Term 1, Week 4 (21 February 2024)

PRINCIPAL'S ADDRESS

These first weeks of 2024 have been a great start to the new school year and it has been particularly joyful welcoming the new students and staff who have joined our Mater Dei Community. I know that many of our parents and carers have had the opportunity to personally welcome Mrs Sillis, Mrs Power, Mrs O'Riordan and Mrs Di Michele to Mater Dei and there will be future opportunities for this to occur. Our new Kindergarten students have settled in well to the routine of school and it is great to see their smiling faces as they arrive each morning. 

Traditionally, all staff across the Mater Dei Organisation gathered together at Camden Civic Centre for our first day. With staff photos being the priority for the morning, including a whole Organisation group photo, the main part of our day together involved a presentation on self care by Graeme Cowan, author and co-founder  of WeCARE365, The Caring CEO podcast, and Founding Board Director of R U OK? We were presented with strategies to implement into our working days including finding balance, setting moderate goals and being present. These are great daily reminders for us all. 

Several of our staff were also recognised during the day together for their years of service to Master Dei. Again, I congratulate the following Mater Dei School Staff and thank them for their years of service:

During our first staff Professional Learning Day at the start of the Term, we focussed on 2 important documents that currently frame and guide the spiritual and educational direction for our School; the Mater Dei Strategic Plan Towards 2025 and Good Samaritan Education 2024 Formation for Mission. Both documents were formed through the lens of Benedictine values providing an easy alignment in naming our goals and priorities for 2024. I look forward to further exploring these links in our work throughout the year.  

On Thursday evening we will hold our Enrolment Information Evening for parents and carers looking to submit an application for Kindergarten 2025, or other year groups pending availability. It is an opportunity to meet the School Executive and to be taken through the application and enrolment process. Our School Open Day will be held on Saturday 2 March between 9am and 12pm.

The Parents and Friends AGM is on Monday 4th March in our school hall starting at 6:30pm for light refreshments, with the meeting commencing at 7pm. I encourage all parents who are interested in being involved in the P&F and/or helping out with any of the events and activities that our P&F run to please come along. The outgoing 2023 committee will present reports from the previous year and elections will be held for the following positions for the 2024 committee:

• President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Canteen Coordinator
• Country Fair Coordinator  

Further information or any questions can be directed to pandf@materdei.org.au. 

I recently met with Mr Tony Apps, Director from Yeronga School Uniforms to ensure that our families were receiving the correct Mater Dei uniform items. I am pleased to confirm that the student bucket hat will be back in stock and available to purchase. This will be communicated to families via Compass when these are back in stock. Should you encounter any problems regarding the availability of any school uniform item please contact the School office to advise us. The School P&F have second hand uniform items of good used quality and often run a stall at school for parents and carers to purchase items directly from them. Keep an eye out for Compass posts advertising the dates for the second hand uniform stall or email pandf@materdei.org.au. with any questions. 

The recent poor weather conditions including lightning have been a regular occurrence in and around our local area of late. In the event that weather conditions are deemed unsafe for students and staff to be outside during afternoon pick up there may be a slight delay until the conditions improve or pass. A compass notice will be published to inform parents if the delay is significant. 

We are currently reviewing the content and frequency of our School Newsletter and will be seeking feedback from our parents and carers. For Term 1, our newsletter will be published in Week 4, 7 and 10, with any additional information between these weeks to be communicated via Compass posts.

Having now commenced the Season of Lent we enter into a period focussed on Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. A time that began on Ash Wednesday and continues through the celebration of Easter. Lent is traditionally the 40 days when we reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus through repentance and self-examination. It is the time when many people may choose to give something up as an act of self-denial and to help focus on the sacrifice Jesus made for us. While there are countless ways to observe Lent, perhaps this year we might try the way of the Good Samaritan. Through the Parable in Luke’s gospel (Chapter 10) we learn that the Good Samaritan is concerned for the stranger he encounters and “when he saw him, he took pity on him”.  The Good Samaritan becomes personally involved in bandaging his “wounds, pouring on oil and wine”, and the Good Samaritan inconveniences himself by putting the “man on his own donkey, taking him to an inn and taking care of him.” The Good Samaritan gives his own time and money as “he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper instructing him to ‘look after the stranger” and when he returns, he will “reimburse any extra expense”. The actions of the Good Samaritan are those of mercy with no boundaries.

May we be open to the call to imitate the actions of the Good Samaritan in our own lives. May we, in love for the Lord, imitate His love and mercy shown to us, by sharing that love and mercy with those around us. May we be intentional in our observance of Lent, by imitating Jesus who gave us the perfect example of welcoming the stranger and “go and do likewise.”

JENNIFER FOLDES
PRINCIPAL

FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S DESK

The new school year is now underway and what a blessing it has been for me to join the team at Mater Dei in 2024. Having worked in a diverse range of schools within Catholic Education across the Dioceses of Wollongong, Parramatta and Sydney, Mater Dei is yet another unique experience. 

I have always known Mater Dei as a special place and admired the work of the school from a distance. Working at the school is so much more than I expected. I have made many observations over the last couple of weeks and I’d like to share a couple with you. 

The commitment of the staff of Mater Dei is remarkable. Staff in schools are always student focused but here it is taken to the next level. The response to student needs and the effortless way with which the staff go about their work is to be admired.

The students are some of the happiest that I have ever worked with. They come into school each day with the widest of smiles - such happy children and young people. 

As a Catholic educator I look at my work as a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is meant to bring moments of peace, moments of struggle and moments of achievement. Pilgrimage is about time and place. 

At times we can be always looking for the next thing to think about or do without taking a moment to look at where we are now. A favourite Franciscan theologian Richard Rohr says:

‘This moment or this place is as perfect as it can be’. 

He goes on to say about a pilgrimage he once took:

You see, we are always disappointed in what we actually have. We are always rushing into the future. The reason we’re rushing into the future is because we’re not experiencing a wholeness in the present. And when we haven’t grasped the present, we always live under an illusion. It is an illusion that the next moment or place is going to be better. When I get around this corner, when I see this church, when I get to Jerusalem, when I get to the hotel—whatever it might be. But pilgrimage helps us see that attitude is essentially wrong. As long as we think happiness is around the corner, it means that we have not grasped happiness yet. Because happiness is given in this moment and this place, and this moment and place are as perfect as they can be.

I think the students of Mater Dei are on a wonderful pilgrimage as they take the moment of every day to be happy with where they are and who they are - what a wonderful way to live life!

I look forward to meeting many more parents and caregivers as the term continues.

TONI SILLIS
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

SCHOOL NEWS

MISSION & VISION

2024 YEAR OF HOLY AUDACITY THROUGH THE LENS OF HOSPITALITY & PEACE

Good Samaritan Education is centred on the person of Jesus Christ. The Parable of the Good Samaritan and the Rule of St Benedict are two of the important features of Mater Dei that help to sustain and nurture the school community as one of learning in the Catholic tradition.

This year we will work in forming ourselves with Holy Audacity. Joan Chittister, a well known Benedictine nun and theologian writes: To have holy audacity is to embrace the prophetic call to be a voice for justice and peace, and to challenge the powers that oppress and marginalised.

Holy Audacity, embedded in the Rule of Saint Benedict, embodies a courageous and bold approach to living out one’s faith, characterised by a profound sense of purpose and daring, fired with the desire to shape the hope “that we might all be one” (Jn 17:21) now. Holy Audacity echoes the call of Benedict and the ministry of the Good Sams, responding to the signs of the times and being proactive in the pursuit of peace (cf. RB Prol 17).

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Semester One 2024 Parent Teacher Conferences took place on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 February. 

​​The purpose of the conference was to meet with your child’s classroom teacher/s and to collaborate on your child’s Personalised Plan (PPSD) including individual learning goals and support. 

The conference also assists in maintaining communication with your child’s teacher/s. As well as best practice, collaboration with the classroom teacher/s and parents/carers is a requirement under the National Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). Contribution to your child’s PPSD is both valuable and essential.

Mater Dei Teachers have enjoyed meeting with families this week.

SPORTS NEWS

SWIMMING CARNIVAL AND INFANTS WATER FUN DAY
Next Friday, 1 March is our annual Swimming Carnival for students in Year three to Year twelve and our Infants Water Fun Day for our Infants students. Consent for the swimming carnival has been sent out on Compass. Parents and carers are welcome to attend the Swimming Carnival at Mount Annan Leisure Centre.

REPRESENTATIVE SPORT
Last week we held our swimming trials to select our Mater Dei swim team to compete at the upcoming Wollongong Diocese Swimming Carnivals. Successful students have been notified through Compass. Students wishing to trial for Cross Country need to nominate by the end of this week by sending an email to rebeccah@materdei.org.au 

WEEKLY SPORT/PDHPE
All students are currently participating in the Minifit program, on Tuesdays each week. The program has been funded through the NSW Government “Students Wellbeing Boost”. The students are loving learning new Athletics skills in preparation for our Whole School Athletics Carnival.

WORKPLACE LEARNING

Workplace learning has commenced for our senior students with staggered starts over Weeks 4 and 5 for orientations and meet and greets within the work place. We are thankful to have a variety of host businesses within our local community who support our students for their work placements. Students also participate in pre-vocational skills for their workplace learning on-site at Mater Dei to learn a variety of transferable skills such as café skills, office skills, retail in our mini woolies and work readiness.

Year 10 students attend meals on wheels which is an introduction to workplace learning and sets the foundations for further work placements in years 11 and 12.

We look forward to an exciting term of workplace learning.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

PUPIL FREE DAY

A reminder that Monday, 26 February 2024 is a Pupil Free Day for students at Mater Dei School. Staff will be particpating in professional learning on this day.

ANAPHYLAXIS

Anaphylaxis is a severe and sudden allergic reaction. It occurs when a person is exposed to an allergen, for example a food or insect bite. Although death is rare, anaphylactic reactions always require an emergency response. 

A reminder to all our parents and caregivers how important it is that we are all anaphylactic aware. At Mater Dei we ask that students do not have the following food items in their lunch boxes:

• eggs
• all nuts & nut products
• soy

YEAR 10 VACCINATIONS

On Wednesday, 13 of March 2024 students in Year 10, will be offered the Meningococcal ACWY vaccine.

You can now provide online consent for this routine school vaccinations. Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. 

To provide consent visit  https://nexus.health.nsw.gov.au/ 

For more information about how to provide online consent visit https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/online-consent-school-vaccination.aspx 

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form. Please request this from using your child’s school diary.

P&F NEWS

P&F ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

P&F EASTER RAFFLE

2024 SCHOOL DROP OFF / PICK UP PROCEDURES

2024 IMPORTANT DATES

EVENTS

CHILD PROTECTION

Child protection training for our staff is a crucial aspect of ensuring a safe and secure learning environment for our students. Staff this week revised information about legal obligations, reporting procedures, and effective communication strategies to engage with students and create a supportive atmosphere. The training emphasised the importance of maintaining confidentiality while prioritising the wellbeing of the student. By fostering a culture of awareness and vigilance, this training empowered our staff to play a pivotal role in safeguarding the welfare of our students and contribute to a nurturing educational environment.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

INFANTS WATER FUN DAY

MATER DEI CHARITY GOLF DAY

MAISY'S CORNER

We welcome back our cherished Wellbeing Dog Maisy! 🐾 Maisy’s presence brings so much joy and comfort to our school community. It has been exciting to see Maisy’s wagging tail, gentle spirit, and positive energy infuse back into our learning environment. Here's to another paw-some year of warmth, companionship, and wellbeing.

HELPFUL REMINDERS

PARENT FORMS AND SCHOOL DOCUMENTATION

School documentation and common forms are stored in Compass for parents to access at any time.  Parent Forms can be found by following these steps on your Compass App:

 (Steps 1-3 are for App users only)

1. Click on the student
2. Click on the 3 lines in top left corner
3. Click Open in Browser
4. Click on Community Icon (2 heads)
5. Click on School Documentation
6. Click Parent Forms

ATTENDANCE EXEMPTION FORMS 
Any families who wish to apply for attendance exemptions to attend therapy services in 2024, please download the Application for Leave Exemption form on Compass, complete and return to schooladmin@materdei.org.au 

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COMMUNITY NEWS

NSW HEALTH ALERT

Cryptosporidium 

Refer to attached NSW Health Media Release.

MACARTHUR SCHOOL SAFETY PROGRAM

RAINBOW CROSSING
Dance Together Program
Email: support@rainbowcrossing.org

SCOPE
Employment Pathways