4 May 2023

News from the Principal

Dear Families

Welcome to a new term of learning at Holy Spirit Infants. We have many great experiences in store for the students this term including Mother's Day celebrations, Feast of Pentecost celebrations, Catholic School's Week Open classrooms, Family Mass with the Parish, class excursions, an Aboriginal Science Incursion, Grade Sharing assemblies K-2, our combined Athletics Carnival with Holy Spirit Kurri later this month and some students will be representing our school at the Diocesan Cross Country on May 10th. Our school community thrives on parent participation and support! Thank you for coming along to help in classrooms with reading; volunteering in our canteen (opens this week); helping wrap the Mother's Day gifts for the Mother's Day Stall; volunteering as a helper at the upcoming combined Athletics Carnival Day or joining us for our liturgies and masses - you are always warmly welcome! Come along and be involved in our great school community. 

The Month of May

May is traditionally dedicated in a special way to honouring and seeking the intercession of Mary as the Mother of God and Mother of the Church. For centuries, the Catholic Church has set aside the entire month of May to honour Mary, Mother of God also known as The Blessed Virgin Mary. The first 23 days fall within the liturgical season of Easter, which is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence. It is the tradition in this month to pray the rosary and in our Religious Education lessons, the children will be taught this meditative traditional prayer and we are planning to make some rosary beads to assist counting a decade of the rosary with the children. Parents may like to pray this prayer, a mini-rosary at bed time with your children and ask for Mary's blessing on your family. 

Next Parent Engagement Meeting 

On Tuesday 9th May we will be holding our next P.E.G Parent Engagement Meeting at Holy Spirit Kurri School this time at 6pm. We encourage parents and carers to come along and join in the discussions! The Educational Focus has been set from the previous meeting and is about "Teaching Subtraction" where we will share how we do this in Early Stage One and Stage One and the Primary school will share how they teach it in Stage 2 and Stage 3. Its a great opportunity to have a chat with both Principals, to get to know other parents, to feel a sense of belonging. There's even refreshments on hand. We hope to see you there. 

Easter Raffle Funds Purchase

The generous donations of our families and friends have enabled us to raise over $1800 in the recent Easter Raffle - and what an epic number of prizes we had this year. Thank you to our families for their generous donations and to those parents who generously gave their time to wrap and create such mouth watering prizes!  The money raised was earmarked for a "Funnel Ball" pole for the playground however we are having difficulty sourcing one in Australia. We have instead ordered $3080 worth of new sporting equipment which every child will be able to make use of in Sport/PE lessons as well as at break times. Thank you again Holy Spirit Families. 

World Youth Day 2023 

We are excited to announce that Miss Jessica Laczkowski our RE Coordinator will later this year be heading to World Youth Day 2023, a Catholic festival to be held this year in Lisbon, Portugal. World Youth Day is an international celebration for Catholics which takes place every 2-3 years and which will be attended by the Holy Father, Pope Francis. Miss L is very excited at this incredible opportunity to be a pilgrim and travel along with millions of other young people, aged 16-35 yrs to this life giving faith event. 

Student Led Conferences 

As part of our School Improvement Plan we are being very brave and embarking on a new journey to implement Student Led Conferences at report time. A Parent Teacher Conference is the traditional meeting between parents and their child's teacher to discuss their child's progress and learning at school. There is however one voice that is missing and that is the voice of the student. A student led conference enables students to take the lead and responsibility for their learning.  

The premise is simple: For students to be invested in their own learning and develop a growth mindset, they need to be involved in conversations about their strengths, areas for development and their goals. Student-led conferences promote a school culture of engagement and growth and ask students to play an active role in planning their own learning. At Holy Spirit Infants, that's the kind of culture we are growing. 

What are student-led conferences?

A student-led conference is similar to a parent-teacher conference, but the student is present and in charge of leading the discussion.

• The teacher acts as a facilitator for the discussion
• The student presents their work and guides the discussion
• The parents listen and speak with their child about his or her academic and social progress and needs

Student-led conferences can take a number of different forms, but roles stay the same. They allow students to be a part of the conversation about their academic and social goals, and are an opportunity to discuss how the teacher and parents can help the student succeed.

They are a highly effective tool for student learning and we are going to start slowly and give this "a go" at Holy Spirit Infants.  Teachers will work with your child to help them set their learning goals for the term ahead (we will focus on short term goals initially due to students' ages) and then teachers will assist your child to determine what steps are needed to help achieve that goal, as this is a key feature of a successful goal setting exercise. 

At the Student Led Conference, the student will share their goals with their parent/carer; show some work samples of learning they are proud of; identify learning they would like more help with to improve and what their next goal might be for term 3.  Its a simple but powerful process and I hope that parents will be open to this experience with your child.  It will then be an expectation that every family will participate in a Student Led Conference with your child and their teacher. The format and booking of these Student Led Conferences will be shared in the newsletter and we anticipate hosting these meetings around Week 9 of this term.  More details to come. 

Paperless Permission Notes 

We have made a commitment to go paperless moving forward with permission notes for school events. It is vital parents/carers inform the school of any changes to your mobile phone number or email addresses so that you can always receive school information. We are encouraging all parents/carers to complete the online forms for the Yr 2 Excursion to Awabakal Education Centre and all parents K-2 to complete the forms for the Combined Athletics Carnival. A Compass notification will be sent out about volunteering at the carnival following our meeting with HS Kurri staff next week. If you have any issues with this new system, please contact the school for assistance. 

Can you spare an hour to help wrap some gifts for Mother's Day Stall

Calling for helpers to prepare the gifts for the children to purchase for their Mum or Mother Figure at the upcoming Mother's Day Stall. Please contact the office if you can assist for even a short while. Bring a friend along! All help is appreciated. If you can assist with the stall on the day, please also contact the school office. 

Have a wonderful fortnight! 

Diane Murphy 

Assistant Principal Update

Positive Behaviour for Learning  

Our PBL focus for the first two weeks of Term 2 is part of our “I am respectful” domain: 

“I respond to adults positively.”  

Last week our students participated in a PBL lesson all about responding to adults positively on the playground and in the classroom. The lesson focused upon the situations they may encounter at school where they will need to respond to a teacher or another adult who has asked them to do, or not do something.  

We discussed various scenarios and how to respond positively. For example, an adult may ask a student to pick up a piece of paper from the ground. Some students respond with “It’s not mine!”.  Rather than, “It’s not mine but yes, I can keep our playground clean.”  

Zones of Regulation 

Our ZoR lessons for the first two weeks of this term have focused upon students gaining awareness about: 

• How they feel and think when another student is in a particular zone and what influence this has on them. The students were asked to consider what behaviour is “expected” in certain situations. What do other people expect from me? 

• How they feel (body cues/ signals) in each zone. This helps them to understand the cues their body gives them to let them know which zone they are in and increases their awareness of the zones. It helps them understand when they are moving out of the “green zone” (feeling calm) and becoming less regulated.  

Ideas for parents and carers to try: 

• If you are going somewhere and it is expected that we are calm at this location, you may say: 

When we are at.... we need to be in the green zone. What will your body look and feel like in the green zone? 

• If you notice your child becoming “less regulated” or no longer calm at a time when they need to be calm, you could ask:  

How does your body feel now?  

Which zone do you think you are in now?  

How can I help you move back into the green zone? 

Parent Engagement Meeting 

Don’t forget to join us on Tuesday 9th May at Holy Spirit Primary Kurri Kurri Primary from 6pm for our next P.E.G. Our education focus for this meeting is “Teaching Subtraction”. It’s very common for parents to feel nervous about helping their child with their subtraction homework when they get to primary school mainly because it’s so different to how they themselves learnt to do subtraction. So come along to this meeting and learn a little bit more about how we teach subtraction in our schools.  

 Rebecca Kearns – Assistant Principal 

Sharing Our Faith - REC Update

Snippets of Our Faith: The Sign of the Cross

Throughout our newsletters I would like to take the opportunity to explain parts of our faith as a Catholic Church. For some, you may be familiar with these things as they are a part of your day to day life. But for some they may have not engaged in the faith much or it has been a while since they had. So each fortnight I will take one aspect of our faith and explain what it means and why we do it. Today's snippet is about the Sign of the Cross. 

The sign of the cross is not something that is just done when we pray. It actually has significant meaning and is a prayer in itself. When we do the sign of the cross we are entering a conversation with God and signifying that it is different to just a normal conversation.

When we complete the sign of the cross, it signifies the Trinity of God. That is we have one God, but three parts. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

We use an open hand to complete the action to represent a blessing. To complete the sign of the cross we use our right hand, we do not ever use our left. 

This is how we complete the Sign of the Cross:

- We touch our forehead first when we say "In the name of the Father..."

- We touch our chest when we say "and of the Son..."

- We touch our left shoulder when we say "and of the Holy..."

- We then touch our right shoulder when we say "Spirit.."

- We then end our prayer with Amen, which means 'yes', and finalises our prayer.

During the week I encourage you to use the Sign of the Cross with your child on it's own or when praying, whether it be at meals times, just before bed, or to give thanks.

Resurrection Liturgy

On Monday of Week 1, we had Year One lead us in a beautiful Resurrection Liturgy where they celebrated the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter. The students really brought to life the feeling that the women would have had when they did not find Jesus in the tomb as well as how the disciples would have felt when Jesus appeared to them on Lake Tiberias. 

Well done Year One and their teachers for the preparation and effort you put into the liturgy and thank you to those parents who were able to join us in celebrating.

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ANZAC Day Prayer Service

On Wednesday morning, we commemorated ANZAC Day with a prayer service with our school community. The students learnt about what ANZAC Day is about, why we commemorate it and paid their respects to those who have fought for our country. 
We were also blessed to have Mrs Hill join us, Peter's Mum, who is a member of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). As an airwoman she came to speak to the students about what ANZAC Day means to her as well as show the students some medals that were earnt and uniforms that those in the RAAF wear. 

Mother's Day

On Monday 15th May we will be celebrating Mother's Day with a Liturgy in the Church at 12:30pm. All Mother's, Grandmother's, and Mother figures will be able to enjoy a Devonshire Tea in the hall following our liturgy, with a variety of pampering stalls available afterwards that you can participate in with your child.

Please RSVP via Compass with how many Mother figures are attending for catering purposes. 

For our Mother's Day Liturgy we also ask if you could please send a photo to your child's class teacher of your child and their Mother or significant carer. Please have these sent in by Wednesday 10th May to be included. Thank you for your assistance.

Catholic Schools Week & Pentecost

During the week of the 15-19 May 2023, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week. An annual event that 
recognises and acknowledges the sacred work of our schools and how they seek to journey with every student. 
This year our Catholic Schools Week theme is “Encounter: Journeying Together,” which reminds us that we are called to be Easter people – those who are committed to building joy-filled communities who are constantly seeking unity and belonging. Such times call for us to accompany others along the road, meeting them where they are at, hearing the things that set their hearts on fire, and those that express their disappointments and anger. Like the two disciples heading towards Emmaus (Lk 24:13:35), Jesus does not tell them to turn back, rather He walks alongside them and listens deeply. He doesn’t just talk to them at a distance, He meets them and encounters them.
As we accompany one another, we become Christ for one another, opening up together the mysteries of life and faith. This is at the heart of our theme this year.
This year Catholic Schools Week is at the same time as Pentecost, which for our school is a significant celebration. Pentecost is the Church’s birthday, the day it was gifted with the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. It was the day the Church was given life, the life that is in us as we are entrusted to be the Church today; it is through us that God’s love is distributed throughout the world. The Church is the people of God, united and empowered by God to share God’s love with the world. However, this will occur only if we activate the potential of the Spirit within us. For most people their birthday offers the opportunity to have a think about their life over the past year and maybe set out a few achievement objectives for the coming year. Pentecost, the Church’s birthday, could be a time to have a look at how our life is going spiritually, that is, how the Spirit is active in our life.

Holy Spirit Infants will be having a combined Catholic Schools Week and Pentecost Liturgy on Friday 26th May at 12:30pm in the Church. This will be followed by grade performances, open classrooms, and cake to celebrate the Churches birthday. All are welcome to attend!

Parish Mass Times

Saturday 6th May

9:00am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri

6:00pm Mass - St. Joseph's, Cessnock

Sunday 7th May

8:30am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri

10:30am Mass - St. Joseph's, Cessnock

4:30pm Mass - St. Francis Xavier's, Abermain

Saturday 13th May

9:00am Mass - St. Joseph's, Cessnock

6:00pm Mass - St. Joseph's, Cessnock

Sunday 14th May

8:30am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri

10:30am Mass - St. Joseph's, Cessnock

4:30pm Liturgy of the Word - St. Francis Xavier's, Abermain

4:30pm Mass - St Michael the Archangel's, Wollombi

Yours in faith,

Miss Jessica Laczkowski

Religious Education Coordinator

ANZAC Day

On Tuesday 25th April, our school leaders along with students from our school community gathered at Kurri Kurri for the local ANZAC Day service. They marched with pride and represented our school beautifully. Our student leaders led the group carrying our school banner and laid a wreath at the cenotaph very respectfully.  Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who supported the children to take part in this very important tradition for our local community of Kurri Kurri and Abermain. 

LEST WE FORGET 

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Staffing Update

We congratulate Mrs Ashlee Edwards on her new permanent position as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teacher at Holy Spirit Infants. Mrs Edwards has already worked with our Aboriginal students in term 1 and is excited to be able to provide ongoing support on a permanent basis. 

We also welcome back Mrs Meagan Edwards from her maternity leave. Mrs Meagan Edwards will teach 1W each Thursday as Mrs Porter- Kay will be the Gifted Education Mentor and 1W gave Mrs Edwards a wonderful welcome last week. Meagan will also teach music lessons to each grade on a Friday in the hall. We are blessed to have two more dedicated teachers on our Holy Spirit teaching team! Please be sure to introduce yourself to both teachers when you see them. 

'Hello, my name is Mrs Edwards and I am so excited to be working at Holy Spirit Infants as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Teacher on a permanent basis. I feel so privileged that I get to work with your children knowing that I am just a small part in their learning and faith journey and I can't wait to watch each of them grow.Outside of work I have a husband and a one year old baby boy. I am a keen sportswoman and particularly enjoy playing netball. I have been very fortunate to do a bit of travelling prior to covid and Fiji would have to be up there with one of my most favourite holiday destinations.
You'll find me at Holy Spirit on a Monday and Tuesday and every second Thursday.'

Ashlee Edwards, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Teacher

Hello Holy Spirit Infants community, my name is Meagan Edwards and I am returning from 12 months maternity leave. This year my role will include teaching 1W on a Thursday and on a Friday I will be teaching Music to all classes. It has been wonderful to see many familiar faces around the school and I look forward to meeting all the new students over the coming weeks. 

Walk Safely to School Day

Let’s get active!

Holy Spirit Infants School is participating in Walk Safely to School Day on Friday 19^th May 2023.

We are teaching our children about walking safely near a road and the benefits of staying active. The children will complete activities during class that promote staying safe and being active.

We welcome all children to meet their teachers at Maybury Peace Park Playground at 8:30am on Friday 19^th May. From here the children will walk to school with their teachers.

Office News

Fee Statements

Fee statements were issued to families on Tuesday, if you have not yet commenced payments please do so promptly.   Please check your fee statements carefully and advise if there is any thing you are unsure of.  

2023 School Fees have been invoiced for the full school year. This includes all excursions and incursions.
- If paying fees by instalments, your payments should have commenced by now and is to be paid in full by 30 November 2023. 
- If paying fees in full in one payment please finalise prior to 30 June 2023.

- Our preferred method of payment is either BPay using the details at the top right side of the fee statement.   Avoid making payments through Compass Pay as it attracts hefty administration costs.  

- 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.

Kinder Enrolments 2024 and Interviews

The official enrolment period for Kindergarten 2024 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!

Interview times are now being allocated to families, so if you have collected an enrolment pack please return it as soon as possible so that an interview time can be given.

Canteen News

Canteen for Term 2 will commence tomorrow.   There are some new items that have been added to the menu.   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.

Awards.... Congratulations to:

Dates for your Diary

Community News

Free webinar - getting the most out of gaming

eSafety Commissioner and Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT will offer, this 45-minute webinar to provide families with strategies for supporting children and young people to have safe, positive experiences when playing games online. It is designed for parents and carers of children aged 7 to 14.

It will cover:

- when gaming can be beneficial and strategies to promote better in-game experiences
- how to keep children safe online – using safety and privacy settings in games and platforms
- strategies to promote more balanced gaming and how to create smoother transitions from game-play to other activities
- the key online risks and where to find help for things like bullying and harassment in games.

Getting the most out of gaming 

Tuesday 23 May 7.30pm - 8.15pm