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COMING TO THE FINAL STRETCH
As we come to the end of the year, I would not be surprised to see children tired, unfocused and ready for a holiday. I think I have said previously that it is still important to keep working hard towards the end of the year and keep expectations of effort and behaviour high.
This includes arriving at school on time. Please ensure that children are inside the gate before 8:50am ready to begin the day at 8:55am.
I must say that the children here at OLV generally seem to keep up their enthusiam which is really positve.
Keep going everyone!! We're are nearly there.
COVID UPDATE
It's great to see the scenes of families reuniting after many of the border crossing restrictions have been lifted. It looks like that restrictions on adults being at school will be lifted in the new year and parents should be able to resume their important contact with their children and the rest of the community. Let's keep taking the advice and look forward to next year.
And don't forget, if you are dropping children off at the Lovell Pde gate, please move to the bottom of the space if possible and do not spend time catching up with others in that drop off zone. Otherwise, park in the church carpark and walk the children to the gate. Social distancing is still important.
END OF YEAR REPORTS
These will be released to parents from 4pm on Friday next week. You will be able to access them through COMPASS on your mobile APP or your home computer. If you are unsure as to how to access your child/ren's report, please contact the office.
If parents wish to discuss thier child/ren's report with their teacher, please make contact.
FAREWELL YEAR 6
With the easing of COVID restrictions we have been able to organise a Graduation Celebration for the Year 6 children after it looked lke not going ahead at all. We will be celebrating with Mass in the hall, but, sadly still, only parents of the Year 6 children will be able to attend. We are now able to have a celebratory luncheon and we are looking for ways to engage the community with the Thankyou Liturgy and Clap Out on the last day.
JEWELLRY and UNIFORMS
As we come to the close of the year, please keep in mind the correct school uniform. Our's does not include jewellry and adornments such as fancy earrings and hair ribbons, friendship bands or anklets. Whilst there will be opportunities to celebrate and dress in the festive spirit before the end of the year, please keep to the uniform on other days.
2021 LEADERS
I must say how impressed I have been with the Year 5 children who will be taking on the Student Leadership role next year. They have been handling some of the Year 6 responsibilities really well in their absence. Their interaction with their buddies was confident and considerate and they are eager and looking for ways to help.
They seem confident and ready to go.
Advent
This is the first week of Advent.
The Advent wreath originated in Europe. It was a symbol of life in a part of the world that is in the grip of a frozen winter. The evergreen reminded people that signs of life were still to be found. The circular shape of the wreath was a symbol of God’s never-ending love.
The lighting of the candles on the wreath as midwinter and the shortest period of daylight approached, was a reminder of God’s light in the darkness.
There are five candles in the Advent Wreath – three purple, one pink and one white.
This week we light the first purple candle which is known as the Prophet’s Candle.
The Prophets were those special people who spoke God’s words to everyone during the hundreds of years before Jesus was born.
In week 2 we light the second purple candle. The second candle is known as the Bethlehem Candle.
The second candle brings more light because Christmas is drawing nearer.
It reminds us of the time when Jesus came among us as a baby in a little town called Bethlehem.
In week 3 we light the pink candle. This third candle is known as the Shepherds Candle.
It reminds us of how the shepherds responded – they listened and followed, they saw Jesus and they believed. It reminds us of the power and importance of faith and trust.
In week 4 we light the final purple candle. This fourth candle is known as the Angels’ Candle.
With the lighting of the fourth candle we know that the light of Christ is almost at its peak and most full. Darkness is almost banished away.
We reflect on the role of messengers in the form of Angels to both Mary, her cousin Elizabeth and to the shepherds as they watched their sheep at night.
The final candle is lit on Christmas Day. It is white and represents the birth of Jesus. The waiting is over and Jesus is among us.
St Vincent De Paul Appeal
Our final fundraiser for St Vincent De Paul will be on Friday 11th of December. All children can wear Christmas clothes to school with a gold coin donation. All children will need to wear their sports shoes and school hat. If you are feeling generous and would like to donate extra money that would also be appreciated.
Masses times for Wallsend/ Shortland Parish over the Festive Season
CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES ST PATRICK'S WALLSEND
5.30PM SHELTER AREA ST PATRICK'S SCHOOL (please bring a chair)
10.00PM ST PATRICK'S CHURCH
CHRISTMAS EVE MASS SHORTLAND
6.00PM OUR LADY OF VICTORIES CHURCH
CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES both Churches
9.00 AM ST PATRICK'S CHURCH WALLSEND
9.00AM OUR LADY OF VICTORIES CHURCH SHORTLAND
NEW YEAR'S EVE MASS & ADORATION
10.00PM ST PATRICK'S CHURCH WALLSEND
NEW YEAR'S DAY MASS
9.00AM ST PATRICK'S CHURCH WALLSEND
9.00AM OUR LADY OF VICTORIES CHURCH SHORTLAND
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and to thank you all for your wonderful support this year in fundraising for all our different organisations.
Term 3 Fees
Kindergarten Enrolment
Family Discount Forms
A purple Family Discount Form was sent home in Week 3 for parents to complete in preparation for 2021 school fees. This is an important form that we then use to calculate the fees for the coming year. It is vital that all parents complete this form and indicate if we need to apply a family discount (including siblings across both primary and high schools within the Catholic system), Health Care Card discount and the optional contribution to the Diocesan Pastoral Care program.
This form must be completed for all families including if only one child is in the Catholic Diocease.
Forms are now OVERDUE. This form helps our billing process for 2021. Thank you to all the families who have already returned their form.
I would like to wish everyone a very safe Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am looking forward to seeing everyone back at school in January 2021.
Library news
Library borrowing has now finished for the year. All library books need to be return asap or paid for.
If lost or damaged, an e-mail will be sent out to parents with the name of any books not returned and the cost of a replacement. Many books have been returned today and I thank you all for being so diligent with this.
If anybody has any board games in good condition that they no longer need we would love them for the library for passive play.
Book Club
The last Book Club order should be here this week. Thank you to everyone who has been able to order from Book Club this year. We have been able to purchase some lovely new books for the library through the Scholastic Rewards that your purchases gain for our school.
As the term is coming to an end, Margaret-Mary Spencer and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderfully safe and Happy New Year.
Kindergarten
Year 1
Over the past fortnight in Religion we have learnt about Advent and some of the Church traditions related to this special time of year. We know that the liturgical colour for Advent is purple, and that during Advent we have four weeks in which to reflect upon ways that we can serve others as we prepare for the birth of Jesus. We have created our own Jesse Trees. The ‘Jesse Tree’ is like a family tree for Jesus, decorated with symbols that reflect Old Testament stories linked to Jesus’ ancestors. They too each had a role to play in preparing for the birth of Jesus. In English we have continued looking at persuasive techniques, especially those used in advertisements. To link in with our serial read of Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, the children had to design a new and unique chocolate bar to go on the market. The children had to think about the visual design, but then also advertise using CAPITAL LETTERS TO GAIN ATTENTION, bright colours, persuasive and descriptive language, and marketing ploys such as ‘50% off!’ or ‘Buy one, get one free!’ During Mathematics in Week 6, we looked at chance and probability. We used the words impossible, unlikely, likely and certain, to describe the likelihood of familiar events occurring. We collected data on our favourite games, sports and toys and recorded this data in tables, picture graphs and column graphs. We looked at some data that was presented in different graphs and answered questions to help us understand the kinds of information that we can gather and interpret from graphs and tables. In Week 7, we studied 2-Dimensional shapes. We began by looking at the properties of triangles and quadrilaterals. We then moved on to looking at the properties of pentagons, hexagons and octagons. We learnt about irregular 2-Dimensional shapes, and how they can still be classified as one of those shapes even if they don’t quite look the same as the regular shapes we know. We also began to look at how we can find 2D shapes in pictures and designs. In Science, we have started investigating animal's homes. We learnt about why animals have homes and that animals need shelter, food and somewhere to keep their family safe, just like we do! We learnt that different animals have different homes because they have different needs. We investigated various types of animal homes and how they suit the needs of the animals that live there. In Sport, we have been working hard to improve our cricket skills! We have been focussing on the correct posture and positioning of our hands on the bat when striking the ball, our overarm bowling, and catching the ball with two hands as a fielder. We have enjoyed getting outside of the classroom and soaking up the sunshine for cricket this term!
Year 2
In Geography, we have been learning about the connections that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have with place. We watched a story titled 'The Lost Girl', that explored the very strong connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have to their place. In the story, the girl referred to the land as her mother. We thought about all the things that we associated with mothers, and what the girl might have meant in this reference. We took our new-found understanding of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples connection to place into our writing, and, with the help of a picture stimulus, wrote our own dreamtime stories. We looked at the symbols Aboriginal Peoples used to tell their dreamtime stories and had a go of using some of these, as well as some of our own symbols to re-tell the stories that we wrote.
In Mathematics last week we looked at multiplication and division and learnt how the divide with remainders. The children have learnt their 2’s, 5’s and 10 times tables this year, I have shown them a new game they can play to help revise their tables so please ask them to show you how to play this game.
In Religion we have begun our Advent unit. It was lovely that this week we led the school in our morning liturgy for Advent. The children were extremely reverent and read beautifully so please take the time to watch this on our Facebook page.
Year 3
Our Religion unit is ‘Advent and Christmas’. We have been learning about the significance of the season of Advent for people of the past, present and future. In the gospel of Matthew, John the Baptist called everyone to turn away from their sins and prepare for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven referred to the coming of Jesus, God’s Son. We can prepare for Jesus’ birth by showing kindness to others, helping others, making a donation to SVdP and cheering up those who are sad.
In English Literature, we are almost to the end of the book “FernGully by Diane Young. Will Crysta save the rainforest or will Hexxus destroy what is left of it? Will Magi Lune come back? Will Zak stay in the fairy kingdom or will he be turned back to a ‘hooman’? Where will the fairies and elves go if the rainforest is destroyed?
In Writing this week, we are using the ‘bump-it-up’ wall to improve our narratives. We wrote an introduction to a story by describing the setting first. Results were very impressive, as many students attempted to add adjectives and adverbs to help the reader create an image in their minds.
In Maths, last week, we learned how to read coordinates to find a position on a grid. This week we are searching for angles and comparing angles in shapes and in the environment.
In Geography, we read about Indonesia and how there are over 17 000 islands that make up this country. We know that its capital city is Jakarta and that the country has a population of 260 million, which is nearly 10 times the population of Australia.
In Science, we are researching the classification of particular types of animals, i.e. mammal, fish, bird, amphibian, reptile, or arthropod. We are also studying flow charts as a means of characterising living things according to their features, and distinguishing them from non-living things.
In Sport, with Year 4, we had a lot of fun creating our own games. We worked in groups of 5 to 6 and used some of the ideas we learnt from the Indigenous games we have played this term, to develop a game and rules. Each group shared their game with the class and, after explaining it, the class had a chance to participate in a game. We have some very creative students!
Year 4
In Religion, we have read about the Birth of Jesus and compared the gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke. We used a retrieval chart to write down, firstly what we knew about Jesus' birth, then after reading, we wrote all we learnt about it from the scripture readings. We also wrote a recount of the gospel of Luke, individually, in our books.
In English, we studied the photographs in "Tears in the Jungle" by Daniel and William Clarke, in relation to point of view. We studied a particular photo showing William holding hands with an orangutan named Siswi. We wrote a first-person account, comparing the two hands from the point of view of William, then we wrote from Siswi's perspective. The comparisons were well-written by all. We discovered there are many similarities between a human hand and an orangutan's hand. We also noted some differences.
This week in Spelling, we devised a Spelling List relating to our study of the environment in Geography and English. Mrs Carroll was very impressed with the words we contributed.
In Maths, we had fun with mapping activities. We have successfully used a legend to identify various aspects of an island map. We also used a scale to help us determine distances on a town map. It was fun! We worked with coordinates to help us locate places and objects on maps too.
This week in Geography, we have focused our attention to the presence and disposal of litter in our school. We spoke with Mr V about the steps we take in our school for recycling. We also started to think about ways we could further improve and reduce the rubbish generated in our school community.
In Science, we are researching the classification of a particular type of animal, i.e. mammal, fish, bird, amphibian, reptile, or arthropod. We are also studying flow charts including branches, as a means of characterising living things according to their features and distinguishing them from non-living things.
In Sport, with Year 3, we had a lot of fun creating our own games. We worked in groups of 5 to 6 and used some of the ideas we learnt from the Indigenous games we have played this term, to develop a game and rules. Each group shared their game with the class and, after explaining it, the class had a chance to participate in a game. We have some very creative students!
A big special mention to Tahlia and Caleb for representing Year 4 so well in Public Speaking last Friday. We are very proud of you! Well done!
Year 5/6
Remember the house descriptions in the last newsletter?
THIS is the house they were selling…! Amazing writing from them last week.
You might need to go back to the newsletter to see how well they did!
They were then asked to choose a classroom item to ‘sell’. Can you pick what it is?
JACK:
This item is a creative kid favourite thing. It's fluffy and great for snuggling with. If you like platypuses, it's the toy for you. The colour of it is red with a nice shade of yellow feet. It has a black and white T shirt with a sports team on it. (Laker Louie doll)
GEORGIE:
This fantastic item is cosy and colourful and what you need in your everyday life. It will bring you comfort every time you're with it. It is so amazing it will feel like hearing happiness when you're using it. (Cushion)
BREE:
This item is a need every day the boiling sun hits you in the face and you need something to cool you down, something modern and something efficient. the colour of this item is perfect since it blends into most celling's with its sparkling white paint and its diverse silver rings make it unique. the controls are easy to read and adjustable, with the item fit for those hot and sticky days of summer this item is perfect for you and your family. (fan)
BAILEY:
Its state-of-the-art wooden curvy structure captures your eyes as its brown gloss shines. As the strings are tightened and ready to play it taps into your heart and gives you a feeling of accomplishment. It's the best item to sit and relax with as you play it and listen to your dreamy tunes like there is nothing else in the world. It can even please anyone with its majestic features as it is strummed. This will blow your mind so don't miss this one in a million chance. (Ukulele)
MARIA:
This amazing object will leave you speechless once you feel its comfiness. Once you're on it you can never get off, its comfiness will make you feel like you're in paradise its peacefulness will make you melt. (cushion)
DEACON:
This amazing item will show all your thoughts and qualities. It is amazingly crafted with pristine wood stained in God's favourite colour. It has a professionally painted mural on the front to show your love for him. This item is perfect to you for hanging on walls, putting on a table, showing your friend and living your amazing beliefs. (cross)
ARI:
This item is so combatable. You can see beautiful things. If I want it, you will too! The beautiful surroundings you can see better. This is just one example. I hope you buy it like me! It is so worth it; your heart will race in joy. You will be so glad because the beautiful surroundings. It looks beautiful, most people need it. If you buy it well it's worth it. It has so many amazing advantages! It has so many features it will help you personally. (glasses)
JULIAN:
This uniquely constructed object can be found all over the world. It is as thin as a thread of string and can heal your thoughts and emotions. This was once a living thing and it is now used in our everyday lives. This is once in a lifetime opportunity and this perfectly crafted material is every kids dream. (piece of paper)
EL:
This luxurious comfort item will leave you speechless. The carefully sewn edges with mutual and bright colours. As you touch the fabric your fingertips will feel like they're touching clouds. One small sniff and you will smell heaven and all its glory. If you're quite enough you can hear the workers who made this astronomical item. As you lay in place with this object your heart will feel at ease with a warm fuzzy feeling of contentedness. The fabric will ease your body ai it relaxes into the soft fabric and plush stuffing. Luxury and heaven at your fingertips. (cushion)
ARCHIE:
This cosy object will comfort you and it can go anywhere. Soft and comfy, this object has a unique design to suit anyone. (cushion)
LOGAN:
This object is the perfect size for you. Everything that you need is on it. The object is in great condition. It is easy to find and will fit you easily . This could be what you’ve been looking for your whole life. It is easily useable. This is a once in a life time chance. This is the perfect gift to a friend. This object is all the rage. (watch)
ELSIE:
This beautifully crafted item is made only for you. With its unique, hexagonal shape, you will fall in love with it. All your worries will soon be ceased once you smell this amazing item. It also works as a weapon! Cool right? You can write with it, draw with it and much more! Its amazing colour and texture will make you want this item. (pencil)
LEVI:
This item will bring you comfort, a relaxing feeling. It is the coziest of them all. So relaxing that your heart will melt! As you brush your hand along the item you suddenly feel relaxed and brilliant. When you use this item, you feel warm and inviting. (cushion)
OLIVIA:
This asset will brighten up your room with it’s exquisite colour scheme and will literally make you want to smile. With it’s unique craftsmanship it will fit perfectly in any room of your home, along with it’s positive enforcement. Great for the whole family to enjoy a brighter atmosphere. (smile sign)
In Maths with Miss Gallagher, students have designed their draft plan for the structure and layout of their taco truck and measured the perimeter and area of all objects. They are now transferring their draft to the cardboard to create their 3D design. The students will then be making the items such as the workbench, table and shelves with a focus on 3D shapes and their nets.
In science, students have been learning about the production of the food they eat and fibres they use. In pairs, students were given a specific food or fibre production such as beef, timber or cotton. The pairs had to create a presentation addressing the key processes of production, marketing, consumption and sustainable use of resources and waste recycling. Now students are comparing food production today to the ways in which Aboriginal people sourced their food.
In drama, students have assigned each group member a character, developed the setting and sequence of events. They have been working on their scripts which are almost complete, and next week they will have the opportunity to film their drama act using iMovie.
We would like to wish the following children a Happy Birthday
| Kindergarten | Natalia W, Van K |
| Year 1 | |
| Year 2 | Maxwell W |
| Year 3 | Zoe W, Summer F |
| Year 4 | Marley B |
| Year 5/6 | Maria K, Archie P, Ari B |
Congratulations and we hope you had a happy day
| Kinder | Ariana C, Annabelle H, Gibson F, Erleen S |
| Year 1 | Gabriella K, Jimmy H, Pippa M, Jesse C |
| Year 2 | Millie H, Charlotte H, Clayton S, William T |
| Year 3 | Summer F, Chase B, Lochlain H, Ojoe T |
| Year 4 | Marley B, Cooper C, Caleb J |
| Year 5/6 | Maria K, Sam T, El W |
| Principals | |
| Captains | Breanna M, Isabella C |
| Lexia Awards | Van K - Level 3, Luka S - Level 3, Sophia T - Level 5 |
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