NAIDOC week

Sunday July 6 – Sunday July 13

Lord,

We seek Healing, Justice, and Peace for all people, and trust in the power of community and love. We pray especially those who are working with First Nations Peoples within Catholic Education and that they stand firm in the teachings of Christ and strong in proclaiming the Gospel.

We pray for all peoples, both First Nations people and non-Indigenous people, that we will all learn to walk together and serve and respect each other.

We pray for the Elders in the Canberra-Goulburn communities, that they will be guided by the Holy Spirit and lead us in maintaining the dignity and value of each person.

Lord, let us reflect on the privilege we are presented with to experience the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

Amen

NAIDOC WEEK and Mass

The NAIDOC Masses acknowledge our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families’ and students' histories and cultures and provide an opportunity for Archdiocesan schools to come together to celebrate the rich history, diverse cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We look forward to celebrating this Mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral Manuka – Week 1, term 3- Friday 25 July, 9.45am with our First Nations students from St Anthony’s and our Archdiocesan schools.

As NAIDOC week falls over the term break, this week our students will participate in NAIDOC week activities. My thanks to Bernie Ephraum’s for her coordination of this and her ongoing support and work as our Aboriginal contact person at St Anthony/s.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Maddie Waye and Michael on the safe arrival of their beautiful baby boy Harvey. They are all doing well, and we wish them all the best as they embark on this exciting journey in their lives.

Parent-Teacher Interviews and Reports

Semester 1 student reports were made accessible via Compass last Friday. There are no formal comments written on this semester’s report, however, opportunities for Parent/Teacher interviews are being facilitated this week. My sincere thanks to all of our teachers who take great time in preparing for these interviews and to all parents and carers who have taken the opportunity to meet with their child’s teacher. I know that many interviews have taken place already, and that finding the time to meet with your child’s teacher is often no easy task, but I appreciate the commitment to maintaining strong lines of communication between families and the school.

Student absences

It is a requirement that an explanatory note for any absence is provided to the school from parents/carers for students in their care. Explanations for student absences can be quickly and easily submitted via Compass. When you access your child’s Compass profile via the app, you will see any outstanding explanations for absences highlighted in a green box to the right of the screen. You can then select the date/s that your child was away and type in a reason for their absence, which will then automatically update your child’s attendance record. If you would like more information or assistance on how to do this, please feel free to contact the school. 

Pupil Free days

A reminder that there is a pupil free day on Friday across our CE system, term 2 concludes this Thursday 3 July. Term 3 commences on Tuesday 22 July.

Building Fund Statements- A message from Catholic Education

As we approach the end of the 2025 financial year, final tax receipts for families who made voluntary CCSBF contributions between 1 July 2024 and 31 December 2024 will be emailed to families next week, starting 30 June 2025.

Please note that payments made in 2025 are not included on these receipts. This is because, as of 1 January 2025, the School Building Levy became a mandatory fee and is no longer classified as a voluntary contribution. As such, it is not tax-deductible. We hope this clarification assists with any family enquiries regarding missing tax receipts or the exclusion of 2025 payments from their tax receipts.

CEO Vinnies Sleepout

I have been incredibly humbled by the support of you all and our wonderful STA community. Together we were able to raise $5916.00 towards this very worthwhile cause. Below is some information that was shared on the evening, some alarming statistics. I thank you sincerely for assisting in helping to make a difference in the lives of others less fortunate than us.

In the ACT — one of the most prosperous regions in Australia — more than 1,700 people are experiencing homelessness on any given night. More than a third of them are under 25. Rental stress is at record highs, and the leading cause of homelessness remains family and domestic violence.

We know that homelessness wears many faces — it isn’t always what we expect. It’s the young person couch-surfing. The pensioner sleeping in a car. The single mum navigating impossible choices. And the truth is — many of us are just a few unexpected events away from that reality.

What we’re doing tonight doesn’t replicate homelessness. It can’t. But it does send a powerful message that we care ……. that we’re paying attention ……. and that we’re willing to act.

At Vinnies, year on year we have seen the need growing — but we also see what’s possible when people come together. To give you some insight into areas of impact, last year we:

• Answered 5,600 calls for emergency assistance.
• Delivered over 32,000 instances of support across the ACT,
• Provided $2.1 million in assistance.
• Served 40,000 hot meals at our Roadhouse and Blue Door services.
• Provided 13,500 Sandwiches and 8,000 items of material aid through our Night Patrol service
• Supported 149 families experiencing homelessness into secure housing
• Provided crisis accommodation for 89 men at Samaritan House
• Supported 63 people sleeping rough to move off the streets and into safe housing

Some of these services receive government support, but a significant proportion is funded by the CEO Sleepout, as well as the goods purchased in our Retail Centres and Goodies Junction Reuse Facilities – they are also supported by the generosity of the community through individual or workplace giving.

Save the date – From our Community Council:

STA Pop-up car boot market & bake stall - Sunday 31st August 11-1pm

STA is having our very own pop-up car boot market! There will be coffee, food including baked goods, music and market items for sale donated by our school community e.g. pre-loved clothes, shoes, books, games, sporting equipment, toys, homewares, plants, anything that can fit in your car boot!

For this fundraiser to go ahead, we’re looking to members of our STA community.

• Do or will you have pre-loved goods from an early Spring clean?
• Have you been storing items to donate and haven’t yet got around to it?
• Do you have friends or family that together could make up a car boot full of items to sell?
• Consider hosting a car boot stall and donating to our STA community through this event.

Please register your interest to host a car boot stall by emailing our school office at:

office.stanthonyswanniassa@cg.catholic.edu.au

Please use subject line as Registering interest for STA pop up car boot market.

Further details will be sent to you once you have registered your interest.

Pending interest and numbers, we will confirm the event going ahead in early next term.

Term 3 dates and events

Attached is an overview of upcoming events and notable dates for next term. Any changes and additions will be reflected in the Compass calendar as they are made known to us. As soon as the date and time for an event, excursion, etc. is locked in and confirmed, we add these to our official school calendars. Some of the events below that require consent (e.g. excursions) will be sent out early in Term 3. A reminder that we also publish a weekly ‘Coming Up’ via Compass and on the school Facebook page every Friday afternoon, and a term overview of dates and events in our fortnightly newsletters.

 Have a safe and restful break,

Erin 

Please see the attached PDF for information about the upcoming school census. More information will be shared with the community in Term 3.