Dear Parents and Carers

Mrs Abarquez - Best Wishes for Maternity Leave

I would like to wish Mrs Abarquez and her husband Jas all the best as they prepare for this very exciting time in their life.  We look forward to hearing their baby news in the future.

Mrs Abarquez will start her leave from this Friday 23 August, meaning her last day on Year 4 Rome will be Thursday 22 August.

I am pleased to announce that Mrs Sandy Vincent will begin teaching Year 4 Rome from Thursday 29 August until the end of the term.  Mrs Vincent has been a long-term staff member of Rosary and knows all of the students in the class.  In Term 4 Miss Clare Henman will teach Year 4 Rome.  Miss Henman has also been on our Rosary staff for a couple of years and knows the students. 

We will wish Mrs Abarquez good luck at our 9.00am assembly this Thursday morning and I am sure the students will offer their wishes in their own special way.

As mentioned last week, we also farewell Mrs Nicole Arndt this Friday and wish her well for her first teaching position at Blue Gum School.  

This Week is Book Week and Book Fair Time

Book Week and Book Fair is well underway.  What an exciting week!  Reading is so important for students and their learning, not to mention their life outcomes. This week is a great opportunity to showcase a huge range of books and texts to stimulate reading for all ability levels. 

It is also a great opportunity to celebrate our wonderful school library and all of the lessons and programs it offers. I would like to offer a huge thanks to Mrs Jodie Dawson, our teacher librarian, for everything she does in the library and for the school.  Happy Book Week Mrs Dawson.

Also, a big thank you to our student library monitors who are helping out this week and most weeks.

Year 5 in the Wakakirri Awards Night - Monday 26 August

After a few weeks break Year 5 have now prepared well for this big Wakakirri Awards Night at the Canberra Theatre on Monday 26 August.  They will present their highly praised version of the Robin Hood story through dance, acting and music. 

What a great honour it is for our Year 5 students and staff to be chosen to perform at the Awards evening.  Good luck to all involved.

Rosary Athletics Carnival Success

 The Rosary School community had a wonderful day at our Athletics carnival last Friday at Dickson.  The weather was kind to us and just right for taking part in track and field events.  The students enjoyed their round robin of various events and competing against each other.  It was great to see our students in Kindergarten to Year 1 enjoy their novelty events and some running on the 70m track! It was also lovely to see some of children attending Pinocchio’s Early Learning Centre drop in and play a few games on the oval too.

Thank you to the many volunteers who came along and helped officiate at each activity station. Your generous support is most appreciated.

Thank you to the school staff who were also positioned at various sports, on the scorer’s table, first aid station and announcer’s table.  Thank you to the school staff and volunteers who helped set up and pack up the areas on the oval and transport the resources needed for the carnival.      

The carnival ran very smoothly, and everyone had the chance to participate in a range of events. The day was a huge success due to the hard work and organisation of Mrs Elizabeth Fryar, our sports coordinator.  Everything was well orgainsed and the systems in place worked very well.

We will know all results soon, including the winning sports house as well as have the place ribbons ready to give out to students at school.  Some students who placed highly in events may be selected in the school squad to represent Rosary at the district carnival on Thursday 5 September (week 7) at AIS.

(Note: If students place at this event, they may qualify for the ACT Carnival scheduled for Tuesday 17 September (Week 9) at the Woden Track.)

 Rosary Rugby Club 60th Anniversary

Congratulations to our own Rosary Eagles Rugby Union Club on its 60th Anniversary.  What an amazing, long term achievement. My understanding is that our club is the longest and last standing primary school rugby club in the A.C.T. This has been made possible through a dedicated band of volunteers who have maintained the club over six decades for the benefit of its students.  When you think about all of the changes to sport in general and to the rules and compliance, this has been an incredible feat. 

This week the club celebrates its 60th Anniversary with a special evening.  I hope the current group of parents and carers can celebrate well and join any past parents and volunteers.

Thank you for keeping the option to play rugby union for Rosary School alive and well!  Hopefully there are many more years of Rosary Eagles Rugby to come.  Thank you.  

It's a great time to be a member of the Rosary School community!  Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.

God Bless

Greg Walker

Principal

• Book Week - Reading is Magic - Monday 19th August - Friday 23rd August 
• Rosary Book Fair - Monday 19th August - Friday 23rd August
• Book Week Assembly and Dress Up Day - Friday 23rd August - 2.20pm - School Hall
• Father’s Day Stall - Friday 30 August (Year 4 parents organising).

The students have enjoyed reading and participating in various literature-based activities. It is lovely hearing the ‘book talk’ students are engaging in.

This week we have studied two books ‘If I Was a Horse’ by Sophie Blackall and ‘The Concrete Garden’ by Bob Graham. Inspired by Bob Graham’s book, students turned the concrete on the infant’s playground into a beautiful ‘concrete garden’ with chalk work from Kinder-Year 3. Years 4-6 have decorated the library windows using chalk paint, creating a bright and vibrant space.

Book Fair

The Book Fair is on!!! Various classes have had the opportunity to peruse the trolleys looking for that next great read. We are open 8.30am-4.00pm for the rest of the week. We hope to see you there!

Book Parade

The Book Parade is fast approaching, with many classes I have seen this week sharing their excitement over their costumes. The parade will take place after morning assembly this Friday in the Quad at 9am. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are having trouble securing a book to match your child’s costume. This is one of the most special times of the year. Thank you for all you are doing to help make this a special week for your child/children.

Book Week Assembly

This Friday, students will attend a special Book Week Assembly in the Hall starting at 2.10pm. Families most welcome!

Book Week is Here! 

Book Week is here! The Book Week parade is on Friday 23^rd August! This event can be as simple as dressing up as a 'normal' character from a fiction book or as detailed as having your child dressed in a costume character from a book. 

Book Fair Times 19^th-23^rd August (Week 5) 

Thursday -Friday   8.30am - 9am

                                 3.10- 4.00pm

There will be a large selection of books for your children to purchase with a percentage of sales being returned to the library in books and resources.

Jodie Dawson

The parent WhatsApp groups at Rosary have been a great success since their introduction in 2020. A parent WhatsApp group exists for each year-level at the school. These WhatsApp groups operate on an annual basis, with a new year-level WhatsApp group established at the start of each school year.

The Rosary Community Council endorses the use of WhatsApp amongst the parent groups to promote open communication, positive health and wellbeing, lift spirits, share strategies, have a laugh or two, and to generally support each other.

If you are not currently a member of your child’s year-level WhatsApp group and wish to join, you can join via the link in the Compass Portal. This can be found under ‘My News’ (or ‘Latest News’), titled ‘Year X parent group – Class Contact and Parent WhatsApp Group Information’. 

By agreeing to join the WhatsApp group, parents are agreeing to be respectful towards everyone in the group. To ensure the safe and proper use of WhatsApp within the school community, please find below a reminder of the guidelines that group members should adhere to:

-          It is encouraged that parents include their name in their WhatsApp profile.

-          Be respectful and courteous.

-          Respect people’s opinions - no judgement.

-          Rude or offensive members will be blocked.

-          No complaints regarding the school or teachers. Any complaints must be communicated through official school channels such as the teacher or Principal.

-          Do not share or forward the “Invite to Group” link.

-          Respect each other’s privacy. Do not forward or share any post or photo which has been shared within the Group.

-          Be circumspect in what you post or share. Remember that once you post, you lose control of whatever it is that you post.

Should you have any queries, please contact the Rosary Community Council: rosarycouncil@gmail.com.

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.

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

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.