Term 2 Week 3 Newsletter - 17.05.24
Principal News
Pentecost
This weekend we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, the time when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so that the disciples could begin the difficult task of going out to the world to spread the Good News. Imagine the disciples locked in a room feeling scared, alone and afraid, then Jesus appears, showing them that they do not need to be afraid. The disciples’ fear is suddenly turned into rejoicing. Jesus hands on his mission to the disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit to give them the strength to continue the good work, forgive others and show us how to love like Jesus did.
Our Lady Help of Christians Feast Day
This Friday we will celebrate the feast of Mary, Our Lady Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia. Even though Mary is the help of all Christians, she is the one whom we turn to for help and protection for our parish school and our nation, Australia. It will be beautiful to see our parish school community come together to celebrate this special feast day. Year 1 students will be leading us in a liturgy here at school and Year 5 and 6 will be joining parishioners and Father Jim at the Church to celebrate this special day for Our Lady Help of Christians.
Our school is truly blessed to have such a dedicated staff, wonderful students and such a supportive parent and parish community.
Attendance Matters
Each day’s learning builds on what has been learnt before.
Regular school attendance is crucial for several reasons, and the cumulative nature of learning is one of them. Here are some important points:
- Sequential Learning. Subjects are structured in a sequential manner, where concepts and skills build upon each other. Each lesson introduces new material that relies on the foundation established in previous lessons. Consistent attendance ensures that students don't miss key building blocks in their education.
- Practice and Reinforcement. Learning is not just about exposure to information but also about practice and reinforcement. Regular attendance allows students to engage in activities, discussions, and assignments that reinforce what they've learned, contributing to retention and understanding.
- Social and Collaborative Learning. Beyond individual learning, school is also a place for social and collaborative learning. Regular attendance allows students to participate in group activities, discussions, and projects, fostering social skills and teamwork.
- Building a Growth Mindset. Consistent attendance fosters a growth mindset, where students develop the belief that their abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. This mindset is essential for tackling challenges and embracing a lifelong learning attitude.
School attendance is not just about being physically present; it's about actively participating in the learning process, building a foundation of knowledge and skills, and preparing for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Each day of school offers a valuable opportunity for growth and development, making regular attendance a key factor in a student's educational journey.
Pupil Free Day- Staff Proclaim
A reminder that Wednesday 29th May is a pupil free day. Staff will be attending Xavier Catholic College for the day to join with staff from all schools in our Richmond area for Proclaim 2024.
OSHC will be available for any families needing this service for the day. Please contact Shona Powell on 0491147831 if you experience any difficulties booking in.
Parent Code of Conduct
Week 2 - Conversations about Bullying
Having an open dialogue about bullying with your child is crucial for fostering trust, understanding, and resilience. You could use this video from Bullying No Way as a conversation starter.
Here are some tips for initiating and maintaining this important conversation:
● Ensure that your child feels comfortable and safe discussing sensitive topics like bullying. Choose a quiet, private setting where your child feels relaxed and free to express themselves without fear of judgment or reprisal.
● Be ready to manage your reactions.
● Start the conversation by asking open-ended questions that invite your child to share their thoughts and experiences. For example, you could ask, "Can you tell me about what's been happening at school lately?" or "How are things going with your friends?"
● Practice active listening by giving your child your full attention and demonstrating empathy and understanding. Avoid interrupting or dismissing their feelings, even if you disagree with their perspective. Reflect back on what they're saying to show that you're truly listening and validating their experience.
● Let your child know that their feelings are valid and that it's normal to feel upset or worried about bullying. Reassure them that they're not alone and that you're there to support them every step of the way.
● Focus on empowering them with knowledge and strategies for dealing with bullying. Help your child to brainstorm possible solutions or strategies to manage the situation. If your child is experiencing bullying or if the conversation reveals other issues, contact the school.
By fostering an open and supportive dialogue about bullying, you can help your child feel empowered, resilient, and equipped to navigate challenging situations with confidence. Starting the conversation about this topic should be grounded in your family's beliefs and values. Make sure you have early, regular conversations with your child about the values you have as a family regarding respect and care for others and the dignity of each human person.
What are your family values? How do you as a family provide healthy opportunities to grow in mutual love and respect?
Mission News
Mother's Day Liturgy
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.
We were blessed with fine weather (well, no rain at least!) last Friday morning as we celebrated our mums and motherly figures with a yummy breakfast and a beautiful liturgy led by 5P.
A huge thank you to Mrs McCarthy and our year 5 leaders. It was a beautiful liturgy and very hard not to shed a tear! We are so proud of your leadership and reverence.
Year 1 Ascension Liturgy
On Thursday 9th May we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus. Forty Days after Jesus rose from the dead he went with his followers to the top of a mountain, where he told them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, and then he went up through the clouds and returned to God, our Father in Heaven.
But Jesus isn’t gone forever! He is with us every time we go to mass, in Holy Communion and he is with us as our firend always. Year 1 celebrated a beautiful Liturgy where they recognised Jesus as their friend. Each student in the class wrote a special prayer to their friend Jesus and read it as a response to the Gospel. It was a privilege to listen to their beautiful prayers.
Thank you Year 1 for allowing me to be a part of your very special liturgy and for reminding me that Jesus is always with me.
Welcome to the Family
Congratulations and welcome to the Catholic family Anika (Year 4) and her little sister Elkie, who were Baptised on the 5th May.
May you always remember your Baptism day, and may God's joy, love and peace fill you through all your tomorrows!
Making Jesus Real Awards
KP
Vinnie B - For always being the face of Jesus towards your peers. You are a kind and gentle friend and you look out for others around you. Keep shining bright Vinnie!
1L
Ethan B - For making Jesus Real in our classroom through your empathy, care and compassion for all those around you. Your light is bright Ethan, thank you for sharing it.
2P
Zephyr L - For your beautiful and thoughtful words and kindness towards others in class. You show the true nature of Jesus!
3L
Oliver B - For your selfless actions and the unwavering kindness you show towards your classmates. Keep it up Ollie!
4L
Noah C - For always looking for ways to help others and brighten their days. Keep shining your light Noah!
4P
Paige W - For the bright and cheerful way you come into the classroom and start each day. It is such a joy to have you as part of our class Paige!
5L
Harlee C - For your kindness and thoughtfulness in both words and actions towards others. Keep spreading your light!
5P
Ethan R - For being helpful and considerate in your thoughts and actions towards others. Keep shining bright Ethan!
6P
Toby H - For actively seeking opportunities to include others in the classroom. Thank you Toby, keep shining your light!
Learning & Teaching
Celebrating Writing
Year 2 are learning about Poetry and have created a class poem using repetition, personification, alliteration, rhyme, rhythm and beat.
Willow Wombat goes to school.
Jumping, crawling, looking cool,
She likes to follow all the rules.
Willow Wombat likes to break dance,
Spinning, sliding, gliding-prance!
She likes to twirl with her pizza pants.
Willow Wombat wears pearl earrings,
Shining, dangling, singing, dancing.
She likes to wear her golden rings.
Kindergarten are learning to organise collections in ways that are easy to subitise and count.
Year 1 explored Chance and Data with a dice rolling game.
Year 2 used their mathmatician super-powers to collect data and to design effective ways to display their data.
Year 3 experimenting with writing instructions
Year 4 are creating news reports in drama
Year 5 are creating presentations on Ethiopia for Geography
Year 6 experimenting with expression and voice in drama
OLHC Achievement Awards
KP
Katie F - For applying yourself in mathematics and being able to recognise a variety of number combinations to make a number. Well done Katie.
Frankie S - For fantastic growth in your sound knowledge. You are doing so well with blending your sounds together. Well done Frankie!
Lily T - For always being attentive and focused on learning. You are showing fantastic growth in all areas Lily. Keep it up!
Travis B - For consistently applying yourself to improve your fine motor skills. You've improved so much Travis!
1L
Rhylee B - For being a dedicated learner in Mathematics, explaining your thinking clearly and seeking to challenge yourself. Well done Rhylee.
Tallis J - For thinking deeply about scriptiure shared, and asking insightful questions that promote meaningful class discussion. Thank you Tallis.
Dustin J - For becoming an independant learner and displaying confidence and growth in all areas. Keep up the great work Dustin.
Willow M - For outstanding expression when reading aloud to add meaning and engage her listener. It is a pleasure to listen to you read Willow.
Claire M - For effective use and application of her sound knowledge to produce spelling attempts that enhance her written compositions. Keep up the great work Claire.
2P
Grace B - For your amazing focus and positive attitude with your writing and english tasks. Keep up the great work!
Darcy C - For having a positive attitude towards learning, especially during InitiaLit lessons. Well done!
3L
Riley Mc - For your exceptional effort and perseverance when creating your information text. Keep working hard Riley, you should be really proud of yourself!
Nikki Q - For your outstanding progress and dedication towards learning during our Maths lessons. Keep up the fantastic effort Nikki!
4L
Isla D - For always trying your best and encouraging others. Keep up the great work Isla!
Hudson H - For displaying great knowledge of decimals when converting improper fractions. Well done Hudson!
4P
Sebastian S - For the positive start you have made to the start of term 2! Keep up the great focus and application, Sebby.
Evan S - For your focus and positive attitude towards mathematics lessons. Keep up the great effort, Evan!
5L
William D - For his outstanding skill in naming millions using the place value grouping of ones, tens and hundreds. Well done Will!
Harper S - For speaking confidently and clearly, adapting her ideas to different situations and audiences with courage and skill.
5P
Billy M - For his committment and growth with his spelling and reading. Keep up the great work Billy!
Henry L - For his effort and attention to detail when creating and presenting his multimodel text. Keep up the great work, Henry!
6P
Lexi G - For demonstrating perserverence when attempting challenging Mathematics tasks. Your determination to succeed is admirable, Lexi!
Sports News
At OLHC, we love celebrating the sporting achievements of all our students. If your child has a special achievement that you would love for us to share with the school community, please send any photos and a short paragraph outlining their achievement to Mrs McCarthy - haylee.mccarthy@lism.catholic.edu.au
TAS Rugby Carnival
Robbie Grace and Xavier Boyd competed in the TAS Rugby carnival on the first weekend of the school holidays. Robbie captained the side for the tournament and their team played some amazing Rugby to finish the weekend undefeated and claim the top spot in their division. The boys had a great time sleeping over at the school and making friends with other rugby players from as far south as Sydney & as far north as the Sunshine Coast.
As a school, we congratulate Robbie and Xavier for their outstanding achievement and development with Rugby.
Richmond Zone Cross Country
The Richmond Zone Cross Country was held on Tuesday 7th May at Hepburn Park Goonellabah. 46 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 21st May.
- 11 Years Boys Mason Box (3rd)
- 11 Years Girls Haper Jasmin (1st)
- 11 Years Girls Bailey Newton (6th)
Thank you to Mrs Rose and Mrs Hutley for attending the cross country and supporting the students on the day.
Polding Winter Sports
On Friday the 3rd of May, Harper traveled to Tamworth to participate in the Polding Winter Sports Trials for soccer. She played extremely well throughout the day and displayed exceptional skills which made her a highly competitive contender to be selected to progress to the next level.
All of Harper's hard work paid off and she was selected to represent Polding at NSW State Championships later this year. As a school, we congratulate Harper on her outstanding achievement and as a school, we wish her all the best at the NSW State Championships.
Leaders of Sport
This fortnight, Cooper and Harper interviewed Darcy and Maddie about their favourite sport.
2024 - Events
Please note that these dates may change due to weather or circumstances that we can not control.
Term Two
- Tuesday the 21st of May - DIO Cross Country, Grafton
- Friday the 14th of June - OLHC Athletics Carnival, Riverview Park
Term Three
- Thursday the 1st of August - Richmond Zone Athletics Carnival, Lismore
- Friday the 16th of August - DIO Athletics Carnival, Lismore/Coffs
- Friday the 30th of August - Richmond Zone Gala Day
Term Four
- Monday the 4th of November - Richmond Zone Tennis Summer Sports Trials (Years 4 and 5 ONLY)
- Wednesday the 6th of November - Richmond Zone Cricket Summer Sports Trials (Years 4 and 5 ONLY)
- Thursday the 7th of November - Richmond Zone Touch Football Summer Sports Trials (Years 4 and 5 ONLY)
- Tuesday the 26th of November - DIO Tennis Summer Sports Trials, Lismore (Years 4 and 5 ONLY)
- Friday the 29th of November - DIO Cricket, Softball, Touch Football and Basketball Summer Sports Trials, Lismore (Years 4 and 5 ONLY)
- TBC - OLHC Swimming Carnival
School News
Laboratory of Light
On Friday 7th June (Week 6), our Year 5 and 6 students will attend the Laboratory of Light show hosted by NORPA. This is part of their Science unit for this term and is a great opportunity to learn through drama.
NORPA has opened the show for one night only for families on Thursday 6th June. Please note that this is the night before the Stage 3 performance date. The details are below.
Community News
