Last Sunday’s Gospel…

“I am the way, the truth and the light,” said Jesus. These are three small words Jesus uses to describe Himself but they hold a very powerful and helpful message for us. As we journey through our lives Jesus shows us the way by His own example and that of those around us who continue His work. The words He spoke are truth as are all the things he taught us so we need only to look for them when we are making a decision. Finally, He lights our path by His presence with us and through the gifts He gave us to do what we need to do. He really makes it sound very easy when He says to just “Follow Me”.

From the Principal...

Our goals for the year are humming along very well. By goals I mean the School Improvement Goals we set ourselves each year. Put simply, these are the areas, according to our data, we need to ‘get better’ at. You have read about or heard me speaking about them before and I thought I’d give you an update. 

Firstly, we are getting to know who Jesus is. We are learning about the historical figure and significant events in his life. A picture timeline in every classroom is helping with this because whenever the teachers study a story with the students they are showing them where it fits into Jesus’ life. The new bibles and text books (thanks P&F!) are all just about ready to go and help with this too. Studying Christmas at the moment in Stage 3 with the Christmas Art competition has shown us we can’t take for granted that students know who visited Jesus when he was born, or that he also lived in Egypt or that John the Baptist was his cousin. It is this factual knowledge we are working on – the students are very good at the application of stories to carry out missionary work. Secondly we are looking at how we assess students to measure their learning growth but also to measure teacher impact on learning. The Localised Numeracy Assessment is a standard based assessment the students complete each term that helps with this. Teachers meet about the results because by it we can see individual, class and grade trends and adjust plans accordingly to cater for these needs. By comparing one class’ results to another, teachers also discuss teaching techniques so they can increase their impact by learning from each other. Mrs Smith and I coordinate these discussions fortnightly on various data including reading, EALD, writing and religion, as well as anything else the teachers ask for, and we get a very good overall picture of how we are going as a school. EALD has also been a focus with around 70% of our population coming from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds and 38% with English as an Additional Language or Dialect. Explicit teaching of vocabulary and field knowledge has been central to this journey too and just as essential for native speakers because we don’t all go to the beach, or a park, museums, on a picnic or even travel on public transport. We are seeing the benefits of this work in increased comprehension of reading texts and richer writing. Our Years 3-5 teachers have also been working with our Instructional Coach on maintaining our excellent Year 3 English NAPLAN results in writing through to Year 5. Data shows we drop down a lot so we have been working on that too. A study of results next year will show us how much difference we are making – there may be some this year already.

As you have been reading, we have done a great deal of work preparing for Book Week and Grandparent’s Day. We are looking forward to having so many people at school again. Planning has been in conjunction with Covid safe measures around having a large number of guests in place. I look forward to seeing you all!

God Bless,

Mrs Michelle Rolfe

Principal

3 Ways to Teach Your Child to be a Good Friend 

Healthy relationships and good friends make us happy. These friendships are built over time in families, communities, schools, and even online. Making and growing friendships takes a lot of work, by both parents and children, but they can be one of the most rewarding experiences in a child’s life.

Making friends (and keeping them) is an important life skill for us all. In this article, you will find three ways to help teach your children about friendship and how they can be good friends.

1. Clearly share what good friends do.

Help your child to understand that a good friend:

• Remembers important things and dates (birthdays, talents, things you’ve achieved etc.)
• Can be relied on – they’re dependable
• Do and say kind things to and for each another.
• Offer to help when a friend is sad, frustrated or has a problem.
• Enjoys spending time together.
• Like having fun with each other

2. Read books about friendship.

There are so many great friendships portrayed in children’s books. Some of our favourites include:

• My New Friend is So Fun by Mo Willems - Gerald the elephant overcomes anxiety and jealousy when his best friend, Piggie, starts spending time with a new pal named Brian Bat.
• The Almost Terrible Playdate by Rich Torrey – emotions run high when a strong-willed boy and girl can’t agree on what to play. Can they turn the playdate around before it’s too late?
• Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel - Frog is upbeat and always optimistic. Toad is well… kind of a grump. But together, they can solve any problem.

Books are a great way for parents and carers to start discussions about relationships and what makes a good friend (kind, thoughtful, helpful, good listener, etc). These books show, that despite their differences, people can still be good friends. They playfully illustrate the importance of being kind, respectful, and helping each other to solve problems.

3. Be a role model, be a good friend yourself.

This is one of the best ways to teach children about being a good friend. When talking about your friends, always be positive and be sure to make time for your friends and find ways to help them. Bring your children with you if possible so they can see the impact of good friends firsthand. Think about the characteristics of good friends and demonstrate them consistently yourself.

Being a good friend takes practice, so don’t expect to get it right first or every time. Keep encouraging your children and help them by being a good friend yourself.

Visit Catholiccare Parenting HUB | For more tips and practical advice on building positive relationships with your child.

The resources in Catholiccare Parenting HUB are put together by family specialists who work with families across Sydney every day.  You can call our professional Parent Line NSW counsellors on 1300 1300 52 for individual advice.  For additional support including course information please contact Catholiccare Wollongong at 0242271122 #alwaysconnected

Disclaimer: This article does not give professional advice.  The contents constitute general information of a summary nature of interest and relevance at the time of publication. You should not rely on the contents as professional advice but should seek, formal advice in particular matters relevant to your particular situation

Dear Parents and Carers,

 This term we will be celebrating G’Day and Book Week on Friday 2nd September 2022.

We would like to invite our parents and grandparents to join us for a Liturgy followed by open classrooms, morning tea, Book Week Parade and Choral Speaking Performance. These events may be subject to change depending on weather and COVID-19 cases.

This year the theme for Book Week is ‘Dreaming with eyes open…’. On Friday 2nd September students are encouraged to come to school dressed as their favourite character from a book. We do not expect parents to go out and purchase an expensive costume for this event.

Further information will come in the following weeks so please ensure you check Compass and read the school newsletter.

Kind Regards,

 Miss Natasha Ferderer and Miss Alana Stroligo      

Middle Leader/s        

2022

 *Friday 23 September, 2022 - Pupil free day* 

The uniform shop will be open Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, 2.30pm - 3.15pm.

If you have any used and good condition school uniforms/clothes, they would be greatly appreciated.  These can be taken directly to the Shop on the above dates or can always be dropped off at the School Office!

Please remember it is cash only - no EFTPOS facilities are available.