Dear Parents and Carers

What an amazing term it has been. Students have had many opportunities and experiences. There have also been a number of extracurricular activities each week. The Learning Journeys session highlighted below is a good opportunity to visit your child’s class and see some of their work from Term 3. 

Learning Journeys Week 10 - You're invited!

In week 10, we invite parents and carers to an open classroom session from 8:30am to 9:30am on Monday 23rd of September.  The students will be able to show you work that they are proud of and also things they are continuing to learn about (these could form goals for Term 4. There are also lots of displays around the school and areas you can visit too.  

Sacrament of Confirmation Celebration this Friday

Many of our Year 6 students and other students in the parish will make their Sacrament of Confirmation this Friday evening in Blackfriars Parish Church Watson.   Archbishop Christopher Prowse will lead the mass and confirm the candidates. The Sacrament of Confirmation is a very significant moment when these young adults confirm their commitment to follow God and be a disciple of Christ. They are confirming this pledge made on their behalf at Baptism. 

Thank you to our Year 6 teachers Mrs Pangallo  and Mr Evans, as well as our Religious Education Coordinator Ms Higgins, for supporting the students in their preparation for the sacrament. Also, thank you to Fr Renoir and the parents for preparing their child for this important, and final, Sacrament of Christian Initiation.

I wish all of our candidates, parents and sponsors all the best for this sacramental celebration. 

Rosary Team wins ACT ‘Kids in Space’ STEM Competition

As mentioned recently, two Rosary teams competed in the ACT final of the ‘Kids in Space Program’ on Tuesday at the Chisholm High School Science Center.  Both of our teams performed very well and made excellent presentations.

Congratulations must go though, to one of our teams, who actually won the ACT competition and had the most outstanding presentation on the day! The winning team members were Tomas Spoljaric, Charlotte Woodhouse, Lola Cummins and Blake Boyd.

As the winning team, these students have now been invited to the National ‘Kids in Space’ event to be held in Adelaide in Term 4.  What an amazing experience it will be presenting their project with some of the best young stem students and minds in the country.

Their winning presentation centred around the theory and concept of how humans could live and survive sustainably on planet Mars. Their proposal was very creative, well-researched and embraced how science and STEM can be used to make this dream a reality.

Well done to our other Rosary team who consisted of the following students:

Emma Byrne, Eleanor Mair, Amy Sharwood, April Stoker, Tihana Vatavuk

Thank you again to Mrs Watson, our STEM teacher, and Mrs Pangallo and Mr Evans, our Year 6 teachers, for supporting the students in this unique learning experience. 

‘Rowls’ Under 12 Team Rugby Union Team Premiers

Congratulations to the ‘ROWLS’ Under 12 rugby union division two premiers who won their competition with a hard fought 24 to 17 victory over the Gungahlin Eagles on Saturday.   The team had to overcome a strong start by the opposition who scored the first two tries of the match.   In the second half, the ‘ROWLS’ players managed to score three tries to one and come away with a great win. 

I apologise for getting the names of the players incorrect in last week’s newsletter.  The Rosary players in the team are:

Jett McInerney, Louis Monahan, Liam Cullen, Myles Box, Jackson Dale, James Stein, Hugh Anderson Moore and  Reece Bingley.  The other players were from the Uni Norths Owls team, well done to them too! being.  Congratulations also to the coaches, officials and supporters of the team.

This win continues the many great traditions of the Rosary Eagles Rugby Club established and it is a great way to cap off their club’s 60th Anniversary year celebrations!   

North Gungahlin Track and Field Carnival Placegetters

Last Thursday, 5 September, saw a large squad of 39 Rosary students compete in the North Canberra/Gungahlin Track and Field carnival at the AIS. Our students performed well in their individual events and enjoyed the day.  There were some stand out performances from some students who placed in their events and they may now go on to represent North Canberra/ Gungahlin  in the ACT Carnival to be held next Tuesday 17 September.

The students who placed in their events were:

Eve Andonovski 11 yrs girls High Jump

Jake Andonovski 9 yrs boys 70m and 100m Sprint

Liam Cullen 11 yrs boys Shot Put

Jett McInerney 12 yrs boys Long Jump

Ljubica Pirie 11 yrs girls 800m Run

Harriet Slater 8 yrs girls 70m and 100m Sprint

James Stein 12 yrs boys 800m Run

Indie Wright 11 yrs girls Long Jump and High Jump

Congratulations!   

 Rosary COLOUR RUN Getting closer…

The new main fundraising event for Rosary in 2024 is getting closer and closer!  It will be held on the last day of Term 3 on Friday the 27th of September. This is the first colour run to be held at Rosary so it should be a lot of fun. More details to follow soon about the event itself but for the moment, thank you to all the students, families and friends who are supporting the fundraising drive.  We are tracking well on our way to our target of $14,000 to put towards new resources and activities for our students from Kindergarten to Year  6.

Our total has been growing each week and the students have earnt their uniform free day again this Friday. 

We have lots of great ideas being put forward by the students, staff and families for things to spend the fundraising money on!  This will be exciting. 

Upcoming School Assemblies

We look forward to the upcoming whole school assemblies - presented by Year 1 this Friday 13 September, followed by the Kindergarten assembly on Friday the 20 September and the Year 2 assembly on the Friday 18th October. 

Australia/New Zealand Trans-Tasman Primary Principals’ Conference

Just for your information, next week I will be away from school attending the Trans-Tasman Principals’ Conference in Christchurch New Zealand.   There is a contingent of 20 primary principals from our archdiocesan schools attending. It will be a good opportunity to hear about the latest innovations in education and other initiatives from these two countries and across the world.

I look forward to seeing everyone again in Week 10. 

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

God Bless.

Greg Walker

Principal

• 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 

We invite you and your family to celebrate the arrival of Spring by walking or riding to school. Rosary continues to support the ACT Government’s Ride or Walk to School program.

Please join us on Friday 13^th September by using your legs or wheels to get to school. Remember that helmets must be worn if your child is cycling or riding a scooter. 

Some of the staff will be at the Watson shops ready for an 8:30am departure. We hope to see many children and parents arriving at school without their car!

Julie Godfrey

Coordinator

With TWO weeks to go until the Rosary Colour Run we'd like to invite any willing parents/carers/families to get involved in the event day. 

The kids are so excited to take on the course and get sprayed with colour - we need people to do the spraying!

Some wonderful Kindy families have put up their hands to help run the event (thanks Kindy!) and we now need many more hands on deck to make this the best experience possible. 

Please volunteer for our Colour Run:

Volunteer information

Date: Friday 27th September (last day of term)

Time: 1pm - 3.30pm approximately 

Contact the school office at office.rosaryps@cg.catholic.edu.au

*Thank you to all those who have already emailed to express their interest- more info is coming soon!

On Tuesday 10^th September, nine of our Year 6 Students attended the Kids In Space ACT Showcase Day.  The challenge was to design something to help work/live in space, or, use space technologies to design something that will help solve a problem here on Earth.

All students in Year 6 participated in this challenge and all groups came up with excellent solution and design ideas.  There were two groups chosen to attend the ACT Showcase Day and both groups presented their designs very competently to the judges, congratulations to them all.

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to the Rosary 1 team: Blake Boyd, Lola Cummins, Tomas Spoljaric and Charlotte Woodhouse on winning the ACT Showcase Day- they have been selected to represent the ACT at the National Showcase Day in Adelaide next term.

On the weekend three Year 3 Rosary students participated in the Merici Springfest Baking competition. Amongst many competitors the Rosary girls won! 

Well done girls. 

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.

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