7 February 2019

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

Principal’s Message

Wow. What a start to the year. Year 6 have slotted into being great leaders and buddies, Year 5 have taken to their service roles with gusto and everyone else has slotted into their new classes with enthusiasm and spirit. Kinder arrived on Friday and have settled into a new learning scape for children at our school. The year ahead looks exciting with lots of new learning experiences for the children.

Parent Information Sessions

Please be aware of the first opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher.

Session times are as follows:

After the successful trial last year, years 3 to 6 parents may make an appointment to meet with their child’s teacher after school in the next two weeks.

This is a great opportunity for parents to get a feel of what is expected of their children during the year and to open some very important communication with your child’s teacher.

CAPTAINS’ INDUCTION

We will be inducting our school captains at the Year 6 class mass on Friday next week (15 February). All are welcome to celebrate the beginning of the year. Mass commences at 9am sharp.

School Captains for 2019 are:

New Learning Experiences

1. Successful Foundations – as part of the new Early Learning Framework for the Diocese, we are participating in a research project aimed at giving our Kinders a new approach to learning which focuses on providing “provocation” (or learning experiences in a play based presentation. With the assistance from the P&F we have been able to provide a provocative and varied outdoor learning space to assist with this. There will some outdoor “stations” set up in coming weeks and we ask that the pre-schoolers at morning assembly stay away from these.

1. New Science Syllabus – One of the components the new syllabus to be introduced this year, is the focus on technologies. We will be exploring coding and the different uses of technology in the exploration and discovery of our world. The P&F have committed significant funds this year to assist in the purchase of tools and resources to implement these new requirements.

1. New Students – We had such an excited group of children arriving at school this morning. Welcome to Ruby A, Max B, Jesse C, Eli Dawson, Grace G, Jimmy H, John H, Gabriella K, Madelyn M, Laura N, Sienna S, Kasey S, Luka S, Isabella T, Benjamin T, William T, Toma’Akino V. A special welcome also to Tobias I who joins us in Year 1 and Breanna M in Year 4. I am confident about each successes they will experience here at OLOV.

OOSH is coming

We are waiting patiently for final “official” approvals for the start date of St Nicolas OOSH. Once we have the OK, things will move very quickly. We will let you know when this time comes. In the meantime, if you intend to us the OOSH either before or after school, you might like to download the application forms, fill them out and send them into school for processing.

Check out this link for more info on St Nicholas OOSH.

From The Office

Family Discount Form

Thank you to all the families that have returned their form. Forms have been sent home this week for parents who haven’t completed one, this is in preparation for 2019 school fees. This is an important form that we then use to calculate the fees in the following year. It is vital that all parents complete this form and indicate if we need to apply Family Discount (including sibling across both primary and high schools within the Catholic system), Health Care card discount and the optional contribution to the Diocesan Pastoral Care Program. The Diocesan Pastoral Care Program contribute to the ongoing wellbeing of those most in need within our Diocese.

Receipts

All receipts are now being emailed to all fee payers. If you have a new email address could you please contact the office and advise of any changed details.

School Fees

We will be billing all families next week for 2019 fees. It would be appreciated if all accounts be paid promptly. As in past years, Resource fee and Levies etc are billed in total in Term 1. If you would like to manage your account with regular payments please contact Leanne in the office who can help you with a payment plan. Those who are in legitimate financial hardships can make application for consideration by making an appointment to see the Principal.

All extracurricular activities (Dance, Gymnastics etc) will be included on your accounts as they arise so that a closer tracking of payments and receipt can be done. All receipts of payments will be emailed to the primary email supplied by parents through COMPASS.

REC News

We had a lovely start to this week by Year 3/4 leading us in our first Monday morning liturgy. Thank you very much year 3/4, you presented your liturgy with reverence. I would like to remind all parents and friends that you have an open invitation to join us for our Monday Liturgies.

On Friday the 15th February we will celebrate our Opening school Mass at 9am at the church, please join us. At this Mass our school leaders will receive their leadership badges.

The Sacramental Program for Wallsend-Shortland Catholic Parish will begin with an information session to be held in the parish hall at St Patrick’s School, Wallsend on Monday 11 February, starting at 7pm. The entrance to the school grounds can be accessed through the gates fronting Neilson Street. If you would like any further information please contact Patty Dunn from Year 2.

Patty Dunn - REC

Plenary Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost. Come,
Holy Spirit of the great South Land. O God,
Bless and unite all your people in Australia
And guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another and to recognise Jesus,
our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories
and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age. Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us. St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.

Absences

SMS/Email notification of Absence

As part of Our Lady of Victories’ commitment to student safety and welfare, our school has begun notifying parents of their child’s unexplained absence via SMS message & email.

This service provides an SMS / email notification to parents of children who are marked absent from school without explanation once the roll has been checked in the morning.

Where possible, it would be appreciated if parents can notify the school at their earliest convenience regarding a child’s absence.

If a child is going to be absent for the day or is intending to arrive late (e.g. medical appointments etc.), then parents are asked to use the COMPASS APP or call the office to notify the school before 9:30am on the day rather than sending a note afterward.

It is hoped that by providing this service and in partnership with families we can continue to ensure all possible mechanisms are in place to maintain the safety of our students.

Compass App

We are coming to the end of the term and we will soon be posting the Semester 2 Reports on COMPASS. To access the reports you will either need the APP or access COMPASS through the webpage at:

Using the Attendance Notifications through COMPASS is the preferred method of informing the school that your child is away. By sending it through COMPASS, it is immediately synced to the class roll.

Schoolzine App

Go to this link to download the Schoolzine App:

You will be able to access the school newsletter there and notifications will come through Schoolzine similar to SkoolBag.

P & F News

Is your child representing Our Lady of Victories at the North Region Swimming Carnival in February?

Did you know you can purchase an OLV swimming cap from our school Uniform Shop?

Wearing an OLV swimming cap at a regional carnival means that we can see from the side line which lanes our OLV children are swimming in, and can cheer them on loudly.

Swimming caps are $10 each and can be purchased at the Uniform Shop on Thursday mornings, or by sending your $10 in a labelled envelope via your child’s class note bag.

OLV Hair Scrunchie Packs are now available to purchase for $5 each at our School Uniform Shop. If you can’t make it to the shop on a Thursday Morning, then send your $5 in a labelled envelope via your child’s class note bag.

Stickybeaks R

e-Useable Lunch Order Bags:

Order forms have gone home this week for our new Re-Usuable Lunch Order Bags. Final Orders are due by Wednesday 13th February, 2019. Return the order form and payment in an envelope marked “Stickybeaks Order” to the school office.

P&F Annual General Meeting:

Our AGM will be held on Monday 25 February

Pastoral Care News

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a restful holiday.

Our chickens are lucky enough to still be vacationing, and being well and truly spoiled.

We have a busy term ahead. Mini Vinnies will be running a cake stall, and some other stalls to be announced.

The gardens all need weeding, and our wonderful Gardeners will be planting new vegetables.

What an Exciting time!

Take Care and God Bless

Karen

Library News

The Book Club order form has gone home this week. Book Club can be ordered and paid for on-line or the order form sent back to school with your child’s name and items to be ordered clearly marked on the form. Order form and money, in an envelope, can be placed in the classroom note bag.

Items ordered on-line will still be sent to school to be given to your child. I am in the library each Wednesday if there are any questions.

Library Borrowing

Library borrowing will be each Wednesday. Each student needs to have a library borrowing bag to be able to take their books home. On-line ordering and order forms and money need to be returned to school by Monday 11th February, 2019.

Please, no plastic bags. Books are then returned each week. If books are damaged or misplaced they will need to be paid for.

Enjoy reading with your child.

Regards

Christine Moore
Library Assistant

Class News

Kinder

In our Successful Foundations Transitioning into ‘Big School’ Kinder students are focusing on building relationships through play. We are engaging in creating, exploring and investigating using the five provocations for play: Dramatic Play, Blocks and Boxes, Maps in my World, Sharing Stories and Being Friends Outdoors. The provocations are designed to ensure continuity with play in prior to school settings. The photos below illustrate how engrossed the Kinders are in their new environment. It is evident that they are already forming relationships and interacting with each other. It is wonderful to observe them and listen to their conversation. Thank you for returning books promptly. If you haven’t already sent in a toy to help in our inquiry into what makes objects move in different ways please do this as soon as possible as we are sharing our toys in class this week. Please have birth certificates and baby photos returned also as we are using them in our History lesson this week.

Year 1

Welcome back to our Year 1 children and families - I hope you've all had a wonderful break over the holidays! Everyone has settled in beautifully! We are working hard in handwriting, becoming familiar with writing on new lines in our books. In Maths we have been learning about whole number concepts by looking at the hundred chart, revising different counting drills, looking at one number more and one number less than a certain number and also learning about ordinal numbers. We have started the year learning about road safety in PD/H/PE and our topic is called 'Street Sense'. We have been discussing the importance of holding an adult's hand when crossing the road and looking both ways. We have also talked about how to stay safe in the car parks at shopping centres. Everyone is looking forward to our first Sport session this Wednesday with Year 2 children learning both netball and cricket skills this term. Year 1 started their new spelling list this week in their 'Spelling Rules' books and we have also enjoyed making a start on reading group activities. Class books will be sent home on Fridays if you wish to cover them. The children have made book covers in class with their subject labelled if you don't want to cover with contact. I just ask that you please return them to school on Monday (regardless if you didn't manage to cover them all) as we need them to work in. I'll send home any remaining books for covering on subsequent Fridays. Parents, please also note that the Year 1 Parent Information afternoon will be held in the Year 1 classroom straight after school next Monday, 11th February.

Year 2

I would like to thank everyone for welcoming me and making me feel very comfortable at OLV. This term year 2 will be working on numbers from 0 to 100 and starting to look at 3 digit numbers. The children have learnt a number of new Maths games so please ask them to share these with you. In English we will be looking at and writing Narratives. In HSIE the children are looking at the past so they have been asked to look for any items from the past. We will have a display of these in the classroom. If the item is very pressures please take a photo so your child can share with the class.

Year 3/4

This week in Religion, Yr 3-4 has been learning about the ‘Mission of Jesus’ and about how Jesus had many followers throughout Galilee. Students wrote a newspaper report telling about the miracles Jesus did and how these showed God’s love to the world. In Maths, students have been revising various addition and subtraction strategies including vertical addition and subtraction. In English, students are reading “The Tale of Despereaux” by Kate DiCamillo. They are learning some new vocabulary and really enjoying the story. In History, the class is learning about life for Australian Aborigines before the arrival of European settlers. In Art, students viewed some paintings by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, and studied his use of primary colours. Students then recreated their own Mondrian artwork.

Year 5

What an amazingly productive start we have had to 2019 in Year 5. As a group, we have identified what makes both a great student and teacher and we are all striving to work to meet these expectations. We have started reading our novel and we are looking forward to learning more about the main characters and how they will manage in the new colony. We were amazed at the images of how Sydney once looked! In maths we are reading, writing and exploring HUGE numbers, which is a lot of fun! Miss Gallagher will teach us on Mondays and Tuesdays while Ms McGann is in the office. She will teach us Science, Art, Music and PDH. We are looking forward to an amazing term, leading into a wonderful year!

Year 6

We have had a wonderful start to 2019! We are having a lot of fun welcoming and helping our Kindergarten Buddies, as they settle in at OLV. In Religion, we are studying a unit on Jesus, with regard to his mission on earth. We set ourselves some goals last week and discussed possible challenges we could face in completing our mission. On Monday this week, we wrote a report of our mission and shared it with our groups. In English, we are reading a very interesting book, “The Burnt Stick” by Anthony Hill. It tells the fictional story of a young boy who was taken from his family and placed in an Aboriginal Mission for Children. Although it is fictional, it is based on facts and on real experiences of children. In Maths, we’ve had fun working with negative and positive integers through a variety of activities. Our favourite one, by far, was a game we played called ‘First Connect Three’. In Science, we have started our unit called, Transfer and Transformation of Energy”. We learnt about kinetic and potential energy. After watching some videos and discussing the various aspects that help a roller coaster function, we had a really fun time designing and making a roller coaster in our groups! It really made us think and some of us showed great skill in using design strategies! In Sport we had a lot of fun with Year 5. Mrs McGann worked with the boys on various skills involved in Frisbee throwing while the girls started learning, with Mrs Carroll, the rules and the skills required for League Tag. We all enjoyed the activities. Our groups will swap activities half way through the term. Mrs Carroll is very impressed with our start to the year!

Sport News

Regional Swimming Carnival

A number of children have been selected to represent the school at the regional Swimming Carnival on Thursday 22 February at the Mayfield Pool. We wish them well and look forward to hearing of their achievements. Notes for those children selected will go home on Monday.

Good luck to: Abbie B, Chloe W, Olivia K, Maree H, Annalise F, Isla W, Gemma M, Elsie O, Phoebe C, Georgina H, Isabella E, Jodie W, Zoe W, Bailey W, Ari B, Oscar H, Archie P, Harrison S, Caleb J, Lochlain H, Deacon W, Spencer N, Logan E.

Tennis Anyone??

Good luck to Oscar H who is participating in the Polding Tennis Trials tomorrow. Oscar was selected to represent the school and Diocese after his success at the Diocesan trials last year. Well done Oscar—we are very proud of you.

The Shortland Pandas invite you and family members to join our small family orientated club in the new 2019 season. We encourage children from 4 years to participate in sports and parents to volunteer and get involved in the running of the club.

Shortland United will be participating in the Active Kids Program which will entitle parents/guardians to receive $100 per eligible child to contribute to the cost of playing football. We also offer a payment plan.

Registration Dates are:

If you have any questions or require additional information please contact us on: shortlandufc@newcastlefootball.net.au

OR by calling -

Registrar – Carly Powell – 0435 201 492
Registrar – Tom Jones - 0432 445 591
President – Ross Buxton – 0421 000 597