Newsletter 2 December 2022

Principal's Message

Friday 2 December 2022 - Term 4 Week 8

Dear Parents and Carers,

Last weekend marked the beginning of Advent, the time of preparation for Christmas. It’s an important time for every child and every family and it can be stressful as well. The Church recognises this and urges all people to look beyond the ‘what am I going to get’ consumer focus to caring for all others, and taking a pause to think about the very first Christmas, when Jesus was born. 

I had the good fortune to attend part of the Yr 6 camp in Tyalgum this week. It was a spectacular setting, nestled in the foothills of the ancient Tweed volcanic caldera. The weather was very hot and humid, and the children did very well, rock hopping, daring the rope challenges, canoeing and adapting amazingly well without any phones, ipads or internet. My appreciative thanks to Mr Bamford, Mr Hammond, Mrs Charles, Mrs Warren, Mrs Orton and Mrs Wilson, who professionally organised and looked after every child, coping with sickness, broken arms and the occasional visiting snake. 

Don’t forget to order your copy of the 2022 Year Book. This year is a bumper edition, with plenty of photos and memories contained within the colourful covers. It is a limited edition and will go on sale for the bargain early bird price of $22 switching to $27 after the Awards Day ceremony. In this disposable era, it’s good to have something to keep long term as a record of this little slice of your child’s life. 

As you are aware, we have had to postpone the Fete until Thursday 15 December, the second last day of the school year. The children were disappointed (and confused when the sun came out briefly today) however, given the nature of the slides and electrical equipment being exposed to the rain, we erred on the side of caution. More information is coming soon.

Congratulations to our 2023 School Captains, Albie Webb and Coco Becker and our Vice Captains, Eric Greenwood and Hannah Burton. I’m proud of the Year 5 students who voted for these fine young people and have once again made great choices. Only the Year 5 children participate, with no teachers or staff having a vote, making the student leaders as discerned by their peers, first among equals. 

I’ll mention it again in the last newsletter for the term, but remember to purchase the correct shoes for school next year, Black and polishable. Mesh black joggers are not school uniform and we want to avoid the awkward situation where the wrong expensive footwear has been purchased and you have to buy another pair. If you have troubles affording shoes, we can assist and have a supply at school. Any doubts about the uniform requirements, check the website.

Grace and peace,

Peter Watts

Principal

Faith and Mission News

Christmas Carols near the Nativity (outside the church)

A Nativity scene has been set up in the window of the Pius Goods shop just outside the church. During Weeks 9 and 10, anyone from the school or parish community, individually or as a group, will have the opportunity to sing/perform religious Christmas carols near this Nativity scene for passersby and those who come to look at the Nativity.  The church will also be open for families to visit the large Nativity scene and advent wreath inside. For more information about this special event and the online link for signing up to perform, click HERE.

PARISH CHRISTMAS CAROLS 

St Augustine’s Catholic Community warmly invites the parish and school communities to come together for an evening of Christmas Carols as we prepare for the birth of Jesus! Click HERE for more information. 

Carols will be held in the church on Saturday 10th December at 6.30pm (following 5.30pm Mass)

At the conclusion of the Carols (approx 7.15pm) everyone is invited to stay for supper outside the Curran Centre - please bring a plate to share. 

NATIVITY - Save the Date

Our school ‘Nativity’ play will be held on Tuesday 13 December at 9:10am in the assembly area and friends and family are invited to attend this retelling of the Christmas story.

Junior Youth Group

Parish Junior Youth Group is back this term. 

Anyone between the ages of 9 and 12 (Grades 4-6) is invited to join in good food, good fun and good conversation centered around our faith. 

The remaining date for this term is Sunday 4th December at 4pm @ The Curran Centre.

Parish Playgroup is back

9am Tuesdays (during school term) at the Curran Centre (Parish Office), 12 Gordon Street, Coffs Harbour.

We warmly invite families with babies, toddlers, pre-school age children/grandchildren to join our parish playgroup. If you are interested in becoming a Playgroup helper, to offer assistance with set-up or leading a craft or music activity, please contact the parish office on 6651 0000.

Naomi Loader- Assistant Principal Mission
Dominique Montford - Leader of School Catechesis
Maria Woods - Leader of School Evangelisation

Reconciliation Times in our Parish are as follows:

Coffs Harbour, St Augustine’s Church : Saturday 9:30am-10:30am and 4:30pm -5:30pm

Woolgoolga, St Francis Xavier’s Church : Sunday 8:15am - 8:45am

2022 Upcoming Events

December 2022

Announcing our School Captains for 2023!

Congratulations to our School Captains for 2023!
Hannah Burton (VC), Albie Webb (C), Coco Becker (C), Eric Greenwood (VC)

LARC NEWS

End of Year Borrowing

Kindergarten and Year 1 will not be able to borrow from Week 9, we ask that you ensure all books are returned before the end of term. Over the summer holidays students in Grades 2 to 5 will be able to borrow up to 3 books each, any over due books will need to be returned  by the end of Week 9. Happy holiday reading!!!

$20 Boss Market Day

Many thanks to parents and carers for supporting our first $20 Boss Market Day, with over 33 stalls it was wonderful to see the variety of products for sale. 32 out of 33 businesses made a profit and were able to return the full investment ($20 per student) plus the $1 interest. Collectively a profit of $2600 was made with $500 being donated to charities such as Bear Cottage in Sydney, Make a Wish Foundation and the local soup kitchen.  

Year 5 students should be commended for their commitment to the program and their overall success.

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Learning and Teaching

K-2 Families: Coffee and Christmas stories

Parents and carers are invited to our ‘Coffee Van and Christmas Parent Storytelling’ morning on Friday, December 9. The coffee van will be at school in the gardens area from 7:45 am until the morning bell with free coffee for adults. It’s a great chance to catch up with other K-2 families before the year ends. We encourage you to stay on until 9:30 am and join in the Christmas Parent Storytelling, which begins at 9 am in the gardens area. Bring a blanket and a Christmas book or 2 as our K-2 students excitedly await to hear you read to them. There will be a trolley of books for you to choose from too. Let’s bring the joy of Christmas alive through stories.

Semester 2 Reports

Semester 2 School Reports will be available on your Compass App or computer from 3 pm Friday, Dec 16. Please see the instructions below for a step-by-step guide.

2022 Little Archies

Proudly presenting our Little Archies Winners and Highly Commended artworks for 2022. It is wonderful to see the effort all our students put in to their artworks and how the students' skill levels have continued to grow over these past few years. Many thanks go to Ms Perkins, Mrs Day and our teaching staff for fostering this program. Thanks also to the judges (whose task gets harder every year) and particularly Mr Wilson for his very tough job of selecting the Packing Room Prize. The standard of portraiture is amazing and we know you'll love them when they come home later this term.

Winning Entries

Highly Commended

NEW DATE for our FETE - Thurs 15 Dec

2022 Yearbook - pre-order information

See details in the flyer below on how to pre-order your copy of our 2022 Yearbook via COMPASS. 

2023 Tuition Fee Assistance

Sport News & Sport Calendar

December 2022

February 2023

LISMORE DIOCESE SUMMER SPORTS TRIALS - 25 November 2022

The Lismore Diocese Summer Sport Trials were held in Lismore last week. Congratulations to the following students who  will attend the Polding Summer Sports Trials in Term 1, 2023. 

Basketball

Grace Davis, Harley Ritchie, Blair Hoffman, London Lacey, Grace Duede, Aisha Murphy, Archie Shannon.

Touch Football

Tillie Reibelt, Frankie Selmes 

NEWCASTLE PERMANENT SOCCER GALA DAY - 24 November 2022

Last week 52 students from Year 4 and Year 5 attended the Newcastle Permanent Soccer Gala Day at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium.  The day, hosted by North Coast Football, included  Year 3 to 6 students from schools across the region. It was a fun day of 5 a side soccer, mixing up students from a wide range of ability levels.  We commend our students on their sportsmanship, team work and conduct. Well done SAPS!

More Exciting Football News! 

Football is definitely making news headlines at the moment thanks to the World Cup. We have our own exciting news. Year 6 student Taj Gray was one of ten Under 13 Year athletes selected from Australia/New Zealand to attend a pre contract preparation program in Italy to put himself before the Serie A/LaLiga clubs. 

So far he’s had a great time hanging at Stadium Olympico, trying out the dressing sheds for Italia, AS Roma and SS Lazio, and has also had  a training session with ASD Sasso Marconi. This is a fantastic opportunity for Taj and we wish him all the best in his future football career.

2023 Kindergarten Preschool Borrowing Program

Canteen Menu for 2022

• SUSHI WEDNESDAYS
  A reminder that we cannot accept sushi orders on Wednesdays -please order by 2pm the Tuesday prior (for a paper bag) or order by 8pm for an online order. Thank you.
• CANTEEN VOLUNTEERS
  We really need help with our SPECIAL LUNCH DAYS which fall on alternate Tuesdays and the last day of every term. Helping in the canteen is a great way to meet other parents, support your child and our school. Please contact the school if you can spare a few hours on these busy days. Thank you.
• CANCELLATION OF CANTEEN ORDERS
  If your child is away or sick please call the office to cancel your canteen order prior to 8.30am on the day.  Thank you - Alicia and Rosa 

Canteen Roster

 Canteen News

Canteen helpers are always required, especially on Wednesdays as this is our sushi day, and on Fridays. Help is needed for three hours from 9:00 am until 12:00 noon once every four weeks. Grandparents are  very welcome also. If you are able to help in the Canteen on any day please call us on 6652 1204.

 Alicia Betland & Rosa Thomas - Canteen Managers

Week beginning 5 December 

• Monday - V Wall
• Tuesday - J Ward
• Wednesday -  P Duffy, B Symons
• Thursday - C Williams - Help Needed !
• Friday - G Dodd, L Knight, W McLean - Help Needed !

Week beginning 12 December 

• Monday - L Seccombe
• Tuesday -  C Williams
• Wednesday -  J Martin, N Flintoff
• Thursday - S Crawford, M Van Den Boom
• Friday - P Duffy, W McLean, K Cochran

Lunchtime Clubs 2022