Filter Content
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
As our School year and indeed our calendar year rapidly draws to its inevitable close, a subtle paradox is evident, for it is at this time of year that we enter the Season of Advent. This wonderful season is yet another of our church’s great gifts to us. It provides a time during which we are called to reflect, to pause and ponder, and wait with patient expectation for the coming of the Christ Child. It is a season that provides a new beginning; the birth of a child, born to be the Saviour of the World.
Given the extent of hype and the multitude of commercial paraphernalia that herald Christmas it becomes easy to overlook the Season of Advent. We can too readily become pre-occupied with the preparation for Christmas feasts, with the purchasing of gifts and the bidding of farewell to the year that has been and to acquaintances moving in different directions. All these are in themselves wonderful experiences of love, yet we are also called to enter into a phase of prayer, of promise and of expectation.
During the remaining weeks of school, our students will be drawn into the Season of Advent. This sense of waiting and wondering will form the focus of class prayer and school liturgies, as well as our formal Religious Education lessons.
Accompanying this preparation for Christmas will be the use of symbols that invite us to enter more deeply into these mysteries. The Advent Wreath calls us to focus on the light that is to come. Like many of the Advent and Christmas symbols, this symbol is one inherited from the Northern Hemisphere where the days are becoming shorter and darker and the candles are used to illuminate the way.
Last weekend we began the Liturgical Season of Advent. In Australia, we also use such symbols, and although they may not have the same connection with the seasons, they form part of our traditions and we rightly celebrate their use. A particular and unique aspect of our Advent season is the burst of blooms from the Jacaranda trees and Agapanthus plants. In what seems to be a particularly brilliant spring, these mauve blossoms adorn the trees and adorn our pavements and yards and in a particularly Australian way, they herald the Season of Advent. As we drive through our neighbourhoods marvelling at the Christmas lights, may we also pause to admire these delicate purple blossoms and turn our thoughts and those of our children, to this Season of Advent.
As we to embark upon our 2020 Advent journey in what has been a particularly challenging year, may we all be open to the opportunity for a fresh start and allow God’s grace to guide us and to work within our lives.
Tina Murray
Principal
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES - The safety of your child and all students in our schools, as well as the safety of the school staff and support personnel is very important to us. In order to maintain a safe environment for our students to study and learn, it is a necessary compliance requirement that we practice our emergency and crisis response plans by having drills designed to exercise our procedures.
In response to parent feedback regarding the lockdown drill that was conducted last term, we are providing the following information to help parents understand the importance of these practices as well as to understand each type of drill.
The students and staff of our school are required to practice the following emergency drills each year. Each type of drill is explained below.
EVACUATION DRILLS - The school is required to conduct an “evacuation drill” on an annual basis.
During an “Evacuation Drill”, students will be safely escorted along a designated evacuation route to our pre-determined evacuation site – the Infants Grass Area.
At the conclusion of the drill, all students will be escorted back to their classrooms. We want each student to understand and be aware of the importance of this drill and not be afraid when the alarm is sounded. By practicing they will know what to do and how to do it in the event of an actual emergency.
LOCKDOWN DRILLS - The school must conduct at least one “Lockdown Drill” throughout each school year. This type of drill will secure the school building and safely shelter all students, staff and visitors inside the building. The purpose of this drill is to keep the students safe from any danger outside or inside the building. During a “lockdown drill” all of the perimeter doors to the school building will be locked and will remain locked until the danger or issue outside or inside the building is removed. To enable everyone to remain safe, no one will be allowed to enter the building or leave the building until the drill is completed.
In the event of an actual emergency, to maintain the safety of everyone involved and to maintain order, we respectfully ask that you abide by the following:
- Do not come to the school site.
- Do not call the school offices (as we will be busy with the drill or actual emergency).
- Do not contact students or staff members via mobile phone or social media (as they will be busy with the drill or actual emergency).
- Avoid social media posts. Correct information will be disseminated through the Compass system as soon as possible.
- Please make sure that your contact information is current at all times so that you can be reached without delay in the event of an emergency.
- In the event of an actual emergency, you will receive notification about where to pick up your child as soon as practicable.
Please remember that these safety practice drills are done to help maintain our schools as a safe place to learn and work.
Please discuss these procedures with your child. Our final drill for 2021 will be an evacuation drill and is scheduled to take place next week.
Tina Murray
Principal
SCHOOL BANKING
LAST
School Banking Day for 2020
Wednesday 9 December 2020.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR KIDS READING OVER THE HOLIDAYS
School’s out for summer! Your kids have hung up their bags for the year, returned their library books and said goodbye to their home readers. No doubt they are feeling burnt out and are looking forward to a much needed rest and break over summer. So, what does this mean for reading? While some kids will happily have their heads in a book over summer, there are others who will use the break to joyfully have their head in the clouds.
Research clearly shows that when kids put down their school books on their break, their reading ability also drops with it. The term “summer slide” is well established and refers to children dropping in their reading ability following a lack of reading over the summer break. Teachers also frequently report that students return to school after their break with a lower reading level and interest in books than when they left previously. Therefore it’s vital that we continue to encourage our children to read widely and often whilst they are on holidays.
Ryan Spencer from the University of Canberra shares these tips on how to make sure kids stay engaged with reading over the school break.
Make Reading Time Fun (and Quick!) - It is easy and necessary to make reading together the most fun time of every day. Read together with funny voices, try humorous books to engage the reluctant readers in your family and trust that toilet humour is often a sure-fire winner for most boys. You should aim for no more than ten minutes reading together – just enough to encourage the kids to come back tomorrow. Set a timer if you need to, it will encourage them to ask for a minute or two more when reading time comes to an end.
Visit Bookstores and Your Local Library - Make regular visits to bookstores and the local library part of your family’s routine. These trips are simple ways to drive reading passion. Bookstores often sell brand new popular kids’ books for less than $10, much less than a movie ticket. Many children are amazed when they discover that they can borrow sometimes up to twenty books from their local library for free (and probably will the first time).
Allow Children To Choose What They Want To Read - Book choice is a vital component of the reading process. As adults, we very rarely read anything that we either don’t love or enjoy. If we read a book and it takes a while to get going, or we lose interest, we simply put it down, or lend it to a friend. Why then do we insist that children must read cover to cover something that they don’t necessarily enjoy or like? Often these imposed choices on children come from a place of love – we are trying to support the children in accessing a text that is at their reading level. It is often hard to let go and let children choose their own books, however it is vital to developing strong, self-sufficient readers. If you are picking up a book at the bookstore for your child during your lunch break, grab a few different titles. Having a choice to choose from will allow your children to have control over their reading process.
Have A ‘Screen-free Night’ Each Week - Make a screen free night part of your family’s regular routine where everyone in the family picks up something to read. Having your children see you read and talk about books adds value to this reading time. Different approaches to the screen free night may be to invest in reading lamps or book lights so that children can read in bed before sleep.
Give Books As Gifts - Birthdays for kids means presents, and more books in the house can never go astray. Gift the next book in the series that your child is loving – the 65 Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths or the Alice-Miranda series by Jacqueline Harvey are great places to start. Encourage your child to lend and swap their books with friends once they have read them.
Read Together Using Supportive Strategies - When you are reading together with your child, it’s a great idea to give them the option of how they would like to read. Provide the opportunity for children to choose whether they would like to read aloud or silently. Check if they would like to try paired reading if they feel like they need extra support with the book.
When your child comes to a word that they don’t know or aren’t sure of, remember to:
- Wait: give your child a chance to figure out the word on their own
- Ask: does that make sense? Does the picture give you a clue? Could you read on for more information?
- Then skip: if the child is still stuck on the word, ask them to skip it and read on. You can always drop that word into the conversation as you turn the page. This has the added advantage of not making the child wrong!
Working with your child to maintain good reading habits over their school break allows you to not only establish your family as active readers but will give them the best possible start for when they return to school.
Mrs Del Giudice
Assistant Principal
Happy Birthday to the following children who will be celebrating their birthday this week:Upcoming events:
- Feast of the Immaculate Conception: Tuesday 8 December 2020
- ACTIVATE Fire Retreat Day - School: Wednesday 9 December 2020
- Year 6 Farewell Liturgy and luncheon: Tuesday 15 December 2020
- End of Year Mass: Wednesday 16 December 2020
Advent: Week 1
Hope
Last Sunday, heralded the start of the Season of Advent.
Madison and Timi in 1 Gold explained that Advent is a time for waiting for Jesus’ birth.
Each block has been given a special Advent wreath. The children both identified that every week we light a candle to remember that Jesus is on his way.
Thanks Timi and Madison!
Reflection Prayer:
Almighty God, we begin this Advent Season as an ‘Advent People’ – people of hope, ready to do your will. Let us show kindness and love towards each other over the next few weeks. Let us remember that Jesus brings up hope and joy.
Amen
Mrs Kirsty Simpson
Religious Education Co-Ordinator
Congratulations to all the students who have returned their books, well done! Unfortunately borrowing has finished for the year now, as we start to collect all the books to return and repair, ready for next year. ALL BOOKS MUST BE RETURNED THIS WEEK PLEASE. We ask that you please search at home for any Library books and Classroom readers which might be hiding on shelves, under beds etc., also keep a lookout for our Library loan bags, which may be hiding somewhere at home. Thank you.
A request – if you have any spare Library Bags, or cotton shopping bags suitable for Library Bags, we would be grateful for donations. We like to keep some as loan bags for students who forget to bring them, and our supplies are sadly depleted. They go out and often don’t come back. Thank you.
Even though we will not be borrowing, it is important for the children to keep reading. All those lovely books at home on the shelves, books for Christmas, and don’t forget the local library – if you are you not already members of the Campbelltown Library, it is free to join. We have some forms in the library, or just call in to the Eagle Vale Leisure Centre and ask there
As the end of year draws nearer, and our lives become even busier, try to remember how important it is to take at least ten minutes a day to read with your children – they learn from you the importance of reading in their lives. There are so many beautiful Christmas stories which are good to share in the lead-up to Christmas. Holidays are a great time to stop and relax with a book.
"Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read."
Marilyn Jager Adams, child development expert
Happy reading!
Mrs Sue Bryant
Teacher-Librarian