Newsletter 19 May 2023
Principal's Message
Mother's Day Celebration
Year 6 BEE DAY
Learning Journeys
Friday 19 May 2023 - Term 2 Week 4
Dear Parents and Carers,
This week members of the School’s Leadership Team attended professional learning led by Dr Lyn Sharratt. This is ongoing work for our staff that supports our school’s strategic plan. In particular, Dr Lyn Sharrat’s work will form aspects of our pedagogical framework that our staff are currently designing. This document will outline how we teach here at St Augustine‘s. Dr Lyn spoke about the following four criteria as critical for our students to succeed and grow.
What we do must:
- Be student centred
- Empower students and staff
- Encourage collaboration
- Involve precise teacher instruction
I’m excited to see our staff engage in this critical work.
Thank you to our excellent students for leading their families in their learning journeys this week. We will hold learning journeys again in Week Three of Term 4 (October 23-26).
Have you got your tickets for the Parent Form trivia night next Saturday? It’s shaping up to be a great social night for our parents, carers and friends. We hope to see you there!
Don’t forget to regularly check what’s happening in our school by accessing the school calendar on our school website (under ‘Essentials’ - ‘What’s on’) or on Compass.
Kind regards,
Naomi Loader
Acting Principal
Faith and Mission News
Mother’s Day Liturgy
What a wonderful celebration we had last Friday for all the mothers in our community. The bright, colourful ‘garden’ created by our students reflects the wonderful qualities that our mothers have and the immense love they have for their mums. It was beautiful to honour Mary, our spiritual mother in the liturgy and give God praise for the gift of our mothers and mother figures in our lives.
Sacramental Program 2023
Sacrament of Confirmation - For baptised students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6
As a number of parents were unable to attend the information session for their children who are enrolled to receive the sacrament of Confirmation, another session has been scheduled for Wednesday 24 May at 3:30pm in the Curran Centre. If you have not yet enrolled your child for this sacrament but wish to, please contact Maria Woods prior to Wednesday 24 May.
The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred by the Bishop on 19 & 20 July at 6:30pm
Pentecost Sunday/Multicultural Mass
On Pentecost Sunday, 28 May, at the 9am mass, our parish will be celebrating our cultural diversity. Everyone is invited to wear their traditional dress. Many of our St Augustine’s school students will be reading prayers in different languages and the hymns will be sung in the different native languages of our parishioners.
During the entrance procession, all children are encouraged to walk into the church with Fr Joe behind a flag of their cultural heritage (one flag per country, provided by us). If children need the support of an adult, they are welcome to join the procession too. Please fill in the Google Form if your family intends to attend so we know which flags to print. Once the children have walked to the front of the church, they will gather in front of the altar until Fr Joe has welcomed the congregation. He will then ask the children to return to their parents.
After the Mass everyone is invited to the Curran Centre for further celebration with the sharing of food, songs and dance from many cultures. A sausage sizzle will be provided and families are encouraged to bring a plate to share. If you have a song or dance to share, a cordless microphone will be provided. Just turn up and share your song/dance!
May is the month of Mary
When we pray to Mary, we are asking her to intercede for us to her Son, Jesus, with all our joys and sorrows.
RE Spotlight on Kindergarten
Kindergarten students have been learning that Mary is the mother of Jesus and is also the spiritual mother of us all. They have explored her special prayer, the Hail Mary and have done some beautiful art works of Our Lady.
Reconciliation Times in our Parish are as follows:
Coffs Harbour, St Augustine’s Church : Saturday 9:30am-10:30am and 4:30pm -5:30pm
Woolgoolga, St Francis Xavier’s Church : Sunday 8:15am - 8:45am
Dominique Montford - Acting Assistant Principal Mission
Maria Woods - Leader of School Evangelisation
Learning and Teaching
K-2 Reports: Parent Information
All parents received information about changes to the K-2 Semester 1 report via Compass this week in a note called ‘Understanding the New Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 Student Report Information for Parents.' It is important for all K-2 parents to read this note as there are changes to the report that make it quite different from previous school reports. The note outlines the reasons for the changes across the diocese. It is important to note that there are no changes to the Years 3-6 report this semester. Should you like further information or clarification about these changes, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
Learning Journeys
Thank you to all of you who attended our Learning Journeys this week. Your participation and engagement in your child's learning is a valuable contribution to their education. Your presence at the Learning Journeys demonstrated a true partnership between parents and the school. Your support and encouragement are heartening and make a significant difference in your child's academic and personal development. We hope that you found the Learning Journeys informative and helpful in understanding your child's progress and the teaching strategies used in the classroom. Once again, thank you for your time and effort in attending the Learning Journeys. We value your partnership with the school and look forward to working together to provide the best possible education for your child.
Learning Module Term 2 Overview:
Here is a snapshot of the exciting learning in our K-6 History, Geography and Science and Technology units this term. We call them Learning Modules as we try to make connections between the outcomes where we can.
Kindergarten | Family heritage: We have a past This Kindergarten unit looks at families having a history. |
Year 1 | Living things grow and change and can be used for a purpose This Year 1 unit assists students in developing their understanding of what things need to grow and how they can be used for different purposes. It includes an excursion to Dolphin Marine Conservation Park with an Aboriginal perspective of how different plants have been used in traditional ways for food, weapons, telling time etc. |
Year 2 | People Are Connected to Places In this unit Year 2 Students will first explore the history of their local area. Building on an understanding of why history is important, students will research several key sites in the local area such as Muttonbird Island, and Buster shipwreck. Students learn about the connections Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, have with places, both locally and globally. |
Year 3 | How to Build a House / Coding Year 3 has 2x 5 week units this term. They begin the term by Investigating how foods and fibres are produced on farms, how food and fibre products are made and a range of technologies, materials, systems, tools and equipment used to produce food and fibre. From there they move on to explore how algorithms can be coded to perform actions. Students learn to use Scratch to systematically design and code. |
Year 4 | Earth & Sun and Early Explorers Year 4 will be exploring the relationship between the Earth and the Sun as it impacts their daily life. In Term 2, the seasons will be transitioning and daylight saving is no longer occurring. Daylight hours are getting shorter. The winter solstice will be approaching in the Southern Hemisphere. Later in the term, the students begin the initial phase of their History unit, ‘First Contact’. This component of the unit focuses on early explorers. It leads into NAIDOC Week which falls in Week 10 of Term 2. This unit then continues into Term 3. |
Year 5 | May the Force be with you Year 5 students are introduced to a variety of contact and non-contact forces. Applied force, gravity, air resistance, tension and elastic force are explored in detail through many practical investigations, mostly in the context of the forces acting on an object in flight. This unit requires students to employ the skills of critical and creative thinking as they predict, observe, infer and explain observations and experimental results. Literacy skills are developed by using new scientific vocabulary in the correct context. |
Year 6 | Our Sustainable Future In this Year 6 Science and Technology unit, students will investigate different sustainability issues facing the world locally and examine sustainable practices. Students will have opportunities to develop and apply their scientific knowledge and skills, by conducting an investigation into the dispersion of oil. Students will design a solution to reducing the environmental and economic impacts of oil spills. |
Parent Storytelling Term 2
Our parent storytelling initiative is about parents reading to students in small groups. We want to make reading a fun and enjoyable experience for parents and students alike. This is voluntary for parents. You may be able to make it one week but not the other or not at all due to work commitments. That’s ok. Toddlers are welcome and can sit with the parents/children during the storytelling time. Please click the link to register your interest.
| Week 5 | 26 May | Year 1 |
| Week 6 | 2 June | No Storytelling |
| Week 7 | 9 June | Kindy |
| Week 8 | 16 June | Year 2 |
| Week 9 | 23 June | Year 1 |
Mother's Day Breakfast & Liturgy
Book Fair Competition
This week saw the return of our annual Book Fair, which was again a resounding success. Thank you to all our families who were able to support the Fair, from which a percentage of sales goes towards new books for the LARC.
During the lead up to the Book Fair we ran several competitions which saw the K-2 Students searching the school grounds for the ‘hidden’ Skull and Cutlass Flag, and it's accompanying letter. The secret word was ‘Pirate’ and the first correct entry drawn from each cohort received a $20 gift voucher to spend at the Fair. The winners in this competition were; Saige Towler (Kinder), Jaxon Boys (Y1) and Jack Strickland (Y2).
Years 3-6 had to work out the title and author of a ‘Book in a Bottle’ and again the first correct entry drawn for each cohort received a voucher for the Fair. The books were ‘Dog Man’ by Dav Pilkey (Years 3 & 4), and ‘Grandpa’s Great Escape’ by David Walliams (Year 5 & 6). Congratulations to Macy McClurg (Y3), Nate Butcher (Y4), Brooklyn Kennedy (Y5) and Fleur Keating (Y6).
Finally, we had two winners in our ‘Guess the Gold’ competition. Congratulations to Jacob Drozdzewski (Y4) and Koa Leeson in (Y3) for guessing the exact number of coins in the jar!
Thank you again to our families for supporting our Library. Read, read, read!!!
Mini Vinnies Mother's Day Raffle
Three lucky mums were the winners of the beautiful handcrafted quilts lovingly made and generously donated by parishioner, Mrs Margaret McGrath.
Mrs McGrath donated these and a number of crocheted quilts that will go toward our Winter Appeal later in the year. We congratulate our winners, and wished them a Happy Mother's Day. We thank Mrs McGrath for her donations and Mini Vinnies are working hard on collecting scraps of wool and fabric to help Mrs McGrath keep crafting her beautiful creations.
Sport News & Sport Calendar
May 2023
| 23 May | Diocesan Cross Country (Grafton) |
| 23 May-25 May | NSWPSSA Touch Football (St Mary's) |
| 29 May-2 June | NSWPSSA Hockey (Tamwort) |
| 30 May-2 June | NSWPSSA Basketball (Tamworth) |
June 2023
| 2 June | Year 3-6 Athletics Carnival (Stadium) |
| 13 June | CPS Cross Country Cahmpionships (Eastern Creek) |
| 16 June | Rugby Union 10's Gala Day |
| 21 June | Rugby 7's Regional Final |
| 25 & 26 June | NSW CPS Rugby (Forbes) |
| 29 June | Clarence Zone Athletics Carnival |
July 2023
| 21 July | NSW PSSA Cross Country Championships |
| 25 July-27 July | NSW PSSA Netball |
Paul Kelly Cup Carnival - AFL
Three teams (2 boys teams and 1 girls team) from St Augustine's competed in the Paul Kelly Cup AFL Carnival on Thursday 11 May 2023 in Coffs Harbour. St Augustine's Maroon side made it through to the Grand Final going down in a hard fought and close match. St Augustine's blue team also acquitted themselves well with 3 wins and a draw for the day. The girls had a successful carnival winning half of their games.
All teams competed with great enthusiasm, dispaying skills and outstanding sportsmanship. The students were exceptional ambassadors for the school and a credit to their families. A big thank you to the coaches on the day, Jay Guthrie (parent) Beau Guthrie (Coffs Harbour High student) and Darcy O'Rorke (JPC student).
NSW Girls All Schools AFL
On Monday Year 6 student Aisha Attia travelled to Bateman’s Bay to attend the NSW Girls ALL Schools AFL trials. We are proud to announce that Aisha was chosen to captain her side who were succesful in making it through to the semi finals. Well done Aisha.
NSWPSSA AFL Championships
This week Year 6 student Luke Welsh attended a 4-day AFL Trial at Bateman’s Bay, battling it out amongst the best AFL players from across NSW. Luke's team came 3rd overall, which is a fantastic achievement. Well done Luke.
Year 3-6 Athletics Carnival
It’s now only two weeks to go before our Year 3-6 Students head to the Coffs Harbour International Stadium for their Athletics Carnival.
This is sure to be another exciting event where Gold, Blue, Red and Green house battle it out for the Senior Athletics Trophy.
This is a compulsory event for all students and we ask that you please complete the compass invitation as soon as possible.
Below is a list of events for the day:
Shot Put and Long Jump (Juniors, 11’s, Seniors).
Trials held at school to create finals for the day. Finals announced at school next week.
800m (Juniors, 11’s, Seniors).
Competitive event for strong distance runners.
400m (Juniors, 11’s, Seniors)
This is a fun event for all students who did not compete in the 800m.
200m (Juniors, 11’s, Seniors).
Open to all students on the day. All heats are timed.
100m (8,9,10,11,12,13 year olds).
Open to all students on the day. All heats are timed.
The top 2 students in each event will progress to the Clarence Zone Athletics Carnival held at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium on Thursday 29 June.
Elective Sports (Years 3-6)
We are pleased to announce that the following sports will be available for Years 3-6 in Term 3 Elective Sports.
An email will be sent to families next week outlining the selection process and the cost of each sport.
The sports available will be:
Gymnastics
Futsal
Sports Aerobics
Walking
Jiu-Jitsu (Martial Arts)
Ten Pin Bowling
MultiSports
Ice Skating
CrossFit
Surfing (Years 5 and 6 only)
Stand Up Paddle Boarding, (Years 5 and 6 only)
St Augustine's Trivia Night
You are warmly invited to our first social get together for 2023, the St Augustine’s Trivia Night!
It will be an evening of fun!- full of brain teasers, laughter and connection. It is an opportunity for the adults of the school community to come together, have a laugh, meet other parents and school staff, and generally have a rollicking good time.
Saturday May 27
6.30pm (for 7pm trivia start)
St Augustine’s Primary School (top undercover area)
BYO drinks and snacks
Tickets $15
Grab a single ticket, a couple or a full table of 8.
(If you wish to sit together, please purchase tickets together as a block of tickets).
Everyone is welcome!
We are happy to connect people, so if you purchase 1 or 2 tickets, send us a quick email and tell us which year level your child is in and we will put you on a table with others in the same year level. Email SAPSParentForum@outlook.com
Tickets are on sale now! - https://www.trybooking.com/CIAYK
The Parent Forum
Canteen News
Canteen Roster
Week beginning 22 May
- Monday - L Seccombe, S Forbes
- Tuesday - C Williams,
- Wednesday - N Flintoff
- Thursday - S Crawford
- Friday - W McLean, K Cochran, Help needed
Week beginning 29 May
- Monday - D Budden
- Tuesday - E Taylor
- Wednesday - C Jones, N Oakland
- Thursday - C Williams
- Friday - L Knight, W McLean, L Lawler, K Cochran
Notices
