Newsletter Term 2 Week 4 (Wednesday 22th May 2024)

Our Front Page with Year 3

Confirmation Retreat and Pentecost Party 

Our enthusiastic Year 3 students recently hosted a vibrant and joyous Pentecost party following their Confirmation Retreat! The retreat, which prepared the students for their upcoming Confirmation, set a reflective and spiritual tone. Pentecost, marking the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the birth of the Christian Church. The day was a fantastic success, filled with fun activities, colourful decorations, and delicious cake. The celebration beautifully embodied the spirit of Pentecost, bringing together the warmth of community and the joy of togetherness. Thank you to everyone who joined us and.

made the event so memorable!

My New Gallery

Our Gospel Reflection

This week we return to the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. This Sunday and next Sunday, however, are designated as solemnities, special days that call our attention to the central mysteries of our faith. This weekend, on the first Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. This feast invites us to consider what we believe about God, who has revealed himself to us in the Trinity, one God in three Persons.The Gospel for this Solemnity is taken from the Gospel of Matthew.

The Solemnity of the Holy Trinity invites us to remember that God has revealed himself to us as one God in three Persons. As Jesus departed from his disciples, he shared with them the power to make disciples of all nations. He taught his disciples to invite others to share in the life of the blessed Trinity by sharing with others the gift of Baptism. This continues to be the mission of the Church. Each of us who has been baptised shares in the life of the blessed Trinity and also shares in the Church’s mission of inviting others to share in God’s love.

As you gather as a family, bring out pictures and other mementos of family celebrations of the Sacrament of Baptism. Talk about the significance of Baptism with your family. Read together Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 28:16-20. Notice that Jesus taught his disciples to baptise all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. What else does this remind you of? (the Sign of the Cross) Recall that whenever we pray the Sign of the Cross, we are reminding ourselves that we are united with God through our Baptism and share in the life of the blessed Trinity. Conclude by thanking God for sharing his life with us. Pray together the Glory Be To the Father. 

From Our Principal

Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost where we witness the Holy Spirit descending upon the disciples, filling them with courage and the power to spread the Good News. Jesus breathes on them and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit," empowering them to forgive sins and bring peace.

This powertful event marks the the birth of the Church and the beginning of its mission to spread the Gospel. For our school community, Pentecost serves as a reminder of the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It encourages us to embrace the gifts and fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We pray particularly for our students who will receive these gifts tonight when they receive the sacrament of Confirmation.

Kindergarten 2025 Information Sessions

With Ready4Learning now into full swing it is time to host our Kindergarten Information Sessions for those parents who have a child or children ready to start school in 2025. There will be 2 sessions offered on Monday 3rd of June at 10am and then repeated again at 6pm. Following the 10am session there will be a tour of our school with a special emphasis on our Kindergarten class and accompanying areas. If you are intending on enrolling your child into St Brigid's for 2025 or looking for further information on our school please come along to one of the sessions.

Tell Them From Me Surveys

A reminder that over the next 10 days, we will be inviting students, staff and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. The surveys are an important part of ur whole-school evaluation and planning process.

We would also like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you prvide will be used to continue our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Brigid's. The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Please note that most responses are multiple choice using a scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. It can be quite easy to mix this scale up when completing the survey. Please take your time to read the questions carefull, so we have the most accurate data we can attain.

you are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using this URL: tellthemfromme.com/kyogle2024 

I appreciate your support; your voice is important to us.

Bus Safety

Transport NSW has asked schools to remind students to wear a seat belt while travelling on the bus to and from school. While travelling on the bus, students are to follow the Transport NSW Code of Conduct for School Students. It is every student's responsibility to behave in a manner that ensures the safety and comfort of passengers and drivers. This includes wearing the seat belt properly adjusted and fastened, if one is available, while travelling on the bus. Please remind all students to treat the bus driver with respect and follow any requests to wear a seat belt to ensure their safety, their peers and the driver.          

Assistant Principal News - Teaching and Learning

We are delighted to inform you that St Brigid’s will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS competitions again this year for students in                    Year 2-6.

What is ICAS? 

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals. 

In the coming weeks, there will be a portal opened for you to register your child with the assessments that you choose. The assessments are listed below with the costs per assessment. All assessments will be completed at school.

Keep any eye out for the parent portal to in the newsletter in the coming weeks.

Please reach out to me if you need help in any way.

Vanessa Walters                                                                                                                                                                                        AP Teaching and Learning

Assistant Principal News- Mission

Confirmation:

Tonight we have Mabel, Stanley, Hazel, Emily, Harrison, Lane and Hamish making the sacrament of Confirmation. They will be joined by Bridget from Kyogle Public School and Paige from the Parish community. All are warmly welcome to support the students at the liturgy which is at 6.00 pm in Our Lady of Sorrows Church.

Family Parish Mass:

This weekend we have our Whole School Family Parish Mass. Please join us on Sunday at 9.00 am at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. Students will receive their confirmation certificate during the Mass and the parish is hosting a special celebration morning tea to acknowledge the students and their families.

Kelli-Ann Shedden                                                                                                                                                                                      AP Mission 

Congratulations Banjo

A big CONGRATULATIONS is extended to Banjo Goldthorpe on his success at the Beef Week Heats of Mulletfest 2024. Banjo, who is in Kindergarten was placed 1st in the 4 - 7 Years section of this nationwide competition. 

Mulletfest raises much needed funds for the Mark Hughes foundation for continued research into Brain Cancer. Banjo will travel down to the Hunter Valley on Saturday 7th December for the Grand Final and compete against all other heat winners from all over Australia. 

From the Wellbeing Team

What Lies Beneath….?!?!

Sounds spooky doesn’t it! But we’re not talking about a scary movie. Rather, an evidence-based parenting program that can help to defuse tantrums and dry up tears by getting to the nub of the matter.

The Bringing Up Great Kids parenting program encourages parents and carers to go beyond the surface of every day struggles and battles, and try to discover what lies beneath. 

Give this technique a try by following these simple steps and see if it’s a tool you’d like to add to your parenting/caring kit. Ask yourself: 

• How is my child feeling?
• How is this influencing their behaviour?
• How is their behaviour affecting me?
• What can I do to keep myself calm during this process?

Developed by the Australian Childhood Foundation in 2005, Bringing Up Great Kids (BUGK) offers parents and carers a range of activities and tools to help them build positive and nurturing relationships with the children in their care.

To find out more about where you can do a BUGK course or access resources, visit https://professionals.childhood.org.au/bringing-up-great-kids/

Wakakirri Update

Wakakirri rehearsals are in full swing at St Brigid’s and students are having a ball. The performance itself is coming along beautifully and looking amazing. This Friday we are very excited to welcome Sophie Gray, from McAuliffe School of Dance back to help us polish and perfect our dance. 

Wakakirri raffle tickets are being sold at a steady pace. If you would like more tickets or would like to purchase any, please see Jo Kelly in the office. The money raised from this raffle is to fund the cost of transporting the 89 students and 9 staff to and from the Logan entertainment centre in August.  The raffle will be drawn at the end of Week 6.

Save the Date: Thursday 1st August, our Wakakirri students will be performing a matinee in the Kyogle Memorial hall, parents and friends are all welcome. More information to come. 

We are all so excited and can’t wait to share our Wakakirri (dance story) with you all. 

Chookas 
Hayley and Tilly

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 2 the class with the best average attendance was Year 4 with 91.6% and the whole school average was 87.88%. 

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%) 

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

Attendance Matters

Be open and honest if your child is reluctant to attend school. Contact the school if your child is regularly seeking to stay home. Working together is the best way to resolve school avoidance.

It is essential to address the issue promptly to understand the underlying reasons and provide necessary support. 

Start by having an open and non-judgmental conversation with your child. Ask them about their feelings, concerns, or any challenges they may be facing related to school. Ask open-ended questions in a space where they feel comfortable. 

Examples of conversation openers include:

• Tell me about how you’ve been feeling lately.
• What are some things you don’t like about being at school?
• You’ve said you feel _______. Can you tell me what that feels like?
• Tell me when you feel happy at school? What do you like to do?
• If you could change two things about school what would they be? 

Actively listen to your child's concerns and feelings. It's important to understand their perspective and validate their emotions. Avoid being dismissive or judgmental, and let them know you are there to support them. Move to more specific questions like 

Sports News

Congratulations to Lola Lindsay and Hamish Laarhoven who represented opur school at the Diocesan Cross Country in Grafton yesterday. Both runners completed the gruelling course amidst some very hot competition from other diocesan schools. Lola finished 20th and Hamish finished 27th in their respective age races. A big shout to Ali Goldthorpe for transporting both Lola and Hamish down to Grafton so as that they could compete in this event. Even had time to stop for a well deserved ice cream on the way home!!

Diocesan Cross Country

Student Awards Week 3

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

• Kindergarten - Isaac R, Khyanne G 
• Year 1 - Ayla A, Evie M, Chloe E
• Year 2 -  Kendrick C-K , Zion D
• Year 3 - Ryder N, Mabel S
• Year 4 - Lilliana K, Hazel C, Nate J
• Year 5 - Lily H, Isaac B
• Year 6 - Emmelyn W, Lexie
• Principal Awards - Angus W, Paityn B, Hazel C

Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L)

Term 2 Week 4 Focus:

I use people’s names when I speak to them because Jesus knows each and everyone of us. 

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 4 

• Wed 22nd - Sacrament of Confirmation 6pm 
• Fri 24th - Tell them from Me Survey Closes
• Suday 26th - Parish Family Mass 9am - The Most Holy Trinity 

Week 5

• Mon 27th - National Reconciliation Week 
• Wed 29th - PUPIL FREE DAY - Proclaim Lismore Staff PD 
• Fri 31st - year 2 Show Case 
• Sunday 1st - The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ 

Week 6

• Mon 3rd - Kindergarten Parent information Sessions 10am & 6pm 
• Fri 7th - NORPA production for Stage 3 

North Coast Health Connect

North Coast Health Connect is a free (bulk billing) new service providing health support and advice from registered nurses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including public holidays. If you are a resident or visitor to the North Coast, you can speak or live chat with a nurse. The nurse will ask some questions to understand what’s troubling you and then provide advice on what your next step should be.

 This may include self-care advice to help you to manage your health (or that of a loved one) from home, or the nurse may recommend a GP appointment or a consultation with a pharmacist. The nurses are able to book an appointment for you directly with a local general practice or pharmacy or if appropriate, can transfer you to a 24/7 GP telehealth service. If the nurse believes you need to attend an emergency department or see a different health service, they will let you know.

 Visit https://northcoasthealthconnect.org.au/   for more info and save as a contact for when you need it

https://northcoasthealthconnect.org.au/communication-resources/ (1)

visiting https://qrco.de/bdkiJm or by scanning the QR code below.         

This incredible service, will help families access ‘on the day’ healthcare which is bulkbilled and is a vital and important service in this area. Currently we have 220 GP appointments each week, supported by 23 GP clinics, across the entire North Coast region to access. This area includes Laurieton right through to Tweed Heads

Please reach out if I can do anything further to assist you

Warm regards,                                                                                                                                                                                       Ally Pope                                                                                                                                                                                        Engagement Manager, Healthy North Coast                                                                                                                             Amplar Health                                                                                                                                                                                            Home Based - Wauchope NSW, 2446
M 0418 976 274  E Allison.Pope@amplarhealth.com.au