Dear Parents and Friends,

It was wonderful to have the whole school back almost as normal from Monday this week! It was a delight to see the excitement on the children’s faces and when I visited classes, everyone agreed that they were happy to be back amongst their friends and classmates and to be learning in their own classrooms again. All the staff really missed the children and were equally excited to see them all back at school.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Please pray for the students from our school who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday 26^th November at 6.00pm in Rosary Church. Unfortunately, due to current restrictions, only those directly involved with the ceremony can attend the church – details regarding this have already been communicated to the families involved. Fr Mannes will be conferring the Sacrament in place of the Bishop, as he did last year.

Staffing News

Mr Rob Read will be joining the staff of Rosary as a classroom teacher in 2022. Rob is currently teaching at Holy Spirit in Nicholls and is a past student of Rosary School. I take this opportunity to welcome Rob back to Rosary and to wish him every success and happiness into the future.

Phones and other devices at school

Parents are reminded that students are not permitted to use their mobile phones, iPads or other electronic devices for messaging whilst on the school grounds during the hours of supervision. Teachers have a duty of care for the students from 8.30am to 3.30pm. If you need to get a message to your child or your child needs to contact you during these hours, it must be communicated via the front office and not your child’s device.

Catholic Leaders’ Day

Last Thursday, I met, virtually, with members of the Catholic Education Office and all Principals in our Archdiocese. We gathered to pray and to learn more about the approach to teaching and learning through the Catalyst program initiative of Catholic Education. We heard from our Director, Ross Fox and from guest speakers  - E.D. Hirsch Jr, Natalie Wexler and Dr Jenny Donovan. I extend my thanks to our Catholic Education Directorate for offering valuable opportunities, such as this, to its school and system leaders.

An inspiring quote from a previous Melbourne Cup winning jockey:

“There are great people in life who give you inspiration to keep going and get through the hard times. I have been blessed to have such role models in my life. It would be a privilege if achieving my dream could inspire the next generation.”
                                                                                                          Michelle Payne.

REPEAT NOTICES:

Classes for 2022

The process of allocating children to classes for 2022 starts now. The allocations are based on the following considerations:

• Friendships
• Learning abilities
• Balance of gender
• Behavioural considerations
• Personalities
• Religion – so that a balance of Catholic and non-Catholic children is achieved especially in Sacramental years.

As part of the process of allocating children to classes, the children are given the opportunity to nominate 5 friends with whom they would like to share a class next year. They are guaranteed to have at least one of these friends with them. These nominations are based purely on friendship and not on any other factors and are the child’s decision to make. The ‘Friendship 5’ lists will be completed by the children at a suitable time, in class, later in the term.

My firm belief is that teachers are in the best position to decide a child’s placement because they know all the children in their classes and have a view of the ‘big picture’. However, I invite parents to inform me of anything that you feel needs to be considered, for your own child’s well-being or development. I have allowed 3 weeks’ time in which to notify me of your concerns, in writing – there are now 2 weeks remaining. After the cut-off date of Friday 19^thNovember, it will not be possible to take further wishes into account.

Information needs to be provided each year as circumstances can change. I will do my best to accommodate your wishes but will not promise anything! Please be aware that requests for particular teachers will NOT be considered.

Indonesian and STEM 2022

Next year, Indonesian will be offered over two days of the week. All classes will rotate through Indonesian language classes over the course of the year. On a third day, Years 3 to 6 will engage in STEM lessons (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths). Our vision is to have a clear and strong focus on both disciplines to give the students every opportunity to nurture and develop skills and understandings that will see them thrive as global citizens of the future.

Students leaving Rosary at the end of the year

Please ensure that you have informed me, in writing, if your child will not be returning to Rosary in 2022. Obviously, this does not apply to students in Year 6. It is imperative, for planning purposes, that I have accurate information with regard to enrolment numbers. I also need to know the destination school as part of system accountability requirements. Thank you to those who have already provided this information.

Hayfever season has arrived with the weather being particularly windy and the pollen count high. We have had many children coming to the front office with hayfever symptoms. If your child is prone to hayfever please consider the treatment you would like them to receive. If you would like your child to be given hayfever medication please fill in a Request to Dispense Medication Form and provide the medication to be stored in the First Aid area. Parents will be contacted prior to any medication being administered. On particularly windy days you may like to consider treating your child before they attend school. 

The Request to Dispense Medication Form can be accessed via this link: Request to Dispense Medication and on the school website. 

Unfortunately, there are still a large number of parents that are yet to log in to the Parent Portal.

If you have not already logged in, we ask that all parents log in to the Parent Portal as soon as possible to verify details.

Every parent has been sent an email with their login details. If you did not receive the email, please contact the school.

Please direct all enquiries regarding the Parent Portal to the front office. office.rosaryps@cg.catholic.edu.au

When logging in, you will be asked to confirm your email and phone number. If they are incorrect, please update them.

You will then be asked to change your password.

Please note that it is recommended to use the desktop version for greater functionality.

Please do not share your login details with anybody. Each parent has their own login which provides them access to their child’s records and their own email and phone numbers only.

Please note that all absences should now be notified via the Parent Portal. You will also need to log in to Parent Portal to view reports at the end of the Term.

Due to current restrictions, there are limited events planned for the following two weeks. Updates will be provided once known if we can proceed with previously postponed events.

• Crazy Sock Day - Friday 5th November
• Kinder Health Checks - Monday 15^th November & Tuesday 16th November
• Kinder 2022 Orientation - Wednesday 17th November 

If your child is absent from school, please submit details of the absence via the Parent Portal. This should be completed within 7 days of the absence.

Please note that Schoolzine absence notifications are no longer functional.

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.

Please note that during remote learning, the roll may not be marked until the end of the day.

School banking will return this Thursday 4th November and will continue each Thursday for the remainder of Term 4.

Unfortunately, school banking will not be returning in 2022 due to government restrictions.

Old Watson High School Oval site.

Consultation on the proposed new inner north play space has just opened.

Transport Canberra and City Services is planning to upgrade the green space adjacent to Canberra Technology Park in Watson to provide a wider range of outdoor recreation opportunities for inner north residents (and visitors) of all ages and abilities. The proposed upgrade will feature a new play space and recreation park.

Residents are invited to help shape the future upgrade by telling us what recreation facilities and play equipment you would like considered. Children can have their say too by submitting a drawing or short story via our online kids’ corner.

For more information visit:

Inner north play space | YourSay ACT

https://yoursayconversations.act.gov.au/inner-north-play-space

Consultation closes Tuesday 14 December 2021.

The school counsellor, Jessica O'Rourke, is available every Monday and until 1pm on Friday.

You can refer your child for counselling by filling in a referral form available on Catholic Care’s website or follow this link: https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form

After you have filled out the referral form you will automatically be sent an email requesting your consent for your child to access the service. In the case of families where parents are separated, consent of both parents is normally required. If this is difficult for you please feel free to discuss with Jessica.

The Rosary Community Council Representatives for 2021 are:

Should you wish to contact the council please email: rosarycouncil@gmail.com

The school year is divided into four terms. Term dates for the year 2021 are as follows:

Term 1 (9 weeks)     Monday 1 February - Thursday 1 April

Term 2 (10 weeks)   Tuesday 20 April - Friday 25 June (Monday 19 April is a system wide Pupil Free Day)

Term 3 (10 weeks)   Tuesday 13 July - Friday 17 September (Monday 12 July is a system wide Pupil Free Day)

Term 4 (11 weeks)   Tuesday 5 October – Friday 17 December