and in between. We are also working on our number facts during our number of the day's work. Our Art watercolour cityscapes compliment the start of our Geography unit where we have been investigating many places we know. We have also been very busy preparing for the Bathurst Eisteddfod and are having lots of fun learning two special poems.

Genevieve Avinash   | KA

Class In Focus - 1JV

Wiradjuri Learning in 1JV. Yiradhu Marang Mudyi (Good day friends).
1JV are learning Wiradjuri language and cultural practises with Aunty Karen this term. We are so grateful that she visits our classroom each week to pass down the teaching of local Wiradjuri heritage. In Geography, we have been exploring indigenous maps including locating Arnhem Land and reading ‘Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo’. In Science, we are learning about weather and Aboriginal seasons. In Sport, we are learning Aboriginal cultural games including Chuboochuboo which is a throwing and catching game and Weme which involves knocking balls out of a hoop using an underarm throw. Look at our amazing 3D seasonal trees we’ve made in Visual Arts too. We are learning about our First Nations philosophy on respect, Yindyamarra, which is a way of being in quietness, kindness and respect for all. Guwayu (Later) from 1JV.

Courtney Muldoon and Melissa Vickers   | 1JV

Class In Focus - 5A

Embracing Family History!
Year 5A have explored a variety of literature and multimedia texts to develop vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing techniques. The texts that we have recently studied relate to the theme that everyone and everything has a story. Year 5A have embarked on a data collection journey by interviewing parents and friends to collect data about their life. They have enjoyed sharing life experiences and family history with each other. We are looking forward to using this acquired knowledge to write our life story. We thank our families for assisting us with this learning experience.

Antoinette Angelucci   | 5A

Class In Focus - 6BG

Mathematicians! Engineers! Historians! Writers! Artists! Athletes!
We have started the term off with a bang launching straight into our learning. 6BG have enjoyed group problems solving tasks in Mathematics focusing on representing fractions. We have continued to explore the Christmas Art Scriptures and applied different artistic skills to create masterpieces. In Science we have commenced our new unit on exploring characteristics and properties of a range of materials. We participated in an introductory design challenge to explore the importance, effectiveness and challenges while working in teams. We had a challenge of building the tallest tower, with varying degrees of success. Year 6 have demonstrated that they are ready for the learning opportunities for term 3.

Ashley Boylan and Alice Gallagher   | 6BG

SPB4L

 SPB4L Committee

Wellbeing

Breakfast Club
Please contact Alana in the canteen on 0417 044 116 if you would like to be included in the morning breakfast roster. Food is served from 8:30-9:00am.
If you could spare some time at drop off it would be greatly appreciated.

This program is voluntary and only students presenting to the canteen will be given breakfast. Please contact the school if you would like to opt your child out of this program as all students who present to the canteen will be given breakfast unless instructed otherwise.

Alice Gallagher   | Wellbeing Coordinator

Sports

Eastern Region Athletics Carnival
We congratulate the following students who are attending the Bathurst/Eastern Region Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 7th August 2024 at Mackillop College Bathurst.
Year 6 - Georgie, Geowin, Jacky, Archie, Liam, Pipa, Caitlyn, Seth, Sienna, Oliver, Peppa, Jamie, Sean, Maximus, Flynn
Year 5 - Jaclyn, Lillian, Emilia, Breanna, Lily, Azura, Jaxon, Harrison G-S, Zara, Grace, Molly, Gurleen, Georgina, Maya, Hunter, Liam, Isabella, Joseph, Harrison R, Carter, Ana
Year 4 - Audrey, Jack, Jett, Sophie, Oscar, Wyatt, Noah, Ella P, Charlotte, Abhi
Year 3 - Max, Aidan, Harry, Audrey, Solomon, Primrose, Ingrid, Trisha, Franklin, Angela, Porsha
Year 2 - Travis, Evelyn, Hugh, Noah

We wish each student every success in their events.

NSW Equestrian Team Championships
Last week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Harrison competed at the OAGS School Equestrian competition. He competed on his two horses with great success. He competed in the show ring, combined training and dressage, winning many events and placing in all events he entered. He was awarded Champion Rider K-6 Combined training (60cm dressage and showjumping) for the whole meet: a huge achievement as this means he won over all against riders Kindergarten to Year 6 in this event. Harrison was also Reserve champion K-6 Show Hunter,  2nd best horse rider combination of the whole competition, 1st in the dressage Years 5-6 preliminary 1.2 and 3rd in the dressage Years 5-6 preliminary 1.3. There were over 300 riders at this event from Kindergarten to Year 12 representing over 50 schools as far as Sydney. It was a large regional event which has now qualified Harrison for the 2025 State Interschool Equestrian championships. Harrison is  now looking to compete at the Arndell Interschool Equestrian competition, as he is gearing up for the National Interschool Equestrian championships which he will be extremely competitive on a national level having previously won the National Interschool Championships in 2022 and 4th in 2023.

Once again we congratulate Harrison on his achievements in his chosen sport arena! Well done Harrison!

Community Sport Site
Our Diocesan sports coordinator Mr Steve Maguire has created a Community Sport Site (has reports from events) for parents, families & teachers which can be accessed to assist with Diocesan Sports pathways.
You may like to bookmark this site for reference:

 Louise Condon   | Sports Coordinator

Cathedral School Fleecy Sports Tops

Marietta’s now stock the new Cathedral School fleecy sports top. 
Price is $40.

Parents and Friends

Next P&F Meeting: Wednesday 7th August 5:30pm - School Library
Everyone is invited to attend our monthly P&F meetings, which are held on the first Wednesday of each school month at 5:30pm in the Library.

There is NO PRESSURE to attend every meeting or volunteer bucketloads of time - the P&F is a great resource to keep track of what’s happening at school and connect with other parents, caregivers and school staff.   

For those who cannot attend in person, we have a zoom link, if you would like to join from home!

https://bthcatholic.zoom.us/j62675200979?pwd=duYyV3M2MvdoTVVjclRKZE5jdnlMdzo9
ID:62675200979@zmau.us
Password: 106688

OPTIONAL SCHOOL JACKETS
The Cathedral School logo is embroidered on the chest, the jackets are lightweight, windproof and water-resistant perfect for the cold weather. These optional school jackets are available to try on at the school office and ready to order via Flexischools under shop.

Please note: The optional jacket is NOT compulsory - All maroon/navy/black school jackets are also acceptable.

If you have any enquiries about our projects or would like to get involved, please email us at cathedralpandf@gmail.com

DATES FOR THE DIARY
Father’s Day Breakfast and Stall - 30th August
School Disco- 13th September

Melissa Bray   | P & F Publicity

Music

I want to wish all of the Junior & Senior Bands, Guitar Group & ensembles the best of luck with the Eisteddfod this week.

 Just remember to have fun and give it your best shot!

Cathedral School Ensemble Times & Days:

• School Choir Tuesdays at 8:35am
• Guitar Group Wednesdays at Recess
• Concert Band Thursdays at 7:50am
• Junior Band Thursdays at Recess

If your child is interested in participating in any of these groups please feel free to contact me chris_dove_trumpet@hotmail.com

Chris Dove   | Band Director

Absences

Full Day Absence
Full Day absences (the Compass default time is 8:00am-5:00pm, please do not change this) are entered via the Compass App and Compass allows 7 days to add this.

Part Day Absences - Arriving Late or Early Departures
Complete this absence via the Compass Portal located in the School Office, when you bring your child to school late or collect your child early.
This information is recorded against your child’s attendance records and sent to your child’s teacher.

So that we can have your child ready for an early departure from school, please email your child’s teacher (via Compass) the departure details.

School Calendar Handy Hints

For those who are not familiar with Google Calendar an easy way to keep up to date with the school calendar is to check the school website. Here is the link that will take you straight to the Calendar section of the site where the calendar can be displayed by month. If you click on the event more details (if confirmed) will be available for the event. 

Most end of year events and special celebrations have already been added to the calendar and all
other events appear as soon as we can confirm the details.  Website Calendar Link

For those with a Google Account the calendar can be added to your Google calendars for easy access
on your phone or device. Google School Calendar Link

Update your Details

Update your email, phone number, address, your child’s medical details or emergency contacts by emailing the information to cathedral@bth.catholic.edu.au

Canteen

   Canteen Roster Term 3 2024

The Canteen is open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

We are in need of helpers in the Canteen on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. 
For the canteen to run smoothly 3 volunteers are essential.

Please contact Alana Watson on 0417 044 116 if you would like to be included in the canteen roster,
any time offered is welcomed.

Thank you to all our friends and family for all your ongoing support of the Cathedral Canteen.

Out of School Hours Care (OSHC)

Community Notices

Bathurst Bus Lines - School Bus Tracking App
The school bus tracking app is available for parents to download on their phone and track their child's bus in real time.  This might alleviate some of the anxiety related to putting students on the bus. Please see instructions below.

Parents requiring any bus pass or general bus travel information are welcome to contact our office and we will be able to discuss their needs accordingly.

If you have any queries please contact us on 6331 2744

Kind regards,

Carolyn
Bathurst Bus Lines