St Michael's Catholic Parish Primary School Mittagong eNewsletter

WEEK 11

Dear Parents and Carers,

This term has certainly been a very different one. We started the term reflecting on the great community spirit we showed during the experiences of summer, with the bushfires and floods. We now end the term, reflecting on the wonderful community spirit that we are showing to each other, in this time of change and uncertainty.

This week, Bishop Brian sent the staff of our Diocese, a lovely email, thanking them for all they are doing. One very important message that he said to us was, that whilst these are certainly challenging times, in all of this we can be reminded of the story of the disciples, as they huddled in the upstairs room out of fear, the disciples who walked away from Jerusalem, and even those who first looked upon the empty tomb. They were all uncertain, all afraid of what the future would hold for them, but then they encountered Jesus, the Risen One, in the ordinary circumstances of their lives.

That’s what we are called to see and do – to discover Jesus in the ordinariness and confusion of this time, because He is among us, He is present to us. We only need to look for Him.

As we begin Holy Week, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and holy Easter. This Holy Week and Easter Sunday, is certainly going to be different. We will not be able to do the things that we normally do, however, it can be a time to reflect upon on those who are truly special to us…. our families. I hope you have the opportunity to spend some special time celebrating the “gifts” you are to each other.

HOLY THURSDAY
Today is Holy Thursday, a time to reflect on the special gathering of Jesus and his disciples in the room up high above the streets of Jerusalem. A couple of years ago I was blessed to go on a Holy Land Pilgrimage and during that time, we visited Jerusalem and walked inside the room that the Last Supper was held in. It was just an ordinary space, yet an unordinary event occurred there, that would change the way our faith was professed, from that moment on.

The Last Supper was held here- upstairs in this room. Then Jesus went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane- shown in the last photo. The garden was truly a very spiritual place- a sense of peace was definitely present there.

Mrs Mitchell and Mr Tuckwell have filmed two very special stories to highlight the events of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. You can see them on your child’s Seesaw page. I would encourage you to watch these special stories with your children.

A THANK YOU TO YOUR CHILDREN
I saw this special thank you online the other day and it definitely echoes the thoughts of our staff, so I thought I would share it with you.

WELL DONE TO OUR CHILDREN…. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU

Our children have been inside for longer than they have ever had to be. They had to say goodbye to their school, their friends, before they were ready. They’re getting use to a new routine of learning from home. They hear about people being sick and worry about their family. Our little people are dealing with a situation that adults struggle with. Let them know how proud we are of them.

I would also add, that our staff at St Michael’s are so proud of the way, your children are supporting each other and sharing kind thoughts to our staff and their classmates. We are very proud of the way they have embraced their learning online at home and we hope that they know, we care for them and are constantly thinking about them. Please try to remember, we are one day closer to everything being back to normal again. That’s a good thought to wake up to every morning.

Take care everyone and keep smiling.

Best wishes,
Mrs Katrina West
Principal

DIRECTOR’S LETTER

Today you would have received a COMPASS alert with a letter from the Director of Catholic Schools Diocese of Wollongong. If you haven’t already done so, please read this very important letter. In it, there was information on the following:

A summary of how Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) has responded to COVID-19
A reminder of the support available to you and your child

An outline of what to expect over the holidays and in Term 2

Congratulations to the following students were received Remote Learning Awards last week:-

Kinder: Sophie Walsh

Year 1: Taylah Steen

Year 2: Harlen Murphy

Year 3: Beau Butler

Year 4: Nellie Reid

Year 5: Sam Francis

Year 6: Sophie T

Principal's award:-

1. Harlen Murphy

2. Sophie T

Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong have secured limited resources to support remote learning options for staff and students without internet access at home.

Parents and carers can register for one of these remote access devices by calling the Parent Internet Device Enquiry Line on 1800 512 370 during the registration period (9–23 April 2020).

Operators will ask a range of questions about the students in the home, what devices they have access to and what internet access you have. Parents and carers will be able to opt out of the call at any time. At the end of the call, the operator will explain what will happen next. The information collected will only be used to assess the needs of each family who registers to ensure the appropriate allocation of modems.

If the line is busy or the call is out of hours please leave a message with your contact details. This will be forwarded automatically to the service desk system and logged.

By registering to access a device, parents and carers accept that one of the solutions we are providing includes small modems that contain internet sim cards. These devices WILL NOT be filtered, which means students using them will have the same access to the internet as a typical home internet connection. As a result, monitoring students’ internet use by parents and carers is essential.

During the registration period (9–23 April) we will be collecting information to determine the support needs of families who apply. In the following week, a group of senior leaders will assess the responses and determine what support we can provide to which families. Parents and carers will receive an email during the week of 27 April informing them of the outcome.

Important Dates:

LINES OPEN

Thursday 9 April 2020 at 09:00am

LINES CLOSE

Thursday 23 April 2020 at 17:00pm

Decision Announced / Modems Shipped

Week of 27 April

Thursday 9^th April – Holy Thursday
Friday 10^th April – Good Friday
Sunday 12^th April – Easter Sunday

Holy Week Clips
As we continue our journey through Holy Week it is important that we talk to our children about these events. Short videos have been made to explain what happened to Jesus during the week leading up to his crucifixion. These clips will be posted on your children’s class Seesaw. These short clips are a lovely way to explore the events through story telling.

Mass Times
Due to COVID – 19 Mass and liturgy services will be posted online through the Parish YouTube channel. I encourage you to still participate in Mass by viewing them online.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7S6wrESEOUqrF9Ppp7mDvg

Services:

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which will be posted on the channel on late Thursday afternoon (9 April, 2020);
Stations of the Cross, posted on Good Friday morning (10 April, 2020);
The Passion of the Lord, posted after lunch on Friday (10 April, 2020);
Solemn Easter Vigil, posted late Saturday afternoon (11 April, 2020); and
Easter Sunday Mass, posted early Sunday morning (12 April, 2020).

Parish Fundraising
“MEGA RAFFLE” tickets can still be purchased. First prize is a HONDAJAZZ, valued at over $20,000 (supplied by Southern Highlands Motor Group). Tickets on sale now, $10.00 per ticket. Tickets can be purchased via https://www.raffletix.com.au/ccsh. The raffle will be drawn later on in the year. Thank you for your continual support in this challenging time.

Rebecca Mitchell
REC