Newsletter Term 2 Week 7 (Wednesday 12th June 2024)

Our Front Page with Year 5

This Term,  our Stage 3 science unit "Survival of the Fittest" focused on living things and how they can adapt to survive and thrive. Using  the text, "Aquatica" by Lance Balchin, Year 5 and 6 students  drew  prototypes of their adapted animal and then created their own animal that had "adaptations" to help them survive in the future.We had some wonderful creations that incorporated interesting materials and some technology to create light and sound. 

Our Gospel Reflection

After Lent, the Easter season, and three Sundays of feast days—Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity, and Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ—the Church returns to Ordinary Time. This Sunday’s Gospel from Mark carries a significant message regarding faith and the Kingdom of God.

The fourth chapter of Mark’s Gospel focuses entirely on parables. In the first part of the Gospel, Seed Grows of Itself, Jesus is pointing out that the growth of the Kingdom of God is a hidden reality that operates under God’s power rather than through human work and effort.
In the second part of the Gospel, the parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus is offering the crowds words of encouragement. What at first might seem small and insignificant will, under God’s power, become “the largest of plants.”

In the parables, or simple stories that Jesus told, he used everyday objects such as salt, light,
coins, yeast, and even a father and his sons to teach moral lessons. Jesus wanted people to
relate to the stories he told, and to understand his teachings about the ways in which children of
God are called to live. Children of all ages love to hear good stories, especially those they can
relate to because the situations, settings, characters, or objects are familiar to them. How long
has it been since you’ve shared a good story with your children?

From Our Principal

Today we welcomed 2 new staff members to our school community. Miss Annika Dicker will be taking on the role of Acting Assistant Principal-Learning and Teaching commencing on Monday 24th June. Annika is spending today and tomorrow getting to know our school community and our operations before commencing in Week 9.

We also welcome our new Family Connect Worker, Jamie-Lee Farnham to our school community. Jamie or as she prefers to be called Jimmy has written a little bio which can be found further in this newsletter.

It is great to have people of the calibre of Annika and Jimmy working in our school community and supporting the learning of our students. 

Welcome Jada and Marni

This week we will be welcoming 2 students, Marni Ellis and Jada Regan from St John’s College, Woodlawn as they complete their Work Experience commitments here at St Brigid’s. It is wonderful to have these two young ladies here in our school community experiencing life from the other side of a school desk. We hope that you both have a very enjoyable and productive week here at St Brigid's. 

School Review

A reminder that next week, our school will be having our three-yearly school review. This is a positive and affirming process for our school and will help to shape the agenda for our next three-year Strategic Plan from 2025-2027. 

We are still in need of parents who are able to meet with reviewers to answer questions about how our school is progressing against the nine domains of the School Improvement Tool. Parents will meet with the three reviewers in small groups on Wednesday, June 19, from approximately 2:45pm - 3:10pm. If you are unable to make this time in person, the Reviewers are more than happy to discuss over the phone.

Please indicate on this  link you are able to attend. Your voice will help us to shape the future directions of our school. 

Grandparents Day

One of the biggest celebrations that we have at St Brigid's is for our Grandparents. These people play such a special role in the lives of our families and even more so today. I see each day how much grandparents are supporting their grand children by dropping them off to school or picking them up. It may be that the children are excited as their grandparents are coming to visit or arrange something special.

We will be honouring all of our grandparents with a special day of celebration on Friday 26th July here at St Brigid's. This is the Feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. We invite all grandparents to set this day free if possible so as to come to our special day to honour you, thank you and be with you. There will be further information in future newsletters.

Book Week 2024

Once again as a school community we will be celebrating and acknowledging the wonders and delights of reading books through our Book Week celebrations. This special week falls in Term and is conducted from Monday 19th  to Friday 23rd August With the 2024 Children's Book Week theme; Reading is Magic, we're celebrating reading stories and their amazing power to transport minds. We are encouraging students to be curious about the wonders in our world. There will be a Book Week Parade and other celebrations to acknowledge this wonderful time. Start planning for the special costume parade which is always a well attended and fun aspect of celebrating Book Week each year.

2025 Kindergarten Enrolments

Enrolments for any class for 2025 are currently being finalised. Please, if you know of anyone intending to join the St Brigid's community for 2025, ask them to get enrolment applications in now! Applications for Kindergarten in 2025 are due in by Thursday the 4th of July. If you are intending on enrolling your child into Kindergarten next year or know of someone who is intending or would like to, please ensure that applications are lodged by the end of this term. All applications are completed online and can be accessed through the St Brigid's Primary School website.

Our staffing allocation will be based on our enrolments at Census. This occurs at the beginning of August. Please do not hesitate to contact myself if you have any questions or would like to inquire about enrolling here at St Brigid's for 2025 or even sooner.

Do We Have the Correct Information?

It is important that the school has your correct contact details. If you have moved house, changed jobs or are in any doubt about what contact numbers (including Emergency Contacts), address and email details we have on record, please contact the school to check and if necessary, update your information.

Assistant Principal News- Mission

St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal: 

Our Mini Vinnies volunteers held a meeting last week to discuss how we can support people in our local community during the cold winter months. The stduents decided they would like to hold a Rug Up, Snug Up Day. This will be held on Thursday July 4th (last day of Term 2). 

What is Rug Up, Snug Up? Students will wear school uniform and winter accessories for the day; beanies, scarves, gloves etc. We will also be taking collections of winter goods to donate to St Vincent De Paul and other local charity groups. There will be donation buckets at school for students to place blankets, jackets, jumpers, warm childrens clothes etc in. 

Mini Vinnies students will be serving hot chocolates for $2.00 from the canteen before school and at recess. All money raised will go straight to the St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal. If you would like to assist the Mini Vinnies students in serving hot chocolates please reach out and make contact. This is a great initiative from our students that helps our local community whilst also giving our students a real opportunity to serve and make a difference.

Didjeribone Performance 

Tjupurru visited our school today and performed for students, staff, and visitors. His performance was highly engaging and humorous, fostering plenty of interaction with the students.

Kelli-Ann Shedden                                                                                                                                                                                      AP Mission 

Introducing Our New Family Connect Worker - Jamie-Lee Farnham (Jimmy)

My preferred name is Jimmy, and I have grown up in the Northern Rivers Region. Over the last 5 years, my journey has been in the Out of Home Care sector, particularly within the Semi-Independent Living (SIL) program, working in the roles of a SIL coordinator and crisis youth mentor, guiding and supporting adolescents towards independence. 

I have completed my Diploma of Community Services, as well as my Certificate IV in Community Services. Additionally, I've obtained certifications in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and Applied Suicidal Intervention. These qualifications and my experiences working as a frontline crisis youth worker, have greatly shaped my ability to support and empower families within our community.

My approach is all about empowerment and strength-based methodologies. I thrive on building strong rapport and connections, firmly believing in the power of collaboration. Whether it's working directly with families or coordinating with the correct services, my aim is to ensure that families and young people receive the best possible support.

I can be contacted on 0408 456 572 or at jamie-lee.farnham@socialfutures.org.au

From the Wellbeing Team

Parenting support in your pocket

Parenting is a very important job. It can also be really hard.

Talking to friends, family and school staff can be helpful in supporting you to best support the young people in your life.

But what if they’re not available when you really need them?

Parent Line NSW is a free, seven-day-a-week service that provides support regarding all things parenting for parents, carers and professionals.

Whether you have a specific problem or question, or just want to talk to someone about a parenting issue, Parent Line counsellors provide confidential and non-judgmental advice at the end of your phone line.

Examples of things Parent Line might be able to help with include information about child development, understanding and responding to your child’s behaviour, support during difficult times such as separation or bereavement, parenting a child with a disability, helping your child navigate friendship difficulties, and information about positive parenting strategies. 

Parent Line can even provide referrals to face-to-face supports in your local area.

Support can be accessed in a number of ways:

By phone

Call 1300 1300 52 from 9am to 9pm (Mon-Fri) or 4pm-9pm (Sat and Sun). If you’re calling outside of these hours, just leave a message and someone will call you back when the service reopens.

By email

Use the online form available at parentline.org.au to send an email about your concern and someone will get back to you the very next business day.

Check out the FAQs

Visit parentline.org.au to read through other parents commonly asked questions – there could well be something similar to what you’re dealing with.

Wellbeing Team

Wakakirri Raffle

We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the generous individuals and businesses who contributed to our recent raffle. Your donations played a pivotal role in making our raffle a tremendous success.

With Special Thanks to:

• Brown and Hurley - Fire pit (Winner: T Batson)
• BP Kyogle - 2 x $50 fuel vouchers (Winners: Paul Brosnan & Morgan Studd)
• Bec Walters - Hair Care Basket (Winner: Liam Shephed)
• Lee Loves Hair - $50 Hair Voucher (Winner: Tyler Hayes)
• Paula O’Reilly - Face Care Pack (Winner: Nash Duley)
• Kyogle Earthworx, Wallace Family - $100 tenpin bowling voucher (Winner: Dowd Family)

Your support has not only added excitement to our raffle but has also significantly boosted our fundraising efforts. We are incredibly grateful for your kindness and willingness to support our cause.

A special congratulations to Millea Rixon for selling the most tickets, with an impressive total of 22 books. Well done, Millea!

Thank you once again for your invaluable contributions.

School Community Forum

Please see attached the minutes from our School Community Forum meeting held yesterday. Our next meeting will be held on  Tuesday 6th August 3:30pm in School Library. All welcome to attend.

Head Lice

We're reaching out to inform you about recent instances of head lice detected within our school community. To ensure the well-being of all our students, we kindly ask for your assistance in checking your child's hair for any signs of lice.

Should you find evidence of head lice, we urge you to promptly treat the condition at home to prevent further spread. Early intervention is crucial in controlling outbreaks.

Thank you for your cooperation in maintaining a healthy environment for learning.

Stars of the Week

One of our school goals this year is to have an average weekly attendace of 90% and above. The class with the best average each week receives the  “Stars of the Week” trophy and certificate to display in their classroom.

For term 2 week 6 the class with the best average attendance was Kinder with 98.17% WOW and the whole school average was 89.95%. Nearly there, lets keep up the good work!

Remember our whole school goal is 90%. The whole school average weekly attendance for last term is as follows:

Week 1: 86.06% - Yr 4  (91.14%), Year 5 (89.76%), Kinder (87.55%) 

Week2: 86.06% - Yr 6  (94.62%), Year 4 (92.17%), Year 3 (92.05%) 

Week3: 87.88% - Yr4  (91.6%), Year 2 (91.18%), Year 3 (90%) 

Week4: 88.46% - Yr3  (94.5%), Year 6 (93.31%), Year 4 (92.14%) 

Week5: 89.61% - Kinder  (93.13%), Year 6 (92.75%), Year 1 (91.36%) 

Week6: 89.95% - Kinder  (98.17%), Year 6 (9206%), Year 1 (89.88%) 

It is essential that every student is at school every day as attendance matters to support your child's learning.

Attendance Matters

On-time to school means your child is on track to unleash their potential.

Arriving on time to school is a fundamental aspect of a child's educational experience and plays a crucial role in unlocking their full potential. Here are several reasons why being on time to school is important for a child's academic and personal development:

• Consistent Learning Opportunities. Being on time ensures that your child doesn't miss the beginning of lessons, announcements, or important information shared at the start of the school day. This consistency in attendance provides a steady flow of learning opportunities.
• Establishing a Routine. Timely arrival helps children establish a morning routine, promoting organisation and time management skills. Consistent routines contribute to a sense of stability and preparedness for the day's activities.
• Reduced Disruptions. Arriving on time minimises disruptions for both the child and the class. Late arrivals can interrupt the flow of lessons and can be distracting for the child and their peers.
• Building Respect for Punctuality. Punctuality is a valuable life skill. By consistently arriving on time to school, children develop a sense of responsibility.

Student Awards Week 5

Congratulations to the following students who have shown tremendous effort and were presented with their awards at our assembly.

• Kindergarten - Brigid, Sophie
• Year 1 - Niarah, Paityn
• Year 2 - Zion, Emma
• Year 3 - Hamish, Angus
• Year 4 - Shekinah, Eedie, Ruby H
• Year 5 - Charli
• Year 6 - Noah, Willow
• Principal Awards - Angel, Lily 

Term 2 Week 7 Focus:

Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L)   

 I am an upstander and know who to talk to about issues at school.                    

MJR Weekly Focus:

A Grateful Heart

Happy Birthday to You

Sending warm wishes to all the children who celebrated their birthdays in the coming week. May your special day be filled with joy and memorable moments! 

Upcoming Dates Term 2

Week 7 

• Sun 16th June - 11th Sunday Ordinary Time 

Week 8

• Wed 19th June - School Review  - Parent feedback sessions 2.45pm 
• Thurs 20th June - School Review 
• Fri 21st June - School Review 
• Sun 23rd June - Family Parish Mass 

Week 9

• Thurs 27th June - Year 5 Showcase 2.15pm All welcome  (please not change of date)
• Fri 28th June - St Brigid's Athletics Carnival at the Kyogle High School Oval

Week 10

• Mon 1st July - Semester 1 Reports sent home on Compass
• Tues 2nd July - Athletics Carnival Back Up Day
• Wed 3rd July - Term 2 Rewards Day
• Thurs 4th July - 2025 Kindergarten applications are due; Rug Up Snug Up Day
• Fri 5th July - Staff Development Day (Pupil Free Day)

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