Dear Parents and Carers

I hope Week 3 has been a good week for everyone. The school is in full swing now and students and staff have settled in well. Most programs are up and running and learning is progressing well.  We have had two school masses recently with the Opening School Year Mass last Friday and then Ash Wednesday Mass this week. The students have been very reverent at mass and their singing was lovely as usual.

Fr Renior spoke to the students at the opening mass about the importance of learning and their classrooms. He spoke about his upbringing and the opportunities study brings. He also spoke to students and the staff/parents about the importance of community and gathering. It is a blessing to collaborate, learn and work together.    

Fr Renoir spoke at our Ash Wednesday Mass about the importance of growth and renewal.  The Church season of Lent is a time of repentance and rebuilding our relationship with God and others. It is also a time of renewal for ourselves. 

Fr Renoir uses the acronym of JOY in his homilies.  

JESUS

OTHERS

YOURSELF - in this order. 

Put Jesus first and open your heart and mind to be with God.  Pray to God for guidance and strength and know God walks alongside us in life. Then consider and respect others, as well as be kind to yourself and mindful of developing yourself.  God has given each of us gifts and talents, so share them with others. As we start the school year we give thanks to God for all of these things in our life and trust that through being part of a community we all grow.

Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms (acts of charity and justice) and we practise self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully. We recall the waters of baptism in which we were also baptised into Christ's death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.

Many know of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, but we are also called to practise self-discipline and fast in other ways throughout the season. Contemplate the meaning and origins of the Lenten fasting tradition in this reflection. (This is an interesting reflection.) In addition, the giving of alms is one way to share God's gifts—not only through the distribution of money and goods, and assisting the less fortunate, but through the sharing of our time and talents.

2024 Enrolments

I have had a number of parents ask me if our school enrolment total has increased for 2024.  The reality is that the current enrolment figure is 366 students which is nearly exactly the same figure as in Term 4 2023.  I think the question was brought on by the number of parents and carers attending morning assemblies and events, as well as the difficulty finding a car park at school!  We still receive enrolment enquiries most weeks but the availability of places depends on the year level and circumstance. Prospective parents are welcome to contact the school and more information can be provided.  

Reminder that supervision at school starts at 8.30am

You are reminded that school supervision starts at 8.30am when a teacher calls students into the quad area. Students who wait outside the gates with their parent or guardian prior to 8.30am are not supervised.  This is a concern and places the students and school at risk. Some mornings up to 20 students are waiting at school from 8.15am or earlier. Some students walk or ride to school and some parents and carers may not actually know their students arrive this early.

Please talk to your child if this may be the case and I ask that you do not drop and leave your child at school before 8.30am.  Thank you.   

Afternoon Pick Up Time - recommend you stagger your pick up time

Just a reminder that the school car park is busy in the afternoons at the 3.10pm pick up time.  Please be patient and respectful in the car park.  Our school car park system does work well compared to most schools, it takes just a few minutes to get in and out at peak times. 

Some parents and carers have expressed that they find it difficult to get a park after school in the main car park so I encourage people to stagger their arrival time if possible, even just by a few minutes. Teachers and a designated staff member supervise students from 3.10pm until 3.30pm. 

Some people may also not be aware that for safety reasons our car parks are designed as FACE/DRIVE FORWARD ONLY.  Please do not reverse in or out of the car parks in the courts area.  The only exception is the spaces parallel to the hall where cars park nose in and have to reverse out.    

Also, if you can be mindful of not arriving at school too early in the afternoons. The courts area does need to be available for school classes to play sport and use this area after lunch.  Please do not arrive before 2.45pm to park in the courts area, this should allow any lessons to be completed.  Thank you.  

Tree Removal

You may be aware that the 3 trees directly outside the Peace Gates (courts side of school) have been cordoned off for safety reasons. Some significant limbs have dropped in recent weeks.  Due to safety concerns the 3 trees have been approved by ACT Government to be removed and this work is scheduled to be undertaken next Wednesday 21 February. Part of the approval was that new trees will be planted to replace those taken out.  Our Community Council is looking at a design for this area. 

 2024 Rosary Community Council Executive

This week we held our first Rosary Community Council meeting for 2024. The executive group met and discussed the new governance guidelines and charter.  We have 9 parent representatives, 3 staff and Fr Renoir on the executive. The roles of each person are listed below.  Please feel free to familiarise yourself with these names and talk to your representatives throughout the year as they represent the school community.  There will be an open meeting where any member of our community can attend, similar to open meetings we have held in the past. We are always interested in feedback from our parents and carers. There will be more information to follow about our roles and initiatives in 2024.   

Term 1 Lunchtime Clubs

This year we have introduced a number of new lunchtime clubs to encourage students to try new things, meet new friends and develop their interests and talents. We are aware that student’s learning styles and interests can vary greatly and providing more options at lunchtime may enhance their experience of school. More clubs are expected to be offered in Terms 2-4.  Thank you to the teachers for their skills and generosity in running these clubs. Publishing details of these clubs may help you encourage your child to attend if you think it is suitable. 

Tuesdays - STEM Club with Mrs Watson (Years 2-6 in Egypt)

Wednesdays - Agriculture and Farming Club with Mr Read (Years 5/Year 6 on the oval)

Thursdays - Origami Club with Mrs Millband (Years 2-4 in Tokyo)  

Continuing to run this year are the:

All days - Lego Club with Mrs Dawson in the Library.

All days - Aero Club and Flight Simulation with Mrs Dawson in the Library.

Tuesdays - Dance Club with Cassie in the school hall (please note - there is a fee parents pay for this instruction).  

Out of School Hours Activities (not OSHClub related)

There are also a number of before and after school extracurricular activities offered by external qualified teachers and experts.  These include foreign language classes, art and craft, STEM, music tuition and chess.  There are fees payable for these activities. For more information please contact the front office. 

Thank you again for supporting your child in their great start to the school year.

God Bless.

Greg Walker

Principal 

• Kinder Rest / Assessment Day - Wednesday 21st February
• Journey with Jesus Retreat Day - Year 6  - Wednesday 21st February
• Rosary Swimming Carnival - Monday 26th February - Dickson Pool
• Parent / Teacher Conversations - Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th February
• Year 6 Mass - Friday 1st March - Holy Rosary Church 10.00am
• Year 6 Camp - Monday 4th - Wednesday 6th March 

The WhatsApp groups are the main method of communication between Class Contacts and the parents of each year-level.  They can be used to notify parents of important dates and reminders, to coordinate the year-level Rosary fundraising event and other ad hoc things as they arise (for example, organising parent dinners or sporting teams, etc). Parents can also use the WhatsApp group to ask questions as needed.

All families were sent an email on 1st February 2024 notifying them of their 2024 Class Contacts and providing a link to the 2024 parent WhatsApp group for their year-level. Parents with students in multiple years received more than one email. Should parents wish to join the WhatsApp group, they can access the link via that email, or via the notice in the My News section of their student's Compass dashboard titled 'Year X parent group - Class Contact and parent WhatsApp Group Information'.

Please note, it is requested that the parent’s name is shown in the WhatsApp profile (or at least first name and initial) so that the Class Contact can monitor who is in the group. The rules associated with the Rosary WhatsApp groups are included in the ‘Group Description’ section of the WhatsApp group.

The 2023 WhatsApp groups will be closed on 19 February 2024.

There are many extracurricular activities available onsite for our Rosary Students.  Please note all of these activities attract a fee and are delivered by external providers.  Please see the timetable below for details:

• French Lessons - Monday 3.10pm - 4.20pm (continuing) / Wednesday 8.00am - 9.00am (beginner)
• Action Tae Kwon-Do - Monday 6.30pm Children class / 7:30pm Adult class
• Chess Club - Tuesday 3.10pm - 4.30pm (Weeks 2-10)
• Zanshin Martial Arts - Tuesday 6.30pm Junior class / 7:30pm Senior class
• Artkids - Thursday 3.15pm - 5.15pm
• Italian Lessons - Friday 8:00am - 9:00am (beginner) 
• Musicorp (various instruments) / Piano Lessons - Friday 8:20am and during class time throughout the day
• Block Crafters - Wednesday Week 2 - Coding and Robotics After School Programme for interested students aged 8-12 years (currently fully booked).
• Dance Club - PLAY - The Dance Agency - Tuesdays at Lunchtime from Weeks 3-10 - Kinder to Year 4

Please contact the school if you require further information.

Whole Day Absences

If your child is absent from school for a whole day or longer, please submit details of the absence via the Parent Portal. This should be completed within 7 days of the absence.  There is no need to adjust times for whole day absences.

If your child will only be absent for a partial day, the absence will be recorded as your child is signed in or out via the kiosk at the front office. You do not need to add an early pick up or late drop off via the Parent Portal.

Unexplained absences for your child will be displayed on your homepage when you log in to Parent Portal.

If an unexplained absence appears that you believe to be incorrect, please send an email to the front office for investigation.

Rosary welcomes our new school counsellor for this year, Sarah Foley.

The school counsellor, is available every Monday and Tuesday.

You can refer your child for counselling by contacting the school by phone or email.

You will be asked for your consent for your child to access the service. In the case of families where parents are separated, consent of both parents is normally required. If this is difficult for you please feel free to discuss this with the counsellor.

Canteen Menu

**TICKETS ON SALE NOW!**

Tickets are now on sale for Pied Piper's production of Madagascar JR - A Musical Adventure. This show is full of lots of talented local youth, amazing costumes and energetic singing and dancing to bring this show to life. 

With plenty of colourful characters and humour, this is a wonderful show for all the family.

There is a full week of performances across the April school holidays. And in the tradition of high quality Pied Piper Productions we have no doubt tickets will sell fast for all shows!

Get your tickets now: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1091967

On 10-11 February three Rosary boys represented ACT participating in the NSW State Oztag Championships held in Penrith. 

Congratulations to Jake Andonovski, Eli Withers and George Kelly!  We are very proud of your efforts!

Access to the clothing pool will now be as follows:

Monday - Friday - Before and after school only

Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers who maintain the space for our community.

Please note: All donations of preloved uniforms (in good wearable condition) are welcome at the front office.