Newsletter - Term 3 Week 2

Calendar

From The Leaders

This Sunday’s Gospel from Matthew (17th Week in Ordinary time) tells us about the true treasures of the Kingdom. Jesus explained these in terms we would understand. He says that the Kingdom of Heaven is not somewhere far away. Every time we choose to change the things we do wrong, we make the Kingdom present. When we forget about our wants so that we can help someone else, we make it present. And again when we take time to pray and bring God into our lives, we make the Kingdom present.

Learning Conversations

It was a joy to hear the buzz in the hall during our learning conversations this week! We thank all of our amazing staff for the work that they have done to prepare and all of our families for making the time to come, listen and share about their child. We love working in partnership with you and look forward to an exciting Semester 2 learning journey.

Our Future Parent Body - An Important Choice

Thank you to the many parents that accessed the voting form during the week. We would love to have all of our families make comment on their preferred option. 

As parents arrived this week for the Parent/Teacher Conferences, a one page summary document was handed out and an opportunity for you to answer a question to show what you are thinking about the two different models. 

Parents are able to choose from the following selections:

1. The School Community Forum
2. The School Community Group
3. I would like to wait to give my preference until I read the governing documents of both models. Please email them to me.
4. I am unsure because I feel like I don't know enough.
5. I don't have a preference.
   

Want to Learn More?
Ready to Indicate Your Preference?

COMPASS

Thank you to all of our families for connecting with our new COMPASS app. The Catholic Schools Office has been extremely pleased with our parent uptake. At the start of next week, we will be making personal phone calls to the ten families that are yet to have someone download the app. 

SZapp

We ask that families now delete the SZapp from your mobile phone. This will not be used at all by the school in the future. Communication with our families will be through the COMPASS platform and Seesaw for your child's learning journal. 

School Photos

A reminder that parents can purchase School Photo packs directly through the COMPASS app. The timetable was published to families yesterday and is also available through the attachment below.

Catholic Schools Week

Catholic Schools Week is a timely way to celebrate Catholic education and the successes so far of this year. The theme for this year is Living Our Mission.

At St Agnes' Primary we will be celebrating Catholic Schools Week in Week 8. The week will begin as we do each week with whole school prayer. On Wednesday morning, 6 September we will welcome everyone to attend our ‘Grandparents and Special Persons Liturgy’. All grades will be involved in this Liturgy starting at 9:00am. After that many students will travel to Panthers Club for the Creative Arts Spectacular dress rehearsal. All students will attend a matinee performance of our Creative Arts Spectacular on Thursday 7 September at Panthers. That evening we invite everyone to celebrate the creative arts at St Agnes’, with performances from the choir, dance groups, band, drama activities and art works on display. 

After the festivities of Creative Arts Spectacular Night, students will have a rest day on Friday, while staff participate in the Staff Spirituality Day organised by Bishop Gregory Homeming. We have organised the Grandparents and Special Person’s Day in conjunction with our Creative Arts Spectacular night as so many grandparents and loved ones travel for both of these regular St Agnes’ celebrations.

Staff Professional Learning Days - Important Dates

A reminder about the upcoming Pupil Free Days to allow for staff learning as outlined in the previous newsletter.

Staff Professional Learning/ Pupil Free days 

Term Three 2023

- Friday 8 September 2023 (Unfortunately, No child minding available)
- Monday 11 September 2023 (Child minding available)
- Friday 22 September 2023 (Child minding available)

Term Four 2023

- Monday 9 October 2023 (Child minding available)
- Friday 15 December 2023 (Child minding available)

This will mean that the last day of school for students in 2023 will be Thursday 14 December. As outlined above, we will offer child minding for families that require it on Friday 15 December 2023. 

Confirmation

Next week we welcome Bishop Greg Homeming to Port Macquarie. Our candidates participated in workshops over the last two weeks, learning more about the gifts of the Holy Spirit received in Confirmation. We pray for our candidates, their families and those who have prepared and supported them on their journey.

Reflection Day

Today all  students in Year 3, and confirmation candidates attended a Reflection Day at the Youth Hub. They worked individually and in small groups as part of their learning about the gifts of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, awe and wonder, right judgement, courage and reverence. The fruits of the Holy Spirit discussed were love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

NAPLAN

All students in Years Three and Five should have received a paper copy of their NAPLAN results this week. We hope that you find the new proficiency standards easier to identify how your child performed in the assessment. If you require any assistance with NAPLAN data, please contact either your child’s class teacher or Kate de Bressac.

Family Connect Service

A reminder to all our familes, that we have Jerico Navea onsite on Wednesday mornings from the Family Connect Service.  This service can support families to connect with a wide range of  services including:
● Housing and homelessness
● Centrelink
● NDIS applications, access and coordination
● Domestic Violence
● Mental health
● Parenting education
● Transport
● Flood recovery
● Financial planning

Amazing Stage Three Art!

We were so excited to see the amazing photography that came from Stage Three’s Visual Arts exploration. We certainly have some budding photographers at Aggies! These fabulous photos were taken in the Sensory Garden. They are an absolutely beautiful celebration of the beauty of creation.

Final Call for ICAS Bookings

ICAS begins in Week 4 for any families who are interested in booking their child in. These are purely optional and occur on various dates during Term 3. Children from Year 2 are offered the opportunity of entering all assessments except ICAS Writing. If your child is interested in entering these competitions, please return the tear off slip to the office by Monday 31 July 2023. This year payment is made online via the link https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps our school code is BGE950. Please note that all entries are to be placed online by Monday 31 July 2023 therefore no late entries can be accepted.

Pastoral Care

Garden Club

Garden club students have been busy this week digging up some huge sweet potatoes!

Cyberbullying: Being Mean is Never OK

As a parent, you play a vital role in helping your child develop digital intelligence, which encompasses the social, emotional, and practical skills needed to navigate the digital world successfully. To start the conversation about kindness, ask your child how they would like to be treated by others face-to-face and online. Have they witnessed someone being mean either online or in person? Discuss the values they should remember when they are online, such as compassion, empathy, and doing the right thing.

Take the time to talk about what constitutes mean behaviour. This could include saying hurtful things, sending hurtful messages, deliberately excluding someone, spreading lies, or being unkind while playing games.

To help your child recognise if they are being mean, ask them how they would know if they are hurting someone's feelings. They may mention outcomes such as the other person being upset, telling a teacher, crying, or refusing to play with them anymore. It's important to help them understand the concept of getting personal, which involves making comments about someone's appearance, speech, race, disability, or family background. Explain why this is never acceptable.

Here are some ways you can support your child:

• Sit with them and review their online conversations, as well as their interactions with friends and family face-to-face. Discuss what they are saying and help them understand the impact of their words.
• Encourage and praise their kind behaviour at home and beyond.
• Talk about accepting differences in others and discuss strategies for dealing with people who annoy them. Openly coach them through specific situations.
• Guide your child to imagine being in someone else's shoes, promoting empathy and understanding diverse perspectives.
• Explain that there are consequences for mean online behaviour, even if it occurs outside of school hours. Emphasise that schools may intervene and address such behaviour if it is towards a school peer.

By having these conversations and providing guidance, you can empower your child to navigate the digital world with kindness and respect.

Resources to use with your child

1. esafety kids Someone is being mean to me online
2. esafety kids  How do I know if I have been mean to others online?

Family and School Partnerships

Sports News

Zone Athletics Carnival

On Wednesday, 54 St Agnes' students participated in the Hasting Zone Athletics Carnival at St Josphes' Regional College. The weather was perfect for competing with blue skies and a fast track. Our Aggies team made themselves and their school proud with their sportsmanship and manners, immersing themselves in the spirit of sport. Thank you to Mrs Brazel, Mrs Alchin and Chris Farrell for not only doing their roles on the day, but looking after all students who attended. 

From the carnival, sixteen students from Years 2 to 6 continue to the Diocese Athletics Carnival on Tuesday 15 August, in Coffs Harbour. Special mention to Indigo Duncan, who set a new Hastings Zone record in the senior girls 1500m, beating the previous record by more than 30 seconds.

Congratulations to the following students for their selection in the following events:

Pippa Taylor - 1st 8yrs Girls 100m
Isolde O’Brien - 3rd 8yrs Girls 100m
Dominic Ritchie - 3rd 9yrs Boys 100m
Jagga Smith - 2nd 11yrs Girls 100m, 1st 11yrs Girls 200m
Harley Cadden - 3rd 11yrs Boys 100m, 2nd 11yrs Boys 200m, 3rd 11yrs Boys 800m, 2nd 11yrs Boys Long jump 
Oliver Walters - 3rd 11yrs Boys 200m
Kitt Quirk - 1st Jnr Boy Discus
Indigo Duncan - 1st Snr Girls 1500m, 1st Snr Girls 800m
Oliver Wainwright - 3rd Jnr Boys Shot Put
Spencer Galafassi-Barnes - 3rd Snr Boys 1500m 
Sophia Fox - 3rd Jnr Girls Long Jump
Mila Stoykovich - 2nd Jnr Girls Shot put

Aggies Senior Boys 4 x 100m Relay - 2nd (Oliver Brazel, Harley Cadden, Hudson Sprague and Oliver Walters)
Aggies Senior Girls 4 x 100m Relay - 2nd (Olivia Chung Tian Lan, Indigo Duncan, Jagga Smith and Poppi-May McGarrity)

PSSA Cross Country

Last Friday, Indigo Duncan travelled to Sydney to compete at PSSA Cross Country. At this level, Indigo competed against NSW's fastest runners from both state and private schools. The competition was fast, and the track was challenging. Well done Indigo, on your achievements this year representing yourself, the school and the Polding team. What a fantastic achievement.

St Agnes' KM Club

This week we kicked off our Aggies KM Club. Many students from Kindergarten through to Year Six have collected a punch card and started the school’s journey to the Great Barrier Reef. As the 10km cards start coming in, we will keep our school community updated. Our first point of interest that we are aiming for is a visit to the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour. Thank you to the Year Six leadership group for running the club in the morning. They have done a great job setting up the course and punching students’ cards as they complete their laps. The KM club will run on Monday and Wednesday next week. Due to school photos, there will be no KM Club on Friday.

PBS

For the past two weeks our PBS focus has been on being respectful and resilient by being a bucket filler and starting our term strong.

• A bucket filler is someone who uses acts of kindness and loves to make another person feel better. This could be anything! A bucket  filler could say a kind word to someone who looks sad or they could help a friend in need. Being a bucket filler can be as simple as smiling at someone!
• If your bucket is full you are feeling good about yourself.
• If someone has hurt our feelings, they are dipping into our buckets.
• People who 'dip' into our bucket often rob us of happy feelings by refusing to help with a task or by saying or doing negative things
• We can't control how others respond to us. We can't control how events unfold. We can't control whether a sibling breaks our toy, whether a traffic light turns red, or whether a new day dawns. One thing we can control is our response.

Family Resources: 

• How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids

• Be Kind: Kids books read aloud by Books with Blue
• Buckets, Dippers & Lids 

Last week we had our end of term treat session for the Boronia house cup winners who had received the highest average of Dojos for following our whole school expectations. It was a sunny day and a great time had by all.

Student Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have reached 300 Dojos:

Mikayla O

Congratulations to the following students who have reached 200 Dojos:

Anna G, Brodie D, Liam O, Max S, Mia B, Olivia B, Paityn P, Riley B and William G

Congratulations to the following students who have reached 100 Dojos:

Rayan W

Canteen News

P&F

We are hosting a Spring Fling at Hello Sailor on Friday 1 September. We hope you can join us - click on this LINK to book your tickets.

This Week's Notes and App Alerts

The following Events where published this week. Please see the Notification section of Compass to access this information (if applicable to your family):

• Sydney Dance Workshops
• Christ The King Chapel Permissions

Parish News