Dear Parents and Carers,

The children and staff have been working immensely hard on our upcoming

Carols on the Court evening on 13 December. Although the feedback was to have it earlier, hence the original 5pm start time, we think that 6pm will accommodate more families during this very busy season.

We will now begin promptly at 6pm so your children should be dressed and at school at least 20 minutes prior. It is also likely to be quite warm but I can't do anything about the sun situation on the basketball court so I am asking that you consider this in your preparation.

The spirit of Christmas is in the 'togetherness', it's in the thought to which you put into thinking about others, it's a selfless time, where we forgive, take stock of what's important and become 'better' versions of ourselves. So with that in mind we are not spending money on hiring stages and chairs this year. Alternatively, we will provide some chairs (approximately 350 chairs) around the perimeter of the court and we invite families to bring a picnic blanket or their own low chairs to sit on as there will be some spaces for that on the court in front of the usual assembly area. There will also be standing room on the balconies outside the Year 2 and 3 classrooms as well as the undercroft area above Kindergarten and Year 1 classrooms.

COSTUMES

Kindergarten: Farm animals (onesie or make your own) - Sheep - Horse - Donkey - Cow - Pig

Year 1: Angels - White pants/leggings, dress or skirt - White tops - Halo - Wings (any style)

Year 2: Stars - Black pants/leggings or shorts/ skirt / dress - Black top - Gold star headband or gold star on top - Gold tinsel pinned around the bottom of their top

Year 3: Shepherd - White top - Black pants / legging / shorts - Tea towel or scarf for their head - Material or long top or robe over the top - String for the headband and belt

Year 4: Angels - white & gold - White top with gold tinsel pinned/ sewn around the bottom - White pants/ legging/ shorts - Gold tinsel halo - Wings optional

Year 5: Kings - Cape / cloak - bright colours & can be ornate - Bright coloured tops - Black pants/ leggings / shorts / dress - or white tunic with bright belt (like the photo) - Gold or Jewelled crown

Year 6: Black pants/ leggings/ shorts - Christmas T- shirt ( red, green, white,) with a Christmas print. These might be a shirt that they have in KMart or Target to celebrate Christmas.

RECONCILIATION

Congratulations to our children on their Reconciliation. Such an important step on your sacramental journey. Thank you, to Mrs Jackson and our staff for their preparation and attendance. Huge thanks to Thomas, the Sacramental Coordinator, for all of his work with our children and families.

The P&F have created an email address and drive folder. The email account will be checked weekly so please email any questions/queries direct to the P&F, if P&F-related. The drive will be used to store handover documents for events. This should support class groups when planning and preparing events going forward. The email address is : shmosman.pandf@gmail.com

In preparation for 2024, I provided you with the calendar of Term Dates and Staff Development Days via Compass last week (please see below also). You will also see a snapshot of dates for Term 1, 2024 below and I will send one of these out before each term next year.

Please note, the dates for the year are locked in, including P&F events, these are now available to be viewed on the ‘public’ calendar.

NSW TERM DATES, 2024 *please see our Staff Development Days below which will alter the start and end dates of each term.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAYS, 2024 *some of these are mandated so please accept my apologies for any inconvenience

ALL HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH SCECS (AFTER SCHOOL CARE)

Day 1:Tuesday 30 January- Annual Improvement Plan, PGiA (Professional Goals in Action), WHS, Child Protection and Compliance.

Day 2: Tuesday 2 April- Curriculum Reform Network Professional Learning 1

Day 3: Monday 29 April- Curriculum Reform School-based Professional Learning

Day 4: Friday 5 July- Curriculum Reform Network Professional Learning 2

Day 5: Monday 22 July- Spirituality Day

Day 6: Friday, 18 October- Curriculum Reform Network Professional Learning 3

Day 7: Monday 18 November- Assessment and Reporting

Day 8: Thursday 19 December- Handover, Annual Improvement Plan, PGIA

*Friday 20 December is a day owed to teachers for doing extra twilight meetings (after hours) throughout the year.

TERM 1 SNAPSHOT, 2024

May God bless all our families.

Leanne Meehan

Executive Principal