Dear Parents and Friends,

Our Athletic Carnival held last Thursday at Beaton Park was truly a wonderful day. All students participated with a spirit of sportsmanship and participation. Their behaviour was outstanding and our staff are so very proud of each and every one of them. Thank you so much to our parent volunteers on the day who worked so hard to ensure the day was smooth and successful. We are so grateful!

Our involvement in the School Cyclic Inquiry this term is a great opportunity to celebrate our achievement over the past four years and identify areas for future focus over the next four years. To do this well, we need the insights of our parents and other stakeholders. Last week, parents were sent a link via Compass to complete a survey titled, Tell Them From Me. The survey should take approximately 10-15 mins to complete and we would appreciate parents taking this time. The survey is to be completed by Friday 19 May. 

The link can be found here: http://tellthemfromme.com/hch2023

Thank you very much in advance for your support with this.

2023 ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Update

Goal 1 Improve students’ relationship with Jesus through the values of compassion, justice, hope and integrity.

Goal 2 By the end of 2023, all students will have increased their confidence and engagement in Mathematics so that all students achieve growth

One of our strategies to achieve this goal involves each class developing a Collaborative 

Inquiry based on recently conducted Place Value Assessments. K-6 teachers are using the 

revised NSW Mathematics Syllabus and pedagogies promoting Thinking Classrooms to design learning experiences to improve students’ knowledge and application of place value. 

This strategy requires teachers to deepen their understanding of the revised NSW 

Mathematics Syllabus, the teaching of place value and specific pedagogies that engage students and promote ‘thinking’. To achieve this, teachers must be provided with professional learning to keep them up to date with current research and practice. On Monday, all teachers participated in a professional learning session to do just that and Years 3 & 4 teachers continued this work yesterday.

I would like to acknowledge the in-school professional learning that teachers have been engaged with this year and will continue to do so. Teachers developing a deep knowledge and understanding of the revised NSW Syllabi is crucial. At the present time, teachers in K-6 are focussing on the new NSW Mathematics syllabus and this requires teachers to be out of the classroom more than usual. Teachers will take this crucial learning and deliver quality and engaging lessons to achieve student learning growth. Teachers always prepare lessons for their classes when participating in professional learning to ensure continuity of learning for their students.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Kaylene Duffin

Compassion within the Scriptures

The scriptures are an integral part of our Catholic faith. Not only do we learn of the person of Jesus in the New Testament but we also see examples of Catholic Values. One value that shines through is that of compassion. Jesus often showed compassion to those most in need and told parables to highlight the importance of being a person of compassion. One of these parables was that of the Good Samaritan. It is important to note that a Samaritan was a person from Samaria and they were considered outcasts by the majority of the population. Thus the very name of the the parable the Good Samaritan was a juxtaposition. This parable shows us the importance of showing compassion to all people as everyone is our neighbor.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan - Luke 10:25-37

An expert in the law  asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Have you ever considered having your child Baptised?

If your child is not Baptised and you have been considering this or you would like to find out more about the process, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the leadership team via the school office for a chat, we would love to hear from you.

Mother’s Day Celebrations

Mothers, Grandmothers and mother figures are invited to attend our Mother’s Day celebrations on Monday 15 May. This celebration will include a breakfast, served from 8.15am, followed by classroom visits and concluding with a liturgy.

Allergies At School 

There are a number of students who have potential life threatening allergies to certain foods. For this reason, we ask for all families’ cooperation to not send to school any food containing nuts or nut products.

Doctor’s Clearance

If your child has an injury (eg arm in a sling, in need of crutches etc) and has returned to school, we are required to have a doctor's clearance stating your child has been cleared to be at school and stating what activities they can and cannot do in relation to learning in the classroom, lunch times and Sport.  Please send this documentation to the school office as soon as your child returns to school.

Uniform

Students wear Winter Uniforms from Monday 15 May. 

Please Note:

½ zip polar fleece jumper with school logo can be worn under School Jacket or under Sports Jacket on cold days or by itself with the Winter or Summer uniform.

If any parent has any second hand uniforms they would like to donate to our second hand uniform shop, please send them into the school office. All donations will be greatly appreciated.

Professional Learning

Recent Staff Professional Learning

Research tells us that the quality of the teacher is the greatest in-school influence on student achievement. Therefore high quality professional learning for teachers must be a priority to ensure improved teacher practice that leads to improved student growth. Recent professional learning undertaken by our staff this fortnight includes:

2 May 2023 - Educating With A Mission Lens

Miss Costello

3 May 2023 - Library Network Meeting

Mrs Murray

5 May 2023 - Lamplighters - Spiritual Formation

Miss Costello & Miss Facci

10 May 2023 - Numeracy Professional Learning

All teachers, half day

11 May 2023 - Diverse Learning Modules

Mrs Mitrevski

Australian Catholic School Principal Conference

Mrs Duffin will be attending the Australian Catholic School Principal Conference next week, Wednesday 17 May - Friday 19 May. Mrs Jennett will be relieving Principal during this time.

Assemblies

Our fortnightly school assemblies during Term 2 will be held on Wednesday afternoons at 2.35pm. Our next assembly will be held on Wednesday 17 May.

Walk Safely to School Day

Library News

Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC)

Our students are well underway to achieving the 2023 PRC. Infants’ teachers have received their books to read and enjoy with their students in class. Primary students have shown a keenness to know how to enter their reading logs into the PRC website with many already having read the required number of books.

While Mrs Jennett and I will be conducting workshops at the end of term in Library time on how to input the Reading Logs, it became apparent that many primary students want to ‘give it a go’ now. To meet this need, I decided to write instructions on how to input the Reading Logs with the criteria being that the student must have read the required number of books (20 for Year 3-6) before taking the instructions (I want our students to ‘test’ them to double-check they work before I upload a document for all primary students to access online). I have asked the students who took the instructions home to return them when they are finished. So if you see a copy of our PRC instructions, please do not throw them out – just ask your child to return them to the Library.

Our PRC Champions for this fortnight are:

Year 3 – Jenna

Year 5 – Evelyn T., Mikaela

Year 6 – Lilly, Oliver M., Nevra, Ella

CONGRATULATIONS to you all for completing the challenge!

Scholastic Book Club Issue 3 Now Open

Book Club Issue 3 catalogues were sent home last Friday. Orders are due by Sunday 14 May 2023.

Just jump online to order: https://bookclubs.scholastic.com.au/

NEW BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE…

This fortnight’s new books which are now available …

The Gentle Genius Of Trees (Junior Non Fiction)

Sunny The Shark (Graphic Novel)

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse (Fiction)

The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat (Senior Fiction)

As always, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the P&F for supporting our Library and our wonderful parents who cover the books!

Stayed tuned for more titles…

Call for all who enjoy covering books in contact

We still have a large amount of contact covering to do – if you are able to assist, please ask at the Office for a pack to take home.  

Library Warrior

Introducing…Emma B (Year 5)

What section are you responsible for?

I don’t have a section – I just help where I am needed.

What is your favourite book?

The I Survived series

What do you love about being a Library Warrior?

I love having a task to help with. I put the sorted return books on the trolley in the morning and do whatever needs to be done at Lunch 2.

What is your favourite Library task?

I like every task that helps Mrs Murray!

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” - Walt Disney

Happy reading everyone!

Sue Murray

Library Coordinator

Athletics Carnival

We love learning about the ‘out of school’ experiences and achievements of our students! Please email us a photo and a blurb about your child’s recent achievements so that we can add them to our newsletter!!