Congratulations to our students for their performances in both Cast A and B of our musical Shrek Junior. The atmosphere and buzz in the foyer and throughout the performances was priceless. Many parents commented on how much they had missed these community interactions in 2020. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching themselves on the “big screen”. The comfy chairs in the Grand Theatre were just what the doctor ordered. It was so lovely to see the familiar faces of some parents and grandparents after such a long time. 

Thankyou for supporting our musical. A USB recording is available to purchase. Please note there is a quick cut off period for orders if you would like to receive it before the school year finishes. Photos of the classes and portraits of our cast and crew are in the office at school with order forms. You can come in to select your photos or simply place your order as per the instructions. 

Staffing News 
I am pleased to announce that Mrs Penny Delmage will be taking on the role of Religious Education Coordinator in 2021. We look forward to working with Penny as part of the Senior Leadership Team. Penny has put her heart and soul into the library position over the years and is looking forward to her role as full time class teacher and REC. 

Mrs Leanne Beacom will be leaving us at the end of this school year. We thank Leanne for her contributions to the school over the last two years and wish her well for the future. We are pleased to welcome Belinda Camilleri to the office administration team. Belinda will be working 20 hours a fortnight here at the school. These hours will be in addition to her current role as Office Manager in the Corpus Christi Parish. We look forward to building upon our connections with our parish as Belinda combines the two roles.

Mrs Kim Schutte will be taking up our Learning Support position in 2021. Kim comes to us with a range of experiences and a strong passion for working with children who require support to access the curriculum.  Kim will begin her handover with Cybelle next week.

Staffing for 2021 
On Monday the 14th December we will be having Step Up day at Corpus Christi. Children will spend the morning with their teacher/s for 2021. We also welcome a number of new families to the school on that day. 
This newsletter outlines the staffing for next year. Please be aware that changes are possible right up until the end of the year but we believe it is important to start the planning and handover process as soon as possible. 

Call for Class Parents 
As yet we do not have many volunteers for the Class Parent Role. If you have an interest in becoming a Class Parent in 2021 please make sure you register this interest with the school office as soon as possible. The welcoming and generous role our class parents play is the secret to our remarkable community spirit here at Corpus Christi.

 

Reports will be available on Compass this Friday. If you would like to discuss any aspect of these reports please contact your child’s teacher in Week 9. 

At our Graduation Mass next Wednesday 9th December we acknowledge and celebrate the graduation of our Year 6 students. I wish for them a very happy final two weeks as they complete their primary school years and celebrate their time at Corpus Christ and their many friendships.  

The community of Corpus Christi  is a very blessed community. I encourage as many parents as possible to attend our end of year school Mass on Wednesday 16th December where we will have the opportunity to formally farewell our Year 6 children and some of our students in Year 4 who will be leaving us. There are a number of families who after a long association with Corpus Christi will be moving on to the next stage of their children’s education. My sincere thanks to all our families who have been companions on the journey over the years. We will certainly miss seeing you around the school and will think of you often.

Jayne Wheen 

Principal

Walking the Way –walkingtheway.dbbcso.org/
In this great resource there are weekly E-Bulletins here for parents. 

The season of giving
As you know we have spent this semester (Terms 3 & 4) learning about ‘faith in action’ particuarly when engaging in support of Catholic Mission and our local outreach to the aged care facilities with our ‘Spring has Sprung’ initiative. The Children have been involved in learning about the importance of having an awareness of others whether that be in our local community with our aged care facilities or reaching out to people being cared for by St Vincent de Paul this Christmas (Years K-3) or residents of the Gethsemane community (Years 4-6). Thanks to all our families for supporting these great charities at this time. We hope your children did extra jobs around the home to earn extra pocket money and helped you puchase the goods that have been sent in.

We are in our first week of Advent which is the time of preparation. The students will be talking about the importance of this time and how it leads to the birth of Jesus in the coming weeks in every class.  Each Friday we will light a candle to represent the week of Advent. Last week we lit the first purple candle that represented hope. This coming Friday we will light the second candle to represent love. Next Friday (our final Friday at school for this year) we will light the pink/rose candle to represent joy.



Our one and only Family Rock Mass for the year was held on Sunday. It was lovely to see so many of our new Kindergarten children and their families who are joining our Corpus Christi family next year. Our current Kindergarten children did a fabulous liturgical movement and read the prayer of the faithful beautifully, they really were a great model for our new Kindergarten children for 2021. Whilst it wasn’t the usual Rock Mass with us all allowed to sing it was still a wonderful celebration of the Eucharist and reminded us of why we love to gather as a community in this way.

Our Year Six celebrate their time at Corpus Christi next Wednesday 9th December at 5pm, this is a special time for them. Please keep them in your prayers as they near the end of their primary school journey with us.
 
We are hoping restrictions are eased further in the coming week to enable us to have more people in the Church on Wednesday 16^th December for our end of year Thanksgiving Mass at 11:30am. More details will follow on this next week.
 
I have loved my time at Corpus and want to thank Fr Greg and the parish team for making it so easy to bring the parish and the school together in liturgical celebrations. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Fr Greg, Belinda and Michelle in the parish and the children and families that make our school so special.
Thanks for all your support.
 
Blessings.
 
Sharon Kelly
Religious Education Co-ordinator

The Premier’s Reading Challenge certificates will be sent home as soon as the gold and platinum awards arrive.
 
Congratulations to all the students who completed the challenge and received a certificate.
 

 
All books can then be shelved and organised for next year. Any missing books can be accounted for before the holidays. Overdue notices will continue to be sent home, as there are a large amount of books to be returned to the library. I would appreciate a note or email to penny.delmage@dbb.catholic.edu.au if you cannot locate a book or you think it has been returned. That way I can record it as lost and you will receive no further notes. However, it is also expected if the book is not returned you either replace the book or pay for the replacement cost if it is not located by the end of the year.
 
Thanks to AJ Rocks for taking photos during the year at school events. Thanks also to Georgie O’Halloran and Steph Whooley who organise Scholastic Book Club during the year.

Penny Delmage                                       
Teacher/Librarian

BASKETBALL BROKEN BAY TRIALS
Congratulations to Jorja in Year 5 who successfully secured a place in the Broken Bay Girls Basketball Team last week.  Jorja will be heading to Tamworth in early February 2021 to attend the NSWCPS Polding selection trials.  This is an incredible effort Jorja, and I am sure the school holidays will include lots of basketball practise for you. 
 
DATE FOR THE DIARY
The Swimming Carnival for Years 3-6 (and children 8 or turning 8 in 2021) will be held on Friday 19^th February 2021.  Whilst we do not know what the future holds in terms of government restrictions allowing parent spectators, we will need parent helpers to assist us on the day, so please mark this date in your diaries. 
 
CRICKET CLINICS
The children in K-6 will be participating in cricket clinics run by Cricket NSW the last 4 weeks of term.  If your child is interested in continuing playing cricket, please see the attached flyer for more information on how to join the local club. 

Laura Bahri (Sport Coordinator)
laura.bahri@dbb.catholic.edu.au

Have you visited our Corpus Facebook lately?
 
There is a lot happening on social media this term!
 
We recognise this has been an isolating year for all including our parent community. Whilst COVID restrictions still do not permit our parents to enter the school, we have decided to ramp up our activity of Facebook so we can try to close that ‘COVID gap’ a little. We will be posting a lot more photos of the students and their activities at school as well as including fun interviews and features on our teaching staff for you to get to know them a little more personally.
 
To assure you won’t miss out on our Corpus content uploads and newsfeed, make sure you LIKE our Corpus Christi Facebook page and ensure your NOTIFICATIONS are turned ‘ON’ as well as clicking on  ‘FAVOURITES’ in your newsfeed. 
https://www.facebook.com/CorpusChristiStIves/

We would love your support as we showcase our school to the community. 

Hi everyone,
 
Firstly, congratulations to all the students and a massive thank you to Mrs Wheen and all the teachers and production team for putting on such great performances of Shrek the Musical. The obstacles faced and overcome by the team were daunting, and provided great examples to the kids on how to face and overcome challenges and adversity in life. And thank you to the Mustaca family for hosting us at United Cinemas Warriewood. Shrek the Musical was the highlight of the school year, and with the USB versions now available, something we will remember forever. 
 
The Term 4 General Meeting and the Annual General Meeting of the Parents and Friends Association were both held on Wednesday 25 November. Thank you to everyone who nominated to be on the P&F Committee for 2021, and to everyone who attended the meeting either in person or via Zoom. The minutes of both meetings will be distributed before the end of the school year.
 
The new P&F committee comprises Hamish Stuart (President), Peter Mustaca (Vice President), Melissa Pemberton (Secretary), Tania Bannister (Treasurer), Chevaun Macquilham, Jane Dale and Cam Perrett.
 
The new netball committee comprises Edwina Stuart (President), Elissa Coates (Registrar), Sam Bowie, Tania Bannister and Therese Cameron.
 
The new soccer club committee comprises Cam Perrett (President) and Ben Wheeler (and would welcome some additional volunteers).
 
The Corpus Christi P&F is a fantastic part of the Corpus Christi school community. The P&F’s bank account was opened in April 1966, which demonstrates the long association the P&F has had with the school. During that time, the P&F has organised Fun Fairs, Trivia Nights, Welcome Parties, Dinner Dances and even Quarantine Quiz Nights.
 
In regards to fundraising and school projects, the P&F has raised significant funds over the years for items such as flexible furniture, the outdoor playground, air conditioning, smart boards, classroom upgrades, canteen improvements, amongst a long list of other items.
 
As an Incorporated Association, the Corpus Christi P&F is quite rare in that it has its own constitution, and parents in collaboration with the school are able to vote on which projects they would like to commit funding to each year.
 
In this way, the Corpus Christi P&F works closely with the school in raising funds which can then be directed to agreed projects.
 
In essence, the P&F, and everyone who has been on the P&F Committee or has supported P&F events over the years has done so because of an “affection for the school, and enthusiasm for its well-being”.
 
In closing, thank you to everyone who has supported the P&F in 2020.
 
In particular, I would like to thank this year's committee members Ali Tyree, Justine Perry, Tania Bannister, Candice Barnes, Jane Dale and Etienne Lubbe for their hard work and support during the year.
 
Thank you to Mrs Wheen, Mrs Williams and Mrs Kelly for their support of the P&F this year, and to all the teachers for their care and attention to our kids in the most challenging of years.
 
Best wishes to everyone for the upcoming holidays. I hope you have a great Christmas, and that 2021 is another great year for the Corpus Christi community.

 

Kind regards,
David McKay
Past President, Corpus Christi Parents and Friends Association