Guardian Angels' Newsletter Term 1 Week 5 2025

Coming Up at Guardian Angels

WEEK 6

Monday 3rd March
Uniform Shop Open, 7.30am - 10.30am

Tuesday 4th March
Shrove Tuesday 
Pancake Breakfast, 8.05am - 8.25am
Mini-pros Soccer (after school program), 3.15pm - 4.15pm

Wednesday 5th March
Ash Wednesday
Whole School Mass, 8.45 (MC Shed)
Sports Aerobics, 7.30am - 8.15am (GA Hall)
Year 5/6 Camp - Tallebudgera 

Thursday 6th March
Creative Kidz Instrumental Lessons 
Uniform Shop Open, 1.00pm - 4.00pm
Year 5/6 Camp - Tallebudgera

Friday 7th March
Year 5/6 Camp - Tallebudgera

WEEK 7

Monday 10th March
Uniform Shop Open, 7.30am - 10.30am

Tuesday 11th March
Principal's Tour, 9.00am
Mini-pros Soccer (after school program), 3.15pm - 4.15pm
P&F Meeting, 6.00pm (MC Staffroom - all welcome to attend)

Wednesday 12th March
Sports Aerobics, 7.30am - 8.15am (GA Hall)
NAPLAN, years 3 & 5

Thursday 13th March
Creative Kidz Instrumental Lessons 
Uniform Shop Open, 1.00pm - 4.00pm
NAPLAN, years 3 & 5
Class Mass - 1 Red and 2 Red, 1.45pm (GA Church)

Friday 14th March
Assembly, 8.50am (MC Shed)
NAPLAN, Years 3 & 5

From the Principal

Celebrating Parent Partnership and Open Classroom Expo Evening

Thank you to our students, parents and staff for making our recent Parent Partnership Open Classroom and Expo Evening such a successful afternoon.  This event was a wonderful reflection of the partnership that we are so very proud of at Guardian Angels.

It was fantastic to see parents having the opportunity to step into their children’s classrooms and sharing in their learning experiences.  The opportunity to meet and to talk together during these sessions is important in developing the partnership between school and home that is an invaluable part of each child’s learning journey.   

In the weeks ahead, we will all be able to witness the enthusiasm and passion for learning come to life through each child. 

Jesus teaches us that small things can turn out to be important and the things that we consider as ordinary can be special. This message is important to us as we start the school year, for it starts with the understanding that giving support and nurturing learning is a part of God’s plan for each of us. 

We each grow in the plan of God and offer support in the form of the love and care that we give to others. We can see in the everyday actions of our lives that love grows when shared and given to those around us. We see this in our families, in our friendships and with others who we meet. We see this in our school community as we work together and show love and care that changes those around us.

As we move through the term, let’s remember that the love that begins in our hearts can grow outwards to embrace and bring comfort to others.

We are incredibly grateful to our committed and professional staff for their efforts in preparing and showcasing the exceptional learning and teaching that will be provided to our students this year.

We look forward to our continued partnership throughout the year, working together to help each child learn, progress, and reach their full potential.

Congratulations Year 6 Student Leaders

For our Year 6 student leaders, accepting their badges from their parents during the Leadership Commissioning Liturgy was a very proud moment for all to share in.   There will be many opportunities throughout the year for our community to guide our student leaders to make new discoveries and to recognise the gifts that they each have to give as leaders in our school.  Remembering that in Jesus, our students have a role model who had a leadership style that is inspiring, and is still impacting our culture today.

A defining characteristic about Jesus’ leadership is that His life of service originated from his relationship with God.   He is a servant leader, not motivated by his personal desire for power or status, but to serve. To be a follower of Jesus, meant that you would also be a leader, and a good leader also has to be a good follower. His was a style of leadership that focused on ‘do what I do’ rather than ‘do what I say’.  Jesus influenced many diverse people during his ministry but compelled no-one to follow Him.   His teachings empowered them to make up their own minds, to exercise their own freedom.  Jesus’ clear mission is to transform the world through transformed people.  Most of all, the values that He held were present in His words and actions to those around Him – everyday. (Source:   Bibleleadership.com)

We need to teach our children to live their values.  To be leaders who can identify what they stand for and how they will do things.  Our students in Year 6 will have the opportunity to develop practical skills to assist them in their roles as leaders at Guardian Angels, whilst growing in their individual capacity as leaders.  Being involved in leadership at our school is an important responsibility and a fantastic opportunity to make an impact on others as they strive to LIVE the GA Way!

From the Assistant Principal Administration

Good afternoon lovely families …

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

In the second last week of this term (Week 9), we will again be offering formal Parent Teacher Interview opportunities.

These interviews are wonderful opportunities for parents to catch up with their child/ren’s teacher/s and celebrate the students’ successes and achievements. They also allow for important discussion regarding ways that we, as a team, can support our students in areas of strength, challenge and with relationships with others. The Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in Week 9 (Monday 24 – Friday 28 March).

At the moment, our wonderful class teachers are setting up their individual interview schedules in PTO (Parent Teacher Online). For the most part, interviews may be offered until around 5:15 each afternoon.

Parent Teacher Interviews will be easily booked through the BOOKED link (formerly PTO - Parent Teacher Online) in the Parent Portal.

Parents will be able to book a Parent Teacher Interview through the PTO app. This will open to parents on Monday 10 March at 9:00am. You will have until Wednesday 19 March to book an interview time. At this time, the bookings system will close so please be sure to take the opportunity to book in your interview during this window of time.

Many thanks for your ongoing support.

Blessings of peace to you all for the coming week

Nicole Waller

From the Assistant Principal Religious Education

Dear Families,

Peace and Welcome,

Season of Lent

As we enter the season of Lent, we invite our school community to embrace this time of reflection, prayer, and preparation. Lent is a period of 40 days leading up to Easter, during which we remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and prepare our hearts for His resurrection.

Key Dates:

• Ash Wednesday (March 5th): Marks the beginning of Lent with the distribution of ashes.
• Palm Sunday (April 13th): Celebrates Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
• Holy Week (April 14th - April 20th): Includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
• Easter Sunday (April 21st): Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Lenten Practices:

• Prayer: Deepen your relationship with God through daily prayer and reading of Sacred Scripture. Consider participating in the Stations of the Cross or praying the rosary with your family.
• Fasting: Observe fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent. Fasting helps us develop self-discipline and reminds us of our dependence on God.
• Almsgiving: Share your blessings with those in need through acts of charity, donations, and volunteering. Almsgiving is a way to practice self-denial and show compassion to others.

Reflection and Renewal: 

Lent is a time for personal and spiritual growth. We encourage everyone to take this opportunity to reflect on their lives, seek forgiveness, and strive to become better individuals. Let's support each other in our spiritual journey and grow together as a community.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake – Project Compassion

Tuesday 4th March

Tuesday 4^th of March is Shrove Tuesday and is the day before Lent, which starts the following day on Ash Wednesday. The name comes from the old middle English word “Shriven” meaning to go to confession to say sorry for the wrong things you’ve done. This day comes from an old English custom of using up all the fattening ingredients in the house before Lent, so that people were ready to fast during Lent. 

At Guardian Angels’, Our Year 6 Leaders will be offering our students a pancake from 8:05am – 8:25am on Tuesday 4^th March. Locations for the breakfast:

• GA Campus: Under the Shade Sails
• MC Campus: Under the Shed

Students can choose one of the three spreads to put on their pancake:

• Maple Syrup / plain syrup
• Honey
• Strawberry Jam

Gluten free pancakes will be available to those students with food allergies. 

We are asking for a gold coin donation for each pancake and money raised will be going towards Project Compassion. Students can bring their gold coin donation on the day. 

Thank you for supporting Projection Compassion. 

Project Compassion invites people across Australia to help raise awareness and stand in solidarity with the millions of people in the communities across the world with whom they work. They ask for us to join them, in building a more just and fair world: a world in balance, at peace, and free of poverty. - Caritas Australia

School Prayer Gatherings

Ash Wednesday Mass - Wednesday 5th March 8:45am

Ash Wednesday is one of the most important holy days in the liturgical calendar. This special service marks the beginning of the Lenten season, a time for reflection and spiritual growth.

Our Ash Wednesday Mass will be celebrated with Fr Joshy in the Shed of the Mount Carmel Campus at 8:45am on Wednesday 5^th March for students in Prep to Year 6. We encourage all members of our school and parish community to participate in this meaningful tradition. Let's come together as a community to begin our Lenten journey.

Class Mass – Year 1 Red and Year 2 Red, Thursday 13^th March at 1:45pm.

Our next Class Mass for this year is on Thursday 13^th March at 1:45pm, with Year 1 Red and Year 2 Red leading the mass. All members of our school and parish community are welcome to attend.

God Bless

Nicholas Cotter

From the Primary Learning Leader

NAPLAN (Years 3 & 5)

The joyous season of NAPLAN is upon us … and we are working to prepare our beautiful Year 3 and 5 students for these tests. The testing of NAPLAN begins on Wednesday 12 March and will continue for at least a week beyond this date. The tests have been carefully scheduled so that your child/ren doesn’t lose other important educational experiences such as their Drama, Music, Sport and STEM lessons. The schedule itself is not onerous at all. We allow for time of rest and the teachers are so wonderful at supporting the students through this process (sometimes it seems more stressful for the teachers to be honest, as they are always looking out for the welfare of their students).

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that all students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 sit each year across Australia. While it does provide important information about the students’ literacy and numeracy skills, it also provides schools valuable information about the impact of the curriculum, teaching and learning and students’ progress against the educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

NAPLAN consists of four individual testing experiences that will be completed in the following order: 1) Writing 2) Reading 3) Conventions of Language (spelling and grammar/punctuation) and 4) Numeracy. Most of the NAPLAN testing experience is completed in an online environment. The only exception to this is the Year 3 Writing test which is still conducted in the paper format.

The online nature and set up of NAPLAN provides precise results and opportunities for schools to identify those areas in which students are excelling or may need further support. The students also engage more enthusiastically with the online format.

The NAPLAN Public Demonstration Site is a really wonderful place for parents, students and teachers to experience NAPLAN in an online environment. I strongly encourage you to visit the site, along with your child/ren, and have a play with the demonstration tests.

You can find the site here: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site

Teachers at Guardian Angels will be using this site, along with other planned experiences, to provide immersion opportunities for the students as they prepare for NAPLAN.

To further support our students, we will be participating in practice tests during Week 6 (Year 5 Tuesday 4th March and Year 3 Wednesday 6th March). All students in Years 3 & 5 will participate in an omnibus test which will provide experiences from reading, conventions of language and numeracy. These tests, while formally set up through the Assessform platform (used in real NAPLAN), do NOT identify the students (they are provided with set up ids), are not marked and are not reported on in any way. It really is just a wonderful opportunity for our students and teachers to experience especially the setting up, signing in and finalising stages of the NAPLAN tests.

We will communicate directly with the parents of Year 3 & 5 students as NAPLAN approaches. Please monitor your email as separate communications to those parents will be sent directly.

From the Finance Office

School Fees - Reminder

Term 1 school fees were issued Friday 12 Feb and were due for payment by 21 February 2025. Thank you to those families who have already made payments or who have arrangements in place.

If you have not paid your school fees, we ask that you do so as soon as possible or contact the Finance Office to make payment arrangements.

If you haven’t received a copy of your statement, please check your junk or spam email folder.  Statements are sent exclusively to the account holder. If you need another copy, kindly email your request to pwynfinance@bne.catholic.edu.au.

Our preferred method of payment is by Direct Debit. Direct debit forms are available on the School website or please email me at pwynfinance@bne.catholic.edu.au to request a copy.

Payment Options:

We offer several methods to pay your fees:

1. DIRECT DEBIT – Direct Debit Form (preferred method)
2. CREDIT CARD – Credit Card Direct Debit Form (for regular debited payments)
3. BPAY – Refer to your fee statement for the BPAY reference

1. BPOINT – Online credit card payments (MasterCard and Visa) – BPoint Payment Link  or visit the school website under “Quick Links”
2. EFTPOS – Available at the Mount Carmel campus.

Please always feel free to contact the Finance Office should you ever have any questions.

Kind regards

Amy Hardisty – Finance Officer

From the Parish

From the P&F

If you can spare half an hour to help at our Welcome BBQ, please sign up via this link.

VolunteerSignup - Online volunteer signup sheets - Welcome BBQ signup sheet

Our next P&F meeting is on 11th March at 6pm in the MC Staffroom.  Everyone is welcome to attend.

From the Tuckshop

A reminder that our tuckshop is currently CLOSED for maintenance.

We will advise of the reopening date as soon as possible.

MiniPros Soccer

Mini-Pros after school soccer program will be held Tuesday afternoons from 3.15pm - 4.15pm in weeks 4-9 (18th Feb - 25th March inclusive) 
Please head to www.mini-pros.com.au to register

BCE Connect App

Did you know…..

Student academic reports, absences, appointments, media permissions and much more can all be found on the BCE Connect App.

How to log an absence, late arrival, or appointment

If you're having trouble accessing the BCE Connect App or Parent Portal:

• Contact the office: If you're unable to log in or have any access issues, don't hesitate to reach out to the school office for support.   It is essential the parents can always access this resource and save their own copy of the student academic reports securely.
• Check your email: The email address linked to your account held at school is what grants you access.    If you've recently changed your email address, make sure the school has the updated one on file. You can contact the office to update it if necessary.

Volunteering at Guardian Angels

Volunteers are very welcome at Guardian Angels’ and play an important role in enriching students’ experiences.   
When parents and community members can get involved in activities like reading, excursions, P&F and events, it fosters a sense of connection and support.

Before commencing as a volunteer, you are required to complete online volunteer training at the start of each calendar year.  This takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.  This training ensures that all our adults who come into contact with our students will be fully informed of their roles and responsibilities when working with students.    

Please follow the steps below:

1. Click this link to complete online Student Protection Training Start training here
2. Complete the ‘Volunteer Registration and Declaration Form’ (this can be accessed at the end of the online training) 
3. Print and complete the ‘Volunteer Registration and Declaration Form’ and email to pwynnum@bne.catholic.edu.au
4. You will receive acknowledgement of your completed training and volunteer number for 2025.

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop is open Mondays 7.30am-10.30am and Thursdays 1.00pm-4.00pm.

Online orders are also available anytime – password to access this page is guardianangels2023

Community Notices

Disclaimer

Copyright in some materials appearing in this newsletter are owned by third parties and should not be used or reproduced without the authority of the third party.  The links to websites or webpages are for information purposes only.  To the extent that such third party materials are not owned by BCE, we accept no responsibility for such content.