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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK CELEBRATIONS
We have been celebrating Catholic Schools Week this week and we had a great community day yesterday. Fr Collins presided over the Holy Eucharist celebration to start the morning and this was followed by morning tea and open classrooms.
The children closed the morning with a great mini-concert showcasing their wonderful talents with singing, dancing and percussion.
I am sure everyone had a great time and got the opportunity to experience a bit of the school life of Our Lady of Victories.
Check out the videos and photos on our FaceBook page.
NAPLAN
Year 3 and 5 will be sitting for the NAPLAN next week. Please ensure that your child is here next week. There is no pressure on the children to "perform" and they should see this as just another task that they are familiar with.
The assessment tasks are all done online except for Year 3 writing, and will take 4 sessions to complete the spread over 4 days. Each child will be given ear buds to use but if children have their own personal headphones that they would like to use, please send them along next week.
MOTHERS' BREAKFAST
Don't forget about our Mothers' Breakfast tomorrow morning. You can rock up from 7am to 8:30am for a tasty B&E Roll or some cereal, tea or coffee. If you haven't RSVP'd, its not too late to come along unannounced and you don't need to be there at 7am.
There will be a liturgy from 9:15 to celebrate all the women in our children's lives. Mums are asked to bring comfortable footwear for some fun games with the children afterwards till around 10am -- then you can go home and get some rest.
FROM THE GARDEN
Environmental/Chicken Team News
OLV students have been creating a bush tucker garden. We have been busy moving non-native plants to other locations so we can extend our native garden.
The Yarning Circle is almost complete and ready for use.
Two of the chicks Year One hatched, have now joined Speedy, Grace, Ella and Sunshine(chickens). The other chicks have found loving homes. We will be having a naming competition as these babies need names sooner rather than later. Just send in 10cents for each suggestion you have and we will draw the winning names randomly out of the hat. Just remember, the new chickens are lady chickens.
YEAR 5/6 CAMP
Year 5/6 will be heading off to camp in Week 5. This is a great opportunity for children to explore their limits and expand their relationships with each other.
Parents are asked to finalise payment ASAP.
MOTHERS DAY
All the staff at OLV would like to wish all the Mothers, Grandmothers and Carers a wonderful day on Sunday. We hope you can all relax and enjoy your special day.
Confirmation
The following students started the Confirmation Program last week; Indigo H, Finlay T, Ava G, Summer F, Max W, Blake B, Isabella C, Deegan C, Heath F, Charlie F, Junior H, Millie H, Charlotte H, Tyson L, Virginia V Oliver W and Harrison S. As a school community we are committed to journey with you all. We will pray that through the Sacrament of Confirmation you will experience the life and love of God's Holy Spirit.
To help support all the students working through the Sacrament of Confirmation, I will be offering sessions each Wednesday at 3:00pm till 3:30pm where I can assist the children through the program. These sessions will take place in the Year 2 room.
Celebrations of Catholic Schools
This year, 2021, marks a very special moment in the history of Catholic education in Australia. It has been 200 years since the first Catholic school in Australia was founded.
The first Catholic school in Australia was found in October 1820 by Irish Catholic priest John Therry. This school, which historians believe was in Parramatta, started with just 31 students. By 1833 the number of Catholic schools had grown to ten. Since that first school in Parramatta welcome its foundation students, Catholic schools have educated millions of young Australians.
The earliest Catholic school here in Maitland-Newcastle dioceses can be traced to 1833, when Peter Cook opened a small cottage in Hunter Street, Maitland. This was the first of many schools conducted by lay teachers to provide a Catholic education for the children of Hunter Valley settlers. Our School, is a part of the rich history in Catholic Education.
Bishop James Murray was the first Bishop of Maitland and worked extremely tirelessly to promote the importance of developing young minds and hearts in faith.
The Dominican’s, Josephites, Marist Brothers and Sisters of Mercy religious orders charisms have faithfully influenced our schools and provided authentic witnesses.
I would like to thank Years 5/6 for preparing our school mass which Fr Christo presided. This was our first official event since we were all locked down due to Covid. It was wonderful to see parents and grandparents walking through our school gates. The children were so excited about their performances and having an open classroom to show their family what exciting things they have learnt. (PHOTO Gallery)
Mother’s Day Breakfast
We have 57 families participating in our Mother’s Day Breakfast this Friday. After breakfast Year 2 will lead the school in our Liturgy. Once liturgy is finished, we have some fun activities for all parents to join in. Please make sure you bring comfortable shoes and an enthusiastic attitude to join in with your children.
New Finance System
Our finance system is now up and running. All debtors/Fee Payers are now able to view their balances or payments online. All excursions can now be paid while approving your child's attendance for the excursion.
Leanne is learning the new system. We ask that all parents be patient with implementing this system over the next few weeks and we are looking forward to moving ahead with Technology One.
Change to Volunteering at School
The procedure for volunteering at schools in the Diocese is changing. All volunteers are required to have a National Police Check (NPC) registered and full clearance to be approved by the Catholic Schools Office.
In the latest Volunteer Induction Handbook (version 1.6), there is a Statutory Screening Selection Tool for Volunteers in Schools.
Each volunteer is required to complete this form which will determine if a Working with Children’s Check is required (now only required for overnight camps if you are a close relative).
The instructions regarding identification and obtaining the NPC have also changed and this is also included in the handbook. The handbook is available from Admin office.
If you need to complete this booklet you would have had a phonecall this week from the office. If you are unsure please contact Leanne and she can let you know. Any volunteer that has already completed the NPC last year will not need to complete the process again, how-ever everyone else will need to resubmit their handbook and receive clearance.
Kindergarten Enrolments 2022
Our Kindergarten enrolments close at the end of May. If you are a sibling of the school or know anyone that has a child starting Kindergarten next year please contact the office for an enrolment pack. Our Interview process will start in June 2021.
Check out this link for more info on St Nicholas OOSH.
How to enrol for our OOSH Services:
Kindergarten
In Spelling, Kinder are breaking words down into individual sounds. This is called segmenting. Segmenting is a critical skill for Spelling. In segmenting, we take the individual sounds apart. For example, say the word ham aloud and listen for the three separate sounds:
From the examples above you can see that we are making words using the letters: m a t s p. We sound out the word, make it with letter blocks, spell it using the letter names and write it in our spelling books.
In our Reading/Literacy groups, we practice writing high frequency words such as is, the, in, on mini-whiteboards. We use these words to write sentences in our books. We are making great progress with our writing. Check out the examples below.
Year 1
In Year 1 this term, we are focussing on narrative writing. We have started the term analysing the story of Peter Rabbit and looking at the different narrative elements that are used. Here are some writing samples from when we were asked to retell the story of Peter Rabbit to Miss Payton, as if she had never heard the story before. She thinks we did a FANTASTIC job!
Year 2
Over the last week Year 2 have been working on improving their sentences by using adjectives. We have identified them in books, we have read and experimented with our own sentences. (I still need to send photos through)
Year 3
Over the last few weeks, Year 3's writing focus has been persuasive texts. Some of the topics that the students have written about are: Everybody should learn to swim; Everybody should learn to cook; Did Despereaux deserve his punishment? Explain.
Samples of students' writing are below. We hope you enjoy reading them.
Year 4
In Year 4 we are really enjoying reading the novel, "Charlotte's Web" by E. B. White. We looked at a scene from the movie last week, that presented part of the story we had not read. We discussed our observations of the picture, then we started to write our own narrative around the scene.
We wrote our Orientation and bumped it up - that means we read over our work then wrote the paragraph again adding more detail and description to make it more interesting. We also try to add rich vocabulary. We then started on the complication. Some of us have been working on the series of events. There are some examples of our work below.
Mrs Carroll is very pleased with our efforts and enthusiasm!
Year 5/6
In Year 5/6, we have started the term looking at how to create SIZZLING STARTS. We viewed a clip of a spear fisherman who encountered a Great White Shark. We brainstormed words to use and then experimented with many ways to start, but starting in the action, with an emotion or using one of our senses, worked magnificently. Each of our sizzling starts completely drew the reader into the story. We all impressed each other, and ourselves. Read on...
CROSS COUNTRY NEWS
We had six children representing the school last week at the Diocesan Cross County - Gemma, Harrison, Max, Indigo, Freya & Julian. Not only is Gemma a good swimmer, she showed off her long distance running skills by coming in 6th overall in her age group. Gemma will be off to the Polding Trials later this term. Julian just missed out on selection with his 9th place overall in his age group. All the other students showed great grit and endurance and most ran the distance in better times than they clocked at the school carnival.
WELL DONE TO ALL THE CHILDREN. THEY SHOWED GREAT SPIRIT AND BEHAVIOUR.
| Kinder | Allison A, Elizabeth L, Jemima K, Thomas O |
| Year 1 | Chase S, Levi A, Alierah M, Joyce H |
| Year 2 | Daniel Z, Gabriella K, Jimmy H, Max B |
| Year 3 | Leisha K, Lilly W, Clayton S, Ben T, Maxwell W |
| Year 4 | Ava G, Tyson L, Chase B, Gemma M |
| Year 5/6 | Caleb J, El W, Ruby P |
| Principals | |
| Captains | |
| Lexia Awards | Daniel Z, Sienna S, Jesse C, Kasey S, Madelyn M, Joyce H |
Uniform Pool
With winter approaching we are in need of winter uniforms. If anyone has any uniforms that have been outgrown, please consider donating them to the uniform pool. Donations can be left at the school office.
The uniform pool is open MONDAYS 8.45-9.05am
Help Needed – Athletics Carnival
At the upcoming carnival on Thursday the 10th of June, we will be running the canteen for parents and children to access. Notes for the canteen will come out in coming week, including if you may be able to volunteer to assist in the canteen.
Next meeting:
Monday 19th July at 7pm in the school library. Everyone is welcome to come along to meet other parents and find out what is happening at school. A special invitation to those parents who have never been to a P&F meeting before and have been wondering what it is all about. We’d love to see you there. If you have anything you would like to add to the agenda for discussion, please contact the P&F via email olvparentsandfriends@gmail.com
If you want to check the credentials and find out more, click the link below.
https://wwccheck.ccyp.nsw.gov.au/Verifiers/Search
ZONES OF REGULATION
We have been introducing a new Social Emotional Learning program in the school since the beggining of Term 4 last year called ZONES OF REGULATION. Click the links below for an example of the explanations in the program. The whole school participates in fortnightly, explicit instruction of the knowledge and skills needed in regulating their emotions and how to respond to them. From these lessons, children are able to gain the language, confidence and recognigition of their emotions and how they affect their own behaviour and the feelings of others. Charts in the classroom give the cjhildren the opportunity to visualise where their emotions are at and how they they can move within the zones.
Identifying the emotion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTII0cyUbQo&list=PLj-5cig-690P5Ku7DaBA5m3px03oYu4ez
Green Zone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzps2iCaMlY
Blue Zone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM31Xu3d8SU
Yellow Zone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEtsMoqZOiU
Red Zone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss-p7q5j0v4
We would like to wish the following children a Happy Birthday
| Kindergarten | Ruby B, Annabelle H |
| Year 1 | |
| Year 2 | |
| Year 3 | |
| Year 4 | Margreit K, Alek S, Junior H |
| Year 5/6 |
Congratulations and we hope you had a happy day
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: