Welcome back to Term 2!

We've had such a great start to the term and I wish you could have walked with me through our classrooms on Monday morning of Day 1. 

Each day, I spend 15mins with one or two teachers, walking through each classroom in what we call 'Learning Walks and Talks'. These walks are an opportunity for staff to observe changes in action as a result of professional learning. Whether they are physical or in the teaching and learning that is taking place, our walks provide us with the feedback we need to determine the effectiveness of our professional learning plan.

On the first day of term and then each day last week, I was blown away by the beautifully prepared learning spaces, the quality of the learning tasks and the engagement of the students. It was so magnificent that I wanted to somehow capture the vibe and share it with you all. 

Aside from the changes we are making to the way we teach, initiatives like the Student Led Conferences held at the end of last term, also play a part in connecting students and families with their responsibilities and the knowledge they need to engage effectively with our learning agenda. Thank you for your attendance at these meetings and for the feedback you provided to our teachers. We will look at your feedback as a staff and make some changes to improve what we do for Term 3.

You may have noticed the shade for the Infants sandpit and play area has finally started to take shape. In a couple of weeks we should also have the sandpit covers for both the infants and primary playgrounds.

Margie Donnelly

While there are so many positive events and opportunities happening in and around our Holy Name Community at the moment, I am also conscious of some sad events that have occurred recently that are also impacting on our families. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the sudden and extremely sad passing of Margaret Donnelly, known to many as Aunty Marg, Aunty Margie or just Margie. Aunty Margie always supported our students through her role at Homebase to teach dance to our girls in preparation for NADIOC. She was a mother figure to many in the community and I can't help but think of all the roles she played and the legacy she has left behind. Margie was a role model, teacher, mother, aunty, grandmother and loyal friend. She had so much knowledge and wisdom that she shared to build a stronger community and we will miss her here at Holy Name. We pray for Margie's family and the community that loved her so dearly. Margie's life will be celebrated this Friday at St Alban's Church at 11:00am.

Eternal rest grant unto Margie, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. 

Catholic Schools Week - Faith in our Future

Next week, Week 3, is Catholic Schools Week and we will be celebrating in a variety of ways. We are planning a liturgy, Open Day sessions at Holy Name and at St Clare's, a teacher versus Yr 6 student netball game and a celebration with students at the end of the week. We will host the P&F Meeting on the Tuesday evening and the Mother's Day stall on Wednesday and breakfast on Thursday. It should be a great week to promote all that is great in Catholic Schools. If you know anyone interested in coming to have a look at our school, please encourage them to join us for the Open Day sessions.

We are waiting to confirm Fr Greg's availability for our liturgy.

ANZAC day

Thank you for the exceptional attendance and participation in the ANZAC Day March. It is always such a strong showing of our students in community. The students of Holy Name were so reverent and engaged through the service and brought many smiles to the crowd as they marched by. There are some photos a bit further down in the newsletter.

Diocesan Cross Country

This week I am accompanying our Cross Country team to Maitland as part of the Manning Region team. Congratulations to the students on making the times and thank you for the commitment our families have shown in preparing for this day. The bus will leave the Failford Rd turnoff near to the old Ton O' Fun at 7am. It is probably best to be there by 6.50am so we are not holding up the Taree and Wingham teams. We are also asking that students bring something to sit on in case the grounds are damp, and plenty of water for the day. There is only one child listed as asthmatic and they will need to carry their puffer with them at all times. I am planning to send a message on the way home via Compass and Facebook when we leave Maitland so that families know when to expect us back. I willl drive out from Forster so if anyone needs a lift, let me know and I would be happy to do a couple of pick-ups on the way. I'm sure there would also be other parents happy to do the same.

Playgroup

Please make sure your friends and families know about our weekly playgroup offered on Thursday mornings in our school hall. It is a magical time and an opportunity for families to experience our school, stop and have a cuppa and a chat while their childrenm are playing with new friends. The playgroup runs between 9-10am each Thursday morning.

Winter Appeal

Next Friday, 30th April, we are hosting a fundraising event for Catholic Care and St Vincent De Paul. Students may come out of uniform for a gold coin donation. The funds will be split between these two charities to support their winter appeals. Both organisations operate locally and have a huge positive impact in our community. It would be great to see our school offering our support for them.

COVID Intensive Learning Support

At the end of last term, we received some funding from the Federal Government to develop an intervention strategy and target any lost learning due to the impact of the global pandemic. Over the break, we put together a plan and employed Mrs Amy Arrow to lead this project in our school. A decision was made to target fluency in reading and we are currently assessing students to determine who will be involved and once we have this data, we will determine how this project will be implemented. Parents will receive some information home if their child will be part of the project as we would like support from home to maximise the impact of our work at school. Different groups of students will be targeted each term until the end of 2021.

BYOD - your thoughts?

It is becoming increasingly popular in primary and high schools to run a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) plan for students. Due to the increasing use of technology in learning and the benefits for access, feedback and individualising plans, we are considering introducing a BYOD plan to Holy Name and have started having conversations with our Newcastle Technology Team about how it all works. We will discuss this at the P&F in Week 3 and as we progress the idea, we will hold an evening where we present some possible ideas and discuss the idea with interested family members. What do you think about BYOD? Have you had any experience with BYOD in other schools? What worked? What didn't work? How can we make sure we make the plan accessible to all?

There is a long way to go before we make any decisions but it is always good to keep our parents informed of possible future directions. 

Have a great week ahead,

Brooke Stephens