12th May 2022

Principals News

Dear Parents and Carers,

May is traditionally dedicated in a special way to honoring and seeking the intercession of Mary as the Mother of God and Mother of the Church. On May 24th we celebrate Mary, Help of Christians, another name given to Mary Mother of God.  On Sunday Australia celebrated all mothers as it was Mother's Day and the idea that mothers have a day to be recognised for all that they are and all that they do for their children. Just as Mary, the Mother of God, loved and raised her Son Jesus, our mothers also dedicate themselves to loving and raising their family. Some mothers are mothers to children who are not theirs but to whom they offer a loving family life to share in. We hope everyone was able to enjoy their Mother's Day. The children were excited to be able to share with their mothers a card and a gift they had made or bought at the school's Mother's day stall. We hope that special moment was delightful for all! 

On Monday we celebrated Mother's day at our school with a beautiful liturgy in St Francis Xavier Church. The church was filled with mothers, grandmothers, aunties, step mothers and a few dads and grandfathers were able to join us too. It was just wonderful to see everyone there who was able to attend given the change of date. Our thanks to Mel (Jett's Mum 2W) and Valley Fresh Flowers for the kind and generous donation of stunning flowers which our school leaders proudly shared with all Mums. We had so many smiling and happy parents join us, that the altar in the church was filled and all the children were staring up with so much love as we blessed you all.

The children were delighted and excited to have so many parents then come to join us for afternoon tea and some gorgeous pampering activities! The nail polish colours were out of this world! We had some Mums trying yoga; some enjoyed a massage; others had a photo in the photo booth and many walked away with some beautiful paper flowers they had made together with their child/grandchild. It was a very special afternoon shared with our very special Mums and all our staff were thrilled to be able to meet parents and grandpareents face to face. We sure have missed you! 

Our next big event will be Friday 20th May as we host our Athletics Fun Day and Cross Country carnival here at the school. I am very hopeful that the new covered walkway project will be completed by then and that we can begin to utilise this terrific new facility at our school. We will need volunteers on Friday 20th May to assist with our cross country event; the age races; cooking the bbq and serving the bbq.  Please call Dot/Bonney in the office to let us know if you can spare a few hours to help out. There is no canteen on this day aswe have our meal deal. Volunteers need to be approved please. 

Holy Spirit Kurri Kurri Athletics Carnival is to be held Thursday 26th May. Only our competitive      8 yr old runners are invited to attend the day hosted for the Primary School. The carnival will be held at Maitland Park. Our Infnats School students are invited to compete in the 8 Yr old 100m; the Junior 200m and the 800m events only. Infants School students may not join the tabloids, shot put or long jump. If your child is 8yrs old and competes at Little Athletics and has a distance for shot put and a distance for long jump, they are welcome to send these in to Ms Murphy for comparison with the distances required to be eligible for the Regional Athletics Carnival. A permission note has been sent home to Year 2 students who are good runners. It is a normal school day for all Year 2 students at Holy Spirit Infants not attending. Parents will need to transport their child to and from the Maitland Park venue. If you have questions, please contact Ms Murphy at school. Thank you. 

Have a wonderful fortnight and we look foreward to seeing some of you here at school very soon. 

Kind Regards

Diane Murphy 

Principal 

Building Works Update

Our outdoor learning space is almost complete. The roof is up, sandstone blocks are in and the turf was laid yesterday. We are looking forward to hopefully using the space for our Athletics Fun Day.

Acting Assistant Principal News

Welcome to Week 3!

This term promises to be a busy and exciting term for us all, with our Year 2 and Year 1 students experiencing excursions for the very first time in their schooling careers.

If at any time you wish to discuss any aspect of school life with me, my executive office day is every Tuesday, I will be available for appointment. You can arrange a time to meet via phone call to the school or alternatively my email heather.porter-kay@mn.catholic.edu.au.

SCHOOL ABSENCES

Please be reminded of the process when your child is unwell. If they are unable to attend school, please send us an email, or phone and speak to our office staff to leave a message. If you are planning to be absent from school for 10 school days or longer, you must apply for leave which the Principal can approve.

PBL

Our school is a Positive Behaviour for Learning School. The PBL framework assists schools to improve social, emotional, behavioural, and academic outcomes for children and young people.

Our Positive Behaviour for learning focus for weeks 3 and 4 is ‘I respond positively to adults!’ This focus contributes to becoming a respectful learner. We are teaching the children to use eye contact when addressing all adults and using positive language. Jesus reminds us that when we speak positively to others, it brings kindness and shows care.

Each Monday teachers introduce the PBL at morning assembly. In class time we talk about what this focus looks like and how we can show apply theses skills in different situations across the school. The following Monday a class reinforces this message by role playing the PBL focus.

When children are seen or heard following the PBL, they can receive Gotchas and select children who consistently follow this PBL focus are awarded with merit certificates at assembly.

The Importance of Home Reading

There is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together. Fill your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent, be patient, and watch the magic work.

At Holy Spirit Infants we don’t ask students to complete homework, but we encourage and fully support weekly ‘home reading’ At Holy Spirit Infants we understand life outside of school is hectic and busy with lots of after school activities, but the importance of home reading cannot be ignored. If you look at the following image, it highlights the difference in words learnt and books read. As with any skill practise makes perfect, as our students read more, their fluency improves, their comprehension improves, and their vocabulary is broadened. This in turn improves builds confidence and transfers skills to other learning areas. Please read with your children. Home reading folders are coming home today, if you have a folder at home, pack it tomorrow and return it to school so that your child / children can bring home books to share with you.

Religious Education Coordinator Update

Resurrection Liturgy

On Friday in Week 1 we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with our Year 1 classes leading our re-enactment. The children did a great job at representing this important time within the Catholic Church and have a great understanding of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Resurrection Liturgy Photos

Mother’s Day

Last Sunday we celebrated Mother’s Day which is an important occasion where we show special appreciation to our mothers, grandmothers, aunties, step-mums, and all who are like mums to us. When it comes to Mum’s it is important to note the amazing role model that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was for us. She looked after Jesus and was there for him as he grew up and later took on his public ministry. Mary was devoted to her vocation as a mother and an inspiration for us to be loving and supportive of our children every day.

On Monday of week 3 we celebrated the mums in our community with a Mother’s Day liturgy, shared afternoon tea and pampering stalls where our students could show their Mum’s how much they appreciate them. It was a great event, being one of the first back after covid restrictions on site. It was lovely to see how everyone enjoyed the day, receiving a flower, getting a manicure from their child and spending some time in the photo booth.

Mothers Day Liturgy and Celebrations

Mother's Day Stalls & Afternoon Tea

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Catholic Schools Week

During the week of the 23-27 May 2022, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week across the many schools in our diocese. As an annual event, it is a time where we celebrate the remarkable work, passion, and enthusiasm our Catholic schools exhibit daily. We recognise these places as learning communities who are committed to excellence through the education of the ‘whole child,’ providing an all-round education that nurtures each student spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically. It is this education that enables all students to flourish and become the best versions of themselves. This year our Catholic Schools Week theme is “Fully Alive,” which reminds us that we are most alive when we are in touch with our inner selves and can acknowledge deep connections between ourselves, God, others, and creation. As communities of faith, we are called to grow in awareness of the life in and around us, to live more fully and not to “settle for a bland and mediocre existence” (Pope Francis, Gaudete Et Exsultate). In a world that is unconsciously losing touch with this inner awareness, our theme encourages us to live in harmony with all of creation, to cultivate a Sacramental Imagination that enables us to recognise the beauty of God in all things. As we embark on this significant occasion for all our schools, may we truly honour the privileged gift of Catholic education and for all those who contribute to its vitality and spirit. May we too celebrate our young people, who are formed to be good citizens of the world, who love God and neighbour, and who enrich our society by living out the call of the Gospel. May we all strive to live in active service of Jesus and His mission as we celebrate together during Catholic Schools Week and always.

We will be having a whole school liturgy on Monday 23rd May as well as some other activities planned for Catholic Schools Week at Holy Spirit Infants. An invitation with details of times of these events will be sent out next week to families.

Walk Safely to School Day

Get your walking shoes ready!

Holy Spirit Infants School is participating in the annual National Walk Safely to School Day 2022. On Monday 23rd of May 2022, Holy Spirit Infants will participate by gathering as many students, parents and teachers as possible and walking to school.

In the week leading up to our big walk, we will educate our student about walking safely near a road and the benefits of staying active. Children will complete activities during class that promote the same message.

We welcome all children and their parents to meet teachers in the Harle Street, playground at 8:30am on Monday the 23rd of May. We will then, all walk from the park to school along Harle Street. For parents and students unable to attend, normal morning arrangements will be in place at school. Please wear normal school uniform on this day.

We look forward to this exciting initiative see you there!

Awabakal Excursion - Year 2

On Wednesday 11th of May both Year 2 classes attended an excursion to the Awabakal Education Centre with Mrs Murphy, Mr Flynn, Miss Cook, Miss Curran, Mrs Bolam and Mrs Fredsall. We started the day with a group photo at school before we headed to The Awabakal Environmental Education centre at Dudley on the bus. When we arrived we were greeted by Amy and Trish who were our teachers for the day. After this we then participated in two activities the first was dip netting for living things at Little Swamp and the other was sifting through the Leaf litter where students were detectives searching to try and find living things. Following lunch and a game within the natural surrounds the students looked at tools, materials and plants that the Awabakal People used to meet their needs and we finished with a nature walk where the students had to spot animals.  Despite all the mud, and some falls in the mud we all had a great day.

Awabakal Excursion Gallery

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Diocesan Cross Country

Last Wednesday, three students from Year 2 represented Holy Spirit Abermain at the Diocesan Cross Country at Maitland Park. Congratulations to Ruby Dodds, Aymon Lee and Tyreze Kiyega who ran with great determination and made our school so proud. 

Athletics Fun Day 20th May

Next week Friday 20th May we will host our Athletics Fun Day at the school. We will need volunteers on the day to assist with our cross country event; the age races; cooking the bbq and serving the bbq.  Please call Dot/Bonney in the office to let us know if you can spare a few hours to help out. There is no canteen on this day aswe have our meal deal. Volunteers need to be approved please. Come and join the fun! 

WANT TO BE A VOLUNTEER AT OUR SCHOOL?

We thank you for offering to volunteer at our school.   Please click on the link below and complete the online application.  Apparently, this only takes about 10 minutes to complete.   Once you submit the form the process should take approximately 5 business days to complete.  When you are approved you will need to be notified by the school.  We thank you for offering your valuable time to volunteer at our school, you are welcome and appreciated.

Please click on the link to register:    Volunteer Registration Form   

Office News

We warmly welcome Mrs Bonney Lane who is our new office clerical in the school office. Bonney will work every Friday. Please make her feel welcome to our beautiful school and remember that everyone is new to her at this stage. 

2022 School Fees have been invoiced for the full school year.
- If paying fees by instalment, your payment should have commenced and is to be paid in full by 30 November 2022. 
- If paying fees in full in one payment please finalise prior to 30 June 2022.
- Our preferred method of payment is either BPay or direct debit.
- For Fee Payers wishing to establish a new Direct Debit, or adjust their existing direct debit, please complete the form on the Catholic Development Fund website www.CDFmn.com.au.
- For those families experiencing financial hardship, or wishing to discuss other payment 
arrangements, please contact the school office to arrange an appointment with the Principal.

Please check your fee statements carefully and advise if there is any thing you are unsure of on them.   Avoid making payments through Compass Pay as it attracts hefty administration costs.   BPAY is the preferred method.

Enrolments 2023

The official enrolment period for Kindergarten 2023 is now open.  Please contact Holy Spirit Infants School for your enrolment information pack.  Office hours are  8:30am – 3:30pm Monday to Friday.  Families will be contacted regarding tours, interview times, playgroup opportunities and Transition to School session dates.  Consider starting your child's educational journey with us!

QKR online App for purchases

Please remember to update your students profile to the current year, so that purchases can be delivered to them without fuss.   Thank you for your assistance with this.

On Friday 20th May, our school will be having an Athletics Fun Day.   A sausage sizzle Meal Deal is now open on QKR for you to purchase online.   The meal deal is $5 and will be a sausage sizzle, an ice block and a popper drink. Parents, if you will be attending on this day, please include your order in with your child as well.  You will find the meal deal under the "Special Event" tab on QKR.   There will be no canteen lunch orders on this day.  Orders for the meal deal will close on midnight Wednesday 18th May.  

Awards Weeks 2 & 3 Term 2 - Congratulations to:

Library News

Reading has so many benefits for young minds. Not only will they expand their vocabulary but, reading helps students across all areas of the curriculum.

Please help your child by making sure they have their Library bag on their Library borrowing day.

Year 2 borrow on Tuesdays.

Year 1 and Kinder borrow on Thursdays.

Don’t let your child miss out on all the possible adventures and worlds that a book can transport them to.

Many thanks, Evelyn Covita, Teacher Librarian

Canteen News

Thank you to the many new volunteers who have offered to help out in the canteen this term.   You have been rostered with an experienced partner to show you the way. Hopefully as more events happen, and more volunteers come forward, we will be able to open the canteen on another day.

Dates for your Diary

Community News