Newsletter 5 July 2024
- Principal's Message
- Faith and Mission News
- Pastoral Care & Wellbeing
- Semester 1 Reports
- K-2 Parent Storytelling 2024
- NAIDOC Day Celebrations
- Save the Date - Father's Day Celebrations
- K-2 Athletics Carnival
- Teddy Bears Picnic
- Chess Team
- Gangsta Granny Day
- LARC NEWS
- Year 5 $20 BOSS Market Day
- School Musical News
- Sport News
- CANTEEN NEWS
- Notices
Principal's Message
K- 2 Athletics Carnival Winners
NAIDOC Day Celebrations
Teddy Bears Picnic
Friday 5 July 2024- Term 2 Week 10
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you to everyone for your support this term to make St Augustine’s a place where children learn and grow and do well.
Last week I was lucky enough to visit New Zealand on a study tour, sponsored by Southern Cross University, to look at how they approach preservice teacher training and professional development. A bonus was to quiz our Kiwi cousins on their system of schools and compare how we are doing. The good news is we are doing well, although there is still room for improvement in many areas. One area that NZ is way ahead of us is in indigenous education, where all teachers speak Maori and the two cultures are intertwined at school.
Our NAIDOC celebration was an amazing showcase of the talents of our amazing Aboriginal and Torres Strait students. Ms Bree Gittens and Cordell Lockwood took an active role in leading the children through dance and song. The Welcome to Country by Uncle Richard Widders was excellent, making note of where the pre-colonisation Dry Camp was located, which happens to be where the presbytery/church now stands. The many water springs around the school were always a source of fresh water at any time of the year, even in drought. All children broke into mixed age groups after the assembly to complete activities related to NAIDOC and celebrate indigenous culture.
There is so much to look forward to next term. Mini-Olympics, Elective Sports, 100 Days of Kindergarten, Book Week, our Feast Day, Colourthon, Father’s Day and of course our school musical, ‘A Hint of Snow White’. Not to forget all the great learning in English, Maths and all the other subjects!
Have a great winter break and I look forward to seeing everyone on the first day back for children, Tuesday 23 June.
Grace and peace,
Peter Watts
Principal
Faith and Mission News
Sacrament of Confirmation
Confirmation Liturgies will be held Saturday 3 August 4pm and Monday 5 August 5:30pm
First Eucharist
Congratulations to Harlan Readett, Pippa Rowbotham and Kobe Lindsay who received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time.
We pray that receiving Jesus will continue to be an important part of your life and that your faith will continue to grow.
Feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - 16 July
Last Friday our church celebrated the feast of ‘Our Lady of Mount Carmel’, the patroness of the Carmelite priests.
Fr Joe and Fr Joy are Carmelite priests, so this is a very special day for them every year. As this feast day falls in the school holidays, there will be a shrine set up on the upper asphalt area devoted to Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Tuesday 23 July (the first day of school for students). You are invited to bring a flower from your garden to school on that day and, as you arrive at school, place it on the cloth surrounding Mary and say a prayer, asking Mary to talk to Jesus for you about whatever is on your heart. We honour Mary for being such a wonderful role model in how to follow Jesus and to thank her for being His mother.
On the following link you will find a video and information if you want to learn more about this special feast day. Google Slide on 'Our Lady of Mount Carmel'
Come Holy Spirit Retreat - Year 3
Last Friday, Year 3 was filled with the Holy Spirit during their Spiritual Retreat. They shared a day of fun games, meditation and prayer with the wonderful realisation that the Holy Spirit is truly alive in their lives.
Naomi Loader - Assistant Principal Mission
Maria Woods - Leader of School Evangelisation
Pastoral Care & Wellbeing
Everyone is affected by change and loss at some point in their lives. At St Augustine’s, we recognise that when changes occur, such as separation, divorce, death, school transitions, and natural disasters, young people may benefit from learning the skills to manage these changes effectively. We are, therefore, offering an education program called Seasons for Growth, which will commence in Term 3. The program will be run by members of the Pastoral Care Team, Mrs Allison Anderson and Miss Amber Scanes.
This program is facilitated in small groups of up to 7 participants and is based on research highlighting the importance of social support and the need to practise new skills to cope effectively with change and loss. The program focuses on building skills such as managing feelings, problem-solving, decision-making, effective communication and developing peer support networks.
Participation in the program can promote improved self-esteem and self-confidence as well as giving young people the opportunity to find their own voice amid change.
If you think your child/ren would enjoy joining the Seasons for Growth program, we encourage you to talk to him/her about it. We are pleased to offer this successful program and are confident that it will be a valuable learning experience for those involved.
If you feel the Seasons Program would suit your child/ren, please register them by emailing the school at cofhp@lism.catholic.edu.au or by completing the Google form HERE .
Please note that depending on the number of students nominated, not all applications may be placed in a group in Term 3, but we will continue to run the groups in Term 4 and beyond.
Kind regards,
Naomi Loader
Assistant Principal Mission
Semester 1 Reports
A reminder that Semester 1 reports are now available on Compass. To view your child's report, click on their image in Compass and follow the prompts until you see the 'Reports' tab. Click and it will open the report.
K-2 Parent Storytelling 2024
Kindergarten Parent Storytelling
Unfortunately Kindergarten Parent Storytelling Term 3 Week 1 has been cancelled.
NAIDOC Day Celebrations
We are so proud. What a great celebration of culture!
Save the Date - Father's Day Celebrations
K-2 Athletics Carnival
Teddy Bears Picnic
The Teddy Bears came for a picnic, and what a find time Kinder and Year 6 had.
Chess Team
Our Chess Team had a great day on Monday when they competed against other local schools and came away with second place! We are very proud of you all for your impressive chess playing, positive attitude, support for each other and excellent behaviour.
Gangsta Granny Day
Year 2's Gangsta Granny Day was full of fun, Grannies, adventure, stolen jewels and thankfully no swimming in the Thames!
LARC NEWS
Each student will bring home a recording sheet today with instructions on how to participate in this exciting reading challenge over the next 5 weeks.
Don’t forget that your child has access to thousands of free ebooks and audiobooks on Sora. Instructional videos on how to login and borrow are available on the LARC intranet page (under the student tab). Ebooks can be especially useful if you are travelling during the holidays.
Year 5 $20 BOSS Market Day
School Musical News
Sport News
SPORT CALENDAR 2024
Week 1 | |
Tue 23 Jul | NSW PSSA Cross Country (Horsley Park) |
Sat 27 & Sun 28 Jul | Combined Schools Basketball Championships (Gold Coast) |
Week 2 | |
Mon 29 Jul - Thu 1 Aug | Combined Schools Basketball Championships (Gold Coast) |
Tue 30 Jul | Clarence Zone Athletics (CeX Coffs International Stadium) |
Thu 1 Aug | AFL Regional Final (TBC) |
Week 3 | |
Tue 6 - Thu 8 Aug | NSW PSSA Touch Football (Wollongong) |
Fri 9 Aug | Clarence Zone Netball & Football Knockout (TBC) |
Week 4 | |
Fri 16 Aug | Lismore Diocesan Athletics (CeX Coffs International Stadium) |
Week 7 | |
Tue 3 Sep | Touch Football Gala Day (TBC) |
Fri 6 Sep | Clarence Zone Football & Netball Knockout (TBC) |
Week 8 | |
Fri 13 Sep | NSW CPS Athletics (Newcastle) |
Week 10 | |
Wed 25 Sep | Lismore Diocesan Football & Netball Knockout (TBC) |
K-2 Athletics Carnival- Gold House Wins!
Last week we were treated to a beautiful sunny day for our annual K-2 Athletics Carnival.
We had a record number of parents, carers and grandparents join us as we chanted our war cries and then had far too much fun running, jumping, throwing, and trying to stay upright in our 3-legged races.
In a very close finish it was GOLD HOUSE that came away with the lead in the end!
A big thank you to all of our visitors and to our hard working teachers for making it the great day that it was.
Polding Rugby Union- Forbes
It was a very chilly morning in Forbes when three of our finest young Rugby Union players donned the Lismore Diocesan jersey to play at the Polding Championships. The Lismore Diocesan team came across some very tough competition but didn’t lose a game all day! We are pleased to hear the coaches report that our boys should be commended on their incredible efforts and sportsmanship.
We would like to especially acknowledge the exciting news that Mitchell McKenzie has now been selected to play for the Polding team at the NSWPSSA Rugby Union Championships to be held in August in Wagga Wagga. Congratulations Mitch!
CANTEEN NEWS
Canteen Roster
Week beginning 22 July
- Monday - Staff Development Day
- Tuesday - M & M Black
- Wednesday - C Jones
- Thursday - J Murphy, D Kelly
- Friday - W McLean, K Cochran, Hana
Week beginning 29 July
- Monday - B Rae
- Tuesday - M & M Black
- Wednesday - B Symons
- Thursday -
- Friday - W McLean, L Lawler, C Williams
Notices
