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Proposed Industrial Action on Thursday 30th June 2022
We have been advised there is Protected Industrial Action taking place on Thursday 30th June. We can confirm that the school will have staff available to provide supervision and activities only, with no formal learning for students, as classes are unable to operate in the usual way. Our Year 6 Camp will go ahead next week, as we have staff available to attend with the children. Please see the email sent to parents and carers today for details.
Creative Arts Nest A4 Art Prize
As you will be aware from last week’s newsletter, several of our students were finalists in the St Agnes’ Parish Creative Arts Nest A4 Art Prize. All of the artworks in the finals were exhibited at several events leading up to the night and all students at school were able to vote on their favourites. The talent and creativity was wonderful and I was very proud to be there to see our students and their artwork shine. Once again, we congratulate our students and acknowledge their success. It was a great initiative that will become an ongoing event. We also acknowledge that one of the judges of this difficult decision process was Elise Howard, from our Year 6 teaching team. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to have to choose from the extraordinary submissions!
Athletics Carnival Thanks
Ahead of the Sports section of our newsletter acknowledging the success of our carnival, we want to mention thanks to:
- Mr Lynch for his preparation and work on the day;
- all our staff for their support of students and in the many ways needed to bring it together;
- parents and carers who volunteered to help with events;
- the P&F for providing refreshments; and
- families who attended the day.
Celebrating Our Faith
This week we have celebrated our first Parish Masses in the special Sacrament of First Holy Communion. Congratulations to the children from Years 4, 5 and 6 in this development in your Faith Journey.
We wish to thank the teachers for preparing our students in the learning in the lead up to this sacrament. A special thank you also goes to the children in our St Joseph’s Faith Choir who gave up their evening to make the masses all the more special - Lily Skinner, Alivia Johnson, Hannah Cooper, Cailin Daley, Marielle Obeid, Charlotte Guild, Scarlett Hamilton, Islah Kingsmith, Ellie Lawrence, Elsie Steadman, Sarah Koning and Faith Ojeda.
Learning Together
Celebrating Student Achievement
Next week we will be opening the Parent Portal for you to access your child’s Semester 1 report. Reporting is the process of providing feedback to parents/carers and students about student progress. It is a core responsibility of teachers and a key phase of the teaching and learning cycle. The reporting process is one avenue for teachers and students to reflect on their achievements and begin to set goals for their future learning.
A student's report is designed to inform you of their progress. It reflects their academic ability, attitude to learning, effort, application and performance as well as growth in Religious knowledge and understanding. It is based upon a continuous assessment of all learning experiences throughout the Semester.
Teachers make professional judgements, based on assessment data and teacher observation, about student achievement against the state-wide syllabus standards, particularly the syllabus outcomes and content. This professional judgement is done at key points in the learning cycle. We use ‘The Common Grade Scale (A-E)’ for Years 1 - 6 and a slightly different format Kindergarten students. The Report describes how a student’s achievement compares with syllabus standards and is elaborated on through your child’s teachers’ comments.
When reading your child's report it is important to remember this is a celebration of their growth so far this year. A child who receives an overall ‘C’ for a Key Learning Area is working at the expected level for their Stage at this time of year. They are displaying a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and achieved the expected level of competence in the processes and skills.
Remember to take time to celebrate your child’s achievements and encourage them to reflect on their own learning and suggest where they might like to set some goals for Semester 2. At the beginning of Term 3 you will have the opportunity to sit with your child’s teacher and discuss your child’s learning goals. Please remember to book a time using our online platform.
Baptism for Children
Year 11 Enrolment Information
You are invited to join us for the Year 11 Enrolment Information nights.
These nights allow you to meet teachers and collect information about enrolling your child in Year 11 at St Agnes' Catholic Parish secondary schools in 2023.
Please check the zoning maps before registering to ensure you attend the information session aligned to the zoning for where you live.
For zoning details and to register visit:www.enrolinexcellence.org.au
We look forward to seeing you on the night!
St Joseph's Regional College, Year 11 Enrolment Information Night
Date: Monday 25th July 2022
Time: 6.00pm
Address: St Joseph's Regional College, College Drive, Port Macquarie
Newman Senior Technical College, Year 11 Enrolment Information Night
Date: Tuesday 26th July 2022
Time: 6.00pm
Address: Newman Senior Technical College, Ocean Drive, Port Macquarie
MacKillop College, Year 11 Enrolment Information Night
Date: Wednesday 27th July 2022
Time: 6.00pm
Address: MacKillop College (senior campus), Ocean Drive, Port Macquarie
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL FUNDRAISER
We sold many yummy treats and enjoyed connecting with the school community. The total amount raised was $125.55 which is another great step towards our fundraising goal!
Special thanks to parents Melinda Robinson, Stephen Zerafa, Bianca Tuddenham and Laura Bell for planning and running the event yesterday.
Keep an eye out for details coming soon on how students can begin fundraising for our Colour Explosion Fun Run and mark the date in your diary for Friday the 2nd of September!
Last week Year 2 travelled back in time to visit historical Timbertown. The children panned for gold, explored artefacts from the past and travelled on olden day forms of transport including a steam train and horse and carriage. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning about how things have changed over time.
Late and Forgotten Lunch Orders
Please note that the cut off time for Flexischools is 8.30am everyday. There has been an increase in the number of students who have not received a lunch order because they haven’t been placed or have been placed but not confirmed, and this can be very upsetting for the children at lunchtime. When this happens, the children will be offered a sandwich but will have to wait until serving time has finished for me to be able to make them. Similarly if parents/carers ring through a forgotten lunch order after the cut off time, a sandwich will be offered as the hot food takes more time to prepare and process. To avoid forgetting or missing the cut off time you can place your orders in advance, the night before or at the beginning of the week. Thank you for your understanding.
Orders can be placed via Flexischools or by dropping them in the basket on the counter each morning.
Flexischools is our preferred method for submitting lunch orders.
- Download the Flexischools app from the App Storeor from Google Play.
Note: for iPhone and iPad please select ‘Allow’ notification - Click “Register Now” to create account
- Top-up your balance
- Start ordering immediately
- Alternatively Go to www.flexischools.com.au or you can find the link on the school website.
Don’t forget you can place your online orders days or even weeks in advance, making the morning rush even easier!
Kim Goldie
Canteen Coodinator
Athletics Carnival
It was an amazing day at our school Athletics Carnival. A very special thank you to the P&F Committee, our families and St Joseph’s Regional College students who volunteered to ensure our students were given the best possible carnival. Staff alone cannot run these days, with over 350 students who participated so everyone’s support was greatly appreciated.
It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces. We hope you enjoyed the day. I know the staff were very proud of all of our student athletes.
Discus finals will be held on Monday with Mr Lynch for students who were nominated.
Finally, we will be having our Athletics Carnival presentation on Monday 27th June (Week 10) at 2:20pm to formally announce our award Winners, Age Champions, and the winning House.
Thank you for all of your support.
David Lynch
Sports Coordinator
The Butterfly Foundation
The Butterfly Foundation is the national charity for all Australians impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, and for the families, friends and communities who support them.
Butterfly changes lives by providing innovative, evidence-based support services, treatment and resources, delivering prevention and early intervention programs and advocating for the needs of our community.
Butterfly operates a National Helpline that includes support over the phone, via email and online, reaching 20,000 people each year. The Helpline is staffed by trained counsellors experienced in assisting with eating disorders and body image issues. They also provide a wide range of programs for service providers and recovery groups.
Butterfly currently has 2 free parent webinars scheduled:
Sensory Smart is an Occupational Therapy service in Port Macquarie and will be offering social skills programs in the July school holidays for primary aged children.
If you think you would like your child to be part of Social Skills, then you can book in a parent consultation with Sensory Smart (1/2 hour and $97.00) before the school holidays to talk through your concerns, your child's behavioural sensitivities and what you would like your child to achieve during the group. That will help Sensory Smart ensure they understand the dynamics for the group setting.
The Shoe that Grows - Kindergartens Science and Technology learning
Our Kindergarten students have been working hard during Science and Technology this term investigating the properties of materials. As part of their learning they designed and created shoes out of recycled materials that would protect the wearer from sharp rocks and mud. Kindergarten also explored the work of Because International, a non-for-profit group who design and make shoes for children who don’t have access to shoes. Kindergarten have put together a short video sharing their learning.
This year we are looking at installing sensory stepping stones within our Growing Minds and Sensory Garden. The stepping stones will be made in two sizes, small and large, and will each be topped with a different material, providing students with a different sensory experience for each stone. If you are interested in supporting the creation of the stones by helping make them on Monday 27th June from 2:30pm, please complete this online form by Monday morning -
https://forms.gle/btD4RZtS3tDMgaBJA
To learn more about the Because International organisation follow this link - https://becauseinternational.org/.
If you would like to be involved in our act of active compassion, you can make a donation directly to Because International by following this link which will take you to our school’s fundraising page, giving children less fortunate than ourselves the gift of shoes -
https://fundraise.becauseinternational.org/team/430532
Emma Francis
Kindergarten Science and Technology Teacher
We absolutely deserve a longer lunchtime!
This term, Year 2 have been learning to write persuasive texts. Last week the students wrote their own argument to Mrs Koning, Mrs Ucdereli and Ms Hatherly to try and convince them that they deserve a longer lunch time. Here’s what they had to say!
Ding, ding! “Seriously is that the bell? I only got to play one game and I promised my friends I would play two games. That’s not fair!” I definitely believe we should have a longer lunch time.
To begin with, all Year 2 students work SOOO hard. We extremely need to be active. We only get to be a little amount at school. Doctor’s say if we play a lot outside, we will be calmer inside the classroom. So calm that we can relax. Don’t you want us to be active too?
Furthermore, we absolutely need to make more friends. A longer lunch will allow us to have more friends. You wouldn’t want to play with the same friends everyday would you? Psychologists say it’s good to develop friendships with others.
Finally, we need a longer lunch because when we line up at the canteen, we never get that much time to play. All of Year 2 love lunch time.
Our amazing teachers also desperately deserve a longer lunch time as well. Don’t you agree?
Matihias, 2DT
“Oh no, is that the bell?” We should totally get a longer lunch!
Firstly, we certainly should get a longer lunch because we can burn more energy. We can concentrate on our learning more in class. Teachers don’t want us to not work hard.
Secondly, we should definitely get a longer lunch because we can get lots of fresh air outside and get fit. To get fit I could do push ups, sit ups, squats, play soccer, football and basketball. Coaches say keeping fit is good for you.
Finally, I firmly believe that we should have a longer lunch so we can get MJR’s and Red Crosses by being kind to others and like Jesus. We show this in the classroom and playground by helping our friends and classmates. Statistics show that 90% of students who spend more time outside are happier.
Overall, we absolutely should get a longer lunch.
James, 2BT
We are so proud of our Year 2 students.
Danielle Taylor, Melissa Buckland and Karen Davies
Year 2 Teachers
KBB | Sofia Gilson | Edward Kelly-Wortman | Shelby Moore |
KHB | Ebony Wittenberg | Mackenzie Sonter | Louis Santero |
1CS | Morgan Marlowe | Oliver Hardy | Daniel Shijo |
1PS | Ashton Wynter | Zoella Cruickshanks | Nakuya Gatonye |
2DT | Braxton Beresford | Jenson Jarvis | Huxon Jones |
Alexia Lynch | |||
3B | Taylor Ashcroft | Savina Fernando | Josephine Yewdall |
3MH | Harrison Slater | Georgia Bell | Cjay Connor |
4MM | Millie Schneider-Smith | Makayla Johnson | Lily Skinner |
5BH | Chloe Widdison | Eli Collier | Luna Tyson |
5T | Emily Meehan | Maya Marshall | Evie Johnson |
6H | Harmony Amanatidis | Abbey Delforce | Jessie Leslie |
Week 10 - Term 2 2022
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Please note these dates can change from time to time due to unforeseen circumstances and we will endeavour to advise you of any changes at the earliest possible opportunity. Our school Google calendar can be accessed via this link for additional advanced dates -
For your convenience 2022 school term dates are listed below. They are also located on our website. Click on the words “TERM DATES” on the home page.
TERM 2
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 2 - Tuesday
26th April 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 24th June 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 2 – Friday
1st July 2022
TERM 3
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 3 - Monday
18th July 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes Term 3 – Thursday
22nd September 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Friday 23rd September 2022
TERM 4
Kindergarten to Year 6 commence classes for Term 4 - Monday
10th October 2022
Kindergarten to Year 6 last day of classes for Term 4 - Friday
16th December 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Monday 19th December 2022
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) - Tuesday 20th December 2022
Other Holidays in 2022
Australia Day – 26th January (Public Holiday)
Good Friday – 15th April (Public Holiday)
Easter Monday – 18th April (Public Holiday)
ANZAC Day – 25th April (Public Holiday)
Queen’s Birthday – 13th June (Public Holiday)
Labour Day – 3rd October (Public Holiday)
Christmas Day - 25th December (Public Holiday)
Boxing Day - 26th December (Public Holiday)
Parent_Teacher interviews
2022 Year 6 Camp - Essential COVID-19 Pre Screening Questionnaire, final reminders and checklist
Whole School Concert and Dance Eisteddfod 2022
Proposed Industrial Action on Thursday 30th June 2022
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS SOUL SURFING STYLE
Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th July are the Fab Fun Day Dates for these holidays. Hugely loved and limited spaces. Surfing, games and fun excursion activities. 9:00am-3.30pm. $80 p/child per day.
Contact Corey or Loren at www.soulsurfing.com.au or call 0428480266