Newsletter 6 2023

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

Welcome to Term 2!

We welcome all families back for another term of learning, connection and belonging. This week we especially welcome Mrs Anna Terminello, EALD Teacher (English as an Additional Language or Dialect), to our staff. We absolutely embrace our cultural ethnicity and diversity and welcome families whose background and first language is a language other than English. Mrs Terminello’s role will be to work with teachers on Wednesdays to support students in their acquisition of the English language.

Other staffing news to share is that Mrs Deverson has taken personal leave and will be absent for most of this term whilst she has foot surgery and recuperates. Mr Corey Tucker has been appointed as the Year 4 Teacher in Mrs Deverson’s absence. Mrs Debbie Parker will be co-teaching with Mr Sicari as the Year 6 Teacher on Wednesdays as Mr Tucker can no longer fulfill this teaching obligation in that year level this term. We wish Mrs Deverson a speedy recovery and look forward to her return later this term.

Mother’s Day/Special VIP Liturgy and Stall

On Thursday all mothers and special VIPs are invited to our Mother's Day and Special VIPs Liturgy beginning at 9:00 am. This will be an opportunity to honour mothers past and present in their significant roles as nurturers and primary teachers of their children. Fr Tony Simbel will be joining us for our special Liturgy. Special guests are warmly invited to remain for morning tea at the conclusion of the Liturgy. In the Catholic tradition, we dedicate the month of May to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. Her example teaches us faith, humility, and most of all, how to love unconditionally. Mother’s Day has been celebrated in Australia on the second Sunday of May since 1924, almost one hundred years ago!

On Friday, our Parents and Friends Committee have organised a Mother’s Day Stall. A special thank you to Gaia Ricci, who has kindly organised the stall. A big thank you to our volunteers; Trish Cooper, Lindy Hood, Peggy Miller and Nilukshi Cooray who will be helping out on the day. All gifts will range in cost from $2 - $5.

School Court Yard Upgrade

Students were excited to return to school and see the new upgrade to the central courtyard. With the generous support of the Parents and Friends and their fundraising efforts we were able instigate the upgrade of two activity spaces, one of a giant chess/checkers board and the other of a giant snakes and ladders games. Every time families support our Parents and Friends in their initiatives, one of the spinoffs is fundraising, and this means we can purchase additional supports for our school. Thank you to our community for your ongoing support.

Loving Jesus,

You chose to put yourself, tiny, needy and helpless, into the nurturing and watchful hands of Mary your mother. Since then, every act of mothering, both physical and spiritual, in every time and in every corner of the world recollects your mother, Mary.

Inspired by this example, we, too, honour our mothers and mother figures today, both past and present.

Bless these women, that they may be strengthened as mothers and nurturers. Let the example of their faith and love shine forth. Grant that we, their children, honour them always with a spirit of profound respect and love.

We ask this in your holy name.

Amen

Wishing all mothers and special VIPs a wonderful Mother’s Day on Sunday.

With every best wish,
Mia Harms
Principal

Welcome back to Term 2, I hope you all had a lovely break and are managing to stay warm with the cold snap we are having. Thursday 11 May is our Mothers and VIP Liturgy at 9am in the Hall where we will celebrate the joy of motherhood and special VIPs in our lives.

As we continue the celebration of 50 days of Easter, we look forward to Pentecost Sunday.  In this period there are significant events which contribute to the foundation of our faith, the meeting of the disciples and Jesus on the road to Emmaus, the ascension of Jesus into Heaven and the disciples coming together to pray with Mary the Mother of Jesus, where they receive the Holy Spirit.

Sacramental Program

A reminder if you would like your child to participate in Reconciliation, Confirmation and Communion, please contact me via the Office and I can explain and go through the process with you.  We work in partnership with the parish of St Paul of the Cross – (Glen Osmond and Parkside).  

Education in Faith

For the primary school child, 'Education in Faith' takes place in a number of environments.
They are your Family, the School and the Parish.
In the family, the child learns to LIVE his/her faith.
In school, the child learns to KNOW his/her faith.
In the parish the child learns to CELEBRATE his/her faith.
These three environments work hand-in-hand in promoting the overall faith growth of your child.

Religious Education Program
The Religious Life of our Catholic school aims to nurture and enrich the religious and spiritual development of students. Prayer, Liturgy and Christian meditation are part of our everyday school life.  School and class Masses and prayer Liturgies are held throughout the year and families are encouraged to be actively involved in all prayer and liturgical celebrations.

Religious Education consists of two distinct but complementary dimensions, namely an educational dimension and a faith formation dimension. The first dimension, most commonly referred to as the classroom teaching and learning of religion, is focused on Religious Education as an educational activity. It utilizes a range of teaching and learning processes and resources.

The second dimension, faith formation, is reflected in the religious life of the school, family and parish. The educational dimension and the faith formation dimension are inextricably linked. The classroom teaching of religion is one element in a complex web of experiences that have the potential to nurture the faith life of young people.

Our teachers have also been working very hard in developing our Religious Education learning, to develop designed learning engagement with Religious Education and the Religious Life of the school. Our teachers have been ensuring that our units align with Curriculum as well as scripture, that learning is translatable to life  St Raphael’s School is a vibrant faith community and we are grateful that you have chosen St Raphael’s Catholic School for your child.

I would like to wish all Mothers, and special people in our children’s lives a wonderful day on Sunday.  You are all a special gift to our children.

Peace and Blessings,
Helena Card
Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission

What a wonderful start we have had to Term 2!

STEM MAD

Some of the Year 5 and Year 6 students have been giving up their lunch break to work on a STEM competition called STEM MAD. STEM MAD has been designed to promote STEM learning initiatives that address real world problems and demonstrate how students in Catholic schools can take actions that matter, hence the name MAD (Make A Difference). The process concentrates on the design process of empathising, defining, ideating, prototype and testing. The students are in the empathising stage and looking at the impact the Murray River flooding had on people and properties. Our next stage will involve students defining what the issues are and then ideas that may help support a solution. We look forward to sharing our finished prototypes with the community.

Debating

Every Wednesday, some of the Year 5 and 6s have been training with me for the upcoming Debating SA competition. The first competition will be held at Pulteney Grammar School next Tuesday evening, 16 May.  There are some very nervous children but the skills they are gaining are invaluable. We wish them all the best.

Corey-Lee Lewis
Assistant Principal - Leader of Learning

The wearing of a school uniform is an expectation at St Raphael's School. The winter uniform is outlined below.

St Raphael’s School uniform can be purchased via our Qkr App. If you place your order before 9:00am it will be sent home with your child that afternoon. Orders placed after 9:00am will be processed and sent home the following day. If the sizing is incorrect, please return the item/s the next day (do not remove tags) to be exchanged for your preferred size. We are unable to fill uniform orders without prior notice.

Winter Uniform – To be worn Terms 2 and 3

Girls

• Pinafore (Reception to Year 3)
• Pleated skirt (Year 4 to Year 6)
• Blue trousers
• Shirt:  Sky blue long sleeve
• Jumper: V-neck navy
• Tie: cross over tie
• Socks: Grey ankle length or grey tights
• Shoes: Black leather lace up school shoe or black buckle school shoe

Boys

• Shirt:  Sky blue long sleeve shirt
• Jumper: V-neck navy
• Trousers: Grey school trousers (no cargo type trousers)
• Socks: Grey ankle length
• Shoes: Black leather lace up school shoe

Students are permitted to wear beanies, scarves, and winter jackets of school colours of navy, black and grey.

Please note also:

• Nail polish must not be worn at school
• Hair, if longer than collar length, must be tied back for safety
• Make-up is not to be worn at school
• Jewellery: Students are not permitted to wear jewellery at school for both safety and security reasons.The only exceptions are:
  - Earrings for pierced ears – must be plain sleepers or studs, no more than one in each ear
  - Religious pendants – these must be simple designs and may be worn under the uniform and out of site to ensure safety
  - Watches may be worn - neutral colours and designs. No smart watches.

During Term 1 our class learnt about warm and cool colours and the feelings we associate with various colours. We then created Peter Cromer inspired birds using warm and cool colours.

Students were encouraged to take their time and care with creating their birds. Students then critically reviewed each other’s work.

Please find below some of our completed Peter Cromer inspired birds. 

After School Sport is back!

This term we have a range of after school sports available starting this week for students in Reception – Year 6.

Kelly Sports: R-2

Kelly Sports will be running their Multi Sports Program for students in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. These clinics will provide students with an opportunity to try the following winter sports; AFL, Netball, Soccer and Basketball. Clinics run after school on a Wednesday from 3:15- 4:00pm, it is not too late to register your child to participate. Parents please ensure you are able to pick your child up at the designated finish time otherwise they will be sent to OHSC.

School Soccer

We wish our Year 3/4 Soccer team all the best for their first game this Saturday against Rose Park Primary School. Our Year 3/4 Soccer team is coached by Adele F (Leo. P’s Mum) on a Wednesday after school from 3.15- 4.00pm. Games are played at various times on Saturday mornings at East Torrens Primary School. A huge thankyou to all parent volunteers who have worked together to get the team up and running. It is fantastic to see so many students wanting to be involved with school sport.

Team Members: Leonardo P, Leo P, Isaac, Peter, Joshua, Daniel, Matthew, Riley, Seb, Julian, Leo T, George and Nathaniel.

School Netball

Our Year 5/6 Netball Team also start their competition this week. The team train on Mondays after school from 3.15- 4.00pm on the school courts. Samantha (Jessica and Amy’s Mum) is the coach and is running the trainings. Games are played on Thursday evenings at 4.30pm at Netball SA Stadium. We wish them luck for their first game against St Dominic’s.

Team members: Jessica, Amy, Senul, Sanuli, Loraine, Jemima, Mia, Luella, Elaine and Caroline.

Sporting Schools Funding

This term we are fortunate enough to receive sporting schools funding. This will mean that in our PE lessons our Year 3 and 4 students will be participating in 4 lessons run by the SANFL, this a great opportunity for students to learn new skills provided by specialist coaches and with our funding it also allows for new AFL equipment for the whole school to enjoy.

Hannah Reid
PE Teacher and Sports Coordinator

The Parents and Friends are proud to have helped fund our new outdoor games area in the quadrangle. We now have a huge snakes and ladders and chess/checkers board for our students to enjoy.

Term 2 Events

This term we are looking forward to running our Mother's and Special VIP Day Liturgy on Thursday and stalls on Friday. Be sure to send your child to school with adequate change to purchase a gift. They will range from $2 to $5.

We are also looking to find a suitable date for a weekend school playdate at an indoor play centre, so watch this space for further details.