Term 2 Week 8, 2024
From our Leadership
Welcome
Danny spent a few days with the Coffs/ Clarence Principal Group in Melbourne last week. As well as exploring some ‘best practice’ approaches to learning and teaching, we were blessed to be exposed to the loving heart of Catholic Education in Victoria. No favourites, but the beautiful message at Saint Jude’s Langwarrin- Use Your Kind Heart - resonated strongly with me.
Coincidentally, June is traditionally the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a widely practised and well-known Catholic devotion. What’s its purpose? To remind us of God’s boundless and passionate love for each and every one of us and, in turn, to share that love with others.
Parent Group Meeting
A reminder that the next Parent Group meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 2 July (Week 10).
Baptism
Congratulations to Owen and Mason who were admitted into the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Baptism on Saturday, 15 June.
Sacrament of Confirmation
On Tuesday, 18 June, five students received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Gregory in a ceremony at St Mary’s Church. Alice, Maddelyn, Mason, Patrick and Owen received the Holy Spirit as a sign of a deeper committment to their faith. Congratulations students.
Stage 3 Mass
Last Friday, 14 June, our Stage 3 students were joined by Fr Emmanual and family members to celebrate Mass. The theme for the Mass was the Holy Spirit, the focus of learning in religious education this term. It was wonderful to celebrate mass with our community.
Head Lice
Please check your child’s hair for head lice as we have had reported cases. If your child has head lice and has been treated they can attend school.
Bullying and Friendships Continued - Part 3
Is My Child Being Bullied?
What Are The Signs? Each individual student who has been bullied or is bullying others will respond and act differently. A student's behaviours and moods can also change for a variety of reasons. An important first step is to notice a change in behaviour. Signs a parent may notice can include but are not limited to:
- not wanting to go to school
- changes to their method or route to school, or are frightened of walking to school
- changes in sleep patterns
- changes in eating patterns
- frequent tears, anger, mood swings
- unexplained bruises, cuts, scratches
- missing or damaged belongings or clothes (Source: Bullying NoWay!)
What Could my actions be?
- Listen and Validate: The first step is to stay calm and try to get all the facts through an open and supportive conversation with your child. Listen to their experiences without judgment and validate their feelings. Let them know that you believe and support them. While it may be a case of bullying, it might also be the result of poor communication by one or both children.
- Reassure Your Child: Reassure your child that they deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. Remind them that you are there to help.
- Problem Solve: Sometimes, as a first step, your child may just want some advice about how to manage the situation. Discuss the things your child has already done to try to solve the problem and suggest other things they might try.
- Document: At other times it is important that action is taken immediately. Help your child create a simple timeline including when it started and important details such as location, what happened and the names of any bystanders. This documentation can be helpful when talking to the school and/ or police.
- Talk to the school: If you suspect your child is experiencing bullying at school, provide the school with the specific incidents or experiences. It is important for the school to know as many details as possible. Request a meeting to support your child. Work with the school to solve the problem. Encourage your child to report any further bullying incidents to a teacher.
- Ongoing Communication: Remember that addressing bullying requires ongoing communication, support, and advocacy for your child. Always prioritise your child's safety and wellbeing, and work in collaboration with the school to find a resolution to the bullying situation.
- Cyberbullying: Often harmful online content can be removed by the site, game or app used to send it. eSafety may be able to help remove the content if it is likely to harm your child’s physical or mental health. Report to eSafety using this link.
- Nurture your child’s strengths and interests. Provide a variety of opportunities for your child to explore different activities, sports, arts, and hobbies. Let them try different things to discover what they enjoy the most. Help your child connect with peers who have similar passions.
Teaching and Learning
Professional Learning- Reading Fluency
Throughout the term, our teachers have engaged in professional learning aimed at enhancing their pedagogical practices and understanding of Evidence-Based Assessment, Instruction, and Intervention in Reading Fluency. A significant takeaway from this learning has been the critical role of reading fluency in fostering students' reading comprehension skills.
Following a thorough analysis of current data, all teachers identified students in need of targeted instruction in reading fluency. Over the past six weeks, teachers implemented evidence-based strategies tailored to these students. Recently, we reviewed the impact of these strategies on student growth and achievement, and the results were highly encouraging.
Encouraged by these outcomes, teachers have further deepened their understanding of effective strategies and are now embarking on another cycle of explicit teaching with these students.
Below is some information on ways in which you can support your child with Reading Fluency at home.
Learning Intentions and Success Criteria
As we continue to advance in our efforts to achieve the 2024 School Action Improvement Plan Goal for Teaching and Learning, ensuring that "All students meet the expected learning progressions for their grade in 'Grammar' and 'Punctuation'," teachers will implement explicit and tailored teaching strategies in the upcoming learning cycle. The learning will be based on the clearly defined Learning Intentions and Success Criteria for each group shown below. These goals will guide both teachers and students in the achievement of specific writing goals for their group, as well as their own personalised goal, fostering a focused and structured learning environment. Additionally, teachers and students will utilise these criteria for teacher feedback, self-assessment and provide constructive feedback to their peers, promoting a collaborative and reflective approach to learning.
Principal-Danny Rankin
Assistant Principal-Anne Forwell
Leader of Learning - Brooke Donoghue
Leader of Evangelisation - Matthew Green
Sport Coordinator - Caitlin Crispin
Congratulations to all students who competed in our School Athletics Carnival last Friday, 7 June. It was such a great carnival watching students having fun and cheering on their peers.
The Zone Athletics Carnival will be held on 30 July at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium.
Well done to our Age Champions!
- Junior Boys Kevin L
- Junior Girls Maddison H
- 11years Boys Red T
- 11 years Girls Kendall R
- Senior Boys Owen K
- Senior Girls Jasmin C
Our Champion house for the carnival was Hawthorne. Well done to all students in Hawthorne.
A very special mention to Owen for breaking the school record for 12/13 years boys 100m race.
Our new school record for the 12/13 years boys 100m is 15.01 seconds.
A big congratulations to Owen!
Gumbaynggirr Language - Liz Hegedus
Ginnagay Ngujawiny -Hello You Mob,
Last week I had the pleasure of attending a community public art project, at South Grafton Boulevard. The project was about Aboriginal Photographic History.
The project was established by Aunty Debby Taylor and the idea was to gather photographs from all Aboriginal families who were born and raised in the Clarence Valley.
The project began just before COVID and with the help from the Clarence Valley Council, Grafton Library and the Aboriginal families we were able to continue on with the project, collect the photographs and place them on the wall at the South Grafton Boulevard.
The photographs were donated by many Aboriginal families which are nearly all descendants of the Olive, Cowan, Taylor families. From these families we have the Daley’s, Skinner’s, Donnelly’s, Duroux’s, Ferguson’s, Hegedus and Webb’s families.
The photographs tell the history of when Aboriginal families were first established in the Clarence Valley. They also tell us how they lived in the community, from going to war, school, jobs, sport and the jobs they were allowed to do.
The project is not completed as we have more photographs to place on the wall, a QR code and a name for the project.
Please, go to South Grafton Boulevard and have a look at the photographs. They tell a story of our history which so important.
Darrundang Ngiinda - Thankyou Miss Liz Hegedus Aboriginal Educational Worker
School Notes
SCHOOL FEES
Thank you to those families who have made the change from Direct Debit to BPay for fee payments. BPay is the preferred payment method for school fees.
Scheduled payments can also be set up using BPay, the Biller Code and your personal reference number can be found on your Fee Statement.
Paying through BPay ensures that your payment goes directly to your account. Any enquireies please contact the School Office.
ABSENCES
Please notify the School Office if your child will be absent for an extended period of time, Principal approval may be required.
Only full day absences are to be entered into Compass, for partial absences - arriving late or leaving early please phone the School Office to notify.
Change to afternoon travel arrangements may be emailed to the school if before 12.00pm sjpgraf@lism.catholic.edu.au
After 12.00pm please phone the School Office on 6642 2899 with any changes.
Uniforms
Merit Awards
Congratulations to the following students who received a Merit Award.
TERM 2 WEEK 8
ES1: Tristan, Indiana, Layke, Indi, Oscar
Stage 1: Patrick, Hayden, Sarah, Izac
Stage 2: Lachlan, Gurkirat, Max
Stage 3: Owen, Alexander, Red, Isla
School Calendar
TERM 2 2024
Week 9
Tuesday, 18 June - Sacrament of Confirmation
Thursday, 27 June - Whole School Mass at St Patrick's Chursh
Friday, 28 June - Semester 1 Reports published on Compass
Friday, 28 June - St Vincent de Paul Fundraiser - Pyjama Day
Week 10
Monday, 1 July - School Assembly 2.15pm
Tuesday, 2 July - Year 4 Accendere Retreat, Mercy Hall
Tuesday, 2 July - Parent Group Meeting 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Thursday, 4 July - Last day of Term 2 for students
Friday, 5 July - Staff Development Day (Pupil Free Day)
TERM 3 2024
Week 1
Monday, 22 July - Students return for Term 3
Friday, 26 July - Grandparent's Day Liturgy at 2.00pm in Mercy Hall
Week 2
Monday, 29 July - School Assembly 2.15pm
Tuesday, 30 July - Zone Athletics Carnival at Coffs Harbour
Week 3
Tuesday, 6 August - Parent Group Meeting 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Thursday, 8 August - St Mary Mackillop Feast Day
Week 4
Monday, 12 August - School Assembly 2.15pm
Monday, 12 to Wednesday, 14 August - Stage 3 at Camp Goodenough
Week 5
Week 6
Monday, 26 August - School Photo Day
Monday, 26 August - School Assembly 2.15pm
Week 7
Week 8
Monday, 9 September - School Assembly 2.15pm
Wednesday, 11 September - Colour Fun Run
Week 9
Week 10
Monday, 23 September - School Assembly 2.15pm
Thursday, 26 September - Last Day of Term 3 for students
Friday, 27 September - Staff Development Day (Pupil Free)
Canteen
Canteen
Open every Wednesday and Friday
Online orders are placed through the Compass app prior to 8.30am. Lunch orders may still be brought in with your child, please write their name and class on the front of a paper bag along with their order.
Volunteers are always welcome, please leave your details with the School office if you're able to assist.
