Dear Parents and Carers,

Year 6 Student Leadership Badge Presentation

Last Monday the Year 6 students were presented with their leadership badges.  They have made a great start to the year and have begun working with their Kindergarten buddies and undertaking other roles around the school.

We look forward to each student taking up the leadership opportunities presented and uphold the values and expectations of Rosary School.   I’m confident they will demonstrate how they can contribute to the life of Rosary School.   

Year 6 Mass and Camp Coming Up

The busy start to the year continues for our Year 6 students and teachers. Last Friday they celebrated the Yr 6 Mass. They participated with reverence and respect, an impressive start to their leadership year. Next week they will be attending camp in Berry, NSW. They will attend the NSW Sport and Recreation camp there and participate in a range of activities. Mr Chris Evans, Mrs Shannon Blakey, Mrs Kath Watson and Mrs Elizabeth Fryar will be attending the camp.

Student School Attendance

If your child is absent from school for a whole day or longer, please submit details of the absence via the Compass ‘Parent Portal’ as soon as possible after the absence.

Automated email notifications are sent at 12pm on the day a student is away if the absence has not been explained. Parents will be able to explain the absence by clicking on the one-time attendance link contained in the email or by logging into the Compass Parent Portal and adding an explanation for the absence. 

Thank you for supporting the school in this task.

Parent / Teacher Interviews

Parent/teacher interviews will be held next week on Monday and Tuesday.  These interviews will run for 10 minutes each.  

During the meeting our teachers are open to discussing any aspect of your child’s education.  There will  be a focus on the learning behaviours and academic areas in which your child has shown growth, as well as areas of the curriculum and learning behaviours identified as areas for further growth and improvement. It is also important to discuss what is needed next to enhance your child’s learning and collaboratively identify some goals for your child to achieve in Semester Two.

Please see the information in the messages in our COMPASS portal on how to make a parent teacher booking.  Be aware that online bookings are live now but do close at 3pm today. 

NAPLAN

NAPLAN testing will occur in our school between 12 and 24 March 2025 for students in years 3 and 5.

Online NAPLAN tests provide more precise results and are engaging for students. The tests are tailored (or adaptive), which means that each test presents questions that may be more or less difficult depending on a student’s responses. This helps students remain engaged with the assessment.

Tailored testing allows a wider range of student abilities to be assessed and measures student achievement more precisely. A student’s overall NAPLAN result is based on both the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions challenging; they may be taking a more complex test pathway.

All Year 3 students will complete the writing assessment on paper.

NAPLAN provides valuable information to schools and parents about literacy and numeracy achievement. It supports school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor student progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development.

All eligible students are encouraged and supported to participate in NAPLAN testing. Visit www.nap.edu.au to see interactive versions of the test and for more information.

Catholic Leaders’ Retreat

Next week, from Wednesday to Friday, I will be in Bowral attending the Catholic Leaders’ Day and Retreat. The Retreat provides an opportunity to network with others, to share ideas and understandings and to invigorate the soul through spiritual development. This year the retreat will centre on Charisms and Leadership in the Jubilee Year of Hope. The Retreat provides an opportunity to network with others, to share ideas and understandings and to invigorate the soul through spiritual development. Mrs Liz Higgins will lead the school in my absence with the support of the Executive Team.

Best wishes for the week ahead.

John O'Brien

Acting Principal

This week has been an exciting week with lots of wonderful formation! On Wednesday the Year 6s were lucky enough to be joined by youth ministers from Catholic Schools Youth Ministry International (CSYMI). The Year 6s participated in the Journey with Jesus retreat, learning about the gifts that God gives us on our life-long journey, and how we can share them with those around us.

The wonderful youth ministers were able to share their personal faith journeys, and also lead the Year 6s in fun activities and games that will help the students remember the important messages of the day or a long time to come! The retreat ended with a wonderful prayerful time to reflect and journal, with the students being encouraged to write a letter to Jesus about their experiences throughout the day. It is wonderful that students are able to have time to be on retreat, to pause and reflect and pray!

On Thursday we had a special faith formation event for our Year 3s and their families preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This special Sacrament of healing is a wonderful chance to experience the love of God in a deep and personal way - bringing anything that causes us harm or pain and offering it to God. Our Faith formation evening will explore how the Sacrament of Reconciliation helps us, as well as practical information that families will need to help guide children to this wonderful moment of closeness with God. Interested families, met at 6:15 pm at Rosary Church.

Finally, I would call on you to continue to keep the Holy Father Pope Francis in your prayers as he continues to battle pneumonia while in hospital in Rome.

Kind regards,

Christopher Evans

Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)

Important Dates coming up:

Ash Wednesday Mass - Wednesday Week 5 (5th March at 10:00)

Kinder Liturgy (in Classrooms) - Friday Week 6 (14th March)

• Parent / Teacher Conversations - Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th March
• Year 6 Camp - Wednesday 5th - Friday 7th March - Berry Sport and Recreation Centre 
• Ash Wednesday Mass - Wednesday 5th March - 10.00am Holy Rosary Church
• Canberra Day Public Holiday - Monday 10th March
• Constable Kenny Koala Visit - Kinder to Year 2 - Tuesday 11th March
• NAPLAN Test Period - Wednesday 12th - Friday 21st March
• Rosary Swimming Carnival - Wednesday 19th March - Dickson Swimming Pool

Congratulations to the following students who received a BEST Award:

Kinder Nagoya - Dimitrie M

Kinder Paris - Balir B

1 Hague - Erica N

1 Vienna - Josh L

2 Dublin - Edward M

2 Rome - Buddy C

3 Barcelona - Alirah P

3 Osaka - Jack R

4 London - Josie K

4 Washington - John B

4 Athens - Sybella G-W

5 Copenhagen - Michael T

5 Casablanca - George Y

6 Cairo - Ryan D

6 Bangkok - Felix R

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 - Wednesday 8.00am - 9.00am (beginner) from week 2
• Italian Lessons - Friday 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 1-10)
• Zanshin Martial Arts - Tuesday 6.30pm Junior class / 7:30pm Senior class
• Artkids - Thursday 3.10pm - 5.00pm
• Musicorp (various instruments) / Piano Lessons - Friday 8:20am and during class time throughout the day
• Block Crafters - Tuesday and Wednesday from Week 2 - 3.15pm - 5.00pm Coding and Robotics After School Programme for interested students aged 8-12 years 
• Dance Club - PLAY - The Dance Agency - Wednesdays at Lunchtime from Weeks 2-9 - 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.

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.

 
“Legally Blonde JR. may be a comedic, light-hearted show, but it also explores serious themes of self-discovery and independence which resonate with people of all ages,” says Gershon.  “We hope everyone in CANBERRA is totally psyched to see the show.”

Delta Nu sorority president Elle Woods seems to have it all: good looks, a relationship with the “campus catch,” and great taste in clothes. However, her life is turned upside-down when her boyfriend, Warner, dumps her in an attempt to start getting “serious” about his future and attend Harvard Law. Determined to win him back, Elle uses a lot of hard work and some charm to get into Harvard Law so she can prove to Warner that she’s serious enough for him. Once at school, she is challenged by her peers, professors and her ex, but with the help of some new friends, Elle realises her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.

With a book by Heather Hach, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, Legally Blonde JR. is based on the book by Amanda Brown and the hit Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy.  Legally Blonde The Musical opened at Broadway’s Palace Theatre in April 2007, starring Laura Bell Bundy as the iconic Elle Woods. 

MERICI COLLEGE in CANBERRA will present Legally Blonde JR. on 24/07/2025 – 27/07/2025 at 2PM & 7PM at MERICI COLLEGE at WISE STREET BRADDON.  Tickets are between $18 & $12. and may be purchased by >>click here<<. For more information, please contact Ros Parisi (ros.parisi@merici.act.edu.au).  There is no dress code, but please don’t wear white after Labor Day.

Legally Blonde JR. is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).  All authorised performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684 www.MTIShows.com.

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting schools as well as amateur and professional theatres from around the world the rights to perform the largest selection of great musicals from Broadway and beyond.  MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these shows to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 60,000 theatrical organisations in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.

 
MTI is particularly dedicated to the idea of theatre as education and has created special collections for younger performers. The MTI Broadway Junior Collection® includes JR. titles, 60-minute musicals for performance by middle school children; and KIDS titles, 30-minute musicals for performance by elementary school children, resulting in 80,000 productions consisting of more than 300,000 performances.  MTI School Editions™ are musicals that have been annotated for performance by high school students, and the Theatre For Young Audiences (TYA) Collection are 70-minute musicals designed for adults to perform for children.

  
MTI ShowSpace.com is the theatre world's online community where practitioners and fans from around the world share advice, photos, videos, sets, props, costumes and more to help bring their next productions to life. 

Contact: Ros Parisi | Merici Communications & Marketing | ros.parisi@merici.act.edu.au  

50th Reunion - Class of 1975. A reunion will be held on the weekend of 18 October 2025 for students from Catholic Girls High School Braddon and Daramalan College, who finished Year 12 in 1975 (including those from that group who finished before Year 12).

Several activities are planned over the weekend, with the main event on Saturday evening 18th. To RSVP, please use one of the event channels:

Email: CGHS.Dara1975@gmail.com or

Facebook: Daramalan College Alumni group; Merici College Alumni group; or Dara - Braddon 1975 group

Spread the word to your classmates!