Newsletter - 2024 Term 2 Week 5

Calendar

From the Leaders

 Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

This Sunday we celebrate the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in the liturgical calendar. In the Gospel from Mark we learn more about the meal Jesus shared with His disciples. The unleavened bread symbolises the Hebrew people leaving Egypt and not having enough time for bread dough to rise, so they had unleavened bread instead. The red wine symbolises the blood of the lamb the Hebrew people used to mark the outside of their front doors so the angel of death would ‘pass over’ the Hebrew children. This is the significance of bread and wine being essential in a Passover meal.

Proclaim/Pupil Free Day

Tomorrow all staff that work in Catholic Education in the Hastings Cluster will attend Proclaim Lismore to develop, enrich and reinvigorate our commitment to Catholic Education. It will also allow opportunities to renew our understanding of Catholic Identity and Mission and how we can enact this in parish school planning. Throughout the day we will listen to guest speakers, learn from experienced leaders and reflect on our involvement.

There is no child minding available at school for this day.

First Communion

Congratulations to Ava Costello, Madelyn Field, Reginald Fitzpatrick, Marcus Gittany, Callum Judge, Eli McEntyre, Jasper McNee, Skylah Neale, Dominic Ritchie and Dreigh Torrefranca who received the Sacrament of First Communion last Saturday evening. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with Noah Blair, Eli Burnett, Ardan Byrne, Keeley Carle, Ciaran Ducat, Mila Marsh, Ella McNally, Nicholas Morris, Zuri Tandoc and Emily Thaneshkumar for this Sunday’s celebration

Come Read With Me Kindergarten and Year 1

We were so excited to have so many parents join us for our Kindergarten and Year 1 Come Read with Me Sessions. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn how to best support home learning. We encourage all families of Kinder and Year 1 to come along. A huge thank you to the Kindergarten and Year 1 teams for their work to coordinate the sessions. Look at all of the happy faces reading!

Biggest Morning Tea

We will be hosting a Biggest Morning Tea on Friday 21 June, the same day as the Athletics Carnival. All are welcome to join us for morning tea, make a donation of goodies to eat or send in a monetary donation for this cause.

Whole School Sentence Goal

As part of our ongoing work with the Learning Collaborative and improving student outcomes in sentence structure, we were busy with Case Management Meetings this week. During CMM’s the Principal, an Instructional Leader and a Knowledgable Other (colleague) work together to analyse a student work sample and collaboratively develop instructional strategies for the teacher to implement to meet the student’s short term learning goal. It is a privilege to be part of these meetings and discuss our student’s writing, and we look forward to the follow up meetings to share in their wonderful progress.

Whole School Reconciliation Week Mass

Please join us for our next whole school Mass in the school hall on Friday 7 June at 12:30pm. We will be celebrating Reconciliation Week and praying that each of us works towards unity and respect in our wonderful country.

Welcome Simon

We are so grateful to have Simon Hersee working with us at Aggies. Simon joined us at the beginning of this term. He joins us in the role of Student Support Worker and has already made strong connections with many of our children. A passion of Simon’s is the environment and in particular maintaining and improving it. In the coming weeks groups of children will begin environmental programs working alongside Simon.

2025 Kindergarten Enrolments

Please note Kindergarten enrolment applications are due Friday 14 June.

Staff Professional Learning Day - Tuesday 11 June

Supervision will be available at school on this day for any families that are not able to organise alternative arrangements. Children should be in their uniform and will need to bring Lunch One, Lunch Two, fruit, hat and a water bottle. Lunch orders will be available, the canteen will be operating as normal on this day. Please use the link below to register your child.

To book your child’s place please log on to www.schoolinterviews.com.au. The unique code to logon is 5974x

Little Muzos

What a fabulous first week! We enjoyed meeting the students and starting our musical journey together. Muzo of the week goes to  Kade  What a cracker of a first lesson. Watch this spot because this kid is going places. 

There are a few spots still available to join the trumpet, flute, clarinet, saxophone and trombone lessons. The other groups are now full. Please register at littlemuzos.com.au if you would like to secure a position.

Semester Two Reports

We are currently in the process of writing student reports for Semester One. We have included a link to an information sheet put together by the Catholic Schools Office to share some of the key changes to the reports. The changes to the English and Mathematics syllabus from Years 3-6 mean that this year our reports will be far more similar from K-6. We will continue to share more information regarding reports in the coming weeks.

Mr Clean

On Wednesday morning the ‘Keep Aggies Clean’ challenge began with Flynn and Arthur outlining the challenge for each class to win the weekly award. We look forward to announcing the winning class  next Wednesday morning after 1 Hope hosts the whole school prayer.

Wear your Winter Woolies

On Friday 14 June students and staff are invited to wear their Winter Woolies for a gold coin donation. All money raised will go to our three local charities supporting those in need in our community.

Vinnies Winter Appeal

St Agnes’ Primary School community is again supporting those in need this winter. Donations of non-perishable food items, warm clothes and bedding can be left at the front office and will be distributed to St Vincent de Paul, ‘Our Place’ at the Youth Hub and to Sr Marjorie’s Soup Kitchen. Your generous donations can be dropped into the front office between now until the end of June.

Message from Pope Francis

The below message from Pope Francis was shared with our students at school this week. We encourage families to take time to reshare it with their children. 

Clergy Update

We reshare the news from the parish that Father Roland Agrisola who has worked in our parish since 2016, has been appointed to the Maclean, Yamba and Iluka region. We will have the chance to farewell Father Roland and thank him for the support of our school and parish faith opportunities before the end of the month. At the same time we welcome Father Alejo Despacio to the St Agnes’ Parish. Father Alejo joined the Lismore Diocese from the Philippines last year. We look forward to getting to know him and having him as part of the St Agnes’ Community.

Bunnings Donation

We are so grateful to Bunnings for their generous donations of garden items to be used by students working with Simon on environmental projects. We look forward to following their progress.

• Watching Year 6 students prepare for the Sacrament of Penance with Fathers Roland and Prodencio. 

Sports News

Diocesan Rugby Union

In Week 4, five students travelled to Grafton to play at the Diocesan Rugby Union trials. The day was a talent showcase, and we were proud to have five players represent the Hasting Zone and St Agnes’ Primary School. Accounts from the ground were that students played well in the trial games. Charlie Hadden, Harley Cadden and Zane Bannon all made it through to the final game, with Zane selected to attend the Polding Trials. Well done to all the boys. Zane will now play at the Polding Trials in Forbes later in the term. We wish him all the best.

PSSA State Championships - AFL

Last week, Henry Fryer and Flynn Wehlow travelled south to Albury to attend the PSSA State Championships for AFL. The boys played in the Polding team against the best AFL players in Catholic and State schools. The competition lasted a full three days, and the boys played six matches. 

Well done to Flynn and Henry. It is an amazing opportunity to play at such an elite level. 

School Athletics Carnival

Our school athletics carnival is on Friday 21 June. The rain has stopped, and the field is dry. This week, classes have started holding event trials to prepare for the carnival. Through the trials, we will select the fastest times and longest distances for finals to be run on carnival day.

Attached is a copy of the schedule of events for the day. We encourage families to attend on the day to support their children and be involved during novelty and non-competitive events. If you plan to attend, remember there will be a chance for a cup of tea or coffee and something yummy as part of Australia’s Biggest Morning Teas’ fundraising effort.

We also seek family help on the day for timekeeping in the 100m and 200m events. If you would like to help, please email Drew Wilson at andrew.wilson@lism.catholic.edu.au .

Future Dates

Term 2

• Friday 12 June - Diocesan Rugby Union Gala Day, Coffs Harbour
• Tuesday 18 June - NSW Netball School’s Cup Years 5 and 6 Gala Day
• Friday 21 June - School Athletics Carnival
• Wednesday 24 July - Zone Athletics at St Joseph’s Regional College, Port Macquarie

Student Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have reached 200 Dojos:

Alexander R, Annabelle S, Cedar B, Charlotte B, Chelsea O, Isabelle P and Sophie W

Congratulations to the following students who have reached 100 Dojos:

Connor C, Cooper W, Daisy-Rae A, Dreigh T, Enzo W, Flynn A, Georgina F, Gracie U, Hayley G, Hunter F, Hunter S, Isabella S, Jackson R, Jade J, Jala C, Jaxton N, Jayde B, Lawson M, Len D, Lillian R, Lockie M, Marcus G, Micah V, Molly B, Nicholas D, Patrick A, Poppy C, Poppy C, Scarlett F, Skyler B, Sophia F, Stella D, Thomas S, Xy C and Zane B

Positive Behaviour Support

This week we continue with our PBS focus on being Responsible. I am responsible and follow school rules to be the best that I can. The purpose of this lesson is to prompt reflective thinking on our school rules and expectations. To remind our students what it is like to be a part of a community that follows the rules. The goal is for students to be aware of their choices and how they impact others.

Catholic Social Teaching: The Common Good
The common good is reached when we work together to improve the wellbeing of people in our society and the wider world.

Family Resources:

Story:

Infants Books to share:

St Agnes' Primary School Community Forum

Dear Families

We are excited to share with you the School Community Forum Key Dates for activities planned for the remainder of the year. Please diarise the School Disco, Colour Run, Spring Fling for Parents, Golf Fundraiser and other upcoming activities. These activities will be organised and run by our parent community and we encourage all parents to get involved when you can. If you are able to assist or have any questions, please email pandfstagnes@gmail.com.

We held our first parent meeting as a 'School Community Forum' (SCF) on 20 May. Please see below the meeting minutes. 

Kind regards
Allison Ritchie
Chairperson, St Agnes' Primary School Community Forum

Canteen News

Parish News

Key Enrolment Dates For 2025

Primary School Tour for Kindergarten

• St Agnes’ Primary School – Saturday 1 June 2024 – 2:00pm
• St Peter’s Primary School – Saturday 1 June 2024 – 2:00pm
  
• St Joseph’s Primary School – Saturday 1 June 2024 – 2:00pm

Emmaus Village Open Day

St Agnes’ Catholic Parish is hosting an ‘Open Day’ at the new Emmaus Village (co-located with Emmaus Home at 16 Colonel Barney Drive, Port Macquarie) on Saturday 1 June, 10:00am-2:00pm. 

There will be info sessions, tours, stalls, live performances, face painting for the kids, sausage sizzle, and more - the onsite café ‘Breaking Bread Café’ will also be open for those who love a good coffee. Everyone is welcome to come along to join in the Open Day celebrations.

Find out more by joining the event page https://bit.ly/3y9tS6T or visiting the Emmaus Village website https://bit.ly/3wHGS36.

Community News