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LOCKDOWN 2.0
Well!! What can one say? It has been a whirlwind week following news bulletins and home learning again. We thank all families for following the orders and staying home with your children. It is certainly an anxious time as we see some very close encounters with this new Delta strain. It is swift, and deadly, and needs a concerted effort to overcome it.
We will be in lockdown for at least another week and staying at home is a key part of stopping the spread in our community - especially with the number of children being affected by this second wave. We need to stay safe and keep well.
HOME LEARNING
The teachers have prepared a second week of learning activities for the children to complete. Please monitor your children and afford them some assistance as they work through the activities. The recommended time allocations are as follows:
Early Stage 1 (Kinder): 1 hour/day - Literacy & Numeracy - 10mins RE
Stage 1 (Year 1&2) : 1.5hrs/day - Literacy & Numeracy - 10mins RE
Stage 2 (yrs 3 & 4): 2 hrs/ day - Literacy & Numeracy - 15mins RE
Stage 3 (yrs 5 &6): 2 hrs/ day - Literacy & Numeracy - 20mins RE
Don't forget to include some play and phyical activity on your child's day.
Please check your class news feed each day and it is also a good idea to check your child's email each day on https://mnconnect.cloud
Please contact your child's teacher via email if you have any questions about the work being set.
Remember - there is minimal staff onsite to assist children who need to be onsite.
We will keep you posted about when the school will reopen.
EXPOSURE UPDATE
With the notification of an exposure by NSW Health last night, it put everyone one on edge. Parents need to be confident with the advice and recommendations for action from NSW Health.
The information shared with the community yesterday evening is what I was given by NSW Health. The Diocesan protocol is that I then pass that information onto parents
It is a notification that a person was infectious in the community on those days.
NSW Health would have contacted all close contacts prior to us sending this notification. We need to trust the advice of NSW Health that the risk is low and no further action by the school is required.
Parents are advised to monitor their family’s health and take appropriate action if symptoms arise.
At this point in time that is all the information I have. If it were more serious, then I would expect NSW Health to have advised a different course of notification and action.
CONFIRMATION
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, however everyone else will need to resubmit their handbook and receive clearance.
SCIENCE WEEK
Science Week is always one of my favourite times of the year. Science Week is happening again this year during lockdown next week. The most important thing about it, is the implicit message that curiosity is the key to learning.
If your child is interested in CODING then this link for the CODING CAMP ONLINE might be interesting for them.
Some news from Year 5/6
During the last two weeks, before we went into lockdown, we created descriptive sentences, based on the description by Jackie French of one of the settings in our novel - the bus shelter. My challenge to them was to try and encapsulate the setting in one sentence… a difficult task. The sentences were drafted, written and then emailed to me, where they were then compiled into an email to Jackie French….
Good Afternoon Jackie,
We are a class of Year 5 and 6 students from Shortland, a suburb of Newcastle.
We have been focussing on writing descriptive sentences, and as we are reading “Hitler’s Daughter, we decided to have a go at writing one sentence to describe the scene at the bus shelter from your description at the beginning of the story.
- The cement thick rain plunged onto my nippy back as I squelched through the dense mud, avoiding the motionless cow poo. Isla
- As the water trickled down the yellow tin roof, the cows sneezed softly without Mark noticing. – Levi
- The rain trickled down the curved roof of the bus shelter, which was painted with a gloomy, yet beaming yellow. Elsie
- The raindrops dripped through the tiny crack in the yellow, curved tin bus shelter where Anna was telling a ripper of a story about Hitler's daughter. Harry
- The clouds shook, emptying the greatness collected from earth. * ting * The rain dropped off the bush shelter on to my cold, goosebump-covered neck. – Annalise
- The water, seeping through the new, but aging bus shelter, had Mark wondering why an old, rusty flop of an idea was made in the middle of paddocks behind Dirty Butter Creek. Cooper
- The steaming hot cow dung waited for the shovel as the cows, mournful, surrounded the bus shelter attracted to the bright, shinning, yellow curved tin. Lily
- As the cows huddled up, I sat on the seat underneath a curved, yellow bus shelter which was a huge flop. The rain drops dripped down my neck but what was worse was the squished cow poo scent. Sonia
- The yellow paint came off the tin bus shelter as the rain pealed it off like dead skin. Georgina
- As the cries of the cows harmoniously drifted through the thick muggy dark abyss, the children waited impatiently under the bright yellow tin bus shelter. While they were filled with boredom the children told fibs to each other to pass the time, while at the same time rain drops dripped down their frozen backs. Julian
- As the small yellow bus shelter stood there waiting for the storm to finish, Mark was listening to the wind blow against the bus shelter and the rain falling on the top of it. Tahlia
- A rusty, tin, pure golden, leaky bus shelter with an unshakable stench of cow dung stood waiting for anything to come. Caleb
- The yellow light from the bus stop looked like gold, but the mud looked disgusting, and the cow manure made it worse. Fin
- The rain pelted heavily from the sky, like tears. Drips came through the cracks of the yellow, tin roof and down onto the wooden seat, dampening the spot where Mark was sitting. Marley
We know that you are a very busy person but would love some feedback on our sentences.
Thanks Jackie,
Penny McGann and 5/6.
And we got feedback…
They are fabulous!
Remember that description is like salt though. A little on your food makes it taste better. If you add too much, all you taste is salt. A little vivid original descriptions like yours are all that's needed. See if you can see where you might have used too much- then keep them for later on in your work, as they are all too brilliant not to use somewhere! All best wishes, jackie
Jackie French AM
We are now working on using JUST the right amount of ‘salt’ on our creations!
BACKGROUND FOR INCLUSION OF CHILDREN
As part of the Child Safe Organisations project, in 2017 the Australian Government asked the National Children’s Commissioner to lead the development of National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
The Australian Government also commissioned the Australian Human Rights Commission to develop practical tools to help organisations implement the National Principles.
The National Principles were developed under the guidance of Community Services Ministers across Commonwealth, state and territory governments under the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020. The Principles respond to recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The National Principles aim to provide a nationally consistent approach to creating organisational cultures that foster child safety and wellbeing across all sectors in Australia. This will help to keep children and young people safe and reduce future harm in organisational settings.
The National Principles reflect the ten child safe standards recommended by the Royal
Commission, with a broader scope that goes beyond child sexual abuse to cover other forms of harm to children and young people.
SPORT SUCCESS
REGIONAL SWIMMING
We had 16 children representing the school last week at the Regional Swimming Carnival. Congratulations to Charlie, Daniel, Gemma, Heath, Indigo, Isla, Kasey, Lily, Maddison, Oliver, Suma, Summer P, Thomas and Zoe. They all performed to their best and were a credit to the school. Hopefully next year we can have some spectaors with us .
A special well done to Tom W and Gemma M. Tom was second overall in his 50m Freestyle and Gemma was first in her Freestyle, and second in her Breaststroke and Backstroke events. Both will be representing the school and the North Region at the Diocesan Carnival next week. Great job by the whole team.
REGIONAL CRICKET
Well done to Max G who was successful at the North Region cricket trials on Wednesday. He will be moving onto the Diocesan trials. He showed some great batting and fielding skills to make an impressions on the selectors. Good Luck, Max.
REGIONAL WINTER TRIALS
The North Region will be conducting the winter sports trials. If your child has some exceptional skills in Netball, Rugby League, Soccer, Hockey or Touch Football please drop Mr V a line to obtain the paperwork to nominate.
These trials are for children who play competitively onthe weekends, play at a high level and are in Year 5 or 6.
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:
Check out this link for more info on St Nicholas OOSH.
How to enrol for our OOSH Services: