Dear SCA Families,

Next week we celebrate SCA Feast Week, the time when we remember our patron, St Clare of Assisi and we give thanks for the wonderful school community we are all part of. We are looking forward to celebrating St Clare, and focussing on ways in which we can be like St Clare, to make our world a better place.

St Clare devoted her life to God, leaving her family and their lifestyle behind and following closely in the footsteps of St Francis and his mission. Following Francis’ death, Clare continued to work in the Assisi area, in the church that Francis ‘rebuilt’ and began her own order called the Poor Clare’s. The Poor Clare Sisters still work in Assisi, Italy, and around the world.

St Clare once told her sisters that… “When lips cease to pray, let your hands begin”, meaning in essence that our actions often speak longer and louder than our words ever can. Clare built her life around the values of love and service so during our Feast Week we should all take a minute to reflect on our relationship with each other and God. How often do we consider others’ needs before our own or reflect on putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes before reacting or judging them?

This week (Thursday 8^th August) we also celebrate the feast day of St Mary MacKillop. One of the most used, motivating and known sayings of Mary MacKillop is:

“Never see a need without doing something about it. (1871).

A simple way to acknowledge our first Australian saint would be to discuss the above quote at the family table tonight. If each family were to identify one practical thing they could do to help someone in their community, we would all wake up to a better world tomorrow.

Hair

Upon enrolment, all parents agree to school policies, including the school’s uniform policy (as per our website) and its guidelines on hair:

“Hair should be clean and neat. A student’s hair should be cut off their face and, if longer than shoulder length, it must be tied back in an appropriate school coloured band. Hair should also be of natural colour and extreme haircuts are not allowed. Rats tails, dreadlocks and geometric shapes cut into the hair are not permitted.”

We kindly request your support in adhering to our school's hair style policy. Following these guidelines helps us maintain a positive and conducive learning environment for all students. Your cooperation is essential and greatly appreciated.

Congratulations Pam

I extend a huge congratulations to Pam, our wonderful OSHC Director. Pam has been nominated for, and is receiving, a Faith in Learning CE Excellence Award. This will be presented to Pam at the CECG Recognition Awards Mass this coming Thursday at 4pm at St Christopher’s Cathedral.

Well done Pam.

Student Safety

Your child's safety is our top priority, and we kindly request your assistance in maintaining a secure environment during drop-off times.

When you bring your child to school, please remember to engage your vehicle's park brake and place the car in park before they exit. This simple step ensures that your car remains stationary, preventing any unexpected movement that could pose a risk to your child and others.

By working together, we can create a safer drop-off experience for everyone. Thank you for your attention to this important detail.

Community Council Meeting

Our fifth Community Council Meeting for the year was held last night (Tuesday 7^th August). The following items were discussed:

• Principal’s Report
• 2024 Fete
• 30^th Anniversary Plans
• Parental Engagement
• CECG Director letter to Council re our request for an ELC
• 2025 Budget inclusions
• Archdiocesan Assembly
• Meeting Student Needs Funding

If you would like to discuss any of the items, please speak with one of our Council members, or email council.scaconder@cg.catholic.edu.au

It was once said…

“Go forth in peace. Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother.” – St Clare of Assisi.

Blessings to you and your family.

Matt Egan-Richards

Principal

matt.egan-richards@cg.catholic.edu.au

Footsteps Program

Our students are thriving in their Monday dance sessions! Dance teaches young children perseverance and self-motivation while encouraging them to experiment and explore different problem-solving methods. This vital aspect of personal development highlights the importance of trial-and-error and the value of persistence—if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Ask your children to show you their latest dance moves; you might even enjoy a family “Chicken Dance” after dinner!

Indonesian Pre-Service Teachers

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Indonesian Embassy and the universities in Indonesia for sending us three pre-service teachers to assist in teaching Bahasa Indonesia. This week, I had the pleasure of joining the Year 6 and Kindergarten Indonesian classes. Our Year 6 students delved into the significance of Indonesian Independence Day and participated in traditional celebratory games. Meanwhile, our Kindergarten students enjoyed singing and dancing in Indonesian. It was wonderful to see our students so engaged and enthusiastic about learning the culture.

30th Anniversary Christmas Fete

Preparation for our upcoming 30th Anniversary Christmas Fete began late last year, and we are excited to share the progress with you. We have already secured many attractions, including Bells Carnival, a Petting Zoo, and live entertainment featuring musicians, choirs, and dancers.

Raffle tickets will be sent home soon, and we kindly request your support again this year to help run various stalls as class groups.

Please join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, 21st, at 6 pm in the SCA Staffroom. Light refreshments will be provided. Remember, many hands make light work!

All funds raised from our Fete will go back into resourcing the learning here at SCA. We look forward to your participation and support.

Crazy Sock Day 

Last Friday's Crazy Sock Day was a huge success. Thank you to all our amazing students and their families for their generous donations! Catholic Mission's theme for this year's fundraising is making a difference in the lives of children in Mongolia following Pope Francis's historic visit last year. Our donations will be greatly appreciated! Thanks again for your ongoing support.

St Mary of the Cross Mackillop Feast Day

This Thursday, August 8th, is the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop. To observe this important Feast Day, each class will participate in a special 'Praying with Mary Mackillop' prayer and meditation as their morning prayer.

Eucharist Commitment Masses

This weekend is the last of the Commitment Masses. It was beautiful to see our students, who have begun preparing to make this sacrament over the weekend, handing out their prayer cards to other parish members.

Feast of the Assumption Liturgy

Year 3 will lead the Feast of the Assumption Liturgy on August 15th at 2 p.m. in the Hall to celebrate Mary's ascension into Heaven. All are welcome!

Feast Week 

Next week, we will celebrate the Feast of St Clare of Assisi, marking an especially significant occasion - our 30th Anniversary. Throughout the week, students will engage in a variety of activities to honour this important Feast Day. The celebrations will culminate with a special Mass at HFC on Friday.

Community Prayer: On Tuesday Morning, we would like to invite parents and community members to join our classrooms for their morning prayer. This special prayer liturgy will celebrate the life of St Clare of Assisi.

Feast Week Activities:

Monday 12th: 

• Community Prayer Morning—All parents are invited to join their child's class for their morning Prayer. 

Tuesday 13th: 

• Special Feast Day Lunch - Each student will receive a sausage sandwich, a packet of chips, and a fruit box.

Wednesday 14th: 

• Lolly Day - Lollies will be sold at the canteen during recess and lunchtime.

Thursday 15th: 

• Year 3  Feast of the Assumption Liturgy in the Hall @ 2 p.m.

Friday 16th: 

• Whole School Feast Day Mass @ HFC 
• Buddie classes rock activity

All week - 

• Colouring in competition - Mrs Austin will host a colouring competition at lunchtime in the Library. The winners will be announced on Friday.
•  SCA Emblem Hunt - Students can participate in the SCA Emblem Hunt at recess and lunch. The winners will be announced on Friday.
• Homework grid  - students are asked to complete the set activities throughout the week.
• 30^th Anniversary Time capsule - each class will contribute to the time capsule.

Susan Strickland 

Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)

Congratulations to the children who will be awarded white cards at the 8.45 am Friday Morning Assembly.

SCA Community,

I am very excited to share with you this week's grade spotlight featuring Kindergarten and year 3

Regards,

Brooke Coles

Year One Classroom Teacher

To celebrate St Clare of Assisi Feast Day the canteen will have a 

Lolly Day Wednesday 14th August.

Cash only.

This is a very busy day in the Canteen and lots of help is required at:

Recess 10.50 - 11.20am

Lunch 1.20 - 2pm

If you are able to assist please contact Michelle on: michelle.woods@cg.catholic.edu.au

or contact the Front Office on 62941860

Please Label All Clothes Legibly

We kindly request that all clothing items be labeled clearly with your child's name. This helps us ensure that lost items can be promptly returned to their rightful owners.

Lost property is cleared out three times each term by volunteers. We are always looking for people to help.

Below is the pile of unnamed (or illegible) lost property from Week 3, which was sorted out on Tuesday. All the clothes will be washed and taken to Vinnies or the second-hand clothing shop at the school. The drink bottles and lunch boxes are back in lost property and will hopefully find an owner. Two pairs of glasses were returned to the front office.

We’d love to have found the owners for all the clothing items—fingers crossed for Week 8!

Thank you for your cooperation!

A very BIG THANK YOU to Mel Reeson and Fay Holden who undertake this massive job every three weeks.

Player of the Week 

Speckles – Aubrey

Smiggles – Kasia

Squiggles – Emma

Swifts – Montana

Skittles – Maddy W

Sparkles – Lucy C

Smurfs – Bye

Sunshines – Izzie C

Stars – Maddie W

Smarties – Hailey and Ruby

Swifts Match Report

This week saw the Swifts take on the 3^rd placed TCS Electric in what was a non-freezing, sunny Saturday morning. We had three of our players away this week, and were lucky enough to have two of the SCA Year 4 girls join us to make up numbers. All of the girls played hard which saw us getting some fantastic intercepts and goals. The girls got stronger as the game went on, and while we didn’t take the win, it was great to see the girls utilising the skills we have been working on at practice, including some sneaky bounce passes! Well done to all of the girls.

Congratulations to Jade (5G) for making the ACT U12 AFL team. Jade and her sister Hayley will both be competing in the National championships in Geelong all this week. Such a great achievement for a 10 year old! Good luck girls!

Classrooms are in need of glass jars of various sizes, if you have any spare glass jars at home that you can donate, we would greatly appreciated it.

Please ensure the jars are clean and free of labels.  You can drop off the jars at the front office during school hours. 

Thank you for your continued support.