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Dear Parents and Carers,
When we consider intelligence in the animal kingdom sheep do not seem to have much credibility. They are often regarded as not very intelligent and have a reputation for following without thinking. But science has shown that they are not quite as simple as we may have once assumed. A study has found that sheep have extraordinary memories, especially for those who look after them. After two years of absence, they have been found to have the ability to remember a farmer who has fed and cared for them.
Maybe this was the characteristic Jesus was drawing upon when he used the imagery of sheep and the shepherd. This was the image that featured in the readings at Mass last Sunday.
If the study of sheep is correct, these creatures seem to have a great capacity to be able to sift through their own experiences and recognise someone who truly cares for them and will potentially lead them to ‘fullness of life’.
Like sheep, we need to develop our ability to sift through the experiences of our lives and recognise where goodness has been at work. We have been created in goodness, each of us with a unique individual set of characteristics, gifts, and talents. We are called to recognise and embrace these within ourselves and to help our children do the same, because it is upon these blessings that a life of fullness can be built.
Our experiences as individuals and as a community, especially during the last few years have taught us that life is mixed with both good and not so good times. Being attentive to what happens during these times and the effect they have on us and those around us, can attune us to the spirit of God calling us to opportunities to move towards fullness of life.
The reality of the type of ‘fullness of life’ that Jesus calls us to, challenges us to be more than just individuals. Jesus calls us beyond ourselves into the reality of the body of Christ.
We are called to move beyond the ‘me’ to the ‘we.’
This concept will be reinforced tomorrow when we acknowledge the students who will take on leadership roles as Class Leaders for Term 2. These leadership opportunities provide our students with an experience of ‘service leadership’ and embrace our school vision to Walk with Christ, inspire lifelong learning, show respect for others, and reach out in service, in the light of our school motto, Christ our Way and Life.
We congratulate each of our Term 2 student leaders and thank the Term 1 Class Leaders for the role they have played within our school community.
Tina Murray
Principal
We are very grateful for the parents who were able to attend the P & F General Meeting on Monday evening. As previously communicated, we have been attempting to fill the role of President since the Annual General Meeting in Term 1. Despite some interest being expressed, all the Executive positions have not been filled and as a result, the P&F has now been deemed non-operational for the remainder of 2023.
In this instance, we will seek alternative informal opportunities for parent representation and involvement.
The parents who were present at the general meeting on Monday voted to transfer the existing P & F funds to the school. These funds will be used for agreed upon purposes such as the provision of annual events such as the Mother’s Day and Fathers' Day activities. Once this transfer is complete the current members of the Executive Committee will resign their positions. We are extremely grateful to the members of the Interim Executive Committee for 2023 – Lorraine Brown, Kerry Watson, Rebecca Whitburn and Helena Lasan for their hard work and dedicated commitment to supporting fundraising and community building initiatives in our school. There are many hours of unseen organisation and planning involved in bringing each of these events to fruition. We are very grateful for the dedication of the members of the Executive Committees who have enabled the P&F Association to exist at our school over many years. Please be reassured that despite the P&F being deemed non-operational, we look forward to continuing to provide opportunities for parents to volunteer and be involved in supporting extra-curricula initiatives for our students to enjoy.
The official date for the changeover to Winter Uniform is Monday 15 May 2023 (Week 4 Term 2). Due to the unpredictability of the weather students may wear either Full Summer or Full Winter Uniform for the first 3 weeks of Term 2 not a mixture of both.
NSW K-2 English and Mathematics Syllabuses
As mentioned in previous newsletters, all schools in NSW are implementing the reformed NSW English and Mathematics K-2 syllabuses. These syllabuses highlight foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Please find below suggestions about what you can do as a parent or carer to support your child in Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 in the area of Number and Algebra in Mathematics.
Helping your Early Stage 1 child at home with Mathematics
Number and algebra
Combining and separating quantities
Combining and separating quantities focuses on:
- Addition and subtraction
- Number pairs which make 10.
- You can help your Kindergarten child at home by:
- Playing adding and subtracting board games such as Snakes and Ladders
- Using a deck of playing cards to add two number cards together from the same suit. For example, 4 hearts added to 3 hearts is 7 hearts. Count all the hearts by ones, from one, to begin. Alternatively, start the count from the largest number, as in 4 – 5, 6, 7
- Using Lego pieces to model addition and subtraction. For example, start with 5 blue Lego pieces connected. Now connect 4 more red Lego pieces. How many are there altogether? Now take 2 red Lego pieces away. How many are left?
- Playing Ten Pin Bowling with toilet rolls and a tennis ball for a subtraction game. Count how many pins have fallen down and how many are left standing
- Getting to know number bonds, or ‘friends of 10’, which are number pairs which add together to make 10. These number pairs are 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, 5 and 5.
Helping your Stage 1 child at home with Mathematics
Number and algebra
Combining and separating quantities
Combining and separating quantities focuses on:
- Using addition and subtraction to solve problems.
- You can help your Year 1 and Year 2 child at home by:
- Practising quick recall of double numbers to 10. Use double domino tiles to extend thinking to doubling numbers to 20
- Finding and discussing numbers in everyday life that are not meant to be used with place value, such as phone numbers, pin numbers, bus numbers and postcodes
- Using number bonds, or ‘friends of 10’, to assist with simple addition and subtraction problems. For example, 4 + 6 = 10, 6 + 4 = 10, 10 - 4 = 6, 10 - 6 = 4
- Using number bonds to solve addition problems by making groups of 10. For example, the problem of 26 + 8 can be solved by taking 4 from the 8 and adding it to the 26. The new problem of 30 + 4 is much easier to solve
- Solving problems using their knowledge of doubles. For example, the problem 8 + 9 can been seen as double 8 (8 + 8) which is 16. Add one more to make 17
- Building number bond knowledge to understand ‘friends of 20’. These number pairs are 11 and 9, 12 and 8, 13 and 7, 14 and 6, 15 and 5.
MRS LILLIAN DEL GIUDICE
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
SAVE THE DATE!
We would like to warmly invite all of the special women in our cihildrens lives to our special Mothers' Day Assembly. This year we will be holding two separate assemblies to celebrate.
Kindergarten will be hosting the Mothers' Day Assembly for K - 2 on 10 May at 1.45 pm.
Year 3 will be leading the Year 3 - 6 Assembly on 12 May at 1.45 pm.
We look forward to seeing you!
“ A book is a gift that you can open again and again” - Garrison Keilllor
Housekeeping - If you have any overdue books from last term, please return these to the Library as soon as possible. Borrowing has commenced again for Term 2! Please ensure that your child has their Library bag each fortnight for their visit to the Library.
PRC Reminders - Please continue to encourage your child to read books from the Premiers' Reading Challenge list (found on the website or at:
https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html. There is still time to join if you wish for your child to participate!
Remember, most of the books that your child reads need to be from the list that corresponds with your child’s reading level. Remind your children that these books can be found in our school Library, local Libraries or using digital Libraries like SORA. Books that are on the Premier’s Reading Challenge list can be easily identified in our school Library with coloured stickers found on either the spine of the book or front of the book.
They look like this:
Happy reading,
Mrs Biviano and Mrs Mae
NEW CANTEEN
ON LINE REGISTERING AND ORDERING LINK
If you can spare a few hours to help with the preparation of the Mothers' Day Gifts please leave your name and number with the School Office.
