20th May 2024

Principal News

Prayer for Pentecost

May the Holy Spirit strengthen me, protect me, encourage me and guide me today and all days. Amen

Dear Parents and Carers

This week we will celebrate Catholic Schools Week in our Maitland Newcastle Diocese. The theme for 2024 comes from the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus said to his disciples "Follow me" and embark on a journey of discerned discipleship. We journey together in faith and in learning and growing as a welcoming and inclusive community through our words and through our actions, where we learn from Jesus and try to be Christ-like to others.  We share the teachings of Jesus each day at our school as together we learn to love one another as Jesus loves us, his disciples. 

In 2024 we will proudly celebrate the launch of Catholic Schools Week! Our leaders were not able to  attend the Catholic Schools Week Liturgy at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Friday 17th May, due to staff illness.  We thank the leaders and parents for their understanding and realise this may have been disappointing. 

We have a planned Catholic Schools Week Liturgy and Pentecost Liturgy on Friday 24th May followed by a birthday cake to share with the children. They will complete a craft activity about Pentecost during the day. 

We will have a wonderful day at the joint Athletics Carnival with Holy Spirit Kurri at Maitland Athletics Track on Thursday 23rd May celebrating coming together as a K-6 community and enjoying our day of friendship, competition and fun!

We are excited to be able to bring both schools together and hope that parents can support us as we encourage all our Infants students to remain at the carnival and cheer on our Primary teammates. Carnivals need atmosphere and if families leave early, the atmosphere of the day is quickly evaporated and those students who have working parents, who cannot attend, generally feel somehow disadvantaged...and they are not. Those students competing need an audience to cheer them. So please help us build a culture of encouraging others and seeing things through. The carnival should run on time and buses should be leaving about 2pm. Thank you for your understanding as this is a school day.  We will take all medications with us for the day and Mrs Lane will be our First Aid officer. 

We hope you can come along to an event this week and celebrate all that is wonderful about our beautiful Catholic school to which you all belong and are always welcome! 

Thank you for entrusting your precious children in to our care! 

Have a blessed fortnight,

Diane Murphy

Principal 

Catholic Schools Week

Australian Early Development Census

Last week our Kindergarten teachers completed the AEDC for our Kinder students. See this attached flyer which outlines the four domains of the census and provides an overview of how students are tracking. This vital information can cause policy changes for governments and provide greater equity in outcomes for all students.

The AEDC measures five important areas of early childhood development:

• physical health and wellbeing
• social competence
• emotional maturity
• language and cognitive skills (school-based)
• communication skills and general knowledge

The data from across Australia is then used to inform changes and therefore needs in various areas and communities which then at the highest level, informs government policies and assists schools with planning to meet any identified needs. Please take as look at the video below to further explain the importance of the data gathered for the AEDC. 

Tell Them From Me Parent/Carer Survey is coming 

COGAT Testing for Year 2 

In Term 2, students in years 2, 4, and 7 in the Diocese will participate in the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). For the first time, our students will complete these tests online. 

This test evaluates students' reasoning abilities in three key areas essential for success in school:

1. Verbal Battery: Assesses students' ability to reason with words and concepts, crucial for reading comprehension, critical thinking, writing, and verbal learning tasks.

2. Quantitative Battery: Measures students' ability to reason with quantitative symbols and concepts, which are vital for problem-solving in mathematics and other disciplines.

3. Nonverbal Battery: Evaluates students' ability to reason with geometric shapes and figures, requiring them to implement strategies for solving novel problems.

These batteries provide a comprehensive view of each student's learned reasoning abilities, identifying both strengths and areas for improvement. CogAT aims to support differentiated practice in education by helping teachers adapt instruction to meet the unique needs and abilities of each student.

It's important to note that CogAT scores are not integrated into report grades or other conventional measures of school achievement. The focus is on tailoring instruction and fostering a supportive, inclusive learning environment based on each child's ability.

If you have any concerns or questions about your child's academic progress or specific educational needs, please schedule a meeting with your child's teacher. They will discuss your child's strengths and areas for growth based on various assessments. Additionally, you can contact our Gifted Education Mentor (GEM) Kim Dickson at Kim.dickson@mn.catholic.edu.au. 

Thank you for your continued support in ensuring the best educational outcomes for our students.

Winter Uniform 

Its now the week when all students should be wearing their winter uniform. See Compass alert from Sunday of the uniform changes for this coming week 20-24th May. 

Enrolments for 2025 

We are still accepting enrolment applications for our school for 2025 however we do need to know this week, by 24th May. So if you have a friend/family/neighbours wanting to come next year, tell them to call the school asap or complete an online enrolment form as many interviews have already taken place and letters of offer will be sent out on June 14th. Thank you for promoting our school to others.

Welcome Antonio  

Last week we welcomed Antonio to Holy Spirit Infants School. Antonio is in KW and has moved here with his family from Sydney. We hope that it won't be long before Antonio and his family are settled in and enjoying their "tree change" and learning all about our local community. 

Cola Maintenance Update 

The work began in earnest last week as the cola is being fully lined to eradicate the birds roosting under there. The area is temporarily fenced and the students have managed well to work around the smaller spaces. The inconvenience and the noise will be worth it when we finally have our fully useable space back. For these couple of weeks, we are holding morning assemblies in the hall. We are very appreciative of the effort of our Diocesan Facilities Business Partner David Kett for chasing an effective solution for us when the January solution, although very costly, was unfortunately ineffective in stopping the birds.  This upgrade will mean the cola will be able to be used in rain, hail or on the hottest of days. Thank you to the CSO and the Diocese for their support for this maintenance. 

National Reconciliation Week starts 27th May

Elders Morning Tea 

Our Aboriginal students have been invited to attend an Elders Morning Tea at Bridge Park Cessnock on Wednesday 29th May. The students will travel by bus, along with our Aboriginal students at Holy Spirit Kurri , Ms Murphy and staff to and from the event. Students will wear their sport uniform and permission notes will be sent home this week. This event is an initiative by Cessnock City Council and we are excited to attend. 

Caring for Country - Hunter Land Services Visitor 

Last Thursday our students were lucky enough to have a visit from Jane from 'Hunter Land Services' to present to the children ways to care for our country and protect our waterways and stop pollution. 

Jane's presentation was engaging, and she has shared some posters and books written by students at other schools about looking after our precious resources in the environment. The books will be covered and entered into our school library for students to borrow and resources shared with classes. 

We are most appreciative of Jane's visit and our thanks to Mrs Ashlee Edwards for organising the informative visits for us all to learn from.  There is so much we can do and if we all do something, that will make a huge difference. 

School TV - How to build resilience in your child

https://abermain.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter-external-resource/how-build-resilience-your-child

Assistant Principal News

Attendance 

Every day counts, as regular attendance helps students to: 

• develop a sense of belonging 
• develop and maintain friendships 
• be more engaged at school 
• progress with their learning

We had one day these past two weeks that was 98% attendance, our best day for a long time! Well done families. We do not want you to send sick children to school, but if your child/children are well, then school is where they need to be each day. 

Mathematics Professional Learning 

Last Thursday the teachers and students of Holy Spirit Infants School had the privilege of working alongside Mrs Fiona Foley a Mathematics consultant from the Mathematics Association of NSW. Mrs Foley visited our school for the day and led our teachers in further developing their professional knowledge of the New NSW Mathematics Syllabus as well as a teaching model titled “Launch, Explore, Summarise.”  The "Launch, Explore, Summarise" instructional model supports an inquiry-based, problem-centred type of teaching. Teachers shift the doing of mathematics to the students, while they guide and assist students to make sense of their thinking.  

On this day Mrs Foley met with our teachers prior to the demonstration lessons and debriefed afterwards. She then demonstrated the model in action by teaching a mathematics lesson to 2B and then KB with teachers as observers.  Teachers have committed to trial and implement several of the effective strategies in their Mathematics lessons across the next fortnight. Mrs Foley also demonstrated effective differentiation within each lesson and every student was actively engaged as Mrs Foley showed everyone that learning maths certainly is fun! Below are some pictures of the lessons :  

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The day was invaluable for both teachers and students in developing of understanding of the teaching of mathematics. I feel it is best summarised by the following quotes from some of our students:

“Is your brain hurting right now?” Archer P to a fellow student, 2B.

"I combined lots of shapes to make a big hexagon" Cali KB

"I like making shapes that challenge me" Nate KB

"It was amazing!" Leo KB

Mrs Foley returns to work with our staff again next week. We are excited to partner with her in our focus on creating assessment capable learners in mathematics. 

Positive Behaviour for Learning 

Our PBL focus for the next two weeks of this term will be from the domain “I am responsible”:

“I am responsible in the toilets.”

The toilets can be a place where some students engage in undesirable behaviour. Due to the private nature of going to the toilet, students aren’t as closely supervised as they are in other parts of the school. We introduced this specific focus on responsible toilet behaviour last year. Students are given very clear and simple instructions on how they should behave in the toilets here at school.

1. ^{Only one person is in a cubicle at a time.}
2. ^{We flush the toilet when we've finished.}
3. ^{We use one pump of soap to wash our hands.}
4. ^{We dry our hands.}
5. ^{We play on the playground, not in the toilet.}
6. ^{I use the toilet before school, lunch and recess. If I need to go to the toilet during class, I ask the teacher.}

^{Following these very clear and simple rules will ensure our students are responsible and safe when using the toilets.}

Rebecca Kearns

Assistant Principal

Sharing Our Faith

Loving God, as we pause in Your presence, we seek the strength and grace to follow in the footsteps of Your son, Jesus.

May his teachings guide our actions, His love inspire our hearts, and His example illuminate our path.

Grant us the courage to leave behind the familiar and embark on the transformative journey of discipleship.

In following Jesus, may we reflect His light, love and compassion in our daily lives.

Amen

For the remainder of 2024 I am privileged to take upon the role of Acting REC. Each fortnight in the newsletter I will share snippets from the classroom as well as important upcoming celebrations and parish mass times.

Mother’s Day

Thank you to the family members who were able to join us for our Mother’s Day Liturgy on Friday. It was delightful to see so many members of our school community gather to celebrate Mums and take a moment to appreciate everything they do for us!

Pentecost

On Sunday we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, a day when we focus on the spirit of the Holy Trinity. Pentecost is the Church’s birthday, the day it was gifted with the presence of God through the Holy Spirit.

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.

Catholic Schools Week

This week we celebrate Catholic Schools week, the theme this year is ‘Follow me!’ This draws on Jesus’ simple yet profound invitation to walk with him on a journey of discipleship.

Holy Spirit Infants will celebrate the Feast of Pentecost and Catholic Schools Week on Friday 24th May. This will be an out of uniform day. Children are encouraged to come dressed in ‘flame colours’ (red, yellow or orange).

Mrs Meagan Edwards

Acting REC 

Vineyards Parish Mass Times

Celebrating our love for our Mothers

Thank you to the family members who were able to join us for our Mother’s Day Liturgy on Friday. It was delightful to see so many members of our school community gather to celebrate Mums and take a moment to appreciate everything they do for us!

Thank you to our amazing staff who always go above and beyond on these special events and we hope everyone felt welcomed and treasured. 

We would like to say a special thankyou to Mrs King (Liliana's grandmother) and Mrs Bunker (Audrey's Mum) for their generous help with the mothers day stall. We do hope that all the mothers enjoyed their little gift and card that was given with love! 

We trialled having our event on the same day as Holy Spirit Kurri and Fr James was in agreeance. We received lots of positive feedback as parents didn't need to take two days or two sessions off work to attend two events. We will try doing the same thing when we celebrate all Dads on Father's Day too. Thank you for your feedback everyone. 

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Diocesan Cross Country

Last Wednesday our school was proudly represented by our four Year 2 runners who had qualified for the diocesan cross country which was held at Maitland. Every primary school in our diocese had their best long distance runners attend and the atmosphere of so many children coming together was exciting. Congratulations to Vinnie and Brayton who completed their event and to Maxi Rae and Victoria for having a good go! The 2km is a long way and training is needed for these events. We are so proud of these children who showed courage and a huge effort that day! We joined with our Kurri families and the support for each other was fantastic! Thanks to the parents for your wonderful support! 

Focus on learning Maths in Year 2

We're thrilled to share that Year 2 has been thoroughly engaged and excited about their recent math unit focusing on equivalence and balancing numbers. The hands-on activities incorporated into the lessons have been a particular hit among students, sparking their curiosity and deepening their understanding of mathematical concepts. From experimenting with equal-arm balances to playing card games and manipulating objects to represent numbers, our young mathematicians have been actively involved in their learning journey. These interactive experiences have not only made abstract ideas more tangible but have also fostered collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills among our students. It's been wonderful to see the enthusiasm and eagerness with which Year 2 has embraced these activities, demonstrating their growing confidence and enjoyment in exploring the world of mathematics."

Mr Flynn and Mrs Kreutzer 

Pastoral Care "Connect"

With the season changing sometimes our feelings change with the weather.....The sun isn't shining, and this may make some of us anxious, sad and a little less tolerant to others. Over the coming months selected classes will engage in friendship circles (picnic style in the hall or grass area weather permitting) at lunch time. These friendship circles with be very light, fun engagement and discussions around friendships at school and the importance of choosing to be kind. We will chat about the importance of being a kind student and being inclusive to all. We encourage the students to be a family Community at school to support and care for one another just as Jesus wanted.  Mrs Barrass is ready for lots of picnics which is her favourite things to do. So far 2W girls have enjoyed building their friendships through picnicking together. 

As a part of my role as Pastoral Care Worker in supporting the students' wellbeing, enrichment and day to day school life, I would like to create a Mini Vinnie's group. This group will engage in various support & projects around the school. Assisting with fundraising for project compassion and Im planning the first school project will be creating a herb garden where we will learn to create and grow together as a team. The students will also support the elderly in our local community - sending craft, undertaking visits to respite centres and different community events that may arise throughout the year. Mini Vinnies will consist of approx 12 students that I will collaborate with in the coming weeks. permission notes will be sent home for participation for those interested. 

I'm really looking forward to establishing an active Mini Vinnies group and seeing ways we can reach out to others in our community throughout the year. 

Amanda Barrass - Pastoral Care Worker 

Joint Athletics Carnival with Holy Spirit Kurri

Office News

Fee Reminder:

2024 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 are to be paid in full by 30 November 2024. 
- If paying fees in full in one payment please finalise prior to 30 June 2024.

- Our preferred method of payment is 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.  

Reminder for families of year 2 students -  Enrolments to Year 3 2025

A reminder that enrolments for Year 3 at Holy Spirit Kurri need to be promptly returned as they are required to Kurri school by Friday 24th May 2024.

Awards: Congratulations to...

Canteen News

This term we are fortunate to be able to offer canteen on Monday and Fridays.    Hot milo will be reintroduced to the menu for the cooler weather.  Iceblocks will no longer be sold on the Wednesdays during this term.  Thank you to the volunteers who give so generously of their time to offer the service for the children. Our canteen provides a great experience for our students to develop independence, a sense of choice and responsibility to keep their money safe in a purse or wallet. 

The children absolutley love it!!! 

Community News

Supporting children's wellbeing: Introducing the Raising Healthy Minds App