30 August 2024

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

It was a beautiful morning to celebrate our dads and grandads.  And I am happy to report that there were no hamstring injuries in the dad’s kicking competition! Congratulations to Siman McPherson who took out this year’s event!

Wishing all our dads a very happy Fathers’ Day on Sunday. Here’s a prayer for you on your special day:

Dear St. Joseph, Patron Saint of Fathers, 

just as you watched over Jesus, guide and protect all Fathers 

so that they in turn can guide and protect their families. 

Give them the graces of wisdom, courage, understanding and forgiveness. 

Through your intercession, help them show us the path to holiness. 

We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Congratulations to Savannah Murphy who was awarded the Walk Worthy of God Leadership Star today. Her teachers say that she is always friendly and welcoming to all her classmates.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Term 3

• Saturday 31st August - MHOC Children-led Mass and pizza with Fr Michael and Zippy
• Friday 13th September - Polding Athletics Carnival
• Friday 13th September - Outdoor Family Fun Night
• Monday 16th September - Year 3 and Year 6 Learning Showcases 
• Tuesday 17th September - Year 1 and Year 4 Learning Showcases
• Tuesday 17th September - School Disco (5 & 6)
• Wednesday 18th September - Barney Barselaar Soccer Gala Day
• Wednesday 18th September - Kindergarten and Year 2 Learning Showcases
• Wednesday 18th September - School Disco (3 & 4)
• Thursday 19th September - Year 5 Learning Showcase
• Thursday 19th September - School Disco (K, 1 & 2)
• Monday 23rd - 24th September - Year 4 Camp
• Monday 23rd-25th September - Year 5 Camp
• Friday 27th September - Presentation of Term 3 Effort awards
• Friday 27th September - Last Day Term 3
  

WHAT'S THE BUZZ?

Fathers’ Day Breakfast

A big happy Father’s Day to all of our MHOC dads and grandads. What a fabulous morning.  Thanks to all the generous volunteers who helped out at breakfast this morning.

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Jump Rope for Heart

Jump Rope for Heart has helped fund life-saving heart research. During this time, more than 10 million Aussie kids — our Heart Heroes — have skipped their way towards better heart health. What’s more, the amazing Heart Heroes have raised more than $113 million for lifesaving research that has the power to help save Aussie hearts. 

We are thrilled to join this challenge and become Heart Heroes ourselves! Throughout the week starting Monday 2nd September, we will be skipping at school, and we invite all students to bring a gold coin donation for the Heart Foundation on Friday, 6th September. 

When: Week 7, Monday, 2nd - Friday, 6th September

Who: All students from Kindergarten to Year 6

What: Each grade will participate in skipping activities throughout the week, culminating in a collection of gold coin donations on Friday, 6th September.

Learning Showcases - Save the Date

We will be holding Learning Showcases on the following dates. Every showcase begins at 1:45pm on the allocated day:

• Monday 16th September - Year 3 and Year 6 Learning Showcases 
• Tuesday 17th September - Year 1 and Year 4 Learning Showcases
• Wednesday 18th September - Kindergarten and Year 2 Learning Showcases
• Thursday 19th September - Year 5 Learning Showcase

It’s Disco Time! - Save the Date

Mark your calendars! Adrian from ‘The Toads’ will be running our MHOC Discos again this year.

• Year 5 and 6- 6pm-7:30pm Tuesday 17th September
• Yrs 3 & 4 - 6pm-7:30pm Wednesday 18th September 
• Kinder, Yr 1 and Yr 2 - 6pm-7pm Thursday 19th September

Don’t forget your dancing shoes!

LOVING LEARNING

Year 1

In Writing this term Year One has been learning how to create complex sentences using dependent and independent clauses.

We loved reading the book called ‘Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley’, a story based on friendship. We then created our own sentences using dependent and independent clauses and made a class book where we became the characters in the story. We have all enjoyed sharing these stories during reading time. Please check out some of our amazing authors and incredible illustrators below…

FROM THE MISSION DESK

Happy Father’s day

Dear God,

Thank you for our dads and all the love they give us.
Please bless them with strength, kindness, and joy.
Help us show them how much we care.
Keep them safe and happy every day.
We are so grateful for all they do.

Amen.

MHOC Children-led Mass - this Saturday

Father Michael and Zippy will be back this Saturday at 5pm for our school Mass. Please stay afterwards for a pizza dinner. We hope to see you there!

Year 1 and 2 Class Liturgy

On Tuesday, Year 1 and 2 students celebrated a special liturgy with Mr Ryan. Mr Ryan encouraged the children to be kind in the classroom, showing love and respect to their teachers and classmates. On the playground, they were reminded to share, include others, and play fairly. At home, they were asked to help their families and spread kindness in everything they do. Everyone sang beautifully and their actions during the songs were full of enthusiasm.

What’s been Happening in Religious Education in Yr 1?

During Religious Education lessons in Year 1 we have been focusing on the parts of the Mass. We have made some very detailed flipbooks describing the four main parts of the Mass! Check them out below..

We even had an opportunity to attend Mass after this learning and children loved identifying their new learning whilst following along with the Mass sheets.

Junior Joeys

Today, our Junior Josephites (Joeys) met with Mrs Schmal and Mrs Fletcher at recess. They had a wonderful time discussing the importance of service, hope, faith and courage. It is always great to connect and have time to talk and learn together.

“Believe in the whisperings of God in your own heart” (Mary MacKillop)

Little Wings Update

We have filled another bin..woohoo! Thank you to all of our wonderful families for your support.

Term 3 Class Masses 

All parents are welcome to attend our weekly Tuesday Mass at 9:30am. These class Masses are held at MHOC Church Sawtell. Please see the timetable below for Term 3.

Tuesday 3rd September - Years 3 and 4

Tuesday 10th September - Years 5 and 6

Tuesday 17th September - Kinder

Tuesday 24th September - No Mass this week

MHOC SCHOOL COMMUNITY FORUM

Father’s Day stall

A big thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers that helped run our Father’s Day stall on Thursday. The children did a great job choosing their special gifts and are very excited to hand them over on Sunday.

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Family Summer Session - 2025

The School Community Forum is busy planning a Family Summer Session night for early 2025. It will be a great evening with lots of fun activities to raise money for a new school playground. If you are willing and able to lend a hand, please register as a volunteer using the Google form below and we will be in touch. 

 Please  register here 

Outdoor Family Fun Night

This wonderful school community event is always popular. Don't forget to order your tickets on Flexischools! 

Anita Heiss Reads Bidhi Galing

An online literacy event for all families to celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day!

Indigenous Literacy Day is held on the first Wednesday of September and is an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Stories, Cultures and Languages (find out more here: (https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/ild). To celebrate this year, the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee has organised a wonderful online evening event open to all families in our schools.

We are delighted that Aboriginal Australian author Anita Heiss will read her book Bidhi Galing.  Dr Anita Heiss AM is a proud member of the Wiradyuri nation of central New South Wales and one of Australia's most prolific and well-known authors publishing across genres including non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial fiction and children's fiction.

Her book Bidhi Galing (Big Rain) tells the story of the Great Flood of Gundagai in 1852 and the Wiradyuri heroes Yarri and Jacky Jacky who paddled bark canoes through raging floodwaters, risking their lives to save countless others. Primary school students aged 7–12 – and their families! – will love this story and the beautiful book illustrations. It’s a chance to sit down together and enjoy a nice, quiet time listening and reading, which is a wonderful way to support children’s literacy skills at home.

Go to the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT website to REGISTER or complete the form here: https://ccsp.schoolzineplus.com/form/63.

Or use the QR code:

Understanding how to support your child with online gaming
Suitable for parents and carers of children and young people in primary and early secondary school.
Tuesday, 3 September, 12.30pm
Register here

An introduction to online safety and emerging technologies
Suitable for parents and carers of children and parents in primary and secondary school.
Thursday, 5 September, 12.30pm
Register here

Bingo

The rostered teams for the next few week's Bingo are: 

• Thursday 5th September - team no. 1 (Gemma's team)
• Thursday 12th September - team no. 2 (Kelly's team)

SPORT NEWS

Rugby friendly with St Augustine’s

What a gorgeous day of sunshine for our rugby “Friendly” against St Augustine’s. We have been training hard for the tough competition and we were met with just that! 

With a number of students who have not played Union before, we put up a valiant fight and were right in the mix at halftime. 

Diezel dazzled with a full field try and Kaidan gave an amazing speech, thanking everyone involved. It is so encouraging to see the talents, skills & sportsmanship of our senior students on days like this. We are so proud of the way in which they carried themselves and represented MHOC. 

A huge thank you to Andrew Doust, Adam Power and Mr Murphy for all their help. Our kids are so lucky to have support from the Snappers and Marlins Union Clubs as well as at school level.

CANTEEN NEWS

Red Day - Cheeseburger & Waffles Day

Canteen Helpers

Parent and grandparent volunteers are always needed and welcome. Please phone the school, complete this form or email sawp-canteen@lism.catholic.edu.au if you can spare some time in the canteen.

LIBRARY WHISPERS

I’ve been sending overdue notices home over the last couple of weeks, and receiving lots of messages from parents which I really appreciate. If children have a lot of books overdue I usually suggest they only borrow for the classroom until some have come back. The reason behind this is so that children don’t start feeling overwhelmed with all the books they need to return. At the end of the day though, it’s far more important that children feel comfortable borrowing books rather than feeling worried about it. I’m always happy to wipe books from a child’s name if they’ve been searched for at home...they usually end up finding their way back to the library.

Gurjap was so excited to remember the books she needed to return from home!

The library has been a hive of activity this week with lots of craft and colouring in. It’s good to see the younger children coming in and having fun in the library.

I had a wonderful helper in the library this week. Ry has been putting books away and tidying up the shelves and has some great ideas for future library displays.

OSHC

This week at MHOC OSHC, we've been diving deeper into our creative pursuits. We've explored the vibrant world of chalk drawing and experimented with various types of homemade chalk paint. Our ongoing favorites include crafting slime and dancing it out with Just Dance!

Additionally, our Vacation Care program is now available, and our booking form is open! Please note that submitting the form does not guarantee your reservation. With exciting excursions, incursions, and in-centre activities planned, spots are sure to fill up quickly. We look forward to seeing all your familiar faces—and hopefully some new ones, too!

NEWS FROM OUR PARISH

YOUR CHILD’S JOURNEY THROUGH THE SACRAMENTS – Reconciliation, Confirmation & Holy Eucharist.

This September, we will commence preparations with a new group of children to continue the journey they began when they were Baptised.

If your child is a Baptised Catholic in Year 2 or above (and is not already participating in this process), please complete this google form and Marja from the Parish office will be in touch to welcome you!

Any questions please get in touch with our friendly team on 6658 3544.

Baptism

The Sacrament of Baptism is available to those requesting it. Please ring Jennifer at the Parish Office (66583544) or talk to Amber Biddle, Liz Watts or Margaret Ryan at school if you have any questions.  Alternatively, if you wish to register for Baptism, there is now the option of an  online request form .

Parish Website , E-bulletin & Facebook Page

For all the latest news from our parish, check out the Parish website or subscribe to our  new e-bulletin which can be sent directly to your inbox each week. Why not sign up today by entering your details in the sign up box on the Homepage or Contact page of the website!

And don’t forget to check out our FaceBook page

Carolyn & Marja

COMMUNITY NEWS