OLGC Week 6 Term 1 2022 Newsletter

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Issue 2 I 3 March 2022

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OLGC 2022 Calendar

Principal

Dear Parents & Carers,

You, Lord, are the light that keeps me safe.
I am not afraid of anyone.
You protect me, and I have no fears. Psalm 27:1

The season of Lent is upon us, it is a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter, that begun with Ash Wednesday this week. I encourage all families to stay connected to our Frenchs Forest Catholic Parish website for messages from our clergy and opportunities to come together in prayer over this Easter season. Please visit our website to view photos of the students as we begin our Lenten journey together.

Matching Instruction to Student Needs
At our school the Response to Intervention (RTI) model provides all students with instruction matched to identified learning needs. Our support model has four-tiers and is flexible, allowing for more support, more challenge or more specific adjustments as required.

Janet Agostino, Paola Brannan and Michaela Joseph support diverse learning across the school. Each educator provides teachers with support for adjustments within the classroom setting at the Tier 1 and Tier 2 level. They also provide small group intervention out of the classroom for short periods of time. Inclusion in these small groups is based on data and teacher observation. In addition, we have a wonderful team of Learning Support Assistants who support the learning in the classroom, with allocation of this resource being based on the needs across the school.

For some students we provide personalised planning meetings to discuss the specific adjustments required in the classroom. These are held with a member of the leadership team, a diverse learning staff member, class teacher and parents. I’ve had the privilege of joining these planning meetings each Friday throughout February and will continue meeting with parents throughout March.

Open Days
We are looking forward to meeting families who are interested in enrolling their child into kindergarten 2023. Enrolment applications will be processed in the order they are received. If you know of any families who are considering joining our beautiful community in 2023, please encourage them to attend our Open Day and register their interest on our website and complete an enrolment application online as soon as possible. Last year we needed to create a waitlist in the second half of the year for placement into kindergarten, I anticipate that we will again have greater demand than places for our Kindergarten 2023 classes.

Click here to register for the OLGC Open Day

Inclusive Co-Educational Primary Schooling
I am very proud of our school and all that it offers for boys and girls or all abilities from Kindergarten to Year 6. I also acknowledge that we are blessed to live in a time and place that offers families a variety of Catholic school options and that parents need to make choices regarding their child’s next school placement.

Please join me at the next P&F meeting to hear about the benefits of an inclusive co-educational primary school for your child. I’ve taught and led across many different systems and types of school and am happy to share with you my experiences to assist with the difficult decision that parents can be faced with.

Warm regards,
Fiona Dignan

P&F Meeting – Tuesday 15 March at 7pm via Zoom

https://dbbcatholic.zoom.us/j/69239221363

Wellbeing for Learning

We know children need support to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to maintain friendships and interact with one another in a friendly and positive way.

As well as our Positive Behaviour for Learning rules, this term we are focusing on a Peer Support unit on Relationships.

Teachers are giving children explicit learning opportunities around the key skill of empathy. Having empathy and perspective can help us to be less focussed on our own concerns, more inclined to help others and build relationships. Knowing that we have done something positive for someone else is a great mood booster.

You can support this learning at home by encouraging your children to find creative ways in which they can support and connect with friends and family members. This could be as simple as looking for small incidental opportunities, like doing a household task without being expected to, taking in a neighbour’s bin, or doing anything for others that helps build positive relationships.

Paola Brannan
Assistant Principal

Religious Education

Shrove Tuesday
The wet weather couldn’t keep the smiles off the students faces on Tuesday as OLGC students all enjoyed a delicious pikelet to acknowledge Shrove Tuesday as a school community before the Lenten promises start. The children discussed the meaning of Shrove Tuesday, what it represents and learnt about the past traditions about feasting in preparation for fasting.

This is a time to encourage all our families to reflect on their own Lenten promises and challenge themselves to be more prayerful during this reflective time.

Ash Wednesday and Project Compassion
This week the children participated in an OLGC Ash Wednesday service. For Year 3 – 6 this was a lovely Mass to commence the day with Father Shiju presiding. Kindy – Year 2 participated in a Liturgy in the hall where we connected with our faith, the scripture and the significance of this day in our faith.

This year, Caritas Australia takes the theme of ‘For all future generations’ for Project Compassion 2022. It challenges us to venture together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world. This message is key at this time as we bear witness to what is occurring in our national and global communities.
At OLGC we are supporting this charity and donation boxes have been sent home to each family. We ask that they are returned to school by Wednesday 30 March.

Calling all artists
OLGC is a pilot school for the new RE curriculum which is starting with Kindergarten this term. We have allocated a room in our school which has been created with a huge range of resources to utilise when explaining scripture. The new curriculum is based on self-directed activity, hands on learning and collaborative play to engage the students in faith development.

We need adult help to paint figurines due to the precise nature of the task, we have all of the materials needed. The figurines reflect the disciples and Jesus, Mary and Joseph and other foundational characters.
Please email me at Allison.houston@dbb.catholic.edu.au if you are interested in some painting fun at home!

Thank you for your support and participation in our community. Please keep safe in this weather and support those in need with prayers and donations.

Allison Houston
Religious Education Coordinator

Key Dates

Friday 4 March
9:15am Year 1 Mass

Monday 7 March
Northern Beaches Swimming Carnival

Tuesday 15 March
Broken Bay Primary Swimming Carnival
P&F Meeting

Thursday 17 March
Open Day and Open Night

Friday 18 March
9:15am Year 3 Mass
4pm & 5:30pm Celebration of Reconciliation

Tuesday 22 March
NSWCPS Swimming Carnival

Friday 25 March
9:15am Kindergarten & Year 6 Mass

Thursday 31 March
11:45am End of Term Liturgy

Friday 1 April
School photos

School Photos

School photos will be taken on Friday 1 April 2022.

Ordering instructions are outlined below and will also be sent home with students this week. Individual and sibling photos can be ordered online by visiting www.advancedlife.com.au and entering the school code RAJ 9FZ CQ3.

Students will need to wear full summer uniform on photo day.

National Be Kind Day

Wednesday 2^nd March was National Be Kind Day. Everyday children and adults are bullied online, at work and at school. OLGC supports this day as we believe we need to be the change we want to see in our world. We believe Being Kind is about generation change. Our children will follow if we show them that kindness comes first. As a school, we believe everyone has the right to feel safe, valued and respected in person and online. Our particular focus this week with National Be Kind Day was on kindness through inclusion. In classrooms, students participated in activities to assist them with recognising, understanding and being kind to all people. Here are some ideas for you at home. You could:

Make a kindness jar for your family
Do something kind for nature/ animals in our garden e.g. leave out some seeds, give extra water
Paint some kindness rocks and leave them around the neighbourhood
Make a postcard and send it to a family member in the post
Do something nice for your family e.g. help out in the kitchen, listen to a sibling read, offer to help your parent around the house.

Let’s start today by thinking kind and being kind. Kind is Cool! Click here to view photos on our website.

Mrs Megan Kenny and Mrs Alex Vumbaca

Canteen

Our canteen is open 5 days per week (on a trial basis) for morning tea and lunch. You are able to order your child's order on Qkr! or they can bring cash for over the counter items.

We are in urgent need of volunteers for the following dates in the canteen.

Friday 4 March
Monday 7 March
Friday 11 March (x 2 volunteers)
Thursday 17 March
Friday 18 March
Tuesday 22 March
Monday 28 March
Friday 1 April (x2 volunteers)
Tuesday 5 April
Wednesday 6 April
Friday 8 April

Please click this link if you are able to volunteer, no experience necessary. Please note all volunteers on the school site need to be fully vaccinated.

P&F

Dear Parents and Carers,

It’s great to be back at school! Each week we see our school community physically back together and see more of us interacting and life getting back to normal.

With this we will see more social and fundraising events held this year, so look out for more information on what we are doing in coming weeks.

Here is what is immediately ahead:

Helping Families Online
In response to increasing awareness and community fears surrounding cyber safety, this year the Council of Catholic Schools Parents NSW/ACT (CCSP) will be presenting webinars to help families navigate the perils presented when young people are learning to independently use the internet.

The first free webinar is taking place on Tuesday, 8 March 7.30pm-8.30pm and is specially tailored for parents and carers of young people aged 10–18 and will cover:

what do to about accidental exposure to content about suicide
self-harm or eating disorders
using games, apps and social media to support mental wellbeing
the pros and cons of digital mental health platforms
strategies for young people to support friends online.

Registration is free here - https://www.ccsp.catholic.edu.au/upcoming-webinars

P&F Term 1 Meeting
The P&F Term 1 Meeting with be held on Tuesday, 15 March at 7PM, and will be held via zoom https://dbbcatholic.zoom.us/j/69239221363

All parents are encouraged to attend, as we will be launching several new initiatives.

This is a fantastic opportunity to have your say regarding the running of our school.

If you have any issues you would like added to the meeting Agenda please email P&F Secretary, Chelsea Mayoh pf.olgc.forestville@gmail.com

OLGC Easter Raffle
Our yearly Easter Raffle is returning this year, bringing with it the anticipation of Easter celebrations. We appreciate your support in making the raffle a success, and assisting in raising important funds for our school.

Children will be bringing home raffle tickets shortly to sell, tickets are $2 each or three for $5.

Please return all ticket stubs and money by Wednesday 30 March.
Be sure to write your child’s name and parent contact phone number on every ticket stub. Winners will be drawn on Monday 4^th April, so prizes can be taken home by the children prior to school holidays.

Prize donations: donations of prizes can be made any time up to, and including, Wednesday 30 March. Children can bring these to class with them, and these may include Easter eggs or confectionary (Nut Free), Easter themed toys or books, or items to package prizes for the children (ribbon, wrap, cute bags etc). Thank you for helping us create some excitement for the children.

Entertainment Books
And finally – with the world now opening up it is a great opportunity to purchase the OLGC Entertainment book, allowing you to both save money and support your school.

Purchases before 21 March will receive gift vouchers – see information here.
https://au.entdigital.net/orderbooks/2040e72

OLGC P&F Committee

Extra Curricular

Community

VISIT THE OLGC WEBSITE