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The staff and students of Holy Name are doing some amazing work in and out of classrooms. I am so proud of the way our school has grown this year across many areas of our operation and can see the benefits for student learning and teacher or support staff satisfaction. The capacity of the people who work and learn in Holy Name School is outstanding!
I would also like to highlight the generosity of Anne Evans, a member of our Parish, who continues to volunteer her time and skill to support our Yr 2 students with their Intensive Swimming program. It's great to be part of a Parish that is so connected with our school community. Thank you Anne.
This week we are feeling really grateful that we have been allowed to welcome the Kinder 2021 students to our school for the Term 4 transition visits. Although we've had to reduce the visits to three, the Kinder class of 2021 have settled in and have already started to build their connections with one another, their buddies and their new classroom space. Our current Kinder students have also enjoyed getting to know their way around the Year 1 classes.
We are also grateful that our Year 5 students have an alternate option available for the Year 5 Camp. The students will be heading out to Adventureland at Failford on November 30 for 3 fun filled days. Thank you to our parents for their support and openness to this change.
To replace the Canberra trip, our Year 6 teachers have planned a special week for the students, including a Cultural Walk, Wallis Lake cruise, some bonding activiities, preparation for their Graduation Mass and Graduation dinner, Ten Pin Bowling & Laser Tag, and some early breakfasts and dinners together. We are excited to have secured the Club Forster auditorium for an alternate Graduation Dinner, Awards night and dance for the Year 6 class of 2020 in the second last week of term. The students have been busy practising the traditional Year 6 dance and I can feel the energy building as the year draws to a close. One great thing about the Club Forster Graduation Dinner is that parents will be able to attend for the dinner and awards part of the evening. This year, we have felt distant from our parents and it is a bonus that we can share this special experience with them.
Wishing Tree for Christmas
This year, our staff are hoping that parents will support the creation of a 'Wishing Tree' on the stage of Kirkangina. Each year, our teachers receive many gifts from our parents at Christmas time. This is certainly not something our teachers expect but is something that has been somewhat of a tradition at our school. This year, there are a few factors that have prompted the development of the 'Wishing Tree' concept. Our staff are acutely aware that many people within our community have suffered financially, emotionally and physically this year, while we have been in the fortunate position of maintaining our employment and therefore some stability in our lives. Our staff never ever expect gifts at the end of the year but because some of our families like to do this, we wondered whether the 'Wishing Tree' would provide an opportunity for our parents who like to buy a gift, to instead donate a small gift for a child or a family who are in need. The gift could be labelled with the gender and approximate age it would suit. For example, Boy 10yrs, Girl 6-8yrs or Family present. Our staff believe this is one way we can model to our students that we also live in the footsteps of Jesus and think outside of ourselves with a preference for those less fortunate. The gifts will be donated to families who we know could do with the support of our community at Christmas time.
2021 Classes
Next year we will have 12 classes at Holy Name and for the first time in a few years, we have decided that composite classes in Stage 2 and Stage 3 will be in place. There will be two Kinder classes, two Year 1 classes, two Year 2 classes, a Year 3, a Year 3/4, a Year 4, a Year 5, a Year 5/6 and a Year 6. We will continue to apply the cluster grouping model, using our knowledge of student capability and achievement to group students within each class. We are still finalising the composition of each class based on other considerations including social, behaviour and the dynamic of the group created. Our staff are confident that the class groups will provide the best options to meet the needs of the students of Holy Name.
Towards the end of term, we will plan a morning for students to visit their classes for 2021. We find this relieves any anxiety students may have about the move to a new class with a new teacher and assists students to prepare for their return the following year.
Building work update
In a couple of weeks, the Kitchen building will be demolished and the ground returned to grass. The shipping containers will be removed and replaced with a garden shed to store the tools that students use to grow and harvest produce in the garden. We are disappointed that this step has to be taken but unfortunately, the decision was taken out of our hands. Mrs Loring and Mrs Williamson, together with Mrs Banham and Mrs Heffernan have been busy relocating some of the resources that will continue to be used by the staff and students.
The planned renovation of our toilet blocks is scheduled for the April holidays in 2021. We are really looking forward to this work and know that the students will appreciate it too!
NAIDOC Week
Next week our school will celebrate NAIDOC Week. I'm looking forward to our online NAIDOC ceremony to commence our week. I know the students, Mrs Townsend and Ms Simon have been working hard to create a special assembly in this new format. I hope you join us or watch the film at a later date to appreciate how far our Aborignal and Torres Strait Islander students have come in leading the Cultural experiences within our school. In class next week, the teachers will focus on the following learning intention:
We are learning to understand the significance of the NAIDOC theme ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ for all Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people.
Class teachers will use the NAIDOC activities provided by the NAIDOC committee to achieve this intention throughout the week. Creative activities will run through the week and on Friday we will celebrate with students wearing red, black and yellow and sharing a BBQ for lunch. At a short assembly, we will present some prizes to end of our week-long celebration.
We are always open to the ideas of our parents to make our great school even better. Please make contact via phone, email or appointment to share your thoughts or ideas with us.
Kind regards,
Brooke Stephens
- Indigenous art activities including a colouring competition will be found at our lunch time Art Club.
- Teachers have been provided with a bank of NAIDOC resources and will weave a NAIDOC thread through the class program all week.
- Friday - students and staff are invited to wear Red, Black and Yellow clothing and share in a BBQ lunch. After lunch, the school community will briefly and safely gather for a short assembly so the winners of the colouring competition can be announced. During the afternoon we will enjoy a very special virtual performance by our Koori Girls Dance group and Year 3 performing ‘Head shoulder knees and toes‘ in Gathang language.
Behaviour
At Holy Name School we are on a journey with a program called Positive Behaviour for Learning. This is a school wide positive Behaviour Management and reward system. The full impact of this will be seen from next year.
In the meantime, we still follow our HNS Behaviour Management policy. Sadly, I have been involved in many discussions and meetings with children and parents about poor behaviour choices. Swearing and being physical are the main issues that are occurring.
In many of my discussions with students they describe hearing poor language on games like FORTNITE and other social media sites. Often there is a side chat in the games and players may use bad language that the children are exposed to.
Please ensure your children are only using age appropriate apps and that you monitor their screen time and online conversations closely.
Road Safety News
Road Safety skills are a very important part of life and safety skills are taught in all grades through our PDHPE syllabus and lessons. I am in the process of embedding a new resource called “Safety Town” into the programs for each grade.
Road Safety Tip
Parents and Carers should:
- Always use designated footpaths or walk in areas away from the road.
- Hold your child’s hand (for those up to 8 years of age) and actively supervise all children as they walk to and from school.
Sport
We are lucky enough to have Melissa Norup from Cricket NSW volunteering her time to teach the Year 6 children some cricket skills and drills using our awesome new cricket nets. The children are really enjoying the program and I know some of our cricket fanatics always like to improve their skills.
SRC
WATCH THIS SPACE
ON TUESDAY I WILL SEND OUT THE NEW STUDENT LEADERSHIP PLAN TO PARENTS AND CARERS. WE WILL VOTE FOR OUR NEW LEADERS IN Week 6.
Today, the St Clare's staff involved in the transition of our Yr 6 students to St Clare's, visited our school. The 2021 Yr 7 Coordinator, Mrs Marian Parvan, and the Learning Support Coordinator, Mrs Bernadette Boere, spoke at length with our Yr 6 teachers about the Holy Name Yr 6 students. They discussed support needs and shared information about the students academic achievement. If you would like to check out what's happening at St Clare's, their latest newsletter is a good place to start!
Just a reminder to our parents that our staff also support the transition of students attending other local high schools. This week, I was disappointed to hear that our parents were informed by another school that our policies don't allow this to happen. The transition of students from Holy Name to high school is just as important to us as the transition of students to Holy Name from preschool. The difference for us in working with other schools, outside of the Catholic system, is that we cannot share information as easily without parents completing the appropriate permissions at the new school and a copy of this permission being provided to our school. We provide the same level of supervision of students during transition in all of the high schools, including St Clare's, and allow the same level of staff attendance at our school as the other schools allow. Our staff are happy to discuss the options available if you are not sure.
Brighter Beginnings: the first 2000 days
Brighter Beginnings: the first 2000 days, is a NSW Government's initiative to give all children in NSW the best start in life. We know that 90% of a child's brain development occurs by age 5 and early experiences in the first 2000 days of life can have flow-on impacts in every decade of the child’s lifetime.
The aims of Brighter Beginnings are to:
- improve the lives and experience of parents and families in the first 2000 days of their child’s life,
- better support all children to achieve the best start in life,
- facilitate full participation in universal health, education and family services,
- target support and services for families that need it most.
Please see the link to Brighter Beginnings https://www.nsw.gov.au/initiative/brighter-beginnings#our-vision
The website contains information for all stakeholders, however, it particularly has valued information, support and guides for parents and carers in NSW to help their child get the best start in life in their first 2000 days.
Australia Reads 1-12 November 2020
Australia Reads is a collaborative project between many Australian organisations aimed at lifting literacy rates and improving reading participation. In November, Australians of all ages and from all walks of life are asked to share and celebrate the joys of reading.
Australian Reading Hour is being held on Thursday 12 November. Everyone is invited to stop what they’re doing for an hour, pick up a book and read. At Holy Name, our classes have participated in a half hour read in different mixed groups on Wednesday 4th November and will do again on Wednesday 11th November.
More details can be found at https://australiareads.org.au/
The newly launched Everyday Maths Hub is an engaging and dynamic online platform for parents and carers of children in Kindy through to Year 10.
Aiming to support and encourage family conversations about the relevance and usefulness of mathematics in everyday life – The Everyday Maths Hub is part of the NSW Mathematics Strategy to achieve the Premier’s vision, “for all NSW students to develop the mathematical skills they need to succeed in life.”
Maths is used every day in almost everything we do. Parents and carers can support their child's mathematical skills and understanding with these fun, practical and creative activities. Find out more here: https://education.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/mathematics
With summer sports returning and year-round sport and physical activity still taking place, it is a good time for parents and carers to access the Active Kids program. The program provides two x $100 vouchers during the year with the second voucher available from July 1 and both vouchers available for use until December 31 2020.
Claim your $100 Active Kids vouchers for 2020 and redeem with one of our +11,000 providers.
https://www.sport.nsw.gov.au/sectordevelopment/activekids/parents
Find a provider
https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/find-active-kids-provider