Dear Parents and Carers

Staff News

It’s a boy!  Congratulations to Mrs Diandra Abarquez and her husband Jas on the birth of a beautiful baby boy, Brooklyn Rio Abarquez, on Saturday 24th of August.  

This was an early arrival for Brooklyn, but he is doing well. This is wonderful news and a very exciting time for the new parents!  I know 4 Rome and 4 Dublin students are very excited with this news too.   

We wish them all the best for this lovely time as a family. 

Rosary Students Place in State Interschools Ski Competitions

Three Rosary students have had very successful interschool ski competition results in 2024. Anastasia (Year 4), Jacob (Year 2) and Josh (Kindy) recently represented Rosary at the 2024 Subaru ACT and Regional NSW Snow Australia Interschools competition at Perisher. Anastasia was entered in Div 5 (Year 4 and below) for Ski X, Alpine and Moguls. Jacob and Josh competed in Division 6 (Kinder-Year 2) in Ski-X and Alpine, with Jacob also stepping up a division in Div 5 Moguls.  

Josh did very well in his races and Anastasia and Jacob received invitations for the State and National championships. Nationals are taking place this week - hopefully there is still some snow left! We hope next year that Rosary can field some full teams as it really is a fun team event.

Congratulations to Josh, Jacob and Anastasia. 

Rugby Union Grand Final Appearance for Rosary Students

This weekend Rosary students in the Under 12 Div. 2 ACT Rugby Union competition will play in the grand final against Gungahlin Eagles.  The grand final is at Vikings Park Erindale at 11.50am.  This is an amazing achievement and we wish the players, coach, managers and officials all the best for the game. 

Last week in the semi-final they beat Wests 27-12.  We hope they can continue their form. 

Their team is called ‘ROWLS’ and includes players from Rosary and Uni North Owls.

The Rosary players in the team are:

Myles B

Liam C

Jackson D

James S

Jean-Louis M

Hugh A-M

Jet McI

Louis M

Year 4 Mass

This Friday 6 September is the Year 4 grade mass in the Holy Rosary Church.  All are welcome.  

Kinder Fire Brigade Education Visit

Kindergarten students will also have a treat on Friday, with the ACT Fire Brigade Education visit.  This will be very exciting, sirens and all.

Wishing you all well for the week ahead.

God Bless

Greg Walker

Principal 

• Community Council - Open Meeting Wednesday 4th September
• North Gunghalin Track & Field Day (AIS) Thursday 5th September
• Year 4 Mass (Holy Rosary Church) Friday 6th September at 10am
• Fire Education Visit (Kindergarten) Friday 6th September
• Kindergarten Excursion Questacon Wednesday 11th September
• Year 1 Assembly (School Hall) Friday 13th September at 2.20pm
• Confirmation Mass (Holy Rosary Church) Friday 13th September at 5.30pm
• ACT 12 & U Track and Field Championships (Woden) Tuesday 17th September
• Year 6 Mass (Holy Rosary Church) Friday 20th September at 10am
• Kindergarten Assembly (School Hall) Friday 20th September at 2.20pm
• Learning Journeys Monday 23rd September 
• Colour Fun Run Friday 27th September
• Last day of Term 3 Friday 27th September
• Term 4 Commences Monday 14th October 

Last Saturday saw the final game of the 2024 winter netball season. Rosary fielded four teams this year, with girls playing from year 2 all the way up to year 6. 

The year was another great season for the club and all the girls showed great commitment and super netball skills, and had loads of fun!

The Year 2 Ravens played an exceptional season in 2024! A huge congratulations to all the girls who played this year; Willow G-M, Elle H, Vespa L, Francesca M, Poppy M, Kay R, Mikaela R, Marley W and Poppy Y, and a BIG thank you to their coach Claire. Most of the team had not ever played netball, yet they only lost two games, but importantly had lots of fun & were excellent team players. Well done girls, we can’t wait to see you again next year!

The  year 3 Roadrunners netball team, had a brilliant season. Goals were scored, new skills were learnt, team work shone. Most importantly friendships were made and deepened. A big thank you to all the parents, coaches and manager for making it such a fun season. 

The year 4 Rosellas played their fourth season together and have come such a long way! The girls have really grown together as a team, and they are not only playing brilliant netball, but really enjoying themselves. Some great combinations are emerging and the support they show each other is fantastic. Big thank you to Chris R for coaching this year, his relaxed approach has helped the girls to shine. 

The year 4/5/6 Rockets launched into division 3, doing their best in a tough comp. Lead by Coach Lily and Coach Jade, the team fought some tricky opponents, some almost twice their height! Styled with super cute pink, white and black scrunchies, the team pushed to the end and should be proud of the efforts they put in this year.

Well done to all the girls, and we are so looking forward to season 2025!!

Save the date: end of season function 18 October. Details to come  

What is GPN?

• The Girls' Programming Network is a workshop series for girls in grades 6-12.
• It is a community of women and girls interested in computer science, programming, and information technology.
• The workshops are led by GPN tutors and local women studying or working in IT across industry, academia, and government.
• In the workshop, girls will use coding skills to play a game of ‘Guess Who’? using a software package called Replit. Students of all skill levels are welcome—whether new to Python or already proficient. Tutors will cover the basics for beginners and introduce advanced concepts for those with more experience.
• The Australian Signals Directorate has a long-standing relationship with the GPN and supports the Canberra node of this fantastic program.
• The workshops are free, and no prior coding experience is required.
• Lunch, snacks, and computers will be provided for students.

Registration details:

• Opens: Now open
• Closes: 13 September 2024, at 5:00 PM
• Register here: GPN Canberra Term 3 | Humanitix

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 1-9)
• 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 - Tuesday and Wednesday Week 2 - Coding and Robotics After School Programme for interested students aged 8-12 years 
• Dance Club - PLAY - The Dance Agency - Tuesdays at Lunchtime from Weeks 2-10 - Kinder to Year 4

Please contact the school if you require further information.

Canteen Menu

The School Counsellor is 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.

Covid and Cold and Flu season are now 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 important health and safety matter.