Newsletter 10 2021

Dear Parents/Caregivers, Students, Staff, and Friends of St Raphael’s School,

Congratulations to our talented students who performed for their families last night at the Celebrate Music evening.  It was wonderful to be able to gather and enjoy their performances.  Thank you to Amanda Rugari and to our music tutors for their creative talents.

Last week our Year 3, 4 and 5 Classes went to a Camp at Woodhouse, Piccadilly. Whilst the weather was cold and inclement, our students were able to experience a positive educative time away. Later this year, the Year 6s will be going to Port Hughes for an aquatics experience. I thank our teachers who are committed to providing these opportunities to our students.

A couple of weeks ago we held our first Working Bee and I thank the Alexander, Pike, Hood, Van Groningen, Bilibio, Ricci Hunt, Read, Park, Fernando and Bethune Neubauer families who did an outstanding job in helping with the tidy up of our school. I also especially thank Gaia, Parents and Friends Chair, and mother of Oliver and Daniel who organised the recent Working Bee. We plan to hold another Working Bee later this year and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Semester One Reports were sent home on Monday and I remind families to make a time to meet with teachers if they wish to further discuss their child/ren’s learning.

A reminder that students will conclude the term on Thursday 1 July at 3:10 pm. Please note that the school Office will be closed on Friday 2 July and will re-open on Monday 19 July. OSHC will be in operation on Friday 2 July but the Office will be closed as staff will be attending a staff retreat day at the Monastery led by our parish priest, Fr Denis Travers.

Students return to school on Tuesday 20 July. On Monday 19 July, our teachers will be involved in a professional learning day. OSHC is also available for students on Monday 19 July. Please contact Anne O’Connell if you require OSHC on either or both of the professional learning pupil free days.

I commend our Term 2 ‘Celebrating Learning Newsletter’ to you as it captures some of the term’s learning. Whilst Seesaw is one of the ways we share student learning it is limited in that only individual families see the learning for their child at any given time. The Celebrating Learning publication tries to capture the learning for all classes. 

We farewelled Miss Maria Marzilli last Friday as she resigned her position at St Raphael’s School to pursue other interests. Maria will be invited back later for a formal farewell and we wish Maria all the best in her new ventures. In the interim, I have appointed Ashleigh Behrendt as the Year 2 Teacher and we look forward to welcoming her to our school community.

I wish all our families a safe and happy term break and I look forward to your return next term.

With every best wish,
Mia Harms
Principal

Knitting Club and Parish Beanie Initiative

A number of our students have been enjoying knitting club over the past few weeks and their knitting skills are coming along well, with some even practising at home. Other children have embraced the ‘tomboy’ stitch tools making wool chains. We have also been blessed with a number of parishioners working on the initiative at home making warm blue and grey beanies.  We intend to continue this next term so if you or someone in your family would like to join in the fun please let us know. Wool and pattern will be provided.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 Liturgy

Last Friday our Early Years students engaged in a beautiful Liturgy about friendship and what it means to be a good friend. Father Denis led the celebration and commenced with an explanation of the special vestments priests wear. The children read and sang with lots of enthusiasm and it was wonderful to have lots of parents and grandparents join us too.

Religious Education Curriculum

As you are aware, students are engaging in the redesigned Crossways RE Curriculum. High quality Religious Education includes making scripture central to the teaching and learning. Crossways has been supported by the recent addition of the Scriptural Text Scope and Sequence (STSS). This selection of texts from the Bible will be incorporated into the teaching and learning of RE and have been chosen and mapped across the year levels with consideration of student’s literacy, cognitive abilities, the curriculum content and biblical significance. If you would like further information about the STSS please feel free to contact me for a chat.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

This week our journey in preparing our young people to receive their  Sacrament of Reconciliation concludes with a ceremony on Thursday evening at the Monastery. We thank both Father Tony Simbel and Pauline Connell for supporting the students and their families. May we keep these young people in our prayers.

Casual Clothes Day – Thursday 1st July

Just a reminder that our last day of school will be a casual clothes day. Students can bring in a gold coin donation to support Fred’s Van. Theresa Branch, who heads up Fred’s Van came to speak with our students a couple of weeks ago and this was one of the suggestions made by our students to raise funds for this organization.

Staff Retreat Day

On Friday, the staff will engage in a spiritual formation day at the Monastery led by Father Denis Travers. The focus for the day will be Jesus: His Life and Times. We are looking forward to the learning and nourishment such a day will provide and thank Denis for leading the day for us.

As we head into the holidays, I wish all families a safe and enjoyable break,  albeit in these changing times. My family and I had planned to head up to Darwin for the first time and although we are very disappointed this will not occur in this instance, we still feel very fortunate that in Australia, we are somewhat shielded from what others are facing globally in this pandemic.

May you have a connected time with your family and we look forward to seeing you all next term!

FOR THE HEART......       

We thank you Lord, for this term.
For the challenges, the successes, and the mistakes from which we have learnt.
Be with us as we spend our time with family and friends.
Keep us safe in our activities; give us good rest and good fun.
Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new term.
We thank you for our classmates, teachers, parents
And a community that cares for us.
May we always be conscious of You in our lives.
Amen

God bless,
Kelly Manera
Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission

Celebrate Music 

Please enjoy the gallery of photos below from our Celebrate Music event held last night in the school hall.  Congratulations to all the students who were part of this wonderful performance evening.
 

Catholic Schools Cross-Country Carnival

Approximately 40 students from Year 3 to Year 6 are currently preparing for this upcoming event that will take place on Thursday 5 August. Trainings are on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings before school from 8:30 – 8:50am. It has been wonderful to see all of these students plus many extra junior primary students who are joining in, moving their bodies and being active on these mornings. I encourage all cross-country runners, with parental/caregiver support, to continue to do more training over the holiday break, in order to build up their fitness for the 2km course.

Soccer Skills Program for Reception – Year 3 Students

Flyers were distributed last week regarding this highly recommended Soccer Skills Program that will be held on the school grounds in Term 3, conducted by coaches from the Soccer2Sports Academy. It will be a 6-week program, commencing on Saturday 31 July from 9:15 – 10:15am. Registration and payment is an online process. Please see the flyer here for all details.

Year 6 Dance Crew

Over the last 3 weeks a group of very enthusiastic Year 6 Student Leaders have dedicated their recess and lunch times to teaching any interested students in the school a dance choreographed to music. As a result, the Student Leaders have been working with a small and enthusiastic group of junior primary students and a larger group of Year 3 – 6 students, teaching them the sequence of the moves involved. These groups will showcase their new learning to all classes in an informal performance on Thursday after lunch in the Hall. The School Choir and Year 3/4 Ukulele Group will also perform under the guidance of Mrs Rugari, our Performing Arts Teacher.

I would like to congratulate and recognise the efforts of the Year 6 Dance Crew for initiating this activity for their fellow students. They have certainly demonstrated our Learner Dispositions of being Responsible, Thoughtful and Collaborative as they have worked through this process. Well done to the following Year 6 students: Sara M, Rebecca S, Naomi T, Angela M, Ada L, Sienna C and Xavier R.

Jeanette Archer
PE and Sport Coordinator

We have been successful with our application to Japanese Teachers’ Association of SA in receiving Hiroshi Haga San’s classroom resources. Hiroshi Haga (1946-2018) was a shining beacon of light to the Japanese teachers of South Australia. Our students will benefit from these resources in their learning and exploration of Japanese language and culture.

Enriched learning has continued to take place in Japanese lessons and students are showing great enthusiasm in improving their Japanese skills.

Our students are becoming very confident in sharing their pets’ stories with others. They are also acquiring great skill in reading and writing Hiragana and Kanji.

Reena Aftab
Japanese Teacher