2nd June 2025

Term 2 - Week 6

• Monday 2nd June 2025
  • Choir with Mrs Sadler @ 8.35am
  • Gospel Reflection & Assembly 1M @ 9.10am (Friends and Family Welcome)
• Tuesday 3rd June 2025
  
  • Mini Vinnies @ Recess 
• Wednesday 4th June 2025
  
  • Netball Gala Day - Bathurst (Selected Students)
  • Guitar Group @ 11.00-11.40am (Early recess in classroom at 10.50am)
  • Year 2 Ukulele Group @ 1.10pm
  • Voiceology @ 1.30pm
  • Didgeridoo Group @ 1.40pm
    
  • P&F Meeting @ 5.30pm School Library
• Thursday 5th June 2025
  • Senior Band @ 7.50-8.50am 
  • Junior Band @ 11.00-11.40am (Early recess in classroom at 10.50am)
    
• Friday 6th June 2025
  

Term 2 - Week 7

• Monday 9th June 2025
  
  • Kings Birthday Public Holiday - Pupil Free Day
    
• Tuesday 10th June 2025
  
  • Short Pentecost Prayer & Assembly @ 9.10am - Pavers
  • Mini Vinnies @ Recess
    
• Wednesday 11th June 2025
  
  • Ukulele Group visit to Macquarie Care Centre
  • Guitar Group @ 11.00-11.40am (Early recess in classroom at 10.50am)
  • Year 2 Ukulele Group @ 1.10pm
  • Voiceology Group @ 1.30pm
  • Didgeridoo Group @ 1.40pm
    
• Thursday 12th June 2025
  
  • Senior Band @ 7.50-8.50am 
  • Band @ 11.00-11.40am (Early recess in classroom at 10.50am)
    
• Friday 13th June 2025
  
  • Year 5 Goldfields Excursion

Important Dates

From the Principal

Learning Clarity

It is with great joy that I have witnessed the learning happening in the area of Writing throughout the school. While we still provide quality learning in all Key Learning Areas, this year we have a razor sharp focus on learning clarity through the lens of Writing.  

It was so exciting to hear our students articulate how they can move their writing through the use of the Gap to Got It framework.

Here are some snaps of the amazing work that has been happening in our Year 2 classrooms. 

Our Newsletter will be published fortnightly in 2025 and we encourage you to access the Google Cathedral Community Calendar so that you can stay current with school dates and celebrations. 

Camille Tavares   | Principal

Condolences

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of one of our parents, Mr Martin Stait.  Although we never claim favourites, if you had met Martin you would agree that he was one of the kindest, most approachable and friendliest people you could ever hope to encounter. A true blessing to our world.

Martin is the husband of one of our teachers (Mrs Melissa Stait, 4RS)  and also a parent in our school.  We ask that you pray for the Stait family during this difficult time. 

Eternal rest grant unto Martin, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.
Amen.

A Requiem Mass for Martin will be held on Tuesday 10th June at 1:30pm at the Cathedral of St Michael and St John.  Many of our staff will be in attendance at the funeral. Supervision will still be provided to all students during this time however there may be some disruption to our regular classes. 

Staffing

Miss Paige Ryan has been a beautiful asset to our school but is now heading off on a new adventure. Paige will finish up at the end of this term. Recruitment for this position has begun and we will advise you of our replacement PDHPE teacher as soon as we can. 

Scheduled Leave

In the coming weeks we have a number of teachers on leave. The following will be in place during this time. We are so grateful for the wonderful support and expertise of our part time and casual teachers. While we will miss our teachers who are away, we know their classes will be in great hands in their absence. 

Miss Esther Inwood - leave from 19th June - 1st August replaced by Mrs Kerry Cashen. 

Mr Ashley Boylan - leave from 23rd June - 25th July  replaced by Mrs Sonika Lata.

Mrs Carolyn Wood - leave from 30th June- 29th August replaced by Mr Stephen Ranger.

Mrs Anna Clayton leave from 21st July - 31st July replaced by Mrs Katrina Whitehead & Louise Condon on Thursdays.

Classroom teachers will prepare their students for these changes as they approach the time of their leave.

Teaching and Learning

Read, Read, Read - Building a Strong Foundation at Home

During the next four weeks we will be gathering specific data to determine how students are performing on important reading skills using DIBELS benchmark assessment. Dibels refers to Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills and measures the critical skills necessary for successful beginning reading include: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The DIBELS measures assess students on four of these five critical skills, which are often referred to as the “Big Ideas” of reading. Students across Kindergarten to Year 6 are assessed on their reading skills using this program three times across the year. This allows teachers to measure success and adjust and differentiate teaching practices aligned to whole class and individual results.

Reading is a bit like a superpower, helping our children grow their vocabulary, enhance their understanding of the world, and develop empathy by living countless lives through characters. It's a foundational skill that supports learning across all subjects. Integrating reading into daily routines at home isn't just beneficial; it's crucial to success. Just like learning to play an instrument or mastering a sport, becoming a proficient reader requires regular practice. You can see the power of regular reading in the diagram below.

Reading development is a continuous journey that evolves as your child grows. In the early years, the focus is on building a strong foundation with engaging picture books that stimulate imagination and curiosity. As children progress to the middle years, the emphasis shifts towards enhancing reading stamina, expanding vocabulary, and fostering the ability to draw connections from the material read, building comprehension skills. This preparation is crucial as children approach high school, where the demands of reading become more challenging and diverse. A solid reading foundation ensures that students are well-equipped to meet these challenges with confidence. 

By fostering a nurturing reading environment at home, you are helping to set the stage for success and instilling in your children a love for learning that will last a lifetime. Below are a few suggestions to help with fostering an environment that promotes good reading habits at home.

Creating a Dedicated Reading Space:

Establishing a special area at home for reading can significantly enhance your child's reading experience. A comfortable, quiet corner, equipped with ample lighting and a selection of books that cater to their interests, can become a cherished retreat for your child to explore the wonders of reading.

Establishing a Consistent Reading Routine:

Regularity in reading practice is instrumental in developing proficiency. Allocating a specific time each day for reading can help embed this activity into your child's daily routine, fostering a habit that combines both learning and pleasure. Whether it be a tranquil moment after school or a shared bedtime story, consistency is key to nurturing a lifelong reading habit.

Modeling Reading Behavior:

Children are greatly influenced by the actions of adults around them. Demonstrating your own passion for reading can inspire them to adopt similar habits. Engage in discussions about the books you are reading, share interesting stories, and express the joy that reading brings to you. Your enthusiasm for reading can significantly motivate your child to pursue their own reading adventures.

Catherine O’Neill   | Assistant Principal

Awards

Religious Education & Catholic Life

Mary Help of Christians Mass
Our recent Mary Help of Christians Mass was a beautiful and reverent celebration, honouring this special feast day in the Australian Catholic Church. The occasion was made even more meaningful through the combined efforts of our wider Catholic community.

We were blessed to have the music ministry led by Mr Paul Hughes from Catholic Education, Diocese of Bathurst, alongside student and staff representatives from MacKillop College. They were joined by members of our Elective Choir and Year 6 Liturgy & Worship Committee, who helped lift the celebration in prayer and song.

Earlier that day, these same Cathedral students—our Choir members and Liturgy & Worship Committee—also joined MacKillop College for their Mass, supporting the College choir as they gathered to celebrate and farewell their School Chaplain, Fr Paul. We thank all those involved for their leadership, presence, and shared spirit of faith.

Thank You, Fr Karl
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Fr Karl for his dedicated service and pastoral care as our School Chaplain. Staff had the opportunity to thank Fr Karl with a special afternoon tea recently, and we also came together as a school community to acknowledge and farewell him at our Mary Help of Christians Mass.

As he begins his annual leave and prepares to take up his new appointment in the parish of Coonabarabran in July, we wish him every blessing and joy for the journey ahead. 

Year 5 Pre-Confirmation Retreat Day
As part of their preparations for the Sacrament of Confirmation, all Year 5 students from Cathedral School were invited to attend a special gathering at St. Stanislaus College on Thursday, 22nd May 2025.

This meaningful day was facilitated by staff and students from our Catholic Colleges who had completed Youth Ministry Training through the CSYMA (Catholic Schools Youth Ministry Australia) program. It provided our students with a wonderful opportunity to reflect on their journey toward this important sacrament and to celebrate alongside other local students from our parish. Thank you to the coordinating staff and students from Stannies and MacKillop.

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
Please always reference the School Community Calendar for the latest event details and changes:

Ashley Boylan | Religious Education Coordinator

EAL/D

Building Strong Oral Language Skills at Home

Oral language is the ability to express thoughts, ideas, and feelings through spoken words, as well as understand what others are saying. It includes speaking, listening, vocabulary, and comprehension. Oral communication is a two-way process, comprising both the receptive (comprehension) channel and the expressive (production) channel. With respect to spoken language, this typically means listening and speaking (Five from Five)

Developing strong oral language is essential because it forms the foundation for reading, writing, and overall academic success. When children can express themselves clearly and understand others, they are better prepared to learn, solve problems, and build positive relationships. Oral language:

• It supports reading and writing development
• It helps children learn new concepts and vocabulary
• It builds confidence in social situations

It encourages strong communication.

There are many ways families can support the oral language development of their child at home. These include:

• Have Conversations: Talk with your child about their day, ask open-ended questions, and really listen to their responses.
  
• Read Together: Share books and discuss the story, characters, and new words. Ask questions like “Why do you think that happened?”
  
• Tell Stories: Take turns telling stories—real or made-up. This helps build sequencing and descriptive skills.
  

Sing Songs and Rhymes: These support rhythm, pronunciation, and memory.

• Play Word and Listening Games: Try games like “I Spy,” 20 Questions, or describing objects and guessing what they are.

By making time each day for conversation, storytelling, and shared reading, you’re helping your child build the essential skills they need to thrive in school and beyond.

Charlotte Whitmore | EALD Teacher

National Reconciliation Week

Congratulations to Miss Ryan for organising such a wonderful morning! We are so blessed you are part of the Cathedral Community and for all the support and guidance you offer our students.

The NRW community event was fabulous. Our students had such a great time. It was wonderful to be out and about in the community with so many others. The kids happily mingled and enjoyed connecting with others. Our children LOVED the walk/run.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

 A Magical Day of Music!
Yesterday, our talented band students had the incredible opportunity to attend the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at BMEC. What an unforgettable experience! 
We were swept away by the magic of: Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Ravel’s playful Mother Goose.  Falla’s lively The Three-Cornered Hat.  Grieg’s thrilling In the Hall of the Mountain King
It was so inspiring to see the very instruments we play in our school band featured on stage — a powerful reminder of where a passion for music can take you! 
A huge thank you to Mrs McKee and Mrs Cornish for accompanying us on this fantastic musical excursion. 

Mrs Sadler Librarian/ Wellbeing Teacher

Class In Focus KM

Kindergarten have had a wonderful start to term 2. We started with hosting our Mother’s Day liturgy. Kindergarten enjoyed rehearsing their special celebration song for their Mother’s and special Motherly figures in their lives. In our English unit we have been looking at books with no pictures creating our own pictures using our imaginations. We needed to think of some creative adjectives to help our reader visualise our stories and characters. In Mathematics we have been reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar to help us learn the importance of sequencing events. We were then able to use this to create a wonderful data display. We loved getting to travel on the bus to Mackillop for our Athletics Carnival. We had such a fun time running and playing games with our infant classes.  

  Mrs Lane | KM Teacher

Class in Focus 3TJ

This week, our curious Year 3 students became young scientists as they explored the question: "Does air take up space and have weight?" Using a fun and hands-on experiment, they combined vinegar and baking soda in a bottle and watched in amazement as a balloon placed over the top began to inflate. The fizzing reaction created carbon dioxide gas, which filled the balloon—clearly showing that air takes up space. The students also discovered that the balloon felt slightly heavier when filled, helping them understand that air has weight too. It was a fantastic way to bring science to life and spark excitement for learning through discovery!

Miss Toole & Mrs Jenkins  | 3TJ Teachers

Class in Focus 4RS

Around the World in Geography
This term in Geography, students in 4RS have embarked on a fascinating journey - exploring major world religions. Using interactive maps, they’ve investigated where different religions are most prevalent, comparing population percentages across countries and continents. We then took a deeper dive into Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism—comparing and contrasting  their sacred texts, places of worship, names for God, and the titles given to religious leaders.

Powerful Writing in Action
Our writing lessons have been full of excitement as students craft their own Courage Memoirs. Guided by a clear success criteria, they’ve been drafting, revising, and preparing to publish their work. The focus has been on understanding exactly what success looks like, using the GAP TO GOT IT —and the students have risen to the challenge! We can’t wait to celebrate their achievements during student conferences and set new goals for future writing tasks.

Mrs Rice & Mrs Hands  | 4RS Teachers

SPB4L-School Wide Positive Behaviours for Learning

Mr Ashley Boylan   | On behalf of the SPB4L Committee

Sports

Rugby Union 7’s
Congratulations to Solomon 4W, Wyatt 5C, Oisin 5C, Patrick 6LB, Harryson 6LB, George 6LB, Braith 6B, Harrison 6B and Samson 6B who competed at the Regional Rugby Union 7’s Finals carnival last week in Molong. A big thank you to Barry Froebel for coaching the boys throughout the competition.

AFL and Rugby League
We wish Lara in 6LB and Molly in 6B all the best as they compete in the PSSA Girls AFL competition next week. Good luck also to Solomon in 4W who will be playing in the Under 11’s Boys Polding Rugby League Team next week.

Netball
Netball NSW are hosting their annual Schools Cup in Bathurst next Wednesday 4th June. A note went out on Compass earlier this week with information about this event. A friendly reminder to parents to please complete the consent for their child, if they haven’t done so already.

Athletics
Thank you to all of the parents for their support and help with this year’s Athletics Carnival.  It helped ensure that it was a great success. Well done to all of our students who showed wonderful sportsmanship and school spirit throughout the whole day. The day was made even more special with the appearance of our school mascot for the first time! Congratulations to MacKillop House who were the Champion House of the day and to Delany House who won the Spirit Cup. Well done to the following students who achieved Age Champions and Runners Up at this year’s carnival:

Cassie Toole   | Sports Coordinator

Library

Last week our school joined with students all around the country for National Simultaneous Storytime. At 12 noon our buddy classes read The Truck Cat by Australian author Deborah Frenkle. We also did fun cat activities like cat yoga and truck craft. We love reading at Cathedral School!

The Information Services Committee did a great job leading the classes in The Truck Cat activities.

Merryn Sadler   | Teacher Librarian

Wellbeing

Have you checked out Schooltv yet?

Schooltv is a new resource the P & F have purchased for the school. 
It can be found on the School website under the parents and families heading.
Schooltv covers a vast range of topics, each featuring interviews with leading global experts and a carefully curated selection of resources from key organisations.

Merryn Sadler   | Wellbeing Coordinator

Parents and Friends

Next P&F Meeting: Wednesday 4th June 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. 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 or through the school office for $75.

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

SCHOOL BACKPACKS

The school backpacks can be ordered on FlexiSchools for $65 – click on shop, then your child’s name, then uniform shop. The back pack will be delivered to your child’s classroom along with the lunch orders so you can select a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday for delivery, then select backpack and finalise your order. 

THE BACKPACK CAN ALSO BE PURCHASED AT THE FRONT OFFICE.

We have attached the flyer about the backpack here for your reference.

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

Melissa Bray   | P & F Publicity

Canteen & Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club Roster

Canteen Roster

PLEASE CAN YOU HELP??

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.

School Calendar Handy Hints

Google Calendar is an easy way to keep up to date with the school events.  This can be found on our school website under the Parents and Families tab. Below 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

Community Notices