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Dear Parents and Carers,
Wellbeing Week during Term 4 is a time for staff and students to focus on ways to look after themselves and one another prior to the busy Christmas period. Thanks to our Pastoral Care Worker, Mrs Banham, we had plenty of ideas this week to build some learning in for our students on how to maintain their wellbeing.
The end of the year is fast approaching, with many events on the calendar, especially for our senior students. Please make sure you check the calendar in Compass regularly to be part of these special events. There has been a change to the Graduation Liturgy for Yr 6 to enable them to attend the Peer Support Day in at St Clare's - please make sure you note this change.
Another change for this year is that our whole school Christmas gathering will return to the grounds of Holy Name. On Wednesday December 6, we will host a simple Christmas gathering where students will sing for families and share in the spirit of Christmas. There have been few opportunities for us to gather on the grounds of the school due to the pandemic and then the building work, and we are looking forward to this opportunity. Gates will be open from 5:30pm with a planned 6:00pm start.
Next week, our Yr 6 students head to Canberra for a wonderful week exploring the National Capital. Please wish us well for the trip. The following week, Yr 5 are off to The Aussie Bush Camp for a few days of activities and challenges. This is a great excursion for students to challenge themselves and learn a little more about one another prior to commencing their final primary school year. If your children are involved in either of these excursions, please make sure the class teachers or our administration office have all the information they need to ensure your child has a successful excursion.
A massive congratulations this week to Nanma Joy who successfully auditioned for ASPIRE 2024 and is a member of the Vocal Ensemble. We are so proud of you Nanma and grateful to your family for their commitment to developing your gifts. It will be great to have a student from Holy Name in the performance and add that little bit of extra excitement when we travel down to watch the performance in 2024. What an amazing achievement, Nanma!
Over the coming weeks, Mrs Loring and I will be focusing on the attendance of students. We have noticed that the number of students attending less than the required 90% attendance rate is increasing and we will be communicating with families where student attendance has fallen below the Diocesan Policy and Legal requirements. Outside of the impact on learning, there are serious penalities for poor student attendance and we will be working with individual families where necessary to improve the student attendance percentage.
Thank you to all of our new families for the 2024 school year for your positive participation in the transition to school process. The Kinder teachers are so excited to welcome such a beautiful group of students and are grateful for the engagement of parents throughout this process. Transitioning between classes or schools can be a nervous time for some and our programs that support students are an important part of the work we do at Holy Name.
Check out this information about School Transitions from School TV.
Have a wonderful fortnight.
Brooke Stephens
Monday 20/11- Friday 24/11 | Year 6 Canberra Excursion | Week 7 | Canberra |
Tuesday 21/11/23 | Year 5 Leadership Day | All Day | At School |
Friday 24/11/23 | SRC Speeches | 11.30am | Hall |
Monday 27/11/23 | SRC announced at Assembly | 8.50am | Kirkangina |
Monday 27/11 - Wednesday 29/11 | Year 5 at Aussie Bush Camp | 3 Days | Aussie Bush Camp |
Friday 1/12/23 | St Clare's 2024 Year 7 students Peer Support Day | All Day | St Clare's High School |
Wednesday 6/12/23 | Christmas Concert | 5.30 for 6.00-7.15pm | Holy Name School grounds |
Friday 8/12/23 | Whole School Awards Assembly | 9.00 am | Hall |
Friday 8/12/23 | Mrs Stephen's Farewell and Afternoon tea | from 1.30pm | Hall and Grounds |
Monday 11/12/23 | HNS Swimming Carnival | 9.00-12.00pm | YMCA Forster |
Wednesday 13/12/23 | Year 6 Graduation Mass | 11.30am | Kirkangina |
Friday 15/12/23 | Last day for students 2023 | ||
Monday 18/12/23 | Last day for Staff 2023 |
PBL
Our Principal Award Winners for the past fortnight were:
Franky Wall | 1N | 60 Surfboards |
Olivia Quilter | 1N | 60 Surfboards |
Amelia Moelker | 3W | 60 Surfboards |
Rocco Rettke | KP | 60 Surfboards |
Hafsa Omar | 3W | 60 Surfboards |
Ruby Clarke | 1N | 40 Surfboards |
Autumn Barrett | 2L | 40 Surfboards |
Amelia Pruim | 3M | 40 Surfboards |
Oliver Smith | 1N | 40 Surfboards |
Grace Jurss | 3M | 40 Surfboards |
Naish Gemmel-Smith | 3W | 40 Surfboards |
Myra Gupta | 6M | 40 Surfboards |
Levi Orsi | KP | 20 Surfboards |
Hudson Paterson | 1M | 20 Surfboards |
Alise Matlawski | 1M | 20 Surfboards |
Isabella Marchet-Caberlon | 1M | 20 Surfboards |
Koby Clarke | 6M | 20 Surfboards |
Joshua Matta | 6M | 20 surfboards |
Christian Botros | 6M | 20 Surfboards |
Our Class Award Winners for the past fortnight have been awarded for Being a Good Sport.
Week 6 | Class Awards | |
KM | Alex Oake | Robyn Wyldman |
KP | Deon Jith | Lilly Rinaldi |
1N | Liam De Sousa | Ruby Garrard |
1M | Ruby Clarke | Evie Hayes |
2S | William Naughton | Hayley Whitehouse-Miotto |
2L | Ezra Lea | Tyrese Simon |
3M | Indy Cooper | Grace Jurss |
3W | Stevie Hallam | Naish Gemmel-Smith |
4H | Jax Tull | Eli Lea |
4L | Zarah Clark | Summer-Rose Dalton |
5F | Tarickai Smith | Klahra Ridgeway |
6M | Neil Uprety | Sienna Cooper |
6R | Jett Hadenham | Mya McCarthy |
Remembrance Day
Students and staff gathered on Friday 10th November to acknowledge Remembrance Day with a liturgy, led by Year 5 and Ms Flannery, They did so with a dignity and respect that was reflected by the whole student body, as we paused not to celebrate but rather remember the sacrifice that so many brave men and women made for our freedom.
Christmas Hampers
Each year Holy Name invites students to donate non-perishable goods for us to put together Christmas hampers. These hampers are given to those in our community who would appreciate a helping hand at Christmas. If you are able to help please do so by donating any suitable items, such as packets of biscuits, any tinned goods (fruit / vegies / soups / meat / fish), dried goods (rice / pasta), sweet / savoury biscuits, cake/pancake mix, chips, tea / coffee / hot chocolate, jams, sauces, long life milk, chocolate / lollies.
Please give what you can to support this wonderful initiative. No donation is too small, everything is gratefully received.
NEW Year 2 and 3 Religious Education Curriculum Units
Over the next two weeks our Year 2 and 3 teachers along with Holy Name's Religious Education Coordinator will join other teachers and REC's from the Manning Region as they are educated in the new religious education units following the Pedagogy of Encounter.
The new units will be rolled out at the beginning of 2024, following the successful integration of the new units and pedagogy in Kindergarten and Year 1 over the past 2 years.
Fin MacKay
Acting Religious Education Coordinator
Great Learning Happening in Year One!
Each fortnight we like to put a spotlight on the great learning happening in a particular grade in our school. In this report the spotlight is on Year One.
In English, the Year One classes are engaging in their reading lessons with a high level of engagement and motivation. The students are continuing to enjoy having their own copy of the class decodable reader each week, which enables them to use the reader during lessons and practise reading the text at home. The decodable reader the students have week is linked with the class sound focus which assists the students in building their knowledge of more complex letter sound combinations. Each day students read the class reader together to build reading fluency and work towards their goal of reading a target amount of words per minute. Students take part in a daily dictation lesson where words containing the sound focus are included in the sentence the students need to record. This term the classes have been focusing on persuasive texts for their whole class shared reading lessons. The Year One’s favourite text so far has been ‘Eat Your People’ by Lou Kuenzler. Which is a hilarious text about a family of children, eating friendly monsters. We could hear the giggles from outside the classroom!
During writing, our Year One students are learning to construct quality sentences to include in their persuasive writing pieces. Over the past fortnight teachers have been modelling how to include adjectives to sentences to make them more interesting. The students have been writing great persuasive texts on topics such as: “Should homework be banned?”, “The best pet is..’ and ‘Lego is the best toy’. The students have been following the co-constructed success criteria to ensure they have included all the necessary components of a persuasive text:
- I can decide what my opinion is.
-I can recognise other people can have different opinions from mine.
-I can give at least one reason to explain what I think.
-I can present my opinion in a variety of ways
Check out some of their awesome work!
In Maths, Year One have been developing their measurement skills through activities related to capacity. The lessons have been very hands on with activities taking place in the sandpit and outside with large buckets of water. Students have been estimating, measuring and comparing containers of varying shapes and sizes using cups of water or sand. This week the focus has been consolidating the students’ understanding of the jump and split strategies as efficient ways to solve addition and subtraction problems. Students have been working hard on ensuring they present their work in a clear way so that they can explain their thinking to a peer or to the class during the summarise phase of the lesson.
In Sport lessons, Year One have been attending tennis sessions at Forster tennis courts. They have enjoyed learning tennis skills with coach Jamie, who has helped develop their forehand technique and given them tips and tricks to improve their form. Coach Nathan has been teaching the students the rules of singles and doubles games and they have had fun using their new skills in action. Check out these awesome photos!
The Year One students have loved Well being Week! With a big focus on kindness, the students all made a love tank where others could write a nice message to put in each other's love tanks. Such a beautiful way to make each other feel happy an appreciated.
Keep up the awesome work Year One!
Mrs Suzie Monks
Primary Coordinator
Wellbeing Week
Our Wellbeing week this term coincided with World Kindness Day, this presented an opportunity for our students to engage in activities at Art Club and in class. Our Mini Vinnies team presented our staff with a small gift to help take care of their wellbeing and our Mini Vinnies helpers Brady and Sara were happy to create so many smiles amongst our staff!
If you haven’t heard of Taryn Brumfitt you might like to read below and check out the Embrace website. Embrace - Taryn Brumfitt 2023 Australian of the Year - champions the need for all bodies to embrace their bodies.
The website "The Embrace Hub" serves as an educational hub designed to empower teachers and educators. It offers a wide range of resources, tools, and support to enhance the teaching experience and create a more inclusive learning environment. The platform is dedicated to fostering a positive, inclusive, and student-centric educational experience, with a particular focus on emotional intelligence and well-being. Teachers can access a plethora of materials, including lesson plans, curriculum guides, and activities aimed at promoting empathy, self-awareness, and emotional resilience in students.
For children, the benefits of "The Embrace Hub" are substantial. The platform equips their educators with the necessary resources and strategies to create a more nurturing and emotionally supportive classroom environment. As a result, students can develop essential life skills, including empathy, effective communication, and emotional regulation. These skills not only enhance their academic performance but also contribute to their overall well-being, helping them navigate the challenges of both the classroom and daily life with greater confidence and resilience. This website serves as a valuable tool in shaping young minds and nurturing a generation of emotionally intelligent and empathetic individuals.
Embrace your body song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld9MJi3aGMU
The Embrace Hub
https://theembracehub.com/education-hub-appreciate-your-body-9-to-12-year-old/
Lots of classes tuned in to listen and read along with The Love Tank in their classes, some even made their own love tanks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWZq8qrDJ7s The Love Tank guides children in imagining a superpower container inside their bodies that fills up with love. The book explains what can happen when someone's love tank is full--or empty, and how we can help others to fill their love tank.
Friends to Art Club made mini Kindness books by folding a single piece of paper. It’s always lovely to see students learn a new skill and then share that skill with others. I love that this sharing kindness is so incidental yet so helpful and powerful to all.
Our Mini Vinnies students always enjoy finishing Wellbeing Week with a Flash Mob, it always brings lots of singing, dancing and moments of joy. It’s great for our Wellbeing and we love that lots of students join in this fun activity.
Mini Vinnies
Our Mini Vinnies students are continuing to remind students and families of our wishing tree and hamper collections. Donations have started to come in and we are so grateful for the support of all of our families.
Playgroup
Playgroup has recommenced this week, we love sharing playtime, art, a story, a dance and some fruit. This week and last we read stories that celebrate our uniqueness and made art to take home. Playgroup is a gentle way for families to come and get to know Holy Name. If you or anyone you know has pre-school aged children please feel free to come along and join us for a cuppa. It is not only a lovely way for little ones to transition to school, it is a beautiful way to make new connections and friendships for parents, carers and grandparents. Everyone is welcome. It is a joyous way to start Thursdays, 9-10am in our school hall.
Breakfast Clubs
Monday and Wednesday mornings remain bustling and lively, with students indulging in refreshing Milo on warmer days and savoring toast on Mondays, followed by fruit on Wednesdays. We extend our gratitude to CatholicCare for their ongoing support in supplying bread and fresh fruit, enriching the experiences of our students. A special appreciation goes to our dedicated Mini Vinnies students who consistently serve their peers on Mondays and Wednesdays. The Breakfast Club warmly welcomes all Holy Name students from 8:15 am.
This year, Holy Name had thirty students in Years 4, 5 and 6 engage in the Maths Olympiad competition. Maths Olympiad consisted of four competitions throughout the year, with the aim to promote and improve maths problem solving skills amongst students in Australia and New Zealand.
Oscar Yeates and Marley Donegan were equal first in the school in the competition, while Myra Gupta was one mark behind in third place.
This year’s Special Encouragement Award for Outstanding Improvement in Mathematical Problem Solving is awarded to Max Isbel. Every week, Max attended the lunch time practice session throughout Terms 2 and 3 with Mr Pomplun at school. Well done, Max!