We heard about the parable of the wedding feast last Sunday. We, like the invited guests need to be ready to say yes to our invitation to join God and to be ready – ‘dressed’, to do so. An invitation means we are being chosen especially. We do not have to say yes but must understand that our place will be given to others who are ready to say yes.

The afternoon pick up arrangements are running very well – better than before we are hearing many of you say in some surprise. That is all due to you and your willingness to give it a good try. Thank you! Most people have left only ten minutes after the bell, then approximately another ten minutes clears the car line. Twenty minutes is quite an achievement for a school of 530 students. Some parents are parking in the Parish car park. Please do not do this. It is not for us to use this way and provides an extra barrier to the smooth operation of the pick up line. The use of the car park has not been permissible for a long time. Please choose a different option.  Most of you have also stopped meeting your children at the library, duckpond or at your car. Again thank you. We cannot give permission for this to happen. 

We look forward to seeing you at assembly on Friday. We do not have an item because Year 1 have an excursion but we will still give out awards and be seeing the Christmas art finalists. The Year 4 awards will be held over until the next assembly.

Our choir will be joining in the Celebration Sing Out choir at Sydney Town Hall on Sunday. We are looking forward to seeing them perform! Please feel free to come along too even if your children are not performing. Information is available further on with regards to tickets and times etc.

We had Evacuation and Lock Down Drills yesterday – your children may have told you. They all did extremely well adjusting to the new buildings. We have a few improvements to make and will practice again once the landscaping is complete in the new year.

Please remember the requests regarding classes for 2024. If you would like your child separated from another student, please send it to me in writing so I can check the lists once they are done. That way we will not miss anyone. Once classes are announced on Promotions Day, no further changes will be made. As mentioned last week, please do not make requests about specific teachers. 

I congratulate all the students on their achievements in the out of school activities over the last few weeks. It is lovely to hear about what the students are learning outside school!

God Bless,

Michelle Rolfe - Acting Principal

Lindsay Burns - Acting Assistant Principal

Religious Education Co-Ordinator

Congratulations to Ashton C 4 Gold he auditioned for the interstate Australian Ballet Program and has been accepted.  Well Done Ashton!!!!

Congratulations to Winter D 3 Green.  Winter Hiked Mount Solitaire on the weekend, one of the biggest mountains in the Blue Mountains (950m high). She hiked over two days over 35kms of very difficult terrain. she carried a 10kg pack (camping, food and water supplies).  What a big achievement!!!

Congratuliations to Lawson S 5 Gold and Oliver S 2 Gold who competed at the Australian In-line Hockey National Championships in Brisbane over the holidays representing the state in the U9s & U11s divisions. Oliver won a silver medal after team NSW made it to the grand finals but unfortunately lost to QLD. Lawson made it to the semi finals competing for team TAS & lost to VIC taking home the bronze medal. It was an amazing effort by both teams & an incredible result after a long 8 day competition. Well Done Lawson and Oliver!!!!

Through the Diocese of Wollongong Sports Council, students are provided with the opportunity to trial for Wollongong representative teams, which give students the opportunity to access higher levels of sporting pathways, representation and opportunities to progress into state representation. 

Parents of students in Year 4 and Year 5 received the nomination form for the 2024 representative pathway selection trials last Thursday. If you would like to nominate your child please use the link provided in the email by Monday 23 October.  Some of these trials for 2024 teams commence in Term 4 2023, therefore it is important that nominations are completed now.  

Criteria for representative sport pathway nominations: 

In general the representative sport pathway trials are for students who are; 

• Skilled and talented players and will be in Year 5 & 6 in 2024
• Experienced in the given sport and may have some high level representative experience or playing at a high grade
• Competing at a high level, regular experience and a background in this high level of competition, with a strong skill based and understanding of the game 

Nomination Process and Information for parents: 

Please note this process is NOMINATION ONLY, once nominations are received and close on Monday 23 October all individual sports trial nominations will be: 

1. Reviewed and approved by the School Principal and/or delegate 
2. Reviewed by the sports convenor and selection committee based on criteria (students must meet the criteria of the given sport to be eligible)
3. Required in some cases to host a school based trial to determine most suitable athletes to attend the Wollongong representative trials. 
4. After this review, school sport coordinators will be notified of successful nominations, and these students will be provided with a trial information letter by the school and be permitted to attend the 2024 trial date.  

If you have any questions regarding this process please do not hesitate to contact Ms Leah Beckman (Sports Co-ordinator) or Mr Lindsay Burns for further information regarding the representative sport pathway trial and opportunities. 

Leah Beckman

Sports Co-ordinator