23 October 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principals Address

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Last Friday we had our final meeting for the year with Mark Treadwell, author of, ‘The Future of Learning – The Global Curriculum Project.’

The group was made up of teachers who expressed an interest in helping to drive the project.

In my newsletter message on 22nd May, I outlined the project and explained its connections to St Aloysius’ Educational Philosophy and the Four Pillars of Learning.

Since this time, our teachers have been:

• trialling micro-lessons from the first key competency: Identity;
• using ‘prompts’ to develop curiosity and
• explaining the ‘Learning Pit’ to students (linked to Growth Mindset

‘Before we can implement the Learning Process, we need to appreciate the significance of the competencies that a learner requires to be able to learn efficiently and effectively.’ (Treadwell 2017:183) The competency of identity establishes the foundation of being competent. We need to have a sense of who we are. Identity is the development of the distinct, but ever-changing personality of an individual including their character and principles.

This competency links closely to the first objective in the recently released, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6 (PDHPE) Syllabus: ‘Students demonstrate an understanding of strategies that promote a sense of personal identity and build resilience and respectful relationships. (PDHPE Syllabus 2018:13)

Over the next two weeks, our teachers will complete the MN Learn course on the new PDHPE Syllabus, ready for implementation in 2020.

Using prompts develops emotion and curiosity and causes us to ask lots of questions. Asking questions is how we build new knowledge.

Researcher, James Nottingham uses a pit to demonstrate that when we learn something we can consciously or unconsciously enter a metaphorical ‘learning pit.’ The five competencies are foundational in enabling learners to get themselves out of the pit. The learner must feel emotion and have a growth mind-set to want to get into the pit and believe and know how they can get out. The work of Carol Dweck highlights how the learner’s mind-set and attitude of mind affects how successful we are when it comes to learning.

Our school Future Learning Team will now develop additional resources to assist teachers to further trial and implement aspects of the project.

We look forward to continuing this exciting educational journey over the coming years.

With very best wishes,

Principal
Grant Diggins

Assistant Principals News

Welcome Back to Term 4

Term 4 provides your child the last chance for 2019 to drive their learning.

For this to happen, students need to put into action a Growth Mindset. This incorporates ‘positive self-talk’ and ‘I can’ statements, rather than giving up with, ‘I can’t.

Resilience is so important in being successful in learning. When a mistake is made or the task is challenging, resilience allows the learner to keeping trying.

Willpower is a driving factor when learning something new. It is a major proponent for success.

Self-Motivation is also a driving factor for successful learning. It keeps the focus on the goal and the end in sight.

Together, home and school work to make this happen. At school we talk about ‘the learning pit’. This is an analogy for the child to understand that often learning takes a lot of hard work that requires a great effort. They climb out of the learning pit when they have a good grasp of the new learning.

It is not an expectation that children will automatically understand without trying hard. Encourage your child to always try their best, and praise their effort.

All students should have their own individual goals that they are working on for term 4. Ask them about them and how they are proceeding with them.

The term will pass quickly, and before you realise it your child will be in their next year of learning. Use Term 4 to connect with your child’s learning and help them to be more ready for the following year.

Assistant Principal
Anne Higgins

Religious Education Update

Sacraments of Initiation 2020

Our parish communities wish to support families who would like their children to be Confirmed and receive their First Holy Communion in 2020.

If your child has been baptised a Catholic and in Year 3 in 2020, and they would like to receive the other sacraments of Initiation next year then you must attend two mandatory Parent Information session one in November this year and one in February next year.

Session 1 will present an overview of the process. Our preparation is parish based, family centered and school supported. After parents have heard what is involved at Session 1, then if they feel their child is ready and they are ready as a family, then parents are asked to attend Session 2 where resources for the Sacraments will be given.

Tuesday – 7pm on 19th November at St Paul’s Church Rutherford OR
Wednesday – 7pm on 20th November at St Joseph’s Church, East Maitland, OR
Thursday – 7pm on 21st November at St Our Lady of Lourdes, Beresfield

Session 2 parents will be required to produce a copy of their child’s Catholic baptism certificate for the child to be registered in the preparation process.

Tuesday- 7pm on 4th February at St Paul’s Church Rutherford OR
Wednesday – 7pm on 5th February at St Joseph’s Church East Maitland OR
Thursday – 7pm on 6th February at Our Lady of Lourdes Beresfield.

It will be necessary for at least one parent to attend both Parent information sessions for their child to receive the sacraments next year

PLEASE NOTE: If your child is not baptised please contact the Regional office ASAP before the 1st Information Session on 49338918 or SOIchisholm@mn.catholic.org.au

These meetings are for any parents from the eight churches of our region:

Our Lady of Lourdes, Cnr Delprat Avenue & Anderson Drive, Beresfield
St Joseph’s, Cnr King Street & Newcastle Road, East Maitland
Immaculate Conception, Cnr George & James Streets, Morpeth
Holy Family, 11 John Street, Largs
St Columba’s, Cnr Church & Prince Streets, Paterson
Sacred Heart, New England Highway, Campbell’s Hill
St Paul’s, 10 Young Street, Rutherford
St Patrick’s, 55 New England Highway, Lochinvar

If you have any further questions regarding the Sacramental Program, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school or via email: nicholas.hughes1@mn.catholic.edu.au

Stage 2 Mass Friday 1 November

Year 3 and 4 classes will be celebrating their Stage 2 Mass next Friday, 1st November in the School Hall. Some of our school guitarists and musicians will be playing at the Mass. All parents and community members are welcome to come and celebrate with us.

Religious Education Co-ordinator
Nicholas Hughes

Awards

Week 1

Reminders

School Car Park

Please be reminded that the car park is for staff use only from 7.30am to 4pm.

For the safety of all, under no circumstances should children be dropped off or picked up in the car park.

Parents with children attending OOSH, please use Kiss and Ride or on-street parking during these times. The car park may be used by parents and visitors outside these hours.

Students NOT Returning to St Aloysius in 2020

Parents who are not intending to continue to send their child/ren to St Aloysius in 2020 are asked to notify the school in writing as soon as possible. Most local schools require a term’s notice when families are leaving the school. This enables better planning to meet the needs of continuing students.

Morning Drop Off

Please be reminded that gates open at 8.15am and that children should not be dropped off before this time as there is no supervision. St Nicholas OOSH has places each morning for families who require care for their children before 8.15am.

Crossing Supervisor

As mentioned on the Compass App earlier this week please be aware of the changes made to afternoon dismissal on Heritage Drive. Children walking home and riding bikes and scooters will be taken to the crossing by the teacher on duty and crossed by Steve, the supervisor. They will then be required to make their way home safely on their own. Parents picking up from Whitewater Park will be responsible for crossing them at Tigerhawk Drive. If you have any concerns for your children’s safety, I encourage you to please make alternative arrangements. The previous practice was only ever put in place as an interim measure and with the growth of the school, the increased number of duties for teachers to cover and the appointment of a crossing supervisor, it is not sustainable. Mrs Higgins and the teachers have spoken with the children regarding the changes and road safety around the school. We will continue this focus at regular intervals.

Advance Notice

Tuesday 10th December - End of Year Presentation Night at St Mary’s Maitland 5.30pm
9th December - Swimming Carnival Beresfield

Uniform Changeover

The official changeover to Summer uniform is Week 3 – Monday 28th October.

Sport News

Polding Athletics

Please see the attachment for results from the Polding Athletics championships.

Primary Coordinator

Gifted Education News

St Aloysius is a Gifted Education Lead School (GEL) in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. Our focus over the past 12 months has been identifying Gifted Learners and assisting with the process of developing talent by providing specific opportunities for learning, training and practise.

Part of our commitment as a GEL school is providing all teaching staff quality professional learning that will help cater for the diverse needs of the children in our classes. All teaching staff have been currently working on an online course about Curriculum Differentiation.

What is curriculum differentiation?

‘Differentiated curriculum is a way of thinking. It is a way of thinking about our students. It is a way of thinking about what our students really need to learn in school. It is a way of thinking about how we teach students and how they learn. It is a way of providing instruction that meets the needs, abilities and interests of our students. It is a way of thinking how each of our students is going to successfully learn the skills and concepts we want them to learn. It is a way of thinking about what our students like, what they are curious about, and what motivates them to be self-starters in the learning process. It is thinking about teaching and learning in new and different ways. There is no beginning or end. It is a process, and as such it continually develops. Therefore, there is no one correct way to do it. There is no cookbook, recipe, and ingredient that will work all the time. What there is, however, is a philosophy about students, teaching and learning. Supporting this are effective teaching and learning strategies that contribute to curriculum differentiation.’- Curriculum Differentiation (UNESCO, 2004.)

“Essentially, the aim of differentiating instruction is to maximize each student’s growth by meeting each student where he or she is and helping the student to progress. In practice, it involves offering several different learning experiences in response to students’ varied needs.

Learning activities and materials may be varied by difficulty to challenge students at different readiness levels, by topic in response to students’ interests, and by students’ preferred ways of learning or expressing themselves.

This is not the personal plan (PP) approach where there are different experiences for all 20-30 students in the class. Typically two to four different learning experience are offered by the teacher, or students are given opportunities to make their own choices.”

Kiernan, L. (1996). Differentiating Instruction. (Lesson One. pgs 3 – 4). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Also found at: http://www.ascd.org

At St Aloysius we try to differentiate using the Maker Model (1982). For Gifted learners we try to differentiate the content, process, product and learning environment. This may involve a few of these things or many of them based on the task.

Jessica Moulder
Primary Coordinator
STEM Coordinator

Learning Hub News

Book Club

Wow! There are some fabulous buys in Issue 7 of Book Club. Lots of great books and activities that would make a perfect Christmas gift. Just a friendly reminder that the only payment option is via the Loop App, there is no cash option.

Click here for the link and the instructions are as follows…

Book Clubs LOOP

LOOP is the Scholastic Book Clubs Linked Online Ordering & Payment platform for Parents. It eliminates the need for paper order forms plus your online order is submitted to the school safe and sound.

Log-in to the link below or download our NEW iPhone and iPad app from the App Store!

• Select your school and your child's class
• Add your child's first name and last initial (so the school knows who the book is for)
• Enter the item number from the Book Club brochure
• You can order for multiple children at once if they attend the same school
• Alt orders are linked directly to the school for submission to Scholastic. Books will still be delivered to your child's classroom if you order by the close date
• There's no need to return paper order forms or payment receipt details to your school!

Learning Hub Donations

Are you planning a spring clean at your house?

If you are and you come across any preloved toys that are not being played with anymore, we would love for you to add them to our Lunch Club collections.

Also for imaginative play we would love any old costumes and props.

Examples of what we are after are below.

Kind regards,

Sam Berry, Catherine Creasey and Carolyn Lilley (St Aloysius library team)

Student News

Newcastle Permanent Mathematics Competition

Congratulations to all our Year 5 and 6 students who participated in the Newcastle Permanent Primary Schools Mathematics Competition. The children received 1 High Distinction, 10 Distinctions and 44 Merits.

A special mention to Ben Antony who was awarded a High Distinction with a score of 85 (98.65 percentile rank) - what a great achievement! Well done Ben!

High Distinction

Ben Antony

Distinction

Thomas Hunter, Nathan Lonsdale, Ivana Sony, Hannah Vinoj, Niamh Cagney, Cody Field, Jordan Matsen, Kaleb O’Callaghan, Maahi Ram, Lincoln Stork

Merit

Chelsea Bartolo, Matthew Cousins, Hannah Dixon, Asha Edwards, Sayeva Fragar, Chelsea Galpern-Fetterplace, Alex Ison, Samuel Lemmon, Max Lowcock, Jackson O’Loughlin, Celeste Poynter, Will Redgrove, Levi Rooney, Leo Seaton, Anika Spencer, Lily Stephen, Emmerson Stork, Jack Swan, Emma Whiting, Abigail Anderberg, Jayden Borgia, Logan Budden, Holly Clack, Isla Connolly, Amarni Cooke, Thomas Cornwall, Lilliana Craig, Malcolm Green, Isabelle Harrison, Max Hartigan, Izabella Hure, Lillian James, Rochelle James, Jorja Kowalski, Aleah Kripp, Travis Ledwidge, Harry Lidbury, Charlotte McDowell, Caleb Meres, Jonah Mosman, Abbey Redgrove, Adam Standing, Molly Surtees, Keely Sutton, Payton Wilmott

Welcome

A very special welcome to St Aloysius to Abby Molloy (3L) and Diya Mathew (4W) and their families. We hope they enjoy their time with us, learn lots and make many new friends.

Parent News

Kindergarten 2020 Transition

Beginning this Friday 25th October and for the following three weeks we welcome back our Kindergarten children for 2020 for their transition to school sessions. Parents will be required to attend the final session on 15th November for an induction in the hall.

World Education Program

Not-for-profit student exchange organisation, World Education Program (WEP) Australia, is currently seeking local families to host overseas exchange students arriving in Australia in January and July 2020.

Hosting provides Australian families with a wonderful opportunity to welcome a slice of the world into their home.

Staff News

Sonia Trummel

As mentioned on Compass yesterday, please be advised that our KW teacher, Sonia Trummel will be away for at least the remainder of this week due to her mother being seriously ill in the Intensive Care Unit, Hospital.

P&F News

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Monday the 18th of November from 6:30 pm. All positions will be open for nominations. Nomination forms will be available from the office or you can email the P&F. If anyone would like more information about specific roles, please email the P&F.

A big thank you to the families and friends who sponsored children for the Colour Explosion. We raised $12,600 which will help pay for air-conditioning in the new buildings.

The Mango Fundraiser notes were sent home. Ordering via Qkr is preferred. Cash orders will only be accepted until 3pm on Monday the 28th of October, Qkr orders close at 6pm the same day. Delivery date is to be confirmed.

Order forms for the Wine Drive from Tamburlaine Organic Wines in the Hunter Valley will be sent home in week 6.

Our next meeting is Monday the 18th of November at 6:30pm in the Library following the AGM. Attending is a great way to make new friends and help support our school.

Thank you

St Aloysius P&F
staloysiuspandf@outlook.com

Finance and Office News

School Fee Statements

Fee statements were issued last week. Please ensure your payment plan is sufficient to have your fees fully paid by the end of November.

Messages to children

Whilst we understand that plans change, we ask you not to phone the school after 2pm with changes to afternoon arrangements for your child/ren. It is very difficult to get messages to classes after lunch time. Please make sure your child is clear about their home time arrangements before school each day. Please DON’T email messages of this type as they may easily be missed.

Medication at School

There is a strict procedure for administering ANY medication at school. Please ensure you contact the office for details.

Canteen News

Qkr ordering

When doing your order on QKR please remember to be in before 8.55am daily, also please double check that you have ordered for the correct day and finalised your order by pressing ‘SUBMIT’. You will get a receipt with submission date and time and date to be supplied.

Qkr Tip

OOSH News

St Nicholas Before and After School CareBefore care: 6.30am- 8.50am

After care: 2.50pm- 6.00pm
Holiday Club: 7:00-6:00pm
Coordinator: Ashleigh
Service Ph: 0419 697 715
Email: chisholm@stnicholasoosh.org.au

Dates to Remember