19 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

Principals Address

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Research shows that the single most important factor in influencing a child’s learning is their class teacher. And so, it is wonderful when one of our very own teachers is acknowledged for the great difference they make in the education of the students in their care. I was then, absolutely delighted when Bek Henshaw was presented with the Emmaus Award for the First Five Years of Teaching at the annual Called to Serve Mass. Bek’s nomination highlighted her great commitment, passion, initiative and excellent teaching, displayed over such a short period of time at St Aloysius. She is well respected and held in high esteem by parents, students and colleagues.

A big congratulations to Bek on this well- deserved and outstanding achievement!

This year promises to be a very exciting one! It will include:

• The commencement and hopefully completion of Stage 3 building works;
• Embedding agreed practices into balanced Literacy and Numeracy blocks based on research, with a focus on Reading and Number;
• Implementation of the Leading Learning Collaborative and Future Learning;
• Participation in the STEM Academy Research Project;
• The establishment of our school Maker Space and Plastic Recycling Centre;
• The addition of a Pastoral Care Worker and Specialist PE/Sports teacher to staff;
• Providing Parent Education Workshops, Term Overviews and Student Work samples through Apps such as See Saw and One Note
• Holding a Summer Fair as our major P&F fundraiser
• A focus on Ecological Conversion and Stewardship based on Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si.
• An inaugural Parish Mass held at St Aloysius

The above initiatives form the basis of our School Improvement Plan (SIP) for 2020, aligned to the four system domains – Catholic Formation and Mission, Learning, Leadership and Wellbeing and Partnerships.

In addition to this, 2020 marks the 5th Anniversary of the opening of St Aloysius on 2nd February 2015. Since its inception, our school has experienced unprecedented and significant change. Student enrolments have increased from 226 to 591, staff numbers grown from 19 to 52 and new buildings, play spaces, equipment and landscaping added.

Much has been achieved during this short period of time and there is both lots to celebrate but yet, so much more to do! We have a great school but need to continue to work hard and in partnership with one another to make it even better for our children!

With very best wishes,

Grant

Principal
Grant Diggins

Assistant Principals News

Pedagogical Mentor (PM)

At St Aloysius our Pillar of Learning to Know is another way to say learning about learning.

The CSO Teaching and Learning Team is coordinating a new role across schools in the diocese. That role is one of being a pedagogical mentor. Pedagogy is an educational word which means “how to teach”. Mentor is one of support.

“The Pedagogical Mentor works in collaboration with the school’s leadership team to act as a catalyst for change, working with teachers to build capacity to improve student outcomes”. CSO Teaching & Learning

This is the model that the teachers are using for their own Learning to Know or learning about learning.

Olivia Djodan and I are the Pedagogical Mentors at St Aloysius. We are given an allocation of time each week to work in this capacity. Wednesday and part of Thursday each week are the designated days.

Olivia and I are both excited about our new roles and look forward to assisting teachers in meeting their improvement targets for the overall improvement of students.

Assistant Principal
Anne Higgins

Religious Education Update

We celebrated our very first Opening School Mass on Friday 7th February with Father John, and what a wonderful celebration it was! Congratulations to all of our Student Leaders who were officially inducted and presented with their badges. A big thank you to the teachers for all their help in organising the Mass and to Mrs Whiting and Mrs Sue O’Donohue for leading us in the beautiful music!

We introduced our new school focus of Caring for Our Environment. We will be encouraging all students and staff to care for our school environment and will grow together as we learn how to make sustainable choices.

Our prayer theme for this year is Growing together in Prayer. We are continuing our focus on prayer in our school, our homes and in our wider community. To assist this, all classes have been given a special prayer book, this book will come home with each child in the class at least once a year. It will provide an opportunity to focus on prayer in your home for a week and share your family prayer life with the rest of your child’s class, or perhaps spark a new prayer tradition in your home.

Catholic Schools Week

This year Catholic Schools week runs from the 2nd- 6th March 2020. We will be celebrating as a whole school on Friday 6th March. Please pencil this date in your diaries as we will be providing further information soon regarding the activities St Aloysius will be hosting.

Lent

This year, Lent begins on Wednesday 26th February and finishes on Thursday 9th April. Lent occurs 40 days before Easter and is a time of reflection and preparation before the celebration of the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. Lent is a time when we are invited to nourish our spiritual growth through acts of penance: prayer, fasting and almsgiving or works of charity. Christians use the season of Lent as a time to grow and change. On Ash Wednesday, all students will receive ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads as a sign of repentance.

During the season of Lent, you can discuss with your children:

Prayer

Thanking God for the many gifts of creation asking for help to be like Jesus

Fasting

Watching one less television show per week and using free time to spend with siblings

Stopping unnecessary arguments and acting as a peacemaker instead

Almsgiving

Giving away outgrown clothes and toys, showing compassion to someone who is hurting.

Chisholm Region Kids Mass- Special welcome to all Kindergarten families!

Father Rob Galea Concert

We have a very special message from Bec Piefke our Youth Ministry Coordinator for the Maitland Diocese.

“I am very excited to announce that ACTiv8 Youth Ministry are bringing Fr Rob Galea and his band to Maitland for a concert on Tuesday 31st March.

The concert will take place at All Saints College, St Marys Campus, 6.30pm – 8.00pm

Please share this exciting news with everyone.

Tickets available at

Don't miss this rare opportunity to see Fr Rob live in concert.

The concert is suitable for all ages.

Come along and be inspired by his uplifting music

Tickets are limited for this very special event.

Fr Robert Galea is an ordained Catholic Priest and is currently serving in Shepparton, Australia after moving to Australia in 2007 from Malta, his home country. He is a singer and songwriter with a comparable international fan base. Apart from a series of recordings and CD releases, Robert has also written a number of songs for various campaigns and international conferences.

Robert has recorded with artists such as pop idol Guy Sebastian, Paulini, Gary Pinto, Natasha Pinto and Amelia Farrugia, and has shared the stage with the likes of Matt Maher, Hillsong United, Darlene Zschech and more. After being selected to sing in the international version of the official World Youth Day song “Receive the Power”, Robert entered the realm of the cast of musicians having performed in some key events before an estimated 500,000 pilgrims in Sydney.

Fr. Robert’s passion is to draw others to the heart of God. He believes that music is an important instrument in helping God’s people understand the need for intimacy with their God. Fr Rob has released a six music projects to date. In all this, whilst greatly appreciating his gift of music, Fr. Robert recognises that before everything he is a follower of Christ, a priest and only then, a musician”.

Acting Religious Education Co-ordinator
Larissa Quigley

Awards

Week 3

Reminders

Catholic Schools Week

This year, Catholic Schools Week will be held from Sunday 1st March until Saturday 7th March. The theme is, ‘Drawing from the Well: Invitation, Encounter, Witness.’

We hope you can join us on Friday 6th March to celebrate this special week:

Catholic Schools Week also marks the beginning of the Enrolment period for 2021. If you have a child starting school next year, please contact the office for an enrolment pack from Monday 2nd March.

Child Protection

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has an absolute and abiding commitment to promote the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children. As a parent sending your child or children to a Diocesan school, you should be aware of your rights and obligations in protecting your child and all children in our schools.

The Children and Young Person’s (Care and Protection) Act 1998

In NSW we are able to report certain information to Family and Community Services (FaCs). If we are concerned for one of more of the children in the school, we can discuss our concerns with a teacher, Assistant Principal or Principal. We can report our concerns to the FaCS Child Protection Helpline (Ph. 133 627, 24 hrs/7 days) if we have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child or young person is at risk of significant harm and our concerns are current. Risk of significant harm may occur from a single act or omission or to a series of acts or omissions.

It is better to be safe than sorry, so if we’re uncertain, talk to a staff member at the school.

Part 3A of the Ombudsman Act 1974

Part 3A Ombudsman Act 1974, defines Diocesan schools as a ‘designated non-government agency’ and as such we must have systems for preventing, reporting (to the Ombudsman) and investigating reportable conduct.

All staff and volunteers in Diocesan schools fall within the scope of Part 3A and may be investigated for alleged ‘reportable conduct’ which includes sexual offenses, misconduct, assault, ill-treatment, neglect and behaviour that causes psychological harm to children.

Zimmerman Services is the Diocese’s specialist child protection service who works with the Ombudsman to ensure the Diocese meets its obligations under Part 3A.

The Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012

Under this legislation people who work in a paid or volunteer capacity in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle are required by law to have a Working with Children Check Clearance. This ‘Clearance’ can be obtained from applying online at check@kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au.

As a parent, if we learn about a staff member or a volunteer working in the school without a Clearance, we should talk with the Principal or Assistant Principal as soon as possible. If we believe that nothing is being done about our concerns, we can contact Zimmerman Services directly (Ph. 4979 1390 Mon-Fri 08:30 to 5pm).

Sun Safe Procedures

St Aloysius is in the process of becoming a recognized Sun Safe School and has a No Hat/Play in the Shade policy. Children are expected to wear hats for all outdoor activities sport and play.

Nut Aware

St Aloysius is a Nut Aware school and parents are reminded that we have a number of students and staff who are extremely allergic to nuts. Your help is requested in avoiding sending nut based food items to school with your child such as peanut butter and Nutella spreads.

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.

Thank-you in anticipation of your support.

Co-ordinator News

PBL and Good to Grow leaves

Has your child started to bring home Good to Grow tickets? These tickets are an integral part of our whole school reward program and you may be wondering how they work. The information below outlines the process. Thank you to Mr Hannan and the 2019 PBL team for the diagram.

St Aloysius Whole School Positive Reinforcement Reward System

Focus on Growing into a better me, class, school…

Building into shared direction, performance and Growth…

Leaf to Tree to Forest.

Every Class has a tree

Teacher and class negotiate a class leaf target (eg 10, 15, 20, etc) and write it on their Class Leaf Target chart - no time limit

Teacher and class negotiate an ‘on target reward’ - a 10 to 15 minute activity - for when their goal is reached & write it on the target chart. I know kindergarten loved extra outside play last year!

Every student who receives a “Good to Grow” exchanges it for a leaf token to put on the Class Tree. The student can then add one to their personal tally to work towards the individual Growth levels as well as take their reward home

When the class leaf target is reached:

The class receives the reward asap

A small on target sign is dated & displayed in the classroom near the Class Tree

The class sends their class mini tree to the office for the Forest mural, adding to the Whole school target

The Class Tree is cleared of leaves, the class and teacher set a new target and reward and the process starts again.

When the Whole School Target is reached then the whole school has earned a reward. Last year we enjoyed an iceblock and had extra play.

Sport News

Please make sure you are checking Compass regularly, as I will be posting information re the winter sports trials. Currently, information about cricket, hockey and AFL are accessible to parents. Please ensure you download the documents, complete and return to school ASAP. Please note, hard copies will not be sent home.

Rugby League trials

Cooper Field, Cody Penman, Max Dixon, Riley Layzell, Ryder Weidemann and Cody Field will all be representing St Aloysius at the ASC Rugby League trials however due to wet weather they were unable to play last week. I have not received a back up date yet but I will let parents know as soon as it becomes available. Good luck boys!

Soccer trials

We had an amazing number of students indicate interest to trial for the All Saints Cluster soccer team. Mr Redgrove and Mr Johnson facilitated a school trial to enable us to narrow the numbers down to 7 players. They were impressed with the high standard of skills. Congratulations to Lennie Hungerford, Jayden Borgia, Caiden Burgess, Zac Thomson, Tom Cornwall, Liam Campbell and Bailey Lattimer who trialled last Friday for the ASC team. Caiden, Liam, Jayden and Tom all made the second round however none of the boys were selected for the final 7. The convenor was very impressed with the sportsmanship and skills of our players.

Kinder and Year 1 Acrobatics/Gymnastics

You would have read on Compass that our Acrobatics program set down for K/1 this term has been postponed. Unfortunately, we were notified the instructor did not have the registration required to teach in a school and therefore could not commence the program. As this program is funded through the Sporting Schools grant there is quite a process involved when booking and the decision was made to postpone this term and proceed in term 2 with a different provider. If you have paid, please be assured your payment has been reserved for next term. Thanks for your understanding in this matter.

ASC Swimming Carnival

As many of you are aware, lightning interrupted our regional swimming carnival this week forcing it to be cancelled. Mr Hannan, Mr Diggins and Mrs Morgan were all impressed at the behaviour and sportsmanship of the students in difficult conditions. The convenors have looked at the times from all the school carnivals and the following students have been selected to represent the All Saints Cluster next week at the Diocesan carnival.

Congratulations to the following students-

Annie Lidbury- 9yrs 50m free
Audrey Richardson- 8yrs 50m free
Chelsea Dilley- 8yrs 50m free
Ryder Weidemann- 12/13yrs 50m butterfly
Lawson Burgess- 8yrs 50m free
Jacob Osborne- 9yrs 50m free
Braith Punton- 10yrs 50m free
               Junior 50m breaststroke
               Junior 50m backstroke
               Junior 50m butterfly
               Junior 200m individual medley

Upcoming sporting events

Mr Redgrove is taking a group of 40 students to a NRL Gala Day this week. I am very thankful for his time in organising this opportunity for our stage 3 students. Mrs Morgan will also be accompanying the teams.

The date for Cross Country is close to being finalised and details posted on Compass as soon as possible. We will be looking for volunteers to help make this event a success.

National Ride to school day- Friday March 13th. More details to follow.

Thank you for your support,

Sonia

Sonia Walters
Primary Coordinator

STEM News

STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy

Last Thursday and Friday, some Stage 2 teachers were fortunate enough to attend a 2-day workshop for the University of Sydney’s STEM Academy. The STEM Academy is an innovative year-long professional learning program focused on developing teachers’ capacity to collaboratively design integrated STEM curriculum for school students.

St Aloysius applied to the University of Sydney to be involved in 2020 and were fortunate to be selected as one of the 12 schools across all sectors in the Newcastle region.

Tia Armstrong, Nicholas Redgrove, Catherine Creasey and myself will be looking at opportunities to develop STEM skills across Year 3 & 4 and creating some highly engaging student led STEM projects this year. We have planned an exciting sustainability project ‘Bee Sustainable’ for Term 2, looking at reducing plastic waste and encouraging student awareness of our environmental impact locally.

Clean Up Australia Day - School Clean Up Day

Friday 28 February 2020

Clean Up Australia Day is an iconic initiative to remove rubbish and build awareness of the local environment. Next Friday St Aloysius will be participating in a School Clean Up. A Schools Clean Up is a great way to inspire our students to learn about the impact of rubbish on their local environment while playing an active role in their community. It's a day when students and teachers work together to clean up an area which is special to us.

Grok Learning – NCSS Challenge

Thank you to all the parents who used Qkr to apply for the Grok Learning – NCSS Challenge. Your students should now be registered and will have instructions sent to them via email. I will be taking a Coding Club each week on Wednesday or Thursday lunch time to help them along.

Virtual Academy

As part of our commitment of being a Gifted Education Lead School we are constantly seeking ways to best cater for our Gifted Students. To do this we use Gagne’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. The following clip shows Francois Gagne explain how students develop talent.

This year we are very lucky that 2 of our Stage 3 students have been selected to be in the diocese’s Virtual Academy. The Virtual Academy is an online school program for highly gifted students. It provides innovative and advanced curricula with local, national and global perspectives, beyond the scope of the regular classroom, allowing gifted students to learn with autonomy and to engage with intellectual peers. There are currently approx. 60 students in the academy in Years 5, 6, 7 and 8. I am really looking forward to what these students come up with in terms of their personalised projects this year.

Jessica Moulder
Primary Coordinator
STEM Coordinator

Music Notes

Welcome back to another year of CAPA at St Aloysius where we have a lot of exciting things planned!

We are very excited to be embarking on a new concert format this year, different to the Arts Gala and involving students from across the school performing drama, dance, singing and having lots of fun! Watch this space for updates on what’s happening with this! We are delighted to have Anna Kerrigan, the Director of Aspire coming to visit us to create a script with students, help us work on our acting and assist with the finishing touches of our special performance. We can’t wait! Watch this space for more information as the year goes on!

Our CAPA classroom has moved this year, from the demountable near Year 6 to the classroom at the end of E block near Year 5. In this dedicated CAPA room I will teach all the Music classes, as well as using it as a space for Praise Jam practice on a Tuesday lunchtime, Show Choir on a Wednesday lunch time, Infants Show Choir on Monday lunchtime and Drama club on Friday lunchtime.

Mrs O’Donohue will also use the CAPA room for her guitar lessons on Mondays. Don’t forget if you are keen to learn guitar, just contact Mrs O’Donohue on the number below.

This year our rotations for Music, PE and Library have changed. Instead of three 40 minute rotations on one day, we have the rotations going over a two week period. On one week we have two rotations of one hour with PE and Music swapping after one hour and on the other week a Library lesson for two hours to allow more time for research tasks. Year 6 have a different rotation arrangement where they have three shorter Music lessons for one week, three PE lessons for one week and three Library lessons for one week.

I have sent home a commitment note for students who are interested in Primary Show Choir this year. This note needs to be returned by this Friday 21st February. We have the opportunity in Primary Show Choir to sing for the elderly patients at Benhome throughout the year, perform during our school concert in Term 3 and participate in the Choral showcase, where we performed commendably and achieved second place in the sacred song section last year.

Drama Club began with gusto this year with Mrs Matsen, with a large number of students interested in being a part of this club. We look forward to showcasing our students’ strengths in drama this year as they participate in our school performance in Term Three.

Miss Djodan is continuing her amazing work with the Dance Club, which is run on Thursdays at lunchtime. We are so lucky to have such talented staff to give our students such wonderful opportunities and to share their skills in Creative and Performing Arts.

Until next newsletter….

Carla Whiting
Creative Arts Teacher

Learning Hub News

Book Club

It’s been a great start to the year with lots of beautiful books being purchased by our families. We are putting in our final order this Friday, the 21st so please have all orders placed before then.

Library Lunch

It’s so wonderful to see all the students enjoying the activities we have each day in our library club. Last week one of our STEAM activities included students tracing the shadow of their hand and then decorating it. And as always we had lots of opportunities for construction, technology and puzzle and games.

Kind regards,

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

Student News

Student Achievement

Congratulations to Ollie Gorton (Year 5) on his selection in the Northern NSW Football Talent Support Program. Ollie will receive specialised coaching once per week at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.

Parent News

Code of Conduct

Last year, all families with children in Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle were asked to complete and sign a copy of the, ‘Conditions of Enrolment and School Community Code of Conduct’ declaration. Please see a copy below:

The school is committed to ensuring respectful and positive interactions between all members of the community.

P&F News

Easter Fundraisers

The P&F will run two Easter fundraisers this year, last year’s popular Easter egg raffle and the brand new Hot Cross Bun Drive!

In week 9, Easter Raffle tickets will be sent home to be drawn by houses on Monday the 6th of April. The P&F will gratefully receive Easter egg donations from Monday the 23rd of March until Friday the 3rd of April.

Hot Cross Buns from Baker’s Delight will be delivered on Wednesday 8th April. Orders will be placed through Qkr.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday the 3rd of March in the Library at 6:30 pm.

Thank you

St Aloysius P&F
staloysisupandf@outlook.com

St Aloysius 2020 Summer Fair

Our last survey on fundraising showed that over 70% of the school population would like a Fair.

An initial committee was created to explore options. This will be a huge event and the following help is needed.

An event coordinator. Someone to run meetings, coordinate the organisation and the event. Full support from the school, P&F and fellow Summer Fair members will be available. (This can be a shared role between 2 -3 people).

More volunteers: to help organise specific parts including food vans, markets stalls, raffle, entertainment etc.

The committee needs a minimum of 15 people to ensure its success. Full commitment is necessary.

If we are unable to find the help we need for the summer fair it will not be able to proceed.

We aim to raise over $20,000 which will help the school’s sustainability.

If you are willing and able to commit to helping please email staloysiusmarkets@outlook.com by Friday 21st of February so we can hold a planning meeting on Sunday 23rd at 3 pm at the Commercial Hotel in Morpeth.

Finance and Office News

For families that are new to St Aloysius, Welcome! we hope that your child’s time here is amazing. For our exisiting families, Welcome back! Hopefully you have all received your 2020 Full Year Statements now via email. If you have not, please email the finance team with your updated email address.

Families that are paying in lump sum Term amounts, Term 1 is due by the 6 March. You are welcome to pay by BPAY, QKR, Cash, Cheque or EFTPOS at the office.

For families wanting to pay via the 10 month payment plan, please divide your total amount at the bottom of your statement by 40 for weekly payments, 20 for fortnightly payments and 10 for monthly payments starting this week.

Items that are available for payment on the QKR app including School Fees are:

If you have any queries regarding your School Fee Statement, please email the finance team directly in the first instance.

finance@chisholm.catholic.edu.au

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 as the students are often not in their classrooms. 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 can easily be missed.

Office Hours

Our office hours our 8:30am to 3:00pm.

Newsletter access

Newsletters are accessible on Compass for the term in which they were created.

Don’t forget that all our newsletters are accessible via our school website – very handy if you need to check something from a previous edition.

Canteen News

Cheese croissants are now available as a Gluten Free option.

If anyone is available for an hour or more on any of the days that are marked "HELP NEEDED", and you have done your induction and necessary paperwork, I would be very appreciative to have the extra hands.

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
Service Ph: 0419 697 715
chisholm@stnicholasoosh.org.au

Dates to Remember

Tue 25th Feb – CARITAS Launch
Wed 26th Feb – Ash Wednesday
Thu 27th Feb – Diocesan Swimming Carnival
Fri 28th Feb – School Assembly 2:00pm
Sun 1st to Sat 7th Mar – CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
Mon 2nd Mar – K2021 enrolments open
Tue 3rd Mar – P&F Meeting 6:30pm
Thu 5th Mar – Kinder 2021 open morning 9:30am
Fri 6th Mar – Catholic Schools Week Mass 10am and other celebrations
Fri 6th Mar – House Meetings 2:00pm
Mon 9th to Fri 13th Mar – Wellbeing Week
Fri 13th Mar – Diocesan Cricket
Fri 13th Mar – School Assembly