8 March 2021 (Term 1, Week 6)
CEO/PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Parents and Carers,
Last Friday, we held a very successful Mater Dei Charity Golf Day at Macquarie Links and substantial funds were raised to support our work. It was an absolute joy to drive around the course and meet all the supporters with our two school captains, Sommer and Patrick. I was struck by how interested everybody was in what Mater Dei is doing and how much regard they have for our whole organisation. There was a great deal of interest in our new classroom furniture and plans to upgrade facilities for the benefit of the students.
We are indeed very fortunate to have so much community support and are also very fortunate to have a brilliant Development Team who organise these events with professionalism and a wonderful spirit of goodwill. We could not do what we do without them.
When I was given the chance to talk to the golfers about how Mater Dei has impacted me in the last twelve months, I spoke of many a conversation I have had with parents and carers who have told me the story of their child. I reflected on how privileged it was to hear such stories and how it reinforced my deep appreciation for what our parents and carers do in the love and care of their children. So many people say thank you to Mater Dei for what our staff do, but I also want to express my appreciation for what parents and carers do. They are wonderful, compassionate and loving people who it is a pleasure to know and serve.
If you haven’t had the chance to tell me your story, please do so at one of our forthcoming events, which I hope will soon return to normal. With summer now behind us, may you experience a gentle autumn as we head towards Easter.
Yours sincerely
Mark Raue
CEO/PRINCIPAL
GENERAL
COMPASS REMINDER
Please ensure you are entering attendance notes onto Compass prior to 10am. Automated SMS messages are sent to families who have not added attendance notes onto Compass. Attendance notes can only be added for absences within the last 7 days. Anything outside of this will require a phone call to the school. Don’t forget that for any absences longer than 3 days, students will require a medical certificate.
PBIS FORTNIGHTLY FOCUS
This fortnight, students are focusing on being kind, safe and a learner at Taxi Time. Some of the phrases we are using this week when we are coming on and off taxi we are "looking, listening and doing". We are being safe by staying on the path and we are being kind by helping others.
AWARD RECIPIENTS
Congratulations to the following award receipients who received their award at our last Principal's Assembly:
Bronze Award Winner
- Jacob C (9/10 Polding)
Playground Positive Behaviour Intervention and Supports (PBIS) Winners
- 3/4 McCabe (Primary Class Winners)
- 9/10 McCabe (Second Class Winners)
NEW FLEXIBLE LEARNING FURNITURE
We are very excited to have recently purchased a wide range of flexible learning furniture to be used in a number of locations across the school.
Some of the new furniture is in our Primary and Secondary Breakout Areas which are used by all classes. This provides a space where classes can engage together in different learning experiences. It is also an area where small groups of students can work together either independently or with their class team, including the therapists as part of the In-Class Therapy Model for our K-6 students.
One of our secondary classrooms, 9/10 Polding, has also been set up with new flexible learning furniture. This has been extremely well received by the students who are enjoying selecting which type of furniture they would prefer to use, depending on the activity. The flexibility of the furniture means that it can be moved around at any time to suit the various activities that may be running at one time as part of a particular learning experience.
MINIMUM STANDARDS TESTS
A letter and information regarding Minimum Standards Testing has been sent home to students in Year 10 along with information on exemptions. Please prioritise the return of this confirmation.
CONFIRMATION OF ENTRY
Confirmation of Entry notes have been sent home to students in Years 10, 11 and 12. Please prioritise the return of a copy indicating any changes in student details.
SCHOOL DOCUMENTATION
Just a reminder that Compass now has a range of forms and compass support documents for parents to access. These are accessible through the Community Icon (2 heads) then clicking on School Documentation. This will be updated will additional information over time. Forms currently include:
- Update of Personal Details
- Consent to Release information
- Application for Leave/Exemption
- 2021 Changes to Afternoon Arrangements
- Health and Medication forms and procedures
SUPERVISION AT PARENT DROP OFF AND PICK UP
We kindly remind all families and carers to please ensure you are closely supervising ALL children at drop off and pick up time. Between 8:30-9:30 and 2:30-3:30 the driveway, grass area and pedestrian crossing are extremely busy. Due to this SHARED ZONE, we highly recommend all children have their hand held at all times and encourage families to drop/collect their child and exit the grounds as soon as possible. This will ensure a safe environment for our Mater Dei community. Thank you for your cooperation.
BLAZER AND OPTIONAL GIRLS' TROUSERS ORDER DEADLINE
A reminder that fittings for blazers (for students in Years 7 to 12) and the optional girls' trousers will begin today, 22 February 2021 and will close on Saturday, 13 March 2021. Orders are done via fitting at Yeronga Uniforms in Camden. Payment is due at the time of order. Please note Yeronga's new trading hours.
If your student is in Years 8-12, please check your blazer still fits and, if not, arrange a fitting for a new one.
Please check out our https://www.facebook.com/groups/uniformsmaterdei/ for Second Hand uniforms or if you have a used blazer you would like to sell.
COMPASS PARENT WORKSHOPS
Thank you for your ongoing support with Compass.
With more and more of our events and activities moving to Compass, we would like to offer some Parent Workshops. We will be covering how to give permission for school events via Compass, adding attendance notes and answering any other questions you may have regarding Compass.
If you would like to attend any of the following sessions, please email compass@materdei.org.au with your name and the session time and date. Alternatively you can call the school and ask for Jake Elvin.
- Tuesday 9th March – 9am – 10am
- Tuesday 9th March – 3.15pm – 4.15pm
- Thursday 11th March – 5pm – 6pm
- Tuesday 16th March – 9am -10am
- Tuesday 16th March – 3.15pm – 4.15pm
- Thursday 18th March – 5pm – 6pm
UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS
PROJECT COMPASSION
As part of our ongoing support to Caritas during Lent, students are asked to bring in GOLD COINS for a donation on Wednesday, 10 March. These monies will be donated to assist Project Compassion in all the ground work and hands on work they do with people in Australia and with our close neighbours. Thank you in advance. If you wish to, please watch the clips of Project Compassion – BE MORE https://lent.caritas.org.au/
WOLLONGONG DIOCESE SECONDARY REP SWIMMING CARNIVAL
Good luck to our secondary students representing Mater Dei at the Wollongong Diocese Secondary Representative Swimming Carnival on Friday, 12 March at Corrimal Pools.
CANTEEN - FRIDAY 12 MARCH 2021
TASSIE TREK FOR OPPORTUNITY 2021 - VIRTUAL TRIVIA NIGHT
A reminder that Trivia Night is this Friday, 12 March, run by NextPath's Young Adults! Last chance to get your online ticket and join the fun. Great prizes to win, plus amazing raffle prizes up for grabs.
POST SCHOOL INFORMATION NIGHT
A reminder that Mater Dei’s Post School information evening will be held in the Sr Carmela Ritchie Hall on Wednesday, March 17, from 6.00pm to 7.00pm. Year 12 students and their parents are required to attend. Families from Years 10 and 11 are also strongly encouraged to attend. Chris Drimal from the National Disability Insurance Agency will be present to answer questions. Staff from NextPath will also be present to provide information and answer any questions. Please complete the Insight on Compass, providing details of who is attending.
STAGE ONE EXCURSION - SYDNEY ZOO
Stage One (Year 1 and 2) students are very excited to be visiting Sydney Zoo on Thursday, 18 March as part of our learning in Science and Technology. As a school, we are transitioning to online consent forms through Compass. For this excursion, no paper copies of notes will be sent home. Please give consent on Compass for your child to attend the Sydney Zoo excursion by Friday 12 March by following the steps included in the post on your Compass News Feed. A big thank you to all of the families who have already looked at the event and given consent for their child to attend. Your support with Compass is greatly appreciated.
PUPIL FREE DAY - 19 MARCH 2021
A reminder to parents and carers that Friday, 19 March 2021 is a Pupil Free Day.
YEARS 3 TO 12 SWIMMING CARNIVAL - 26 MARCH 2021
Our annual Swimming Carnival is being held on Friday 26th March 2021.
Due to COVID restrictions parents are unable to attend this event. This is a student only event. Paper consents are not being provided or accepted for this event.
Please provide consent on Compass by Friday, 19 March by completing the following steps:
App users
1. Open the Compass app
2. Click on green notification at top of news feed. Then go to step 5. If no notification, go to step 3.
3. Click on the three lines in the top left corner
4. Click on 'Events'
5. Click on ‘2021 Swimming Carnival’
6. Click on 'Proceed to Consent and Payment' (green bar bottom of screen)
7. Complete required details
8. Click 'Consent' (green bar at bottom of screen)
Website users
1. Go to Compass dashboard
2. Click on green notification for 'event invitation' at top of news feed Then go to step 5. If no notification, go to step 3.
3. Click on 'Organisation' grid icon
4. Click on 'Events'
5. Click 'Accept event'
6. Click on ‘2021 Swimming Carnival’
7. Complete relevant information un
INFANTS (YEARS K-2) WATER FUN DAY - 26 MARCH 2021
On Friday, 26 March 2021, Infants students (Years K-2) will participate in a ‘Water Fun Day’ at school. Students will be supervised by Mater Dei staff.
Students will NOT actually be swimming but will participate in a variety of structured indoor and outdoor water themed activities throughout the day including craft, games, relays and sensory experiences. Staff will monitor the weather and if it is too cold/windy, activities will be modified.
What to wear:
- Sun smart casual/mufti clothes (please ensure students have sleeves on their tops)
- Closed in shoes
- Sunscreen – please apply sunscreen to your child before they come to school
What to bring:
- Recess, lunch and water bottle (there will be no canteen on this day)
- A hat (some students may already have their Mater Dei hat at school which they can wear)
- A towel
- A dry change of clothes (including underwear) as students will likely get wet during Water Fun Day
- Please ensure all clothing is clearly labelled with your child’s name.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate visitors or family members to watch or assist with this event. Photos will be shared with families on Compass.
PAST EVENTS
MATER DEI CHARITY GOLF DAY
Our School Captains had their first chance to represent the school at our first fundraising event for 2021, the Mater Dei Charity Golf Day. Sommer and Patrick had a great time and did a fantastic job talking to our supporters and helping them get closer to the hole by having a couple of shots! It was wonderful to see our wonderful sponsors and supporters in person, especially after no fundraising events were held last year due to COVID.
In glorious weather, we welcomed 116 players to the Macquarie Links International Golf Course and a great day was had by all who attended.
A special thank you to our parent volunteers who made all the players feel welcome: Karen Witherspoon, Natalie Richardson, Laurie Cuthbert, Rebecca Hall, Peta Wilson and Cris Abalos.
And a BIG thank you to the Mater Dei Development Team for putting the day together. It was a huge success.
P&F AGM
Thank you to the parents and friends who attended our P&F Annual General Meeting. The election for the P&F Executive took place and the following positions were confirmed:
- President: Karen Witherspoon
- Treasurer: Jill Gooden
- Secretary: Laurie Cuthbert
Thank you to our outgoing Secretary, Shonagh Bennett.
The P&F were introduced to Sr Gerry and updated on recent school events, including the establishment of our Flexible Learning Space.
OPEN DAY
On Saturday, 27 February, we held our annual Enrolment Open Day. This year was a little different due to COVID-19, however was very well attended. Families were extremely appreciative of the opportunity to see the school and provided wonderful feedback on the beautiful environment we create for our students as well as the quality teaching and learning programs we have on offer.
COMMUNITY NEWS
