ADVENT

Happy New Year!  Yes, it is a new year within our Church. The first Sunday of Advent begins a new liturgical cycle (Year C). For that reason, Advent is an opportunity for us all to begin anew. Think about it. Wouldn’t it be nice to start anew? Are there things in your life that you’d like to leave behind or change? Most likely there are and Advent may just be the time to do so. Beginning anew means that we take the past and give it over to our Divine Lord. It means that we let go of our past sin and hurt and ask Jesus to enter in. It means we turn to Him for a fresh start and have hope in all that He wants to accomplish in our lives. It is time to begin again!
 
Advent follows a certain theme of preparation and anticipation. At first, we reflect upon the fact that the Saviour of the World will one day return in all His glory. We look to that truth and anticipate it with great hope. From there, we look at the fact that He did come long ago as a child. He was born of the Virgin and dwelt among us. Christmas is the fulfillment of the hope given in Advent and is the realisation of God’s promise. God humbled Himself, becoming a little child entrusted to the care of Blessed Mary of Nazareth. She became not only the Mother of God, she also became our Mother in Grace. May this new year be a time of new life for you and for all.
 
https://mycatholic.life/books/catholic-daily-reflections-series/advent-and-christmas-reflections/

SUNDAY 28TH NOVEMBER – 1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR C)

Advent Begins! “Be vigilant at all times and pray.” Luke 21:36a
 
Lord, as Advent begins, help me to put my eyes on You. Help me to open my ears to Your voice. And help me to open my heart to Your glorious presence. May I be attentive to You in every way You desire to come to me. Jesus, I trust in You.

SUNDAY 5TH DECEMBER – 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR C)

Humility Prepares the Way for Christ. “A voice of one crying out in the desert.  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”  Luke 3:4
 
Lord, thank You for the gift of St. John the Baptist.  May his witness of humility inspire me in my Christian walk.  Help me, Lord, to always point others to You rather than to myself.  Jesus, I trust in You.

PRAYER INTENTIONS

We pray for all families in our school community who are in need of our prayers, as well as our country and world.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us.
St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Kylie Crowe
Religious Education Coordinator

Special thanks goes to our St John’s Mini Vinnies Team for their efforts in helping to organise this. Please send in your donations as soon as possible to your child’s classroom teacher. Thank you for supporting such a worthy cause.

PB4L is an evidence-based framework that emphasises school-wide systems of support for all students and staff. These include proactive strategies for defining, teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviours. Positive behaviour supports are implemented for all students, across all school settings, by all staff, at all times. This continuum of support ensures students’ academic and social outcomes.

All student behaviour expectations are founded on our three school rules – Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe.

Congratulations to all the students that received Merit Awards for Week 6 and 7.

The 2021 Christmas Story Art Exhibition and Competition’s official opening will be a virtual event. It will provide a unique opportunity for students to gather with family and friends to join in the celebrations and announcement of the official awards and finalists.

Please find below the link to the premiere event streaming on 24 November 2021 from 7.00 pm www.dow.catholic.edu.au/christmasart

There will be four major awards presented this year:

● The Bishop’s Choice Award selected and presented by Bishop Brian Mascord to an entry that most powerfully represents the Christmas Message.

● The Director’s Christmas Story Award selected and presented by Peter Hill, Director of Schools, to an entry that best expresses the essence of Christmas and the message of peace, hope and joy.

● The CatholicCare Star of Hope Award selected and presented by Michael Austin, Director of CatholicCare Wollongong, to an entry that best reflects the sense of wonder and possibility of Christmas, inspiring positive action.

● The Packing Room Prize selected by CEO staff and presented by David Gearin, Education Officer (Social Justice) and Chair of the CEO’s Faith in Action Committee. This prize serves as a fundraiser for CatholicCare Wollongong.

There will be a selection of finalists from Year 5 and Year 6, who along with the major award winners will proceed to the Sydney Catholic School Exhibition and Competition. There will also be a number of Highly Commended certificates awarded to both Years 5 and 6 students. Certificates and trophies will be delivered to participating schools prior to the virtual event.

Good luck to our students: Dhyllen, Zoey, Amali and Declan.

Young athletes saw how far the representative sport pathways offered by Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) and an unwavering attitude could take them when former students and Olympians, Kieran Woolley and Blake Glovers spoke at the 24th Annual Catholic Development Fund (CDF) Diocesan Sports Awards, held virtually last Friday 12 November. 

The presentation premiered to a large audience who watched on from the comfort of their own homes. It was a fitting end to a busy sporting year and a positive advertisement for the opportunities available for CEDoW students and teachers. 

This year’s awards highlighted the achievements of over 190 talented students who have proudly represented the Diocese of Wollongong at MacKillop and NSW Combined Catholic College events. Two primary teams and seven secondary teams were also acknowledged for winning state Catholic school titles.

This year’s virtual event, proudly sponsored by the CDF, attracted over 550 viewings and provided the opportunity for parents and carers to share the event with their broader families.

Congratulations Emily H (Year 6) for her award and recognition at the 2021 CDF Sports Awards. 

The school fees for 2022 have been approved by Bishop Brian Mascord and all fees will be billed at the end of January 2022:

Tuition Fees

The Primary tuition fee for 2022 is:
$1,746 per family (per annum)

The SEDSO Levy for 2022 is:
$1,130 per family (per annum)

The School Resource Fee is:
The Resource Fee for 2022 will be $170 for Kindergarten and $160 for Years 1 to 6 per student.

The following are additional costs (per student) for 2022:

• Sport Levy - $20
• Life Education - $7
• Gunyah Excursion - $69
• Kindergarten Excursion - $38
• Year 1 Excursion - $34
• Year 2 Excursion - $47
• Year 3 Excursion - $30
• Year 4 Excursion - $38
• Year 5 Camp - $306
• Year 6 Canberra - $239
• Year 6 TShirt Fee - $49.50
• Year 6 Leadership Program - $6.50
• Year 6 Excursion - $54

School Fees are invoiced as an annual account, due for payment in full 30 days after invoicing. However, many families elect to pay their school fees by regular instalments. If wish to take up this offer, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at the school office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account during the process of invoicing 2022 school fees. Your school fee statements will be emailed to you and they will provide a list of scheduled payments and their due date depending on the frequency you have chosen. Please ensure that you make the exact payment listed as per your scheduled payments at least a few days prior to the due date to ensure you are not issued with an overdue notice. If you wish to change your frequency of payments, please complete a new form and submit this as soon as possible.

The students of Year 2 created a field of poppies for their buddies in Horsley Hammond Care Nursing Home. These were presented to and warmly received by the residents during their Remembrance Day Service last Thursday.

To the following students who are celebrating their birthday in December — we wish you a very happy birthday and hope you have a great day.

We have now moved to Compass to automatically generate our Principal's Awards, so there is no need to send in merit awards to count towards a Principal's Award. The only Principal's Awards to be sent in would be the old red ones, which would be counted towards a medallion.

In particular, could Year 6 parents please note this and send in any old red Principal's Awards to count towards a medallion. Four Principal's Awards are required for a bronze medallion.

Our school awards have a specific value, awards accrue to receive a Principal’s Award, followed by school medallions. 

To assist in understanding how Merit and Core Value awards combine to achieve a Principal’s Award, the following examples have been provided.

Examples of current system awards

• 6 Merit Awards (6 points) = Principal’s Award
• 4 Merit Awards (4 points) + 1 Core Value Award (2 points) = Principal’s Award
• 2 Core Value Awards (4 points) and 2 Merit Awards (2 points) = Principal’s Award

All other awards including Welcome Certificates, School Spirit Awards, Sport Awards etc do not contribute to receiving a Principal’s Award.

Due to extended remote learning because of COVID-19, the Semester 2 Reports will focus on essential learning with priority given to Religious Education, English and Mathematics.

The Federal Minister for Education and Youth has released a statement, recognising the continuing extraordinary circumstances created by the pandemic. The statement allows for a flexible approach to reporting and schools impacted by the pandemic are not required to report against each KLA using the A-E scale in Semester 2, 2021.

Teachers will therefore report on participation in the areas in Religious Education, Mathematics and English and include a general comment. Attendance will not be included and the Semester 2 Report will be available via the Compass portal on Wednesday 8 December.

www.sjddow.catholic.edu.au

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