Holy Spirit Infants School Abermain eNewsletter

Principal News

Pope Francis declares, “We are called to be people of joyful hope, not doomsday prophets!” Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can all have hopeful joy, and go out to share it with the world.

Dear Parents and Carers

The students, guided by their teachers re-enacted for us the key events of Holy Week at our liturgy on Holy Thursday. Their young faces filled with expression, excitement and a little touch of nervousness, was a very meaningful way to show what they have learnt about the Easter story. Thank you for supporting the students as they learn to be reverent and prayerful when in our church and for encouraging them to sing with great gusto! They were so proud to participate in the re-enactment of Matthew's gospel. The students at Holy Spirit Infants learn by listening, by watching and by doing. For Kindergarten and Year Two, taking an active role either by singing or acting assisted the students to recall the events of Holy Week long ago in a meaningful manner that helps them understand that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to new life, just as the scriptures had foretold. On Tuesday Year One shared with us the great joy of the ressurrection through their re-enactment. Weren't the students absolutely delightful! Thank you to those parents/grandparents who were able to attend one of the liturgies. We hope that your family is filled with the hope of the Easter Season.

Easter Raffle Thank you

Our Easter Hat parade last Wednesday was a lot of fun and it was terrific to have some parent helpers to assist the children in their classrooms making their Easter Hat. The creations were amazing! It was great that Aspect School students and all our siblings either big or small, were able to join in!

The raffle was a reflection of our families' generosity with so many donations and thanks you also to our parent helpers making time to wrap the donations into exciting prizes waiting to be won! We made a over $1500 through the raffle and this money will go toward the remodelling of the playground cubby house. We are looking for ideas of ways to reuse some of the existing materials and yet to create something fresh and new and enticing for the students. If you have an idea - please email or phone me at the school. Im keen to hear from you.

Student Led Conferences

Thank you to all our parents and carers for supporting your child's learning through partcipating in our term one student led conferences. Setting goals and taking steps to achieve the goals is a skill for life and by starting early, our students are already learning the importance of having a clear focus and will seek feedback about how they are going in achieving their goal. By knowing what your child wants to learn/improve/achieve, parents can better support their child's efforts.

At the end of term 2, each student will receive a formal written report for Semester One. Following this report which will be shared via Compass with parents, there will be an oportunity for a discussion with your child's teacher about the report. Parents do not need to wait until July to have a meeting as teachers are continually monitoring every child's learning progress. I encourage you to contact your child's teacher at any time and make an appointment if you have any questions, queries or concerns you'd like to discuss. We are working in partnership with you!

How can parents foster your child's learning?

Parents often hear the same old response when they ask their children "How was your day at school?" as children usually say "Good." As we are building a culture of learning here at Holy Spirit Infants we would like to share with parents 5 key questions that they can ask their child to help engage with your child's learning. These questions come from our work as a school and a system with Dr Lyn Sharrat, to create a culture of high quality collaborative learning. These questions will encourage children to reflect on their learning and share that learning with parents/carers. They are open ended questions and with regular practice, will guide your child to become more and more responsible for their own learning.

Here they are:

1. What did you learn today?

2. How did you do?

3. What did you do if you didnt understand?

4. How can you improve on your learning?

5. What are you most proud of?

We would love to hear your feedback after trailling these questions for a while with your child. Choose your time wisely though and with your guidance and the interest you show in your child's school day, over time these conversations will grow and be even more helpful as your child continues into primary and then secondary school. Give it a go!

Staffing Update Term 2

At the end of this term Mrs Ashlee Edwards will take maternity leave from her role as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teacher. We wish Mrs Edwards all the very best as she steps back to focus on her family. We thank her for her significant contribution to our school and especially in her role where she works tirelessly to support our Aboriginal students and families. We will advertise for a replacement teacher this week.

Last week we welcomed Mrs Kim Dickson who is our new Gifted Education Teacher. Mrs Dickson is new to our diocese but comes with a wealth of experience and passion to support our gifted students. She will be at our school every Friday. She is replacing Mrs Heather Porter-Kay in the GEM role.

In 1W, Mrs Nicole Elbourne will be the fulltime teacher for the remainder of this year. Our sincere thanks to Mrs Elbourne as her efforts to be the consistent teacher for the class has ensured a smooth transition from when Mrs Porter-Kay was seconded as a teacher for the Virtual Academy. The Virtual Academy is an online based learning project for identified gifted students across Years 5 to 8/9 in our Catholic Schools. Mrs Porter-Kay is enjoying her new role but missing Holy Spirit Infants School.

In 2B, Mr Flynn will teach seven days a fortnight from term 2 as Mrs Kearns has flexible work arrangements and her role as Assistant Principal requires her to undertake administrative duties three days per fortnight.

Our Teacher Librarian Miss Covita will be on leave for the first two weeks of term 2.

Period Positivity Project

Period poverty is the lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual hygiene education and inadequate toilet facilities. It is also the stigma and feelings of shame and embarrassment of a normal bodily function, and subsequent impacts on mental health.

In 2022 students from St Paul’s Catholic College Booragul advocated for female hygiene products to be made available in school toilets to provide access, equity and dignity to students who menstruate. A Diocese-wide working group was formed to investigate the impact of period poverty in our schools and lead the way in addressing the issues by exploring the feasibility of:

1. Installing free period products in dispensing machines in our schools, aligned with the placement of the sanitary bins.

2. Developing an awareness education program for schools in conjunction with the syllabus.

3. Developing a policy that will help reinforce the promotion of dignity, gender equality and reproductive health.

The working group soon developed an initiative called Period Positivity. The initiative is about making periods normal. From free period care products to more informative discussions, the initiative aims to promote greater accessibility, equity and dignity for all.

In Term 4, 2022 a pilot program was conducted at St Paul’s Booragul, trialling the installation of sanitary dispensing machines with the provision of free sanitary products at the school. Due to the success of the trial, dispensers are being rolled out across all Secondary Schools in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, with the Period Positivity initiative to commence at all Primary schools across the diocese.

· Sanitary products will be available to students for free, via dispensers in the toilet blocks.

· If students find themselves needing pads or tampons, they will be available from the dispensers.

· Students will still be able to use their own products, but there will be the option to use the free products provided in the female toilets for those who need them.

The product roll-out will be complemented by an educational awareness program that will be deployed to students. Professional Learning resources will enable teachers to be competent and confident to deliver the educational materials such as Menstrual health; information about periods and anatomy, dispelling myths, products, accessibility, gender equity and promoting dignity. For more information, please visit https://www.mn.catholic.edu.au/students/period-positivity/.

At Holy Spirit Infants School we will not at this stage have a sanitary dispensing machine at our school. The purpose of this communication is to ensure every parent and carer is aware of the intention of the diocese to normalise menstruation and to teach students about it through new policy documents and syllabus documents. It truly is a wonderful initiative that is now being rolled out across all our Catholic schools and it was a student led initiative.

EARLY LEARNING - THE AUSTRALIAN EARLY DEVELOPMENT CENSUS DATA COLLECTION (AEDC)

The next Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data collection will occur in Term 2, between 1 May and 5 July 2024, across all NSW schools. The data will be gathered by Miss Lackowski and Miss Pryor from Kindergarten students only early in term 2. The data is non-identifiable and is used for statistical purposes.

About the AEDC

The AEDC is a national assessment conducted every 3 years to examine how children have developed by the time they start school. The AEDC highlights what is working well and what needs to be improved or developed to support children and families.

The AEDC was first conducted nationally in 2009. Around 300,000 children have been included in each collection of the AEDC, totalling around 1.5 million children.

How the data is collected

Data is collected by teachers of children in their first year of school. Teachers respond to around 100 questions that measure early childhood development across 5 key areas known as domains. Children are allocated a score against the domains to determine whether they are developmentally on track, at risk or vulnerable.

The domains are:

physical health and wellbeing
social competence
emotional maturity
language and cognitive skills (school based)
communication skills and general knowledge.
Key findings for the 2021 AEDC
The fifth AEDC data collection was undertaken between May and July 2021. Nationally, data was collected on over 305,000 children in their first year of full-time school and from approximately 7,500 primary schools.
The findings are publicly available and the data can be used to assist individuals and organisations with their work and contribute to early childhood education and care systems.
AEDC data from 2021 provided insight into the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families.
Go to the AEDC website to view the AEDC National Report 2021.
At a national level, the AEDC data shows the percentage of children who were on track on 5 domains decreased for the first time since 2009 (from 55.4% in 2018 to 54.8% in 2021)
Results also show a slight increase in the proportion of children who are developmentally vulnerable:
- Children assessed as developmentally vulnerable on one or more domain increased from 21.7% in 2018 to 22% in 2021.
- Children assessed as developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains also increased from 11% in 2018 to 11.4% in 2021.
Results from the AEDC assist all governments to make the most informed decisions possible about where to target programs, especially in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. They support governments’ implementation and monitoring of Closing the Gap targets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and highlight the importance of investing in the early years, especially through high quality early childhood education and care and universal access to preschool.
(Taken from AEDC Website for parent information).

ANZAC DAY MARCH AT KURRI 25th April

On Thursday 25th April students are invited to wear their school uniform and march in the local community ANZAC Day march as a school with our older students at Holy Spirit Kurri. Our student leaders will lay a wreath on our behalf to commemorate those brave service men and women who lost their lives fighting for peace and for their loved ones left behind. Students meet Ms Murphy at 9.40am out the front of Mitre 10 store in Kurri where we will assemble and march to the cenotaph. Details will be confirmed via Compass on 24th April as a reminder. Students with parental permission may wear family service medals but this is a family decision. Thank you to our families who support this community event.

We have one more week of learning in term one and how fast these weeks have gone. The children will have an autumn school holiday break from Friday afternoon 12th April to Sunday 28th April. We hope everyone enjoys a well earned break! Students wear their summer uniform when returning to school and we will advise when the change to winter uniform needs to take place. This is due to changeable seasons.

God bless you and fill you with hope,

Diane Murphy

Principal

Assistant Principal News

Attendance

It's crucial for children to attend school regularly to maximise their learning and academic success. Here are some ways parents can support their child's attendance and participation in school:

1. Ensure Punctuality: Help your child arrive at school on time every day. The school day commences at 8:55 am and there’s a teacher on playground duty from 8:25 am each day. Punctuality allows them to participate fully in the morning routines and start the day's learning. Arriving before 8:55 am allows them to connect with their friends.

2. Encourage Full-Day Attendance: Emphasise the importance of staying for the entire school day, including the final session. This time often involves valuable learning experiences such as group work and creative activities, which contribute to your child's overall development.

3. Schedule Appointments Wisely: When scheduling appointments, try to choose times that minimise disruption to your child's learning. If possible, avoid scheduling appointments during school hours, especially before 12:30pm. Students arriving after 8:55 am or leaving before 2:55 pm must visit the office with their parent or caregiver to record their arrival/departure in the Compass kiosk.

4. Communicate with School: If your child needs to miss school due to illness or other unavoidable circumstances, mark their absence before the start of the day on Compass. Notification of non-attendance (without reasoning) will be reported to parents/carer via SMS within 30 minutes of roll marking and a reason for absence requested. An unexplained absence cannot be changed in Compass after 7 days.

In special circumstances a student may need to take leave of for 10 or more days. An application for extended leave may be made by contacting the school office to speak with Ms Murphy. Completing schoolwork while on holidays cannot replace the explicit teaching, class discussions and social interaction with friends a student would miss. It is best to schedule all family holidays within school holiday periods.

5. Promote a Positive Attitude Towards Learning: Encourage your child to value their education and the opportunities provided by attending school regularly. Reinforce the idea that consistent attendance is essential for success in both academic and social aspects of school life.

By prioritising regular attendance and minimising absences, parents can help create a supportive environment where their child can thrive academically and socially.

Positive Behaviour for Learning  

During weeks 10 and 11 of Term 1, our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) emphasis is on the "I am Respectful" domain, specifically targeting social awareness

The focus area for this period is: "I include and don’t exclude."

Explicitly teaching social rules for young children is essential for their development and well-being. At Holy Spirit Infants School, we emphasise the following point when teaching students to be inclusive:

Encourage children to consider the feelings and perspectives of others. Help them understand that their actions can impact others positively or negatively.
Teach children to express their thoughts and feelings openly and respectfully. Encourage them to listen actively when others speak.
Foster a sense of teamwork and cooperation by engaging children in group activities where they learn to share, take turns, and work together towards common goals.
Teach children that excluding others, or being unkind is unacceptable behaviour.
Teach children to appreciate differences in culture, race, abilities, and interests. Encourage them to be inclusive and welcoming to everyone.
Offer guidance and support when children encounter social challenges. Help them navigate conflicts and find constructive ways to resolve disagreements.
Highlight the importance of being kind and generous towards others. Encourage acts of kindness and teach children the joy that comes from helping others.

By incorporating these principles into everyday interactions and activities, we can help young children develop essential social skills while promoting inclusivity and empathy.

Rebecca Kearns

Assistant Principal

Sharing Our Faith

Holy Week

Last week, our Kindergarten and Year 2 students took us on a journey through Holy Week. Kindergarten represented Jesus arriving in Jersulalem on a donkey, where the crowds were filled with joy. We then followed Jesus as he had the Last Supper with his friends, the disciples, where he taught us about the idea of servant leadership. Finally, we saw him condemed to death, crucified on the cross and laid in the tomb. We solomly left the Church that afternoon, awaiting his resurrection on the Sunday...

The students did a beautiful job portraying these significant events of the Catholic faith, I woud like to thank them and their teachers for the hard work and preparation that went into the liturgy.

On Tuesday, we were able to hold our resurrection liturgy, where Year 1 led us through this joyful time where Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples.

They really brought to life this great celebration, well done Year 1 and teachers!

Thank you for your generosity this Lent with Project Compassion. If you have your project compassion box with donations, could you please bring these back to school by the end of term so we can process the donations to Caritas.

Last minute QKR donations are still available if you would like to contribute.

Parish Mass Times

Saturday 6th April

9:00am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri

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

Sunday 7th April

8:30am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri

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

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

Saturday 13th April

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

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

Sunday 14th April

8:30am Mass - Holy Spirit, Kurri Kurri

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

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

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

God bless, Jessica Laczkowski Religious Education Coordinator

Exciting News Drama Worshop

Today Anna Kerrigan (Artistic Director for Aspire) is working with each of our classes to workshop some drama ideas. The purpose is so that Anna can use the ideas of the children and create a Showcase Drama for our students to perform later in the year! Live on stage!

Anna has a wealth of talent and credits to her name and we are so lucky to have this opportunity for her to work with our students.

We will then have ongoing drama sessions with Anna and the Aspire Team including Jess Lopez who hopes to write a song with our students for the show!

Further details will be shared. Our students are having a fabulous time!

Celebrating Harmony Day

On Thursday 21st March our school was a wash with orange and all the colours of the rainbow! We were celebrating Harmony Day and this year's theme is "Everyone belongs!". Mrs Fredsall had organised for our students many wonderful themed learning experiences including shared stories about harmony and peace (thanks Miss Covita); each student entered a Harmony Day poster competition; then enjoyed some specific craft activities in their classroom based on the theme. Thank you to parents and carers for sending your child out of uniform in such wonderful colours as Holy Spirit celebrated being an inclusive school community.

‘Behaviour, Big Feelings, and Self-Regulation’

Dear Families

You are invited to attend an online event on Tuesday 9 April with internationally respected child development expert and author, Karen Young. Karen will be speaking on the topic ‘Behaviour, Big Feelings, and Self-Regulation’, providing parents and carers with valuable insights and practical strategies to support their children and teenagers.

This event is free for all parents and carers to attend and is brought to you by Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle’s peak parent body, the Federation of P&F Associations. If you cannot attend the webinar at the designated time, you are encouraged to still register, as a recording of the event will be available to you on demand, for one week after the event.

Please see the attached flyer for more information, including how to register.

CSO_P_F_Event_Karen_Young.pdf

Kindergarten News

Kindergarten have had a great first term of school. For the first six weeks, Kindergarten participate in successful foundations, where they play for the first hour of every morning. With provocations focusing on maps in our world, dramatic play, building, loose parts and outdoor play.

Students have the opportunity afterwards to reflect on their play by sharing with the class and documenting this with a play story. Kindergarten have enjoyed this time so much at the beginning of the term. Here are a few of their play stories to show you what they enjoyed about Successful Foundations...

But the fun hasn’t stopped there! Kindergarten have had so much fun learning in class. From learning to write sentences about their storybooks, to learning how to make patterns and count in maths, we have enjoyed every part. Some special celebrations we enjoyed were Harmony Day and the Easter Hat Parade. Check out all of our fun in the pictures below.

Advanced Notice - Pupil Free Days

Our teachers and staff will attend three Professional Learning days across term 2 and term 3. This is advance notice that school will be closed on Wednesday 27th June and Thursday 28th June. On these dates teachers will attend a two day course with international presenter and education consultant Dr Michael McDowell who will be in Australia (from the USA). Dr McDowell is partnering with the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle and our teachers will learn from an expert specific ways to develop expert learners. Dr McDowell's work is at the cutting edge of innovation. He is a world renowned author and our teachers will be engaging in ways to develop efficacy and expertise as professionals. It is an exciting learning opportunity for us.

On Friday 6th September all staff will be attending a Religious Education and Spirituality Retreat with our focus on prayer. This will be our last pupil free day in 2024.

Please mark these dates in your calendar.

Head Lice

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL PARENTS

We have had some cases of headlice at our school. Headlice are extremely contagious. We strongly urge all parents to check their children’s hair immediately. What to look for and do:

Nits (the eggs of the head louse) are small yellowish-white, oval-shaped eggs that are attached to the side of a hair shaft glued at an angle
Nits must be laid by live lice. You cannot "catch nits."
Once laid, it takes 7-10 days for a nit to hatch, and another 7-10 days for the female to mature and begin laying her own eggs. They can lay up to 300 eggs a month.
Head lice are clear in colour when hatched, then quickly develop a reddish-brown colour after feeding. · Head lice are about the size of sesame seeds.
Head lice have six legs equipped with claws to grasp the hair.
Head lice are crawling insects. They cannot hop, jump, or fly.
Head lice do not thrive on pets.
Head lice are small, wingless insects which feed on human blood.
Head lice live for approximately 30 days on a host.

If you find any evidence of head lice, it is essential that children AND their families be fully treated. Products are readily available from the chemist and please ensure that all linen, clothing, hats, head rests in cars and lounges etc are treated as well.

CUES AND CLUES

Incessant itching of the scalp is usually one of the first signs. Tangly hair might make you suspicious, too. Always check children's hair if a classmate or friend is found to have lice.

DEAD GIVEAWAYS

Finding eggs in the hair. It's not like they're microscopic -- you just have to look for them to find them. The eggs, or nits, are elliptically shaped and are firmly fastened to the hair shaft, unlike dandruff, which is flat, irregularly shaped, and flies away when flicked with a finger.

REMOVE ALL NITS

Lice will never go away as long as their eggs are still hatching.

KEEPING THEM OUT OF YOUR HAIR

Shampoo twice with medicated shampoo.

Repeat the medicated shampoo application as directed in 7 to 10 days.

Parents really should check their children at least once a week, especially when they know that friends and classmates have it.

Continue to examine hair of all family members for at least a month after initial treatment.

Keep hair pinned up or tied back.

Vacuum floors, beds, cars . . . wherever infected individuals have been.

Soak brushes and combs in hot water.

Children are not permitted back at school unless treated fully. We ask all parents to attend to this immediately as undetected cases of headlice can spread very quickly.

Canteen

Our sincere thanks to our canteen supervisors Paige, Tarsha and Sharna for their incredible efforts to offer lunch orders each Friday and also ice blocks each Wednesday! To our generous canteen volunteers - THANK YOU - the children love being able to be independent and buy something at the canteen. The parents enjoy being able to treat children with a lunch order!

The supervisors are keen to try and get the canteen to open a second day each week from next term- so if you can volunteer even once a term, its only 3 hours of your time, please contact the school office as we'd love to hear from you! Volunteers must have a WWCC and police check and Dot and Bonney can assist you with the documentation.