4 April 2019

Newsletter Articles

Dates to Remember

Principal’s Messages

EASTER LITURGIES

Please note in your diaries the dates and times for our Easter Liturgies next week. There will be three Liturgies focusing on different parts of the Holy Week story. It would be great if you could attend at least one, especially the Good Friday Liturgy on Friday.

NEW FACEBOOK PAGE

From the beginning of Term 2, we will be taking on the directive from the CSO to open our Facebook page to the “World Wide Web”. To date our page has been a closed page for invited friends only. With the implementation of a “Communications” policy by the Catholic School’s Office, we are required to open our page to the wider community to increase our public profile, provide opportunities to share the activities happening at school and much more.

The new page will steer away from being a source of answers for questions, but rather a platform to promote the school and inform the community of what is happening at OLV.

Another aspect of the CSO policy is the reference to “Closed Groups”. Our diocesan schools and their related communities should not be promoting any closed groups within or about the school. Whilst these may be seen as a good way of passing on information etc about what’s happening in your children’s classes, these groups are discouraged and should not, at anytime, include the following:

• The school name or crest or reference to it;
• Photos of children in our school uniform;
• Photos of children or teachers without their permission;
• Any mention of other parents, staff or children’s performance or interaction with each other (ie gossip);

The current Facebook page will be shut down from the beginning of next term. With this in mind we will not be inviting any new “Friends” to the page.

COMMUNICATIONS

The school provides information to parents via a number of platforms. These include:

• Facebook
• Newsletter via Schoolzine, Compass and email;
• Notifications via Compass and Schoolzine;
• School Website – www.shortland.catholic.edu.au
• Paper Notices – Rosters, calendar, term planners
• Word of mouth

As you can see, there are many ways parents receive information and where information can be retrieved. When our Facebook Page changes to an open page, parents are urged to use the other forms of communication and information sources rather than pose questions or seek reminders about upcoming events. If there are late changes to scheduled events, then COMPASS Notifications are the preferred means of passing on information, especially short term or unscheduled events. Don’t forget to make changes to your Term Planner if changes are notified.

PARKING

It has come to my attention that parents who do not have an official disabled access parking permit are using the Disabled Access parking space on Lovell Pde. Please note that this space is for those with disabilities to provide suitable access for them. Please be considerate of those with genuine needs if you use this space. If you wouldn’t park in a handicapped space in a shopping centre without a permit, please do not do it at school. It is also advisable not to leave children in a car unattended while collecting your children.

DOGS AT SCHOOL

Walking the dog is a great way to get exercise for both yourself and your K9 friend. However if your bringing your dog along to drop your child at school we ask that they are not left unattended at the gate. Thankyou

AWARD ASSEMBLIES

One of our ways to improve the self-esteem and recognise excellence is to present children with awards each fortnight. Children receive an award for the effort and success they have had in social interactions, academic excellence and sporting prowess. It is always wonderful to see how all the children celebrate and recognise their peers when someone receives an award. Maybe we should give everyone an award for that. Parents and friends are always welcome to celebrate with us every second Friday.

We will be changing our Assembly days to ODD WEEKS from Term 2. Our first Award Assembly will be Week 1 and odd weeks from then.

EASTER PARADE

We are holding our Easter Bonnet/Hat Parade on Friday 5 April from 1pm. We are encouraging children to make their bonnets at home and bring them in tomorrow. If children prefer, they might like to dress up in an Easter theme instead for the parade. The P&F Easter Hamper Raffle will be drawn at the conclusion of the parade. This occasion is always a fun time, so bring along and/or invite all your friends and relatives.

MEETING TEACHERS

One important connection between parents and teachers is time to discuss in a respectful and planned manner, the progress of your children. This communication is essential and we encourage parents to make a connection with your child/ren’s teacher/s. However, it is important that you make arrangements to meet at a suitable and mutual time which allows for the best opportunity to discuss any concerns. Arriving unannounced or unexpectedly can make this opportunity difficult to manage. Please make an appointment if your discussion needs close attention.

YEAR 6 TEEN TALK

On Friday, 3 May, Year 6 will participate in an incursion called “Teen Talk”. This incursion touches on the sexuality of growing adolescents. It provides a good link to the personal development unit that Year 6 work through. More information and permission will go out next week.

COSI

COSI stands for Continuum of School Improvement. It is a cyclical process of reviewing, improving and accounting the processes the school uses to meet the educational needs of the children and families at Our Lady of Victories. Every 6 years an external panel visits the school to review these processes and look at how the school has identified its strengths and weaknesses and what plans are being made to celebrate and address these. An important part of this process is to gather information from all the stakeholders in our community. Parents should have received a survey link via email to provide their thoughts on how well the school provides for the educational needs of your children.

Thanks to those that have responded.

WINTER UNIFORM

Our change into winter uniform is usually in mid-May. This would mean we will move into our winter uniform at the beginning of Week 3 next term. SO, go through your cupboards, check out the sizes and be prepared for ties, jackets, tunics and long sleeves to meet the winter uniform requirements. Remember – sloppy joes are not accepted school uniform options.

REC News

Project Compassion

It’s time to send in your Project Compassion Boxes so that we can finalise the appeal before we break for the holidays. Please send them into school by April 11. If you would like to know how your kind donations are being used you can visit the Caritas website at

Wallsend- Shortland Parish Easter Mass times

Reconciliation -7pm at both Churches

Our Lady of Victories Church: Thursday 11th April.

St Patrick’s Church: Sunday 14th April.

End of Lent Mass and Supper

Gathering at St Patrick’s Hall 6:30pm Monday 15th April.

Chrism Mass & Collection of Oils

Sacred Heart Cathedral 7pm Tuesday 16th April.

Holy Thursday Mass The LORD’s SUPPER 18th April

St Patrick’s Church and Our Lady of Victories both at 7pm.

Good Friday: Stations of the Cross 19th April

St Patrick’s Church 10am

Our Lady of Victories 10:30am

Good Friday: Liturgy of Lord’s Passion 19th April

St Patrick’s and our Lady of Victories both at 3pm.

Easter Vigil Masses 20th April.

St Patrick’s Church and our Lady of Victories both at 6pm.

Easter Sunday Masses 21st April

Our Lady of Victories Church 8am

St Patrick’s Church 9am and 5:30pm.

Liturgies

Please join us this week.

We will have our Palm Sunday Liturgy on Monday 8th of April led by Year 2 at 9am.

Holy Thursday Liturgy led by Year 5 at 9am.

ANZAC Liturgy will by Year 3/4 at 10am.

Good Friday Liturgy led by Year 6 in the Church at 1pm.

ANZAC Liturgy

We will be remembering the ANZAC tradition at school on Thursday 11 April. Members from the Shortland RSL Sub Branch will be attending. The children will be asked to fill out a “Remembrance Slip” to remember any relatives that served the country in any of the world conflicts. They will also place a flower at the base of our “Lone Pine”. All are invited to join the commemoration commencing at 10:00am. Morning tea will be served afterwards.

Our School Captains will be representing the school at the Dawn Service at the Shortland Memorial. All are invited to join us.

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.

NAPLAN Online

The children in Year 3 & 5 participated in a trial of the NAPLAN Online platform last Friday. The goal of the trial was to test the hardware capabilities and to give the children an experience of how the online platform works. When it comes to the actual test all the assessments will be in this format, except for the Year 3 Writing Test, which will still be a pen and paper activity.

PROBLEM SOLVING

As part of our whole school problem solving focus, we are using Newman’s prompts to deconstruct any problem we have been given. The first 2 steps are as follows. Without these vital first steps, the mathematician cannot even begin to work out what strategy to use. The infants’ version have slightly adjusted language.

Once the question has been pulled apart, and what is being asked has actually been identified, then a strategy can be employed, which is Step 3.

For the last few weeks, the focus in our maths sessions for Years 3-6 has been on understanding and using the strategy of tree diagrams. Tree diagrams help us work out the number of possibilities that are available to us in a given problem. An example is tossing 2 coins. Once we see all the combinations possible, we can see that there are 4 outcomes. From here, discussions can be had around the possibility of throwing 2 heads, 2 tails or one of each.

Here’s one you might like to try at home.

OOSH is HERE

St Nicholas OOSH put a lot of work into providing a compliant service for OUR school and approval has been given to conduct a service on site at OLV. We have had some takers already and the service has begun. It is important that we support the service so that it stays as a viable service for our community.

One issue that may arise is the need for Casual Care on occasions. If you think that you might need this, it will be necessary to have been enrolled in the service prior to making a booking. Remember that you need to contact the OOSH to book your child in and not the school.

The contact details are: Christine 0447 288 040

If you intend to use 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.

If you are picking up your children from OOSH please remember to ensure that the gate locks behind you when you leave just like our normal school procedure.

OOSH Vacation Care

Thank you to those who have already booked Vacation Care at St Nicholas OOSH Shortland.

Please find attached the Vacation Care Program and Booking Form.

We are available to offer care on Monday 29th April 2019 for the School Pupil Free Day. Can you please reply to my email ASAP, to advise if you require care on this day. An interim program has been developed with activities planned for onsite.

Kind regards

TRACEY SWEETMAN

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

From The Office

School Fees

Our Term 1 school fees for 2019 are now overdue. 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, though the payment towards them may spread throughout the year and may appear in future accounts. 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 receipts can be done. All receipts of payments will be emailed to the primary email supplied by parents through COMPASS.

Statements will be emailed home monthly. If you are paying by direct debit or BPAY your statement is for your records only. These statements will indicate any payments you have made and your outstanding balance.

Condition of Enrolment Form

A second copy, on green paper “Conditions of Enrolment” have been sent to those students yet to return them. These Forms are mandatory. The Catholic Schools Office has requested all schools ensure that these documents are completed and signed and returned by the end of Term 1. Schools have been instructed to chase up any outstanding documents. To those parents who have already submitted them, I thank you and to those who have not, could I encourage you to do so ASAP.

KINDER Enrolments 2020

The enrolment period for 2020 is now open. Parents who are seeking enrolment for their children at OLV in 2020 should ask for an Application for Enrolment from the office. Alternatively, an enrolment pack can be found our school website at:

or on the CSO website at:

If you are aware of any families that are also considering enrolling next year, please pass on this message.

HIGH SCHOOL Enrolment

Application forms for Catholic High School enrolment have been sent home. If you are looking for enrolment at either San Clemente or St Pius X you need to return these applications to school by the end of next week. These will then be forwarded to the respective high schools. Parents have a choice of sending their children to San Clemente at Mayfield or St Pius X, Adamstown. Parents may not make application for enrolment at both schools. Further information regarding enrolling in a Catholic High School is available on the CSO website at:

It is important to note that all fees outstanding need to be cleared before enrolment to the Catholic High Schools will be accepted.

If parents are looking towards a public or selective high school, they should contact that school or go online at:

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.

P & F News

EASTER RAFFLE

Last chance to get your tickets back tomorrow. Please send them in tomorrow morning or just before the Hat Parade, so we can add them to the raffle. The Easter Raffle will be drawn tomorrow. The Easter Hat parade starts at 1pm and all are welcome.

THANK YOU

Thankyou to all that helped out and or contributed cakes etc for our cake stall and BBQ for the election. We raised just under $1000.00.

As previously mentioned in an earlier newsletter some of the funds raised have been used to purchase resources for our children to use in the classrooms across all stages. See photo below and check out what’s happening in Kinder.

CANTEEN

The canteen will be open Wednesday 3rd and 10th April and Friday 5th and 12th April. If you can spare some time next term please let Rowena Olenjik know as we still need helpers for canteen to open consistently next term.

If we are able to get one more volunteer for a Friday we will be able to open our canteen in Term 2 every week

UNIFORM POOL

Our Uniform Pool is located in the Bell Room next to the Year 1 classroom. We are open every Thursday 8:40-9:10 am.

• Back in stock are our new school bags ($60) and our library bags ($15).
• Also available for purchase are Art Smocks ($10) and with winter coming our School Jackets in selected sizes only (size 4,6,8,14) for $45 each.
• Variety of used uniforms starting from $2 an item
• Cash only purchases as no Eftpos available

Please note our uniform pool runs on the generosity of those who donate their used uniforms. If you have any used uniforms you no longer require, please feel free to drop them at the school office for recycling through the uniform pool. We would really appreciate any winter uniforms and sports uniforms that no longer fit your child.

The Uniform Pool is located in the Bell Room next to the Year 1 classroom. It is open every Thursday morning 8.40am - 9.10am

New school bags ($60) and our library bags ($15) are back in stock.

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.

Pastoral Care News

I am happy to announce our school has received a Landcare Grant. Over the remaining year, there will be some changes to our environment here at OLV.

I would be grateful to anyone who could assist us with the tidying up, trimming or assist in planting new vegetation.

Chickens: Is it possible for someone to look after the chickens for the holidays. We need someone to come in to give them food and to give them fresh water daily, or every second day? Please see me as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Take Care and God Bless

Karen

Class News

Kinder

In Religion Kinder are focusing on the Easter Story. We identified the main events: Jesus entered Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), he celebrated a last meal with his friends (Holy Thursday), he died on the cross (Good Friday) and he rose to new life (Easter Sunday). We viewed video clips of these events and related the Last Supper to our celebration of the Mass. Our alphabet letters and sounds this week are /q/ and /r/. In Maths we have been focusing on 3D shapes. We identified those that roll and those that slide and learnt that the shape of an object makes it move in a special way. We named shapes of objects that we are familiar with (ball, box, cylinder and cone). Kinder are now learning about measuring Mass. We compare objects by hefting to determine which object is heavier/lighter and test our answer by putting our objects in stockings hanging from a washing line. The object in the stocking closest to the ground is the heavier object (has more Mass). In Science we followed an algorithm using a Beebot to explore how instructions can be used to control digital devices. An Algorithm is a step by step procedure to solve a problem. We used a 3x3 grid on the floor, put the Beebot in one square and a beehive in another square. We programmed the Beebot by pressing arrow buttons on his back. He was then able to find his way home all by himself. In Art we completed our Picasso portraits and are now enjoying some Easter craft. We are doing our best colouring to make a beautiful Easter card for our families and are painting and assembling an Easter bunny with a colourful Easter egg.

Year 1

Year 1 were busy learning many facts about crocodiles as they were working on the structure of information reports. Together, we noticed there are headings that tell us what the information is about and there are also pictures that relate to the information. The main character of the story “Guji Guji” we worked on a few weeks back was a crocodile and it was interesting to learn about what that character is like. Last week in Maths, we were learning about the months and seasons in the year. This week, we have been looking at three-dimensional space. Year 1 have been learning about the features of different shapes and identifying them using a description. In Religion, we have been listening to stories about Holy Week, as Easter is quickly approaching. We have discussed Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday where Jesus shared the Last Supper with the apostles. Thank you to our beautiful readers at our Liturgy on Monday, I thought everyone read very well! In Health, we have been learning about safety on wheels: bicycles, scooters and skateboards. In particular, safe places to ride and what we can wear that protects our bodies. In Science, we have been sorting different objects into three sources of energy: heat, light and sound. Some of the objects were apart of two sources, such as the sun.

Year 2

We would like to thank the P&F for purchasing Bee Bots for us to us in class. We have used them in our Maths and English lessons, they make learning so much fun. THANK YOU from Year 2. (See pictures attached.)

Last week in Mathematics Year 2 were working on fractions of objects and groups of things. We focused halves, quarters and eighths.

In Religion we are looking in depth at each of the days within Holy Week and preparing for our Palm Sunday Liturgy which we will lead next Monday.

This Term in Creative Arts we have created so excellent art works which are displayed in our room. If you would like to enjoy our artwork poke your head inside our door.

Year 3 /4

During the last two weeks in Religion, we have been learning about ‘The Stations of the Cross’, which outline fourteen specific events of Jesus’ last day on Earth as he journeyed through Jerusalem with the cross that he would die on. We also talked about the ‘crosses’ that people bear in their lives in today’s world –such as sickness, disability, loneliness, sadness, stress, money problems, having a sick child. In English, we are half way through reading our second novel – ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane’ by Kate DiCamillo. We are enjoying this book very much and look forward to reading a few chapters each day and completing comprehension, vocab activities and various other writing tasks. In Maths last week, we completed a unit of work on ‘Time’ and this week we are working to learn more about 3D objects. In History, we continue to learn about explorers of the 1500s and 1600s, including Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus and Willem Jansz. In Visual Arts we are learning about the work of Wassily Kandinski who is generally credited as the pioneer of abstract art. We are looking forward to the Easter Hat Parade tomorrow and the raffle draw. Our fingers and toes are crossed in hopes that some prizes might come our way!

Year 5

In Year 5 in the past fortnight, we have looked at the highs and lows that are experienced in life and have related this to Jesus’ life, particularly from Palm Sunday onwards. We have looked at Lenten calendars and have been filling in their own. We are now looking at the Stations of the Cross as signposts of the Easter journey.We are also busy preparing for our contribution to the series of Holy Week Liturgies in Week 11. Ours will be on Wednesday at 9am and will focus on Holy Thursday. Everyone will be involved and we hope to see lots of friendly family faces in the ‘audience’.

In Maths, we have started using a new strategy for problem solving – looking for irrelevant information. This will be used alongside all of the other strategies that we use. Here are two of the examples we have been working with.

In English, we are almost finished our novel and are amazed at the events that have occurred in each chapter. We have been delving into creative writing and producing some amazing results. This is the image we are working with this week.

We can’t wait to use the new Spheros! These will be great for general problem solving, maths, science, our communication skills and SO much more!

Year 6

In Religion over the last week we talked about the impact of Jesus’ death and resurrection on the disciples and we worked in groups to summarise various aspects about Easter: ’What is Easter?’ ‘Why do we celebrate Easter?’ ‘What is the Paschal Mystery?’. We recorded our responses using Ten Word Strategy Summaries. We also each made a triptych displaying the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. In English, we have shared our presentations about the chapters we worked on in our groups, from the book, “Playground” compiled by Nadia Wheatley. The presentations were very impressive and gave each of us a greater insight into the way of life of our Indigenous people and the rich value of environment in their growing and learning. It has really shown us the real and deep connection Indigenous Australians have with the land and with nature! In Maths we have been revising our knowledge of time and completing activities associated with 24 hour time and timetables. We are also revising 3D shapes. In History, we have read and discussed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We discussed these rights in relation to marginalised groups in our own country, including our Indigenous population, and the treatment received since the arrival of the English and Europeans. In Personal Development, we are continuing to look at aspects of personal safety, including the aspects of coercion, harassment and bullying.

Year 6 have shown great enthusiasm in all work and activities in the last few weeks. It is great to see, particularly so close to the end of term! Well done, Year 6!

Sport News

School Cross Country

Our School Cross Country had to be postponed due to the condition of the track until next Wednesday 10th April at 10am. The children will participate in 500m (Kinder and Year 1), 2km (8, 9 & 10years) & 3km (11 & 12 year) distances. Only those children who wish to be considered for representative selection need to complete these distances within the qualifying times. The morning is also meant to an opportunity to get some fresh air and do some exercise. The event is also open to any parents/carers who wish to accompany the children or cheer them on. Racing begins at 10am.

Term 2 Sport

Our PD, H & PE syllabus requires the children to develop skills in dance. Next term we have organised a provider to teach the children aspects of dance with a goal to develop a performance at the end of term. There will be at a cost per child and this will be added to the school fee accounts. This fee can be paid weekly, but a single payment for the total is preferred.

Class Awards