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Year 4 First Eucharist Sunday 24th August
Congratulations to Isabella, Kimara, William, Sam, Millie and Alexander who received the Eucharist for the first time on Sunday. They were supported by their families, parishioners and Father Martin. The children received their First Eucharist with reverence and care, showing how special the moment was through their prayerful attitude and quiet respect. Thank you to Father Martin for making the families and children feel so welcome and special. Thank you to Jenny Burnet and Megan Moore for their work and care preparing the students for this special day.
Jackson Year 3- Baptism
Congratulations to Jackson in Year 3 who was baptised at St Catherine’s church on Sunday, 17th August. Jackson has begun his initiation into the Catholic faith. He is is looking forward to celebrating the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist in Year 4.
It’s time to get practising…
The St Catherine’s Got Talent Show is back!
Auditions - Weeks 7 & 8 (Monday afternoon 1st & 8th Sept)
Finals - Week 9 - Monday 15th September at 2:15pm
This year the finals will be held during the school day in the hall. Parents & families are most welcome to attend. More information will be coming your way soon. In the meantime NOW is the right time to gather your music, instruments, costumes & props & get practising. Auditions will take place in weeks 7 & 8 during student break times. Students are welcome to perform as a solo artist or in a group with friends. The opportunities are endless. Please complete the attached entry form & return to your classroom teacher by week 6, Tuesday 26th August 2015.
If you have any questions please email sam.hudson@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au
South Eastern Zones Principal’s Conference: 16th-23rd August
Last week I had the privilege of spending a week of learning, prayer and discovery with my colleagues from the South Eastern Principal’s Network. We began our week with a three day retreat at the Seville Mercy Centre in Cairns.
The goals of the retreat were: To explore our ecological identity and mercy in our midst by deepening our appreciation of Earth’s beauty, hearing Earth’s cry, and bringing forth our imaginative responses (personal, organisational and communal) to the challenges of our time and our place. The retreat immersed us in the wonder of universe story, and in natural places of beauty and ancient wisdom of global significance.
We were drawn to experience deep gratitude for Earth’s gifts, to know Earth’s pain, and to see with new eyes before going forth. We immersed ourselves in Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudito Si, which calls us to care for our beautiful world and be caretakers for future generations.
“If the simple fact of being human moves people to care for the environment of which they are a part, Christians in their turn realise that their responsibility within creation, and their duty towards nature and the creator, are an essential part of their faith.” (Paragraph 64)
We were lucky enough to go on several excursions to experience the wonders of creation.
We spent the day on a Walkabout Tour with a local indigenous elder.
We learnt about:
- The history of the region
- How to identify seasonal Australian bush tucker & caught and cooked our lunch (Mud crabs)
- The World Heritage listed Daintree rainforest
- Learnt about Kuku Yalanji Rainforest Aboriginal people and listened to Dreamtime Stories about the land, sea & sky
- The unique marine and rainforest life
- Took a cooling swim in a local freshwater stream (Mossman Gorge)
The final three days were spent engaged in learning with colleagues from across Australia and the AECE Conference in Cairns. It was a rich experience and I walked away with many insights, wonderings and ideas that I will explore further with the staff and students.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Sr Nathalie Becquart- Undersecretary for the General Secretariat of the Synod, Vatican
Prof Dylan Wiliam- Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at the UCL Institute of Education
Dr Steve Constantino- Family Engagement Expert
Dr Simon Breakspear- Educational expert and Founder of Strategic Schools
Dr Jordana Hunter-Education Program Director at Grattan Institute
The National Catholic Education Commission partnered with host diocese, Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns to offer an engaging professional learning experience for over 1,500 Catholic educators, leaders, clergy, parents and others from the broader Church involved in Catholic education. With the theme ‘hope, anchored in faith’, the conference focused on the strategic vision and mission of Catholic education across three key areas – Faith, Excellence and Access. The conference featured a broad range of speakers, presentations and workshops focused on Catholic identity, mission and formation; learning and teaching; leadership and governance; parent engagement; parish and community engagement; resourcing and infrastructure; advocacy and marketing.
Book Now for MACSEYE’s September Holiday Program
MACSEYE is running a fun and engaging school holiday program this September. The program runs throughout the school holidays and features exciting activities including dance, crafts, footy and games, excursions and more! See the attached brochure for the full program and fees.
Bookings
Current OSHC users: Book now via the Xplor Home app.
New families: Enrol first via the enrolment link in the brochure and you’ll get instructions on how to book.
Bookings close: Monday 15 September
Please note: Regular before and after school care sessions will not be available during the holidays. For more information, contact MACSEYE email contact@macseye.vic.edu.au or 1300 501029.
Bruthen Street Kindergarten- Playground & Library visits
We have been hosting regular playground and library visits for Bruthen Street Kinder. This will continue throughout 2025. The Year 5 students will also be visiting the local kinders to assist with storytime activities. There will be an Operoo going out to Year 5 families over the next week.
2025 Student Shout Outs!
Please email me if your child has achieved an amazing milestone either individually or with their team. We will showcase them in our newsletter. Please include a photo of your child showing off their award/trophy/certificate etc. Please note we cannot add team photos to the newsletter as we don't have photo permission for the team members.
St Catherine’s TWILIGHT TOUR 5:30 pm Monday, 1st September
We are sending home 20 flyers with each family to place in letter boxes in your street, surrounding area or to pass on to friends in the area with preschool children. Please contact the office if you are able to distribute more. Chat to families in the same street to ensure we don’t double up. We appreciate your help with this marketing strategy and ask that the flyers are letterboxed this week. Please return the flyers to school tomorrow if you are not able to assist with this request.
ADVANCE NOTICE
Remaining 2025 School Closure days
Term 3
Week 9 Friday 19th September
Term 4
Week 5 Monday 3rd November (Day before Melbourne Cup Day)
Week 7 Friday 21st November
Last day of school for 2025
Week 11 - Yr 6 Monday 15th December @ 3:20 p.m.
Week 11 - Foundation - Year 5 & Staff 16th December @ 3:20 p.m.
WEEK 6
Monday 25th August
- F-6 Excursion to the Aquarium
Tuesday 26th August
- Playgroup @ 9-11 a.m.
- Chess club @ 1:45 p.m.
- Chess Fanatics with Felix @3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Learning Hub
Wednesday 27th August
- Year 1/2 & 5 Parish Mass @ 10:00 a.m.
- 3/4 Learning Assembly @ 2:30 p.m.
Thursday 28th August
- Running club @ 8:15 a.m.
- Playgroup @ 9-11 a.m.
Friday 29th August
- HOLT Athletics (select students from Year 3-6)
Saturday 30th August
- P&F School event @ 6:00-10:30 p.m.
WEEK 7
Monday 1st September
- Walking club @ 8:40 a.m.
- Choir @ 1:45 p.m.
- Indigenous Literacy Day
- 5:30pm Twilight Open Evening
- 6:15pm Term 3 SAC School Advisory Council
Tuesday 2nd September
- Playgroup @ 9-11 a.m.
- Chess club @ 1:45 p.m.
- Chess Fanatics with Felix @3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Learning Hub
Thursday 4th September
- Running club @ 8:15 a.m.
- Playgroup @ 9-11 a.m.
- Father’s Day stall (time tbc)
WEEK 8
Monday 8th September
- Walking club @ 8:40 a.m.
- Choir @ 1:45 p.m.
Tuesday 9th September
- Playgroup @ 9-11 a.m.
- Chess club @ 1:45 p.m.
- Chess Fanatics with Felix @3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Learning Hub
- P&F meeting 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday 10th September
- Year 6/Foundation Parish Mass @ 10:00 a.m.
Thursday 11th September
- Running club @ 8:15 a.m.
- Playgroup @ 9-11 a.m.
- 1/2 Learning assembly
WEEK 9
Monday 15th September
- Walking club @ 8:40 a.m.
- Choir @ 1:45 p.m.
Tuesday 16th September
- Playgroup @ 9-11 a.m.
- Chess club @ 1:45 p.m.
Thursday 18th September
End of term for all students (school closure day Friday 19th September)
The Great Parade!
What a fantastic week we had celebrating book week! This year's theme was ‘Book an Adventure’. There were so many different costumes including the Hungry Caterpillar, Dora the Explorer, Around the World in 80 Days, Harry Potter characters, soccer players, dragons, and so much more.
A huge thank you to Mrs Barca and everyone who made Book Week possible and memorable. A shout out to all the students for coming up with such creative costumes. The whole school was filled with enthusiasm and amazing costumes, bursting with colour, ranging from the students' costumes to the teachers.
During the week we had many book related activities including The Indigenous Great Book Swap, which was an enormous success. Students got to exchange books and discover their new favorite books. Thanks to your generous support, the event also raised funds that will go towards supporting literacy in indigenous communities - helping more children access the joy of reading. We hope you are all enjoying your new books.
Thank you everyone for making book week so magical.
The Learning Leaders
Leona, Isla, Eve, William and Vincent.
The Great Book Swap
The Scholastic Book Club was issued this week.
Holt Athletics
On Friday 29th August, St Catherine’s will be competing in the Holt District Athletics.
Children have been training hard and our squad has now been selected.
The following newsletter will be letting you know our ribbon count and those who are off to Beachside Division
Good luck everyone.
While we are only half way into Term 3, the senior students have had a very busy term so far. Here is a snapshot of the wonderful learning that has happened in Weeks 1-5!
We enhanced our understanding of law making through collaborative dialogue in the form of a socratic circle.
We have broadened our vocabulary and comprehension skills whilst reading The Explorer. Visualisation enables us to grasp the meaning of text by allowing us to create a ‘mental image’ of what we are reading.
We became ministers and parliamentarians when we visited Parliament House.
Our excursion to “Hidden’ at the Holocaust Museum enabled us to reflect and reinforce our learning of Anne Frank and other Jews who escaped the holocaust by being concealed.
We demonstrated our refined writing skills and our knowledge of diary features when writing our own diary entries.
Our understanding of the connection between decimals and percentages has strengthened.
And finally we had a wonderful time celebrating bookweek. Everyone put a great deal of time and effort into their costumes, and they demonstrated excellent coordination when weaving baskets to highlight the book “Afloat”.
This year’s Science Week theme, Decoding the Universe, came to life in one action-packed afternoon filled with curiosity, problem-solving, and plenty of fun. Students, families, and staff joined forces to take part in hands-on activities designed to spark imagination and show that science is for everyone.
The adventure began with a scavenger hunt around the school, where teams raced to uncover clues and solve mini-puzzles. Laughter echoed across the yard as paper planes were folded, tested, and flown, with students tweaking their designs to see which could soar the furthest or glide the smoothest.
A big hit was the rope course, where teamwork and persistence were put to the test. Students and parents worked together to navigate the challenge, discovering that science isn’t just about experiments - it’s also about perseverance and problem-solving.
Inside, families became code-breakers. Using Morse code and cipher wheels, students cracked secret messages, gaining a taste of how scientists and communicators in the past shared information in clever ways. The room buzzed with excitement as families worked side by side, racing to be the first to solve the puzzles.
Younger students especially loved programming Bee Bots, giving step-by-step commands to guide the little robots through obstacle courses. Sometimes the robots zipped along exactly as planned - and sometimes they veered off in a hilarious wrong turn - but every attempt brought new learning.
Adding to the fun was 'guess the sound,' where everyday noises kept everyone on their toes. From the cooing of a pigeon to the rumble of a lawn mower, students and parents tested their ears and shared plenty of laughs.
It was a joyful afternoon of discovery, teamwork, and intergenerational fun - science at its very best!
