WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

2020 has been a year like no other. While it has brought many challenges, there has never been a time when parents and teachers have been more united as partners in supporting the education of our children. We would love to hear your reflections on your family’s experience of home learning.

The short parent/carer survey should take no more than 10 minutes of your time but will provide your teachers and schools with the most authentic observations about your child/ren as learner/s during their period of home learning.  

Your insights about how your child/ren learnt best at home will help shape the “where to next” conversations at their school. We will also be asking students to give us feedback on their home learning experiences and what they have learnt about themselves as learners.

The findings from this survey will help our teachers in designing learning experiences that recognise the power of family involvement and build connection to students’ lives beyond school.

Please follow the simple guide attached to access the survey.

Thank you for all you were able to do to support your child/ren’s learning journey through this challenging time and for your ongoing trust and support of our Catholic schools.

PJ's & GUM BOOTS

A bit of a change in pace -- let's see those outfits that the children might have  stayed in during the lock down -- PJ's and Gumboots or Uggs -- We are trying to raise a bit of money for the St VInnie's Winter Appeal -- a gold coin donation and dress up on Friday. 

SEMESTER REPORTS

A revised and shortened report will be made available to parents for Semester One on Monday, Week 3 next term. We will only be reporting on Literacy, Numeracy and Religious Education. The amount of Assessments we can make on the work done during the lock down is limited and we just wish to connect with parents as to how your children have re-established their learning during that time.

The director of schools explains the background of this decision in the attached letter.

TEEN TALK

This week's scheduled TEEN TALK has been postponed. It will now happen on Thursday of Week 10 - 2 July as our restrictions ease.

OUTSIDE PROFESSIONALS

Because of our restrictions to adult access onto the school site we have not been able to conduct many of the sessions for our children who use Speech & Occupational Therapists, Music or Dance Tutors etc. We should see some easing of these restrictions on PROFESSIONAL VISITORS in the beginning of next term. Hopefully our restrictions on volunteers might ease as well -- but I will keep you posted as to when we can have parents and volunteers back into the school setting.

ST DOMINIC'S CENTRE

Want to find out more about St Dominic’s Centre?

 St Dominic offers two forms of enrolment:

 Kindergarten to Year 10 accepts enrolments for students with a primary disability of Moderate Cognitive Disability or who are deaf or hard of hearing.

• Kindergarten to Year 3 for students with primary diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder we offer specific classes.
• Our class ratios are up to 7 students for 1 teacher and 1 LSA.
• We are a systemic Catholic School though we accept students of all denominations who meet our enrolment criteria.
• Each student has a Personalised Plan that is student-centred and focuses on goal-setting across various domains. These goals are then embedded into our program and teaching, both in and out of the classroom. We offer structured opportunities through our multi-disciplinary team for students to focus on social skills.
• Our team consists of specialist teaching staff, specialist learning support assistants, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist and a psychologist who adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to our student’s education.
• Our facilities are purpose built and include specialist teaching areas; spaces for self-regulation; prac room for teaching living skills and flexible learning areas. We have both inside and outside learning areas that are fully utilised for different purposes such as gardening for our Paddock to Plate program.
• Students enrolled at St Dominic’s are eligible for Assisted Travel, which is a government program that provides free travel by car to and from school within a 40km radius.
• For more information please watch the following clip - St Dominic's Centre - a snapshot

 We encourage parents and their children to attend to see our setting, speak with the staff and ask any questions you may have. Please phone 4968 1295 if you would like to attend or email admin@mayfieldsd.catholic.edu.au. We look forward to sharing our very unique and vibrant setting with you.

 Due to COVID-19 Open Days will be taking place early Term 3. Please contact us to register your interest.

 Warm regards

Veronica McLoughlin - Principal.

CHILDREN'S UNIVERSITY

REVITALISING SHORTLAND

The Newcastle City Councl is aking the people of Shortland how they might see their suburban Local Centre revialised. There  is a survey people can take to express their thoughts on how the area can be improved in different ways. Please visit this site to have a say in how things can be improved. Have a think about streetscape, pedestrian and bicycle access and safety, vehicular movement (speed and size), crime and antisocial behaviour etc.

https://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Have-Your-Say/Projects/Shortland-Local-Centre-Upgrades

ST VINCENT DE PAUL WINTER APPEAL

Last year during Term 2 we had a big fundraiser for St Vincent de Paul’s Winter Appeal where we had primary students participate in a sleep out in our school hall and learnt about the homeless people in our society followed by a Pyjama Day the next day. Due to COVID 19 we are unable to participate in the sleep out but we can have our Pyjama Day.

On Friday 19^th  June we are having a Pyjama Day where all money raised will go to our local St Vincent de Paul Society. You will need to bring a gold coin donation to wear your pyjamas. You can also wear your gumboots, ugg boots or joggers and school hat so you can still play at lunchtime.

MASS AT OUR LADY OF VICTORIES

Mass will be held at OLV Shortland this coming Saturday 20 June at 5.30pm. The following must be followed to be able to attend Mass.

Process:
 
Prior to Mass:

• Attendance is strictly limited to 50 persons – this includes children.
• If you wish to attend, you must register (no exceptions) by phoning the presbytery on 4955 9575 between 10.00am and 3.00pm between Wednesday (10 June) and Friday (12 June).   Registration includes providing the name of each attendee, their phone number and/or email address.
• At the request of the Bishop, if you are unwell or a person at risk (suffering from an ongoing illness, e.g. asthma, COPD) you are not to attend Mass at this stage. 
• You cannot simply turn up for mass if not registered beforehand.
• For persons over 70 who cannot attend mass, communion can be organized to be brought to you.   Please advise the parish accordingly.

 
At Mass:

• Entrance to OLV will only be through the main front doors.
• There will be two people at the church entrance at the beginning of mass to confirm registrations, ensuring people use the available sanitizers and know the seating arrangements.
• There will be no more than 2 people per pew with every second pew vacant.
• Offertory envelope and loose collections will be gathered at the end of Mass by people placing their envelope or cash into two separate boxes just inside the entrance.
• After mass, those attending will be asked to help sanitize the church before the next mass or other use.

2020 SCHOOL FEES

Fee statements for Term 2 have been emailed to the fee payers email address nominated at our school.  Please ensure your email address details are up to date and notify us of any changes immediately. 

We have been mindful of the financial impact experienced by our families. The Diocese has established an online form to either defer your school fee payments or to apply for a COVID Concession to reduce your school fees. This process is still available to our families, please apply via the below link or check your latest Compass notification. Any issues please contact Leanne.

We are appreciative of those families who have continued paying their fees and those who will shortly resume their commitment to school fees. Part of the annual fees that parents pay is the Sports Levy.  This levy covers the Term 2 Sports activity (such as Gymnastics, Dance, Tennis) the cost of buses for our carnivals etc.  Because none of these are going ahead, the Sports Levy will not be collected this year.  Those who have paid all or some of the levy will have it credited against their Tuition Fees.

Payment Options:

BPAY

Our Biller Code is 136119 and the Reference Number is the account number on your statement (BPAY is only available for fee payments.  If you pay any excursions etc via BPAY please email the school otherwise the payment will be deducted from your fees.

Direct Debit: 

Please contact the office for a Direct Debit Request Form.

Credit Card/Eftpos:

OLV accepts Mastercard or Visa only. An authorisation slip is provided at the bottom of your statement each term.  Payments can also be made over the telephone

In Person

Parents are welcome to pay directly to the office between 8.30am and 3.00pm.

KINDER ENROLMENTS 2021

The enrolment period for 2021 is now open. Parents who are seeking enrolment for their children at OLV in 2021 should ask for an Application for Enrolment from the office. Alternatively, a request for an enrolment pack can be found  on our school website at:

 or on the CSO website at

If you are aware of any families that are also considering enrolling next year, please pass on this message.

Due to the restrictions around visitors in the school due to Covid-19, our enrolment process will be a little different and the timeline a little later than normal.  We will be conducting interviews and a meet and greet early in the new term from August 1.  Once we have had a chance to meet, you will be given the opportunity to visit the Kindergarten room with our Pastoral Care Worker and/or Learning Support Teacher.  We will then be able to confirm the position.

ENTERTAINMENT BOOK

Thank you to everyone that has already purchased a digital entertainment book.  OLV needs your continued support.  The Entertainment book has gone digital this year so please follow the below link and order yours today. 20% of every Entertianbment Membership sold goes to our fundraiser. Follow the link below or www.entbook.com.au/359h46

VOLUNTEERS AND WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK

All new volunteers who wish to volunteer at Our Lady of Victories (or any school/parish in the Diocese) are required to complete the Volunteer Induction Handbook.  This hand book covers all aspects of volunteering at school from Induction through to Code of Conduct, WHS, Confidentiality and Privacy.  Volunteers are required to complete a National Criminal History Check Consent Form (150 point of ID required), Working with Children Check Clearance, Registration Form, Volunteer Policy Declaration and Code of Conduct Declaration.  Volunteers are only able to assist in schools once all documents have been received and cleared (this can take up to 3 weeks).

The steps to obtain a Working with Children Check Clearance Number are as follows:

1. Fill out an online application from www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/check
2. When you have completed the application form, you will receive and Application number (APP by email.
3. Take this Application number and proof of your identity to a NSW motor registry or Service NSW Office.  As it is not paid work the $80.00 fee will be waived.
4. Once your application has been processed and you are cleared, you will receive your Working with Children Check number (WWC) by email( or post if you do have an email address).
   Working With Children Check Volunteer Form
   Working With Children Check Volunteer Form 4.36 MB

   ENTERTAINMENT BOOK

KINDER

Ipads are used for Lexia (our schoolwide Reading support program) on a weekly basis in Kinder. If you haven’t already provided ear phones for your Kinder student please do so as soon as possible. Please provide a bag with their name on it. They will need these for Year one next year as well. Lexia can also be accessed from home and children are awarded certificates at Assembly for completing each level.

In English we are learning to read and spell words that belong to the ‘ad’ family eg. mad, sad. In Maths we had lots of practice sharing objects into equal groups to make a fair share and recorded our answer eg. 4 groups of 3. We have moved on to learning about measuring area. Area is the measure of the amount of surface. An easy way to remember it is ‘the space inside a shape’. Surface refers to the outer faces or outside of an object. A surface may be flat or curved. We traced around our hands, cut them out and superimposed them on other students’ hand shapes to find out who had the hand with the largest area.

In our Art lesson we used shaving foam and blue and green paint to experiment with the process of paper marbling. We created an ocean background for our Rainbow fish. We used oil pastels to colour our fish. We haven’t finished yet so we will post photos in Week 10.

Please follow the link below for an amazing video created by one of our kindergarten parents.  We are reading this book in class.  Well done Ariana.

YEAR 1

In Religion this week we’ve compiled a list of the formal prayers that we already know. We’ve looked closely at the words to the ‘Our Father’ and have broken the prayer down, line by line, to better understand the meaning behind some of the words and phrases used. In English we analysed a short narrative video by illustrating the setting, and naming and describing the characters in the narrative. We’ve had a focus on using adjectives in our writing this week, in order to give more information about nouns and to make our writing more interesting to read. Reading groups are back up and running again now, and the children have enjoyed the return to routine. 

During Week 7, Year 1 were learning about Data. We worked on different topics to collect, organise and read the information we gathered. When asking people about their favourite colour, we gave them 5 options to choose from. We learnt how to record data using tally marks and then could answer questions about what colours were most/least popular by reading our tables. 

This week we are learning about 2 Dimensional Shapes. We have discussed what horizontal, vertical and parallel lines are. We are also learning the properties of different 2D shapes.

We have enjoyed being back at school to work on our problem solving strategies. Year 1 have been doing an excellent job on using the ‘Draw a picture’ strategy to help solve problems. We all had the same problem but came up with different pictures to help us solve them!

In Science, we have been doing many investigations about how materials can change by bending, stretching and twisting them. We had a lot of fun in Week 6 with our Jelly Snakes investigation! We compared different brands of Snakes lollies to see which brand could be stretched the most. We had to make sure our investigation was fair and stretched each brand the same distance. We then waited to see how much the snakes shrunk back to their original size! Lucky there were plenty of snakes left over!!

In Health we have been discussing the importance of rules. We have rules in the classroom, at home and when we play games in sport. We talked about how rules in sport are important to keep us safe but also make the game fair for everyone to have an equal chance of winning. We had fun playing games outside to understand the importance of these rules. 

YEAR 2

In Religion, we have been exploring different ways to pray. Last week we read from the Book of Psalms. This book of the bible consists of songs and poems that were written by the Hebrews. Some are psalms of praise, others are psalms of thanksgiving, some are psalms of sorrow, while there are some psalms that ask for God’s help. There is a total of 150 psalms in the bible. One psalm we read together was psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd – which is one of the most well-known of the 150 psalms. Many of the psalms in the bible have been used to write modern day songs that we here in our churches today. This week we took part in ‘Lectio Divina’ - a type of meditation and prayer that helps us feel closer to God.

In English, we finished reading the book ‘The Tale of Despereaux’ by Kate DiCamillo. It was a great ending that no one really expected. We are looking forward to watching the movie next week and to comparing it to the book.   

In Maths, we completed activities in Patterns and Algebra. We used a hundreds chart to see the links between multiples of different numbers. For example, there are links between the multiples of 2, 4 and 8 (– 2 is half of 4, 4 is half of 8). When we coloured the multiples of these numbers on the hundreds chart, we found that they made similar patterns. We also looked at patterns in addition and subtraction focusing on the oddness and evenness of the numbers used. Did you know that ‘odd + odd’ will always give an ‘even’ answer; and ‘odd + even’ will always give an ‘odd’ answer; ‘even’ + ‘even’ equals an ‘even’ number. Try it with different numbers.

Maybe see what you get when you subtract odds and evens. This week we are focusing on multiplication and division. We have looked at the connection between multiplication and addition, and the connection between multiplication and division.

In History,we are putting together Symbols in a Box. The symbols we are collecting are items that we or others have kept from the past to help remember an important event, person or time in our lives or the lives of our parents. The items can be primary sources or secondary sources. We will be presenting our ‘boxes of symbols’ next week.

In PDH, we have been discussing the effects of drugs and alcohol on the body. Drugs and alcohol change the way our brain and body work. They change the balance of chemicals that help our brain to think, feel, create and make decisions. Tobacco and alcohol are the drugs most commonly used by the Australian population. Just because they are legal, does not mean they are good for your health.

We have been doing lots of exciting things in Science with Year 4. The topic we are learning about this term is ‘States of Matter’. Please see attached photos and ‘Year 4 News’ for more details about our work in Science.

In Science, Year 3 & 4 had the best fun when we mixed different types of matter, as part of our study of the unit States of Matter.

We performed an experiment where we put some baking soda into a balloon and we poured some vinegar into a bottle. We then placed the end of the balloon over the top of the bottle and lifted the balloon upright so the baking soda, a solid, fell into the bottle and mixed with the vinegar, a liquid, and the result was AMAZING!

We learnt that sometimes when two things combine, it can change their chemical structure. This is called a reaction. They combined and the mixture bubbled up and produced a gas. They were no longer baking soda and vinegar but became water, salt and a gas called carbon dioxide.

The balloon was filled with the gas and expanded. It was such a good experiment!

We worked in groups to complete the task and everyone thought it was so cool!                                                                                                                                                                                           

YEAR 4

In Religion, we are continuing our Prayer Unit. We studied Psalms last week and we each chose a verse from the Book of Psalms and created a bookmark. We wrote the verse and illustrated its message. We have shared some completed bookmarks in this photo.

We also are practising meditation as part of learning about prayer. We took part in a Lectio Divina, which involves using verses from the Bible and meditating on their message and meaning, and we also participated in a guided meditation. We really enjoyed these experiences!

In English, we continue to learn about Figurative Language and we have been focusing on metaphors. We are gaining a better understanding of metaphors and we had fun writing some of our own. We also looked at a list of sentences and determined whether they were similes, metaphors or neither.

In our Persuasive Writing lessons we have been sharing our written texts with the class. After reading the text, class members give their positive statements on the effectiveness of our writing and they also offer suggestions of ways we could improve, e.g. by adding more evidence/ arguments to support our points. It has been a great way to reflect on our work.

Our focus in Maths was Number Patterns last week, and Multiplication and Division this week. We learnt some very interesting facts about the multiples of 3 and we discovered some obvious patterns when we indicated multiples of 3, 6 and 9 on a Hundreds Chart. We had fun finding out about odd and even numbers when adding, subtracting and multiplying even with even, odd with odd and even with odd numbers! We used arrays of counters to see the relationship between multiplication and division and it made it very clear to us. We also learnt about the commutative property of numbers in multiplication, meaning they can be multiplied in either order.

In History, we have learnt about the arrival of the First Fleet into Botany Bay and then to Sydney Cove. We wondered how the Indigenous Australians felt at the time and what sort of questions they may have had.

In Visual Arts we are creating a barn scene from Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White. We are working really well together to draw and paint some barn doors, stall fences, a barn loft and Charlotte’s spider web on the corner of the doorway. It is fun and we are happy with our efforts so far. We are showing great cooperation skills!

 For Drama, we are also practising a Readers' Theatre play about Charlotte's Web. There are a lot of aspiring actors in our class!

 

YEAR 5/6

In Religion, we have continued looking at the Scriptures and, using a variety of activities, have looked at who was involved, what happened, the messages they give and the how these messages can be lived in our daily lives.      

Two weeks ago, we started NO WASTE WEDNESDAY. Because we are stewards of the earth and we want to create a better world, as a class we decided that we would reduce the waste we were creating from our lunchboxes. In our first week, we were mildly successful, last week was better and this week, better again. We hope to continue this trend and encourage other classes to join us. Along with our Wednesday campaign, TRASHLESS TUESDAY is our next goal.

In English, we have been reading a book called ‘Little Brother’. It is about an 11 year old boy named Vithy who is trying to find his older brother Mang, while he is being chased by the Khmer Rouge. We have just read Chapter 15 where Vithy tells his sad story of his tragic past. (Maria and Ewan)

In Maths, Year 5 have been studying angles and the 4 different types of triangles. They are equilateral, right-angled, isosceles and scalene. We have been using protractors to measure and construct these triangles. Year 6 have been investigating different and difficult angles. (Levi and Elsie)

In Science, we have been looking at tsunamis, volcanoes and what happens when two tectonic plates collide. When two tectonic plates collide, it triggers and underwater explosion which causes tsunamis and eruptions. We have also been discussing how a seismograph works. We acted out how an earthquake and how the seismograph reads the earthquake.

In Art, we have been recreating Asian art. So far we have created a chery blossom tree, the Great Wave nd now we are painting Mount Fuji. (Annalise, El and Georgina)

In Music, we have been making up dances and learning about body percussion.  (Annalise, El and Georgina)

PE has started again and will happen every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 1:30pm. Year 6 are currently doing aerobics with Miss Gallagher and Year 5 are doing brain games with Ms McGann. For Sport we have been doing an underarm throwing version of dodgeball. Last week we also did dancing and stretching activities. (Deacon and Sam)

And introducing….the Year 6 sports shirts!

Our long awaited shirts have finally arrived. We have been looking forward to getting our shirts and the wait was worth it because the design is awesome, the material is soft and comfortable and it includes our classmates’ and teachers’ names on the back. The image below shows what the shirt looks like. (Olivia and Lachlan)

 

We would like to wish the following children a Happy Birthday

Congratulations and we hope you had a happy day

SMS/EMAIL NOTIFICATION OF ABSENCE

As part of Our Lady of Victories’ commitment to student safety and welfare, our school has begun notifying parents of their child’s unexplained absence via SMS message & email.

This service provides an SMS / email notification to parents of children who are marked absent from school without explanation once the roll has been checked in the morning.

Where possible, it would be appreciated if parents can notify the school at their earliest convenience regarding a child’s absence.

 If a child is going to be absent for the day or is intending to arrive late (e.g. medical appointments etc.), then parents are asked to use the COMPASS APP or call the office to notify the school before 9:30am on the day rather than sending a note afterward.

It is hoped that by providing this service and in partnership with families we can continue to ensure all possible mechanisms are in place to maintain the safety of our students.

USING THE ATTENDANCE NOTIFICATIONS

COMPASS is the preferred method of informing the school that your child is away. By sending it through COMPASS, it is immediately synced to the class roll. Teachers endeavour (technology permitting) to have their rolls marked by 9:30am. If your child is not present and you have not sent a compass notification (or contacted the office of an absence) you will be sent an SMS to advise that we have not received an absence “note” and your child is not present.

Please refrain from using other electronic forms of notifications such as email, Schoolzine or other APPS we have used in the past. If in doubt, call the office.

You will be able to access the school newsletter here and notifications will come through Schoolzine. Please DO NOT use the old SkoolBag App. It is no longer used for communications of notifications and messages..

Go to this link to download the Schoolzine App:

http://www.schoolzine.com/szapp

ST NICHOLAS OOSH

We would like to guage the need for Holiday Care at  our Shortland OOSH. Please take a moment to fill out this quick survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K5T5JPP

and/or to email Sheridan at vacationcare@stnicholasoosh.org.au

by the close of business Thursday 18^th of June. They  would very much appreciate your input. 

Check out this link for more info on St Nicholas OOSH.