6 November 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principals Address

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

‘The poor need help today. Not next week.’ Catherine McAuley

Next Monday 11th November is the Feast of Catherine McAuley, the founder of the Sisters of Mercy.

In 2015 I was most fortunate to visit the House of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland; established by Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, in the early 1800s. The house in Baggot Street became a refuge for the poor, underprivileged and needy, a place where Catherine put her faith into action. After completing her training for religious life, fourteen Houses of Mercy were opened across Ireland and England from 1831-1841, to continue the works of Mercy. Catherine’s legacy lives on today with thousands of Mercy schools, hospitals and community programs thriving throughout the world. Among these is Mercy Works which supports long term development projects, working with some of the most challenged people in Australia and the South-East Asia Pacific region, improving health, enhancing social wellbeing and expanding educational opportunities.

Last term our Year 4 students raised $1160.65 through their Blue Day. This money will be donated to Mercy Works.

Students from a number of Mercy schools in the All Saints Region including Rosary Park Branxton, St Catherine’s College Singleton, St Paul’s Rutherford, Our Lady Lourdes Tarro, will come together at St Aloysius on the Feast of Catherine McAuley to pray for and celebrate their great efforts in raising awareness and funds to support Mercy Works.

We carry on the heritage and traditions of the original Morpeth Catholic School, St Francis Xavier founded and run by the Sisters from 1883 to 1969.

Our community espouses to the Mercy values of compassion, justice, respect, hospitality, courage and service.

We also strive to make our School vision, ‘Called to be the face of Christ through living, loving and learning together.. and be proud witnesses of our faith,’ a reality in our community.

With very best wishes,

Grant

Principal
Grant Diggins

Assistant Principals News

Learning to Be-Caring for Self

This Pillar of Learning and PBL value holds significant importance in the overall development of the child.

It incorporates the importance of responsibility as a component of self-management skills. Examples of this include: packing one’s school bag, returning food and drink containers back home, returning homework to school on time, having library books and bag ready for the right day and having their own hats in their bags. All of these items of responsibility are not difficult but it may require you to assist your child in developing them.

At St Aloysius the procedure of ‘no hat’ is, play in the shade. However, over some time it has come to staff attention that student responsibility with hats has gone awry. There have been many hats ‘missing’, and this has highlighted that students are taking other children’s hats from the lost and found basket. To curb this, all ‘found’ hats are returned to their rightful owners and no hats at present are in the lost and found baskets.

The students without hats are asked to remain within the E Block area. If there are children who are constantly there over a few days a, Uniform Slip will be handed to the child with the expectation that the parent will purchase a new hat before the end of the year. It is acknowledged that there may be some parents who baulk at this procedure and request, but in the best interest of all children there needs to be a common understanding across the school.

I hope this assists you in knowing what the school is trying to do in regards to School uniform policy.

We thank you for assistance with the hat issue and look forward to your continued support.

Assistant Principal
Anne Higgins

Religious Education Update

Stage 2 Mass Friday 1 November

Fr John Lovell presided over a beautiful Year 3 and 4 Mass last Friday. The Mass was really made special by the way our school community all contributed to it. Special thanks to the Stage 2 teachers and students for practicing and participating, Mrs Lilley for your beautiful flower and altar arrangements, all the children and community members present for your participation and beautiful singing and a huge thank you to Sue O’Donohue, Mrs Whiting and our school musicians who helped make our Mass come to life with their beautiful live music.

If you are interested in your child having guitar lessons with Sue, you can contact her at: donoh2e@bigpond.net.au

Mission Movie Day

To support Children’s Mission, we will be having our annual Mission Day event on Monday 18th November. Catholic Mission is the international mission agency of the Catholic Church in Australia. Compelled by the message, life and love of Jesus Christ, Catholic Mission forms Australians for mission and raises funds for mission—in Australia and around the world.

This year our Mission day event will be a movie, mufti and popcorn day. Children are asked to bring a gold coin donation for wearing mufti and bring some money to purchase popcorn. There will be a selection of movies available for the children to choose from and will be free of charge.

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

Religious Education Co-ordinator
Nicholas Hughes

Awards

Week 3

Reminders

Late Arrivals/Early Departures

Please be reminded that students arriving after 8.45am need to be accompanied by a parent to the office and signed in at the Compass Kiosk.

Students who need to leave school early during school hours must be collected by a parent (or pre-approved person) and signed out at the Compass Kiosk. For safety and to minimise disruptions to class, parents are asked to wait in the office for their child, not to enter the school grounds or go to classrooms.

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.

2020 Classes

Teachers have commenced planning for student placement into classes for 2020. Teachers use their professional judgement in determining the best placement for each child according to their learning, social and emotional needs. Parents with specific concerns or requests about their child’s class placement in 2020 are asked to send an email or make an appointment with Grant to discuss these issues before Friday 29th November.

Teachers have spent a great deal of time placing children into groups according to their learning, behavioural and social needs. Teachers have also tried to ensure all classes are balanced with students with a range of abilities and needs. Even moving one child can seriously affect this balance. We thank you for trusting the professional judgement of teachers and your understanding. Positive talk at home about your child’s new class and teacher over the school holidays will also help ensure a successful start to 2020.

Sport News

Gymnastics Week 4 to 9

Starting this week students in Year 1 and 2 will begin their gymnastics program. For the next 6 weeks, they will participate in six 40-minute lessons focusing on gross motor skills and knowledge.

Below is a list of the outcomes covered during the lessons over the next 6 weeks

Primary Coordinator

STEM News

REMINDER: BYOD 2020 Information Meeting

All Year 4, 2020 families are kindly invited to attend a Parent Information Meeting about BYOD 2020 on THURSDAY 21st NOVEMBER at 5:30pm in the Learning Hub (Library)

This meeting will run through the requirements for student devices, necessary downloads and a general Q & A about the process.

This is a parent meeting but you may bring your child if no other care arrangements can be made.

It would be great if ALL families are represented at this meeting due to the crucial nature of the BYOD program for your child’s teaching and learning in Years 4-6.

Please RSVP: jessica.moulder@mn.catholic.edu.au by Tuesday 19th November

BYOD 20

Students in Year 4 - 6 will be required to have a device. Below are our current requirements:

Jessica Moulder
Primary Coordinator
STEM Coordinator

Learning Hub News

Thankyou!!!

Wow, a big thank you to Ivy and her family for this fantastic donation to the Learning Hub. Our students will love using this during our Lunch Club play. If anyone has unwanted dolls that might suit this house we would love to have them.

Book Club

Issue 7 of Book Club will be delivered in the next 2 weeks, if you ordered a gift please inform Mrs Lilley so that the order doesn’t go to your child.

If you wanted some books for presents and didn’t get an order in for Issue 7, there will be one more issue of Book Club to come out before Christmas (Any gifts please don’t forget to let us know).

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

Student News

Kinder

Kinder have been learning about what a special place the Church is. We were fortunate this week to have Mr Hughes (REC) talk to us in our school chapel about some of the special items found in Churches. Kindergarten were very interested and asked some wonderful questions.

Thank you Mr Hughes for giving up your time!

States of Matter

Last Wednesday Dr Renee Goreham a lecturer from Newcastle University’s School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences / Faculty of Science and the head of the school itself, Professor Thomas Nann came to share their knowledge of states of matter with the students of Year 6.

They gave a short presentation about themselves, their paths into the study of science and what the University of Newcastle and the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences studies and researches.

Then students were given the opportunity to participate in 2 separate experiments in small groups, after which Dr Renee and Prof Thomas explained the processes of heating and cooling and how these processes change the state of matter using blow torches and dry ice!

The ending was sweet with students sampling the ice cream made using dry ice.

Dr Renee and Prof Thomas were impressed by the Year 6 students’ enthusiasm, knowledge, curiosity and willingness to try new things. We as their teachers were proud of all of these things but most of all by the respectful way in which the participated in the tasks and the intelligent and thoughtful questions they asked.

Year 6 End of Year Activities

Year 6 are coming to the end of their primary school journey and what a busy ending it will be. We have many exciting things happening in the last few weeks of the 2019 school year.

Sun Surf Fun Day

On the 5th of December Year 6 head to Blacksmiths Beach for a day of fun in the sun, learning about beach safety from the Royal Surf Lifesavers. Students will need to be at school early and WILL NOT be back in time for afternoon buses.

Depart: All students must be at school at 8.15am Buses will depart at 8.30am
Return: Students will leave Blacksmiths Beach at 2pm returning to school at approximately 3-3.30pm (depending on traffic)

What to wear:

Clothes: Swimmers under Sports Uniform and Hat
Footwear: Joggers, thongs or sandals

Items Supplied:

• Sunscreen (if your child has an allergy and requires a specific sunscreen please pack)
• Long Sleeve Rapid Dry rash shirts (for usage during the day)
• Surf Lifesaving Equipment

Students to bring:

• Hat (to be worn when not in water)
• Swimmers (wear under clothes in the morning)
• Change of Clothes & a warm jumper, jacket for cooler day
• Food & Drink for Recess and Lunch (there will be no canteen facilities)

Payment of $17.00 to be made via Qkr App by the 2nd December 2019

Year 6 Big Day Out

On Friday the 13th December Year 6 will head to Port Stephens for our annual Big Day Out. Students will have some time at the beach followed by a dolphin cruise on the bay.

No payment is necessary with the cost of the day has been covered by the PACER rebate, permission notes will go home shortly.

Please note on this day students will have to be at school early and will not be back for buses in the afternoon.

Graduation Ceremony and Dinner Dance

On Tuesday the 17th of December the families and friends of our Year 6 Cohort are invited to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2019.

The celebration will begin at 5.30pm with a liturgy at St Joseph’s Church East Maitland, where students will receive their graduation certificates and speeches will be made.

Followed by dinner and dancing at the Buttai Barn from 7pm – 10pm.

All family and friends are welcome to come to the formal part of the evening at the church, but due to the number of graduates this year each student is limited to a maximum of 2 guests, plus them, at the graduation dinner dance.

Invites and notes were sent home last week, all RSVP’s and payments are due by Monday 2nd December 2019.

Decoration Squad: Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to join the decorating squad we will be in contact shortly.

Year 6’s Last Day and Clap Out

Wednesday the 18th December 2019 is the last day for all St Aloysius Students. At 2pm the school will meet in front of the hall to clap out the Year 6 of 2019.

Parents, friends and families are welcome to come to the clap out and help the students’ farewell their St Aloysius family.

Swimming Carnival

Year 6 will remain at school on Monday the 9th December when Year 2-5 go to the swimming carnival.

Mercy Works Fundraiser

At the end of Term 3 Year 4 put together a fundraiser to raise money for Mercy Works. Everyone had a spectacular day and the Year 4 students achieved above and well beyond anyone’s expectations. The students raised a massive $1112! The students were very passionate and prepared and ran stalls and games independently. Throughout recess and lunch the teachers witnessed so much enthusiasm, compassion and exceptional customer service towards every person in our school.

In the lead up to Mercy Day we looked at what being fair looks like and equal means and how fairness is about creating social justice for everyone. We wanted to assist Mercy Works in helping those who are less fortunate at a Victorian school in order to do their part and offer social justice to those who need it.

We would like to thank everyone for helping make this day possible and so successful.

Year 4 students and Teachers

Mercy Works Gala Day

St Aloysius follows in the rich Mercy tradition from the local area as well as the original St Aloysius Hamilton. To celebrate our connection with the Mercy Charism Year 4 on Monday 11th November will join together with 5 others school (Branxton, Tarro, Lochinvar, Rutherford & Singleton) to celebrate the feast of Catherine McAuley (Founder of the Mercy Sisters). St Aloysius will host the day with approx. 300 students participating. Students will come together in prayer as well as play some team building activities. We will also celebrate our achievements in fundraising for Mercy Works.

Remembrance Day

Some of our student leaders will be representing St Aloysius to lay a wreath at the Remembrance Day service at Maitland Park on Monday. Families are welcome to join us. The service starts at 10:35am at the Cenotaph, Maitland Park on 11th November.

At school, each class will also be having a Remembrance Day Liturgy on Monday. All students will be involved in their class liturgy.

Students will be able to purchase a poppy brooch for $2 during recess and lunchtime this Friday and Monday.

Monday 16th December - Go Up Morning

All students will spend most of this morning in their 2020 classroom with their 2020 Class Teacher and 2020 classmates. New teachers and students will be joining us for this morning. All teachers will distribute a letter to their class on that morning informing them of particular requirements for 2020. Teachers have finalised class lists for our Go Up Morning. Parents are reminded that no class changes will be possible after Go Up Morning as teachers have spent a great deal of time placing children into groups according to their learning, behavioural and social needs. Teachers have also tried to ensure all classes are balanced with students with a range of abilities and needs. Even moving one child can seriously affect this balance. We thank you for trusting the professional judgement of teachers and your understanding. Positive talk at home about your child’s new class and teacher over the school holidays will also help ensure a successful start to 2020.

Parent News

Volunteer Induction

An Induction for any parents wishing to volunteer at St Aloysius will be held on Friday 15th November from 10.15-10.45am. All parents of Kindergarten children for 2020 will be offered this induction after a General School Induction session held in the hall from 9-10.15am.

NSW Curriculum Review

The NSW school curriculum is currently under review.

‘This is the first comprehensive review of the whole curriculum since 1989, and aims to ensure our education system is preparing students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.’ (NESA website)

Professor Geoff Masters, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is leading the review, which is a more detailed consideration of how the national reform agenda (Gonski 2.0) should be developed and implemented in NSW.

The review has proposed significant changes to the school curriculum, especially in relation to the amount and nature of the syllabus content, the overall structure of the curriculum and the focus of learning in the senior years of school. Given the depth of these changes, detailed planning, trialling, testing and implementation, an extended period of time, possibly a decade, will be required to complete the new curriculum. However, work on some changes will begin immediately.

At this time, the existing K-12 syllabuses will continue to be taught and assessed in NSW schools.

The Interim Report on the NSW Curriculum Review, ‘Nurturing Wonder and Igniting Passion: Designs for a future school Curriculum,’ was released this month and is available from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)

Following a second public consultation, the Final report is due to be released by the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning, early 2020.

Keyboard Lessons

Keyboard lessons through Valley Music will no longer be offered during school time at St Aloysius. Leanne Mears will contact parents of children who received lessons to discuss alternative arrangements.

Exclusion periods

As a school we have an obligation to the community to uphold regulated medical advice with regards to children’s illness. Please see below the school exclusion requirements:

Vomiting/Diarhhoea

If your child has diarrhoea or vomiting they should not go to school for 24 hours after their last episode of either.

Head Lice

Children can return to school once treatment has commenced.

Conjunctivitis

Until the discharge (pus) from their eyes has stopped — unless otherwise advised by your doctor.

Chicken Pox

Until all blisters have dried, which is usually around 5 days after the rash first appeared.

Hand, Foot and Mouth

Until all blisters have dried.

Influenza

Until they are well.

Measles

For 9 days or until the swelling goes down (whichever is sooner).

Mumps

For at least 4 days after their rash first appeared.

Whooping Cough (Petussis)

Until 5 days after they started antibiotics, or for 21 days from the beginning of their cough.

Information from healthdirect.gov.au/school-exclusion-periods

Aboriginal Education News

Have you noticed the painted rocks in St Aloysius rockeries?

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from St Aloysius, decided they wanted to raise awareness in our school of the meaning of their flags. Several children have also created small movies to present to their classroom.

This may be interesting information for you to discuss with your children about the Aboriginal Flag.

Caroline Kennedy
Aboriginal Education Teacher

P&F News

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Monday the 18th of November from 6:30 pm. 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.

What is the P&F in your school?

A Parents and Friends Association (P&F) is a group of community minded people, parents and citizens, who take on a more formal role to assist the school in providing:

• feedback on school policies and activities
• additional resources to be used to enhance student learning
• parents with opportunities to be involved in their child’s education

Role of the P&F Association

The P&F Association works with the principal and the school community in a productive partnership to achieve the best possible outcomes for students at the school. It is not the role of the P&F Association to interfere in the daily running of the school; this is the role of the principal.

The P&F is there to support the school. Working together as one cohesive unit will enable the best possible outcomes to be achieved for the students of the school. Developing strong working relationships will enable the principal to address any issues as they arise.

President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and federation delegate positions are open for nominations.

Here is a brief description of each role:

President

The role of the president is to provide leadership, whilst acting as a representative of the P&F, and fostering good communication between the P&F, school community, clergy and the broader community. The president oversees accountability of the association, and chairs all P&F meetings.

Vice-President

The position of Vice President should be considered as the president’s understudy, providing support and assistance to the President. A vice-president can look on the role as a means of gaining an understanding of the various executive roles and becoming familiar with the operation of the Association.

Secretary

The Secretary assists the president in preparing an agenda for each meeting, preparing and presenting minutes of P&F and officers’ meetings at each General Meeting.

They also record and deal with correspondence in/out as directed by the P&F.

Treasurer

The Treasurer has the overall responsibility for the financial management of the P&F, and presents a report of the financial state at each meeting.

Federation Delegate

Delegate members attend various meetings, workshops and functions organised by the Federation of P&F Association for the Diocese of Maitland – Newcastle as a representative of your school’s P&F.

The Delegates provide a communication link between your school P&F and the Federation of Parents & Friends Association for the Diocese of Maitland – Newcastle as a whole.

The Mango Fundraiser

242 trays have been ordered with a fundraising total of $1400 which will go towards digital technology. Trays are expected to arrive mid-December, date TBC. A compass alert will go out beforehand to confirm details of collection.

Wine Drive

Order forms for the Wine Drive from Tamburlaine Organic Wines in the Hunter Valley will be sent home in week 6. This is our final fundraiser for the year.

Next Meeting

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

Staff News

New Appointments for 2020

I am pleased to announce the appointment of the following teachers for 2020:

Full-time Permanent Teachers – Rebeka Henshaw (nee Stokes) and Tia Armstrong
Full-time Temporary Teachers for 2020 – Ashleigh Grach and Anna Hill (Port Macquarie)
Full-time Temporary Teachers for Terms 1 & 2 2020 – Leah Hirt (Victoria) and Holly Gralton (Merewether)
Part-time Permanent Teacher (0.2 Executive Release) – Chelsea Clements (nee O’Brien)
Part-time Temporary Teacher (0.4) – Caitlin Moore (Gunnedah)

Congratulations to all our new teachers. We look forward to welcoming them to our school.

Finance and Office News

Family Discount Forms

The 2020 Family Discount Forms were sent home last week. These forms are used to ensure the 2020 fees are billed correctly. This form is required for ALL your children enrolled in the Maitland/Newcastle Diocese. You must submit a form to EACH school you have a child enrolled. A new form is required EVERY year.

Canteen News

Gluten Free Nuggets are now back in stock.

When ordering on QKR please check you have ordered for the correct day and pushed the SUBMIT button. Please then check for email receipt for these details also.

Please do not send peanut butter sandwiches or any other nut products to school for your child. We have some highly allergic students and staff.

OOSH News

St Nicholas Before and After School Care

Before 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

Friday 8th November – Kinder Transition

Tuesday 12th November – Diocesan Public Speaking

Wednesday 13th November – Stage 1 gymnastics

Wednesday 13th November – Assembly 2:00pm

Friday 15th November – Kinder Transition and Parent Induction

Monday 18th November to Friday 22nd November – Well Being Week

Monday 18th November – P&F Meeting 6:30pm

Monday 18th November – Mission Movie Day (out of uniform)

Wednesday 20th November – Stage 1 gymnastics

Wednesday 20th November – House meetings 2:00pm

Thursday 21st November – Kinder Parent Information Meeting 6:30pm

Thursday 21st November – Regional Choir Showcase – Lochinvar

Thursday 21st November – Year 4 BYOD Meeting 5:30pm Library

Friday 22nd November – Kinder excursion – Oakvale Farm

Tuesday 26th November – Diocesan Public Speaking

Wednesday 27th November – Stage 1 gymnastics

Friday 29th November – Summer Sports Trials

Monday 2nd December – Years 1 to 6 Orientation for new students in 2020

Thursday 5th December – Year 6 Surf Safe Fun Program

Monday 9th December – 2020 School Swimming Carnival – Beresfield pool

Tuesday 10th December – End of Year Presentation – St Mary’s Maitland 5:30pm

Wednesday 11th December – Stage 1 gymnastics

Wednesday 11th December – Assembly 2:00pm

Friday 13th December – Year 6 Big Day Out

Monday 16th December – Go Up Morning

Tuesday 17th December - Year 6 Graduation

Wednesday 18th December – Last day Term 4 for students

Tuesday 28th January 2020 – Staff return – Pupil Free day

Wednesday 29th January – Students in years 1 to 6 – first day Term 1

Friday 31st January – Kindergarten 2020 first day