1st June 2023

News from the Principal

Dear Families 

We certainly have had a very busy few weeks at Holy Spirit Infants and we have truly enjoyed being able to engage with parents and grandparents at so many special events where we hope you’ve enjoyed being a part of the activities. Our combined athletics carnival last week with Holy Spirit Kurri was a terrific day! Many of our Kinder students were excited to catch the bus for the very first time with their friends; other students were excited to sprint on the track; others liked being able to see their bigger brothers and sisters  or to participate in the well planned and fun novelty events. My sincere thanks to each of our hard working staff members who supported the students in so many ways that day and particularly to Miss Kristen Pryor and Miss Helena Elias who were our carnival convenors. Both these teachers meticulously planned every aspect of the day for our Infants School students; they liaised with our Kurri colleagues and their attention to detail meant a terrific day for everyone! We will hold a ribbon presentation shortly and students who are eligible to represent Holy Spirit Abermain at the diocesan carnival will also be notified soon. If parents have any feedback about the carnival to share with us, please send it through via email to admin. Thank you.

The following day we hosted a panel of visitors from the Diocese who came to discuss with myself and our Executive Team all aspects of our school from finances to technology; staffing and building projects; Religious Education and Teacher Professional Development inclusive of the effectiveness of various diocesan initiatives in schools. Within the group was Ms Lisa Tierney the Chief Operations Officer for the diocese; Mr Steve Lemos Head of Catholic Schools and other department heads of Shared Services. The meeting was very affirming for our school and the visitors particularly enjoyed a school tour where they visited our classrooms and met with the students. We sang for them our school song and were very honoured that the team could then join us in the church for our Catholic Schools Week liturgy and our celebration of Pentecost. Our school leaders played a key role in welcoming the visitors to Abermain. Every school across the diocese is having a similar visit and the feedback from colleagues has been how valuable the discussions were.

Last Friday we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost with a liturgy in the church which was presided over by Fr James. Our Year 2 students acted out the gospel reading and the children’s singing lifted the roof! We then proudly invited parents and grandparents to visit our classrooms and complete an activity with your child in their classroom. Next it was time to sing Happy Birthday to our school (the feast of Pentecost is known as the birthday of the church) and for everyone to enjoy some very delicious celebration cakes made by Chloe’s Mum, Carla. They were magnificent!

Reconciliation Week 

We began our week with a liturgy prepared by Mrs Ashlee Edwards our Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander Teacher and her team of aboriginal students. The theme for Reconcviliation Week in 2023 is 'Be a Voice for Generations ' and encourages Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise. Each class has an activiy to create an awareness of Reconciliation Week. 

Bishop Michael comes to Abermain

On Friday 2^nd June we are excited to welcome Bishop Michael Kennedy to visit our school and to meet with our staff and students. Bishop Michael is keen to visit every school and Parish in the diocese and he will also be present at the 8.30am Mass on Sunday 4^th June where children from the Primary school will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. All invited to attend. We are looking forward to welcoming him to our school community.

Baptism:

Over the weekend Harjass’ baby sister (Harjass is in 1W) was welcomed into the church at her baptism. Congratulations to the family.

Professional Learning:

I recently attended the NSW Catholic School Principals Association Conference with many of our Principals from our Maitland-Newcastle Diocese and hundreds of Principal colleagues from across the state. The theme for the Conference was “New Hope. New Growth” and the keynote speakers provided exceptional insights into the importance for principals to remain full of hope for a bright future for Catholic Education despite the many challenges principals face in the role day to day. Whilst we have had to navigate issues such as leading our school communities through the global pandemic, floods, mice plagues and staffing shortages, we were continually drawn back to reflect upon and to seek the real possibilities for new growth in our faith. We heard from Principals in various settings and the key them was about the communities they serve and I reflected on our own school community which is very much alive and vibrant as evidenced over the attendance by so many parents/carers/grandparents to our many invitations. Our staff do all they can to be welcoming to all and supportive of every child as they begin their journey in lifelong learning. We continue to strengthen our links with our Parish and local community. I felt fortunate to be the Principal of such a terrific school and again I thank all parents for their support of our school.

Last Tuesday we had a pupil free day so that our teachers could attend a Professional Learning Day which was focused around the pedagogy of mathematics. Maths is our key focus curriculum area for our 2023 School Improvement Plan. The day involved many mathematical challenges and ideas for ways to include a methodology such a “Launch” activity at the start of each maths lesson. A launch phase of the maths lesson is always engaging, challenging and fun! Eg “Mathematicians have super powers” and “ a scavenger hunt” with a number focus. We were able to discuss aspects of mathematics best practice teaching with colleagues from other schools and we determined our Agreed Practices for use in our maths lessons K-2. Teachers have planned to commit to embedding such practices in their own maths lessons moving forward.

Religious Literacy Data for our Diocese

On Wednesday Principals and Religious Education Coordinators gathered to review the data around the Religious Literacy of our students across the diocese. A Religious Literacy assessment is sat in Year 6, 8 and 10 and it is a requirement of the Bishops of Australia that Catholic Schools meet the expectations that students will leave in Year 12 having a deep knowledge and a high degree of Religious Literacy. This is not just having a deep understanding of the Catholic Faith, but gaining knowledge and understanding of other faiths in the hope that our Australian society will be understanding of and respectful of, the beliefs of others. Our school being K-2 meant we met with Holy Spirit Kurri staff to review their data and set goals both long term and short term, for ways we can support our students to grow in this area. A valuable day!

Gifted Education Initiative – Spelling and Maths Bees

Our Gifted Education Teacher Mrs Porter-Kay has organised a school Spelling Bee and Maths Bee for our students. It is the first time our Lower Hunter Region of schools have taken part in the Diocesan initiative. Due to the new nature of the event, and the fact that our students are all so young, we have kept it low key in 2023. The parents of winners from each stage will be contacted by Mrs Porter-Kay with details as the Regional Event will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Tarro on Thursday 8^th June and these children will have the opportunity to represent Abermain in the Spelling and Maths events. Our sincere thanks to Mrs Porter-Kay for her thorough organisation of this event and for her work to provide the opportunity for our clever spellers and mathematicians to shine.

New Classroom Furniture

At the beginning of the school year we were gifted with brand new ergonomic chairs and new desks with whiteboard surfaces from the Diocese. The new furniture has been a welcome addition to our classrooms and in KB the other day, Billy happily showed our visitors just how great it is to do your school work in texta on the whiteboard desk and then rub it out! The same furniture is also in the library. We are very appreciative of the gift of this new furniture for our students from the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle.

Playground Installation Plans

We are currently seeking ideas and quotes for a musical installation in the playground for the students to play with. Sensory type experiences are valuable for all students and being able to make music outdoors is a great way to invite students to engage in sound making activities. If parents/grandparents have other ideas for what else we could provide the students with on the playground, please contact me at the school. Your ideas are very important to us.

Uniforms

A gentle reminder parents that all uniform items need to be labelled so that they can be returned to the owner. We do not have lost property when everyone helps out by labelling clothing and items. Thank you. If you are having difficulty sourcing uniform items, please contact the office or contact me directly, as we are here to help our families.

Basketball Lessons

Our students are enjoying learning basketball skills this term with Daniel from Cessnock Basketball Association. The focus is on skill development through games that involve dribbling, bouncing the ball, catching the ball and of course, shooting hoops. The children have responded so well to the lessons so far – luckily we ordered lots of new basketballs for them to practice with.

Safety reminders

• Please do not park in the Church carpark.
• Please hold your child’s hand whenever you both cross a road.
• Please avoid loading a child into a car via the drivers side wherever possible. 

Student led conferences following Semester 1 Reports

Soon we will be opening booking times for our new format for Student Led Conferences following the sharing of your child's 2023 Semester 1 report. The student led conference is a new initiative for our school whereby the conversation about learning is centred around your child and they will (with their teacher's support) talk with you about their learning goal and their efforts and achievements in this first semester. We know families are busy however we would like every parent/carer to make an appointment, bring along your child and engage in this new way of sharing your child's learning journey. Appointments will be made via Compass app when available and we are looking at the third week of June for the conferences. 

Have a terrific fortnight! 

God Bless you and your family,

Diane Murphy 

Principal 

Assistant Principal News

Positive Behaviour for Learning  

Our PBL focus for weeks 5 and 6 of Term 2 is part of our “I am a Learner” domain: 

“I participate in lessons.”  

Participating lessons at Holy Spirit Infants means that we are being the best learner we possibly can. We listen attentively to the teacher, the ideas of other students and share our own ideas and thoughts during discussions. We also complete our work to the best of our ability. Below are some pictures of KB and KW participating in their lessons. 

Sharing our Faith

Snippets of faith – What is Pentecost? 

We recently celebrated the feast of Pentecost. Some of you may be familiar with the feast day, but some may not. You see the symbol of the flames and hear 'Hearts on Fire' being sung, but what is it really about? 

Pentecost is known as 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 word Pentecost is Greek and it means "50th day." Fifty days after Easter Sunday, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, and the beginning of their Earthly ministry to make disciples of all nations. 

At Pentecost, the Apostles and their followers were gathered in a room. Jews from all over the world were gathered with Peter, the leader of the Apostles and the Eleven. At this time, a great wind blew and a flame appeared as a tongue of fire, which split itself into many individual flames above the heads of all those present. The Holy Spirit came upon these people and each began to speak in tongues. Despite the fact many had no common language, they were perfectly able to understand one another. 

The symbols of Pentecost are the flame, wind, and the dove, which represents the Holy Spirit. The color of Pentecost is red and the priest wears red vestments on this day. Parishioners are also invited to wear red on this day. Red decorations as well as celebrations are appropriate, similar to any other birthday. Special prayers are often said just for Pentecost. 

It is a time to reflect on our faith and endeavor to recommit to spread the Holy Spirit and the Good News of God to those around us. 

(Source Catholic.org) 

Have a look at the below video which is an example of what we show our students to help them understand the feast of Pentecost. 

Pentecost & Catholic Schools Week Liturgy

On Friday 26th May we celebrated Pentecost and Catholic Schools Week. We held a liturgy in the Church where we broke open the theme of CSW of 'Encounter', reflecting on how we can encounter God and we reflected on how we can encounter God in the many gifts that God gifts us.  

Following this we had open classrooms and a shared Pentecost birthday celebration which was a great way to share with our school community all the amazing things we get up to at Holy Spirit. 

Thank you to all who were able to attend and for the amazing work our students did running our liturgy; from acting out the Gospel, to readings and liturgical movement. It was a beautiful celebration. 

Pentecost & Catholic School's Week Liturgy

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Open Classrooms & Pentecost Cake

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Term 2 Family Mass

Date for your diary - Sunday 18th June will be our next Family Mass where we will join together the school community and parish community to celebrate mass. We would love to see lots of families and have our students involved in various ministries. We had a great time last term and look forward to having it again. Notes will go out next week calling for RSVP's and volunteers.

Parish Mass Times

Saturday 3rd June 

9:00am Mass – Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri 

6:00pm Mass – St. Joseph’, Cessnock 

Sunday 4th June 

8:30am Mass – Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri (Confirmation for Primary Students) 

11:00am Mass – St. Joseph’s, Cessnock 

4:30pm Mass – St Francis Xavier, Abermain 

Saturday 10th June 

9:00am Mass – St. Joseph’s, Cessnock 

6:00pm Mass – St. Joseph’s, Cessnock 

Sunday 11th June  

8:30am Mass – Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri 

10:30am Mass – St. Joseph’s, Cessnock 

4:30pm Liturgy of the Word & Communion – St Francis Xavier, Abermain  

4:30pm Mass – St Michael the Archangel’s, Wollombi 

Yours in faith, 

Miss Jessica Laczkowski 

Religious Education Coordinator 

National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday 24th May, Holy Spirit Infants took part in the National Simultaneous Storytime. Each cohort got together to listen to the live reading of ‘The Speedy Sloth’ by author Rebecca Young straight from Sydney Zoo. Thousands of students around the nation stopped at 11:00 am and joined in this live reading and short drawing demonstration by the illustrator of the story Heath McKenzie.

Students showed their support by wearing accessories and they looked fabulous.

We learned from the story, that it doesn’t matter if you don’t win. The main theme of this inspirational story revolves around persistence and perseverance; two incredibly important traits that help all students achieve their best. Spike the sloth did not set out to win the race, she set out to participate and finish the race regardless of position.

Stories like this help students identify with characters and feel encouraged to persevere in all facets of life, aiding them in their life-long learning journey. Reading is not just a past time but a fundamental skill. According to a paper from the University of California, kids are exposed to 50% more words through reading, compared to TV. Another reason to open a good book and start reading.

Happy Reading

Evelyn Covita

Teacher Librarian

Recognising our Volunteers

The National Volunteer Week theme for 2023 is Volunteering Weaves Us Together. We are always so very grateful to the numerous volunteers who assist in so many ways at our school. The theme speaks of Volunteering weaving us together and it truly does. Mr Pat Sharkey is a wonderful example of this. Pat is a member of our Parish here at Abermain and his skills and generosity in fixing, creating and maintaining so many elements in our school is beyond asmazing. He has also done this over almost two decades! We are blessed to have his support and guidance. Thank you most sincerely Pat. Our thanks also to our canteen volunteers, our canteen co-ordinator, excursion volunteers, classroom reading helpers, Easter Egg raffle wrappers; Mothers Day Stall ...you each bring so much to the fabric of our school. Thank you! 

Music Lessons

Each Friday during Term 2 Holy Spirit students are participating in music lessons.

Kindergarten have been learning about the core musical concept beat. They have practised keeping a beat, listening for the beat in some popular songs and have enjoyed showing their understanding with movement and body percussion.

Year 1 have been eagerly learning all about dynamics, otherwise known as loud or soft sounds in music. They enjoyed responding to loud sounds within music with a loud shout and a whisper when a quiet noise was played. 

Year 2 have spent time carefully listening to a variety of songs to decide if the tempo of a song was fast or slow. We have learnt the history of some musical terminology and practised using the Italian words including ‘largo’ which means slow tempo, ‘moderato’ mid tempo and ‘allegro’ fast tempo.
It has been wonderful to see so much joy in the students during each music lesson.
Meagan Edwards

Reconciliation Week

'This week Holy Spirit Infants have celebrated National Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day.We started our week off with a liturgy where we acknowledged the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the past. We prayed for guidance and strength as we work towards reconciliation and healing in the future. Mrs Edwards went and visited each of the classes and read a story called 'Sorry Day' written by Coral Vass and spoke to the children about The Stolen Generation and the Apology from Kevin Rudd back in 2008. Mrs Edwards then went to each class throughout the week and lead and Aboriginal Art inspired lesson.In Kindergarten the children used Aboriginal Symbols and scratched them onto a boomerang using a special stick. Year 1 used natural and raw materials to create an Australian animal. The children used leaves, sticks and bark to bring their animal to life.Year 2 created Aboriginal Rain Sticks out of paper towel cylinders, coloured paper and rice.
All of the children also decorated a hand using Aboriginal symbols. These have been displayed in each classroom as reminder that we are sorry for what happened in the past.
We remember that we all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.'
Ashlee Edwards

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Teacher

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Weekly Awards: Congratulations to...

Congratulations to the following students who received awards.

Award Recipients

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Office News

Fee statements - If you are paying annually, your fees need to be paid in full by 30th June 2023.  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 yet. 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 2024 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.

Excursion parent consent online.   All  school events are all online now through the Compass app.  If you are having difficulty with this process, please call/come in to the office and request assistance.

Dot Seamer

Year 2 Excursion to the Awabakal Environmental Education Centre

On Thursday the 19th of May, our Year 2 students took a bus to the Awabakal Enviornmental Education Centre in Dudley, as a part of our ‘Living Things’ Science unit of work. When we arrived, we were greeted by the very enthusiastic Mr J and Mrs S who told our students about all of the wonderful activities they would be participating in today.  

Students participated in dip netting where they investigated the different water insects that lived in the pond- we even caught some tadpoles! Students also had the opportunity to create a leaf litter invertebrate study, where they investigated the different flora and fauna in the surrounding bush to see if they could find any insects that lived in these areas. We found worms, bugs and the biggest ants you have ever seen!  

Students were also taken on a bush walk over the ‘Slippery Bridge,’ and got to interact with different tools and plants that the Aboriginal people living in the area would have used. 

It was a fantastic, ‘hands on’ day which all students and staff thoroughly enjoyed! 

Mrs Kreutzer, Mrs Kearns, Mr Flynn, Mrs Shakespeare and Mrs Fredsall. 

Year 2 Excursion Awabakal

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Athletics Carnival

Last Thursday, our students represented Holy Spirit Infants at the 2023 Athletics Carnival, held at Maitland Athletics Centre. It was a perfect, sunny day for students to showcase their track and field skills.

Congratulations to each and every child who came. They demonstrated courage, commitment and gave their very best while competing in all events!

It was fantastic to see students encouraging and cheering each other on, showing sportsmanship and friendship on the day.

A BIG thank you for all who assisted and our community here at Holy Spirit to make this day happen!

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Walk Safely to School

On Friday 19^th May, our children participated in Walk Safely to school day. Children from Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 met their teachers at Maybury Peace Park, from here, we walked safely to school. This day is dedicated to educating our children on the importance of road safety. Thank you to all the parents and families who supported our children in walking safely to school. Our thanks to Miss Elias for organising the event and to all staff and our families for supporting this initiative. It certainly looks like fun! 

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Canteen News

On the last day of the term, Friday 30th June, we will be having a hot dog meal deal day.  Meal is a hot dog, choice of popper drink and 2 choc chip cookies.  All orders are to be done through the QKR app.   No other lunch items will be available to order on this day.   Be sure to get your order in on time for the Meal Deal. 

Book Club

Issue 4 of book club will close Thursday 15^th June. All orders must be placed online through the parent LOOP.

Thank you.

Kay Woods, Library Assistant

Complaints Resolution and Feedback page for Parents and Carers

The Diocese now has a new complaints and feedback process. Brochures are available in our school foyer should you wish to access these. 
The CSO website has now been updated to reflect the new Complaints Resolution Framework. 

Dates for your Diary

Community News

Cessnock Council has a free community film night that may be of interest to you.  The Film is ‘Together We Grow’.  It is an inspiring story about building a local, resilient community.

There will be free nibbles at the event, as well as a Q & A session about how we can work to establish a local, thriving community in Cessnock.

What Parents and Carers need to know about Anime

This free online safety guide delves into the cultural phenomenon of anime, detailing some of the inherent risks associated with this art form – such as extreme violence, sexual content, and predatory business practices. It will also talk about what you can do to address these issues.