16 November 2023
Principals News
Hear us, O Lord, as we make our appeal in their memory; Bless, O Lord our God, those who have fought and valiantly died that we might enjoy liberty and freedom. May their sacrifice not be in vain.
PEOPLE: May your blessing, O Lord, be upon them.
Dear Families,
Lest we forget
Last Friday Miss L arranged a prayer to mark Remembrance Day at Holy Spirit Infants with a minute silence at 11am. 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.
Busy Weeks ahead
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.
Kinder 2024
Our new Kindergarten students for 2024 have had four terrific transition visits. Many of the children had participated in the Playgroups we offered and so many seem to feel rather comfortable in what will soon be their new school. My sincere thanks to the parents and grandparents who attended the Information Session and we hope you found it both informative and valuable. My thanks to Mrs Kearns and Mrs Seamer for filling in on the day. 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:
Monday 5th February at 9.30 am and pick up is at 1.30pm from the double gates. Kinder teachers will send home a note asking you how your child will travel home. Please complete it and return tomorrow.
Tuesday 6th February 9.30-2.30 pm from the double gates.
Wednesday 7th February (Normal day) 8.55am - 2.55pm (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. If you have any questions, please contact the school.
Year 1 and Yr 2 Students 2024:
Will return to the new year on Wednesday 31st January at 8.55am and the afternoon bell is at 2.55pm. Please ensure your child knows how they will travel home to reduce and added anxiety. Thank you.
Grade Sharing Assemblies
Last week Year 1 prepared and shared with our school community and very proud parents some of the things they have been learning about in their classes. Our thanks to Mrs Porter-Kay, Miss Elias and Mrs Edwards for their support of the students who willingly shared and led our assembly! Our Kindergarten Sharing Assembly was the week prior and as usual, they stole the show! Thanks to Miss L, Mr Flynn, Mrs Focic and Miss Reid for their support of our youngest students! 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.
We will then enjoy learning all about Year 2 on Friday 1st Dec at 2.10pm.
Classes for 2024
As we are sorting out classes for next year, if parents wish to speak with me confidentially regarding any requests or concerns you may have, please get in contact by Friday 24th November. Please do not call to request specific teachers as I am unable at this time to confirm the placement of our staffing. As soon as I am able to notify everyone, I will.
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 2024. 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. Unfortunately, due to circumstances we may not be able to announce the class teachers before the first Step Up Day but the children will know which classroom will be theirs. We pride ourselves on ensuring the most supportive transitions across our school. Last week our Year 2 children visited Holy Spirit Kurri Kurri and further visit are planned. Please ensure your child is at school on these afternoons as in the Dates for your Diary.
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 for your support.
Wishing everyone a great fortnight ahead!
Kind Regards
Diane Murphy
Assistant Principal News
Positive Behaviour for Learning
Our PBL focus for Weeks 7 and 8 this term is from the domain “I am safe!”:
“I use safe hands, safe feet and kind words!”
This positive behaviour is very important here at Holy Spirit Infants Abermain. Therefore, it is a positive behaviour focus that we repeat in each term. Remembering to use safe hands feet and kind words can be challenging for young children. Often when young children find themselves in social conflict their immediate reaction is to say something hurtful, push or kick rather than walking away, talking about the problem or seeking help from an adult. Young children are still developing their conflict resolution skills. As teachers at Holy Spirit Infants, we see it as our role to support our students to develop their conflict resolution skills. We do this by talking about appropriate ways to resolve problems when conflict arises as well as teaching social skills during our Personal Development and Health lessons and PBL lessons. When your child experiences social conflict, talk about the appropriate ways they could find a solution: they could tell the person the “stop”, walk away, talk it out, find another game/activity to play or tell the teacher/adult.
AquaColour Fun Run
On Friday 17th November Holy Spirit Infants School be holding an AquaColour Fun Run commencing at 10 am. We aim to break for lunch at approximately 11:30-12 and finish our activity around 1:00. Students will be sprayed with Holi Powder in a variety of bright colours as they participate in our water themed obstacle course. A reminder to parents and carers to ensure that your child wears a hat, light coloured t-shirt, shorts, socks and shoes. These clothing items should be older items as it’s likely the colour will not wash out. You may also wish to pack a change of clothing and plastic bag for your child to change into after the event.
This event is a school fundraiser and the money raised will contribute to the purchasing of new iPads for our school. To participate, students must collect sponsors and bring their sponsorship form on the day. All sponsorship money will need to be collected after the event and returned to school no later than Friday 8th December. We appreciate your generous support.
It will be a day of fun, colour and excitement!
World Diabetes Day
Tuesday was World Diabetes Day. Many of us have a friend or family member living with diabetes. Around 1 in 10 adults have diabetes and more than 1.2 million children and adolescents (0-19 years) live with type 1 diabetes.
Our Holy Spirit Infants community raised $332.70 for this important cause on Tuesday through our gold coin donation for dressing in blue and jellybean guessing competition. Well done Holy Spirit Infants Abermain!
If you would like to donate further to diabetes research, please click on the link below:
Rebecca Kearns – Assistant Principal
Sharing Our Faith
Remembrance Day
Last Friday we marked Remembrance Day as a school community. We reflected on the meaning of the day and the sacrifices that were made so we can have the lives we have today. Thank you to our school leaders for leading us and for our school community for being so respectful.
Don't forget - Grandparents Day!
We look forward to celebrating our Grandparents and Grandfriends for Grandparents Day on Thursday 23rd November. We will have a liturgy in the Church at 1:30pm followed by afternoon tea with scones and tea/coffee.
We look forward to celebrating with you all!
Term 4 Family Mass
Our Term 4 Family Mass will be on Sunday 26th November at 4:30pm, The Feast of Christ the King. Students are invited to come dressed in royal colours for this mass in gold, red or purple.
There will be opportunities for students to participate in the mass through music, readings or offertory.
Please email Miss Laczkowski at: jessica.laczkowski@mn.catholic.edu.au to RSVP and please inform if your child would like to do a special job.
All are welcome!
St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal
During Term 4 we focus our fundraising on St. Vincent de Paul and their Christmas appeal. We are supporting families who are struggling in the cost of living crisis to have some joy this Chrismas season through donating items for Christmas hampers. These hampers will include non-perishable food items that will allow these families to experience a Christmas meal that they wouldn't have otherwise.
Over the term, each grade is asked to bring in different items outlined below which we will then donate to the Cessnock Vinnies Conference in December.
Thank you so much to those who have already brought in something - it is great to see our school community supporting those who are doing it tough this Christmas season!
Parish Mass Times
Saturday 18th November
9:00am Mass - Holy Spirit Kurri Kurri
6:00pm Mass - St. Joseph's Cessnock
Sunday 19th November
8:30am Mass - Holy Spirit Kurri Kurri
10:30am Mass - St. Joseph's Cessnock
4:30pm Mass - St. Francis Xavier's Abermain
Saturday 25th Novemeber
9:00am Mass - St. Joseph's Cessnock
6:00pm Mass - St. Joseph's Cessnock
Sunday 26th November
8:30am Mass - Holy Spirit Kurri Kurri
10:30am Mass - St. Joseph's Cessnock
4:30pm Mass - St. Francis Xavier's Abermain (Family Mass - All Welcome!)
Library News
Book Club
Issue 8 of book club will close on Thursday 30th November. All orders must be placed ONLINE ONLY through Scholastic LOOP. Thank you for your continued support of book club throughout the year. With the school reward points we have been able to receive some great books which the children enjoy reading.
Library Staff
School Fees
Thank you to those families who have already met their school fee obligation for 2023. The expectation is that all fees will be paid by the end of November, 2023. If you are having difficulty meeting this commitment, please reach out for assistance.
School Fees for 2024 have now been set by the Diocese. See flyers below. It is to noted that Holy Spirit Infants School Resource Fee will remain at $500 per student in 2024.
In Summary: Tuition Fees $1487, Resource Fee $500, Family School Building Levy $1638.
Sibling Discounts and Health Care Card discounts (where appropriate) will be applied to Tuition Fees.
There is also a voluntary Pastoral Contribution of $300.
NRL Tag Gala Day
It is with great pleasure that we share the remarkable achievements of our talented Year 2 students who were recently involved in the NRL Tag Gala Day hosted at Cessnock. The event served as a platform for these young athletes to showcase their exceptional running and passing skills, resulting in an impressive tally of scored tries that left spectators in awe. What truly set our students apart, however, was not just their athletic prowess but also their commendable display of exemplary behavior and outstanding sportsmanship throughout the entire event. Their commitment to fair play and respect for fellow participants reflected the values we strive to instill in our students. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the parents who generously offered their time and support by transporting their children to the event and cheering them on from the sidelines. Your involvement is a testament to the strong sense of community that defines our school. A special acknowledgment goes to the dedicated team of educators—Ms Focic, Mrs Shakespeare, Mrs Wile, Mr Flynn and Mr Hornby-Howell—who played a pivotal role in organizing and guiding our students with meticulous attention to detail. Their unwavering commitment to ensuring a seamless and enriching experience for our young athletes deserves commendation.
Mr Flynn
Kinder Sharing Assembly
Last fortnight, our Kindergarten students presented their second ever Grade Sharing Assembly sharing with their parents and the school community all the wonderful things they have been learning about this term.
Our theme for the assembly was 'teachers' where for each subject we had our mini teachers present to the audience what the class has been learning and teach the audience a thing or two.
Our Mathematicians presented our work in Measurement, looking at halves, area and length, our Musicians presented an amazing Boomwhackers performance of 'When I get mad' and our English teachers taught our audience about Diagraphs and vowels.
Well done Kindergarten on a wonderful assembly! Check out the photos from the assembly below.
Year 1 Sharing Assembly
On Friday 10th November, Year 1 shared an assembly focused on all the wonderful things they have been doing this term. Our theme was ‘the greatest show’ which we used to show off our incredible work and learning. We read some persuasive writing on Grandparents and pigeons and demonstrated how far we have come with skip counting and commutative properties in Maths. Year 1 performed baby shark using boomwackers which they learnt during Music lessons with Mrs Edwards. Our assembly ended with a video showing off all the incredible work and activities we have worked on this term. Year 1 worked tirelessly to prepare their assembly for their families and delivered an incredible show.
With thanks,
Miss Elias, Mrs Porter-Kay, Mrs Edwards
Awards...congratulations to
Dates for your Diary
Community News
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