15 June 2020 (Term Two, Week 8)
CEO/Principal's Message
This week I will be in Tweed Heads for a couple of days as my family farewells one of my older brothers, Kevin, who passed away last week at the age of 68. It was a very sudden and unexpected death as he was seemingly in good health and reasonably fit. He has had a rich and full life in NSW and international law enforcement and was quite a character. Kevin was the one who got me into running and football as a teenager, and I will miss him very much. Even with the COVID-19 restrictions, we will be expecting large guards of honour from NSW Police to pay their respects to their highly respected former colleague. A sad time for our family, true, but I have already experienced wonderful support from our Mater Dei community.
I know I am not alone in experiencing such loss in a family. Each of you would have a similar tale of loss of loved ones, some perhaps more devastating than the one I described because of your circumstances. The circle of life is very real. Life continues to spring forth with the birth of children or grandchildren, and we all at some stage must say goodbye to our elderly loved ones. In the past year I have become a first-time grandfather to three little ones. Life is, indeed, a mystery.
May I take this moment of loss in my life to invite us all to remember those precious ones who have passed on from all of our lives. We are only able to do what we do because of those who have gone before us. I take great comfort in my Christian belief that life does not end at death, and that life continues in a mysterious different form with the God who has created us all.
Let us all appreciate the life we have and those who walk beside us and who help make the journey all the better, for they will not be here forever.
Kind regards
Mark Raue
CEO/Principal
Return to Face-to-Face Learning Guidelines
With the gradual return to some sense of normality at school after COVID-19, the following regular school activities can resume in Term 3:
- Canteen will resume as per calendar dates
- Timetabled Swimming sessions will resume
- School sport including external sport providers
- Inter-school activities including Years 7/8 Shared Learning and sport with Magdalene Catholic College
- Principal’s Assemblies will occur. Due to guidelines, will be kept to 15 minutes only to distribute awards. No class prayer/learning presentation and no visitors are able to attend. Photos of award recipients will be published on our School Facebook page
- P&F Meetings as per calendar dates
The following regular activities will NOT resume at this stage:
- Community Access
- Structured Work Placement – It is hoped SWP can resume at some point during Term 3. Mater Dei Job Coaches are currently liaising with our host employers as to their capacity to begin hosting our students. We continue to be sensitive to the needs of our host employers after COVID-19, as many businesses suffered significant financial loss which has impacted staffing. We will advise families once a clearer plan has been established.
Annual events and gatherings to be advised:
- School based activities that involve large gatherings of adults are not permitted at this time. These large gatherings will continue to be reviewed and assessed based on advice and may be permitted at a later date.
Many large-scale events that require long-lead time organisational arrangements may be cancelled. Mater Dei will continue to keep families up to date as these events are considered.
End of Term Two
A reminder that Friday, 26 June is the last day of Term Two before the three week school holiday commences. Staff and students return for Term Three on Monday, 20 July in winter uniform.
Reminder: New Dates - Semester One Reports & Semester Two Parent/Teacher Interviews
In consultation with Mater Dei School’s regulatory authorities, Mater Dei will postpone the issue date of Semester One Reports and also the dates of Semester Two Parent/Teacher Interviews. Delayed dates will allow more time for face-to-face teaching, assessing and data collection, which could not occur while students were participating in Remote Learning due to COVID-19.
New Dates:
Semester One Reports
Semester One Reports, Personalised Plans, Swimming Reports (participating students only) & In-Class Therapy Reports (participating students only) will be issued via Compass on Friday, 14 August (Term 3 – Week 4).
Semester Two Parent/Teacher Interviews
Semester Two Parent/Teachers Interviews will be conducted on Tuesday, 18 August & Wednesday, 19 August (Term 3 – Week 5). Bookings can be made via Compass at the beginning of Term 3. The interviews are to review students’ Personalised Learning Plans, discuss progress on goals set in Term 1 and determine goals for the rest of the year. We look forward to seeing you then.
Remember to Like our Mater Dei School, Camden Facebook page to follow the wonderful events and learning that occurs at Mater Dei School on a daily basis!
Compass
Parent Login PT Interviews Bookings on Compass
This Semester we will begin online bookings for Parent Teacher Interviews through Compass. Instructions on how to book will be given out early in Term three and bookings will open on Compass on Thursday, 30 July.
Compass Parent Workshops
During Term 3 we will be running workshops for families to provide support on how to access Compass. This will include logging on, adding attendance notes, NewsFeeds, booking Parent/Teacher interviews and how to access Reports. Due to COVID, numbers will be limited to 10 in each workshop and therefore bookings will be required. Information on how to book these sessions will come out in the last week of Term via Skoolbag, Compass & Diaries.
Additional Parent Logins
We are now ready to issue additional logins for any families who require multiple logins, eg. both parents requiring access for Attendance Notes &/or Separated Families. These will be posted so please ensure contact details are up to date.
Have a Compass question, please contact the School.
GDay Mass & Athletics Carnival
Our annual G Day Mass and Athletics Carnival scheduled for Friday, 26 June (Week 9) has been cancelled due to COVID-19 and guidelines for schools on social distancing.
Arrangements are currently underway for an alternative athletics event for students only on this day. Students may wear sports uniform with a coloured t-shirt to reflect their house colour, as they would for our usual athletics carnival. Activities will be in class groupings as we are also under guidelines not to congregate together as a school. We hope to provide lots of engagement for our parents and friends via our School Facebook Page.
School Photos
School Photos will take place on Thursday, 23 July (Term 3, Week 1). Photo envelopes will be sent home with each student this week, including a sibling envelope for relevant students. Envelopes with payment indicated or included need to be returned before the day. Students are required to wear their full winter school uniform as usual. This includes blazers for Years 7-12 students.
St Benedict's Feast Day - Wednesday, 31 July (CANCELLED)
Unfortunately, our Annual St Benedict Feast Day activities have been cancelled due to COVID-19 and guidelines for schools on social distancing.