SAVE THE DATE: Welcome BBQ for New Students and Families

New students will soon receive invitations for the welcome barbeque that will be held prior to the first school social for 2024 on Thursday 29 February. The barbeque will take place in the Secondary Library Quadrangle, commencing at 6.00 pm. The Secondary staff are looking forward to meeting as many of the new families as possible. Please return the reply slip so that catering arrangements can be finalised.

Secondary Social

A social for all secondary students will be held on Thursday 29 February. The Secondary staff will be supervising the social. It commences at 6.30 pm and finishes at 8.00 pm. As usual, we expect that students will be dropped off and picked up by parents. The collection area is in front of the Science Labs.

Congratulations...

Congratulations to Mrs Townsend and the Holy Trinity Show Team who attended the first show of the year last weekend in Glen Innes. The team had a very successful show, with many students participating for the first time.

Glen Innes Show Report

Mrs Kathy Townsend

The Holy Trinity Show Team had their first outing for the year over the weekend at the Glen Innes Show. Our team of 10 Limousins went extremely well. We were so proud of how the cattle behaved, with 7 head having their first show. Temperament is everything. In our school stud, Willow Glen Limousin, we are aiming to breed docile, easy doing cattle with a tonne of muscle.

Some results:

Champion Junior Limousin Female - Willow Glen True Love (Aruma Quartz x Willow Glen Una)
Champion Junior Limousin Bull - KST Limousin URock Jock (Mandayen Mr Jock K10 x Amber Park Quartz)
Senior Champion Limousin Female - Willow Glen Sorbet (Elwanvale Marvin x Willow Glen Lauren) and calf sired by Aruma Quartz.
Grand Champion Limousin Bull - KST Limousin URock Jock
Grand Champion Limousin Female - Willow Glen True Love
Second place Breeders Group - KST Limousin URock Jock, Willow Glen True Love and Willow Glen Sorbet.
3rd place pair of heifers - Willow Glen True Love and KST Tailor Made
2nd place Bull Sweepstake - KST Limousin URock Jock
Reserve Champion Junior Limousin Bull – Willow Glen Touchdown (Aruma Quartz x Willow Glen Sophie)

Every animal on the team gained a place in their respective classes.

Thank you to the students, parents and the Glen Show Cattle Committee for putting on a great competition.

Around the grounds...

The Year 8 Visual Arts class were practising their drawings of sinkholes around the school last week under the guidance of Miss Cush. They are learning how to draw chasms like Mandy Martin, their focus artist for the term.

Vaccinations - Years 7 & 10

NSW SCHOOL VACCINATION PROGRAM

In 2024 the following vaccines will be offered:

In Year 7, students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV). In Year 10, students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine.

If your child is in Year 7 or Year 10 this year, you can now provide online consent for their routine school vaccinations.

Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received.

How to provide consent:

To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://nswhealth.service-now.com/school
Follow the steps to log in to your existing Service NSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a Service NSW account, refer to Service NSW to create one.
Update or confirm your personal details in Service NSW as required.
Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:

Enter your child’s personal details
Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child
Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement
Provide consent

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form directly from your child’s school.

The benefits of providing consent online:

• easily update your child’s details

• receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given

• faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit

www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination.

If you require information in your language, please visit:

www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/school_vaccination_language.aspx

Pastoral Care Teachers

Year 7:

7E - Mr Peter Ehsman

7J – Mr Jack Jeffery

7K - Miss Kristina Majetic

7M – Mrs Veronica McCormick

Year 8:

8G - Mr Anthony Gaias

8M - Mrs Christine McLachlan

8T - Mrs Kathy Townsend

8W - Mr Sam White

Year 9:

9C – Miss Claudia Cush

9E - Mrs Angela East

9U - Mr Uebergang

Year 10:

10B - Miss Kim Bailey

10K - Mr David Koch

Students and parents are encouraged to approach the relevant Pastoral Care teacher if they need assistance.

Stage Leaders

Stage 4 - Mr Anthony Gaias

Stage 5 - Mrs Angela East

7 - 10 Staff Email Addresses

Miss Kim Bailey

kbailey@arm.catholic.edu.au

Miss Claudia Cush

ccush@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Claudia Dolbel

cdolbel@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Angela East

aeast@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mr Peter Ehsman

pehsman@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mr Anthony Gaias

agaias@arm.catholic.edu.au

Miss Alana Goldman

agoldman@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Mary-Jane Guest

mguest@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Malynda Hiscock

mhiscock@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mr Jack Jeffery

jjeffery@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mr David Koch

dkoch@arm.catholic.edu.au

Miss Kristina Majetic

kmajetic@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Veronica McCormick

vmccormi@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Christine McLachlan

cmclachlan@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mr Matthew Pye

mpye@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Jane Taylor

jtaylor4@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Katherine Townsend

ktownsend@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mr Blake Uebergang

bueberga@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Carrie Watchirs

cwatchirs@arm.catholic.edu.au

Mr Sam White

swhite4@arm.catholic.edu.au

Staff can be contacted directly using the email address above or via the Compass portal.

Device Policy

Students are not permitted to use their devices unless instructed by a teacher. This includes both the classroom and the playground. The students are aware of this policy and receive constant reminders in Pastoral Care, their teaching classes and there are also many posters displayed all around the school.

If a student needs to use their device, they must first seek permission from a teacher and use it in an area designated by the teacher. This is usually under their direct supervision or outside the Secondary staffroom.

If students are unable to follow this policy, then their phone is confiscated and placed securely in Miss Bailey's office, where it is collected by the student at the end of the school day.

Teachers record each time a device has been confiscated. After the device has been confiscated for a second time, the device remains at school until it can be collected by a parent/carer.

Uniform

Conversations were held last year with SRC members, parents and staff and as a result, there have been some changes to the presentation expectations for students.

Uniform is a part of being Ready2Learn and staff are happy to assist if required. It is expected that all students will have made themselves and their families aware of the changes and any issues will be sorted out by the beginning of Week 6.

Presentation Requirements - Secondary

Hair

Haircuts should be neat and of natural colour. Unacceptable styles include but are not limited to motifs cut into the hair, dreadlocks, cuts under Number 2 blades, rat tails and unnatural colours. Hair that is shoulder length or long enough should be tied back for safety reasons. Hair accessories such as ribbons, scrunchies, headbands, etc. should be discreet and in the school colours of blue or white.

Jewellery

Should be kept to a minimum

Unadorned plain stud earrings - no more than 3 per ear.

A discrete nose piercing - stud only, rings not permitted.

A simple chain such as a sacramental crucifix worn under the uniform

One bangle/bracelet/ring/watch

Other visible body piercings or tattoos are not permitted.

For safety reasons, students may be asked to remove jewellery for physical education and other practical activities; therefore, it should be kept to a minimum and preferably not worn on sports days.

Nails/Makeup

Makeup should be minimal and natural only.

Nails should be short and natural polish only (this also includes artificial nails).

Shoes

All students are required to wear enclosed black leather or strong vinyl school shoes. Shoes should have substantial soles (i.e., a thumb tack would not cause injury to the wearer). Shoes should have laces or a buckle or a similar mechanism. Riding boot-style black boots are acceptable in the early years. High-top shoes are not acceptable. Slip-on shoes such as ballet flats and canvas shoes are not acceptable. On sports days, students are required to wear supportive sports shoes. They should have laces or a similar mechanism.

Socks

Plain grey and plain white ankle socks (no logos or motifs) are acceptable except on formal school occasions, such as school representation and school photos.

Uniform is monitored regularly by class teachers, Pastoral Care teachers and the Leadership Team. A dated note from families is required if a student is not in the correct uniform advising when the uniform will be able to be rectified. This is to be given to the Pastoral Care teacher (Secondary) in the morning.

Where the school is able to assist, we will endeavour to help the student correct the uniform, e.g., provide an elastic hair band, provide a container for excess jewellery, and give a spare school outerwear garment.

Consistent infringement or major breaches will result in families being contacted and students may:

Be asked to work from home until the issue has been rectified; students may return as soon as it is rectified
Have privileges removed
Be unable to represent the school or attend school events

The school will endeavour to work with families to keep the standard for uniform and presentation high.

Please contact Mrs Rainger if you have financial difficulties in relation to the uniform.

Part-Time Work – Does it Pay or Cost?

Part-time work is increasingly becoming an important part of many student’s lives. This article is aimed at increasing your awareness of both the advantages and dangers of part-time work for your child. A Tamworth school survey conducted recently found that about 70% of students in Years 10 to 12 had some form of part-time work. Of those students with jobs, around 30% worked 15 to 20 hours a week. This is a highly alarming figure as school students already put in 35 hours at school – and this does not include the expected out-of-school time required for study, homework and assignments.

Part-time work provides students with valuable lessons in work ethics, professionalism, managing money and developing independence. Many jobs also inadvertently provide students with greater social connections and experiences. Part-time work can also be a good way to develop potential work skills, connections and references. For parents, it can provide some relief to the ever-increasing financial demands that teenagers place on the family budget.

The dangers of part-time work start to be noticed as the hours of work increase. School hours and holiday periods have been set generally because they are considered optimum for the learning, rest and play requirements of developing children and adolescents. Puberty is the second biggest time of physiological growth in a human’s lifespan. Fluctuating energy levels, mood swings, changing sleep requirements, as well as cognitive, emotional, social and physical development are all major elements that should be considered by parents, teachers and possibly employers, when caring for our youth.

Please ask yourself the following questions:

Is my child tired for school on a regular basis because of work commitments? 
Have my child’s exercise patterns (including participation in organised sport) been reduced because of part-time work commitments? 
Have my child’s at home study patterns been significantly modified and/or limited because of work commitments?
Has my child’s ‘down time’ or ‘rest time’ been limited because of work commitments?
Has my child’s quality family time been affected by part-time work commitments?
Does my child increase his/her work hours to half or full-time load over the holiday breaks?
Have my child’s academic aspirations been reduced since starting part-time work?

If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions, you will probably become aware of the gradual, cumulative cost that part-time work may have on your child’s general wellbeing and on potential educational and career outcomes.

What are your hopes and expectations for your child in regards to their education – both school and general life learning? Is their present lifestyle allowing this to come to fruition or hindering it?

School Advisory Council and P and F News

P and F News

School Advisory Council