10 November 2022
Principal News
Almighty and eternal God, from whose love in Christ we cannot be parted, either by death or life: hear our prayers and thanksgivings for all whom we remember this day; fulfil in them the purpose of your love; and bring us all, with them, to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dear Parents and Carers,
I returned from taking some leave last week to a wonderful warm welcome from your gorgeous children, our staff and so many parents whom I caught up with as they picked up or dropped off their children. I do love having a chat with parents and appreciated the kind words! Thank you. I spent time exploring Tasmania and was overwhelmed by the stunning natural beauty there. I had encounters with wombats, echidnas and little penguins as they came out of the sea to nest. It was an incredible place filled with beautiful bays, cradle mountain, stunning wilderness, rainforests and waterfalls. I was moved by the wonder and awe of our God and I found the experience deeply spiritual.
Tomorrow we will mark Remembrance Day at Holy Spirit Infants with a minute silence at 11am in classrooms. Remembrance Day is about thanking those who have served to protect us and our freedoms. Remembrance Day gives people the chance to remember those who fought and lost their lives during the war and to honour their memory. By teaching the children about Remembrance Day, we make sure that we never forget the past, and the sacrifices of those who died.
Miss Covita our Teacher Librarian has prepared a display in the library for our students to visit.
Lest we forget
These next few weeks of term 4 will be busy but we are determined to keep our school calm and joyful as we move into the preparatory season of Advent and then the celebrations of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. As a Catholic school your child will hear and learn about the Nativity narrative, ie the birth of Jesus who we believe is the Son of God. As parents and carers it is important we guide and nurture all children to know the true meaning of Christmas and our teachers will be teaching this message to all children. There are some beautiful children's picture books available about the Nativity which could be shared with your child as a special bedtime story that your child would likely love.
We are going to do our best to keep the frantic nature of the lead up to Christmas at a minimum as the children do become tired as we approach the last five weeks, especially with the hotter weather. Please ensure your child has their water bottle each day and unless they have an ice pack in their lunch bag, please do not pack yoghurt in school bags as the weather warms up. If not kept at a consistent cooler temperature the yoghurt will not be safe to consume.
The teachers are teaching and assessing their students to check in growth in each child's learning as semester 2 reports are soon being prepared. Unless your child is unwell, please ensure regular attendance at school as lessons are prepared and taught and assessments taking place all the time.
Monday 14th November is a Pupil Free Day at Holy Spirit Infants. There will be no classes on this day. St Nic's OOSH has vacancies for care if needed please contact them.
IEU Industrial Action -Stop Work Meeting Tuesday 15th November at Holy Spirit Infants
Further to the Compass alert, there is a Stop Work meeting which several staff at Holy Spirit Infants will take part in on Tuesday morning 15th November 2022 for one hour 8.30-9.30am.
This will mean that supervision will be minimal until 9.30am. Parents are asked to consider alternate arrangements where possible. Students who must attend will be supervised under the cola.
Transitions
Year 3 2023
Year 2 Transition visit across to Holy Spirit Kurri for Year 3 2023 will take place on Tuesday 22nd November. Parents have been asked to arrange for their Year 2 child to be taken to Holy Spirit Primary Barton St Kurri by 8.45am. The children will spend time meeting their Year 5 buddies and familiarising themselves with the school grounds and routines. The students will be supported by Mrs Knox, Ms Cook, Mrs Matheson, Mrs Kearns and myself. We have arranged a bus to bring the children back to Abermain at 11.30am as we would like to support parents with transport. Mr O'Heir has offered parents to stay and meet with him at the drop time. Year 2 children are to wear sport uniform please and will need their crunch and sip/fruit break. If parents would like their child to have an additional visit to Holy Spirit Primary School please contact Ms Murphy and we can easily make arrangements for this to occur.
Kinder 2023
Our new Kindergarten students for 2023 have settled in so very well already! Many of the children had participated in the Playgroups we offered this year and they have had four transition opportunities, so many seem to feel rather comfortable in what will soon be their new school. My sincere thanks to the parents who attended the Information Session and we hope you found it both informative and valuable. There is a lot of information in the Welcome Packs so please contact the office to clarify anything you are unsure of. It's exciting to be able to welcome so many new families to our Holy Spirit Community.
Kindergarten students start school on:
Thursday 3rd February at 9.30 am and pick up is at 1.30pm from the double gates.
Friday 4th February 9.30-1.30pm from the double gates.
Monday 7th February 8.55am - 2.30pm (If children do need a few more shorter days to settle in, we will make individual arrangements with parents). Pick up on this day will be via double gates Church St; Kiss and Ride; or OOSH. We will organise the Kinders earlier on this day.
Then 8.55-2.55pm daily.
Grade Sharing Assemblies
Last week Kindergarten prepared and shared with our school community and very proud parents some of the things they have been learning about in their Kindergarten classes. Our thanks to Miss L, Mr Flynn and Mrs Focic for their support of the students who really shone on the stage! Thank you to the parents who were able to attend, we know it is difficult with work hours to be able to get away. We all understand.
This week we will celebrate the learning in Year 1 classes at 2.10pm in the hall on Friday 11th Nov.
We will then enjoy learning all about Year 2 the following week, Friday 18th Nov at 2.10pm.
Step Up Days
As is our tradition at Holy Spirit Infants over the past few years, we will be holding two "Step Up" days for the students to step up into the new grades and classes for 2023. This has been an effective way to ensure our students feel more secure about the changes for the year ahead. The kinder students will step up into Year 1 and the Year 1's will step Up into Year 2 for two afternoon sessions. Our Year 2's will enjoy some time with the Kinder teachers playing games. Ideally the children will learn which class they are in and who their new teacher will be and even meet their new teacher where possible. Please ensure your child is at school on these afternoons as in the Dates for your Diary.
Excursions Update
We have been able to take our students off site to many wonderful experiences in 2023. Kinder went to Oakvale Wildlife park; Year 1 to Tocal Homestead; Year 2 explored the bush at the Awabakal Education Center at Dudley and the whole school went to see "Zooom" at the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre. Now we are off as a whole school to the Reptile Park at Somersby on Tuesday 6th December. Our buses are booked, the reptile show is booked in, the permission notes are in your hands parents so please send them back asap and we have some seats for parent helpers to attend as supervisors. Supervisors will need to have their current WWCC. Please see Dot in the office if you have any questions. We can only accommodate a certain number of helpers per class to have a seat on the bus and we will of course need to select names from a hat.
We will be departing school early at 8AM that morning in order to make the most of the time we have at the Reptile Park. The school will be closed for Holy Spirit Infants students as all staff will attend. We are going to learn a lot in the outdoor environment! We will return in time for the afternoon dismissal and buses.
Uniform Reminder
A gentle reminder to ensure your child is wearing the correct summer uniform to school each day. No jewellery or wrist bands please. (A signet ring, gold/silver bangle or a watch is permitted.)Nail polish is for the weekends or the holiday time. Hair needs to be tied back if it is longer than shoulder length - all children. Hair ties need to match the uniform please. Our school always receives compliments about how well dressed our students are, which is a credit to our families. We all need to keep to these uniform guidelines please. If your child is out of uniform eg incorrect footwear for a day, please send a note to their teacher. Thank you.
Wishing everyone a great fortnight ahead!
Kind Regards
Diane Murphy
Assistant Principal News
Positive Behaviour for Learning
This week we begin our new Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) focus:
“I care for the school environment.”
Caring for our school environment encompasses both indoor and outdoor spaces. Students are asked to care for all school equipment and help keep our classrooms and playground neat and tidy. Teachers will be on the lookout to award students who they see caring for the school environment and reward them with a GOTCHA or a special PBL merit award!
Beach to Bush Incursion
On Tuesday, our whole school attended an incursion facilitated by Royal Life Saving Society titled Beach to Bush. The students were very attentive during the incursion and valuable safety message were delivered. The main message was for students to remember to swim between the flags.
Rebecca Kearns
Assistant Principal
Beach to Bush
Sharing Our Faith
Family Mass
On Sunday the 20th November you are invited to a Family Mass at St. Francis Xavier's Church, Abermain. Mass will start at 4:30pm and we require students to arrive by 4:15 who have special readings/jobs.
It is a great opportunity for us as a school community to gather with the parish community to share in mass. And I can attest to all those who were at our Term 3 Family Mass that they enjoyed being a part of the mass and the community building it brought about.
Notes have gone home last week to invite you and ask for helpers. Please return these by Tuesday 15th November so we have time to organise readers. We look forward to hopefully seeing you there!
Remembrance Day
On Friday 11th November, in classrooms, we will recognise Remembrance Day. We will pause for a minute silence as we remember all those who fought and died in conflicts. We say thank you to all who have served and think of how we can be peacekeepers.
Social Justice News
St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal
Christmas is a time for hope and joy; and as we again approach the Christmas season, it’s a reminder to reflect on the good that has happened this year, as well as the hope we can bring to others. We invite you to help to make this Christmas season that little bit brighter for those who are really doing it tough in our community. Over the next 4 weeks we will be collecting non- perishable items that will brighten the Christmas period for some families.
Please see below for what each class will be collecting to donate. Donations will be due by Friday 9th December.
Vinnies Youth Christmas Card Competition
Each year Vinnies Youth runs a Christmas Card Competition where they select 5 winners from NSW to feature on the official St Vincent de Paul Christmas Cards. In classes students will have an opportunity to design their cards and we will select 2 from each class to be submitted into the competition by Monday 5th December.
Parish Mass Times
Saturday 12th November
9.00am Mass - St Joseph's, Cessnock
6.00pm Vigil Mass - St Joseph's, Cessnock
Sunday 13th November
8.30am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri
10.30am Mass - St Joeseph's, Cessnock
4.30pm Liturgy of the Word - St Francis Xavier's, Abermain
4.30pm Mass - St Michael's, Wollombi
Saturday 19th November
9.00am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri
6.00pm Vigil Mass - St Joseph's, Cessnock
Sunday 20th November
8.30am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri
10.30am Mass - St Joeseph's, Cessnock
4:30pm Mass - St Francis Xavier's, Abermain (FAMILY MASS - ALL WELCOME!)
Office News
Thank you to those families who continue to make payments towards the annual fee account.
Updated statements were sent out on 3rd November. If you have not received your statement or have any concerns in regard to your account please email admin@abermain.catholic.edu.au
Review of fees has now commenced and we wish to remind you of making regular payments with the view to finalise your account by 30 November 2022.
Bpay is our preferred method of payment, however payment can also be made via Credit Card.
Joint Accounts On Compass to Manage Permissions
A jointly accessible account means that either of the named parties can provide their consent/ permission for school-related activities, view transactions or make payments.
In order for both parents/carers to give consent and payment of school excursions please complete the attached form and return cso.sassupport@mn.catholic.edu.au
Awards
Canteen News
Term 4 Meal Deal is now available for online ordering on QKR. The cost is $6 for 2 slices of pizza, drink and iceblock. The meal deal will be held on Friday 9th December, no other orders will be available on this day.
Canteen volunteers could you please indicate your availability for 2023 to Natalie Radford on 0414 312 225.
If you would like to volunteer at our school, please click on the link below........
Dates for Your Diary
Community News
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