10th September 2021

Principal News

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we wait to hear what the definite plans will be for coming out of this current lockdown, I wanted to again acknowledge the efforts you as parents and carers are going to in order to support your children continue their learning whilst at home. Our homes are full of distractions when children are trying to do Home Learning and for many of you to whom Ive spoken, that’s the challenge. Setting up a routine so your children feel in control of their learning, that predictability really supports them and I am very aware that with toddlers, babies, older children, teenagers, extended family members and parents working from home all in the one place…that’s a big struggle. So many families have made time to go for bike rides, scooter rides, bush walks, visits to the park, play outdoors, help in the garden all wonderful ways to enjoy this terrific weather and one another’s company in our great outdoors. Nature has that incredible way of clearing our minds; the sunshine makes us feel great; the wind in our hair as we ride a bike feels awesome and gives a sense of freedom to our children and let’s face it, it’s not like we care any more what our hair looks like! 😊

Being outdoors also reduces stress and for families that’s what we at Holy Spirit Infants have planned for the final week of the term. Our focus is on wellbeing and the importance of being kind – Kind to themselves and to their family members. We do need to show kindness to one another, and some patience too as everyone responds differently to this health crisis across the world. 

This week we have taken a different approach given it’s the end of the term and we have created a focus around wellbeing – wellbeing for our students and for our families. I feel its important for us to enable the children to focus in on their feelings of being in lockdown and we have devised some activities to help every child engage in exploring their feelings around this. 

Enter “The Lockdown Club” which is a series of seven short and very age appropriate videos that we want every child to watch please. The video link is in the grid and we ask that students watch one video at a time and then complete one of the activities of choice in their response.  Remembering this focus is on your child’s wellbeing and it is vital that they take this opportunity to think and respond to their current situation of lockdown.

The password is UNLOCK. This is also written on the Week 10 Home Learning grid. 

We have created just one Home Learning Grid for Wellbeing Week. The link will be shared on Compass on Friday, so the can even watch the videos on your phone. Every activity that we have suggested allows your child to choose what they’d like to do in response to the videos presented by the various puppet characters. It’s fun! It’s light and we hope it will mean a fun and relaxed week for families.

Wednesday is a tech free day this week and you will see we have listed various fun activities for children to do alone, with their siblings or as a family that day.

Your children can still access their online programs like Reading Eggs and Prodigy if you wish them to do so, but we have not set any tasks on Seesaw this week. Children are invited to share back to their teacher any of the activities they do across Wellbeing Week. 

As a staff we hope that this approach will be a helpful way to manage this coming week. As always we are here to support you in any way we can. Our teachers will continue to contact all families across the week to check in with you and are more than happy to talk with your child too.

We do miss each child so much! 

This week then gently rolls into the two weeks of school holidays where families can take a break from Home Learning. 

This week is National Child Protection Week and our Diocese is committed to ensuring every child has the important knowledge and skills to keep safe.

“It is important that we listen to, and value, what children have to say. Where possible, include their voices in decision making and be advocates for their best interest. 

By speaking regularly to children about their personal safety and how they can protect themselves, as well as “tuning into” their worries, children are more likely to trust us and feel comfortable to talk to us when something big is going on.”

Diocese of Maitland Newcastle Office of Safeguarding

Given our current circumstances you will find in our newsletter some Cyber Safety information for you to read. Below is a video provided to us by the Diocesan Office of Safeguarding which I encourage you to view.

We have also shared a link to valuable resources suitable for 5-8yr olds. If you visit the Office of Safeguarding Website https://officeofsafeguarding.org.au/national-child-protection-week/ there are numerous resources for parents of children of all ages.  Please take a look. 

Kinder 2022 Enrolments

Offers of enrolment have been sent out and are being processed. We have planned for our usual transition visits for our incoming Kindergarten students to take place in November but once again, we can only confirm these when the time gets closer. If we cannot proceed, please be aware that as a school we will creatively address the situation and respond. More details to come.

Year 3 2022 Enrolments at Holy Spirit Kurri Kurri

As above, we have planned transition visit/s to Holy Spirit Kurri for next term as we firmly believe how important it is for our Year 2 students to spend time at the Primary school prior to starting Year 3. The transition usually takes place in November and information around the process will be shared prior to that.  

If you have not yet made application to Kurri, please contact the office at Kurri for information.

Update on Dates now cancelled

• Please note the Pupil Free Day for Monday 13^th September is cancelled. School is open for the children of Essential Workers who are at work.
• Our Planned Musical at Cessnock Performing Arts Centre has been cancelled for 2021. A very tough decision but given the current restrictions and in anticipation of likely other restrictions placed on schools in regards to singing, assemblies etc, we cannot continue.

We will reschedule for 2022 and my thanks to our Music Teacher Mrs Julie Fawcett for all her work with our students in both music and drama; thanks also to Montana Doyle who is a highly respected Dance teacher and who had every student dancing and enjoying busting out their moves and to Mrs Shakespeare, Mrs Focic, Mrs Williams, Mr Ozimek and Mrs Bolam for their work behind the scenes with props and costuming. All these resources will make putting on the show a little easier in 2022.

School Fee Statements

School Fees enable us to pay accounts as they become due as we must closely monitor our cash flow. On Tuesday we sent out our Fee statements as per CSO schedule of fee reminders for all schools. This year is different as it’s the first time that statements were for an annual amount, rather than a termly fee and this may have been overlooked by some families. School fees are essential and as Principal, it is my responsibility to ensure school fees are collected. I also have the authority to arrange reductions in cases of genuine need, so please contact the school for a zoom/phone appointment and we can discuss your situation. In the words of the Director of School “Given school fee payments should have been happening all year, we will not move to COVID-19 concessions as we did last year”, and so by making a payment plan will ensure your debt doesn’t become a burden. We thank you for your ongoing commitment to paying your fees.  

Tell Them From Me Survey

In 2020 our Diocese sent out a survey to every family in every school titled "Tell Them From Me". It's a survey which asks several questions, it doesnt take too long to complete online, and this year it is coming again.  There is a spearate survey for Parents/carers and one for Teachers. As a school we used the data the survey collated to inform our school planning for 2021. 

Some of the ways we have addressed what Parents shared with us was: 

1. Parents who responded rated our school very high as a place where their children feel safe and supported and where the children know the school rules. 

We were delighted to receive this feedback and as a result, we then had a team of teachers plan a set of lessons to explicitly teach our school rules to the children using role play, creative arts and video clips and make this imapct even better. As a staff we have seen that since we have implemented this, every child is able to clearly articulate and also adjust their behaviour as needed. Our playground incidents have lessoned incredibly. So thank you! 

2. Parents who responded shared that they did not feel they heard enough feedback from their child's teacher about their child's social and emotional development. 

In response we implemented from the start of the year the practice where every teacher would communicate via a "positive phone call" and share a good news story with each Parent/Carer. We adopted this practice for terms 1 and 3 as we have the School Reporting process in Terms 2 and 4. We found as a team that this not only helped teachers to develop that relationship which we pride ourselves on as partners in your child's education, but it was a special opportunity to share something special about your child's day at school. Again, we thank you for giving us this feedback as we are always working to improve our school. 

3. Parents who responded shared with us that they didn't quite know if our school undertakes work with studnets in the area of Mission and Justice. 

As a Catholic school we are immersed in teaching our students our Gospel values just as Jesus taught us - to love one another; to care for each other; to look after the poor; to give what we have and share. So the survey reponses were something we reviewed as a staff and in response we decided that in our newsletters we would more clearly articulate with parents that the events we hold every year are actually Social Justice Teachings. eg Project Compassion during Lent where the children learn about the poor anf marginalised in Australia and the world and where families are encouraged to donate to the Project Compassion Appeal- that this is part of our Social Justice practices. When we hold a St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal or Christmas Appeal, we are teaching about social justice and our "mission" to help others. Similarly when we hold "Socktober"  or a "Crazy Hair Day" fundraiser for Catholic Mission, these are teaching your children about Social Justice - thinking of others and raising their awareness that not everyone has what they may have at home. 

These are just three little examples of what we learnt from the data from last year's survey. We also learnt that as a school, we are doing very well compared to other schools across the diocese and naturally, that was terrific! Thank you! 

We are always looking for ways to improve Holy Spirit Infants - and we value your feedback so may I encourage you to please take the time to give us some feedback. We would like as many responses as possible. It is an anonymous survey and will be available from Oct 5th to Oct 29th with a link sent to you online. 

If you have feedback that is not captured in this survey, or some issue you really feel passionate about, please pick up the phone and call me to share and discuss. 

May I thank you for all you are doing to support your child/children and acknowledge that keeping them home as per the NSW Health orders has been tough, you've done so well. Thank you for keeping your children safe at home when you could as this also protected our staff as well. 

Wellbeing week next week is for you as well.

Take good care and as always, just do what you can with Home Learning. Enjoy the school holidays which begin on Monday 20th September and conclude on Tuesday 6th October. However face to face teaching will not resume until Monday 25th October. Details of the return to school will be shared when I receive them. Stay safe! 

May God Bless you and your family,

Diane Murphy Principal 

Acting Assistant Principal News

Welcome to week 9!

Next week is wellbeing week for all students. I thought I would take this opportunity to remind you about the importance of play. Play is an essential and healthy part of child development. During lockdown we encourage you to play with your children and allow them the opportunity to explore their natural world through play.  Professor John Fischetti recently published an article in the Newcastle Herald reminding us that your children aren’t ’falling behind’ in this lockdown, but actually developing many other important skills such as empathy, connectedness and social justice awareness. He also highlights in the article ways to promote and encourage play. A link to the article can be found below.

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7394875/relax-your-kids-arent-really-falling-behind/

Internet Safety Tips

As we continue home learning we have noticed across the school that our students ICT skills have continued to develop and that they have become more comfortable with zoom and other technologies.

With this increased confidence and access to technology, children can become more at risk if their internet use is not monitored accordingly.

There are many educational games that students can access at any age - however it is important that parents regulate their use - the use of a timer to limit the amount of screen time that students are exposed to - is one suggestion.

Ensuring that if children are playing online, parents should know who the gamers are that their child is interacting with. It is always best to play against local friends, and not invite strangers into online games or virtual worlds.

It is also important that parents only allow video game playing or movie watching in the public areas of the home. This would ensure children are getting the necessary hours of sleep to ensure they are ready for school each and every day.

Checking the age rating on the game, app, film or social network is a great guide as to whether they’re suitable for your child.

Moving into a digital age, we want your children to be safe whilst online. If you like more tips on keeping your child safe when online, The following cyber safety resources have been developed to support parents further and can be accessed by the links below.

Have a happy and restful holiday and I look forward to seeing you all again soon!

Courtney Porter

Acting Assistant Principal

Acting REC News

Father’s Day

Thank you to all those who were able to join us last Friday for our Father’s Day zoom prayer. It was fantastic to see Dad’s, Grandparents and family members gather for a moment of prayer and reflection. We hope all father figures were thanked and celebrated.

Perpetual Day of Remembrance

September 15 is marked by the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese as a Perpetual Day of Remembrance. Such a day holds before us our history of child sexual abuse and the reality of its continual unfolding in the lives of those directly and indirectly affected. This day is an opportunity for all of us to stand with survivors who are suffering. 

It is important that all of us do our part to make sure everyone in our school – students, staff and families – feel safe, respected and supported. September 15 is a day to focus on Jesus and pray that we will keep changing and growing and behaving in ways that allow all people in our community to be safe, to be respected and to be free to learn and grow.

Praying at home

Even while learning at home Kindergarten have been practising our School Prayer and thanking God for the wonderful things we have in life. Students have been busy making crosses, practising the sign of the cross and genuflecting. I look forward to sharing more wonderful work in upcoming newsletters.

Parish Mass times

Due to COVID lockdown Mass will be livestreamed from Cessnock at 10:30 am on Sunday 12th September.

Take care,

Meagan Edwards

My New Gallery

Home Learning with Zoom Sessions Year 2 Zoom Session

This is screen shot of both year 2 classes completing the number talk for today. You can see lots of students concentrating which is great to see. Thank you to all our parents for making this important connection happen if you could. It has helped everyone stay connected. 

Year 1 W Zoom

This week 1 White shared some exciting 'Zoom' time. We played 'Guess Who' and then shared a story about a very stinky mysterious creature behind a fence. Here are our photos. 

Our zoom sessions this week will involve some games and fun with your child's teacher and the class. Please join in.  

Monday:

9.30am Kinder Zoom: What's that sound Game and check in. 

10.30am Yr 2 Zoom: The Drawing Game and check in 

Tuesday: 

10.30am Yr 1 Zoom: Guess the animal Game and check in

Wednesday: Tech free Day  -No zooms. 

Thursday:

9.30am Kinder Zoom: The Drawing Game and check in 

10.30am Yr 1 Zoom: What's that sound Game and check in. 

Friday: 

10.30am Yr 2 Zoom: Scattegories Game and final check in before the holidays. 

                                                                  Come join in the fun!