Dear Parents & Guardians,

As we come to the end of Term One, it's with great pleasure to reflect on the achievements and progress made by our students over the past several months as they have moved into a new grade, settled in and taken on academic and social challenges. It has been great to see our classes engage in ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ each fortnight and take on the opportunities provided through our Positive Education program. Our Grades 3 and 5 students have prepared for and sat the annual Naplan testing. Students across Grades 3-6 participated in our school swimming carnival and some went on to represent the school at the recent Catholic InterSchool Carnival. Our Grade 3-6 students took time to share with the school community the important events and stories of Holy Week.

Special recognition goes to our student leaders who have shown wonderful dedication in leading initiatives, and fostering a positive school culture. We look forward to their involvement in laying the wreath at the Claremont Anzac Day Service during the holidays. Everyone is welcome to join them at 9:00 am on April 25th at the Claremont Memorial (on the waterfront just down from Claremont Plaza).

Today is the final day of term for our students. Tomorrow our staff will gather for their annual Spirituality Day. An important occasion for us to connect as a whole staff and discuss and share our ideas on how best to support the spiritual growth of not only our students but ourselves on our own spiritual journey.

Reminder - Kinder 2025 enrolments close for all students, including siblings on Friday 10th May. Please pass this information on to anyone you know who may be interested.

I wish all our students and staff a well-deserved break - enjoy time to slow down and relax. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 29th April.

Dear Parents/ Carers,

Receiving the sacraments is a special time in your child's journey of faith, and it is the means by which baptised children can complete their journey into full membership of the Catholic Church. They are school community events, which remind us of the role of the parish community in our faith life. 

Baptism is the first of three Sacraments of Initiation and one families choose for their child. Our sacramental programme at Holy Rosary Catholic School offers parents a convenient process to enable the reception of further sacraments for their child.

The gift of God's Holy Spirit which the children received in Baptism is strengthened in the Sacrament of Confirmation, and the children complete their initiation with the reception of first Holy Communion - a public declaration that they are now fully a part of this community, this "Communion" of God's family. The programme itself strives to help them grow into a church community, and feel a real sense of belonging to the wider Family of God.

Just as, ideally, baptism takes place when your child is a baby, there is an appropriate age for the reception of each of the sacraments.These are the recommended ages of the children to participate in the Sacramental Program at Holy Rosary Catholic School :

• Confirmation:When your child is in Grade 6.
• Reconciliation :When your child is in Grade 4, 5 and 6
• First Eucharist:When your child is in Grade 4, 5 and 6 and has received the sacrament of Reconciliation.

We are commencing our Sacramental preparation in Term Two. 

Term Two will involve the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharist.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

We will be holding  our Sacramental Sessions for  Reconciliation on Thursday 9th  May and Thursday 16t^h May. 

These sessions will be from 2:00pm until 3:45pm. Each child will need to attend both sessions with an accompanying adult joining us at 2:45pm until 3:45pm. 

The session will be held in the Chanel Room (opposite the entrance to St Bernard’s Church) and children are asked to bring a snack for afternoon tea.

The celebration for our Reconciliation Sacramental children will be on Friday the  17^th at 6:00pm, in St Bernard’s Church with Fr Suresh celebrating.

Sacrament of Eucharist

We will be holding  our Sacramental Sessions for  the Sacrament of the Eucharist on Thursday 6th, 13th, 20th of June. 

These sessions will be from 2:00pm until 3:45pm. Each child will need to attend both sessions with an accompanying adult joining us at 2:45pm until 3:45pm. 

The session will be held in the Chanel Room (opposite the entrance to St Bernard’s Church) and children are asked to bring a snack for afternoon tea.

 The celebration for the First Eucharist  will be on Sunday the  23rd of June at 9:00am in St Bernard’s Church with Fr Suresh celebrating.

 Sacrament of Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation will be held for Grade 6 students in Term 4

Please email Mrs Libby Piesse or Fr Suresh if you would like your child to join our Sacramental Preparation Sessions.

If you would like to discuss this further please contact Fr Suresh, our Parish Priest, at claremont@aohtas.org.au or Libby Piesse at libby.piesse@catholic.tas.edu.au.

Mrs Libby Piesse

We are thrilled to share the exciting initiatives our class, Grade 4 M have been working on as
part of our inquiry project focused on rubbish use and sustainability in our school community.
Here are some highlights of our efforts so far:

Data Collection and Analysis: We have diligently collected and tallied the waste from
our lunchboxes, with a particular focus on reducing soft plastics. This has helped us
understand our impact on the environment better.

Creative Advertisements: Our students have showcased their creativity by designing
persuasive advertisements in the form of speeches, videos, and posters. These were
shared during assemblies to raise awareness and inspire action.

School Grounds Survey: We conducted a survey of rubbish around the school
grounds, graphing our findings to identify areas for improvement.

Research on Costs and Waste: We researched the costs and waste of common
lunchbox items (cheezels and tiny teddies, comparing bulk packs with multiple
individual serve packages. This has given us valuable insights into making more
sustainable choices.

As part of our mission to promote sustainability, here are three simple actions YOUR family can take to reduce lunchbox wastage!

Use reusable containers and water bottles instead of disposable ones.

Choose snacks and foods with minimal packaging or opt for alternatives in recyclable
packaging.

Encourage children to bring home any leftover food or packaging to recycle or
compost.

Thank you for your support in fostering a culture of environmental responsibility and waste reduction in our school community.