Term 1, Week 5 2023

Hello Friends,

I trust that the change in the weather has provided some relief and a chance to enjoy some time outside and some fresh air. I take this opportunity to remind families that you are welcome to come along to school events such as assemblies and masses. Our Friday Café mornings occur in the Café from 8.20am – 8.45am. Two staff members host the café each week and will be more than happy to make you a cuppa.

Sports Day

This fabulous day on the school calendar is fast approaching. We will celebrate Sports Day at the Sacred Heart College – Somerton Park Main Oval on Friday 17 March. Our Sports team flags are proudly displayed in the courtyard each day and our teams, brilliantly led by their captains are beginning to practise their team chants. Ask your child about their team’s chant at home. I remind parents and caregivers that children need to be taken to Sacred Heart College oval in the morning and be collected from the oval at the conclusion of the day. Please contact your child’s class teacher if this presents a problem for your family.

Chess Club

Please see the attached information about the CTK Chess Club. We would like to offer this in the morning before school. It would be likely that Chess Club would be run from approximately 8am to 8.45am. Beginners and experienced players can be catered for. Please email info@christking.catholic.edu.au if you would like to register your child.

Student Representative Council

During 2023 we will have a Student Representative Council (SRC) that will give the students more of a voice at CTK and the SRC will have the opportunity to meet with the Principal to discuss ways we can make CTK an even better school. We had our first meeting last week and our SRC have been assigned their first task of running their first class meeting.  Congratulations to our SRC members for Semester 1 2023:

Reception: Easton Park and Evie Thompson

Year 1: Eli Harris and Sophie Buckley

Year 2: Jack Spencer and Evie Kearney

Year 3: Charlotte Cooper and Jack Leaney

Year 4: Justin Wu and Jun Yi Yau

Year 5/6: Macy McKellar-Stewart (Yr 5) and Kyah Clark (Yr 6)

We know that these SRC members will do a fantastic job of representing their class.

Traffic Safety

I remind parents and caregivers the importance of safety at pick up and drop off times. Our surrounding streets are very busy places before and after school and I ask that children refrain from walking between parked cars to cross the road for collection and drop off. I have also witnessed parents and caregivers stopping in the middle of the road to drop off and collect children. I remind families that this is both extremely unsafe and illegal. I appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community members safe.

You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.

Joyce Meyer

Thanks and Blessings

Matt Perry

On Friday we will gather as a community to celebrate Mass. The Year 5/6 students will help lead us into a deeper understanding of our place in the protection of God’s Creation. Following mass as a community we will take part in our Annual ‘Clean-Up Australia Day’ school event.

Our student’s learning is influenced by  Pope Francis’ Encycylical  (a long letter), http://eartheast.org/pope-francis-care-for-the-earth

Laudato Si , ‘ On care for Our Common Home’ he tackles climate change and the practical role we are all called to do. I encourage you to take some time to read parts of it and look at the quotes highlighted in images. We are all called to make a difference and the pope’s words are very powerful.

Project Compassion

The work of Project Compassion is a major pillar of the season of Lent. At school we will highlight others who need our support to build dignity and basic needs such as food or water security. During the Season of Lent I will share with some of the Project Compassion/Caritas stories to raise awareness o of the works undertaken by Caritas via the Project Compassion project.

Support for Turkiye and Syria

Our Year 4 students are commencing a religious Education Unit on the ‘Common Good’ and we had no better example of it than our Shrove Tuesday fundraiser. We had a goal to buy a set of 50 thermal blankets for the ‘Save the Children’ Appeal to help displaced children of Syria and Turkiye. Through the generosity of our staff and families we raised enough (+$240) to purchase the equivalent of 165 blankets.

Thank you for your support in this important fundraising appeal.

Teresa Pascoe

APRIM

(Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission)

Library Games

During scheduled lunchtimes the library opens for quiet activities. The marble run, train set and foam blocks get a real workout. If you are involved in a clean out at anytime and would like to donate partner games- Guess Who, Uno, Connect Four etc. to an appreciative group of students, we would love your donations. Just drop them off in the APRIM Office anytime during the year.

Class Libraries

Our library is always looking for clean preloved picture books and novels. Books donated will have a donation plaque placed in the front in recognition. Currently we are looking for books to stock class libraires, we are especially looking for series and books by the same author. We are also on the lookout for mysteries- Secret Seven, Hardy Boys etc. that have been rereleased with modern covers.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Our challenge will be brought forward to Term 1 in 2023. Information and registration forms will appear in Week 8, (the week after Sports Day). The challenge will finish at CTK at the end of Term 2.

Teresa Pascoe

Teacher/Libarian

Aquatics Day was the highlight of this term so far!  We began the day by leaving at 8:45am and arrived at Westlakes Aquatics Centre around 9:30am. The day was based around three sessions: sailing, snorkeling and kayaking began by listening to the safety rules and instructions and then left towards the PDFs or (life jackets) section where we tried several on.

Afterwards, we met Greg, our facilitator, who showed us how to tack and control the sailboat! My group was with Matildah, Kyah and Vibha. After a few minutes, we got on and we were off! There was hardly any wind causing the boat to move at snail pace. During sailing my group was shown how to tack (pull certain ropes) and we all took turns doing so! Towards the end of sailing, Greg let us do ‘Man Over – Board!’ (Which was indeed my favourite part of the whole day!) I jumped off the sailboat into the middle of the freezing lake with Vibha!

The next activity was snorkelling which was quite fun! We started off by selecting the correct sizes of slippers and wetsuits before we went into the water. As I looked down, millions of different sized fish were below me! It was a short session, but I really enjoyed it! Afterwards we had lunch, which was a great break time!

Last but not least, was kayaking! It was another great session I really enjoyed. Matildah and I paired up in a Banana Boat, (yellow kayak.) Our class raced each other, and we watched the blue lake’s waves slightly pass us! Aquatics Day was an amazing way to start off the year!

by Ziya 

On Tuesday the Year 6s went to Aquatics Day at Westlake’s Aquatic Centre. It was a fun day with all the activities we did.

First, we did sailing. That was fun but not my favourite. There were two groups. Our group had Krisala, Samuel, Atticus and Jenson. We had to wear PFDS or life jackets. Before we got on our sailboat. Our boat was finally out there on the lake but it was going slowly because there was not a lot of wind. But it soon got moving. Our boat almost tipped over, that was funny. Then we all got a go of steering the boat. That was fun. But then it got close to the end of that session but that’s alright because we had more activities.

Next we went to snorkeling. That was my favourite. It was so fun, I loved it. We had to wear flippers, a wet suit and a snorkel. We put the flippers and snorkel on in the water because it’s hard to walk in flippers and we washed our snorkel in the lake. Then we were finally swimming. We went out to the middle of the lake to a red paddle board. There were like a million fish under the paddle board. We got to feed the fish. Then we went back to the grass and took off our wet suits and flippers and snorkel and put them away.

Our last activity was kayaking. We got in partners and got our paddle and got in our kayak and went in the lake. We went to our first landmark that was a white structure. Then we went to a big palm tree. Then we were allowed to cross the lake to the sand part, and we put our kayaks on the sand and went for a two minute swim then we went back on our kayaks and went back to where we started.

That was all our activities for the day. It was very fun, and I want to do it again. 

by Madison G

February the 14th was the day that we went to Westlakes Aquatic Centre for some ‘aqua’ filled fun! On arrival, we got a glimpse of the breath-taking landscape. A few minutes later, after getting in our bathers, we met our facilitators, Greg and Mia.

Greg and Mia showed us all parts of the sailboat from the bow to the sail. We all ascended onto the boats, fitted with P.F.D. (Personal Floatation Devices). We attempted “man overboard” where we all had to steer the boat towards the stranded person. 

Next was snorkelling where we explored the lakes flora and fauna while wearing our wet suits, snorkels and flippers.

We finished off with kayaking in our multi colour, two seated kayaks. We all had a nice dip in the lake as the ‘cherry on top’ of our wonderful day at Westlakes Aquatic Centre. 

by Jenson

On Tuesday the Year 6s went to Aquatics Day. We got to do three activities at the centre.

First, we did sailing. The facilitators taught us how to use the ropes and sail. When we got on the sailboat, we were required to wear pfds or life jackets. But the problem was that there wasn’t any wind, so the boat was going very slowly, but then the wind started to pick up when we went further down the lake. My favourite bit of sailing was ‘man overboard’ where two of us at a time would jump off the boat into the water and then they would come back to get us.

Our second activity was snorkeling. We had to wear flippers, snorkels and a full wetsuit. At first, it was a bit uncomfortable but after we got in the water it was okay. We swam all the way to the middle of the lake and held on to some type of surfboard and watched the millions of fish swimming around.

Our last activity was kayaking. First, we had to choose a kayak. Kyah and I chose a blue kayak which we both could sit in.  Then we chose a paddle and got inside. We paddled all the way to a little beach and went for a swim.

Aquatics Day was so much fun, and I would love to do it again. 

by Vibha

On Aquatics Day we had to leave at 8:45 on the dot to catch our minibus. 

We arrived at 9:30 at the Westlakes Aquatic Centre. We first met Matt who told us all about where we need to put our sunscreen on, and all the parts people usually forget to apply it on! After the sunscreen session we went to meet Greg (who was my group’s leader). He talked all about water safety and our sessions!  

All together we had three sessions which were: #1 sailing, #2 snorkelling and #3 kayaking! In my group was me (Matildah), Ziya, Kyah and Vibha!

For sailing, we had to pull the rope so we could catch as much wind as we could get because it wasn’t a very windy day, and then after a while, we did ‘Man Overboard’, which was two of us sliding off the end of the boat and waiting in the water for the boat to come back and get us!

In snorkelling we had to wear wet suits and flippers. After we tested our snorkels, we went into five ft. deep water and there were tons and tons of fish that we got to feed!

In kayaking, I was partners with Ziya, and we both made our ‘Banana boat’ (kayak) go so fast! When we stopped, we saw one adult sea star, and then one baby sea star

I had tons of fun all day long! 

by Matildah

On Aquatics Day we did three activities, kayaking, sailing and snorkeling.

It was really fun snorkeling. We fed big fish and they followed us around in the water.

When we went out in the sailboats, we got to all have a turn steering the boat. We almost capsized it!

We did kayaking and to move it we used paddles. To turn left, we had to put  the paddle on the right.

To paddle to the right we had to put the paddle on the left.

We did tons of stuff and the best thing was snorkeling.

It was the best :)

by Atticus

On February the 14th the Year 6 class went to Westlakes Aquatic Centre to learn about Aquatics safety.

We got to do sailing. First, we had to learn about the sailboat from the bow to the stern of the boat.

We next did snorkeling. We learnt about all the ocean creatures like the blue ring octopus Fortunately we didn’t see any. After putting on wetsuits, we swam out to a surfboard with fish food on top. We got to feed the fish!

Our final activity was kayaking. We had to put on lifejackets and got some paddles. Greg and Mia taught us how to use the paddles and we set sail. After all of that we got on the bus and headed back to school.

by Samuel T

The trip to Westlakes Aquatic Centre was a day to remember. The feeling of both fear and curiosity made it special.  We were split into two groups, then introduced to the activities! Our activities were also split to include breaks and lunch.

The first activity was sailing. A fresh and calm environment, added with an enjoyable sing along. Who doesn’t like SpongeBob?

After an era of nostalgia, our next activity; snorkeling! How bubbly! But along the way, we had some visitors! Quite scaly! We decided to give them an exquisite bite of…fish food. Eh, not a personal favourite…

Anyway, after a few munches and crunches of lunch, our last activity was kayaking! Hah! Kay-aking! Get it? I’m so cruel. Vibha and I were full of joy when we entered the kayak. As much as it was tiring, it was one of the most stunning and extraordinary moments of my life.

The feeling of the water, the feeling of the breeze in my hair. It was a day to die for.

by Kyah

The visit to Westlakes Aquatic Centre for Year 6 Aquatics was amazing! We got to try out three unique activities consisting of kayaking, snorkeling and sailing.

My personal favourite was kayaking because we got to partner up with a friend and sail from one end of the lake to the other one while enjoying the warm sunlight!

Sailing was also fun because we got to sail in the cool breeze and calm waters of the lake. In my group there was Atticus, Samuel, Madison, Jenson, me and our amazing facilitator Mia! While we were peacefully sailing something crazy happened, our boat almost tipped over!!!

Snorkeling was also interesting since we got to see and feed many big and small fish. The snorkels were a bit hard to use but we all managed it in the end!

Overall, I give Aquatics Day a 5/5 star review for all the fun and interesting things we got to learn and try!

by Krisala

Whilst we are able to put many COVID restrictions behind us, COVID-19 continues to affect the community. We all have a part to play in keeping our school community safe and minimising the disruption to learning that can occur when illness circulates at school. Students who are unwell should stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms and get tested for COVID-19. If students have COVID-19, please advise the school as soon as possible, and stay at home until all acute symptoms (runny nose, sore throat, cough and fever) have cleared.

Our digging pit and sandpit would love a new collection of tools. Preloved saucepans, frypans, pots and metal bowls would be gratefully received. Any metal kitchen implements or thick plastic bowls will also find a home. Any donations can be dropped off at the front Office or the APRIM Office.

Please note our Uniform Shop will be closed on 

Friday 24th of March
Tuesday 28th of March
Friday 31st of March

With the exclusion of the above days opening hours are

Tuesday afternoons 2.30pm - 3.30pm and Friday mornings 8.30am - 9.30am during school term or order at http://www.belgraviaapparelschools.com/collections/christ-the-king-school

School commences at 8.45am and concludes at 3.10pm each day. Students who arrive after 8.45am must sign in at the Front Office.

If your child is absent from school, please phone 8198 3100 (Select option 1 and leave your child's name, class and reason for absence)

If your child needs to be collected before the end of the school day, they must be collected from the Front Office and be signed out by an adult. 

Communication with the classroom teacher is required when a student:

• Is going to arrive at school late, due to a pre-arrangement
• ​Needs to leave before dismissal time
• ​Is going on a family holiday.  For extended holiday’s (7 days or more) an application for exemption from school must be completed and submitted to the Principal. Forms are available from the Front Office.
• ​Any other pre-arranged absence.

Thank you for your assistance with this.