Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are surviving and managing to cope despite the many hats you are wearing!

October is Mental Health Month in the ACT.

https://www.mentalhealthmonthact.org/

Mrs Hardwicke shared this image from

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse

By: Charlie Mackesy

For our prayer, it speaks for itself.

Please read the information attached regarding a safe return to school and let us know if you have any questions/concerns

Thank you for your support, feedback and patience as we head towards an end to lockdown and a smooth transition back to normality,

Many Blessings

Judy Egan

A Safe Return to School

On Monday 25th October Term 4 - Week 4, we will be excited to welcome back Kinder, Yr1, Yr2 and Yr 6 students. (Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5 students continue remote learning)

All students return Monday 1 November, Term 4 - Week 5

• We are planning an exciting day back for everyone but understand that for some students and families it may be an anxious time. We ask that you contact us ASAP if your child will not be returning
• Safety is our top priority including hygiene, ventilation, sanitiser, social distancing and use of the check in App
• Any staff/students with symptoms are advised not to attend school and to seek testing. Students must be collected from school if they become unwell.
• If there is a case of COVID-19, we will notify the community via COMPASS and follow all ACT Government health directives.
• Masks are mandatory for adults and students 12 years. Masks are a parent/student choice, they need to be well fitted and changed if they become wet or after 4 hours. Images and information are included in the newsletter. It would help us if parents supplied surgical or fabric masks.
• If you need to collect your child from school for an appointment, please advise via phone/email and ensure you are wearing a mask.
• We encourage everyone to use the drive through drop off system for mornings children only can enter the front doors from 8:20am.
• Afternoon pick up will be different as no adults are permitted to enter the building and we have been advised to minimise risk by distributing pick up areas.
• It would help us to identify families if you could place a visible sign on your windscreen clearly marked with your family name (this could be a creative task for the children)
• The pickup system will be practised with students and will begin on Monday 25th October when our K-2 and Year 6 students return to school. Essential worker parents collecting students attending school will also follow this system.
• Year 5,6 students will be collected at the roundabout on Tyrrell Circuit
• Year 3,4 students will be collected at the Church
• K-2 students and siblings will be collected from normal drop off point at the front of the school
• In wet weather Year 5/6 students will gather in the hall and enter cars at normal drop off
• To clarify for siblings- all siblings will be picked up from the area of the youngest student. e.g., Troy is in Year 5, Josh is in Year 3 and Amelia is in Year 1, all will go to normal morning drop off point at the front of the school (Amelia is the youngest so go to her pick up point)
• We ask that you do not exit the car as this causes a delay and a bank up of cars on Tyrrell Circuit
• Drivers will need to keep safe and be patient and aware of cars merging from the Church pick up
• For this to work we need everyone on the same page, please help us by informing family members who do pick up
• We have included a map and colours to explain, if we need to adjust or revise we will let you know
• Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns around drop off and pick up.

Afternoon Pick up at St Michael’s:  See Map below

Red line- Year 5 and Year 6 students wait at the roundabout

Green line- Kinder, Yr1 and Yr2 students and siblings who will wait at morning drop off drive through

Blue line - Year 3 and Year 4 students who will wait at the church, enter via church driveway 

School Fees

Thank you to all our families for supporting us by continuing to pay school fees and putting in place payment plans. We have posted fees this week. To try to alleviate costs we have deducted the excursion levy for Term 4. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns with fees.

School Enrolment for 2022

Please let us know if your family circumstances have changed and your child will not be returning for the 2022 school year.  Families are required to give written notification so we can update our records.  Please email the office at  office.stmichaelsps@cg.catholic.edu.au

Correct fitting for face Masks 

Religious Education

Even in Remote Learning Religious Education has an important priority in all that we do. Students in Years 5 & 6 are investigating the Bible as a key source of information about our faith. They are currently looking at the Infancy Narratives; the stories about the birth of Jesus. The two key stories in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell two quite different stories because of the perspectives and purposes of their authors. This doesn’t mean both don’t contain truth, just that, as with all stories, who wrote them and why is key. What do you ‘know’ about the story of the birth of Jesus? What questions do you have about this miraculous event?

These two videos have a little extra information if you’d like to do your own reflection.

Matthew Infancy Narrative https://youtu.be/8Tjw0tY3sPU                                        

Luke Infancy Narrative https://youtu.be/nAqNub2XmDQ

Religious Life

Let’s take a look at the Readings for this Sunday. Remember Fr Loi is celebrating Mass online on Saturday at 5:00pm this weekend.

First Reconciliation

Books have been sent home for preparation for First Reconciliation in November.  A reminder that registrations are currently open through the parish website. http://cg.org.au/belconnennorth/Home.aspx

Global Schools Partners

Our friend Simon from Global Schools Partners is taking part in a challenge called 20X20 Challenge. He is riding 20km each day for 20 days to raise money for the schools in Kenya. See more about this at: https://www.globalschoolpartners.org.au/events .

Catholic Mission

What is World Mission Month?

Here in Australia, October marks World Mission Month, a celebration of the global work of the Church and the dedication of missionaries, both religious and lay, as they reach out and support children and communities in need around the world.

On World Mission Sunday, which falls on 24 October 2021, parish communities around the world will gather to pray for and raise funds to support the work of thousands of crucial church-run programs. The following Wednesday, 27 October, is Children’s Mission Day, which you and your school can celebrate fully through Socktober. At St Michael’s we will be exploring different ways we can learn about the work being done around the world to support those in poverty.

World Mission Month is our biggest celebration at Catholic Mission, and it is a special time when we are reminded of the often-unseen work of missionaries in the farthest corners of the globe. 

Sacramental Program 2021

Sacrament of Confirmation – Change of Dates now confirmed

Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions in the ACT the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation will now be celebrated on 23,24 and 25 November 2021.

COVID Restrictions - due to Covid restrictions limited people are allowed in the church for each celebration and as some parents are working from home Fr Loi has agreed to include midday and evening liturgies to celebrate the Sacrament. This will be 6 liturgies with around 15 candidates per liturgy.

This means the number of people attending is restricted to a maximum of 4 per family and only people who reside in the household. Which means the people attending would be, the candidate, their sponsor and 2 other household members. In the absence of the sponsor, a parent may stand in as a proxy.

Booking a date for the Sacrament will open on 18 October and close by 5 November 2021. Bookings are to be made through TryBooking via the links on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

Sacrament of Reconciliation

The Sacrament will be celebrated (5 minute timeslots for each candidate):
9 November in St Michael’s Church from 3.30 to 6pm;
10 November in St Monica’s Church from 3.30 to 6pm; and
11 November in St Monica’s Church from 3.30 to 6pm

Registration for the Sacrament – is open and will close by 25 October 2021. Registration and payment must be made through the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Qkr! App (NOT the school’s app). No further registrations will be accepted beyond the closing date.

Booking a date and time for the Sacrament - is now open and will close by 28 October 2021. Bookings are to be made through TryBooking via the links on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

Purchasing a stole for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is optional and is not compulsory. If you wish to purchase a stole, the cost is $20 and this can also be done via the Parish Qkr! app.

Further Information – please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or (sue.coll@bigpond.com (during lockdown)) or check the parish website for updates at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth