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Its winter!! Woohoo!!! Time to wear gloves and scarves and beanies and sit in front of warm fires! At school we don’t have warm fires, so if your child needs to wear an extra jacket or gloves or scarf to keep warm in the morning, we ask that they be navy in colour to work with the school uniform.
Uniforms
Apologies as our supplier is still experiencing issues with meeting demand. We are in constant contact and hope to have deliveries on Monday. Meanwhile we do have sufficient ties in stock, yet many are choosing not to wear them. The winter uniform identifies that ties are to be worn. Please assist in this matter by ensuring your child wears a tie correctly – top button of the shirt done up and tie worn correctly.
Pupil Free Day
Tomorrow Friday June 11
Monday July 12
A prayer about the children in our lives.
Children are a beautiful gift that we need to treasure and love. This poem was shared at our staff prayer this week, as it reminds all of us exactly what and who the children in our lives are.
Children Are……
AMAZING acknowledge them
BELIEVABLE, trust them
CHILDLIIKE, allow them
DIVINE, honour them
ENERGETIC, nourish them
FALLIBLE, embrace them
GIFTS, treasure them
HERE NOW, be with them
INNOCENT, delight with them
JOYFUL, appreciate them
KINDHEARTED, learn from them
LOVABLE, cherish them
MAGICAL, fly with them
NOBLE, esteem them
OPEN MINDED respect them
PRECIOUS value them
QUESTIONERSS, encourage then
RESOURCEFUL, support them
SPONTANEOUS, enjoy them
TALENTED, believe in them
UNIQUE, affirm them
VULNERABLE, protect them
WHOLE, recognize them
XTRASPECIAL, celebrate them
YEARNING, notice them
ZANY, laugh with them
Cheers
Mary-Anne Jennings
As you are aware we have moved to an annual billing cycle.
School fee statements will be sent out at the end of May.
We remind you that fee payments should have commenced by now and if paying by instalment we ask that accounts are finalised by 30 November 2021. If paying in full please finalise prior to 30 June 2021. Payments can be made via BPay, direct debit or credit card.
For families experiencing financial hardship or wishing to discuss other payment arrangements please contact the Office.
Messages from the Assistant Principal
Resilience
Last fortnight in my newsletter item I talked about the Resilience project and the imperative for us to help our children become more resilient. Have you been checking in with your children and asking them what they are grateful every day? Life is very busy I know but the research shows that if we acknowledge daily something for which we are very grateful we become more self aware and recognise that life is not all bad … so that when something goes wrong they are less likely to catastrophise. If you haven’t tried it yet, maybe give it a go and build it into your home routine ( before or at dinner, before bed etc).
This fortnight I would like to zero in on Empathy. I have attached an emotions’ sheet. It is important that children can recognise emotions in themselves and others and can name the way they are feeling. Maybe this week as a school community we can all focus on random acts of kindness.
Faith in Action!
Teacher Professional Learning
Tomorrow staff are involved in a professional learning day. We will be focusing on our goal to improve our assessment practices. Tomorrow we will explore our current use of Learning Intentions, Co-Constructed Success Criteria, Descriptive Feedback, Self and Peer Assessment and Goal Setting. We will evaluate our current practices, establish goals to improve and embed agreed best practice.
Crunch and Sip Mathematics
Next Wednesday 16th June at 5:30pm we will have our 3rd Parent Maths Info evening. In the Primary session we will be ways you can help your child with Mathematics by using some simple kitchen implements. In the Infants session with Mrs Albury the group will be exploring money, addition and subtraction.
God Bless
Kim
Mini Vinnies News
The Mini Vinnies leaders were very excited to receive their badges last week! On Monday morning, Mary from St. Vincent De Paul spoke to the children about the works of St. Vincent De Paul and the wonderful things they do for our local community. She commended our Mini Vinnies team for the wonderful efforts they made raising funds for St. Jospeh’s, Wingham. Mary was very proud of them all!
At assembly on Friday, our leaders announced the plans for our Winter Appeal. A roar of excitement erupted upon the announcement of a PAJAMA DAY to be held early next term! We will also have a meal deal available for pre-order. Details and order form coming home next Tuesday.
The Ten Commandments
Last Sunday, in our first reading, we heard of the very special event of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments at the top of Mt Sinai. The Ten Commandments are a set of rules that God wants all people to live by. Take a moment to reflect on these commandments.
Which do you find easy to follow?
Are any of these challenging to you?
Do you feel the ten commandments have significance in your daily life?
The Ten Commandments might sound like a lot to remember and might seem quite difficult to stick to at times, but all ten can be summed up very simply;
Always show love and respect to God, and always show love and respect to others.
Showing love and respect to one another is something that is part everyday life at St. Kevin’s. In our classrooms and on the playground, we discuss what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to show respect to others. We also discuss what it feels like to receive respect from others.
Our teachers and support staff speak and act with love at all times. We model the love of Jesus to your children through our actions and our words. We nurture friendships and support the children in showing love to one another in the classroom and on the playground. As a school, we show the wider community the love and respect of Jesus through our support of those in need.
Kids, if you would like a fun way to learn the Ten Commandments, check out this link to The Ten Commandments Boogie!
What are we learning in Religion?
Each newsletter, we will showcase a class and give you a little insight as to what they are learning about during Religion lessons. This week we hear from…
Year 1!
Year one are learning about the Hebrew Scriptures. Our favourite stores so far have been The Creation Story and Noah’s Ark. The Hebrew Scriptures show us how God was present in the lives of people many, many years ago. The rainbow in Noah’s Ark reminds us that God always keeps his promises! We hope you love our artworks as much as we do!
Written by Year 1
May God’s Spirit be with you all each day,
Mrs Jasmina Boudan
Religious Education Coordinator
Yaama,
We are looking forward to celebrating NAIDOC Week at St Kevin’s on Thursday 24 June. We’ve planned a Prayer Service, barbecue and lots of fun and educational activities. Together with Australians from all walks of life across Australia, we celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Thursday 24 June 2021
Morning Prayer Service 9.15am in the Hall (all parents welcome)
Art activities
Free CoVid Safe Lunchtime Barbecue for kids – sausages on bread
Aboriginal Dance and Games |
We will also have for each child…
- NAIDOC ‘Respect’ wrist bands
- NAIDOC temporary tattoos
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
This year’s NAIDOC Theme is
So, what IS ‘Country’?
When we think of the word ‘Country’, we usually think of countries in the world such as France, USA, Australia, Indonesia.
Aboriginal Country
When Aboriginal people use the English word 'Country' it is meant in a special way. For Aboriginal people culture, nature and land are all linked. Aboriginal communities have a cultural connection to the land, which is based on each community's distinct culture, traditions and laws.
Country takes in everything within the landscape - landforms, waters, air, trees, rocks, plants, animals, foods, medicines, minerals, stories and special places. Community connections include cultural practices, knowledge, songs, stories and art, as well as all people: past, present and future. People have custodial responsibilities to care for their Country, to ensure that it continues in proper order and provides physical sustenance and spiritual nourishment.
(From Mungo National Park website… http://www.visitmungo.com.au/aboriginal-country)
So, ‘Heal Country’ is a call to Action (2021 Reconciliation Week theme) for all of us to heal relationships by knowing and acknowledging our shared history, and sharing responsibility for looking after our environment – the land, waterways, plants, animals, air, people.
I have great faith in our children as our future adult leaders in shaping Australia for the better. Thank you to our teachers, children, parents and carers who all strive to embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, history and cultures. We learn from each other and do great things together.
Take care, God bless and look after your mob.
Yaluu ngali ngamilay (We will see each other again).
Phil Taylor
Aboriginal Education Teacher
Premier’s Reading Challenge
Wow, 39 students from St. Kevin’s have completed PRC
Congratulations to the following students for completing PRC in the last fortnight.
Kinder - Cadence
Year 1 – Oliver, Jacob
Year 3 – Charlotte, Zara
Year 6 - Emme
Keep up the fantastic reading.
Please encourage your child to borrow PRC books each Friday and enter them online. Year 2 won the Library borrowing trophy this week, congratulations Year 2.
Author of the week – R.A.Spratt
We have some of her books in our Library
Rachel shares with us her beginnings as a reluctant reader, and where she finds inspiration for her characters. Pro tip – don’t ask her if there’s going to be another Friday Barnes book. And for future reference, R.A. – Peski Kids is on the PRC booklist, and it’s a great book!
Please watch
We have many of the Friday Barnes Books in our library. Peski Kids and Nanny Piggins can be borrowed on SORA. Please encourage your children to borrow some books ready for the school holidays.
Float Your Boat – 18th, 19th June
If you happen to be on the foreshore of Lake Macquarie next weekend, It’s “Float Your Boat” time.
I heard that one of the boats may have, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. Please watch out for it.
We have a Hungry Caterpillar in our St. Kevin’s Library so it would be lovely for the children to see it all lit up.
This year we are going to run an online fundraiser via the Thompson’s Pies website. Our school will be given a special code and every order purchased using the code will earn our school money!
What is even better is that you can share the code with your friends, family, neighbours, even work colleagues, and the more people that order products using our code, the more money our school will raise! There are over 80 items to chose from- Family pies, carrot cake, creams buns, sausage rolls.
Orders are required to be a minimum value of $50 and will be delivered to your door. Thompson’s Pies deliver to the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland areas Monday to Friday. Anyone living in the Rathmines and surrounding areas, can receive deliveries on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
If you do not think you can meet the $50 minimum, you can pool your orders with family, friends, neighbours or even class parents, and nominate one person’s address for delivery.
Our Thompson’s Pies Coupon Code will be available: Monday 12th July – Monday 2nd August 2021.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to a profitable fundraiser!