Dear Parents and Carers

Please Note:

Just a reminder that the Rosary School Disco has now been moved to Friday 5 April (not this Friday as in the school calendar).  Thank you to our Year 3 parents and carers who are planning for this event.  

Palm Sunday - 24 March 2024

This weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday.  Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian churches all celebrate Palm Sunday, which is the beginning of Holy Week , the most hallowed time of year for Christians.  

Palm Sunday commemorates when Jesus entered Jerusalem and was greeted by people waving palm branches. This event serves as a reminder for Christians to welcome Jesus into their hearts and be ready to follow Him. The Palm Sunday service also includes a reading of the Passion, which narrates the story of Jesus' suffering and crucifixion.

Palm Sunday occurs on the Sunday before Easter. This celebration celebrates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, mentioned in each of the four Gospels. Jesus entered the city knowing He would be tried and crucified and welcomed His fate to rise from the grave and save us from sin! Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the remembrance of Jesus' last days.

Year 6 Camp Success

I wanted to offer my belated thoughts on the recent Year 6 Camp.  It was a pleasure to be able to attend the camp at Berry NSW with the students and staff.  Our Year 6 students were excellent at camp. The students enjoyed the summer camp activities including plenty of time in and around the water in activities like canoeing, paddling inflatable biscuits and team games using water balloons.  They also took part in dark maze activities, archery tag and indoor group games.  They were well-mannered and managed themselves well through the 3 days and 2 nights. 

Thank you to our staff - Mrs Pangallo, Mr Evans, Mrs Hillsdon and Miss Clare Henman who also accompanied our students at camp. 

Principal Retreat facilitated by Father Timothy Radcliffe

After camp in Week 6 I then attended our annual archdiocesan Catholic school principals and system leaders two-day retreat led by Father Timothy Radcliffe. An interesting connection with Rosary is that Fr Timothy is a Dominican Friar and Rosary was established by the Domincians in 1963. Fr Timothy was actually the head of the Dominican order for a significant period.  Fr Timothy also facilitated a recent synod and retreat for Pope Francis and clergy in Rome.  It was an excellent retreat and a great opportunity to listen to such a significant Catholic leader. Dominican values and beliefs were prominent in the presentation.   

2024 NAPLAN Completed

Over the past week students in Year 3 and Year 5 have participated in NAPLAN assessments. It is only the catch up assessments that are to be finalised now. The students have done very well and tried their best with each test.  Thank you to the teachers, classroom assistants and Mr O’Brien for their organisation and support for the students. With predominantly online testing in place now, NAPLAN results will be available much earlier to parents and the school. 

(not Rosary students)

High Impact Teaching Practice Programs in Place at Rosary

Just for your information, the following programs are underway this term at Rosary:

InitliaLIt English for students in Kindergarten to Year 2

• An explicit English Program for students in Year 3-6, scope and sequenced to match the Australian Curriculum. 
• An explicit Mathematics Program for students in KIndergarten to Year 6, scope and sequenced to match the Australian Curriculum.
• MiniLit Sage, an English intervention program for students from Kindergarten to Year 2. 
• MacqLit, an English intervention program for students in Years 3-6.
• Spelling Mastery - a 20 minute daily explicit instruction lesson for every student in Years 3-6.
• EALD program for applicable students from Kindergarten to Year 6 led by Mrs Watson.
• Classroom Support in classrooms led by Ms Millband and our wonderful CSA’s.  

Swimming Carnival Result!

Congratulations to Freeman who were the winning house at this years swimming carnival.  Well done to those students.

Wishing you a great week ahead.

God Bless

Greg Walker

Principal

• Kinder Liturgy - Friday 22nd March - Kinder Classrooms - 10.00am
• School Disco - NEW DATE - Friday 5th April  - please note the change of date from Friday 22nd March
• My Body My Life - Year 6 - Wednesday 27th March 
• Holy Thursday - Thursday 28th MArch
• Good Friday Public Holiday - Friday 29th March
• Easter Monday Public Holiday - Monday 1st April
• Year 6 Assembly - Friday 5th April - School Hall - 2.20pm - Please note change of date from Calendar

Erica Naughton
Zite Akujobi
Addison Singline
Harry Dawson
Billy Bingley
Theo Kelly
Klara Nilsson
Elijah Wilson
Henry Bingley
Sophie Higgins
Elouise Singline
Gabe Guarino
Josie Miniutti
Atleigh Roland
Josh Katz
Charles Yapriady
Olivia Matthews
Christian Rego

Congratulations to the following students who received a BEST Award:

Bridget Slater
Luca Fleming
Clare Tomac
Kobe Cullen
Oliver Walmsey
Zoe Alderman
Will Heaton
Yeedzin Dendup
Hazel Sheehy 
Nick Tomac
Elena Vatavuk
James Steen
Alyssa Gobbert
Ivy Dawe
Charlotte Woodhouse

Canteen Menu

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.

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.

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 - 5.00pm
• 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.

Cold and Flu season is almost upon us. To assist in preventing the spread of illness, we seek your co-operation keeping children at home if they are unwell and regularly reminding children about basic hygiene practices including:

Hand Hygiene: frequent washing of hands with soap and water. Using hand sanitizer where apporpriate.

Coughing/Sneezing Etiquette: covering of the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, disposing of the tissue in the bin and washing hands. Alternatively, coughing into the elbow.

We thank you for your cooperation with this matter.

**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

Hello lovely Rosary Primary School families! My name is Sarah Foley and I have been part of the MaryMeadCatholiccare Student and Family Counselling team since 2006.

I am a registered Psychologist with a passion for working with children, young people and their families. I have previously worked in marketing, community based aged care, crisis counselling and the homelessness sector.

In my school counselling work -I provide short term client centred support to children and their families drawing from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Strengths based, Mindfulness and Trauma Informed approaches in a developmental context. For more complex issues I also provide referrals and information/parent consultation. I am at Rosary all day Mondays and Tuesdays during each school term.

How to make an appointment

If your child was seen by the School Counsellor last year and you would like them to receive support in 2023, we require you to complete a new counselling registration form. Please either contact your child’s class teacher or Greg Walker- the Principal for further information.

Similarly, new referrals and requests can be made by contacting your child’s class teacher or Greg Walker- the Principal for further information.

Parent consent for counselling continues to be required for all primary school students and will be sought and provided via email. Where parents are separated, we require the written consent of both parents. Once the referral has been received by myself- School Counsellor- I will make contact with parents on my next day at Rosary to further discuss the referral.

More about School counselling/how to access school counselling at Rosary Primary School

As part of the pastoral care program for students at Rosary, students have access to a Student and Family Counselling service provided by MaryMeadCatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn (MCCG). MCCG are contracted by the CEO to provide a counselling service to students and their families on site. There is no fee to access this service. The service offers short term counselling support (roughly up to six sessions per referral issue) to children and their families – the counsellor can also provide referrals for more complex issues requiring intensive or long term therapy/support.

The role of the counsellor is to focus on the emotional, social and educational well-being of the students. Counsellors welcome contact with students having difficulty with some part of their life, the problem does not have to be a big one. It is better to seek help sooner rather than later. Some typical

concerns that counsellors work with include: anger, anxiety, behavioural problems, low mood, family changes/separation, grief and loss, learning and educational challenges, parenting challenges, peer and other social relationships, school avoidance, stress and study skills. As well as individual sessions with students, counsellors can run groups, consult with parents and teachers and make referrals to other services and supports.

Student and Family Counsellors subscribe to a set of professional ethics that include duty of care and respect for the individual rights to privacy and confidentiality. The counsellors’ obligation is to ensure the safety, well-being and confidentiality of the student they are working with. All counsellors are mandated to report any disclosure or sign of abuse (including self-harm) or neglect to Child Protection Services. Outside of our mandated requirements, all counselling sessions are confidential and the details will not be discussed with other parties unless written consent is given by the client.

Sarah Foley- is onsite at Rosary Mondays and Tuesdays during term.

Our tree donation initiative is in full swing as we prepare to plant Stage 1 of our trees.

Following last year's 60th Anniversary party, many generous Rosary families have already donated $200 each to plant a tree on school grounds in their child or children's name. 

Watch the tree grow with your child and look forward to sitting together under its shade in the future. 

If you would like to join this council-driven fundraising endeavour, please consider donating via the Qkr app https://qkr-store.qkrschool.com/store/#/merchant/ROSPSWAT/MERCHANT802466942_LOC802466952_PRODUCTGROUP834223102

or by contacting the front office directly. 

If you have any questions, email: rosarycouncil@gmail.com 

Sophie Kelly from 6 Athens will be performing in Billy Elliot at The Q - Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre on the following dates:

Wed 10/4 Preview

Fri 12/4

Sat 13/4 Evening

Tues 16/4

Thurs 18/4

Sat 20/4 Matinee

Sun 21/4 Matinee

Wed 24/4

Fri 26/4

Sat 27/4 Evening

Thurs 2/5

Sat 4/5 Matinee

Sun 5/5 Matinee (closing night and Soph’s birthday!)

Tickets are on sale NOW - https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://theq.net.au/whats-on/billy-elliot-the-musical/__;!!Ax-PnKpllFIIgPxB!nIqQWjGotZUZt8-5mYj8h8u6tDvPBO48kY_SugBAHc5ue7VNTYPXg-sraYiUoSpjDXh-8OUYaGfPywTRwHjlwc3wyxO1B5Pon5U9CrQ$

New Menu Item - Gluten Free Nuggets

Gluen free chicken nuggets are now available for purchase.

Thank you or supporting our canteen.