Term One Week Four 2023
Aboriginal Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We commit ourselves to actively working alongside Aboriginal people for reconciliation and justice.
Dear Families,
As we finish Week 4 of Term One it is great to reflect on the first few weeks of our new school year. We have seen our students settle effortlessly into their new class, form relationships with their new teachers, reconnect with their friends, make new friends and continue their learning where they left off! It is wonderful to also see our kindergarten students settling so well into school life. It is amazing how quickly 'big school' becomes their new normal.
On Wednesday we had a school prayer service for our Kindergarten - Year 3 students for Ash Wednesday and Years 4-6 attended the Parish Mass. The ashes were blessed by the Bishop at Mass and distributed by teachers to our students. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent in our Church year. Lent is a very significant time in the Church year. Lent is a time of preparation for Easter, when we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many Christians think of the forty days of Lent as an opportunity to change their daily lives and become closer to God.
From its start on Ash Wednesday until its conclusion on Easter Sunday, Lent has been a traditional time for fasting or giving something up or abstinence. Just as we carefully prepare for events in our personal lives, as a wedding or birthday, Lent invites us to make our minds and hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
These days, Christians around the world observe Lent in many ways. Many from more orthodox and traditional denominations will still observe the fast strictly, beginning with the wearing of ashes on Ash Wednesday and abstinence of meat, fish, eggs and fats until Easter Sunday. Others will choose to give up just one item for Lent, more commonly a ‘luxury’ such as chocolate, meat or alcohol. It is also becoming increasingly common for people to give up other things in order to refocus their faith during this time; such as watching TV and even social media. Many Christians also use Lent to pray more intensively and to use simple daily reflections and acts of generosity as a way of putting others first during preparations for Easter.
Pope Francis, in his Lenten message asks; “What are you giving up for Lent?” It’s a question a lot of people will get these next few days. If you want to change your body, perhaps alcohol, sweets and cigarettes is the way to go. But if you want to change your heart, a harder fast is needed. This narrow road is gritty, but it isn’t sterile. It will make room in ourselves to experience a love that can make us whole and set us free. So, if we’re going to fast from anything this Lent, Pope Francis suggests that even more than sweets or alcohol, we fast from indifference towards others.
Let us take time to reflect on the past year and during this season of Lent perhaps think about ways we can ‘fast’ in our own lives.
Year Six Induction Mass
Last Thursday we celebrated our Year Six leaders with a Mass in the Cathedral. Our School Captains, Vice Captains and Colour House Captains were presented with their badges and all of our Year Six student leaders recited their pledge to do and be the best person they can be in their senior year at St Carthage's.
We thank Fr Bing for celebrating this special mass with us.
Lions Citizenship Award
Congratulations to Bonnie Hogan and Jimmi Matthews who were presented with the Lions Citizenship awards at our Year Six Induction Mass last week. This award recognises school service, leadership amongst peers and school spirit.
We congratulate Bonnie and Jimmi on this great achievement.
Congratulations
Parent/Teacher Information Night
It was wonderful to see parents and carers at the Parent Teacher Information nights over the past week. Hopefully these meetings provided you with an overview of the year ahead and answered any questions/ concerns that you may have had.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
We look forward to welcoming our parents and carers into our class rooms in Week 6 to meet with teachers. Working together in partnership helps to clarify goals for your children, inform about areas of strength and areas to work on as well as clarify any issues or concerns which we may not be aware of.
Bookings for interviews are made online. Please check Compass for how to book if you haven't already done so.
Welcome Barbeque and Disco - Thursday 2nd March
We are excited to be able to host our annual Welcome Barbeque and Disco on Thursday, 2nd March. Please return your attendance notes by Monday 27th February for catering purposes. Please see the flyer in the Notice Board section of this Newsletter.
Thank You
We would like to say a BIG thank you to a local primary school for the donation of some playground benches and tables. We are very grateful for this very kind gesture. These will be well used by our students during morning tea and lunch times.
School Photos
Our School photos will be taken on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th March. School Photo envelopes will be sent home with the students soon. Please return these envelopes, with correct payment enclosed, on the Monday of the photos, as
these will be handed straight to the photographers. We do not handle photo money. Sibling envelopes will be available from the School Office. Please ensure that students are in their correct school uniform on these days.
Infant's Play Equipment After School
Our Infants’ play equipment is designed for use by our younger students under teacher supervision during the school day at the following times: before school from 8:30am to 8:55am, morning tea and lunch. It is not to be used by students from Years 3 to 6 at any time. Students catching buses, walking to Cathedral pick-up or waiting for parents are NOT to be on the equipment as they are not being supervised. Students must be supervised by their parents on the play equipment after school. We don’t wish to spoil fun, but safety is paramount and teachers are spending much time moving students away from this area to where they should be in the afternoons.
Uniform Reminder
Just a reminder that our school uniform policy states that hair that is long enough to be tied back must be tied back. We are seeing a number of students (both male and female) who are not following this rule. Your support in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
My School Updated for 2023
The My School website has been updated for 2023 with new profile information on schools and the latest school-level NAPLAN data.
From the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority (ACARA) CEO, David de Carvalho, “My School provides data on schooling right across Australia, helping parents, schools and governments to understand the performance of schools.”
“It’s an important resource for parents to make informed decisions about their children’s schooling. As well as providing an overview of approach and focus of the school, parents and carers can also find information on student and teacher numbers, attendance rates, financial information and NAPLAN results.
“It also provides teachers with important insights into school performance, supporting and driving improvements across the nation.”
The 2023 My School update includes the following:
2022 school profile and population data
2022 school attendance data
2022 NAPLAN results for schools
2021 school financial information, including capital expenditure and funding sources
2021 post-school destinations data.
Student progress data for 2020 – 2022 is not available following the cancellation of NAPLAN in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, parents can still view NAPLAN performance data relative to Socio-Educational Advantage by school on the NAPLAN results page.
My School’s Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) indicates the average educational advantage of the school’s students and is calculated using information about a parent’s occupation and education, school geographical location and the proportion of Indigenous students. A school’s ICSEA value is provided to encourage taking socio-educational advantage into account when comparing school achievement.
My School shows a decline in students’ attendance during Semester 1 and Term 3 2022, but this can be attributed to the impacts of the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak, high influenza outbreaks and floods experienced in some regions of Australia during that time.
To have a look at St Carthage’s Primary School’s profile and results, go on the My School website and enter the full school name in the search field.
NAPLAN Reminder
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Each year students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.
From 2023, NAPLAN is moving to Term 1 and will take place from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March. The reason for this change is so that results can be returned to schools earlier in the year which will support teachers to understand the learning needs of their students and plan accordingly.
NAPLAN tests are just one part of our school's learning assessment program and questions are primarily based on knowledge, understanding and skills gained from the prior year of schooling.
In preparation for NAPLAN 2023, our school will undertake activities to help students to become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked.
Students and parents can access the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with NAPLAN and the types of questions and tools available. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended.
If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher. If you wish to withdraw you child from NAPLAN please contact Mrs Deeps.
Students will need to bring in a set of headphones for the NAPLAN tests. If the headphones could be sent into school as soon as possible so that they can be used in the lead up to the assessments it would be greatly appreciated.
The Season of Lent
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent - a 40 day season of prayer and a time for reviewing our own habits and attitudes.
Years 4-6 attended Ash Wednesday Mass at the Parish Mass while students in Years K-3 attended a prayer celebration where ashes were distributed. The younger students heard about the need to MAKE A NEW BEGINNING FOR JESUS during Lent.
The ashes signify the opportunity to start anew, like green shoots arise from the ashes after a fire.
Each classroom will be given a pot with some soil in it and perhaps, hopefully, green shoots might rise through the soil before Easter! New Life!
Our Focus for Lent
During Lent we learn about the need to pray more, to give to the needy and to try to give up something (it could be a bad habit) like sleeping in too long on a week-day morning!)
We are holding a casual clothes day on St Patrick's Feast day - 17 March - to raise funds to send to Caritas. Casual Clothes with a hint of Green!
(Gold Coin donation will go to our Project Compassion fund-raising).
Courage to Serve
Last newsletter I eplained the meaning behind our God-Moment awards. We also have another award at school - the Courage to Serve Award.
This is awarded to students who show courage in meeting a challenge or serving a person or even our school community in some way.
Our first students receiving the award were the Year 6 students who led us in movement during our closing song at our Opening School Mass!
The reason we serve is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
St Carthage's Parish Sacrament Program
Students who are baptised are invited into the Parish Sacramental Program through St Carthage’s Primary School. At the moment we only have the date for Confirmation.
- Sacrament of Confirmation (Year 3 - 21 June, 2023)
- Sacrament of Reconciliation (Year 4 - Date to be confirmed)
- Sacrament of the Eucharist (Year 4 - Date to be confirmed)
Note: Children who have missed the opportunity to participate in any of these Sacraments may still enrol in a Sacrament e.g a Yr 6 student may be enrolled in any of these three Sacraments. Simply use the nomination form (below) and return to the School Office.
Students in Years 3 and 4 will receive a form directly from their classroom teacher.
Note: Copies of Baptismal Certificates need to be provided to the school unless your child was Baptised in the Cathedral Parish or you provided this Certificate to St Carthage’s school during enrolment. If this is not the case please provide a copy as soon as possible. You may need to contact the Parish where your child was baptised.
Stormbirds Program
A reminder that the Stormbirds Program will be made available this year once again. This program was developed following Black Saturday fires In Victoria and is based on the belief that change, loss and grief are a normal and natural part of life. The program is delivered to small groups of their peers over four sessions. The group is led by a 'Companion' who stays with the group for the four sessions. The program is not therapy and students in the program get to...
1) Share their experiences of change and loss in safe ways
2) Come to understand and attend to their feelings
3) Learn skills for adapting and recovering
For more information go to
https://www.goodgrief.org.au/stormbirds
We invite parents and carers to nominate students who might benefit from Stormbirds Program via the link below:
https://forms.gle/
If you, or a teacher, nominate your child to participate in Stormbirds, a Permission Form and Information Letter further outlining the Program will be sent home with your child.
Date Claimers
Incitāre retreat for selected Year 6 students - 28 February, 2023
World Day of Prayer - Cathedral on Friday March 3 at 9.30am
St Patrick's Feast day - 17 March - Casual Clothes with a hint of Green! (Gold Coin donation will go to our Project Compassion fund-raising).
Sunday April 2 at 3.00pm - Lismore Symphony Orchestra performing in the Cathedral - For bookings visit their website https://www.lismoresymphony.
St Carthage’s Feast Day - 15 May
Our Lady Help of Christians - 24 May
Ascension of the Lord - 29 May
Sacrament of Confirmation - 21 June 6pm - Cathedral
InitiaLit (K-2) (Whole-class initial instruction in literacy)
InitiaLit is an evidence-based, whole-class literacy program that aligns with the new K-2 English syllabus. This program has been introduced within our K-2 classrooms as part of our daily English Block. It uses a Systematic, Synthetic Phonics approach to teach students how to read and write.
Unlike learning to talk which children pick up naturally, children need to be directly taught the relationship between letters and sounds. This program helps children to learn the relationships between the sounds (phonemes) of spoken language and the letter symbols (graphemes) of written language. They also need to know how to blend and segment these sounds/letters when reading and writing words.
Terminology
Some of the terms used in a Systematic Synthetic Phonics program can sound confusing. Here’s a basic rundown of the most common terms you’ll hear:
Phoneme – the smallest unit of speech sound in a word ( /s/ = ss rather than ess)
Grapheme – the written letter or group of letters that represent a speech sound
Phoneme/Grapheme Correspondence – the relationship between speech sounds and letter symbols.
Decoding (Reading) – the process of reading a word by recognising which sound (phoneme) corresponds with each letter (grapheme) and then blending these individual sounds/letters to make words.
Encoding (Spelling) – the process of spelling a word by deciding which letters represent the speech sounds.
Tricky words - tricky words are words that cannot always be sounded out using phoneme/grapheme correspondence. These were previously referred to as sight words.
How can I support my child at home?
Each grade will outline what home reading activities they would like to be completed. This might include reading decodable texts or fluency passages, practising their sounds or simply reading to and with your child for enjoyment. This will vary according to the grade and the class focus. Some great ways to support your child to continue to develop a love of reading could include:
- Reading interest-based books and stories to and with your child. Discuss the story and point out any new words to enrich their vocabulary.
- Spend time teaching your child nursery rhymes, songs and poems.
- Play language games - talk about letters and sounds in the environment.
- Have your child find 'tricky' words (sight words) in the story.
When readers are sent home, try to spend time listening to your child read, providing support to help them apply their knowledge about sounds and letters to the text. Not all words can be sounded out. These words are called 'tricky' words in this program and are required to be learned by looking for grapheme (letter) patterns rather than solely on the sounds. Due to this, don't encourage your child to sound these words out, as that might cause confusion. Simply, tell them that the word is a tricky word and give it to them. Their tricky word bank will build over time with ongoing exposure and teaching in the classroom.
Tips for parents:
1. Become familiar with the basics of phonics yourself.
Make sure that what you are practising with your child is consistent with what they are being taught at school by learning the principles of Synthetic Phonics for yourself. A good place to start is learning to say each letter sound (e.g. /s/ as in ‘sit’) correctly for reading instead of using the letter name (e.g. ‘ess’) to identify a letter.
2. Look for opportunities to model phonics
When you’re out and about, look for opportunities to demonstrate sound/letter correspondences such as on signs or on menus at restaurants. Demonstrate the sound and letter yourself and then ask your child to do the same.
3. Ask questions
Once your child has successfully decoded a sentence, ask them questions about what they have just read. This will help them to build comprehension skills, which is another essential component of effective reading. You could ask questions like, ‘What do you think that means?’ or ‘What do you think will happen next?’.
4. Offer encouragement and praise
Build your child’s confidence by acknowledging when they have read successfully. Depending on your child’s reading skill, success could be making the correct sound for a letter or reading a complete sentence without assistance. If your child makes a mistake, acknowledge what they have done well and offer corrective feedback for them to try again.
We will provide a variety of opportunities throughout the year for you to learn more about how to support your child at home with reading.
Welcome BBQ
Woodlawn Open Night
Melanoma March
