Newsletter Term 1 Week 8 (Wednesday 22nd March 2023)

Our Front Page with Year Two

In Science, Year 2 have been learning about different types of bridges and the materials that are combined to make a bridge. To complete their unit, Year 2 were set the challenge to create a suspension bridge that was able to hold a matchbox car using a combination of materials. All bridges were a success as all cars were able to cross from one side to the other without falling in the river below.

Our Gospel Reflection

Our Gospel this week, the fifth Sunday of Lent, is again taken from the Gospel according to John. Today’s Gospel reading recounts another sign, or miracle, found in John’s Gospel, the raising of Lazarus.

"Jesus began to weep" (Jn 11:35). Why does Jesus weep? Scholars are not exactly sure what causes Jesus to weep. It might be plausible that when Jesus sees his dear friend Mary crying because of the death of her brother Lazarus, Jesus cannot help himself and cries too, expressing both compassion for Mary and his own grief at the loss of his friend Lazarus. What a beautiful, powerful expresson of Jesus' humanity!

What follows next is a powerful expression of Jesus' impending death and Resurrection - his glorification. It is the seventh and final sign in John's Gospel. What a dramatic moment, as Jesus steps into the tomb of a man who has been dead for four days. He calls to Lazarus and asks him to come out - and Lazarus, bound in burial cloth, indeed comes out! He is alive again. Imagine how astonished the onlookers must have been and how grateful Martha and Mary would have been to have their brother alive again.

It does make one wonder what it would feel like to be alive again after being in the grave for four days. How do people react to this man who is alive once again? Why do you think John chose this as the last sign of Jesus' power? Notice that this event occurs about a week before the last days of Jesus' life. Why is this sign such a threat to the ruling officials of Jerusalem? 

From Our Principal

Recently we have celebrated the Feast Days of 2 significant saints - Patrick and Joseph.

Last Friday 17th March was the feast day of St Patrick who is the Patron Saint of Ireland. Patrick turned to God and he wrote:

"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn."

St Patrick often used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity, he worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God. 

The feast of St Joseph is the 19th of March, there is very little written about St Joseph in the Bible and yet through the small amount we do know about him, it is clear that he is a wonderful model for Christians as we live in the world and care for and protect the people in our lives. St Joseph was a man who listened to God's guidance and engaged in prayer, he was selfless and showed courage. He lived a life of humility.

Both these saints guide us in our faith through their acts of determination and compassion. The awareness of these feast days invites us all to stop and reflect on our relationships with our God and with each other. 

NAPLAN

Last week our Years 3 and 5 students sat the NAPLAN Assessment, with all assessments completed online with the exception of Year 3 Writing. 

From this year, parents and carers will get earlier, simpler and clearer information about their child’s NAPLAN achievement based on new, more rigorous national standards.

Education ministers have agreed to change the way NAPLAN results are reported to parents and carers, now that all students are taking the tests online, and with the move to an earlier NAPLAN in March. New proficiency standards with 4 levels of achievement for each year level will replace the previous 10-band structure that covered all 4 levels tested and the old National Minimum Standard set in 2008 when tests were on paper. The new proficiency standards include a baseline benchmark to identify students who are likely to need additional support.

The numerical NAPLAN bands and the national minimum standard will be replaced by the following 4 levels of achievement:

• Exceeding
• Strong
• Developing
• Needs additional support

The descriptors for each category will make it clear to parents what their child’s literacy and numeracy skills are at the time of NAPLAN testing, and support discussions with their school on their child’s progress.

Three Way Conversations

Many thanks to all who have taken the opportunity of taking part in our new Three Way Conversations. These replace what was previously known as Parent / Teacher Interviews. As Christians, we are encouraged to ‘let our light shine before others.’ (Matthew 5:6). For parents and
teachers to truly be partners in education, effective communication is key. Our Three Way Conversations are just one way parents, teachers and students come together to listen, celebrate and support each other.

It is wonderful to see families come into our school along with their children to participate in these conversations. Students have the opportunity to share their goals for Literacy and Numeracy and present how they had achieved or are working towards achieving these goals.

The conferences were highly successful – thank you for your participation and ongoing support. At anytime you can request additional meetings with your child’s teacher to discuss or provide relevant information to assist with meeting their learning needs. Just call the office to make an appointment. 

Attendance Matters - Every Learner, Every Day

At St Brigid's, we continue to promote student attendance. Thank you to our parents for the support and value that you place on your child being at school each day. Regular school attendance plays a critical role in ensuring that every student has access to the same learning opportunities.

When students are not at school, are late to school or leave school early, they are missing out on so
much that can impact on their future learning.

We are aiming at having an overall school average attendance of 90% through this year. Please refer to the table below of the current attendance of each class:-

Our School Average is 89.5%.

Ready4Learning Information Session

As highlighted in the flyer later in our newsletter, there will be an Information Session for all families of children preparing to commence Kindergarten in 2024. This information session will be held in our school library on Thursday 30th March commencing at 6pm. If you or you know of someone who has children starting school next year, whether it be at St Brigid's or elsewhere please come along to find out more on this wonderful program which gives children a real "heads up" for school readyness.

Have a wonderful week and take care,

Tony

Assistant Principal News - Learning

Two Stars and a Wish

Student, Parent and Teacher interviews commenced yesterday, this new triad structure works to strengthen the partnership with parents in their child’s development by inviting the student to be involved in the meeting. The two stars and a wish is a strategy used where the two stars are two areas/goals that the student is proud of achieving in their learning this year and the wish could be a learning goal or a specific area that the student identifies that they would like to improve in.

Personal learning goals are about improving students’ learning and achievement and building students’ capacity to learn. They are about students becoming active participants in the learning process, empowering them to become independent learners, and motivating them to achieve their full potential. Research into the motivation and efficiency of students has indicated that students who set their own working goals tend to achieve more than when working on goals set for them by the teacher. Students who set their own learning goals have more confidence to take on more challenging tasks, regardless of their ability. Their motivation to improve and master a task is improved and their self-esteem remains strong, even in the case of failure. Recognising your child’s achievements with their goals can go a long way to encouraging a positive mindset about school and their learning. If you have any questions or require further clarification regarding your child’s learning goals, please contact your child’s classroom teacher. 

WOW Wall

This week I was really proud of Noah in Year 5 who was working on visualising the Bible story of Amos.

Congratulations on your work in Religion Noah!

Vanessa Walters                                                                                                                                                                            Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching                                                                                           

Assistant Principal News - Mission

Easter Raffle: The Mini Vinnies students are collecting donations for an Easter raffle. We would appreciate donations for the hamper to be sent in with your child. Tickets for the raffle will be sold from next week and funds raised will go towards Project Compassion.

Thank you for this support!

Kelli-Ann Bugden                                                                                                              Assistant Principal - Mission

From the Wellbeing Team

This week’s strength is: FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is the ability to be merciful, accepting of the shortcomings of others, and open to giving other people (and ourselves) a second chance.

Is forgiveness a particular strength belonging to you or someone close to you? How does forgiveness help you or your loved ones to handle life? Take a moment to acknowledge the strength of forgiveness in yourself and others, and consider how being forgiving enriches life for you and the people around you.

Seasons For Growth

Dear Families,

In 2023, St. Brigid’s will be offering the Seasons For Growth students for students affected by grief, loss and change. 

Seasons is a small group program that aims to strengthen the social and emotional wellbeing of young people who are dealing with significant life changes by exploring the impact of change and loss in their lives and learning new ways to respond to these changes. This Program is run over eight consecutive weeks with eight, approximately 45-minute sessions. Many factors can create change and loss, including:

• Loss of someone or something you love.

• Parents and families separating.

• Moving to a new place or school.

• Illness.

• Family work-life changes.

We invite parents, carers and teachers to nominate students who might benefit from the Seasons Program via the link below.

https://forms.gle/cJw7HxTNfdUigkuMA

If you, or a teacher, nominate your child to participate in Seasons For Growth, a Permission Form and Information Letter further outlining the Program will be sent home with your child.

Please note, it is recommended that anyone affected by bereavement wait 6 to 12 months before participating in the Seasons For Growth Program. 

Kind Regards,

Sereena Zanuso, Student Support Worker.

Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L)

Focus for Week 8:    We speak to everyone in our school respectfully and remember to use words that don't hurt other people's feelings.

2023 Ready 4 Learning

Sports News

Cross Country

 Date: Friday 24th March

Time:  The carnival will commence at 9:30 am and conclude at 11:55am. The students must then return to school for a normal school day.

Venue: Kyogle High School Oval (8yrs-12yrs)

Transport: Students are to arrive at school at the regular time (8:30am – 8:50am). Attendance will be checked and students will then walk down to the Kyogle High School Oval with their classroom teacher. At the conclusion of the event all students will walk back to school with their classroom teacher.

Students: Kindy and year 1 or (5-7 year olds) will remain at school and will run a modified track on the school oval Friday morning 24th at 10:15am for any parents wanting to attend

Parent Helpers would be greatly appreciated at cross country at the high school oval.

All parents are welcome to watch their children at either Venue on the day.

Fruit/Recess: Students will be required to bring their lunch to school as normal.  Students in Years 2-6 will take their fruit/recess down with them to the Cross Country and eat when they are not participating in their event. 

Timetable

The times below are approximate guides and these may vary on the day. We will try and move students through the events efficiently on the day.

Yours in sport,

Lee Love

Library News

In the library this term we have a big focus on returning our books on borrowing day. Any child that returns their books each week will be rewarded with two green tickets.

We are holding an Easter colouring competition for all students K-6. The Easter colouring page will be sent out to class teachers tomorrow. There will be prizes for the best boy and girl colouring for each grade K-6. These winners will be announced Thursday 6th April our last day for term 2.

                                                          Keep reading,                                                                                                                                                                                  Steph and Lee 

Happy Birthday to You

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

March

23rd - Carter Dowd, Leonardo Hanning

26th - Harrison Goebel

27th - Olivia Alvos

29th - Kaya Hardwick

Student Awards - Week 6, Term 1 2023

Congratulations to the following students who have shown tremendous effort and were presented with the first awards of this year at last week's  assembly:

Kindergarten:- Elvii Ernst, Leonardo Hanning

Year 1:- Igziah Anthony, Kaya Hardwick

Year 2:- Mabel standfield, Gloria Rogin, Shaun Hill

Year 3:- Chance Flanagan, Ruby Farrah, Byron Cameron-Keed

Year 4:- Wyatt Brown, Piper Marychurch, Adam Bryant

Year 5:- Tahnesha Walker, Wentworth Bennett, All of Year 5

Year 6:-  Carter Dowd, Noah Rixon

Principal Awards: - Liam Bowden, George Marychurch 

MJR Awards - Brett Argall, Eamon McCormack, Van smith, Tess Carrington, Carter Hudson

Upcoming Dates

MARCH

Sunday 26th -         Stage 3 Family Mass

Thursday 30th -     School Photos                                                                                                                       Ready 4 Learning Information Night @ 6pm

Friday 31st -             Year 5 Showcase

April 

Thursday 6th -      Last day of Term One

Friday 7th -            Good Friday

Trinity Open Day