26th August 2021
Principals News
Dear Parents and Carers
I hope our newsletter finds you managing as best you can at the moment.
The NSW Premier has just announced this morning that for a further two weeks that our school will be in lockdown until midnight on September 10th. Home Learning will continue as we have these past three weeks.
As teachers we are missing our students and we know that Home Learning brings many challenges to families. I am again reminding all our families to do what you can as best you can. Some days your child will be ready to learn and at other times, it might be a struggle. That’s ok, our children are people too with the same myriad of emotions that adults have. The difference being, as adults we can stop and reflect more easily on the cause of how we are feeling, whilst young children cannot.
Our teachers are really working hard to ensure they connect with their students with zoom check ins and zoom lessons; with Seesaw posts; via email and with our phone calls to each family. We want you to rest assured that our support is solid and ongoing and that as teachers, we truly understand and empathise that Home Learning can be both terrific and tricky at the same time. Please contact us if you need reassurance. We are here for you. The most important thing for families right now is to stay well and if that means having a day without school work but enjoying building a cubby house or riding a scooter…that’s absolutely ok.
We are praying that our community stays safe and healthy at this time of increasing stress and anxiety. In this current climate its important to really think about our children and on social media last year this clip did the rounds and is particularly relevant now. Your children are showing incredible resilience and they need our recognition. So let’s take a minute to again celebrate our children.
“Everyone is applauding everyone…but forgetting our kids!!
These little heroes have stayed indoors more than they’ve ever known in their lives.
Their whole worlds have literally been turned upside down.
All these rules they’ve never known.
A life they couldn’t have imagined.
They miss their friends, they miss their family.
Every day they get up and carry on despite all that’s going on.
Life is so different, changed by a virus that is invisible and unseen.
So here’s to our little heroes, today, tomorrow, forever!
We are so proud of our kids and we applaud each and every one of them!
We are praying for our incredible children during this pandemic.”
Give your children a big hug! Tell them they are going well!
Thank you for your kind messages for our teachers and staff, your thoughtfulness in sending these in is very much appreciated.
Please contact me if I can assist your family in any way.
Stay safe and stay well,
Diane Murphy, Principal
Fun Friday Dress Up Day Kinder White having fun! Can you find Mrs Edwards?
Acting Assistant Principal News
Book Week
This week is Book Week across Australia where we celebrate books and Australian authors and illustrators. Each year the Children’s Book Council of Australia nominates notable books from early childhood to young adult fiction for Book of the Year. Book Week highlights the importance of reading and developing a love of stories and literature in all our students.
Normally as a school community we would dress up as our favourite book character or something reflecting the theme for book week that year. The children would engage in fun Book Week activities with our librarian and with their class teachers at school.
This week at home, join in some fun book related activities as outlined on your child’s home learning grid as well as spend some down time reading a favourite book.
Nurturing your child to develop a lifelong love of reading and their own reader identity is something we value strongly here at Holy Spirit.
Below is listed some of the many benefits for children when they are encouraged to read daily.
Research shows that regular reading:
● improves brain connectivity.
● increases your vocabulary and comprehension.
● strengthens your writing skills.
● expands your knowledge and broadens your world.
● empowers you to empathise with other people.
● aids in sleep readiness.
● reduces stress.
● lowers blood pressure and heart rate.
● fights depression symptoms.
● improves your memory and focus.
● prevents cognitive decline as you age.
Stay safe & happy reading!
Growth mindset
Mindset is EVERYTHING! For all our students, having a GROWTH MINDSET is important. It is a positive to their sense of self, as they believe their talents and abilities can be improved upon with effort and the right strategies. Carol Dwerk in her TED talk explains that the power of believing you can helps children to cope with challenges. With a growth mindset, students are able to see mistakes as an opportunity for learning and use the information to improve.
Useful Link for Parents: The Big Life Journal has a fantastic blog and range of resources to support children building a growth mindset. Check out Big Life Journal via the link below for more information.
Many blessings,
Courtney Porter, Acting Assistant Principal
Acting REC New
Loving God,
We come before you as a Catholic Community, in humble trust. In this time of trial, immerse us in your love and compassion. Grant us wisdom and patience, especially those enduring lockdown. May we be open to your healing touch, and remember, with gratitude, your presence with us, always and everywhere.
Rainbows of Hope
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many to experience feelings of isolation and despair as our everyday lives change on a daily basis. Last week families were invited to create posters with the word HOPE and hang in windows or in front yards. This initiative was designed to foster a sense of community across the Diocese. Seeing the work of many of our students certainly brightened my week and made many staff smile. Thankyou!
See the full gallery here: https://mnnews.today/catholic-schools/2021/gallery-of-hope/
Amidst the challenge of the week appeared the message of Hope
What are we learning in Religion?
During our third week of home learning, students continue to engage in Religion lessons and share their ideas and completed tasks with their teachers on Seesaw. Famous quotes from Mary MacKillop and detailed artworks completed prior to lockdown brighten each classroom.
Kindergarten have been learning that they can always talk to God. This week students have been writing prayers to God and drawing themselves talking to God.
Year 1 recently wrote prayers to Mary (Jesus’ Mother) and are currently learning about the stories in the Hebrew Scriptures. This week they have been busy listening to and sequencing the story ‘The Great Flood’.
Year 2 have been listening to and responding to stories about Jesus in the Christians Scriptures. Students were asked what the story about Jesus calming the storm tells us about Jesus. Here are some of the responses:
The story about Jesus calming the storm shows He is the true son of God- Zayne.
The story about Jesus calming the storm shows Jesus can calm down storms- Sofia
The story about Jesus calming the storm shows Jesus can perform miracles and we should have faith in Him- Xanthie
The story about Jesus calming the storm shows us that Jesus is always with us, even when bad things are happening like storms. Jesus will keep us safe, always- Aiden.
The story shows that Jesus is loyal to his disciples and that Jesus is truly the Son of God. Gracie G
The story tells us that Jesus is the son of God because he calmed the storm and he had faith in God. Ella R
The disciples were amazed because Jesus calmed the storm with his words. Jesus is the son of God. Jorja B
The story about Jesus calming the storm shows that he is the son of God. Ashton J
Religion work from our classrooms
Parish Mass times
Due to COVID lockdown Mass will be livestreamed from Cessnock at 10:30 am on Sunday 29th August.
Take care,
Meagan Edwards.
Book Club News
Issue 6 of book club will close on Friday the 31st August. Sorry for the short notice. Parents you can go online at Scholastic Book Club and access the online catalogue, then place your order via the Parent LOOP as normal.
Issue 5 of Book Club may be collected tomorrow from school by phoning the office once you are at the front gate. Otherwise we will keep your order safe at school.
Book Week News
Each year since 1945 the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. You will often see parades with students dressed as their favourite book character.
I am so proud of Year 2 and their efforts to celebrate CBCA Book Week. It may have looked a little different this year but we had so much fun sharing book riddles and dressing up via Zoom. Across this week each Home Learning Grid focused on the CBCA Book Week short listed books. They are terrific to read and we hope the children have truly enjoyed them.
Can you find Mrs Collingwood? Thanks Year 2 for joining in. You all look terrific!
Covid Intensive Learning Support Update:
Mrs Kreutzer has contacted our current Year 2 students who were a part of this small group intervention program which we began in Term 2. This program is a funded initiative of the government in recognition of the disrupted learning in 2020. We have had terrific success with our intervention before lockdown and are keen to continue with our Year 2's at this stage. These students will be offered a Zoom lesson via invitation for the next two weeks whilst we are in extended lockdown. Mrs Kreutzer has contacted the families involved. We are hoping the regularity of the lessons will assist these children to maintain their reading progress at this time. My thanks to the families involved in accomodating our request for a regular zoom timeslot. We know it is hard when you may have children at the Infants and Primary schools.
We ask God's blessing on each of our families. Stay safe and stay well! We miss you all!
Holy Spirit Infants Staff
Diane Murphy