Newsletter 60 - June 24th 2022

NAIDOC Week is an annual week-long celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements and is an opportunity for us to recognise the contributions that Indigenous Australians make to our country and our society. This year NAIDOC Week runs from July 3rd-10th during the school holidays, events will be running at Brambuk Cultural Centre, Halls Gap see attached flyer on the newsletter for further details.  

God of all creation, as we journey together in this Great Southern Land

We pray for healing, forgiveness, and unity

Creating a path of goodwill, with justice and compassion. 

Jesus, through the power of your love,

You have given us the courage, wisdom, and strength to share our gifts and talents in humility. In peace and understanding we reconcile with each other. 

Creator Spirit, we come together in prayer and thanksgiving for the many blessings we have received. 

Allow your Spirit to wash over us and give us strength to walk together as one. 

Amen. 

Lael Stone - Creating Emotionally Intelligent Humans

June 13, 2022 • 71 min

In the words of her own child, Lael Stone “works for the kids”. But while Lael is technically a therapist who supports parents in understanding their children, everything Lael talks about in this edition of The Academy of Imperfection could easily be applied to all of us in understanding the people in our lives - no matter what age. Whether that be our friends, parents, colleagues or even ourselves. Through her work, Lael helps adults process their own childhood trauma, and creates education systems that value emotional awareness, demonstrating why it all comes back to connection and compassion. Oh, and listen out for the dramatic moment when Ryan swoops in and inadvertently steals Josh’s “Good Question” (patent pending). 

To learn more about Lael’s work please visit her website at: 

https://laelstone.com.au/

 To watch Lael’s Ted Talk please follow this link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6fL09e8Tm9c&feature=emb_imp_woyt

To learn more about Lael’s school please follow this link: https://woodlineprimary.com.au/

 To watch It’s Not About The Nail, please follow this link: 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Lillie Comitti - Wellbeing and Mental Health Coordinator 

Book Week: The theme for this year is:  Dreaming with eyes open…

Book week this year runs from August 22nd 2022, to August 26th, 2022. During this time all classes spend time each day celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. The highlight of book week is on Friday 26th August where students are invited to dress as their favourite book character with a whole school parade where our community is able to attend.  

Thankyou

It has been great to see the return of our classroom helpers.  If you are interested in joining us as a classroom helper please contact me.  

We also welcomed three Stawell Secondary College students Amy, Denni and Lynley who are with Junior grades on Tuesday from 10-11:00.  It is great to be able to reconnect with our community. 

Great Book Swap - happening at St Patrick’s Primary School 

24th & 25th August, 2022.

Literacy is a major issue facing remote Indigenous communities. Being unable to read and write is a significant barrier to education, employment, health and wellbeing. The Indiegnous Literacy Foundation works to address this through providing books and literacy resources (some in first languages) to families, schools and service organisations in remote communities; and publishing stories by Indigenous people that are reflective of community life and culture.

Low literacy levels is a major issue affecting Indigenous communities today. Being unable to read and write is a significant barrier to education, employment, health and wellbeing. Remote Indigenous communities are the most disadvantaged. 2017 NAPLAN results show only 35% of Indigenous Year 5 students in very remote NT communities met the minimum standard for reading, compared to 95% for non-Indigenous students in major cities. 

It will be great to have our Great Book Swap back after COVID restrictions. 

Next term Social Justice will begin working on The Great Book Swap in support for Indigenous Literacy. 

The idea is that our school would donate any quality unwanted children’s books, Social justice will then conduct a Book swap where students are able to purchase any of these donated books for a gold coin donation.  All money raised will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy foundation.  

Maryanne Comitti      Teaching & Learning Leader

Please send any donated books into school, thanks to those who have already donated.

Earlier this year, Wil Evans, took part in the Australian Council for Educational Research's Global Academic Challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to extend high-achieving students, gain insights into their performance and celebrate their successes. The challenge consists of online multiple-choice assessments in Mathematics, Reading, and Science. 
Over 2000 students from 75 schools across Australia participated in the challenge in 2022. Wil received a High Distinction in Mathematics, placing him in the top 10% of results. He also received a Distinction in Reading, placing him in the top 25% of results and a Credit in Science, placing him in the top 50% of results. Well done Wil! 

Assembly:

It is fantastic to once again have our Friday school assemblies happening.  

Assembly roster for term 2:

Week 9 Foundation - not to be missed -  Early Dimissal so assembly at 1:50pm. 

Professional Development:

Week 2.

19/07/22 Miss Kerrie Ryan(onsite) Learning Diversity Leader NCCD Moderation

Welcome to a week in Foundation in week 9 of Term 2. We have had a fantastic Term in Foundation and shown some sensational growth with our learning this Term. 

Miss Comitti  thanks the students for their wonderful resilience and patience throughout the Term and also the wonderful parents for the sensational work they do before and after school. 

In InitiaLit we have been revising all of the sounds that we have learned over Semester 1. We love learning new sounds and actions in Foundation and guessing who might be next. The students have done a sensational job remembering all of their sounds and actions. 

Last week the students created Lava lamps with Mrs Giles and they loved watching how the ‘chemicals’ all worked together to create the lamp look. 

In writing we have been focusing on using capital letters to start our sentences, finger spaces and full stops. We are working very hard on writing the sounds we hear and taking our time when writing. 

We had a very special visitor come into our classroom last week. Zoe - Harry’s puppy. The children loved petting and playing with Zoe! Thank you Mel for thinking of us and bringing Zoe in to meet us. 

We hope you all have a lovely and relaxing holiday break! I cannot wait to see everyone back in Term 3. 

Please keep our children who are preparing for their Sacrament of Reconciliation which will take place in early Term 3  in your prayers.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation in the past has also previously been called Confession.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of two sacraments of healing in the Catholic tradition (the other being the Anointing of the Sick).  Reconciliation celebrates God’s love and mercy towards us.  It is about acknowledging and naming those times when we know we have done wrong, and then making peace and restoring the relationships with those who have been affected by our poor choices.  

Social Justice:

Wow, thank you to the St Patrick’s community for raising a massive $1500.00 through our 5 cent challenge, Zooper Dooper sales and Project Compassion. If we reflect on the last two years it has shown us how critical it is to care for one another and creation. Thanks to the Social Justice team for giving up their time and our school community to do just that. 

Next Term we'll give you a breakup of the amount of money the Social Justice has allocated to each charity. 

Maryanne Comitti                Religious Education Leader 

Congratulations to these students having a birthday this week and in the holidays:

Keesha O'Kwor

Jett Virgin

Matilda Egan

Zarli Nicholson

Henry Wadge

Awoumlual Kur

Maya Sanderson

Tahlia Darker

Bailey Matthews

Ethan Dunn - For the sensational work you’re doing, sounding out words and putting them back together! Keep up the sensational work Ethan.

Bonnie Wickham - For the brilliant work you’ve done over Term 2 with your Writing. You’ve shown some great growth Bonnie, keep up the sensational work!

Oscar Erwin - For working hard in Maths and achieving excellent results in your Stepping Stones post-test.  Keep up the great work!

Maya Parry - For the wonderful learning you have been doing during the first half of the year.  We wish you all the best for your big holiday around Australia.  We will miss you!

Fletcher Thomas - For working so hard during all activities and for excellent post-test Maths results! Awesome work Fletcher!

Tanner Freeland - For producing wonderful pieces of writing that entertain and inform the audience. Keep working hard Tanner!

Ava Parry - For consistently displaying the attributes of each of the School Values, 'I am Safe', I am Respectful', 'I am a Learner'. Thank you for being such a positive member of our Middle Learning Community this year. We will all miss you.

Archie MacPherson - For your excellent results on your latest Stepping Stones maths assessment. Your determination and persistence really paid off. Congratulations.

Riley Carlsen - For your fabulous work with creating tessellations during Mathematics.  Also, you have shown such growth socially and academically this year.  You are beginning to show the signs of a great leader.  Keep it up!

Jett Virgin - For your magnificent focus and effort during Writing.  You have produced a wonderful historical recount based on a real life convict from the past.  Keep up the fantastic work Jett!

Maddison Prydderch - For the positive mindset you have had towards your learning, especially in maths.

Savannah Farrell  - For always demonstrating our school values of being a learner, respectful and safe. Keep up the super work.

Lolah Freeland - For completing the last level of your Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment. Well done Lolah!

Jobe Allen - For the amazing contributions you made in class when we were discussing the picture story book 'The Rabbits'.