Newsletter 29 July 2022
- Principal's Message
- 2022 Upcoming Events
- Faith and Mission News
- Learning and Teaching
- Sport News & Sport Calendar
- Parent Forum
- Hoodwinked Musical - SAVE THE DATE(s)!
- Harry Potter Day - Year 5
- Grandparent's Day - Save the Date - 7 Nov
- Canteen Menu for 2022
- Canteen Roster
- Lunchtime Clubs 2022
- Parenting Ideas
Principal's Message
Year 5 Harry Potter Day
WOOHOO! Years 3-6 Elective Sports in Term 3
Friday 29 July 2022 - Term 3 Week 2
Dear Parents and Carers
One of the school goals for the year is to increase students’ awareness of Catholic Social Teaching, which emphasises the inherent dignity of each and every person. One of the ways to do this is by translating our love for others into good deeds; as the bible says ‘faith without works is dead’. This is happening in class rooms and on a whole school level. This week we received a request for help for St Joseph’s Woodburn, who were devastated by the floods and are trying to make the most of their temporary accommodation in Evans Head church. They needed a pie warmer which we provided so they could get back to some normality.
The roll out of our new communication and information tool, COMPASS, has been a little bumpy however we are gradually getting it working well. It is very important that every parent has access to COMPASS as all permission notes, payments and communications will be via this platform. If the permission notes are not approved, your child will not be allowed to go on excursions or sporting events. If you’re having any issues, please ring the school and we will solve the problem together. Mrs Loader will be available after school next week if you require any help.
On 15, 16, 17 August a panel of experienced educators will conduct a review of the school. They will speak to parents, staff and students about how learning happens, how resources are allocated, school culture, use of data, professional development and school community. The information will help us identify areas where we need to improve and ways to move forward. The information will then be used to build a three year plan, which will be shared in term 4.
Some elements of the school uniform are under review, as previously mentioned. This will take some time to complete then we will work with suppliers to roll out the changes. This will take some time and no changes will be happening for at least 12 months, so please don’t hold back needed purchases.
The school Reading Challenge will continue this term with plenty of prizes on offer. We realise it is a bit annoying, but if you can log your child’s minutes it would be great. You can even add your own minutes as a parent. The end goal is to have every child reading every day at home 7 days a week.
Now a favour. In the next couple of weeks staff will be working with all students to ensure they know how to greet adults at school. If you could encourage your child to say a cheery ‘good morning/afternoon’ to adults as they enter and move around school, it would be appreciated. Little initiatives like this build confidence in kids and makes the school a happier place for everyone.
Grace and peace
Peter Watts
Principal
2022 Upcoming Events
August 2022
| 1-5 | Parent Teacher Meetings |
| 3 | Kinder 101 Days at School |
| 4 | Coffs Cup 1/2 day holiday |
| 5 | Whole School Assembly - 2:00pm |
| 7 | St Augustine's Primary School Mass - 8:00am |
| 9 | Yrs 5 & 6 Chicken Burger Day |
| 10 | ICAS Digital Technologies - Years 3-6 |
| 11 | ICAS Writing - Years 3-6 |
| 15 | Assumption of Mary Mass - 12:00 noon |
| 18 | ICAS English - Years 3-6 |
| 23 | ICAS Science - Years 3-6 |
| 24 | Book Week Parade |
| 25 | ICAS Spelling Bee - Years 3-6 |
| 26 | St Augustine's Feast Day Celebrations |
| 26 | Whole School Assembly - 2:00pm |
| 31 | ICAS Mathematics - Years 3-6 |
September 2022
| 2 | Father's Day Stall |
| 2 | Father's Day Liturgy - 9:05am |
| 13-15 | HOODWINKED Musical |
| 16 | Whole School Assembly - 2:00pm |
| 19 | Year 4 Accendere Spiritual Retreat |
| 21 | Sacrament of Confirmation 5:30pm |
| 22 | Last Day Term 3 for Students |
| 23 | Staff Development Day - No Students |
Faith and Mission News
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
Preparation for students in Years 3-6 who will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation on 21 September has begun.
Please keep these children and their families in your prayers.
Parents of the candidates, please note that the completed White Card and the Pray for Me Flame with a photo attached should be returned by 12 August.
PRAYER FOR CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES:
Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people, so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.
Look kindly on all candidates for Confirmation as they listen to Your voice.
Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to fulfilment the good work that You have begun in them.
As we prepare these children for Confirmation, make each of us an instrument of Your love.
Teach us to appreciate what is holy in others, and to be patient with what we do not understand.
Deepen our faith in the Gospel and help us to pass it on by our example.
We pray that You will continue to guide us and sustain us. We ask this: through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
JUNIOR YOUTH GROUP
Exciting News! St Augustine’s Parish is kicking off a new Junior Youth Group.
If you’re aged 9-12 Years Old (Grade 4-6) and are interested in hanging out with like minded kids to share in faith, food and fun then we’d love to hear from you! There will be good food, good fun and Good News!
WHEN: Sunday 31 July and Sunday 11 September, 4pm-5:30pm
WHERE: The Curran Centre
Junior Youth will wrap up just prior to 5:30pm so families can attend evening Mass together.
For further information, phone Fran & Tim Davis on 0409597866.
PARISH PLAYGROUP IS BACK
9:00am Tuesdays (during school term) at the Curran Centre (Parish Office), 12 Gordon St
We warmly invite families with babies, toddlers, pre-school age children/grandchildren to join our parish playgroup.
If you are interested in becoming a Playgroup helper, to offer assistance with set-up or leading a craft or music activity, please contact the parish office on 6651 0000.
FAMILY MATTERS
Peace might seem like something difficult to achieve in some of the trying challenges that family life presents us, but there are some practical steps we can all take to promote peace in our daily lives. Click here to read more.
Naomi Loader- Assistant Principal Mission
Dominique Montford - Leader of School Catechesis
Maria Woods - Leader of School Evangelisation
Learning and Teaching
LARC NEWS
BOOK WEEK Parade 2022
This year we are inviting all students across the school to dress as a favourite book character. We will be having a whole school Book Week Parade on Wednesday 25th August in the morning session. Parents are invited to come and watch.
Our book parade will culminate in Mr Watts reading the winning Picture Book of the Year. We have no prizes for best costume but the focus is on the joy of reading and the characters in the stories we love. Costumes can be simple and not cost a lot.
In preparation for Book Week 2022 the students in Kindergarten to Year 2 have been listening to the books being read. In Week 5 they will vote on the Picture Book of the Year and Early Childhood book from the shortlisted books. Students in Year 3 to 6 are welcome to come view the books before school and at second lunch.
‘What do you call your Grandma?’ Written by Ashleigh Barton and illustrated by Martina Heiduczek, has prompted a great conversation over the different names around the world used for grandma.
OVERDUES
Next week notes will go home for outstanding overdues asking for payment. As these books will have been overdue since the Summer holidays we are asking for payment in order to buy new copies. Once payment is received in the LARC we will issue a receipt. On the chance the book is found we can refund you the money.
Digi Tech in the LARC
During Terms 3 and 4, students in Grades 5 and 6 will have the opportunity to participate in the $20 Boss Program.
What is the $20 Boss Program?
Enterprise skills are crucial for preparing students for the future of work. $20 Boss is an immersive learning program for building the enterprise skills of young people that has been developed in consultation with students and educators and is the largest entrepreneurship program in Australia. The program was originally designed by the Foundation for Young Australians and is now being delivered by Young Change Agents (YCA).
The program gives students $20 of funding to create, launch and operate their own venture over the course of a school term. Students will learn key elements of social entrepreneurship and are taught how to make money and create social good. $20 Boss is aligned with the National Curriculum across English, Economics, Business and Mathematics.
A letter of consent and contract will be sent home next week to enable your student to participate fully in the program.
For further information please feel free to send an email to Tracey.catling@lism.catholic.edu.au with any questions or concerns.
JUMP INTO READING CHALLENGE
A huge thanks to the families that logged reading minutes in the holiday, we are continuing collecting these minutes as well as individual student minutes.
Every minute added helps us to reach our goal of 1 million minutes!
Sport News & Sport Calendar
YEAR 3-6 TERM 3 ELECTIVE SPORT
We kicked off the first week of Elective Sports under very trying conditions. Luckily the sun was shining today and all sports were able to get out there and enjoy the day. Please keep remembering to pack all the necessary gear for your sport, especially those in the water.
CLARENCE ZONE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
On Thursday the Clarence Zone Athletics Carnival was held at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium. Our school was represented by 44 students from Year 2 to Year 6. Congratulations to all students and we look forward to announcing our students attending the Diocesan Carnival on the 10th August soon. Many thanks to Mrs Warnes and Mrs Plummer for managing the students on the day.
AFL- PAUL KELLY CUP
On Thursday St Augustine’s fielded both a boys and a girls side in the Paul Kelly Cup. Both teams played extremely well and had a fantastic time playing against other schools from around the region. A huge thanks to Mr O’Connell and Mrs Orton for helping train and prepare the students back at school, and to Aaron Crolla and Mr Jay Guthrie for coaching the students on the day.
COFFS HARBOUR RUNNING FESTIVAL - SUNDAY 11 SEPTEMBER
We are excited to announce that the Schools Challenge is back for this event! St Augustine’s have previously been proud winners of this event thanks to the large number of students coming along to show their support. We’d love to see even more students join us in 2022 and help us win a very healthy prize of $2 000 towards sporting equipment!
To register simply click on the link below. You don’t need to be an experienced runner. All ability levels are encouraged to run! ENTER HERE
Sport Calendar
| August 2022 | |
| 10 | Lismore Diocese Athletics (Coffs Harbour) |
| 24 | Netball Cup (Port Macquarie) |
| 26 | Polding Cricket Trials (Tamworth) |
| September 2022 | |
| 6 | Soccer and Netball Clarence zone |
| 9 | Polding Athletics (Newcastle) |
| 21 | Soccer and Netball Lismore Diocese |
Parent Forum
School’s back!! As much as we all love the school holidays I know that most of us parents love getting the kids back to school...and hopefully the kids love being back too. It’s been a long and miserable winter as far as sicknesses goes and I know that school staff are being stretched to their limits to try and make it through this very busy and difficult time. I’d like to take the opportunity on behalf of the Parent Forum to thank the school staff and acknowledge the hard work being done to keep things flowing, fruitful and fun!! I’d also like to make a shout out to the office staff who I understand have been working tirelessly to implement the school’s new Compass platform. Despite a few teething issues...we’re moving in the right direction! Feedback at our recent Parent Forum meeting was largely positive; having all messages in the one spot, digital consent forms, central calendar, logging absent children are all great benefits of the new system...and hopefully the payment glitches will be rectified soon. We hope everyone has a great term, there’s lots of great events and opportunities to connect over the next couple of months and we look forward to seeing lots of parents around the school. If you haven’t already please join our Parent Facebook Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/staugustinesparents and if you have any questions or ideas for the Parent Forum don’t hesitate to contact us at sapsparentforum@outlook.com
Take care and God bless,
Fran Davis
Hoodwinked Musical - SAVE THE DATE(s)!
Harry Potter Day - Year 5
Grandparent's Day - Save the Date - 7 Nov
Canteen Menu for 2022
- SUSHI WEDNESDAYS
A reminder that we cannot accept sushi orders on Wednesdays - please order by the Tuesday prior - by 2pm for a paper bag order or 8pm for an online order. Thank you. - CANTEEN VOLUNTEERS
We really need help with our SPECIAL LUNCH DAYS which fall on alternate Tuesdays and the last day of every term. Helping in the canteen is a great way to meet other parents, support your child and our school. Please contact the school if you can spare a few hours on these busy days. Thank you. - CANCELLATION OF CANTEEN ORDERS
Please remember to cancel online canteen orders if your child is away or sick prior to 7:30 am on the day of the order. Thank you - Alicia and Rosa
Canteen Roster
Week beginning 1 August
- Monday - V Wall, A Smith
- Tuesday - M Black, M Black
- Wednesday - P Duffy, B Symons
- Thursday - C Williams - Help Needed !
- Friday - G Dodd, L Knight, W McLean - Help Needed !
Week beginning 8 August
- Monday - L Seccombe
- Tuesday - M Black, M Black, C Williams
- Wednesday - J Martin, N Flintoff
- Thursday - S Crawford, M Van Den Boom
- Friday - P Duffy, W McLean, D McNeill, K Cochran
Week beginning 15 August
- Monday -N Williams
- Tuesday - M Black, M Black,
- Wednesday - C Jones, E Taylor
- Thursday - J Martin, C Williams
- Friday - W McLean, G Franklin - Help Needed !
Week beginning 22 August
- Monday - N Williams
- Tuesday - M Black, M Black, M Mainey
- Wednesday - C Jones - Help Needed !
- Thursday - L Horne, C Burbridge
- Friday - P Duffy, W McLean, K Cochran
Canteen News
Canteen helpers are always required, especially on Wednesdays as this is our sushi day, and on Fridays. Help is needed for three hours from 9:00 am until 12:00 noon once every four weeks. Grandparents are very welcome also. If you are able to help in the Canteen on any day please call us on 6652 1204.
Alicia Betland & Rosa Thomas - Canteen Managers
Lunchtime Clubs 2022
Parenting Ideas
