Term 1, Week 8 - Monday 18 March, 2024

What's On This Week

Principal

Dear Parents and Carers, 

As we head towards our Easter period, I encourage all students and their families to attend Mass at this important time. Easter is a reminder to us all of God’s salvific plan for all mankind. Please consider joining our Parish over the following weeks. 

Last week I attended the Diocese Principals Conference. The highlight during the conference was the exceptional HSC achievement for student learning growth of St Raphael's students, and the highest learning gain by any school in the Diocese. These results are not only testament to the HSC teachers we have, but every teacher the students had in their educational journey at St Raphael’s. It is also testament to the fantastic dedication and investment of Stage 6 staff since 2022, towards HSC improvement for every student. These results are set to continue as all St Raphael’s staff efforts are increasingly evident in yearly student results. 

To add to this, our enrolments for Year 7 indicate that we are the school of choice in Cowra. As evidenced in our largest Year 7 cohort for 2024 at St Raphael's and the largest high school cohort in Cowra. These numbers acknowledge the confidence of our community that we are working towards a school of high excellence. Also our enrolments have indicated an increase compared to the larger schools in Cowra. Again this is testament to our staff, students and parents who are dedicated to our wonderful school and are proud to be a part of St Raphael’s. 

Also acknowledged at the Principal’s Conference was the added value that our association with Michael McDowell has brought to our school. Since we started our journey 2 years ago, we are certainly a leading school in the Diocese in Inquiry Learning. It is a significant tribute to our dedicated, collaborative staff professional learning.  Let's applaud the work our staff do every day, towards improving student learning!

The work towards our school hall continues. As you can appreciate, it has been an over 20 year wish, so we need to ensure we get everything we can to make it a fantastic facility for every student K-12. We are also in the planning stages for improving the front entrance of the school, with raised access into the front office, and clear delineated front of school entrance. Plans will be shared shortly. 

I am concerned about some student’s attendance, and consistently late arrival to school. Please remember attendance at school is a priority for every student, and their parents. It is a legal responsibility for every parent, and for the school they are enrolled in to account for every student's attendance, ensuring attendance is consistent and learning is a priority. As we come to the end of Term 1, some parents will have received their first attendance letter for a student that has been absent for numerous days. This is every school's legal responsibility. Therefore if parents have any concerns they should consult the Wellbeing Team. They are your first contact to support your child’s attendance. At times we need to have support in place for a student, so they attend school. This means that the collaboration between parents, and staff is fundamental. 

God Bless Everyone, 

Michelle Deschamps - Principal

Assistant Principal

This morning at our 'Morning Muster' I thanked the staff for their efforts over the last week and the dedication they are showing the school and the students.

Last week we had NAPLAN for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. There is no other school in our diocese that prepares students across 4 different stages and allows them to be tested and to succeed. This went relatively smoothly last week and that was due to our staff ensuring that all our students were organised, had the correct equipment and were able to complete the necessary exam conditions with a minimum of fuss. This does not happen easily.

It was with great delight that Primary/Infants had the second assembly for the term and we learnt all about Italy, sang the new school song, awarded house points and generally presented to  the audience of parents and carers a wonderful opportunity to understand what happens in our wonderful school. The feedback in talking to parents/carers on Friday was nothing but positive for the school and the educational opportunities provided for our students.

On Friday also we had our Year 8 Retreat across the road in the parish hall. The purpose of the retreat was to increase understanding  and develop in our students a growing faith development that will let them deal with the growing pressures of our society. It is important for us to realise and to remember that we are a Catholic school. In an enrolment interview this week I told our story to some parents about what it means to be a Catholic School and how prayer , retreats and mass are our way of developing who we are as Catholics. I stated this article in retelling what happened at our morning muster but I will add that we start every week with prayer and this week’s prayer was all about us as teachers and our role in educating in a Catholic school and the wonderful opportunity this gives us. Our Catholic school of St Raphael’s provides a rich Catholic education for all our students to thrive and to become better people.

David Wickham - Assistant Principal

Faith, Mission & Learning

Holy Week

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Church’s most holiest time in the Liturgical Year. Holy Week is a special week during which we reflect on Lent and their faith before celebrating Easter. It is a time to reflect upon the sacrifices we believe Jesus Christ made for us in the lead-up to celebrating Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday. I encourage everyone to attend the Holy Week Mass and Liturgies in our Parish. As a school community we will gather on Thursday 28th March for The Stations of the Cross @ 9:30am, all welcome.

Holy Week Mass/Liturgy Timetable St Raphael’s, Cowra

Palm Sunday

Vigil Mass Saturday @ 6pm 

Mass Sunday @ 8am

Holy Thursday

Stations of the Cross @ 9:30am

Mass of the Last Supper @ 6pm

Good Friday

Good Friday Service @ 3pm

Easter Saturday

Vigil Mass Saturday @ 7pm

Easter Sunday

Mass Sunday @ 9am

Retreats

Last Friday, our Year 8’s had their annual Retreat Day. It was an amazing day led by the DeoQuest Team and Youth Ministers in our Diocese. The day was spent unpacking our Theme for this year “I wonder therefore I grow…”  through the lens of the relationship between Faith and Science. 

Year 7 will have their Retreat Day this Friday. Details are available on Compass.

First Eucharist Dates

Enrolment Weekend: 6th & 7th April

Parent Meeting: Monday 8th April at 3:30pm or 7:00pm

First Eucharist Preparation Weekends: 4th & 5th May, 11th & 12th May, 18th & 19th May, 25th & 26th May

First Eucharist Retreat: Tuesday 28th May

Sacrament of First Eucharist: 1st & 2nd of June

Nicole Twohill-Scott - Leader of Faith, Mission & Learning (Acting)

Council of Catholic School Parents

Parent Talk Newsletter

Parent Talk newsletter aims to provide parents and carers with relevant and timely information about parenting, education, wellbeing, upcoming CCSP events and webinars for parents, and significant Catholic news and events.

The Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP) NSW/ACT represents all parents and carers of students in our Catholic schools. We value and promote the critical role that parents play in the education of their children, and provide leadership, advocacy and support for parents and carers of children in almost 600 Catholic schools.

Parents and carers are invited to subscribe to CCSP’s Parent Talk newsletter to receive future editions keep up to date with how our Council supports Catholic school parents to support their children’s wellbeing, faith journey and academic outcomes.

 Click here to subscribe

Parent’s webinar

Our first eSafety Commissioner webinar is coming being held this month. This event for parents and carers is called ‘Understanding parental controls to safeguard your child’ and is all about different types of parental controls and how to set them on smart devices and computers, in apps and on gaming platforms for your child’s safety. It’s suitable for parents and carers of primary school-aged students.

26 March 2024 from 7.30pm – 8pm

We hope you can join us! Please click the link to register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3100911298333648471

CCSP Understanding parental Controls eSafety Webinar Flyer Term 1 2024.pdf

Feedback Invited 

CCSP would love to know how involved/engaged you feel you are in your child's learning, how comfortable you feel at your child's school, and your thoughts on how schools could enhance family/school partnerships. We'd also love to know what topics you're interested in learning more about, so that we can offer professional learning throughout the year.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete our short survey - we value your thoughts and opinions.

Thank you so much!

PLEASE CLICK THE LINK TO GO TO THE SURVEY: https://ccsp.schoolzineplus.com/survey/57

Kind regards,

Cath Garrett-Jones
Executive Director CCSP

Wellbeing & Curriculum

K-6 Primary Teacher Interviews

Infants and Primary Parent Teacher Interviews will be held next Tuesday 26th March (Week 9). Families will receive instruction shortly of how to book your meeting with your child's teacher, via our Compass parent portal.

The Big Vegie Crunch

Get ready to crunch! On 21st March, our school will take part in The Big Vegie Crunch during our usual infants/primary fruit break. We will be providing a variety of fruit and vegetables for our students to crunch.  

The Big Vegie Crunch is the main event of Vegetable Week. It’s a fun program to get kids excited about eating vegies and build healthy eating habits. To learn more, visit the website: Healthy Kid vegie recipes

'The Big Vegie Crunch & Vegie Week is for everyone! Join the fun from home as we build healthy eating habits. 

Here’s how your family can enjoy more vegies this week:

• Try a delicious new recipe featuring vegies
• Add vegies to your child’s lunchbox
• Talk about the vegies you enjoy

Use our Vegie Crunch at home resource  

Useful and fun resources are on the Healthy Kids Association website. There’s even a theme song by The Vegetable Plot!'

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club now operates five days a week from the school canteen.  Only fruit and cereal will be offered for breakfast. Gluten and dairy free options will also be available.

Kylie McNamara - Leader of Learning Enrichment

Festival of International Understanding Parade

The parade for the Festival of International Understanding will take place on Saturday 23rd March. We invite all students to be part of our school group marching in the parade. 

Students who are able to attend are asked to wear:

• Black shorts - sports shorts are fine
• White shirt - white sports shirt or another white shirt
• School hat

We will be gathering at the Civic Centre from 3:30pm onwards and the parade will start at 4pm. At the conclusion of the parade students can be collected from the western side of the Low Level Bridge.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Mufti-Day to Support Festival of International Understanding Ambassador - Laura Price

We will be holding a mufti day, with a gold coin donation, on Wednesday 27th March, to support our schools Festival Ambassador, Laura Price. Please give your gold coin to your class (Primary) or Homeroom (Secondary) teacher.

Students K-12 may wear appropriate mufti on the day. Infants and Primary students are also encouraged to add their Easter Hat to their mufti (see below).

Easter Hats 

This year students in Kindergarten to Year 6 are encouraged to celebrate Easter by wearing an Easter themed hat on Wednesday Week 9, 27th March. Students can bring an Easter themed hat, from home, to wear at school on this day. Hats can be as elaborate or simple as the student would like. Students are able to wear their hat at recess and lunch as a celebration of the Easter season.

Carolyn James - Primary Curriculum Coordinator

Athletics Carnival - Secondary & Primary

Secondary Athletics Carnival - Wednesday 3rd April

The St Raphael's Secondary Athletics Carnival will be held at River Park on Wednesday 3rd April (Week 10). More details will follow as we get closer to the date. The Secondary Diocesan Athletics Carnival will be held in Dubbo on Thursday 22nd August.

Primary Athletics Carnival - Thursday 4th April 

On Thursday 4th April (Week 10) St. Raphael's will be holding their annual Primary Athletics Carnival at River Park, behind the pool. Years 3-6 will be competing in both track and field events on this day. Kinder-Yr. 2 will come down after recess to compete in some fun Novelty events, before a running race on 'the big track!'

All students K-6 are encouraged to wear their house colours on this day.

Kilbreda = Blue. Raphael = Red. Xavier = Yellow.   Hats need to be worn on the day. 

Parents and Carers are invited to come down to watch the Primary children compete and to cheer them on.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Special Canteen Orders for Athletics Carnivals

Special Canteen Orders will operate on both days of the Carnival, with all orders to be in by Tuesday 26th March. Please download your order form here.

Parents helpers who may be available to assist Mrs Stokes at the Carnival Canteen on either of these days are asked to please contact her on 0427 501 508.

Primary Sport

Cross Country Trials

On Thursday of Week 9, 28th March, we will be holding our Cross Country trials for Primary Sport. Athletes who make it through will progress through to Coolah early next term.  

Diocesan Swimming Carnival

On Wednesday, 6th March, St. Raphael's Catholic School sent swimmers to Dubbo who had qualified from the Regional Carnival a week earlier. Our swimmers performed extremely well, with some PBs recorded on the day. Three of the swimmers made it through to the next level, swimming at Homebush later this term. Congratulations to Anna , Max and Patrick.

A special mention to Eleanor for going all the way to Dubbo to swim only in the relay race. As they say, 'There is no 'I' in team'. Special thanks to Mrs. Holmes for attending the day and being the Southern Team Manager.  Also, a big thank you to the parents who helped with timekeeping on the day.  It was greatly appreciated.

Diocesan Winter Sports

Friday 8th March saw seven Stage 3 students head off to Bathurst to trial for a spot in the Diocesan Team in the sports of Netball, Soccer and Rugby League. Hot conditions met all students from across the Diocese, with some very tired and exhausted players making their way home at the end of the day.  On days like this, schools are asked to only send students who display a high level of skill in their chosen sport. It is not a Gala Day or a 'feel good, everyone gets a participation certificate' kind of day. Hence, our school only sent one student to Netball, one to Soccer and five to Rugby League.

Three out of the seven St. Raphael's students gained admission into the Diocesan teams that will now head to Tamworth for the Polding Selection Trials.  Congratulations to Evie - Netball, Harrison and William - both Rugby League.  Well done also to those who missed out narrowly on progressing. Archie - Soccer, Toby , Connor and Rory - all Rugby League.

Diocesan A.F.L. Trials 

On Monday 4th March, St. Raphael's sent four Primary students to Bathurst to trial for the Diocesan A.F.L. team.  Schools were given a message to send our most agile and skilled.  Playing local A.F.L. was not a prerequisite this year, as the code up our way has been struggling for numbers. An in-house trial was held a couple of weeks prior to the trial in Bathurst, with Liam, Toby, Will and Harrison all selected to try their hand at 'aerial ping-pong!' 15 students from around the Bathurst Diocese turned up for the trial, with the selectors picking four students to progress to Warners Bay later this term, all hopeful of making the Polding team.Of the four picked to represent Bathurst, St. Raphael's students made up three of the four. Toby was apparently very close to selection, with Harrison, Will and Liam all packing their bags for the next level.  Well done to all four boys on your efforts and congratulations to the boys progressing.

Grahame Statham - Primary Sports Coordinator

Secondary Sport

Bathurst Diocesan Secondary Swimming Carnival

Well done to all the swimmers that competed at the Diocesan Swimming Carnival. Congratulations to Max and Neil who have progressed to the NSWCCC Swimming Championships to be held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre in April.

Bathurst Diocesan Soccer Trials

Laura and Karly attended the Bathurst Diocesan Open Girls Soccer trials in Bathurst. A big congratulations to both girls who were successful in gaining selection in the team as forwards. The girls will attend the Southern Country Soccer Trials at Proctor Park in Bathurst in a couple of weeks time.

NSWCCC Cricket Trials - Congratulations to Laura for attending the NSWCCC Cricket Trials (15 years and under) at the Norm O'Neill Indoor Cricket Training Centre in Penshurst. Laura reported that she had a fun day mixing it with some of the best cricketers from around the state.

Lake Burrendong Sport & Recreation Centre  Year 7 students recently spent two days at Lake Burrendong Sport and Recreation Centre participating in a range of activities including Archery, Archery Tag, Grass Skiing, Mini Olympics and Giant Slip and Slide. The students had a great time challenging themselves personally, learning more about each other and bonding as a year group. Thank you to Miss Meggan Ellison, Miss Kelly Price and Mr Dominic Lenarduzzi and Mr Andrew Phelan for supervising the students whilst on camp.

Andrew Phelan - Secondary Sports Coordinator

Work, Health & Safety (WHS)

WHS is important at our school. The CEDB Work Health and Safety Policy provides a framework: 

• to assist in the provision of a safe, healthy and secure working environments for all employees,
  students, parents, contractors and visitors to the school or workplace
• that ensures schools are compliant with Work Health and Safety legislation.
  

This policy applies to all personnel employed by the Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst as well as
volunteers, visitors and contractors to the Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst schools and offices.

The main points from the policy are as follows:

It is expected that all staff, community and students will adhere to the scope and procedures outlined in this policy. They will: 

• take reasonable care to ensure the health, safety and welfare of themselves, students, and any
  other person at work
• comply with any reasonable WHS instruction or direction by a Principal, supervisor or other
  designated person
• contribute to the workplace meeting its WHS strategic plan and performance levels
• report and record all incidents, or hazards, that may cause injury or illness, and any damage or
  maintenance requirements affecting the workplace, or plant used at work
• attend and participate in any WHS training or in-service seminars when required
• engage openly with the employer in any consultation on WHS issues, or information, brought to
  their attention, to assist the employer meet their obligations under the Act.

Please feel free to report any concerns regarding WHS to the school.

Administration

2024 School Fees

This years School Fee Statements have now been issued to families. Unless you have a direct debit in place, the first instalment is now due.  Those families wishing to set up a new Direct Debit for 2024 are encouraged to contact the school office for the required paperwork. Any families holding a Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card are asked to please make contact with the school office, as you may be eligible for a concession on your school fees. 

As is always the case, please do not hesitate to contact the school with any queries or concerns regarding school fees. 6342 2940 straphaels@bth.catholic.edu.au 

Active & Creative Kids Vouchers

The new Active and Creative Kids voucher is now available, helping to make activities more affordable for eligible NSW families. 

Parents, guardians and carers of eligible school-aged children will be able to use two $50 vouchers per calendar year.
About the new program

• Vouchers are available to those receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A, or Family Tax Benefit Part B, or both.
• Vouchers can be downloaded as a QR code and used toward either an eligible physical or creative activity.
• The $50 vouchers will be issued in school term 1 and school term 3.
• Vouchers must be redeemed before their expiry date. 

For more information, visit Active and Creative Kids.

Canteen

Please note that there is no toasting of sandwiches, rolls or wraps in Terms 1

Your school Canteen is in need of volunteer helpers. If you can spare any time to join the Canteen Volunteer team in 2024, please call Donna Stokes on 0427 501 508, or register your interest here.

Community Connections