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NSW ELECTION DAY
The NSW State election is fast approaching, Saturday 25 March, and we are looking to run a Sausage Sizzle and Cake Stall on the day to raise a few dollars towards Reading Materials for the upper school. We are looking for volunteers to help out during the morning. A sign up request form went home last week, so if you can help out for an hour or so, please return it to school.
Of course a cake stall requires some tasty treats to tempt the voters, so maybe those who like baking can whip up some treats to sell on the day. These could be dropped off at school on Friday afternoon or at the stall on Saturday morning.
NAPLAN
The children in Year 3 & 5 will commence their adventure into the world of NAPLAN. The dates for each of the assessments are included in the Date Claimers on the SchoolZine App and the Term Calendar and are as follows:
Wednesday 15 March: Yrs 3 & 5 Writing
Thursday 16 March: Writing Catch-up
Friday 17 March: Yrs 3 & 5 Reading
Wednesday 22 March: Yrs 3 & 5 Conventions of Language (CoL) (Spelling and Grammar)
Thursday 23 March: Yrs 3 & 5 Numeracy
Friday 24 March: Reading and CoL catch-up
Monday 27March: Numeracy catch-up
It is most important that the children be resent at school on these dates. Whilst there are catch up dates provided, being present on the posted date for each assessment is preferable as it provides the most support for the children.
SUCCESSFUL FOUNDATION
This program is a very important part of the Kindergarten day and Bridie Stanger, the Education Officer for Early Learning , shares some more insights.
KINDER 2024
The Enrolment period for Kindergarten in 2024 is now open. Families looking to enrol children for 2024 should contact the office for an application pack. A gentle reminder to your friends or relatives who would be seeking Kindergarten enrolment in 2024 would be appreciated as well. Your child needs to be turning five by 31 May, 2024 to be eligible.
There will be an open afternoon for families to visit the school on Wednesday 29 March.
The first round for applications closes at the end of May.
5 Important Questions to ask your child/ren
When my children were little, and even now that they are not, it is often difficult to get any sort of detail from them about their day with the way we usually phrase our questions. The usual “How was your day?” is met with a monosyllabic response or a shrug of the shoulders. “What did you do today?” receives the same or similar response. This often ends in multiple more questions being asked, with not much more information being divulged.
So, how do we find out more without asking more? One suggestion is to try these questions instead. Have your child focus on just one aspect/subject. It may feel really ‘clunky’ and awkward at first, and your child may not have detailed answers at first, but it will become more natural over time.
- What did you learn about today?
- How did you do?
- What did you do (or would you do) if you didn’t understand?
- How can you improve on your learning?
- What are you most proud of?
(Lyn Sharratt, 2019, Clarity: What Matters Most in Learning, Teaching and Leading, p65)
I would love to get some feedback as to how these questions were received by your child and what their responses were.
OUT OF UNIFORM DAYS
On Friday March 17 we are celebrating St Patrick’s Day and the children are invited to wear something GREEN. Please bring a gold coin donation to go towards the Project Compassion Appeal.
One of our big fund-raisers for the year is our Easter Raffle. On Friday 31 March, the children are invited to wear their civvies for the day. For this privilege we ask that each child brings an Easter Chocolate to be added to the hampers for the raffle.
OUR NEW VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS
During the later part of 2021 and all of 2022, the staff worked on an update to our Vision and Mission statements to more closely align our goal (vision) with how we will achieve this (mission). We looked closely at the two intersecting charisms (ways of living the Gospel) of the Josephites and the Dominicans, as they both had and have prominence in the development of Our Lady of Victories.
At the heart of the Dominican charism is the purposeful and dynamic search for TRUTH (Veritas). The search for truth leads us to a personal encounter with God who is our centre. It drives us to inspire our students to be aware of wonder and awe, of beauty and joy, recognising the innate dignity and creativity of each person. The Josephite charism is based upon Mary MacKillop’s core belief of “Never see a need without doing something about it”. Mary MacKillop was selfless, and spread a spirituality based on her ‘gritty determination’, her love and concern for others, and her dedication to making a difference. Together, our search for truth and wanting to help each other forms the core of what strive for at OLV.
After much discussion, PD, and deep thinking, we have developed a simple, but strong vision, and ways we can live this. It has since been developed into signage that will soon be displayed in multiple locations around the school. Further discussion on the development and how to embed of our Vision and Mission statement will be presented at the next P&F meeting.
Each fortnight, at our assembly, the teachers will find a student, or group of students, who are actively living our Vision and Mission through their actions. Awards will have the reason on them and these can be seen in the awards section of the newsletter. Our V&M statements also link with our PBL (Positive Behaviours for Learning) focus of I AM SAFE, I AM A LEARNER and I AM RESPONSIBLE in that the same sort of caring, community minded actions are encouraged through this initiative as well. It will be unpacked over time with the students so they know HOW to live our V&M.
We have a beautiful community at OLV and this will serve to ensure that we instil lifelong values that will benefit our community for years to come, and other communities into which our students enter, after they leave us.
VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION
In order to Volunteer at OLV you are required to complete the Volunteer Induction and be cleared by the Catholic Schools Office to Volunteer.
Please follow this link https://www.mn.catholic.org.au/people/volunteer/ and complete the steps.
EXTERNAL PROVIDERS
If your child will be seeing a provider (eg; speech therapist or occupational therapist) this year at school, please complete the attached application form and return to school. If you require further information, please don't hesitate to contact the office.
COMPASS
OLV uses the "Compass" App. Log in details for parents/carers have been emailed to all new parents. If you are still unable to login, or your account has been made inactive, please contact Leanne in the office to arrange a reset of your password.
- For all new families please familiarise yourself with the information booklet you received in your information pack or enrolment pack "Parent Portal Compass User Guide" I have also attached this.
- Only Parents/Carers have access to Compass Parent Portal. Parents must have separate email addresses in order to both have access to compass.
- New Users when logging into Compass are given the opportunity to update their details. It has been noted that some parents have updated their mobile phone number by taking out the gaps within the phone number. This is not required. The system requires phones numbers to be in this format.
- REMINDER: PLEASE ONLY EXPLAIN WHOLE DAY ABSENCES - PLEASE DO NOT REPORT PARTIAL ABSENCES through the Compass App. Reporting partial absences will cause inconsistences with your child's attendance.
- SMS's are sent to parents of students who are absent from 9.35am each weekday morning. You will receive a text message if your child was not present during the marking the roll process. Please logon onto compass and explain your child's absence. Do not reply to the text as compass does not accept reply texts.
- Please notify the office beforehand if your child is going to arrive late; you will however still receive an SMS. The arrival time of the student will be logged as an explained absence when they present to school on their arrival.
- On occasion you may be sent a text message even though your child is in attendance at school, this may be becuase they have arrived late and not come to the office for sign in. If your child is late please come into the office with your child and sign them in via the compass kiosk.
QKR APP
Part of “progress” is moving towards a cashless society – which is for discussion on another day. To assist with the banking, ordering and handling of moneys we are moving more of our payments to the Qkr system.
You will find attached instructions for QKR App. This easy to use phone app gives you the flexibility to place orders for Canteen and fundraisers from your phone. It also reduces the need for your child to bring cash to school. Please remember to amend your child's year group on the QKR App to aid the timely collection of their order. We will be moving to a wider usage of this app as the term progresses.
- Make sure your child matches the class they are in now. You may need to go to your account settings and change their class. This will have to be completed at the beginning of every school year.
- Please do not send in a paper bag as well as ordering online. (this will stop any double up of ordering)
- If your child is away or sick and you have ordered their lunch, you have to 8.00am to cancel your order on QKR and receive a credit for next time.
- All ordering is now closing at 8.15am Monday Morning. This allows enough time to print out the relevant reports for our volunteer ladies.
- As of Term 2 all lunch orders will only be able to be ordered through QKR. Cash on the day will only be for ice blocks, lollies and chips.
We will be looking at providing this service for other quick financial transactions such as sausage sizzles, raffles, pie drives etc,
Thaks to everyone for taking up this service.
FINANCE NEWS
Fee Statements have been emailed out last week.
- Any school fees that are outstanding, without an agreed payment arrangement with the Prinicpal, will be actioned per the Diocesan Fee Collection Policy.
- For those families experiencing financial hardship it is not too late to contact the school office to arrange an appointment with the Principal or Finance Office, to discuss payment options.
- Payments can be made via BPay, Direct Debit, or credit card over the phone or in the office.
- Calculations have been sent home to most families. This will help you to pay a weeklly amount to have your fees paid by the due date 30/11/23.
Any fee payers that wish to establish a new direct debit or adjust their existing direct debit, please contact Leanne in the office.
We encourage families not to pay their fees via the COMPASS App. The bank fees are significantly higher than if paid via Bpay or credit cards at the office.
Health Care Card
Most families have already completed the attached Health Care Card Forms and returned to the school with a copy of their Health Care Card. If you have a Health Care Card and have not handed it in please contact the office. Health Care Cards gives up to 50% of your tuition fees.
Kinder
Once we had finished reading the book the children had a discussion on where they thought Grandpa and Thomas would go once they left the beach. The photos show some of their predictions.
Year 1
Year 2
In Year 2 we have been doing a lot of predicting! We have been working on using the information that a text gives us in the title, on the front and back covers, and sometimes in a blurb, along with our background knowledge and things we already know about the topic in the text to make predictions about what the text is going to tell us. We make predictions about the purpose of the texts that we read, i.e. is it informative, imaginative or persuasive? What is it trying to do for us – inform us, entertain us or change our opinion?
In our reading groups, we work with our peers to use the information given to us with our background knowledge to make predictions about our text. Enjoy reading some of our predictions!
Stage 2
Thank you to Year 3 for helping Year 4 with their Liturgy.
Working together we can all make a difference!
Stage 3
This week in Stage 3 we have been looking at Roald Dahl's 'The Tortoise and the Hare.' The focus in our class rooms has been predicting. In our reading groups, students have been looking at book covers and blurbs to make their predictions, sharing what they think will happen in the story. It has been amazing listening to everyone's predictions, and even more fascinating listening to their reasons why!
| Kinder |
Diesel D - for trying so hard to form his letters Mehki M -for being able to articulate everything he has learnt about God William H - for his focus and patience when completing his sunflower art Henry B - for being able to articulate everything he has learnt about God |
| Year 1 |
Matilda B - for always trying your hardest in your learning and asking for help when you need it. Sam C - for participating in class discussions and always trying your best in activities. Amelia I - for your beautiful drawings and detailed explanations of your tree in Religion. Zephyr K - for always offering to help others and for trying your best in all KLAs. |
| Year 2 |
Jemima K - for demonstrating excellent leadership skills in class. Tomi O - for her positive attitude towards all aspects of school life. Tesa S - for always sharing a smile with those around her. |
| Year 3 |
Audrey S -for always concentrating on carefully presenting her work. Brian K - for beginning to think about what he has done well and what he needs to do next. Lily P - for demonstrating a mature attitude when answering questions and sharing her ideas withothers. Sophia T - for being a keen and confident member of our class. |
| Year 4 |
Daniel Z - for his work in helping his teachers and peers with the new laptops. Thank You Daniel. Kasey S -for her creative sentences in her daily writing responses to the writing stimulus. Sienna S - for showing enthusiasm when reading the novel Charlotte’s Web. Hope H - for making a determined effort to improve her handwriting and keeping the letters in the correct lines. |
| Year 5 |
Maxwell W - for being a curious learner and for trying his best! Virginia V - for showing amazing problem-solving skills. Isabella C - for collaborating with her Stage 3 peers with a positive and diligent attitude. Will T -for taking pride in his book work and sharing what he knows with his peers. |
| Year 6 |
Indigo H - for excellent enthusiasm during writing lessons Meti S -for great discussion during question-and-answer time in class Ojo T - for showing amazing collaboration skills when working with his peers Thomas E - for showing persistence and resilience when trying a new skill |
| V & M Awards |
Kindergarten: Solomon T - for being helpful and considerate Year 1: Leo K - for always being the first to help others and offering support to all classmates Year 2: Allison A - for showing kindness to everyone. Year 3: Natalia W - for working cooperatively with her peers. Year 4: Isabella T - for demonstrating Christian Values and being like Jesus in everything she does at OLV. Year 5: Joseph B - for assisting others and stepping in to assist Year 5's jobs. Year 6: Furahisha S - for being a positive influence and role model to all. |
| Leader Awards |
Max F - for helping fellow students when they need help- Max G Cooper G - for respecting the school and all school rules all the time. Ojo T |
| Lexia Awards |
|
Term I is always a pretty sporty period and we have been enjoying some great events with a lot of success stories. Here are a couple more events to whet the appetite of our sporty children.
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
Next week children will be asked to nominate for events for our Athletics Carnival. A COMPASS Event will be posted for parents to provide permission for their child to participate in the carnival. The carnival will be held on Tuesday 21 March. The children are invited to compete in the 70m (infants), 100m (all age) and 200m & 800m(8-12yo). Placegetters in these events will be invited to represent the school at the Regional Carnival next term. The cost for our event is NIL as it is covered in the Sport Levy of the school Fees.
SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY
We will be conducting our annual Cross-Country event on Thursday 30 March in the school grounds from 10am. Different age groups will race over different lengths to try to qualify to represent the school at the Diocesan Carnival to be held on Wednesday 10 May. Children who wish to qualify for the Diocesan event need to finish their race under the following times:
|
Age Distance Qualifying Time |
Age Distance Qualifying Time |
|
Girls 8/9 yrs 2kms 13 mins |
Boys 8/9 yrs 2kms 11 mins |
|
Girls 10 yrs 2kms 13 mins |
Boys 10 yrs 2kms 11 mins |
|
Girls 11 yrs 3kms 18 mins |
Boys 11 yrs 3kms 16 mins |
|
Girls 12/13yrs 3kms 18 mins |
Boys 12/13 yrs 3kms 16 mins |
We encourage all the children to get out and have a go – whether it be just to walk, skip, hop or just have a bit of exercise with their friends. Parents are welcome to spectate – or even join in if they wish.
REGIONAL REPS
We wish Gemma & Charlie (soccer) and Harrison (rugby league) all the best as they represent the region at the upcoming Diocesan trials next week.
CONGRATULATIONS on your Regional selection.
We would like to wish the following children a Happy Birthday.
| Kindergarten | Nicholas O |
| Year 1 | |
| Year 2 | Allison A |
| Year 3 | Ariana C, Gibson F |
| Year 4 | |
| Year 5 | Millie H, Charlie F |
| Year 6 | Ava G, Lochlain H |
Congratulations and we hope you had a happy day
NEXT MEEETING and AGM
Parents are reminded to try to get to the next P&F Meeting on Monday 27 March at 7pm. The Annual General Meeting will take place at the beginning of the meeting and the school's new Vision and Mission will be presented.
The Association will be looking towards the future by electing a new executive of President, Secretary and Treasurer. We will also be looking at finding someone to be the coordinators for Canteen, Uniform Pool & Fund Raising. Please let our current executive know if you are interested in any of these positions.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are conducting a sausage sizzle and cake stall on Election Day - Saturday 25 March. We are looking for helpers to setup, cook a BBQ and sell cakes to the voters as they come to make their choice for the NSW State Government.
A copy of the volunteer forms are below. Please send them back to school as soon as possible.
ST NICHOLAS OOSH Services
How to enrol for our OOSH Services:
You will be able to access the school newsletter here, special dates notifications and other messages from time to time.
Go to this link to download the Schoolzine App: