Newsletter Term 2 Week 9 (Wednesday 22nd June 2022)

Our Front Page with Year 1

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Our Gospel Reflection

Names have special meanings. In our families, some people are named after parents or other relatives and ancestors. Sometimes peoples' names are symbolic, suggesting something unique about the person or recalling an event or experience related to that person's birth.

In this Sunday's Gospel, we learn that Elizabeth gives her son the name John, which means “God has been gracious.” This name sets John apart in a special way: it was normally the father's responsibility to name a child, and the name was usually a family name. The unusual nature of John's naming suggests to everyone that this is a special child.

Spend some time as a family focusing on one another's names as well as on the names of other relatives. Point out the significance of each name and how the naming took place.

Read aloud Luke 1:57-66,80. Review the parts of the story that describe how John received his name. Talk about how important names are and how we are all called to honor the name of God. Pray together the Sign of the Cross, emphasizing how we honor God's name and promise to live our lives in God's name.

From Our Principal

Your child's Semester One Report will be sent home this Monday the 27th of June. Many thanks to all staff for the work and organisation that goes into the compilation of these reports that give parents and carers a snapshot of your child's progress during the first half of 2021. There will be an opportunity for families to speak with their child's class teacher at our Parent / Teacher Interviews which will be conducted in Week 3 of next term. Please refer to next week's newsletter for details on how to book these interview times.

As you read your child's report, take time to compare effort and achievement. We are looking for 1 or 2 in effort. All students are capable of this and if you do not see this then that is a good topic of conversation with your child. The achievement A to E varies for many reasons - your child hasn't mastered something yet, they are not making their best effort so achievement is impacted; they may be having difficulties in a key learning area; they may have missed a lot of school; they may still be learning how and not achieved mastery yet; or we may need to investigate other aspects of their learning to find reasons. Look carefully at their capabilities too. These skill sets are crucial for learning to occur and if they aren't happening then this is a great area for further investigation at the upcoming Parent / Teacher Interviews.

You will have heard of the teacher shortage. You have supported the staff here when they joined strike action over staff shortages, conditions and pay. This is only the beginning of this shortage! If you are a trained teacher but may have let your accreditation lapse, then now is the time to think about organising accreditation and getting back into the workforce. We are more than happy to help with the first steps. 

At the time of writing this newsletter there has been news of further industrial action to take place next Thursday the 30th of June. I will keep you informed of how this will impact us here at St Brigid's.

Take care,

Tony Hunter

Dance Spectacular

St Brigid’s invite all to a night of dancing where we will be taken on a trip of "Music Through the Ages". The dances will be the result of having Aleeta Northey working with all classes earlier this term. Our “Dance Spectacular” will commence at 6pm sharp on Wednesday 22nd June and so we ask that all students are here at school by 5:40pm in readiness. Classes have issued notes with what is needed and we thank all for your support and assistance with this. Looking forward to a wonderful evening of dancing by our wonderful students this evening!!

2023 Enrolments

Enrolments for any class for 2023 are currently being finalised. Please, if you know of anyone intending to join the St Brigid's community for 2023, ask them to get enrolment applications in now! Applications for Kindergarten in 2023 are due in by next Thursday the 30th of June. 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.

Our staffing allocation will be based on our enrolments at Census. This occurs at the beginning of August. Please do not hesitate to contact our Principal, Mr Hunter if you have any questions or would like to inquire about enrolling here at St Brigid's for 2023 or even sooner.

Rapid Antigen Tests

Rapid Antigen Tests are available for families if they require more tests. Please just ring the office and another pack will be sent home prior to the holidays. Alternatively, families are more than welcome to drop in and collect their own. A reminder that these are distributed free of charge.

School Photo Day

Please do not forget that our revised School Photo Day is Thursday the 30th of June. Please ensure that your child/ren are at school on this day dressed in full school uniform. Should you require a family photo envelope please do not hesitate to pick one up from our School Office. 

Online Sibling Photo orders must be made prior to Photo day. Cash sibling orders can be made on the morning of Photo Day.

A Call Out for Class Parents

This is an area that we would like to reinvigorate in our school as we all work together for the benefit of our students. We are calling for 2 parents from each class to be the Class Parent Reps so as to share the role. Many thanks to the parents who have indicated that they would like to take on this role. These parents volunteer to support the class, teacher and parents in developing a positive working relationship. It is designed to help welcome parents into the class and school and develop friendships and a social network for families. Some of the ways in which the Class Parents can support teachers is to welcome and assist new families into the class or to help farewell a student who is leaving. There are a number of things that our Class Parents can do to involve all of our families. Once we have our Class Parents nominated we will have a meeting to ensure that all Class Parents are clear with this important role. Activities could include organising social gatherings for class parents and families like cake, coffee, and play dates at the park, or nights out for the Mum’s or Dad’s. They could also organise a card or gift for a specific family event. Class parent nominations so far are as follows:-

Kindergarten - Claire Knight , Kelly Keed

Year 1 - ____________ , ____________

Year 2 - Claire Knight , Kelly Keed

Year 3- Jessica Rixon, ____________

Year 4 - Danielle Howes, ____________

Year 5 - Krystal-Lee Hyde, Ashling Aherne

Year 6- Gemma Habchi, Natalie Marychurch.

Please let your child’s class teacher know if you would like to take on this role in 2022 for your respective class. Mr Hunter will then be in touch to meet with all Class Parents to give further support and guidance.

Australian Maths Competition

Once again we will offer the students of St Brigid's the opportunity to sit the AMC. 

The AMC is an engaging 30-problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of Mathematics in students’ everyday lives. It is open to students in Years 3 to 12.

When: Thursday 4th August 2022

Cost per student: A$7.50 (Australia and New Zealand)

Entry closing dates: (Paper) Wednesday 29th June

The students sit either the Middle Primary (Years 3–4) or Upper Primary (Years 5–6) paper.

Please complete the Privacy/Consent Policy and the Registration Form contained at this link:

https://www.amt.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/AMT-Online-Consent-Form-2022-AMC-ACFG.pdf

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Condon.

Preparation for the Competition:

• Problemo Student is a free problem-solving platform that allows students to test their skill in Mathematics and informatics. It’s packed with problems covering a range of topics and year levels. They can jump in anytime and try one question or work their way through a series based on a topic.
• AMT competition student practice portal. This is the same place students go on the day of the competition. We’ve added practice questions here so students can familiarise themselves with the online platform before the AMC.
• AMT’s online shop holds a range of AMC resources that are great for student practice. Download individual past papers for free, or buy AMC compilation books sorted by topic and full solutions for past competitions.   

ICAS Competitions

Each year over a million students sit the ICAS assessments. The questions in the ICAS competitions help students to connect information from content strands of the curriculum to their existing knowledge and to real-life situations.  These assessments are optional. Payments are online only and you will need to enter the code below, which links to our School.  If you have any questions please contact Mrs Jan Condon.

Subjects Offered: - Year 2 to Year 6  (Digital Technologies, Spelling Bee, Science, English, Mathematics)    Cost = $19.25 each

Year 3 to Year 6  (Writing)    Cost = $23.65 each

Parent Payment Code:  EYG369

Payments Due: 31st July 

Assessments begin:  Early August (dates to be finalised and placed on our calendar) 

Sport News

Our Annual School Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday the 21st of July. This will be the Week 1 Term 3.

The Richmond Zone Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday 28th July, which is in the second week of term

Happy Birthday to You

Wishing the following children all the very best for their special day this week:-

22 June - Frankie Miller

23 June - Harper Farrah

26 June - Corey Love

Student Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have shown tremendous effort and were presented with awards at the Week 6 Assembly:

Kindergarten:- Kirrah Lees, Eliza Knight

Year 1:- Harrison Goebel, Scarlett McShane

Year 2:- Elliarna Devenish, Judah Marychurch

Year 3:- Olivia Alvos, Ted Standfield

Year 4:-Eloise Stephenson  Lorelei Floyd 

Year 5:- Brett Argall, Zhepplin Fear, Talei Gill-Navatu

Year 6:- Lila Standfield, Maggie Pearson, Noah Marychurch

Do We Have The Correct Information?

It is important that our 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), and emails we have on record, please contact Lani in the school office to check and if necessary, update your information.

OzGreen - Free Youth Holiday Workshop

OzGREEN is an award winning environmental education charity that offers a variety of opportunities for young people living on the North Coast of NSW.  They are running two free events in the July school holidays. 

Event One - Youth Leading the World - Kyogle - 11th & 12th July 

Event Two - Youth Leading the World - Coraki - 14th & 15th July 

Upcoming Dates

JUNE

Wednesday 22nd - Dance Night Spectacular

Monday 27th - Semester 1 Reports sent home

Wednesday 29th - Rewards Day

Thursday 30th - School Photos / Last day of Term 2 for students

JULY

Friday 1st - Pupil Free Day

Monday 18th - Term 3 commences

Thursday 21st - School Athletics Carnival

Please look out for a Term 3 calendar that will have all the important dates for next term.