Term 4 Dates

St Mary's School Board

Next week the St Mary's School Board meet for the final time for 2021. I would like to thank the Board for their continued support this year. I would particularly like to thank our parent representatives, Andrew Pursell, our current Board Chairman, and Sally Gamble, who complete their tenure due to their children finishing at St Mary's. Both Andrew and Sally have had a long association with St Mary's and have, along with our other School Board members, been instrumental in assisting with the refurbishment of our Mercy Building. 

The St Mary's School Board is governed by the Catholic Education Commission Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn and follows the Constitution for Catholic Archdiocesan School Boards. The following excerpt is taken from the Constitution regarding memberships for Parish Primary and Central School Boards.

The Parish Primary and Central School Board shall normally have no more than twelve (12) members:

1. The Principal is an ex officio member and its Executive Officer.
2. The Parish Priest is an ex officio member. The Parish Priest may nominate an alternate to attend in his place.
3. Up to two (2) representatives of the P & F appointed by the P & F.
4. Up to two (2) members of staff elected by the staff.
5. At least one (l) and up to three (3) parent members appointed in accordance with the Constitution.
6. As many as two (2) other people were appointed by the Board for their expertise, eg Parish Pastoral Council, Parish Finance Committee, building management skills, student body (Central School).
7. A representative of the Catholic Education Office (when requested by the school community or the Director of the CEO).

Currently, our School Board consists of:

1. Principal - Sarah Lowe
2. Parish Priest  - Fr Joshy Kurien
3. Parish Associate - Sr Rosemary Hart
4. P & F representative - Daniel Walsh
5. Staff - Belinda Tarlinton (Secretary) and Rachael Croker
6. Parent members - Andrew Pursell (Chairman), Sally Gamble and Marty Reynolds

With Andrew and Sally's departure, we now call for the nomination of up to two parent representatives. If you are interested in finding out more about this position a Constitution can be forwarded to you for your perusal. A term of membership for the School Board is two years and members may be elected for a maximum of three consecutive terms. If more than two nominations are received our parent body will be asked to vote to elect their representatives.

Nominations are to be emailed to Sarah Lowe sarah.lowe@cg.catholic.edu.au by Friday 26 November. 

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day marks the end of fighting on the Western Front on November 11, 1918. On Remembrance Day at 11.00am we remember the service and sacrifice of those who have died since World War I.

Our School Captains, Bridie and Seth, joined me at a Commemorative Service held by the Crookwell Subbranch of RSL NSW to lay a wreath.

Our students at school were unable to participate in a School Ceremony together, however, they took part in individual services in their classrooms at 11.00am.

Showcase of Learning

It is with great delight that Kindergarten, Year One and Year Two will present their Showcase of Learning Assembly via recordings on MS TEAMS. As you are well aware, we are still unable to host performances or assemblies with audiences, however, you will be able to view the performances by going to the GENERAL channel in your child's class MS TEAM (the same platform we used during remote learning). The videos have been recorded and will be uploaded for your enjoyment by 1.00pm tomorrow, if not before.

Orientation 

This week we commenced our Kindergarten 2022 Orientation program with two half days. The students, welcomed by their Year 5 friends, had a terrific start to big school life. 

• One fully vaccinated parent or carer per child will be allowed to enter the school site and report to a designated drop off and collection zone to support their pre-schooler as they start Kindergarten orientation. 

• Parents or carers must be well and free of any flu-like symptoms. Parents and carers are asked to maintain physical distancing and check-in using a QR code.

• Parents and carers should not remain on-site for longer than 10 minutes.

• Students will be brought to the front of the school by 3.00pm to meet their parents/carers or to catch their bus home.

Sheep Muster

There is a growing pile of lost property, including school jumpers, sports jackets and lunch box containers, all without names. If you are missing items and can identify, please collect from the Office.

To ensure we are able to enable the speedy return of items, please name clothing and containers.

During these months of season transition, the children take their jumpers and jackets off more frequently, so please try to check items brought home regularly to ensure they belong to you.

Thank you for your assistance with this.

Remembrance Day

God of love and peace,

We bring our thanks today for the peace and security we enjoy.

We remember those who faithfully served their country in time of war

and we pray for them.

We remember those who are still serving, and we pray for them and their families.

We pray for the day to come soon when there is no war, only peace.

This we pray in the name of Jesus who gave his life for the sake of the world:

Jesus Christ, our example of peace. Amen.

We are young and we are free,

we are brave, and we are strong in the face of any challenge.

We can truly make a difference.

We will strive to rise above. 

We will make the most of the opportunity to live, to learn,

to spread kindness and love. 

Let this be our commitment – to be the best that we can be

and strive for peace in our homes and our world.

CATHOLIC MISSION - Socktober Friday

Despite the weather, last Friday’s Socktober event was a great success. The students participated eagerly in the making of their sock-balls. In their attempts to use these balls to play sport, it quickly became obvious how lucky we are here in Australia to be able to afford such simple items as proper soccer balls. We had a lot of fun, but most importantly we raised awareness about – and well-needed funds for - those in our world who cannot afford such simple pleasures as a soccer ball.

Here’s what our students had to say…

• ‘We made sockballs out of old Tshirts, garbage bags, bubble wrap and lots of string. It was hard and they kept breaking.’
• ‘I learnt that poor kids can’t just go to the shops and buy a toy.’
• ‘It made me think about the kids in poor countries who have to make their own toys.
• ‘The kids in Thailand don’t have much but they use their imagination and make the most out of life.’
• ‘Even though kids are poor, I admire them because they don’t give up.’
• ‘I’m glad we raised money for the kids who don’t have the things that we have.’
• ‘I’m glad we got to help the poor people like Jesus wants us to.’

Let us always strive to follow Jesus and work for JUSTICE in our world so that all may have what they need.

³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Matthew 25:35-36

Squid Game is neither a game nor for kids. And if your child has access to a Netflix account without restrictions or Youtube with parental controls activated, there’s a good chance they’ve already seen Squid Game, or at least potentially disturbing scenes from it. We have noticed many students ‘playing’ Squid Game like games and replicating shooting and death as a consequence for losing in a game. We are regularly having conversations with students about the inappropriateness of the games and the themes in the show in general.

What Is Squid Game?

Netflix describes the South Korean drama as a series in which “hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children’s games.” The scenes are graphic, and feature sex, threats of sexual violence, murder, and torture. It’s currently the top-rated Netflix show. 

It’s difficult to monitor everything your child sees, especially when it comes to social media. But there are some moves you can make to deter your kids from watching Squid Game or mitigating its negative effects on their well-being. Here’s some advice from experts on what parents should do if their child is watching or has been exposed to clips from Squid Game.

Monitor what your child watches on TV and streaming platforms. 

Aside from social media, it’s possible for children to see the show on TV. The good news is, most streaming services have PIN and password-based parental controls. Research shows that kids whose parents actively manage their media consume less and make quality choices on their own.

Preview shows and movies you’re questioning, like Squid Game, before you let your child watch them.

The very first thing to do is see the show for yourself. Parents need to know that the level of violence in Squid Game is intense, according to Common Sense Media’s parent guide of the show. If you do decide to let your children watch the show, make sure to talk to them about what they’re seeing, and that it’s not okay to engage in certain behaviours they see in shows and movies.

“Squid Game may currently be the most sensational piece of media on Netflix right now, but it’s definitely not the only show or movie with this level of violence available on Netflix or elsewhere,” Conway explains. “If your kids have watched, talk to them about it. If they haven’t, it’s really easy to find age-appropriate media that’s free of violence that your kids will enjoy.”

How to set parental controls on Netflix and YouTube. A step-by-step guide.

NETFLIX

Netflix has easy-to-use parental controls, which will allow you to block specific movie or show titles, change the ratings of the titles your children are offered while watching Netflix, and you can even remove the title from the menu options altogether.

Setting up parental controls and blocking specific movie/show titles will take some of the work out of trying to keep on top of what your children are viewing and supervising their content.

To do this:

Go to Netflix.com on your device & sign in to your account.

Click the 'manage profiles' button and click on which profile you want to edit/restrict.

Click on the edit button under 'Maturity Settings.'

Enter your Netflix password.

Set the maturity rating for the programmes and films you want to allow in that profile. (G up to R18+)

Under 'Title Restrictions,' type in the movie's name or show you wish to restrict or block and select the title from the drop-down menu.

The title will now be listed in red and will be blocked. You can unblock by going back through steps 1-6 and clicking on the X to remove it from the blocked list.

Click 'save,' and the movie/show title will now be removed from their profile.

YOUTUBE

YouTube also has some restrictions that you can enable to help manage what your child can view and what content is recommended to them. You can also see what videos your children are searching and viewing while using YouTube and delete the history to stop irrelevant YouTube recommendations.

To do this, you will need to sign in to your Google account on YouTube. If you don't have an account, you should create one as you won't be able to manage their viewing selections without it.

NOTE: YouTube is owned and managed by Google, so you will need a google account or use one you already have. You will use this account to log in.

To do this:

Go to Youtube.com on your device and sign in to your account.

Click on the icon on the far right of the YouTube toolbar (top of the screen/open window), which should have your account user name or photo (if you've uploaded one), and a drop-down menu will appear.

Click on 'Restricted Mode' at the bottom of the menu. (This helps hide potential mature videos but is not 100% accurate but will certainly help)

Click on the 'Activate Restricted Mode' toggle button, so it's switched on.

Restricted mode will now be activated on that browser only. You will need to go and sign in on any other devices (including your home TV) to turn restricted mode on all the devices in your home.

Click back on the icon at the top right-hand corner of the YouTube toolbar, so the drop-down menu appears again, and then click on 'Your data in YouTube.' A Dashboard with multiple options will appear.

You can see the content that you have posted on YouTube,

your YouTube watch history and everything you have watched using this account,

your YouTube search history, which shows everything that has been searched for while logged into this account and;

further options around how and what data YouTube/Google collect and use.

We highly recommend looking through these settings and familiarising yourself with them to enable greater control over your data, as many of the settings can be restricted or switched off.

You can also alter and restrict what recommended videos are shown to your children by deleting the history, as the YouTube algorithm uses search & watched history to present and recommend further videos whenever they go onto the app.

To check and delete the YouTube watch history, do this:

While in the 'Your data on YouTube' section, click on 'Manage your YouTube Watch History' (follow the same for steps to 'manage YouTube search history')

A pop-up will ask you if you want to enable extra verification. Enable if you have tech-savvy children and you want to stop them from going back in and changing or deleting search histories they don't want you to see. If you enable it, it will mean that anyone attempting to enter this part of the menu will need to put in a password to go further.

Once you are in the 'Manage your YouTube Watch History' window, all of the YouTube videos watched on this account will appear by date order from most recent to oldest.

There is a search/filter function available if you want to filter the selection, and also, you can set an auto-delete function so that all watch history is deleted after a specific date or automatically, depending on what you would like to set up.

To delete a video from the list, click on the X on the right-hand side.

Any videos deleted will alter YouTube's algorithm and should stop those types of videos from being recommended to your account in the future unless someone searches them again.

You can also use auto-delete options matching specific parameters by using the 'Delete activity by' option or turn off the 'saving activity' option altogether. Turning off the 'saving activity' option will make it harder for YouTube to recommend videos and potentially suggest random and maybe inappropriate videos, so consider your child's age, maturity, etc., and what outcome works best for you.

We always recommend YouTube for children under the age of 13yrs.

For more help with keeping your Children Safe on Social media, visit www.safeonsocialtoolkit.com.

National Water Safety Day- Red and Yellow Mufti

Students will take part in the National Water safety Day, raising awareness of the importance of water safety at the beach, in dams, river and creeks, on the farm and around their homes.

Students will be encouraged to wear red and yellow mufti to school.
When: Friday 3 December
Classes: K-6

Swimming Carnival 2022

Date:              Thursday 3 February 2022

Classes:         Years 2-6, all students will be attending

Where:          Goulburn Aquatic Centre

Rep Sport 2022

A reminder that the 2022 Primary Canberra Goulburn/Wollongong Boys AFL expressions of interest close next Friday 19/11/2021. Further information and link to the nomination form can be found at the Canberra Goulburn Sport Webpage: https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/nominations

In Week 8, we will be holding a Book Fair from Tuesday 23 – Thursday 25 November.

Children will view the books and take home a “Wish- List” if they desire.

All children will have the opportunity to visit the Library over the three days and purchase items with cash. 

In lieu of Book Fair, there will be no Book Club for the remainder of this term.

Also in Week 8, a virtual workshop with renowned children’s author and illustrator Michael Salmon will be held on Tuesday 23 at 10.00 am. After lunch, children will participate in some post “Book Week” learning activities.

Class Awards

For Parish and Sacramental matters please forward your enquiries to Goulburn Parish Secretary, Sharon Cashman, via email or call into the Parish Office at the Old Convent Building. Sharon is available in Crookwell on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month from 11.30am-3.30pm

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

Website: http://cg.org.au/crookwell/Home.aspx 

Phone: 48321 633 

Address: 55 Wade Street (the Old Convent Building)