Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Next Thursday 21st March students will be celebrating Harmony Day. This yearly event, recognises the great multicultural diversity that exists in our society. Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Next Thursday, students are encouraged to wear something orange with his/her school uniform. Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Day. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

Some interesting facts related to Australia’s diversity

• nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was
• we identify with over 300 ancestries
• since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia
• 85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia
• other than English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi
• more than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.

These facts are taken from ABS 2016 Census Data. Check out the Australian Bureau of Statistics .

Harmony Day also coincides with World Down Syndrome Day, which has officially been recognised by the United Nations since 2011. On this day, people all around the world celebrate the lives and achievements of people with Down Syndrome, creating a global voice, advocating for rights, inclusion and wellbeing of people with Down Syndrome.

Students are also invited to wear colourful odd socks next Thursday 21st March.

This will help students to identify that intolerance needs to be replaced with
acceptance, inclusion and promote fairness for all.

BUILDING PROGRESS UPDATE

The refurbishment of classrooms is continuing to progress well. This week has seen the Year 5 students move to the refurbished classroom space that was the previous school library. Year 4 Gold has also moved from the Community Room to the refurbished Year 4 classroom.

Year 6 has also relocated temporarily into the existing Year 5 classroom space. This is while the Year 6 classrooms are undergoing refurbishment. During the next school holiday break, the playground space outside the Year 5 and Year 6 classrooms will be upgraded to include new drainage works and new surfacing.

Once Year 6 move back into their refurbished classrooms, the library space will be reconfigured as the final stage to the building project. We look forward to sharing these reconfigured learning spaces with you once they are completed.

Mrs Jane Webb
Acting Principal

Thank you for joining our Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) schools across the Illawarra, Macarthur, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands, and Catholic school communities across NSW, in celebrating Catholic Schools Week for 2019. It's been a wonderful week of open days, activities, masses, liturgies and other special events - including the Diocesan Education Mass, which was a significant highlight of CSW. Read more about the Mass and listen to Director of Schools, Peter Turner's speech here.

Catholic Schools Week has showcased some of the fantastic things happening in our schools every day, and has very much highlighted our local Catholic schools - including ours! - as vibrant places of learning, faith, hope and opportunity. Thank you for your involvement.

We'd like to share with you our small Catholic Schools Week video that has been promoted throughout last week. Can you spot the students from our school in this video?

On Friday 15^th March, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared a National Day of Action against Bullying & Violence.

Some resources are available to empower parents (and schools) to protect children and prepare them to be resilient, responsible and respectful  adults –

www.esafety.gov.au - resources that promote online safety including tackling image-based abuse and complaints service for young Australians who experience serious cyberbullying.

www.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au - support for parents, teachers and students to create a learning environment that promotes student wellbeing and the development of respectful relationships.

Parents can also visit www.bullyingnoway.gov.au for education and advice for students, parents and schools on how to respond to bullying.

Fr John Ho - Parish Priest

Fr Felaki - Assistant Priest

35 Cordeaux Street, Campbelltown NSW 2560

Parish Office Hours

Tuesday - Friday: 9am - 3.30pm

Ph: 02 4625 8044

Fax: 02 4626 1528

Parish Mass Times

Monday - Thursday: 9.30am

Friday: 8.20am

Saturday: 9am and 6pm vigil

Sunday: 7.30am, 9am, 10.30am and 5pm