A few thank you's in this newsletter.

Thanks to all who helped at Boorowa Touch & Netball Carnival. Parents & staff said the students were well behaved & good sports on the day. Thanks to the Trinity students who helped out & Mrs McCarthy for all her organisation.

Thanks to those who supported our “Nibbles on Knox” fundraiser, especially all those who donated goods & prizes. We raised around $4000. This money will help with our fundraising goal covering the cost of our new bubblers. With installation costs the bubblers are nearly $30 000. We are hoping for some grant money to help with these costs as well. Thanks to Mrs Brushaber for all her hard work putting this event together.

On Sunday our parish of Goulburn hosted the Marian procession. Our students were part of the day sharing a live tableau of the mysteries of the Rosary. Thanks to all the students who came along & to Mrs Harris for all her organising.

Thanks, families, for the lovely messages you shared with staff to celebrate World Teachers Day. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated.

UNIFORM REMINDERS

Please remember that hair shoulder-length or longer needs to be tied back. The only jewellery students can wear are plain earrings, a necklace if it is religious & no bracelets. No one should have nail polish on at school.

Please make sure your child has a hat & label all your uniform. During swimming lessons bits of uniform can be misplaced.

Apologies for the delays in getting girls dresses. The delay is on the manufacturers end & they will be sent out as soon as they arrive.

School student travel information for parents and students

School Travel Passes

Applications are now open for 2025 School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) travel. 

Students who require a travel pass but have not yet applied need to apply or update their details as soon as possible.

Students living in rural and regional areas will receive their travel pass from their nominated transport operator. It may be issued via their school or be sent directly to them at home. Note: some rural and regional operators do not issue travel passes. Students/parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.

BOOROWA TOUCH & NETBALL CARNIVAL

A huge thank you to our parent coaches, Trinity referees and SPP staff for making last Friday possible. It was a pleasure to take the 12 teams to Boorowa and we were very impressed with their enthusiasm, sportsmanship and cooperation. Well done to all the children involved!

NSWPSSA ATHLETICS

Congratulations Edeva Shannon!

Edeva was one of 15 students who represented MacKillop at the NSWPSSA Athletics State Championships in Sydney last week. To compete at such a high level in school sport is an outstanding achievement and this is the second year in a row that Edeva has competed at this level.

This year, Edeva placed 27th in the 11 years Girl's Discus event from the 40 competitors. A fantastic achievement.

INDIVIDUAL SPORT TRIALS

Individual sports trials are open through the CECG sports website. These trials are intended for Year 5 & 6 student's ONLY. Keep up to date with trial information for next year.

CURRENT OPEN TRIALS:

MARIAN PROCESSION

Over the weekend students, parents, and staff from all four Catholic schools in our region attended the Marian Procession. At the head of the procession, a statue of the Virgin was carried followed by hundreds of participants.

Students across the 3 primary schools reenacted the 5 luminous mysteries. Our journey included praying the Rosary at St. Saviour’s Anglican Cathedral, visiting Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, and spending time at St. Peter and Paul’s Old Cathedral. It was heartwarming to see so many parishioners from across the region, including from the ACT, coming together for this special event.

A heartfelt thank you to our amazing students and staff who made this gathering so memorable!

The Fathering Project Podcast with Dr Justin Coulson

https://portal.thefatheringproject.org/content-library/dr-justin-coulson-on-why-you-should-discipline-and-not-punish-your-children-3/

The uniform shop is run by parent volunteers and is open on a Wednesday morning 9-9.30am for fittings and sales. The best way to organise your child's uniform requirements is to order via Qkr. Orders need to be placed by 8.30am each Wednesday so that they are able to be sent home that day; orders placed after 8.30am will not be filled until the following week.

Birthdays 1-13 November

STUDENT MEDICATIONS

We are able to hold student medications in the office for those children who require either short term or ongoing medication. Any medication must be supplied to us in its original packaging, with the pharmacy label attached for prescription medicine. Our system has been updated by head office so please read the following carefully if this applies to your child.

Short term medication (pain relief, antibiotics, antihistamine etc) -

• Parent/carer must visit the office to sign medication administration authorisation form so that our staff are able to administer the medication.

Ongoing medication (asthma inhaler, antihistamine, ADHD medication, etc) -

• Parent/carer must visit the office to sign medication administration authorisation form so that our staff are able to administer the medication. 
• Parent/carer to ensure medication remains in date, and that there is sufficient supply for one term, each term.
• Parents/carers of students with asthma action plans or other official diagnosis must provide current paperwork from the doctor
• Asthma Inhalers - if your child is in year 5 or 6 or capable of self-administering their ventolin, they are able to keep their inhaler with them in their bag; if this is the case there is no need to complete the authorisation form.

DROP OFF/PICK UP INFORMATION

If you remember the following details school drop off and pick up should run smoothly. Please view the map below for parking restriction details:

Morning Drop off:

• Supervision at school starts at 8.30am. Students arriving earlier than this WILL NOT be under active adult supervision so please avoid dropping your children off before this time. Between 8.30am and 8.55am students are to take their bag to their classroom and then make their way to either the hall or basketball court where they are to wait in year groups until the morning play bell rings.
• Knox Street/Princes Avenue parking (front school entrance) - ideally families with students in Kindergarten only should be parking in this area. Please be aware of the bus zone, parking restrictions and keeping our neighbour's driveways clear. We also ask that you consider our staff when parking in the morning as there are limited all day parking zones where they are able to park.
• Hall gate (Knox Street) - Bus students are dropped off here. 
• Princes Avenue/Adam Street (back school entrance) - Parents are able to park on either side of Princes Avenue (outside car line) or in Adam Street if you need to walk your children into school (please note that this part of Princes Avenue is a one-way road). Be aware of parking restrictions and keeping our neighbour's driveways clear.
• Car Line (off Princes Avenue) -  Car line is a 'kiss & go' system where parents drop their children off without getting out of the car; please do not park and exit your car in car line as this creates major traffic issues. Car line is our preferred method of parent drop off as it ensures student safety.

Afternoon pick-up:

• Knox Street/Princes Avenue parking (front school entrance) - ideally families with students in Kindergarten only should be parking in this area. Please be aware of the bus zone, parking restrictions and keeping our neighbour's driveways clear. Kindergarten parents are welcome to park and wait for their child outside the classrom. Kinder students are also able catch the bus or get picked up from carline.
• Hall gate (Knox Street) - Bus students only are collected from here. A teacher is rostered on duty at this gate each afternoon and stays to supervise students until the last bus comes.
• Princes Avenue/Adam Street (back school entrance) - Parents are able to park on either side of Princes Avenue (outside car line) or in Adam Street if you need to walk into school to collect your children (please note that this part of Princes Avenue is a one-way road). Be aware of parking restrictions and keeping our neighbour's driveways clear.
• Car Line (off Princes Avenue) - Car line is available for parents to pick their children up without having to park and get out of the car; please do not park and exit your car in car line as this creates major traffic issues. Car line is our preferred method of parent pick up as it ensures student safety. Car line can be very congested in the afternoons. If the waiting line is outside of our driveway the advice from NSW police is that you should continue around the block via Adam Street until the line moves forward. Please consider arriving at 3.30pm or after to ease this congestion; your child will be safe and supervised until you arrive. Two teachers are rostered on and supervicion at car line is until 3.45pm. After this time your child will be taken to the office and a call will be made to parents to arrange pick up ASAP.

Before & After School Care

Our newsletter, The SPP Chronicle, is normally published fortnightly (odd weeks) on a Thursday afternoon at around 5.30pm.

Each fortnight we include anything and everything that has happened in the preceding two weeks such as excursions, assemblies, sporting results and photos, liturgies, etc. We also provide information about upcoming school activities and events, student birthdays and important information and correspondence for families. We love to give shoutouts to our students and school community like thankyou's, baby announcements, special achievements and EOI's for sporting & other school or community group involvement, so if you have news that you think we could include just email it through to office.sppg@cg.catholic.edu.au.