Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 (Wednesday 14th February 2024)

Our Front Page with Kindergarten

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Kindergarten students have had a terrific start to their first year of school! It has been wonderful watching the children settling in so well and making friends so easily. We even brought home the attendance trophy in our first week. What champions!

Keep up the great learning Kindergarten!

Our Gospel Reflection

This weekend marks the first Sunday of Lent. The announcement that Jesus makes as he begins his preaching in Sunday’s Gospel is recalled on Ash Wednesday at the signing with ashes: “Repent and believe in the gospel.” This is our challenge for Lent; indeed, it is the challenge of our entire life. During Lent, we are invited to strengthen and to renew the promises that we made at our Baptism, to reject Satan and sin so as to live as children of God. Through the grace of God that we received at Baptism, we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and know that with Jesus’ help, we will be victorious over sin.

As you gather as a family, talk about the importance of Baptism. At our Baptism, our sins were forgiven, and we promised to live as children of God. As part of the Rite of Baptism, we rejected sin and Satan. During Lent, we renew the promises of our Baptism, turning again from sin and promising to follow God. Light a candle, perhaps a candle used at one of your family member’s Baptisms, and pray the Act of Contrition

Oh my God, I am very sorry that I have sinned against you.

Because you are so good and with your help,

I will try not to sin again!

From Our Principal

We have had an excellent start to the year. Our teachers have been working hard to build strong relationships with their students so they feel known, loved and appreciated. We have begun implementing the new curriculum for Maths and English across all year levels and are experiencing some terrific early successes here at St Brigid’s.

I would like to thank all those parents who were able to make it to our Parent Information Afternoon last week. It is a good opportunity to meet your child’s class teacher and hear about the plans and organisation for the year ahead.

Today is Ash Wednesday and as a school community we marked the first day of Lent with a whole school liturgy. This special day marks the beginning of the season of Lent. On this day, a cross is marked on the forehead of those present with ash made from the leaves from Palm Sunday the previous year. This is a prayerful time to reflect on how we grow closer to God during the season of Lent.

Take care and have a wonderful week ahead,

Tony

Assistant Principal News - Teaching & Learning

Naplan 2024

The NAPLAN testing period for our students in Year 3 & 5 will be held in Term 1 with the test window opening on Wednesday 13 March 2024 and finishes on Monday 25 March 2024. Our school will schedule the four assessments during this time. Below is some further information for parents and carers about NAPLAN. Please reach out to your child’s teacher or myself if you have any further questions.

Why do students do NAPLAN? 

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. As students progress through their school years, it is important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy. 

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards. 

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress.

What can I do to support my child? 

Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is a part of their school program and reminding them to simply do their best. 

Some explanations of NAPLAN are useful to help students understand and be comfortable with the format of the tests; however, it is not necessary for parents/carers to do this. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance.

How is my child’s performance reported? 

From 2023, NAPLAN results will be reported against proficiency standards. There is a standard for each assessment area at each year level. Proficiency standards provide clear information on student achievement. They are set at a challenging but reasonable level expected for the child at the time of NAPLAN testing, based mainly on what has been taught in previous years of schooling. 

Student achievement is shown against 4 levels of proficiency: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support.

Vanessa Walters

Assistant Principal, Learning & Teaching. 

Assistant Principal News- Mission

Ash Wednesday: 

Today we joined togther as a school for our Ash Wednesday Liturgy. A special thank you to Mrs Jansen and Year Three who created such a beautiful prayer space. Each class received a new Project Compassion Missions box for their classroom. Lent is a time where we can make a special effort to go without the ice block at recess and pop money into the missions instead. 

A Message from Caritas Australia:

Today marks the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

Please give generously to Caritas Australia this Lenten season and help vulnerable people around the world, now and for all future generations. With your support, Caritas Australia has been able to assist communities around the world through income generation, water and sanitation, food security, education and disaster risk reduction programs.

Project Compassion 2024 reminds us that the good we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. Together, we can help vulnerable communities face their challenges today and build a better tomorrow.

You can donate through Project Compassion donation boxes and online by
visiting caritas.org.au/project-compassion or by calling 1800 024 413.

Opening School Liturgy:

We are excited to begin our school year with our Opening School Liturgy on Monday, 19th February at 9.30 am in the Church. The theme for the liturgy is Growing Together.  We will welcome our new Kindergarten students as well as new students in other grades and have our school leader badge ceremony. We hope to see you there! 

Save the Date:

Our Parish Family masses this term are Sunday, 25th of February and 24th of March at 9.00 am. We would love it if you could mark these dates on your calendar and keep them free. Parish Family mass is where we prepare the mass with children in mind. We have songs they know, ask older children to help with reading and have a special children's liturgy. Children's liturgy is where children hear the Word in a child friendly way and get to ask clarifying questions and join in activities. All students K-6 are invited to our school masses and there is always a delicious morning tea provided afterwards. Please reach out if you have any questions about our Parish Family masses. 

Kelli-Ann Shedden 

Assistant Principal, Mission. 

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.

Last week the class with the best average attendance was Kindergarten with 98.3%. A fantastic effort from our newest students and augers well for a great start to their school journey. The whole school average was 91.1%. This is a great result to begin with and now we want to ensure that the figure remains at 90% or above. Keep up the great work everyone and thanks so much to families for the way in which you are encouraging your children to attend school.

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

Week 2: 91.1% - Kindergarten (98.3%), Year 3 (96.4%), Year 1 (94.5%)  

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

Our School Staff

We are very excited about what lies ahead for our students and their learning and to have the calibre and quality of all staff in our school is an absolute bonus for our “little school community”. Please find below the Staff of St Brigid’s Primary School for 2024: 

Parish Administrator: Fr Erick Quinteros

Principal: Mr Tony Hunter

Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching: Mrs Vanessa Walters

Assistant Principal - Mission: Mrs Kelli-Ann Shedden

Leader of Inclusion: Mrs Loretta Morabito

School Admin Officer: Mrs Jo Kelly

Teacher Assistants: Mrs Ashling Aherne, Mrs Paula O’Reilly, Mrs Leanne Love, Mrs Stephanie Barsby, Miss Jennifer Ross, Mrs Kylie Myers, Ms Kimberley Langley and Miss Molly Drum

Aboriginal Education Worker: Mrs Stacey Wimble

Student Wellbeing Officer: Miss Sereena Zanuso 

School Counsellor: Mrs Bronwyn McNulty 

Family Connect Services: Ms Jessie Molyneux

Canteen Co-ordinator: Ms M’Leigh

Grounds and Cleaning: Ms April Williams, Mr Dean Barsby and Mr Jason Clarke

School Speech Therapist: Mrs Jessica Rixon 

Kindergarten: Ms Karen Esslemont

Stage 1:            Mrs Hayley Kennedy (Year 1)                    Miss Emma Davis (Year 2)

Stage 2:            Mrs Vicki Jansen (Year 3)                        Mrs Kelly Schneider (Year 4)

Stage 3:            Mrs Sally-Anne Griffiths (Year 5) Miss Laura Macdonald (Year 6)

Release from Face to Face and Literacy / Numeracy Support: Ms Kayla Robertson

Class Parents 2024

We are wanting to get parents who would be keen and interested in becoming a "Class Parent" for their child's class. This role is not an onerous one but is an important one in that it helps to increase communication and inclusion in our school community.

We are calling for 2 parents of each class to be the Class Parent Reps so as to share the role. These parent volunteers are 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 will assist teachers is to welcome and assist new families to the class, welcome new borns, 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 all of 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 may also organise a card or gift for a specific family event. Please let your child’s class teacher or Mrs Kelly in the Office know if you would like to take on this role in 2024 for your respective class and then we will be in touch to meet with all Class Parents.

Attendance Matters

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves. Ensuring that students arrive at school on time every day is crucial for their academic success and wellbeing. Parents play a crucial role in instilling the importance of punctuality in their children. Here are some strategies for parents to make getting students to school on time every day a top priority:

• Establish a Consistent Routine. Set a daily routine that includes specific times for waking up, getting ready, having breakfast, and leaving for school. Consistency helps children develop good habits.
• Model Punctuality. Children often learn by example. Demonstrate the importance of punctuality by being on time for family events, appointments, and other commitments. 
• Limit or Have No Screen Time in the Morning. Minimise distractions such as excessive screen time in the morning. This helps your child stay focused on getting ready for school without unnecessary delays.

Sports News

We congratulate our talented students who made waves at the Zone Swimming Carnival! 🏊‍♂️🌊 Showing off their skills and sportsmanship, as they competed fiercely against top athletes, and represented our school with pride.

Congratulations to Carter Hudson who qualified to attend the Diocesan Carnival in Kempsey on Friday 1st March.

From the Wellbeing Team

Someone once said that parenting was like taking a walk in the park. Jurassic Park! Luckily for parents, access to information and support has come a long way since the age of the dinosaurs.

In wonderful news, the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is being offered absolutely free for all parents in Australia.
What is so great about this?

•  Triple P is the one of the most effective, evidence-based parenting programs in the world, and is backed up by more than 35 years of ongoing research.
• Triple P provides parents with simple, practical strategies to help them build strong, healthy relationships and to manage their children’s behaviour, and help prevent problems from arising.
• Triple P is used in more than 30 countries and has been found to work across cultures, different socio-economic groups, and in many different kinds of family structures.
• Research that has been conducted on the free Triple P online programs has found that parents who completed a program reported significantly improved parenting, reduced stress levels and improved interparental relationships, and their children had improved behaviour and reduced emotional problems.

Visit  www.triplep-parenting.net.au/au/triple-p/ to find out more or to register to do one of these
free parenting programs.

St Brigid’s Wellbeing Team

School Fees

Term 1 school fees are now available on the school Compass app. We have also included the latest fee schedule in this newsletter for your reference. It gives a overview of all upcoming fees, helping you plan ahead.

Parent Forum News

Welcome back to all members,

On behalf of our Parent Forum Members, I wish to extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to our new students and their families. As you will learn our school is one in which our teachers, students and parents are expected to act in a manner which is cohesive and respectful of others. On behalf of the Forum Executive, I thank those parents who have supported the Forum and our School in 2023. I extend a personal thankyou to those who offered me advice and support in my role as Chairperson.

2023 for the St Brigid’s Forum has been a real turning point and I am proud to have been a part of the team that has managed to return $3,000.00 directly into creating further opportunities for our students. Our team effort has helped every single child in the school and I feel humbled to have been given the opportunity to give back to our school Community.

• Please see attached the Agenda for our next meeting to be held Tuesday, 20 February at 3.30pm in the St Brigid’s Library. All sub-committees are asked to come prepared to report on the functions of their team.
• Child supervision is avaqilable to allow parents to attend our meeting

• N.B. Please retrieve the Parent Helper form that came home with students this week, M’Leigh is one of our many lovely parents at the school and if we can all support her in the role of Canteen Coordinator, it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Claire Knight

Chairperson

Canteen Helpers Required for

We still require canteen helpers for the following Monday's. If you are able to help please return note sent home to families last Monday or phone the school office. Thank you 

Monday 19th February: Pam Studd 

Monday 26th February: Volunteer required  

Monday 4th March: Rebekah Walters

Monday 11th March: Isobel Wiber 

Monday 18th March: Volunteer required     

Monday 25th March: Volunteer required  

Monday 1st April - No Canteen - Easter Monday 

Monday 8th April: Volunteer required  

Student Awards Week 2

Congratulations to the following students who have shown tremendous effort and were presented with their awards at our assembly last Friday afternoon:

Kindergarten - Oak C, Sophie M, Logan A

Year 1 - Ruby W, Lily C

Year 2 - Francisca M, Braith R

Year 3 - Djalai C, Sehwan A, Nyima H

Year 4 - Kobe D, Hazel C

Year 6 - Willow C,  Noah S

Principal Award - William A, Angus W, Michael W

MJR Awards

Congratulations to the following students who recieved MJR awards for welcoming others just like Jesus.

• Emmelyn W
• Eedie B
• Elliarna D
• Byron C
• Lexie

MJR Weekly Focus Term 1 Week 2: Bucket fillers!

We can fill people’s bucket by saying hello, smiling at them and giving a helping hand. Jesus taught us to treat each other as we would like to be treated. It feels good when someone fills our bucket so let’s try fill other peoples buckets too.

Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L)

Congratulations to all students for a wonderful start to the term

Focus: I am familiar with routines and how the SERS look in my classroom.

Happy Birthday to You

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

Upcoming Dates

February

14th - Ash Wednesday 

15th - Zone Rugby Trials, Lismore 

15th - Safe on Social Presentation 6pm

19th - Opening School Liturgy 9:30am in Our Lady of Sorrows Church  

20th - Parent Forum Meeting 3.30pm 

22nd - Zone Winter Sports Trials Lismore (Soccer, Netball, League)

25th - Parish Family Mass and Morning Tea (2nd Sunday Lent)

Free Resources For All Parents

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