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With Semester 1 reports due out at the end of next week, it is timely to remind all families of the importance of accessing the Compass App in order to have access to their child's school report. If you need support accessing Compass, please make contact with our Clerical Officers, Mrs Sullivan or Mrs Monkley. All parents have their own login details and once you download the Compass App and search for Holy Name Primary School, you will need these details to gain access. If you've aready set it up but have forgotten your password, there is a 'forgot password' button that you can use.
Parents & Friends Association
Last week our P&F Association held their Annual General Meeting. It was great to reflect with our parents on the wonderful contribution they made during 2018 and the oppportunities they provided for our children/students. Mrs Ally Anthony accepted the position of President, Mrs Mel Robertson accepted the position of Vice-President, Mr David Isbel accepted the position of Treasurer and Mrs Manda Paine accepted the position of secretary. After many years as the Fundraising Coordinator, Mrs Naomi Kinkade stood down from her position because her youngest son, Dylan, will transition to St Clare's in 2019. Mrs Kinkade will mentor Mrs Ivy Moore in leading one of the fundraisers this year and the P&F will take on the fundraising role as a group for larger functions such as the School Fete. That's unless, of course, one of our parents is busting to take on this role as part of our P&F. If so, I encourage you to make contact with the school and we will put you in touch with our P&F. I would like to thank the parents mentioned for accepting the positions and for giving of their time twice each term to meet and plan together. I would also like to thanks Mrs Kylie Hodges who has been our Vice President previously and always supported our fundraising, Mrs Gabbie Randall and Mrs Leanne Broadbent for their consistent support of our P&F and to Mrs Julie-Ann Zabell for joining the group in recent times.
We are hoping for the support of our community over the next few months as we prepare for the School Fete later in the year. This year, the P&F are planning a twilight fete once the winter sports are over and in the warmer months. I'm really looking forward to this new style of event for our school. Please consider gathering a group of your friends and supporting the P&F by coordinating one of the stalls available.
Student Representative Council
Congratulations to the following students who presented outstanding speeches to our communtiy this week in taking on the role of Student Representatives for Semester 2. A special mention to the students who have taken on the roles of Captain and Vice Captain. I look forward to seeing this team of 10 students work together to lead our student group with confidence and positivity. I must commend the Stage 3 students, especially Yr 6 for how they have welcomed and supported Bin Jie through this process. Their continued support will form part of their leadership for the remainder of the year.
SCHOOL CAPTAINS
Ethan Hudson & Piper Bowen
VICE CAPTAINS
Bin Jie Wong & Sophie Pither
STUDENT COUNCIL
Declan Cloak, Rohan Dormor & Jonathan Botros
Sophia Huebner, Nyoka Syron & Isabella Trummel
Enrolments
Today I sent enrolment numbers to the Catholic Schools Office for Kinder and all grades for 2020. We have been promoting the need to return enrolment forms for a number of weeks now because the information we send impacts the numbers of classes, staffing and budget allocation for the following year. Although we are able to add to these numbers, there is also always the chance that the office will cut-off the acceptance of new enrolments if classes are full. Please encourage anyone who is enrolling their child for this year or next to grab a form and return it as soon as possible.
Staffing changes
Last week, I informed our Year 5 parents of the retirement of Mrs Sue Hannigan at the end of this term. This has obviously been a big decision for Mrs Hannigan, who has educated students in Catholic Schools for the last 41 years. Our school will come together to celebrate Mrs Hannigan and her career in Catholic Education at 12pm on Thursday 4th July. All parents, carers and friends will be invited to join us for this celebration. We will interview for a full-time teacher for 5S over the next couple of weeks and let the community know of the successful applicant.
Mrs Gooley is recovering well and you may see her out and about around town. At this stage she is not in a position to return to the classroom and will remain on leave for Term 3. Mrs Redding and Mrs Cusack will remain as job-share teachers for 4G.
Last week, we welcomed back Mrs Power from leave. Mrs McKinnon did a fantastic job in her absence and it is important that we acknowledge the excellent contribution made by Mrs McKinnon to the learning agenda in 4P.
Mrs Harris also informed me of her intention to do a little more travel and will not be available to teach drama in Terms 3 & 4. Thank you to Mrs Harris for sharing her expert knowledge and skills with our students. Mrs Brown will take over teaching drama as well as her current music role in the school. She will be replaced on 1W each Tuesday and we are currently looking for a replacement teacher.
Attendance Policy & Procedures
As part of our cycle of review this year, Holy Name is required to review our Attendance Policy & Procedures. In doing so we have discovered that there are steps in the process that both staff and parents need to sharpen up on. It is vitally important that parents and staff adhere to the legal obligations as part of their child's education. These requirements are law and failure to comply with the rules can result in notifictaions to the Department of Community Services and fines of up to $11000. The Procedures here at school have changed to include the new Compass system we have in place. Please take the time to review the information provided.
Parents/Carers Responsibilities(HNS Policy)
a) enrolling their children of compulsory school age in a government or registered non-government school or registering them with the Board of Studies/NESA NSW for home schooling;
b) ensuring that their children attend school regularly;
c) explaining to the school the absences of their children promptly and within seven days;
d) taking measures to resolve attendance issues involving their children.
Parent/Carers Responsibilities (from HNS procedure)
1. Inform the school of their child’s absence and a reason for their absence prior to the start of the day when possible. They can do this in 1 of 4 ways:
-
- Logon to COMPASS and record the absence
- Phone the school office
- Email the Class Teacher / or school office
- Send a note in with the child when they return to school
2. Explain their child’s absence within 7 days.
3. Completing a Certificate for Extended Leave (L) – Travel, which is to be approved by the Principal if a child is going to be absent from school for travel for 10 days or more
St Nicholas OOSH
St Nicholas OOSH staff are doing a great job of setting up the hall and putting into place the systems and procedures that will ensure our students are safe and happy with them each afternoon. This week we welcomed Kimberley who will manage our service at Holy Name. She would really love to grow the service and I encourage you to check out the service and what they offer. OOSH is an important option for working families and I know the St Nicholas staff take their role in your children's lives very seriously. Please make contact with them or complete the attached enorlment forms to register your child. You can contact the general Manager Tracey Sweetman at tracey.sweetman@stnicholasoosh.org.au or on her mobile 0499015502 for all enquiries.
Vacation Care – 8 to 19 July 2019
St Nicholas OOSH will be operating a Vacation Care program at Holy Name School during the July School Holidays. The program has been finalised and will be shared with families early next week.
Events
Performances at the Taree & District Eisteddfod and sporting opportunities have been the main focus of the last fortnight. The Bookface Challenge in the Learning Hub was heaps of fun and I'm sure this week's Lego Challenge will be equally well supported. I hope you enjoy reading your child's Semester 1 Report over the coming fortnight. I know the teachers have been working hard to collate assessment information and comment on the progress of student learning over the last two terms.
Stay warm
Brooke Stephens
Mrs Hannigan's Retirement Liturgy
Mrs Hannigan earlier this term announced her plans for retirement. As a community we are so very excited for Sue and the new journey in life that she and her family are ready to make. Parents and friends are warmly welcome to join our school community to celebrate Sue Hannigan’s 41 years of service to Catholic Education on Thursday, 4 July at 12 noon in the Mary MacKillop Hall.
Social and Emotional Learning Program
Social and emotional well-being is important to children. Skills such as listening, sharing, helping, and emotional control enable children to get along with others. These skills can be taught. With practice, they can become a normal part of a child’s behaviour. Social-emotional skills also play an important role in improving academic skills. In fact, experts often refer to social-emotional skills as academic enablers! Classrooms are a great place to teach social-emotional skills. They provide many opportunities to practice skills during daily interactions with others.
During the next 14 weeks, all K-6 students will be working to improve their social-emotional skills. We will be using a program called the SSIS SEL Edition Classwide Intervention Program (CIP). It provides an easy way to integrate opportunities to teach core social-emotional skills. The skills we will be working on include:
- Listen to Others ( Week 7 and 8 Term 2)
- Follow the Rules ( Week 9 and 10 Term 2)
- Own your Actions ( Week 1 and 2 Term 3)
- Take Turns When You Talk ( Week 3 and 4 Term 3)
- Get Along with Others ( Week 5 and 6 Term 3)
- Do the Right Thing ( Week 7 and 8 Term 3)
- Respect Other People’s Things. ( Week 9 and 10 Term 3)
This program uses proven instructional methods to build these skills and improve classroom learning. We will learn and practice one skill a fortnight. We will spend a few minutes each day working on these skills.
As a parent or guardian, you play an important role in the development of these skills. Throughout the program, please talk to your child about what he or she is learning during this time. Ask your child to describe the skill taught during the week. Ask how he or she can use the skill at school, home or in the community. This will help your child remember the steps for each skill
At the end of the program, you will receive information about your child’s skill development. If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact the classroom teacher.
Last Thursday Year 6 travelled to Manning Entertainment Centre to compete in the annual Taree Eisteddfod. The students sang 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' and 'We Go Together' from Grease. For most of the students this was the first time singing at the Eisteddfod and they competed against seven other senior choirs. They were awarded an Encouragement Award which was well deserved.
Year 1 Eisteddfod
Last Wednesday Yr 1 travelled to the Manning and Districts Eisteddfod in Taree to compete in the Infants Choral Section. Year 1 sang “Don’t Stop Mov’in” and “Snail Pace”. Even though they did not get a place in the section, the children were given a great experience and learnt some very valuable skills. They overcame their nerves, performed on a large stage to a full audience under bright lights and performed to the best of their ability. Thank you Mrs Brown for preparing the children for this event.
Evonne Goolagong Indigenous Tennis Day.
On Tuesday 18th June 15 of our senior Indigenous students accompanied our Indigenous Education Teacher Mrs Townsend and Mrs Maloney to the Evonne Goolagong Indigenous Foundation Tennis Day which was held at the Forster Tennis Centre. The day was organised by Evonne’ s Foundation and students were invited to participate in lessons with local tennis coaches, share in a BBQ lunch, meet students from local schools. They enjoyed hearing Evonne share her story about growing up in a small country town and then becoming a professional tennis player. Evonne encouraged our students to focus on enjoying the game and showing good sportsmanship, success will follow!
Our students were outstanding representatives of Holy Name School and made us feel proud by the way they participated with enthusiasm and consideration of others. They asked Evonne clever questions and waited patiently to have their shirt signed by the tennis star.
Last week, 3 students from Holy Name travelled to Eastern Creek in Sydney for the Polding Cross Country Championships. Alexis Hudson, Sophie Scislo and Alexis Wakefield did their very best at the event. Alexis Hudson placed 7th in the Under 10 girls section. This is a wonderful effort and if Lexi had come 6th she would have moved through to State level. Amazing as she only recently competed as part of the Polding Soccer team at the State Championships! Well Done Lexi.
On Friday, June 7th, Holy Name School hosted the Regional Athletics Carnival at Tuncurry. Our team was up against competitors from St Joseph’s Taree, St Joseph’s Wingham, St Joseph’s Bulahdelah and St Joseph’s Gloucester.
A huge thank you to Miss Spinks for taking on the organisation of the carnival, and Sport in general, this year. Thank you also to Mr Gleeson for giving up his time to help set up and officiate and the Year 12 students from St Clare’s, along with Mr Evans, who were our timekeepers and long jump and shot-put helpers.
Holy Name students represented the school with pride and did their very best in all the events.
2019 REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
Junior Girls |
Junior Boys |
Alexis Hudson |
Logan Clarke |
Jessie Cochrane |
Levi Van Haren |
Tayla Ryan |
Ethan Everitt |
11 years Girls |
11 years Boys |
Piper Bowen |
Bron Mackye |
Lylah Darcy |
Riley Paine |
Jocelyn Reardon |
Jake Hunter |
Senior Girls |
Senior Boys |
Manuela Stewart |
DamienEveritt |
Josie Morgan |
Jonathan Botros |
Indigo Titow |
Rory Bryne |