Term 3 Week 10 Newsletter - 23.09.22
Principal News
What a Great Term
This term has been extremely positive and productive in so many ways. Student behaviour both
within and outside the classroom, whilst at times not having their playground, has been outstanding. On most occasions, student learning behaviours have been evident in the way they approach their learning, their focus in class and the calm and settled feeling in the school. It is incredible when I am interviewing new families wanting to come to our school, to listen to them talk about how calm the school feels and how focused students look in each room.
We have made pleasing gains in many areas and we will continue to strive to provide the best Catholic learning environment for our students and parish school community. Students have been involved in many rich and engaging learning opportunities and this is having a signicant impact on their growth both academically and socially.
I am extremely proud of our staff and the dedication and love they show to our children. We are continually challenging ourselves to be better and to do whatever it takes for our children to know that they are loved ,that they belong and for them to experience success. We don’t always get everything right but we will always keep focusing on ways to improve and be the best we can for our children.
I would like to thank our staff, students, parents, guardians, grandparents and Fr Peter for the ongoing support offered to our parish school.
I wish you all a happy and safe holiday and I look forward to next term which promises to be exciting and rich in new and challenging learning, growing in friendship and loving like Jesus has shown us.
New Playground
A massive thank you to Aaron, Dean, Lou and Rikki for setting up the new basketball hoops last Friday. You are absolute legends and our kids have loved playing with them at lunchtime.
With the new playground open, it has been hard to find anyone without a smile on their face. A big thank you to the Catholic Schools Office for supporting our parish school to make this happen for our children.
NAIDOC MEDAL OF EXCELLENCE
Congratulations to Ned M in Year 1 for his outstanding efforts in winning the 2022 'NAIDOC Medal of Excellence' for his work in helping promote the importance of friendship and cultural diversity. This year the competition was based around short story writing, poetry and colouring in. The judging was adjudicated by a panel including Aboriginal Elders, Agenct Delegates and members of the community. Only 25 winning entries were selected Australia Wide and will be celebrated and presented in the Prime Minsters NAIDOC Week Report.
Congratulations Ned, we are all very proud of this special achievement.
Learning and Teaching
In education today it is very easy to lose focus on what matters most and become distracted by the latest and greatest catch phrases, fancy new programs and initiatives or worse still, continue to do something that doesn’t work because, ‘That’s how we’ve always done it here.’
In 2020 we engaged in our learning improvement partnership with world leading educator Lyn Sharratt and our Catholic Schools
Office. This partnership has seen our school continue to ensure that there is an unrelenting focus on what matters most: student learning.
Lyn has worked with our school as a Critical Friend, guiding, supporting and challenging us to
continually improve learning and teaching in every classroom as we keep our students at the
heart of everything that we do and the decisions that we make. You will see and hear our children talk about Learning Intentions, Success Criteria, Bump it up Walls, The Third Teacher, what they are learning, where they go for help, where they are up too with their learning and what their goals are. This work has been very deliberate and even with the added challenges of going through the flood and moving schools, we have not lost our way in this important work.
At OLHC we believe that:
1. All students can achieve high standards given the right amount of time and the right
support.
2. All teachers can teach to high standards given time and the right assistance.
3. High Expectations and early and ongoing intervention are essential.
4. All leaders, teachers and students can articulate what we do and why we lead, teach and
learn the way we do.
It does not matter which teacher your child has in our school, they will be engaged in
quality learning and teaching, the best assessment practices to inform learning and teaching and
extra time and support to demonstrate learning and individual growth.
Diamond Pythons by Toby Hughes
Habitat
The diamond python lives in bushes in parts of Asia, Africa and Australia. They use their habitat to camouflage into dead leaves and twigs that are on the ground. You would usually find them on sunny rocks because they are ectothermic which means they produce their own body heat like humans.
Appearance
The diamond python has dull scales that are made of keratin. They can grow 2 to 3 metres in length but not as big in width. Their teeth point back like hooks which helps them swallow food and they also have forked tongues. They are smooth after shedding and have no eyelids.
Hunting
The diamond python is a constrictor meaning it suffocates its prey by wrapping around it and then it squeezes it until it kills it. It has a bone in its jaw that can expand so it can fit bigger food in its mouth. It uses its tongue to smell prey by flicking its tongue out of its mouth. When it eats it eats the prey head first.
Diet and Prey
It preys on small mammals and also eats birds.
TERM 4 BEGINS MONDAY 1OTH OCTOBER
Mission News
**Sacrament of Confirmation - Date Change**
Due to a conflict in Bishop Homeming’s schedule, the Sacrament of Confirmation will now take place on Thursday, 27th October at 6pm at our parish church. If your child is no longer able to attend due to the date change, can you please contact Mrs Hague as soon as possible. If you are still able to attend, you do not need to make contact. Thank you again for your support, as we negotiate the many challenges of this year!
Year 4 - Accendere
At Accendere we learned how to be a good friend and make connections with God. We drew what we like doing with our friends. We drew it on concrete with chalk and we also played a drawing game. How you play is the person at the back gets shown a picture and has to draw it on the person's back with their finger that is in front of them then it keeps going until it gets to the front then the person in the front of the line has to draw what they felt on their back. We also went on the oval at lunch and we played soccer and the boys won at the end of the game.
I had an amazing day.
Toby H
Gotchya Draw - Week 10
Our Gotchya Box was again overfilled with recognition of the wonderful spirit of Jesus alive in our school. Congratulations to the students who were drawn from the box!
Marlee S - for being kind
Evie F - for being my friend
Ethan R - thank you for being a great friend
Evan S - thank you for being nice to me
Abby P - for being a great learner
Parable of the Good Samaritan
Thank you to Neddy in Year 6 for this great reflection on the Parable of the Good Samaritan!
Making Jesus Real Awards
KP
Leo C - For making Jesus Real in our class through his willingness to put others and their needs before his own. Thank you Leo, you bring sunshine to our room.
Theo T - For being such a fun, awesome class member. We will miss you and hope you keep shining bright in your new school.
1L
Oliver D - For always being happy to help a peer in need, sharing your resources andequipment to help get the job done.
1P
Zarli B-P - For being a kind, caring and helpful class member. You bring so much joy to our classroom everyday. Thank you Zarli!
2L
Brody B - For showing resilience when resolving problems and taking on challenges. Well Done Brody.
2P
Paige W - For listeneing attentively and showing interest when others are sharing their news.
3L
Chaise K - Chaise is an MJR star for showing and treating others with respect and being fair.
3P
Hamish J - For always showing the face of Jesus by being inclusive and kind friend and student!
4L
Matilda J - For always brightening our classroom with positivity and enthusiasm.
5P
Maggie A - Thank you Maggie for greeting me everyday as you walk in the door with a huge smile and a 'good morning' or 'Thank you'. You are a special member of our class!
Layla W - For always being you and letting the light of Jesus shine through in every little thing you do!
Learning & Teaching
Kindergarten are celebrating their wonderful writing success. The students have focused on writing a correct sentence and adding description through the use of adverbs and adjectives.
Year 1 are very proud of their amazing imaginative writing. They all planned, drafted, edited and published to recreate 'Beauty and The Beast' as a fractured fairy tale.
Year 2 used the Design Process in Science and Technology to create a Rube Goldburg Machine that demonstrated their understanding of forces and enegery. They had lots of fun testing their ramps, levers and pullies.
Year 3 are learning about sustainable farming and worked with Frank last week when he delivered our native bees and their hive. They also have had fun with drama and sport.
Year 4 are learning how to convert fractions to decimals in Maths and are also creating posters about our Native Bees.
Year 5 have created an infographic comparing Earth and another Planet for Science.
Year 6 have been learning that materials can be manipulated and can be used to create products. Each team sucessfully created a snack and described the changes the ingredients went through!
OLHC Achievement Awards
KP
Archer D - For his focus and hard work during reading tasks to improve his fluency. You're on a roll now Archer, Keep it up.
Lachlan C - For working hard to improve and apply his sound knowledge to become fluent when reading. Keep up the hard work Lachlan.
Patrick P - For always pushing himself to be the very best reader and writer he can be. No challenge is too big for you Patrick. Keep it up.
Abigail L - For her positive attitude to learning and willingness to take on new challenges. Keep it up Abigail.
Willow F - For focussed attention during reading time to improve her fluency. Keep up the good work Willow.
1L
Cleo F - For all your hard work and commitment towards consolidating your mathematical skills.
Lennox H - For giving 110% towards your word work and spelling. Well done Lenny!
1P
Grace H - For writing an engaging and entertaining fractured fairy tale about Beauty and the Beast. Well done, Grace!
Jethro P - For his hard work during Mathematics well done with your amazing number patterns. Keep up the great work Jethro!
2L
Nash B - For your creativity and persistence in designing a Rube Goldberg machine in science. Well done Nash!
Taze P - For being consistently engaged and exploring forces in Science this term.
2P
Anika B - For showing significant growth in Mathematics this term. your persistence and hard work is paying off!
Juliet W - For showing creativity and imagination in your Fairy Tale writing. Keep up the fantastic work, Juliet!
3L
Bly B - For her consistent enthusiasm for classroom activities. Bly sets an example of excellence in behaviour and cooperation.
Pat C - For your excellent improvement in your narrative writing and your enthusiasm towards achieving your writing goal. Well done!
3P
Oscar B - For using multiple strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems. Great work!
Sierra S - For using your writing goals and the success criteria to check and edit your writing. Great work!
4L
Tessa R - For showing more patience and resillience during the Mathematics block. Well done Tessa.
Rhys M - For working hard and using his time well to produce an informative podcast about Bees.
5P
Sophie N - For being a conscientious student and striving to do your best in all areas of your learning. keep up the great work Sophie!
6L
Matilda P - for working through a huge task by tackling one step at a time. Great persistence!
Toby B - for using mathematical reasoning to solve a multistep problem and clearly explaining his thinking.
Sports News
Polding Athletics
On Friday the 9th of September, Cooper Williams traveled to Newcastle to participate in both the 100m Sprint and 200m Run for the Lismore Diocesan team. Cooper made both the finals and he came 4th in the 100m Sprint and 8th in the 200m Run. This is an outstanding achievement and Cooper should be very proud of his results. Well done, Cooper!
Stage 3 NRL Gala Day
On Thursday the 15th of September, a team of Year 5 and 6 boys traveled to Casino to participate in the Matty King NRL Cup. The boys played exceptionally well, and Mrs Jeffery was so impressed with the leadership, sportsmanship and resilience that they displayed throughout the day.
Thank you to Mrs Jeffery for supervising and supporting the team throughout the day, and thank you to Ben Grace who took the time to train and coach the team.
Gymnastics Program
Due to the Queen’s public holiday this term, the Year 3 and 4 excursion had to be moved to the Thursday of Week 1, therefore we have decided to push the start date back a week to ensure the children can still participate in the program.
If you have not had a chance to pay for the gymnastics program or your child’s note has been misplaced, please email me haylee.mccarthy@lism.catholic.edu.au and I will email a new note to you.
Swimming North Coast Para Swimming 2022 Development Program
(formerly Multi Class Swimming - for Swimmers with a Disability)
Swimming North Coast (SNC) will be hosting a great opportunity for Swimmers with a Disability to be part of a Development Program. This will include a training and information day for new swimmers and a training and development day for established classified swimmers on the North Coast. SNC is pleased to extend a welcome to para swimmers from neighbouring areas. It is not necessary to be a swimming club member to attend this Training and Information Day.
Training and Information Day:
When: Sunday 13th November 2022
Where: South Grafton Indoor Pool
Time: 10am – 2.30pm approx.
Hosted by SNC and sponsored by SNC and SNSW.
If your child is interested in participating in this program, please email me haylee.mccarthy@lism.catholic.edu.au and I can send additional information to you.
Term 4 - Events
Week 2 to 6 - Gymnastics Program
Wednesday the 16th of November - Newcastle Permanent Primary School Gala Day
Wednesday the 7th of December - Competitive Swimming Event (more information to come early next term)
News From Cooper Williams - Leader of Sport
A few weeks ago, I was invited to Brisbane to train at The Cricket Australia National Cricket Centre. This is where the Aussie cricket team train. They had a state coach and Michael Kasprowicz former Australian fast bowler was there and he gave me some great tips. I got to bowl and bat against Brisbane first-grade cricket players. It was the best experience ever!
School News
Community News
