Holy Spirit Infants School Abermain eNewsletter

Principal News

We have heard the words of prophets.
May we recognise God's truth.
We have heard the words of angels.
May we recognise God's joy.
We have heard the words of promise.
May we recognise God's love.
And so may God bless us, Mystery of creation, Child in the manger, Holy Spirit of glory, and may we welcome and walk in the promises of God. AMEN

Dear Parents and Carers

The bushfire event of last Thursday afternoon interrupted our end of year festivities and quickly reminded us just how important it is to feel safe. As human beings we often get ourselves "caught up" in the busy-ness of life and things that truly don't really matter and so it was in the face of the three blazes engulfing our communities of Abermain/Pelaw Main and Kurri Kurri, that my immediate thoughts and actions were for the protection and safety for all our students, staff and families and our students and the staff at St Nic's OOSH. Thank you to the parents who responded immediately and came so quickly to collect their children. The children were being cared for indoors and seemed unaware of the issues. Road closures did become an issue as the fire grew and with power outages, we were relieved when all students had finally been collected.

If your family feels the need for some counselling to check in with professionals after the bushfire threats, please see Compass as we have made arrangements with The Rosewood Centre to prioritise our families. I encourage you to ring and make an appointment as they can support all your family members.

It's a timely reminder for all parents and carers to keep phones on and nearby whilst your child is at OOSH and school, so that in such an emergency as we experienced, you are able to be contacted. Many parents work, so it is imperative that every day the school has the correct numbers for your child's emergency contacts. These emergency contacts may change over time - but if the school or OOSH isn't notified - we do not know the number/person has changed. Early in 2024 I will again be requesting every family check these details and its a reminder for all parents that this is your responsibility to keep school informed. Thanks everyone!

Our teachers and staff have missed saying farewell to our Year 2 students and of course we couldn't have the traditional clap out, but that's just life isn't it. With all the school closures in our area, many students leaving Year 6 were also impacted. Life is full of disappointments and I am sure as your children are swimming, playing games, getting excited about Santa's arrival and likely eating you out of house and home already...they will soon forget about a clap out and focus on the holidays.

Thank you for a wonderful year at Holy Spirit Infants! It truly feels like we are the close community we always were before the 'covid years' threw everything into disarray. Parents and Grandparents are always welcome at our school and we hope to see more of you in 2024. Our staff are a terrific team and together we are always doing all we can to enhance our great community. We would like to thank parents for their generous and thoughtful gifts. Gifts are never expected as we believe we are just doing our job, however, we would like to express our gratitude. Thank you!

Our staffing for 2024 is almost completed and I would like to share the following with you:

KW: Miss Kristen Pryor

KB: Miss Jessica Laczkowski and Mrs Meagan Edwards

1W: Mrs Nicole Elbourne (new) and Mrs Heather Porter-Kay

1B: Miss Helena Elias

2B: Mr Brodie Flynn and Mrs Rebecca Kearns

2W:Mrs Kate Kreutzer

Learning Support Teacher: Mrs Kath Gray

Teacher Librarian: Miss Evelyn Covita

Gifted Education Teacher: Mrs Heather Porter-Kay

EALD Teacher: Ms Nicolette Fredsall

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Teacher: Mrs Ashlee Edwards

Music Specialist Teacher: Mrs Grace Matthews (new)

Support Staff: Mrs Amanda Focic; Mrs Leah Shakespeare; Mrs Lisa Bolam; Mrs Janelle Williams; Mrs Kay Woods; Mr Trevor Shakespeare

Office Administration: Mrs Dot Seamer (Mon-Wed) and Mrs Bonnie Lane (Thurs/Fri)

Religious Education Coordinator: Miss Jessica Laczkowski

Assistant Principal/s: Mrs Rebecca Kearns and Mrs Heather Porter-Kay

Principal: Ms Diane Murphy

We will have one further announcement when school returns next year. The children moving from Kinder to Year 1 and from Year 1 to Year 2 all know their classrooms and now can know the teachers' names as well. We will share Teacher Profiles etc with you early in term 1.

Wishing all our families a safe and happy Christmas and may the joy of the celebration of the birth of Jesus into the world, fill your hearts with love and light.

May God's peace be with you!

Kind Regards

Diane Murphy

Principal

Assistant Principal News

Positive Behaviour for Learning

As we reflect on the year 2023, we would like to highlight the positive behaviour focus that has been integral to our school community – "I use safe hands, safe feet, and kind words!" from the domain "I am safe!" This behaviour has been emphasized consistently throughout the year and has become a cornerstone of our efforts to cultivate a safe and nurturing environment at Holy Spirit Infants Abermain.

Encouraging children to use safe hands, safe feet, and kind words is of utmost importance, and we have made it a point to revisit this positive behaviour focus in each term. We recognize that for young children, mastering these actions can be challenging. When faced with social conflicts, their initial reactions may lean towards saying something hurtful or resorting to physical actions rather than seeking constructive solutions.

Understanding that young children are still developing their conflict resolution skills, we, as teachers at Holy Spirit Infants, view it as our responsibility to guide and support our students in this aspect. Throughout the year, we have engaged in conversations about appropriate ways to resolve problems when conflicts arise. Our Personal Development and Health lessons, as well as Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) lessons, have been tailored to instil essential social skills.

In instances where your child encounters social conflicts, we encourage you to engage in discussions about the various appropriate ways they can find a solution. This may include expressing themselves assertively, walking away from the situation, engaging in dialogue, choosing an alternative game or activity, or seeking help from a teacher or another trusted adult.

By consistently reinforcing these positive behaviours, we aim to empower our students with the tools they need to navigate social conflicts in a constructive and respectful manner. We appreciate your ongoing support in fostering a positive and safe learning environment at Holy Spirit Infants Abermain.

AquaColour Fun Run

Thanks to your remarkable efforts, our AquaColour Fun Run has raised an incredible $6296! This outstanding achievement is a testament to the dedication and enthusiasm of our school community.

A special shout-out goes to the students of 1 White, who went above and beyond by raising an astonishing $1332! To celebrate this impressive accomplishment, 1 White was treated to an ice-cream party last Wednesday. Congratulations to the students and their families for their outstanding contribution.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all families for your generous and overwhelming support. The funds raised from the fun run will be instrumental in acquiring new iPads for our school. Your commitment to enhancing the learning experience for our students is truly commendable.

Once again, thank you for making our AquaColour Fun Run a resounding success. We look forward to putting the funds to good use and continuing to provide our students with valuable educational resources.

Wishing you a joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year! May your celebrations be filled with love, laughter, and cherished moments. Stay safe and enjoy the festive season.

Rebecca Kearns – Assistant Principal

Sharing Our Faith

End of Year Liturgy

In Week 9 we had our End of Year Liturgy, led by Father James and student helpers. We reflected on the amazing year that we had and our students read so beautifully.

During the liturgy, we farewelled our Student Leadership Team and 'passed the flame' to our new Leadership Team for 2024. We also took the opportunity to thank Ms Lydia Reid (LSA) and Ms Hailey Stollard who are leaving our school community at the end of this year. We wish them well on their future endeavours.

During Term 4, our school community brought in donations for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas appeal. From breakfast items, to lunch and dinner items, we received an abundance of goods that we donated to the Cessnock Vinnies Conference. Jodie and Debbie came last week to collect our donations which they said will be distributed to families in need this Christmas around the Cessnock, Abermain and Kurri Kurri areas.

Catholic Mission

In Week 9, David McGovern from Catholic Mission, came to our school to thank us for our support of Catholic Mission and to present us with a certifcate of appreciation. From David:

"I would like to express thanks, on behalf of Sr Carolina and the people of Timor Leste, for your school's generous support of Catholic Mission during Socktober. I have seen the remittance from the Finance Office in the Catholic Schools Office (CSO) and was so humbled, and excited, to read that Holy Spirit at Abermain had raised $968.30. How wonderful is that!"

Well done to all those who supported Catholic Mission this year, whether it be through our coin line, crazy sock day or raffle, we appreciate all of your support.

Awards 2023

It is with great delight that we share with you the award recipients for the Fruit of the Spirit Class and Academic Awards for 2023.

A big congratulations to the following students for their amazing achievements.

Fruit of the Spirit Awards

We would like to mention all the families leaving Holy Spirit Infants, Abermain at this time. We wish you well and thank you for your contributions to our school community. May God continue to bless you all.

Allen, Balkema, Brooks, Cole, Cunningham, Currington, Doyle, Farmer, Gayler, Gillespie, Gopakumar, Gould, Grant, Han, Hawkins, Hawley, Hellyer, Hogan, Howard, Joseph, Lawrence, Magyar, Martin, Mathews, McLennan, Neale, Nevin, Paul, Price, Radford, Scott, Selden, Snelgrove, Starkey, Stewart, Wile, Wilesmith, Wilkinson, Wrightson and Zaichenko families.

We wish you all a very safe and happy Christmas holiday and all the best for the New Year.

Summary of our Learning 2023

Each grade has put together a summary of our learning across 2024 and we know that whilst we can't possibly capture it all, every child has been successful at Holy Spirit Infants!

Year 2 2023

As we say farewell to another incredible year at Holy Spirit Infants, the Year 2 cohort stands tall as the leaders of our school. Their journey has been a one of growth, achievement, and unforgettable experiences. Throughout this year, these students have showcased remarkable resilience, dedication, and enthusiasm. The progress Year 2 Students have made in English, Literacy, Maths, Science, and Visual Arts has been undeniable. Their journey included engaging reading group rotations, inventive mathematical explorations, captivating science experiments, and creative utilisations of digital technologies, all of which have brilliantly showcased their academic development. Year 2 hasn't just made significant academic progress; they've delved into many captivating learning activities that sparked curiosity and nurtured a love for learning. Embracing their roles as school leaders, Year 2 students have embodied responsibility, setting an inspiring example for their peers. Engaging in various activities has been pivotal to their growth this year. From the immersive excursion to the Awabakal Centre to the adrenaline of sporting events like the Cross Country and Oz Tag Gala Day, each experience has enriched their learning journey. The vibrant Bush Dance united families and friends, while events such as Harmony Day and Holy week beautifully showcased the diversity and unity within our community. Fit4Kids sessions and Wellbeing Week activities have instilled crucial life skills, promoting both physical and mental wellbeing among our students.

This year stands as a testament to the remarkable achievements and growth of our Year 2 students. As they set forth on their future endeavours, let us celebrate their successes and continue nurturing their curiosity, resilience, and passion for learning.

Mr Flynn, Mrs Kreutzer and Mrs Kearns

Year 1 2023

What an amazing year it has been, so many learning experiences and so many adventures. This week Year 1 thought about the year that has passed and we discussed the best of the best. Our adventure to the Wetlands Education Centre was high on our list, lots of hands-on experiences, with bird watching mesmerising the students and creating a lasting impact with their science and geographical knowledge. The school incursions and fun dress up days were also discussed and rated highly especially our Easter and Book Week parades. Not forgetting the famous ‘Bush Dance’.

1 White experimented with lots of different art mediums and looked at many famous artists this year, all loved the varied ideas and art works that were made and discussed. They especially loved using water colours and mixing paint to create different hues and colours.

1 Blue have enjoyed using the iPads within literacy rotations and sharing their learning on Seesaw. Within writing lessons, we read a variety of stories to write persuasive, imaginative and informative texts and learnt how to use descriptive language and how to re-read and edit our work. 1 Blue have enjoyed different maths activities and have enjoyed taking on challenges to deepen their learning. They have worked extremely hard this year!

Subjects that rated highly in our discussions were mathematics, specially creating and drawing arrays. All love reading chapter books and most loved the varied writing activities in the classroom. 1 White enjoyed the fact that they became authors and published their very own books, one all about descriptions and the other a persuasive book based on ‘Hey, Little Ant’.

We all became leaders and had an amazing day meeting our 2024 buddies. We finished with a great end to the year, all enjoying the Christmas themed disco and Christmas craft.

All in all, Year 1 students loved their time in year 1 making friends and learning lots of new things, they are very excited to be moving to Year 2 in 2024. We also decided we were very lucky to have Seesaw as we could share our learning journey with our families for the whole entire year.

We wish everyone a very blessed, happy and safe Christmas break.

Mrs Porter-Kay, Mrs Meagan Edwards & Miss Elias

Kindergarten 2023

Kindergarten have had an amazing first year of school and have come so far with their learning! It is hard to beleive those students who came in not being able to write their name are now writing multiple sentences from stories to speeches. They are truely to be commended on the effort and enthusiasm they have put into their education.

Kindergarten have enjoyed so many events throughout the year such as our excursion to Hunter Valley Zoo, which was for some, their first time on a bus! 100 days of Kindergarten was so much fun dressing up as old people and exploring the number 100 and I think their favourite event this year was our colour run this term.

Kindergarten have had a variety of different experiences that have allowed them to learn about the world around them and explore different interests that they have. Miss Pryor, Miss Laczkowski and Mr Flynn are so proud of our Kinder students and look forward to seeing them blossom next year in Year 1!

On Friday the 1st of December, Year 2 dazzled and danced into their final assembly at Holy Spirit Infants School with a talk show that reflected on their achievements in semester 2.

The wonderful Annabelle and Grayson hosted an intriguing afternoon of music, art, singing and speaking about learning in Religion, English, Maths, Science, History and Sport.

The choir and boomwhacker band presented an inspiring rendition of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' and our 'Zones of Regulation' students Dallas, Eli, Evelyn, Matilda and Ruby gave an in-depth explanation about huge, big, medium, small and tiny problems that may effect us at different times in our lives.The commitment to their preparation and performance of the assembly is a credit to all of Year 2 and their individual strengths and talents.

It was a wonderful afternoon and we are so proud of their achievements and their courage to present to you the things they were most proud of. Well done Year 2! Mrs Kreutzer, Mrs Kearns and Mr Flynn

2023 School Disco Fun

We enjoyed a fun night of dancing with DJ Jake on Monday 11th December. Everyone had lots of fun and enjoyed a happy and celebratory vibe. We think Miss L had the best dance moves! Thanks for coming along kids!

Week_11_Term_4.pdf

Community News

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