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LEUKAEMIA FOUNDATION - WORLD'S GREATEST SHAVE
One of our wonderful Year 6 students, Grace Chuwen, has decided she would like to do something very special to help Aussies with blood cancer, by participating in the World’s Greatest Shave. You will most likely have seen ads on TV recently and while this would often take place on a weekend, Grace would like to do this at school to raise awareness and seek the support of our school community for this amazing cause. Grace will be donating her hair, which she has been growing for quite some time. She will have a short hair cut, not a complete shave and the date that this will take place is Friday 13th March. Grace has already exceeded her fundraising goal threefold on her page, so anything from here is an extraordinary bonus.
If you would like to donate to Grace’s page, please follow the link below, or visit our office where there will be a box to place money into. We are proud of you Grace!
ST AGNES' PARISH DOLHPIN PLAYGROUP
Our first play groups took place this week across the three Parish Primary schools and it was wonderful to see our first families joining in. Parents are invited to bring their children from all ages before Kindergarten to the groups for a play and networking opportunity with other parents. If you know of any families who would love to come along, please share the information found in the below flyer.
On Wednesday St Joseph’s saw eight families attending with lots of giggles, stories and friendships were made. St Joseph's will host this every Wednesday during term time, but parents are welcome to attend at any of the schools. Why not invite a friend next Wednesday? Dolphin Playgroup would welcome any quality dontations you may have including a wooden easel, playmat, children's chairs, wooden train set, wooden blocks, tea sets and duplo. Please contact Dolphin Playgroup if you have any of these to offer.
Tess Koning
Principal
MASS FOR VISITING RELICS
Selected children from St Joseph’s will attend the Mass celebrating the visit of relics from Saint Therese of Lisieux and her parents this Wednesday.
All members of the community are welcome to join at St Agnes’ Church on Wednesday 19th February for a 1:00pm Mass.
MASS FOR BEGINNING OF THE YEAR
All are welcome to attend our whole-school Mass to celebrate the beginning of the year with us.
WHEN: Friday 21st February at 9:45 am
WHERE: St Agnes’ Church
ASH WEDNESDAY
A school prayer service will be offered to all students, staff and parents within our community to receive the ashes for Ash Wednesday on Wednesday 26th February at 1:00pm in the school hall. Although this won’t officially be a Mass, you are very welcome to join us for the beginning of the Lenten Season.
Nathan Porter
Assistant Principal Mission
MAI'S - WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Now that all students have been assessed using the MAI, this data has been entered into the database and analysed by each teacher to determine which of the four domains should be the focus for daily Number Fluency sessions. All students from K-6 will participate in daily Number Fluency sessions to help further develop their understanding of number concepts. This regular practice will support their learning of new skills and concepts across all strands of Mathematics such as Measurement and Geometry.
Students will continue to be tracked throughout the year and the data will be updated regularly by their classroom teachers to reflect their new learning. The focus of the daily sessions will change throughout the year depending on the area of need for each class/grade.
The MAI data highlights students who are mathematically ‘vulnerable’ and these students will receive extra assistance to help accelerate their learning. The EMU (Extending Mathematical Understanding) Specialist Teacher (Sarah McKinnon) will support teachers in planning learning experiences to cater for these needs.
EMU INTERVENTION GROUP
In Year 1, the three most ‘mathematically vulnerable’ students across the grade will take part in an intensive 10 to 20 week program which consists of 5 x 30 minute sessions per week to help accelerate their learning.
SAFER INTERNET DAY
On Tuesday, Sarah Blundell, our Leader of Digital Pedagogies /STEM guided our Year 4, 5 and 6 students in a live virtual classroom focusing on empowering them to keep safe when online. The students participated with enthusiasm and thoroughly enjoyed developing a greater understanding about being safer online.
One alarming factor which came out of the discussions was the number of students who have submitted their personal details online, including addresses. Please take a moment to remind your child of the importance of not sharing sensitive information online.
As mentioned last week, for further information we encourage you to explore Australia’s online safety hub. Check out eSafety’s great range of advice and resources. Get started by visiting the parents and carers pages and reading the practical tips for kicking off an online safety conversation. You can also download the ‘Parents guide to online safety’ booklet and look through eSafety Kids with your family. To find out more information go to https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
Jeannine Ucdereli
Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
Don't forget you can order online by 8:30am- it's so easy!!
- Download the Flexischools app from the App Store or 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
Our Volunteers for Week 4 Term 1
Monday | You are welcome to join us |
Tuesday | You are welcome to join us |
Wednesday | Sally Marsh |
Thursday | Avril Ferraro |
Friday | You are welcome to join us |
Kim Goldie
Canteen Coordinator
Level 4 'Severe' Water Restrictions have been effective since Tuesday 28 January for residential users, and will be in force from Tuesday 25 February for commercial users, until further notice. These water restrictions mean there’s no outdoor use of water from Council’s town water supply unless an exemption has been granted by Council.
GARDEN CLUB
Good Luck Zone Swimmers!
Good luck to our troop of swimmers going off to Macksville next Tuesday to compete at Zone Swimming. Well done to all the children who trialed on Monday to compete at Zone level.
Cross Country Training
Next week our House captains will start morning from 8:30am training for our Cross Country. Children are welcome to bring their running shoes each morning and join in the fitness and fun in preparation for the big day in Week 9.
IMPORTANT DATES FOR TERM 1
Week 4 Tuesday 18th February - Zone Swimming Macksville
Week 5 Monday 24th February - Zone Winter Sports Trials (Year 5 and 6)
Week 5 Thursday 27th February - Bulldogs NRL Visit (Year 6 )
Week 5 Friday 28th February - Diocesan Swimming Kempsey
Week 6 Thursday 5th March - AFL Paul Kelly Cup (Year 5 and 6)
Week 8 Wednesday 18th March - Netball Schools Cup
Week 9 Friday 27th March - School Cross Country B/up: Week 10 Friday 3rd April
Yours in Sport
Laura Hatherly
With the bushfires at the end of last year - and the ongoing crisis we saw over the summer - I hope that you and your family remained safe and that the holidays were as relaxing and enjoyable as they could be.
A new year at school brings a new teacher and classroom as well as some new faces - staff and students alike!!
Remember that it takes some time to adjust to change. If your child is feeling worried about a new teacher or different kids in their class reassure them that it is natural and OK to feel nervous when starting a new year.
Gently remind them that they most likely felt the same last year and everything worked out well.
‘The Zones of Regulation’ (introduced across the school last year) offers great tools for kids to use when they feel in this ‘yellow zone’ (worried, nervous, excited).
As the school counsellor it is my role is to work with students on a short term basis who might be struggling with school - both emotionally and educationally. They may be struggling with friendships, have limited coping skills, feel worried, feel nervous or are having trouble concentrating. I aim to help students become more aware of what the signs are when they are feeling stressed, worried, upset, distracted or sad and then use these signs to find strategies to help improve their coping skills, change their thinking and help them to feel more confident in their school work, friendships and social interactions.
I am available Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
Referral forms are available from your class teacher or at the front office.
If you have any concerns at all for your child, the first step is to check in with your class teacher to see what can be done in class.
If you and the teacher feel that further counselling support is needed, you can complete a referral form - which you can collect from the front office.
The wellbeing team will then further discuss your referral to ensure that the best support can be provided - this may include a referral to an external health professional.
If your child is already under the care of other health professionals, we recommend that you seek their support initially. The school can then liaise with them appropriately for support.
If you would like to meet with me to discuss any concerns you may have for your child please feel free to contact the office on 65833848 so we can organise a convenient time.
Other helpful phone numbers are:
Lifeline - 131114 - 24 hour crisis line
Mental Health Access Line - 1800 011 511 - 24 hour triage line from NSW Health - available for carers as well as people with a mental health issue to access the best service for them
Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800 - free, private and confidential 24 hour phone and online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25.
Beyondblue - 1300 22 44 36 - 24 hour phone service to listen, provide advice and point you in the right direction for support.
Parentline - 1300 1300 52 - Available 9am - 9pm Monday to Friday; 4:00pm to 9:00pm on weekends - telephone counselling, information and referral service for parents of children ages 0 to 18 who live in New South Wales.
Raising Children Network - https://raisingchildren.net.au/ - Provide up-to-date, evidence-based, scientifically validated information about raising children and caring for yourself as a parent or carer.
Kelly Russell
School Counsellor
KM | Molly McGeoch | Blake Yewdall | Nyah Watson |
KS | Matihias Bridger | Hamish Brockenshire | Isabella Connor |
1R | Flynn Watts | Cailin Daley | Heidi Lawrence |
2S | Rhys Cutler | Archie Holloway | Eden Pope |
2T | Taz Gawith | Gemma Cooper | Isla Schneider-Smith |
3D | Charli Hoitink | Ruby Holmes | Joseph Jarvis |
4B | Zali Roberts | Ada Zerafa-Johnson | Anabelle Hicks |
4F | Ruby Comer | Billy Stapleton | Joseph Hunt |
5G | Eva Francis | Matilda Kos | Zayden Field |
5H | Charlee Webber | Caleb Edkins | Savanna Cunneen |
6MH | Cruz Rebecchi | Heath Hunter | Sheridan Barker |
STUDENT VERIFICATION REPORTS
Please note that the annual Family Details update reports were sent home with students on Wednesday. Please carefully check these and make any necessary changes before returning the form to the office by Friday 21st February. It is important to keep your details up to date so we can care for your children to the best of our ability.
What a great start our Year 6 Leaders have made!
Elise Howard, Holly Hough and Kate Mitchell
Year 6 Class Teachers
Did you know that by law you must slow down to 40km/h when bus lights are flashing?
As our students start the 2020 school year, the NSW Government and your local school bus
operator Busways are reminding parents, teachers and other motorists about this law which is designed to keep our kids safe.
Lights begin to flash when the bus stops and the doors open, and they keep flashing for 20 seconds after the doors close. Children are most at risk in the minutes after they get off the bus as the can be unpredictable in their movements.
Drivers should look out for children who are crossing the road or waiting to cross.
Lights flash on buses to warn motorists that buses are picking up and dropping off children. By law, a driver must not overtake or pass a bus with flashing lights at more than 40km/h.
As young children are still developing skills around road safety, drivers should take care around bus stops where children might want to walk across the road.
Fines of up to $275 and three demerit points can apply if a motorist is caught going more than 40km/hr when passing a bus with its flashing lights on.
Motorists can help reduce the risk of a crash and keep children safe by:
• Slowing down to 40km/h when bus lights are flashing,
• Looking out for children crossing the road near bus stops, in school zones or along bus routes, and
• Giving way to buses when they merge back into traffic.
For more information visit http://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/be-busaware/bus-flashing-lights.html.
Week 4 - Term 1 2020 |
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Monday |
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Tuesday |
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Wednesday 19th February |
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Thursday 20th February |
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Friday 21st February |
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Week 5 - Term 1 2020 |
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Monday |
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Tuesday |
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Wednesday 26th February |
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Thursday 27th February |
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Friday 28th February |
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Week 6 - Term 1 2020 |
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Monday |
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Tuesday |
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Wednesday 4th March |
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Thursday 5th March |
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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 school term dates are located on our website. Click on the words “TERM DATES” on the home page.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAYS 2020
As we are aware that parents and carers need to know about Staff Development Days so they can forward plan work arrangements, our remaining days (pupil free) are:
- Thursday 9th April (Term 1, Week 11)
- Tuesday 28th April (Term 2, Week 1)
- Monday 20th July (Term 3, Week 1)
- Monday 12th October (Term 4, Week 1)
For each of these days we will offer limited child minding places. Closer to each date we will advise on how to register for the child minding if you require it.