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Wedding Wishes!
Good luck to Miss Nicole Ptycia and her fiance Tristan for their upcoming this weekend. On behalf of the school community, I wish Nicole and Tristan well and hope this special occasion is all they have dreamt about!
Thanks to Rod Smith
Thank you to Mr Rod Smith who filled in for Mr Leo O'Keeffe while he was away for two weeks overseas. Rod fits into the role seamlessly now and works well with staff and students. All tasks and jobs were done with a smile and great efficiency. Thanks Rod!
Talent Show Success
What a wonderful display of the talent we had here at St Anthony's last week. Thank you to Ms Beth Lehmensich for her terrific organisation and support of running this years talent show. Thank you also to the staff who assisted Beth with auditions and the show. You never know what the future holds for these students and how an experience like this may improve their confidence, self-belief and standing amongst their peers.
ELC Orientation Completed
Congratulations to Michelle Woodward, Emma Neale and all of the teachers and educators in the ELC on the successful 2020 Orientation sessions that were held this week. Each of the three ELC classes for 2020 had their own special orientation and parent information session. The new students enjoyed their time as a group and are excited about next year.
Positive Mental Health and Fitness - Bubble Day this Monday
On Monday we held ‘Bubble Day’ is St Anthony’s way of acknowledging World Mental Health Day. This is not a day to focus on mental illness but rather on ways to keep menatlly fit. Miss Beth Lehmensich reminded us that the 5 key elements we focus on to do this is:
- Connect (feel connected with others)
- Take Notice (of little things that bring you joy)
- Be Active (move your body, move your mood)
- Keep Learning (new experiences/opportunities)
- Give (your time, words and presence).
Thanks to Beth for bringing this focus to the school community.
‘Carnevale’ School Disco this Friday
The final school disco for 2019 is next Friday 29 November. This time around we have the special Carnevale theme! Gabry Borzatti has been helping plan the event with Maree in the canteen and the P&F. The event should be a lot of fun! Well done Gabry and Maree.
ACTsmart Sustainability Awards
It was wonderful to acknowledge the work that our staff and students put into sustainability within our school at the recent ACTsmart Awards ceremony. We had three staff, Mrs Kerrie Fradgley, Miss Nicole Ptycia and Mr Leo O'Keeffe nominated for awards and also our Environmental Team. Well done everyone and so proud of all your efforts to make the world a better place.
Christmas BookFair
Thank you to Ms Danielle Smith who organised the Christmas Book Fair. Something new for this year. Thank you also to Mrs Lisa Daly and Ms Julie Wilson for setting up and working on the Christmas Book Fair.
Have a great week.
Greg Walker
Principal
Term 4 School Fees - OVERDUE
School fee statements have been emailed to parents, if you have not received this email please contact me.
Payments may be made by cash, BPAY, EFTPOS, Direct Debit and one off payments can be made at any time through the Qkr! app.
Families who will be leaving St Anthony's at the end of the year should contact me regarding finalising payments. Should payment in full not be possible at the time of leaving, a prior arrangement for payment will need to be made with the Principal.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.
Katie Akers
Finance Officer
Congratulations to the following students who have been identified as Successful Learners this week:
Levi C KA, Michael R KA, Daniel A KP, Eleanor C KP, Callan R KP, Lacey W 1A, Ibrahim H 1A, Ryan H 2A, Khloe D 2A, Sophie A 2A, Lily P 2A, Noah W 2A, Shashank D 2P, Rosanna B 2P, Riley S 2P, Charlotte C 3P, Liliana A 3P, Douglas B 3P, Lachlan Mc 3P, Tyler M 3/4L, Keturah C 3/4L, Jasleen R 3/4L, Gene S 4A, Ruby Mc 4A, Sarah F 4A, Ella W 5A, Isabel L-P 5A, Jacob C 6P, Lara E 6P, Anthony G 6P.
Certificates will be presented at Friday morning Assembly.
Evangeline M, Samuel G, Jack Mc, Grace B, Rhyes H, Zac C, Carly H, Helen P, Alexandria B, Patrick M, Jack L, Jackson C, Archer E, Hannah J and Noah W.
Today Sophie and I attended the ACTsmart sustainability awards for 2019 we were nominated for the sustainability group of the year award and Miss Ptycia, Mrs Fradgley and Mr O’ Keeffe were nominated for sustainable teachers of the year. It was great and inspiring to see what other schools had come up with to help the environment, some of the ideas would have taken a lot of work and it was great to see and appreciate what they were doing. What a fantastic opportunity for St Anthony’s to be recognised for all the hard work in sustainability. Overall Merci was the winner of the most sustainable school for 2019. Sophie also thought the food was great as we got cupcakes!
From Sophie & Ava representing the environment group
The environmental group will be holding a plant stall this Friday before and after Community prayer. We will be selling tomato seedlings for a gold coin donation.
This Sunday marks the start of Advent. The Advent season is a time of preparation for our hearts and minds for the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas.
The use of the wreath and candles during Advent are a longstanding Catholic tradition.
The wreath and candles are full of symbolism tied to the Christmas season. The wreath itself, which is made of various evergreens, signifies continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God and the everlasting life we find in Christ.
The candles also have their own special significance. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent, and one candle is lit each Sunday. Three of the candles are purple as this is a liturgical colour that signifies a time of prayer, penance, and sacrifice.
The first candle, which is purple, symbolizes hope. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah.
The second candle, also purple, represents faith. It is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.
The third candle is pink and symbolizes joy. It is called the “Shepard’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is a liturgical colour for joy. The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday and is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus, as well as the joy that the faithful have reached the midpoint of Advent.
On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of our Saviour. This final candle, the “Angel’s Candle,” symbolizes peace. It reminds us of the message of the angels: “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”
Though the Mercy Home Advent wreath does not include a white candle, this is a tradition that has become popular in modern day adaptations.
The white candle is placed in the middle of the wreath and lit on Christmas Eve. This candle is called the “Christ Candle” and represents the life of Christ. The colour white is for purity—because Christ is our pure Saviour.
Celebrating Advent is an excellent way to prepare your mind and heart for Christmas. How do you and your family celebrate Advent? We would love to hear your traditions.
Mission Group
The Mission Group has weighed all the 5 cent coins and all up, there was about 17 kilograms and totalling a cool $540. Thank you to everyone for your generosity.
St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hamper Appeal
A very big thank you for all the donations that have come in already. We will be accepting items until Monday of week 9.
Christmas Hamper List
- ELC – Jelly crystals, Bon bons and decorations
- Kinder – Tinned fruit and tinned vegetables
- Year 1 – Chocolates and lollies
- Year 2 – Chips or other snacks
- Year 3 – Sweet biscuits, savoury biscuits
- Year 4 – Soft drink and fruit juice
- Year 5 – Christmas pudding, UHT custard
- Year 6 - Tinned ham, Christmas cake
Operation Christmas Child
I am absolutely touched by the amazing response from our families! It was wonderful to see box after box be dropped off to the front office. Students loved sharing stories about what their families purchased to donate and how happy children will be when they receive a special gift. It goes to show how important it is to model empathy and how much our children are learning from us. ___________________________________________________________________
Once again, from St Anthony’s school community and the various charities thank you, thank you, thank you! Your support and kindness never goes unnoticed and shows a true spirit of our beautiful school.
Many blessings for the week
Angie Kisiel - REC (acting)
Collection of Students during School Hours
When collecting students from school during school hours, the person collecting the child must sign the student out at the Front Office, then walk to the student’s classroom. The use of the PA system is only used when it is absolutely essential as these interruptions impact learning. It is advised that extra time is given in the case that your child's class are not in the classroom.
Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant
We’ve been successful with our application for a Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant for our project the Worm Farms!
Our worm farm project aims to educate all the children throughout the school about food waste and how this can be minimised through worm farms and composting. All students will be given an overview and basic care instructions for feeding and caring for their farms, but the Environment Group; whose members change each semester will be given in-depth training to care for the farms. The worm farms will regularly be reviewed, ensuring proper care and the compost will be used on our vegetable garden. By witnessing food waste being turned into fertiliser for more food in the future, students gain an understanding of the interdependence of different aspects of agriculture. Also, by recognising which foods can be given to the worm farms, the students are encouraged to make healthier food choices for themselves.
St Anthony’s is one of 617 primary schools and early learning centres throughout Australia receiving a Woolworths Junior Landcare grant to help grow our next generation of environmental champions.
The grants are being funded with money made from the sale of the Woolworths recyclable Bag for good™ which was launched in 2018 when the supermarket stopped using single-use plastic bags.
The children and teachers are looking forward to working and learning from this project and we’ll keep you updated on the results.
Click on the Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant map to read about our project and others.
*the link to the entire map is: https://landcareaustralia.org.au/woolworthsgrants/maps
Or, if you want to just link to your school’s project, click on the big map, find your project and then cut and past the URL into this article and create a hyperlink.
Bookings for Vacation Care will be open until Friday the 13th of December.