Our Lady of Victories Primary School Shortland
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15 Lovell Parade
Shortland NSW 2307
Subscribe: https://olovps.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: admin@shortland.catholic.edu.au
Phone: 02 4951 1003

Term 3 Week 6

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Term 3 Week 6

With this newsletter marking the (almost) end of Week 6, it is difficult to believe that we are so close to the end of the term, with only 20 school days remaining until the holiday break.

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It has been wonderful to see the children working hard and delving deeply into their class tasks, discovering new concepts and ideas and consolidating them with follow up activities. It is also lovely to see everyone enjoying and sharing our beautiful playground.

We are all so proud of all of the students at OLV.

A COVID update from the CSO Director

‘NSW Health has updated its advice to schools across NSW/ACT to ensure that students and staff do not attend school if they are unwell. Further, and this is a clear elevation of protocols, students absent or sent home due to flu-like symptoms (such as coughing, sore throat, fatigue and shortness of breath) need to be tested. Evidence of a negative result should be provided prior to allowing students and staff to return to school. This measure is ensuring we maintain a stringent and measured approach across all of our schools to maintain the health of students and staff.’
Gerard Mowbray.
Director of Catholic Schools.

Kinder 2021 interviews

Kindergarten_interviews.jpgOver the last two weeks, I have had the great honour and privilege to meet and interview our 2021 Kindergarten students. During the interviews, some by Zoom, some by phone and others face to face, we talked about things they like, favourite colours, we did some counting and those who came in to school drew a picture of their family. We also discussed the buddy system and how their big buddies will help support each new Kindy during their first few weeks of ‘big school’.

Places are still available, so if you know someone with a child entering Kindergarten in 2021, please let them know about our beautiful school.

National Child Protection Week
This year, National Child Protection Week occurs across Australia from 6–12 September.

This is the 30th year celebration with the theme “Putting Children First”. In order to thrive, children need to be loved, feel safe, have access to the essentials such as food, shelter, medical and mental health. Putting children first means prioritising their safety, welfare and wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic means there is added pressure on families and communities so more than ever, we all need to play our part in protecting children.

We can all play a part by creating stronger, happier communities. This can be achieved by checking in and helping your neighbours and friends, being a good role model, supporting and being kind to parents rather than judging or being competitive and speaking up if you see something that is unsafe.

It is important that we listen to, and value, what children have to say. Where possible, include their voices in decision making and be advocates for their best interest.

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has an abiding commitment to promote the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children. The Office of Safeguarding (OoSG) is the structural expression of the Diocese’s commitment to demonstrate the highest standards of recognising and upholding the dignity and rights of all children.

Below are links to some resources you may wish to view.

https://padlet.com/OfficeofSafeguarding/K_2

https://padlet.com/officeofsafeguardingmn/years3_6

https://padlet.com/officeofsafeguardingmn/parents

Liturgies

This week we did not have a liturgy due to the Pupil Free Day. Next week we will be lead in our liturgy by Year 3. It will be shared on Facebook for you all to see.

Book Week

This year, due to Covid 19, Book Week has been moved to October. The theme this year is 'Curious Creatures, Wild Minds'. OLV will celebrate Book Week on Friday 23 October with an amended parade and some shared reading activities in the afternoon. Stay tuned for more information in future newsletters.

Newcastle Permanent Maths Comp


On Friday 21 August, Years 5 and 6, participated in this competition, as we do every year.  There were lots of ‘crinkly foreheads’ as they worked through 35 questions within the 45 minute timeframe. We look forward to receiving the results.

Update on Mr V

Mr V continues to be on the mend and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Beanie Day

We had a wonderful day last Wednesday wearing our beanies to school. There were some really funky beanies worn. As a group we raised$111.85 which will go to Catholic Missions. Thank you for your ongoing support in our fundraising for Catholic Missions.

Crazy Sock Day

Crazy_sock_day.jpgFriday the 11th September children will be able to wear their crazy socks to school. We will use this as a fundraiser for Catholic Missions so please bring along a gold coin donation and find your craziest socks.

Up coming Liturgies

Week 7- Happiness by Year 3

Week 8- God is.. by Kindergarten

Week 9- Spring by Year 4

You will be able to view our liturgies via our school Facebook page.

Being “Salt” in the World

 In the gospel of Matthew 5:13  Jesus calls us to be “salt,” adding flavour to the world.

Jesus tells us: “You are the salt of the earth."

We hear Jesus’s words and tend to say, “Of course, God, we are salt. Thanks for reminding us!”

It’s significant to know that salt is used to bring out the flavour of food and not disguise it. It’s an additive that enhances the flavour within.

God’s “flavours” are all around His creation. We need to be agents who enhance these flavours. We should be a part of bringing out true flavour “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Yes, this is not easy. The Christian journey can be difficult at times. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can become the salt that Jesus is declaring us to be.

I wish you and myself to be “salt” for our families, relatives, friends, co-workers and anyone we meet every day by uplifting someone, giving courage, hope, joy, support, presence, prayer…. . To be a giver and grateful receiver of God’s flavour seems to be a call for all of us in this specific time of our history.

Sr Milla

 

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 Term 3 Fees

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Term 3 Fees are now due and payable.  Thank you to all families who are up to date with their fees.  We understand a lot of families come into the office to pay school fees but during covid you can pay via BPAY, Direct Debit or call the office and pay via eftpos.  

Kindergarten Enrolments

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We are still accepting Kindergarten Enrolments.  If you are looking to enroling your child or you know a friend or neighbour please have them contact Leanne in the office and ask for an enrolment pack.

Compass Attendance Notification

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When entering your child's notification absence through compass please specify in the Comment section a reason for their illness.  This will help OLV keep on top of any cold/flu like symptoms for all students.
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If your child is being tested for COVID please notify the school at admin@shortland.catholic.edu.au.  Please supply the school with a copy of the test results.  This can be a copy from your doctor or a screenshot from your phone with the child's name on it.

Book Club

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Book Club order forms went home last week. Orders need to be finalized at the office or on-line by Monday 31st August, 2020.

No late orders can be accepted as Scholastic will charge a delivery fee.

Happy Reading     

KINDER

In Religion we have started a new unit “Prayer as Talking to God”. We discussed how and why we communicate with God. We found out how talking to God is similar and different to talking to our friends. In English we are continuing with our literacy unit on Fairytales. We shared different versions of Little Red Riding Hood (book and video ) and found the similarities and differences. We labelled an illustration of ‘The Big Bad Wolf’ using adjectives eg. scary eyes, sharp teeth, bushy tail. We learnt that adjectives describe nouns. From here we ventured into topics about personal safety such as stranger danger and early warning signs that our body gives us when we feel worried, unsafe or scared. Early warning signs include butterflies in tummy, feeling hot and sweaty, fast heart beat, feeling shaky and feeling sick. We answered the questions, “Should Little Red Riding Hood have gone into the woods alone?” “What should she have done when she met the wolf?” Personal safety is taught as part of our Child Protection unit which we are covering this term.

Our 30 second talk during News time has been on the topic of “What we want to be when we grow up” and “Fairytale characters we would like to talk with.” It is very difficult for most children to talk for 30 seconds non-stop without repeating what has already been said. Everyone in the talking circle gets to talk and there are no interruptions.

In Maths we have been learning to Group and share concrete materials to solve problems.

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YEAR 1

In Religion we have looked at how the Sacrament of Baptism has changed over time. ‘Baptism’ means to immerse in water, and the water used in this Sacrament is a sign of the new life we are given when we become followers of Jesus. We completed a ‘curiosity box’ activity where we uncovered mementos from Mrs Noble’s daughter’s Baptism, including a white gown, bonnet, baptismal candle, tiny white shoes, a bracelet with a crucifix and other special items. 

In English we read ‘Cindy Ella’ by Tom Champion. It’s an Australian version of ‘Cinderella’. We’ve done some sequencing of the story, focusing on the setting, characters, orientation, complication and resolution. We’ve also made comparisons between characters from the different texts we’ve read this term.

In Grammar over the last few weeks we’ve had a focus on the use of exclamation marks, synonyms and antonyms. Using synonyms and antonyms to expand our vocabulary makes our writing tasks more interesting to read. 

Last week, Year 1 were learning about Mass. We used an equal arm balance to order objects from lightest to heaviest and also to find collections that had the same mass. For example, we found 7 large paddle pop sticks had the same mass as 10 blocks. This week in Maths, we are learning about division. This is introduced as “sharing”. We have been sharing collections into equal groups, to find how many there are in each group. 

In Science, we have been looking at the weather: seasons and changes that come with each season. We had a great time last week using the classroom bee bots! We gave them a set of directions (an algorithm) to navigate their way around the grid to get to the seasonal pictures. 

YEAR 2

Here is something from year 2 for the newsletter. I'm so sorry it's a bit late :(

 In geography, Year two have been learning all about the world. We have learnt that there are seven continents – Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa and Antarctica, and five oceans – Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Southern and Atlantic. We have also learnt that the Earth is round and that it has two hemispheres. We live in the Southern hemisphere. We even learnt that things are a bit different in the Northern Hemisphere – their seasons are opposite to ours and their hurricanes spin the opposite way to our cyclones. Yesterday we got to explore the globe on Google Earth and we had lots of fun!! We are also very excited to start learning how to use our virtual classroom on Microsoft Teams.   

YEAR 3

Our Religion unit is ‘Eucharist’. We read a picture book about remembering, titled “Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge” by Mem Fox.  It is in remembering special people and events that they are made present to us again. Our reason for celebrating the Eucharist is to remember and to make present the saving action of Jesus Christ.

In English, we are reading a selection of books about Australia. This week we are reading the book, ‘I’m Australian Too’ by Mem Fox. Over the next two weeks we will be discussing things that make Australia a great place to live, why immigrants and refugees choose Australia to come to, and using the rhyming pattern of the book to write our own stories.

In Maths, we completed measuring tasks using millimetres, centimetres and metres. This week we are consolidating our knowledge of multiplication and division and applying our knowledge of multiplication to solve division questions

In Geography, we are learning about some of the natural features of Australia. Last week we looked at rainforests. The Daintree Rainforest, in north Queensland, is the largest rainforest on the mainland of Australia. It is thought to be over 130 million years old! This week we are learning about mountains and mountain ranges of Australia. The Great Dividing Range is Australia’s largest mountain range and stretches from north Queensland to the Grampians in Victoria. The peak of this mountain range is Mt Kosciusko in NSW. It is thought to be over 135 million years old.

Wednesdays’ PE lessons are focusing on developing teamwork. Last week we had a lot of fun playing ‘Peg Invasion’. This week, the skill focus was dodging opponents and the game was called ‘Slide Tag’.

In Visual Arts last week, we learnt how to do paper plaiting to make frogs on lily pads. The Daintree Rainforest is home to 28% of Australia’s frog.

YEAR 4

In Religion, we are coming to the end of our unit on Eucharist. We have learnt about the terms consecration and transubstantiation and have shown good understanding of their meanings. We learnt that Eucharist is the third and final Sacrament of Initiation. We also can state the four ways that Jesus is present in the Celebration of Eucharist. He is present in: the priest, the scriptures, the gathered people and in the bread and wine. We will be starting our next unit, The History of the Church, in the next couple of days.

In English, we are continuing to enjoy our novel for Term 3, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. It is very exciting, at the moment, because Aslan has arrived in Narnia. We can’t wait to keep reading! Last week we wrote narratives with a partner. We used a picture as a stimulus and wrote about The Animal Games. Mrs Carroll enjoyed reading our stories!

Our focus in Maths, last week and this week, has been Multiplication and Division. We have worked really hard on all activities and we discovered Area Models to assist in multiplying 2-digit numbers by 1-digit. We were all very successful in using this model. Some of us extended ourselves to multiply 3-digit and 4-digit numbers by altering the area model. We are now concentrating on division and using inverse operations to check our accuracy.

In Geography, we have looked at various environments in our world and also various animals. We worked with a partner and focused on one environment to research the different animals that live there. It was really interesting and sometimes surprising!

In Science, we have learnt more about both weathering and erosion. We had fun doing an experiment to test the abrasion of rocks, using sugar cubes which we shook in a tin. The result showed us how rocks can break down when they experience friction in the environment. We also learnt about the Twelve Apostles, near Port Campbell in Victoria, and discovered they were formed through erosion. We also discovered there are only 8 left standing at present.

We cannot believe we are more than halfway through this term!

YEAR 5/6

Religion

In Religion we continue to unpack the parts of the Mass. Last week, in groups, we wrote a summary of this in 25 words or less. Tricky right? Then Ms McGann got us to do it on our own in 20 words or less AND then we refined it even further to a 10 word summary. Not easy, but we did it!

We now move on to look at ways that we are called to love and serve others. We will also brainstorm and discuss the purpose of the Concluding Rites.

Maths journey

We have been immersed in learning about fractions for many weeks now and our knowledge, understanding and application of these sometimes ‘frightening’ fractions has grown exponentially! Ms McGann is VERY proud of us. We can identify proper and improper fractions, convert improper fractions to mixed numerals, add them, subtract them and NOW, multiply them! We have used activities on Matific to consolidate our learning and we are also in the midst of a fraction assignment – creating a game of fraction dominoes which we all look forward to playing soon. We acknowledge that we are on different levels of learning but everyone works hard on their understanding and application of knowledge. See the photos below of us playing Fraction memory and working on our tasks for the week.

Persuasive Writing

Another piece of WOW work form the last couple of weeks, is the improvement in our persuasive writing. It is even obvious to us how far we have come. Again, we acknowledge that we are at different levels in our ability to construct powerful, persuasive paragraphs, but we can all see the improvement from when we started this last term. Ask us to show you what we have done so far – you can see it on our One Note folders.

Microsoft Teams

As you may be aware, we have started to use Teams for messaging each other regarding school and homework, things to remember and upcoming events. We will begin to use this more and more so if you could assist your child in downloading the (free) app onto their iPad/phone/computer, this would be very handy as they will get an alert as soon as one is applied to the class page.

Kinder Annabelle H, Van K, Gibson F, Erleen S
Year 1 Max B, Jimmy H, Pippa M, Madelyn M, Sienna S
Year 2 Millie H, Isabella C, Tobias I, Blake B
Year 3 Alek S, Harrison S, Summer P, Chase B
Year 4 Lily W, Caleb J, Ruby P
Year 5/6 Jack M, Annalise F, Georgina H, 
Principals
Captains Jack M, Deacon W
Lexia Awards Pippa M - Level 2, Jensen W - Level 3, Joyce H - Level 5, Anabel L - Level 4, Brian K - Level 2, Jesse M - Level 2, Grace G - Level 5, Daniel Z - Level 7, John H - Level 5, Jimmy H - Level 9 and 10, Junior H - Level 8, Ojo T - Level 15
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We would like to wish the following children a Happy Birthday

Kindergarten
Year 1 Jesse M
Year 2
Year 3 Chase B, Mark M
Year 4 Lily W
Year 5/6

Congratulations and we hope you had a happy day

 

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