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- Messages from the Principal
- Messages from the Assistant Principal
- Library News
- Aboriginal Education News
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- Returning to School
- 2022 School Fee Information Form
- Parish News
- Free Raising Healthy Mind App for Parents/Carers
- From the Office of Safeguarding -Cybersafety User Agreement
- Healthy Halloween Snacks Nutrition Snippet
- Springtacular Fruit & Veg Nutrition Snippet
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Dear Parents and Friends of St Kevin’s,
Welcome back!!!!
We were so excited to welcome back our kindergarten and Year 1 students this week. They were very happy to be back with their friends and teachers. It was lovely to see the big smiles and the children skipping in each morning, waving goodbye to parents, and not a tear in sight! We now await the arrival of Years 2-6 and again meeting up with each other.
St Kevin’s is still rated a Level 3+ school in relation to COVID, and this rating will continue until we are advised by CSNSW that we are not.
So what does level 3+ look like for St Kevin’s?
Playtime
- All classes are separated during learning and play times.
- All children MUST wear a school hat.
- Infants playtime is 11:15 -11:45am and again at 1:15-1:45pm.
- Primary playtime is 11:45-12:15pm and again at 1:45-2:15pm.
- Each class has its own designated play area.
- Playground equipment cannot be used.
- Soccer is permitted at lunchtime in class groups.
- Basketball is permitted at lunchtime in class groups.
- Handball is permitted at lunchtime in class groups.
COVID safe practices
- Extra cleaning hours at school.
- Desks and chairs wiped down at each break.
- Children wash their hands with soap and water before and after eating or playing.
- Hand sanitiser in all classrooms.
- Teachers wearing masks in classrooms and on the playground.
- Students strongly advised to wear masks.
- Students displaying cold or flu like symptoms must stay home/ or will be sent home from school.
- COVID negative test results required for return to school after sick leave.
Afternoon Dismissal – car lines or parent pickup.
If you are doing parent pick up, please advise your child as you drop them at school. Parent pickup area is the grass area outside the Church gate. Masks must be worn if engaging in parent pick up as is social distancing of 1.5m.
- Single student families in kindergarten, Year1 and Year 2 will be dismissed at 2:45pm.
- Single student families in Years 3-6 will be dismissed at 2:55pm.
- Families with 2 or more children attending St Kevin’s will be dismissed at 3pm.
In the event of a confirmed COVID case at school.
- Parents will be notified via COMPASS to collect their children if the school has been notified of a positive case by NSW Health.
- Children will be collected via car lines ONLY. Parents are not to enter the school.
- Parents will be notified via COMPASS how long school will be closed.
- Parents will be notified via COMPASS/ NSW Health if their children are a close or casual contact and what this means.
- School will be deep cleaned.
What’s on hold?
- Kindergarten Orientation – may be via ZOOM if we are still at Level 3+. We are setting up a SeeSaw classroom too! More information to come.
- All end of Year Liturgies and Award ceremonies will be in house only at this stage.
- Uniform shop via contacting Kim Ragen via phone or email. No coming onsite to purchase or try on uniforms.
- No canteen.
- Swimming carnival – TBA
So in anticipation of being flexible and adaptable during these times of uncertainty and change, THANK YOU!!! Together we will keep our students learning in a safe and supportive environment, supporting each other during tough times.
Mary-Anne Jennings
Principal
Sport Term 4
We will be having basketball lessons for each class every Tuesday and Thursday. Students are to wear their sports uniforms every Tuesday and Thursday in Term 4.
School hats
Some children have returned to school forgetting about their hats. Please ensure your child brings their school hat to school every day.
Cyber safety for kids.
Have you heard of Squid Games? It is currently the most popular show on Netflix. The content is adult only but it has filtered into the lives of our children, even here at St Kevin’s. Mrs Boudan has found a very informative and useful site for teachers that parents would also find very informative. You are urged to visit this site and become aware of just how easy it is for our children to be exposed to very unsuitable content on the internet, and then what to do if they are.
Messages from the Assistant Principal
Doubling strategy to add
Just like the count-on strategy for addition (see video here) that I talked about in my last newsletter, children need to be able to engage with the use-doubles strategy ( see video here) for addition with interactive and memorable activities to link the strategy to long-term understanding.
It’s important that children experience maths with hands-on activities. Why this concrete experience is so important is that they have to see numbers as quantities rather than just symbols – more than just 1, 2 , 3. Instead they are :
When reinforcing the double strategy to add, encourage your child(ren) to discuss various doubles they see in their environment. For example, they may see two front tyres and two back tyres on a car to equal four. We can relate the doubles to so many things around us – fingers and toes: 5+5, wheels on a car : 2+2, or the eggs in a carton: 6+6.
The Using Doubles strategy involves decomposing one addend to make a double with the other addend. For example, 7 + 8 is the same as 7 + 7 plus 1 more.
Our goal for the doubles facts is automaticity. This means that child(ren) no longer have to think much about the equation in order to solve it. Rather, they just “know” the answer and are able to say the answer within 1-3 seconds. For example, when a child sees the equation 8+8, he/she should know that it equals 16 without even stopping to think about it.
This isn’t just a strategy for the Infants though, it can be used in Primary as well. Encourage your child(ren) to apply this strategy to numbers beyond the basic facts. For example, the strategy can be extended to solve 25+25. It can be used to add numbers like 63 + 65 … which is just double 64. We want our children to use efficient strategies to solve addition problems, not revert to formal written algorithms when we are trying to add up numbers in our head.
Tell Them From Me Survey
A huge thanks to the 19 people who have completed the survey and who have emailed me to let me know that they have submitted it. I have entered these people into the draw for $150 Family Entertainment voucher. We would really love to make it MUCH more difficult for these people to win. One of our families is going to win this prize, we would really love to have all of our families enter into the draw. This would mean that we would have a whole school response to our survey, giving us feedback from our whole school community. We have extended the TTFM survey by two weeks with a new closing date of 12 November. So please, please, please complete the survey and then simply drop me an email to let me know you have done so and I will enter you into our draw. Remember, both parents can enter!
God Bless
Library Borrowing is Thursday this term
It is very exciting to welcome the children of St Kevin’s back to the Library this term.
The children are reminded to bring their library bag every Thursday this term for Library borrowing. Please remember to return the books that were borrowed before lockdown.
It is important to make sure a reading routine is happening now we are back at school. Please encourage your child to read before bed. The article from Book Club is great to read and emphasizes the importance of reading for your children.
Remember also that we are looking forward to purchasing some books from Book Club, Issue 7, so the children have some fantastic books to read with you at home.
Let’s see if we can encourage all students and families of St Kevin’s to read for just 20 minutes a day!
Read. Read together. Read aloud. Just read! It’s such an important habit to maintain.
Happy Reading!
Dianne Binkin
Teacher Librarian
Yaama,
It’s great to see children returning to school again. Here are the links to the two short videos that I sent the kids in their home learning packs recently. They are well worth viewing by everyone.
In the first one Gavin Duncan, a Gomeroi man, shows us an important art site at Kariong, not far from us. You will hear about Baiyami and see some Baiyami carvings.
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/RA1908H026S00 Bulgandry Aboriginal Art Site, Kariong.
The second one is about a sacred site called Little Wave Rock in Gamilaroi Country, not far from us. Loren Ryan talks about her connection to Country and how it is important to be respectful at this sacred site.
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/RA1908H043S00 Little Wave Rock
Here are some responses from a few of the children. They show their clear understanding of the meaning and message conveyed in the videos, and that they have gained valuable insights.
I enjoyed watching them and I know that it is important to be kind to special Aboriginal places and nature like the rock in the video. Blake |
I liked the first video of the girl singing. I thought she had a nice voice and was interesting that she was singing in Aboriginal language. The place she was at looked very quiet and pretty and peaceful. It was interesting when she talked about walking bare foot on the rocks and they believe that their ancestors’ spirits can visit them.
It was cool to watch the kids in the water catching fish and learning from their family. Belinda |
My favourite Aboriginal story was the 2nd one, called Little Wave Rock. I enjoyed it because Loren explained how she was connected to Country, and how she respected the land. Eva |
Stay safe.
Nginowa….See you later (Awabakal)
Phil Taylor
Aboriginal Education Teacher
Socktober
Due to the interruptions of Covid on school and family life, we have decided to alter our Socktober Fundraising plans. This year we will be celebrating Socktober with a Crazy Sock Day on Friday October 29th. We are asking the children to wear crazy socks with their uniform and bring a gold coin donation.
Socktober encourages students across Australia to kick goals on and off the pitch to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children. The 2021 Focus country is Thailand. Please follow this link to find out more about Thailand and the tough conditions these beautiful people are living in.
During home learning, the teachers have assigned a variety of activities to teach the children about the importance of raising money for the children of Thailand. Many children have already begun collecting items to make a family sockball - the central symbol of Socktober. Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far.
The Sockball: A story of connection
It is fitting that the iconic symbol of Socktober is a tattered, misshapen ball made of recycled material like socks, t-shirts and plastic bags, tied together with string. It’s not a conventional icon, but one that represents what Socktober is all about.
It’s this kind of ball that a young boy named Jorge Mario Bergoglio kicked around with his friends in the streets of Buenos Aires some 75 years ago. As he eventually rose through the ranks of the Catholic Church, becoming a priest, an archbishop and a cardinal, Jorge never forgot where he came from, and his love of soccer remained a constant. Today, he is known as Pope Francis, the first pontiff from a majority world country, and his special connection with children from the world’s poorest communities is symbolised by the iconic sockball they all once played with. These universal links make soccer the most powerful example of Pope Francis’ initiative, Sport at the Service of Humanity. The movement was developed in 2015 to promote the values of sport as a vehicle for fraternity. Its core principles are compassion, respect, love, enlightenment, balance, and joy, which should be inherent in all sports, and which inform our service to others.
Above all, sport unites people from all walks of life. No matter how different people are in age, gender, ethnicity, religion, ability and wealth, they can share a common bond through a love of sport. No sport better captures this than soccer.
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 4!
Year 4 have been learning about The Holy Trinity and how it is represented in the Shamrock. By drawing and labelling the Shamrock, Year 4 have been able to demonstrate how each heart leaf of the Shamrock is one part of the Holy Trinity as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Written by Year 4
May God’s Spirit be with you all each day,
Mrs Jasmina Boudan
Returning to School
Most children will be very excited to return to school in the next few weeks to see all their friends and teachers. A certain degree of worry and fear about returning to school, especially following this time away from face-to-face learning, and in the current pandemic, is normal for children and young people. However, most students find that these worrying feelings decrease over time once back at school and following the school routine. It will be most helpful for children and young people to return to school at the same time as their peers and as outlined by their school.
Anxiety is a natural, and usually short lived, reaction to a stressful situation. It’s an emotion associated with feelings of worry, nervousness or apprehension.
Parents can help their child or young person who feels worried about returning to school by:
- Helping your child or young person to identify their emotions
- Talking about returning to school and helping them prepare for the transition
- If bedtimes have drifted later, shift the family schedule during the week or two before school returns to get back in the habit of going to bed and waking up earlier.
- Developing a calm morning routine (organise and pack the night before) for predictability and reducing anxiety. Find school shoes and socks and make sure there are no missing parts of the uniform. Have lunch box, library bag and drink bottle ready to go the day before.
- Plan lunch box together- ask what they would like and make sure there are some healthy snacks and fruit and veg.
- Developing and following a goodbye routine (for children)
- Building confidence in them “I know it feels hard, but you can do it”
- Helping them understand that delaying the return to school is likely to make things harder in the future
- Contacting the school and/or GP if your child or young person’s anxious feelings persist and remain consistently intense.
A message from Fr Joseph - My Soul Magnifies the Lord - Welcome back!
Dear Parishioners,
What an excellent thing that we are beginning all our parish activities a week earlier than expected; more exciting and overwhelmed to hear that Father Gordon is taking all three Masses this weekend! Look after him.
Maybe we shall see fewer faithful this weekend, but we still have to follow the pandemic restrictions yet. Please don't panic if you are not double vaccinated. Our welcoming staff will look after you and receive you with warm greetings. All our Churches are cleaned, and special thanks to Kathy, our cleaner.
I'm typing this quick message just before entering into the water in Foster!!
Now, there are all kinds of reasons why people have not yet returned to Mass in-person. Some are a bit reluctant! Some are grieving, some isolated, or still fearful. Some are protecting small children; and others have gotten into a new routine on Sunday morning.
As COVID-19 cases decline and the number of people who’ve received the vaccine increases, we believe there is a renewed opportunity to invite people to Church. It is the job of every parishioner to take care of each and every person entering our Parish Premises.
Continue to pass on the news of the recommencement of Masses and other News to all our Parishioners, we shall have more activities when I’m back.
Hope this quick message will meet and greet you all with a warm smile!!
With love and prayers in the Lord,
Fr Joseph
Parish News
Dear Parishioners
Masses resume across the Parish this weekend, 23/24 October. I encourage you to share this welcome news with your fellow parishioners.
Please read the attached bulletin for important information regarding provisions for COVID-19. Registration for Mass will be on a First Come, First Serve basis. Density Limits will apply.
Mass Rosters for 23/24 October and 30/31 October are included in the bulletin.
I have also attached information on how to obtain a COVID-19 Check-In Card. This comes to us courtesy of Liza Ruitenbach (nee Ogrodnik) who has improved on the document sent to us last week by the Diocese.
With prayers for you and your families
Louise Byron
Parish Secretary
All Saints’ Parish Blackbutt South
230 Main Road (Postal PO Box 233)
Cardiff NSW 2285
P 02 4954 0977
F 02 4956 7168
E Louise.Byron@mn.catholic.org.au
Tuesdays & Wednesdays 9am to 3pm Unavailable 12 noon to 1pm
Visit us at www.allsaintsblackbuttsouth.org.au
Free Raising Healthy Mind App for Parents/Carers
The Australian Government has launched a new, free phone application with information, ideas and guidance for parents to help them provide additional support for their child’s mental health and wellbeing.
The Raising Healthy Minds App was developed by the Raising Children Network as part of its program to support parents’ mental health literacy by building knowledge and confidence concerning the social and emotional wellbeing of children.
Each year, more than 300,000 Australian children experience a mental health disorder, and diagnosis and treatment at an early stage is important because it can reduce the length and severity of the problem.
Parents can play a crucial role in early diagnosis and this new app will give parents and carers the confidence to recognise early signs of social or emotional problems and help them to seek support if it’s needed.
The app is targeted towards parents with children aged 12 years and under and includes information on health, development and wellbeing based on the child’s age. The app also includes information and support for parents and carers to ensure they are looking after their own mental health and wellbeing.
To download the app go to: