14th June 2022
News from the Principal
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, I place my trust in you.
Dear Parents and Carers,
The month of June is dedicated to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. This month falls within the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, which is represented by the liturgical colour green. This symbol of hope is the colour of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. In our classrooms our Prayer Spaces have a green cloth now.
Why Is Ordinary Time Called Ordinary?
Ordinary Time is called "ordinary" not because it is common but simply because the weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. The Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word ordo, from which we get the English word order. Thus, the numbered weeks of Ordinary Time, in fact, represent the ordered life of the Church—the period in which we live our lives neither in feasting (as in the Christmas and Easter seasons) or in more severe penance (as in Advent and Lent), but in watchfulness and expectation of the Second Coming of Christ.
For Catholics, Ordinary Time is the part of the year in which Christ, the Lamb of God, walks among us and transforms our lives. There's nothing "ordinary" about that!
Why Is Green the Colour of Ordinary Time?
Likewise, the normal liturgical colour for Ordinary Time—for those days when there is no special feast—is green. Green vestments and altar cloths have traditionally been associated with the time after Pentecost, the period in which the Church founded by the risen Christ and enlivened by the Holy Spirit began to grow and to spread the Gospel to all nations. (https://www.learnreligions.com/ordinary-time-in-the-catholic-church-542442)
We had a wonderful celebration for Pentecost on Monday with a beautiful liturgy as we recalled the many special Fruits of The Spirit which we are called to share with others. My thanks to the Nguyen family (Vivian KW) for the delicious cup cakes which were enjoyed by everyone! Yum!
Reporting Processes and Parent Teacher Meetings
Our teachers are currently writing student Semester One progress reports. The reporting process at Holy Spirit Infants consists of a formal written report shared with parents/carers via Compass in week 9 of term 2. Then in week 10, parents are encouraged to attend a Parent Teacher Meeting to discuss face to face your child's progress at school. These meetings are of ten minutes duration and if the need arises for an additional meeting, a further appointment may be made in early term 3. Times are generally before or after school and will be available across the week of Friday 24th June to Thursday 30th June.
PT Meeting bookings will be via Compass. Each teachers' available times will be open for parents and carers on Monday 20th-Wednesday 22nd June to book online. Details on how to book will be shared via Compass this week.
The written report template used this semester is a new version which the CSO is trialling. It focuses on a strengths base where the teacher will nominate two strengths of the learner in Religious Education, English and Maths and then one area for further development.
Our EALD students will receive a report matched to their language goals from Mrs Fredsall.
Progress is not just about academic success but about a child's growth in self confidence, their self efficacy, their emotional and social regulation; building resilience and showing persistence. A child's effort in attending to their learning is in many ways, as important as the academic results themselves. We encourage every child to always "Do their Best!".
The teachers will have prepared information to summarise each child’s report however we encourage you to please bring with you any specific questions you’d like to ask.
Kindergarten: Semester 1 report contains gradings of Below Grade Level; At Grade level or Above grade level. Kinder students do not receive an A-E grading.
In Stage 1 (and beyond) all students are graded using the A-E scale and are reported upon based on their achievements in each subject or, as with maths, in the various elements of the subject.
About the Common Grade Scale (https://arc.nesa.nsw.edu.au)
The Common Grade Scale shown below can be used to report student achievement in both primary and junior secondary years in all NSW schools.
The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of five grade levels.
A | The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations. |
B | The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations. |
C | The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills. |
D | The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills. |
E | The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills. |
Whatever grade your child receives it is imperative that parents/ carers understand these grades are given after careful deliberation across grades and across the stage. The Semester 1 and Semester 2 reports are different as different aspects of the curriculum are taught and assessed for understanding. There is not an end of year report as there used to be.
The child’s effort is very important and we do ask that you please sit with them and show them you value their report. Discuss any concerns you have about effort and similarly, please celebrate the successes. Your children thrive on your feedback and want to please you.
Holy Spirit Kurri Kurri Athletics Carnival Success
On May 26th a group of Year 2 runners from our school joined in the 8yr old events at the Holy Spirit Kurri Athletics Carnival which was held at the new facilities at Maitland. Our students were wonderful representatives and I was a very proud Team Manager as they showed good behaviour, excellent listening and great sportsmanship!
Congratulations to the following students who have been selected to represent our school at the Regional Athletics Carnival on 24th June at Maitland Athletics Track:
100m Girls: Grace Sharpe; Macy Bauer and Estelle Palmer
100m Boys: Tyreze Kiyega; Aymon Lee and Lance Della Gente
800m Junior Boys: Tyreze Kiyega
Ribbons were presented on Friday.
Good luck everyone! Permission notes are due back asap please.
Winter Uniform Reminders
We have three weeks of lessons and school days this term and a gentle reminder please about the students' winter uniform. We need your support to discourage the wearing of necklaces and bracelets - please ensure your child saves these accessories for wearing on the weekend or the holiday times.
Long hair does need to be tied up and we do ask that if hair accessories are worn, they are either navy, royal blue or white ribbon/scrunchie rather than a brightly coloured bow. Hair dye or coloured hair has no place in our Infants School setting.
A reminder that girls have the option to wear either the tunic with navy stockings or they may wear navy long pants and a white long sleeved shirt - available at Flannagan's Cessnock.
Thank you for sending your child looking their best in their uniform each day!
Our Buddy Bench has arrived
Our new blue Buddy Bench has arrived and is a wonderful addition to our school grounds. We raised money for the Buddy Bench last term after the old one needed to be upgraded. Our thanks to the Student Leaders for their great support of this initiative and to Mr Trevor Shakespeare for putting the new bench together. This week we will be teaching the children what the Buddy bench is all about and how we can show kindness to others by including them in our games.
Baby News at Holy Spirit Infants
Congratulations to Mrs and Mr Edwards on the birth of their beautiful baby daughter Harper who entered the world on 6th June 2022. Mrs Edwards and baby Harper are both well and enjoying getting to know one another. Our KW kinder students excitedly sent Mrs Edwards a warm and heartfelt message of congratulations.
Holy Spirit Student Leaders
We bid a special farewell to Zara 2W on Friday as she and her family are moving elsewhere and it was Zara's last day at Holy Spirit. We thank Zara for her contributions to the Student Leadership Team and for always doing every job with a great big smile.
We welcome Estelle Palmer to our School Leadership Team and look forward to working together making our school the wonderful place it is.
Advanced Notice
Pupil Free Days for Term 3:
Monday 18th July and Monday 15th August are pupil free days at Holy Spirit Infants. On both these days staff will be attending professional development courses. The first is a focus on the new English Syllabus K-2 and the second we will join other schools for a Faith Formation experience presented by Sr Mary Coloe.
St Nic's OOSH will notify shortly if they are able to offer places for students requiring supervision for the day/s.
A note about St Nic's OOSH
Parents and Carers may now be aware that St Nic's OOSH, a service of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle which seeks to offer quality before and after school care for students in Catholic Schools has been struggling with staffing issues in its sector. A similar issue that is being felt across most education sectors from Early Childhood Settings to Schools and Universities with chronic staff shortages in 2022. As the Principal of our school, I have expressed my deep concerns both verbally and in written form at the recent OOSH closures and have advocated for our parents at Holy Spirit Infants who rely on this service. Of particular concern is the timing of the notification of these closures whereby parents are at times given minimal notice. Please understand that these closures are not just happening here, but are widespread across the diocese. St Nic's have told me they have a recruitment program in place currently and hope to be able to restore all services shortly.
I have been notified that our OOSH will not operate on site these upcoming school holidays but children are welcome to join another centre. This is again due to a staffing shortage and the need for St Nic's to rationalise their staffing. Please contact Emily Dures (Supervisor) if you require more details. Emily.Dures@stnicholasoosh.org.au
St Nic's OOSH is a valued service here at Abermain and operates independently of the school.
Kinder 2023 Interviews
Our Kinder enrolment interviews for 2023 are underway. We are excited to meet the children and their families who have made application for our school. These interviews will take place across June and we plan to send out our offers of enrolment by the end of this term. Interviews are for approximately 25 minutes and are the second step in our Enrolment Process. Then we will undertake visits to Preschools to talk with the teachers there. We hope this year, as we did pre covid back in 2019, to offer some playgroup days in September and then we will host our transition to school visits across various dates in October and November. It's a very exciting time meeting new families and welcoming back the next generation of those who know our school's secret...that we are awesome!
Excursions and Incursions
This term has seen Year 2 and Year 1 head off on their first excursion due to the impact of the pandemic. Our Kinder teachers are planning their excursion for Semester 2. We will also be heading off on buses as a whole school to see "Zoom- A lost Star finds its way home" presented by Patch Theatre, a high tech presentation at the Cessnock School of Performing Arts in early term 3.
All the children enjoyed "The Weather" live performance by Jollybops last month as well where they certainly made science experiments so much fun!
Sharing Our Faith
Fruit of the Spirit
Our Fruit of the Spirit focus for the next two weeks is 'Faithfulness'. Faithfulness is about being loyal, honest and a promise keeper. Students look forward to doing an activity about faithfulness and we will present awards in a fortnight’s time.
Here is a prayer you could pray with your child over these next two weeks:
Dear God,
I love you.
Thank you for being faithful.
Help me to be trustworthy and keep my promises.
Amen
Pentecost Celebrations
On Monday 6th June we celebrated the feast of Pentecost with our school community. This is an important celebration for our school as it is our Feast Day as well as the birthday of our Church. We had an opportunity in the morning to reflect on the Holy Spirit whether it be who they would like to share the Holy Spirit with, what they would like the Holy Spirit to help them with and how they are going to share the Fruits of the Spirit.
During our liturgy, we shared what each of the Fruits of the Spirit are and students had an opportunity to share how they show these in their day to day lives. Well done to our readers who read beautifully and to 2 Blue who led us in actions for Hearts on Fire.
We joined back in the school grounds for birthday celebrations where our leaders cut our cupcakes (that our LSA’s arranged into a flame to go with the day) and as the photos would show, our students all enjoyed the delicious cupcakes!
Pentecost
Vinnies Winter Appeal
We will be supporting the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal by having a pyjama day at school on Thursday 23rd June. This will be a gold coin donation to come out of uniform in your pj’s, so be sure to get them ready! We will also have hot chocolate with marshmallows on sale at lunch time for $1 with all proceeds to St Vincent De Paul. Thank you inadvance for your support!
Vineyards Region Mass Times
Saturday 11th June
9:00am - St. Josephs, Cessnock
6:00pm Vigil Mass – St. Joseph’s, Cessnock
Sunday 12th June
8:30am Mass and Confirmation - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri
10:30am - St. Joseph's, Cessnock
4:30pm Liturgy of the Word - St. Francis Xavier's, Abermain
Yours in faith,
Miss Jessica Laczkowski
Religious Education Coordinator
Office News
A reminder for parents to update their child's profile in the QKR app to include their 2022 class. This will assist with the distribution of lunch orders from the Canteen and other special events.
Fee statements were sent out via email recently. If you are paying annually, your fees need to be paid in full by 30th June 2022. If you are paying weekly, fortnightly or monthly your payments should have already commenced, please come to the office for assistance with setting this up if you have not started paying your fees for 2022. A paper copy of your fee statement can be requested at any time and sent home via your child's note folder, please email: admin@abermain.catholic.edu.au and request this. The preferred method of payment of school fees is BPAY using the details at the top right hand side of the fee statement.
Kinder 2023 interviews have commenced. If you have not returned your enrolment pack or know of others who have not collected an enrolment pack for next year's intake, please contact the office so interview appointments can be scheduled.
Dot Seamer
Library News
Some overdue notices have been emailed to parents, please return borrowed books as soon as possible so that your child may continue to borrow books from our great library.
Helpers are still required to assist with covering home reader resources. If you are available on Thursdays and keen to assist please contact the school - even an hour will help!
Book club - Issue 4 of book club will close on Thursday 16th June. All orders must be placed online through Scholastic Loop.
Please click on the link to register as a volunteer: Volunteer Registration Form
Healthy Habits
Our focus this fortnight is on eating more fruit and vegies whilst at school. Many fruits and vegies can be quickly peeled/chopped/placed into a lunch container and are a delicious and healthy snack.
A reminder that your child will drink more water and remain hydrated during the day if they have their own drink bottle (with their name on it) that they may drink from across their busy day. Thank you for supporting us as we do all we can to encourage healthy habits in our students.
Congratulations to these Award winners:
Dates for your Diary:
Community News
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