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Dear Parents and Carers,
Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of Australia’s first and only saint - St Mary of the Cross, Mary MacKillop. Some suggest that Mary was a woman ahead of her time, others celebrate her as a resilient, hardworking dedicated woman who saw a need and actioned a response. “Never see a need without doing something about it.”It feels very apt to pause and reflect on Mary’s life in the year we celebrate 200 years of Catholic education in Australia. Whilst Mary did not begin Catholic schooling in Australia her input was immeasurable. She recognised the fact that many children could not access this education for financial reasons and felt strongly that God’s love needed to be shared with all. She felt so strongly about this issue that she initiated a battle which would eventually enable many Australian children to access Catholic Education and in doing this also gave them a chance for a stronger relationship with their God. To fulfill her plan, Mary surrounded herself with like-minded people who could assist with the workload. This was how the religious order, The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, first came to be. Many of our own Diocesan Schools were started by this same order, and today we are blessed to have the continued support of these sisters in three of our schools. Mary saw a need and, with much courage, acted on it. She did not do this alone, but with the assistance and collaboration of many others.
Mary’s journey was not trouble-free. She fought many battles along the way and her faith was continually tested as she walked a path that upset many. Throughout this time and with these challenges she showed resilience and continued to fight for what she believed was right. She modelled being faith-filled for us as she lived by the mantra, “Do all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God.” (1891) We learn from Mary how to stay true to our convictions, work hard for what we believe to be right and show resilience when obstacles are thrown our way. Mary modelled reaching out to those who were vulnerable and/or marginalised. This is a timely reminder for us as we live through the challenges that COVID-19 continues to bring.
ST MARY OF THE CROSS
you faced difficult times with a heart filled with trust,
always believing in the watchful presence of God.
Walk with us now in this difficult time,
and may we be for others,
examples of confident hope and trust.
Parents and carers are invited to join with our staff to pause during the next seven days and pray with Confident trust through the intercession of Mary MacKillop for our world that is very much in need of healing.
https://marymackillopparish.org.au/images/articles/Mary_MacKillop_Novena.pdf
NSW GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH RESTRICTIONS
Our school must continue to implement the directives from both NSW Government and NSW Health. This includes restrictions to the number of staff on site each day. As you know, we have implemented a weekly form to register attendance. The link for the coming week is sent via Compass to all parents on Thursday. Unfortunately, the information is not an accurate reflection of the number of students attending each day and complicates our ability to ensure adequate supervision. Please ensure you register your child’s attendance in advance for any day they are expected to attend. The form can be resubmitted if circumstances change. It is an extremely difficult and challenging time. I thank the staff, students and parents and carers who have been working together in a supportive and respectful way to ensure the safety of all in our school community.
Please do not hesitate to make contact to discuss your personal circumstances related to school attendance.
WHO’S THAT CUTIE – WEEK 5
Don’t forget to test out your skills as a family and see how many teachers you can match to their childhood photos?
The competition can be accessed via the following link:
The first family with all the correct answers (or the most correct answers) will be the lucky recipients of a $30.00 gift card.
Entries close on Friday 13 August at 3:00 pm.
The winner will be announced in the Week 6 Newsletter.
Thank you to our Year 5 teachers for organising this wonderful initiative.
Tina Murray
Principal
ONLINE LEARNING
Over the next few weeks, as remote learning continues, I thought I would share with you some parental tips to assist with supporting your child in different areas of their learning. These tips are taken from the NSW Government Education website.
Helping your child with spelling
There is no magic potion when it comes to helping your child become a confident speller, but there are ways to make it easier.
At school
Your child learns to understand:
- how words sound
- how words look
- how words change form, for example, from ‘jump' to ‘jumped'
- where words come from.
Your child:
- usually spends time each day studying words
- learns that spelling is a tool that is closely linked to writing and reading
- learns that accurate spelling matters and that it's important to check their writing for mistakes.
How to help your child with spelling
Explain to your child that some words can be sounded out, but not all English words can be spelt correctly by ‘sounding out', for example, the words ‘you' and ‘said'.
- Talk to your child about how you spell, and what you do when you don't know how to spell a word.
- Encourage your child to write at home on paper and on the computer, for example filling in forms, writing notes to family members, writing phone messages and reminder notes, making lists, replying to letters and emails, and sending cards.
- Provide a dictionary and use it together. Remember that dictionaries are more useful if your child knows about the alphabet and how a dictionary works.
- Encourage your child to first try spelling unknown words themselves, and then praise the parts of the word that are correct and suggest what else is needed.
Say, cover, write, check
When learning to spell an unknown word, first talk about what the word means, then try learning to spell it using the following technique:
- look carefully at the word
- say the word
- cover the word
- write it from memory
- uncover and check your attempt against the correct word
- repeat as needed.
What you can do when your child asks how to spell a word
- Encourage your child to have a go first, and then discuss their effort.
- Make sure they have access to a dictionary and know how to use it.
- Simply tell your child how the word is spelt and talk about it together.
Should you correct your child's spelling?
- First, encourage your child to check their work and find any mistakes.
- If they have made a mistake with a common word, ask them to try to fix it without your help.
- It's always useful to show your child the correct spelling of a word.
What you can do when your child finds spelling too hard
Be supportive. Remember that when you child is learning to write, they will not be able to accurately spell all the words they want to write. If your child seems to be having ongoing problems, talk to their teacher.
What if you aren't a good speller?
No problem. Use a dictionary or a spell checker on the computer and work out how to spell words together.
Should you let your child use a spellchecker?
Yes. Spell checkers can be useful but remind your child that they still need to be thinking when they use it. Your child will need your support:
- when the word is spelt correctly but it is not the right word, for example ‘shore' and ‘sure'
- when the computer gives suggestions, but your child still doesn't know which word is correct
- when the computer uses American spellings.
LILLIAN DEL GIUDICE
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Congratulations to all students and families who are reading together at home, all your efforts are impressive! Remember to refer to our Oliver Library home page for suggestions for activities once a book is finished.
oliver.dow.catholic.edu.au/miev
Premiers' Reading Challenge: Congratulations, there are 93 students finished, and another 187 who are getting there! We still have over three weeks left to complete the challenge, so it is important to ensure that any books read are registered. Don’t give up! The last day is Friday 3 September, so do it now! Go to:
https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/logon.html
You can register the books you are reading at home, including any books your teachers are reading to you online, or that you are reading on one of the online sites, such as Storybox.
Chess: Next term if we are back at school there will be a Chess Tournament at Lunch 2 for interested students in Years 3 - 6. Students in Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 who are interested in playing Chess will have an opportunity after the tournament to play with the senior students, to learn how to play, about the pieces, strategies etc. Any interested students are invited to go to the following website to get in some practice and improve your strategies before next term.
Poetry: We are lucky to have a great website devoted to Australian poetry. The following two poems are among many which can be found on:
https://australianchildrenspoetry.com.au/author/australianchildrenspoetry/
It is a very busy time at home for parents and carers with home schooling but we encourage you to try to take time to read with your children every day, the effort is worth it.
“I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book!”
Happy reading!
Mrs Susan Bryant
Teacher Librarian