Dear Parents and Carers

Month of October – Month of Holy Rosary

The Month of October is the time we pray the Rosary, especially here at our school. The Rosary prayer also was a key tool St Dominic’s used in his evangelisation and preaching.  St Dominic was devoted to Mary and he felt the prayer of the Rosary was a great way to stiil yourself and bring you closer to Jesus and His life’s challenges and mission.  

This reflection by Fr James T. Antony CMI from my parish of Corpus Christi explores the prayer of the Rosary in more detail below:  

“Teach them to say the Rosary, the family Rosary, and all will be well.” 

St Mother Teresa of Calcutta 

We will understand the importance of Rosary in the month of October with a little bit of history. In the 16th century, the Islamic Ottoman Empire presented a serious military threat to western Europe and sent a fleet of ships to attack Christian defences in southern Europe. Pope Pius V recognized the grave danger and organised a fleet called the Holy League to confront the navy of the Ottoman Turks. 

Pius V knew he needed more than just military strength to defend Christian Europe, so he asked that all the faithful pray the rosary, requesting the intercession of the Blessed Mother. At the end of the Battle of Lepanto, the Holy League was victorious and the maritime expansion of the Ottoman Empire was permanently prevented. The next year, Pius V established a feast on October 7 in honour of the Blessed Mother, originally called Our Lady of Victory. 

The entire month of October was dedicated to the rosary in 1884 by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical “Superiore Anno”.

“With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.” St John Paul II 

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Congratulations to the Year 3 students who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation in our parish last Saturday afternoon.   

The Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation (also known as Penance, or Penance and Reconciliation) has three elements: conversion, confession and celebration. In it we experience God's unconditional love and forgiveness; as a result we are called to forgive others.

Thank you to our parents and carers for continuing to support and guide your child on their faith journey.  Thank you also to Fr Renior, Mrs Higgins (our Religious Education Coordinator) and our Year 3 teachers for preparing the children.

Year 5 Mass - this Friday 10.00am

Good luck to our Year 5 students and teachers for their mass this Friday.  Parents and carers are very welcome to attend.  

2024 Christmas Nativity/Carols Evening at Rosary Primary School - Claim the Date:

I’m pleased to announce that the Rosary School community will be presenting an evening  Christmas Nativity story along with some Christmas Carols - to be held on THURSDAY 12 DECEMBER (Week 9, Term 4).  Further details will follow soon, the start time expected to be approximately 6pm in the school quadrangle.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.

God Bless

Greg Walker
Principal

• Year 5 Mass - Friday 1st November - 10am, Holy Rosary Church
• Year 5 and 6 Soccer Gala Day - Wednesday 6th November Harrison Playing Fields
• Kinder Liturgy - Friday 8th November - 10.00am Kinder Classrooms
• Remembrance Day Ceremony - Monday 11th November 10.30am
• Kinder Orientation Session - Thursday 14th November - 9.15am - 11.00am 

A reminder that catch-up appointments are available for those children who missed the Kindergarten health check at school.

The catch-up appointments are available at:

City Health Centre, 1 Moore Street Canberra City on the second floor.

Appointments can be made by ringing Community Health Intake on 51249977.

If you have any questions, please call the School Health Team office on 51241585.

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.

For all schools and families – the Sustainable Canberra Expo – this Saturday!

The Sustainable Canberra Expo is a family-friendly event for ALL Canberrans!

There will be face painting, colouring in and a scavenger hunt for children, along with cooking demonstrations, EVs on display and an array of stallholders with information for householders who are interested in sustainable living. 

The Sustainable Schools Program team will be there, and you are invited to vote for the People’s Choice award in the Sustainable Steps Poster Competition. 

Come along to EPIC this Saturday 2 November between 10am and 4pm.

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 2-9 - Kinder to Year 4

Please contact the school if you require further information.

2024 Term 4 - SCHOOL PROGRAM ROSARY PRIMARY SCHOOL • Play

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