Term 2 Week 3 Newsletter - 12.05.23
Principal News
The celebration of Mother’s Day is always a highlight as we remember, honour and spoil the
great mothers and mother figures in our lives. I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day last Sunday and found a little time for yourselves to relax and possibly even enjoy a little ‘me time’.
Catholics around the world have a long-standing tradition of honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the mother of Jesus, during the month of May. As believers, we also receive Mary as our mother.
She is our advocate, our helper, our mediator and our intercessor. Let’s honour and look to Mary,
the first and most perfect disciple, through this month and always.
School Improvement Priorities 2023
Mission of Jesus Christ-Students will understand Service as part of Catholic Social Teaching and engage in opportunities to serve our community.
Selected Priorities for 2023
- Strengthen and build opportunities for social justice and service through engagement with Religious Education units, student discipleship and outreach.
- Develop and utilise the Mission of Jesus Christ Foundational Values to support and guide ongoing growth of faith formation, religious literacy, social justice, and liturgical practices.
Domain - Learning and Teaching-Embed best practice pedagogy for the effective teaching of literacy in order to improve student reading and writing outcomes
Selected Priorities for 2023
- Plan for and implement professional learning around best practice pedagogy for the effective teaching of literacy.
- Underpin student learning opportunities with a contemporary, student centered and evidenced based pedagogical model.
- Continue to build a strong collaborative culture to develop teacher capacity through a data-informed approach that provides opportunities for coaching, mentoring, and feedback.
Domain - Pastoral care-Develop a well-targeted approach to address wellbeing and connectedness to school for boys in Years 5 and 6.
Selected Priorities for 2023
- Ensure boys in Year 5 and 6 experience a sense of belonging fostered by positive teacher-student and student-student relationships.
- Implement key learnings across grade levels to promote student wellbeing and school connectedness.
Have You Seen Jesus Lately?
I saw Jesus last week. He was helping an old lady carry her shopping bags to her car. For just a
moment I thought he was a member of the staff at Woolworths but I could tell it was Jesus by the generosity he was showing.
I saw Jesus two days ago. He was giving money to the poor. For a moment I thought it was a
student from my class putting money in the missions but I could tell it was Jesus by the way he
didn't brag about how much he put in.
I saw Jesus last night. He was cooking my dinner. For a moment I thought he was my dad but I
could tell it was Jesus by the way he didn't complain about helping others.
I saw Jesus this morning. He was driving my bus to school. At first I thought that it was my bus
driver but I could tell that it was Jesus by the way he smiled and said, "good morning" to
everyone who came on the bus.
I see Jesus everywhere, helping others, being generous and patient, and for just a moment I think
that he's someone else but I know it is Jesus by the way he serves and lives His life through His
people.
God moments are happening around us all the time. Take 60 seconds out of your day to stop and
reflect.
Where have you seen Jesus today?
Mission News
Mother’s Day
In our Catholic tradition, the month of May is dedicated to Mary. Chosen by God above all other women, Mary’s faith and obedience paved the way for the Incarnation. Her example teaches us faith, obedience, humility and most of all, how to love. As we honour our mothers and mother figures, let us honour our heavenly mother as well.
On Friday morning, we celebrated our wonderful mother’s with a yummy pancake breakfast and beautiful liturgy led by our Year 2 students. It was a joyful liturgy, where we laughed, shed a few happy tears, prayed together and sung My Lighthouse, which is always a hit with our students! Thank you to all of our wonderful leaders in Year 2, Mrs Bradfield, Miss Jansen and team for a beautiful celebration of our Mums!
Liturgy & Prayer
Liturgy and prayer are integral to community life here at OLHC. They provide important opportunities for individual and communal faith formation of our students, staff and our families. Our students are given opportunities and guided through ways to contribute to the planning of liturgies and prayer services; they participate in the writing of prayers, offering scripture reflections, creating prayer spaces and leading liturgies, from our littlest students in Kinder right through to Year 6.
We are very proud of the rich liturgical life here at OLHC and are grateful for the overwhelming support of our families and Parish community. We look forward to more celebrations with our families throughout the year!
Student Faith in Action!
A big congratulations and thank you to Ryder, Charlotte and Ethan in Year 4 who approached Mr Piccoli to fundraise to support Guide Dogs Australia. The children purchased lollipops and sold them over 2 recesses raising a huge $170 which will be donated to support the training of Guide Dogs to support and empower Australians with low vision or blindness.
Well done Ryder, Charlotte and Ethan!
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40
Learning with and about the Bible in Year 5
This term, Year 5 is learning to appreciate the sacredness of the Bible as the Word of God and as a guide for us as we build God’s Kingdom today. As part of their learning they are answering the question: How do we use the bible to find out about people and events in the scripture?
After losing our entire school set of Bibles last year, we finally gathered a class set of Bibles that allowed the students to reverence, to be hands on and discuss all the features of the Bible. Year 5 are a wonderful group of inquisitive learners and had a high level of interest and excitement during this activity.
Great work, Year 5!
Making Jesus Real Awards
KP
Thea B - For being a kind and considerate member of our class. Thank you for shining your light Thea!
1L
Zephyr Latimer - For always showing a kind and generous heart towards others. Thank you Zephyr, you are a valued class member in 1L.
Lachlan Collins - For showing consideration towards others and being thoughtful in your actions. 1L is so blessed to have you in our class Lachlan!
2L
Jack Gooley - being a kind and caring friend to your classmates, and bringing a positive energy to our room
2P
Robbie Simiana-Armstrong - For being a king and generous classmate, who does everything with a smile on his face. Thank you for brightening up our room, Robbie!
3L
Braith Fing - For his consistent beautiful and reverent participation during prayer. You are a great model, Braith!
3P
Anika Burt - For her gentle nature, her care for her classmates and teachers, and her sense of fairness. You make Jesus real everyday, Anika!
4L
Hamish Johnson - For never seeing a need without doing something about it. Keep shining your light Hamish !!
4P
4P - for being welcoming, friendly, caring and inclusive to our lovely new student Scarlett! You are all amazing young people!
5L
6P
Sophie N - for the joy you share with others each day. Keep letting your light shine bright, Sophie!
Learning & Teaching
Kindergarten
Year 1
Year 2
3P- Turn and Talk partner discussions, publishing writing and playing place value wars.
3L- Writing from a point of view about the Daintree Rainforest.
4P- Writing about the point of view of a character from the book 'Voices in the Park'.
4L- Gallery walk to give feedback on each others writing from the point of view of a character in the book, 'Voices in the Park'.
5L- Writing from the point of view of a character in a Lego model.
Year 6- Comparing their writing from the point of view of a character in a Lego model.
OLHC Achievement Awards
KP
Liam Ramsey - For better focus during learning tasks - keep it up Liam!
Luka O’Driscoll - For putting in 100% effort in all your literacy and mathematical tasks! Great job Luka!
Ethan Brock - For your consistent effort and growth in phonics lessons - keep up the good work Ethan!
1L
Patrick Pine - For his outstanding effort and explanation when classifying 20 shapes. Well done Patrick.
Leo Clapham - For displaying a positive and can-do attitude during reading. Keep up the great work Leo!
2L
Ramona Kentridge - For using imagery and personification in your writing. You have a natural flair for writing.
Curtis Sawatzki - For displaying fantastic work habits and making positive choices in the classroom.
2P
Riley McKinnon - For your descriptive complex sentences in writing. Keep up the amazing effort Riley!
Lennox Haydon - For demonstrating persistence and working really hard to achieve your writing goal. Your writing is improving out of sight. Keep up the fantastic work, Lenny!
3L
Taetum Presbury Sonntag-Boll - Well done for setting, achieving and maintaining your personal and academic goals. Keep up the hard work! I am so proud of your efforts.
Juliet Wilson- For your use of persuasive language features in your writing, Well done !
3P
Brody Berry - For the incredible vocabulary used in your writing pieces this week. Your audience was incredibly engaged because of this! Great effort.
Clancy-Floyd Lucas-Powell - For the amazing job you did writing from the point of view of a cockatoo. This can be really tricky, and for your first time you did a superb job. Well done!
4L
Quintin Fergus - For working hard to develop his knowledge of equivalent fractions. You are a math star!!
Aiden Jackson - For enthusiastically contributing to all class discussions. Thank you for your great insights Aiden.
4P
Kaiden Kelly - For the amazing start you have made to term 2. Keep up the great effort!
Milani Hague - for working hard and listening carefully at all times. Keep up the great work Milani, you are a star!
5L
Rhys McNamara - For an amazing start to Term 2. You are settled and focussed on your learning. Well done Rhys and keep it up.
Ava O’Sullivan - For amazing work and improvement with your reading. Keep up the greater work Ava!
6P
Harrison N - for always trying your best and completing all learning tasks to the best of your ability. Well done, Harrison!
Kobi P - for your curiosity and determination to deepen your understanding of learning tasks. Keep it up, Kobi!
Sports News
Zone Cross Country
The Richmond Zone Cross Country was held on Wednesday 3rd May at Hepburn Park Goonellabah. 47 students proudly represented Our Lady Help of Christians. Congratulations to the following students who placed in the top 8 in the 9-12yrs races and have now been selected to attend the Lismore Diocesan Cross Country on Tuesday 23rd May.
9 years boys
- Hamish Johnson - 3rd
- Nash Brock - 7th
10 years girls
- Harper Jasmin - 1st
- Bailey Newton - 3rd
11 years girls
- Laini Lynch - 8th
12/13 years girls
- Maggie Aylward - 6th
We also had the following students place in the top 8 but due to their age, will not progress to the Lismore Diocesan Cross Country:
8 years boys
- Brody Berry - 8th
8 years girls
- Willow Hall - 6th
Thank you to Mr Denny and Miss Baker for attending the cross country and supporting the students on the day.
Student Sporting Profile
This week our Sports Captains interviewed Kobi and Maggie about their favourite sport.
Term Two - Events
- Tuesday the 23rd of May - DIO Primary Cross Country at Grafton
- Friday the 9th of June - Our Lady Help of Christians Athletic Carnival at Riverview Park
Term Three - Events
- Thursday the 27th of July - Zone Athletics Carnival at Riverview Park
- Wednesday the 9th of August - DIO Athletics Carnival - Locate to be confirmed
- Friday the 18th of August - Richmond Zone Gala Day
Term Four - Events
- Thursday the 2nd of November - Richmond Zone Summer Sports Trials (Year 5 and 6 ONLY)
- Friday the 24th of November - DIO Summer Sports Trials
- Our Lady Help of Christians Swimming Carnival - Date to be confirmed
School News
WE’RE TAKING IT IN OUR STRIDE ON FRIDAY 19 MAY 2023
Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. And although walking all the way to school isn’t realistic for many of us, it’s quite easy to figure out how you can build a walk into your family’s dailyroutine.
You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by:
• Walking with them the whole way to school
• If they get the bus or train, walk past your usual stop and get on at the next stop
• If you have to drive, park the car a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way.
Regular exercise like walking with your child not only helps them (and you!) beat chronic problems like obesity, heart disease, behavioural and mental health issues and diabetes. It also gives you a great opportunity to teach your child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic.
Remember, Active Kids are Healthy Kids so get planning your own Walk Safely to School Day journey for Friday 19 MAY 2023!
For more information, visit www.walk.com.au
Community News
