11 November 2016

Newsletter Articles

From The Principal

Dear Families,

As we enter the last few weeks of the school year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents and community members who have assisted our school this year. We are very fortunate to be part of a community in which our lives are enriched by the sharing of our culture, tradition and stories.

This week, members of the Student Representative Council have been reflecting on community engagement as their topic of discussion. It is clearly evident when you listen to the comments from our students that they love being part of an active community where the school is energised through being involved in events like the recent fete where the community all came together to enjoy each other's company and support our Parish.

The family nights have also been appreciated by the students and they have loved being able to invite family to the school to share their learning environment and have some fun. It is their suggestion that they would like to extend this invite broader in 2017 by welcoming the wider community on special open nights. They have some great ideas for next year so we look forward to some new and exciting events.

Term 4 is always a challenging time for finalising staffing for the following year and I thank everyone for their patience throughout this process as I know everyone wants to know who the staff are for the following year for the children.

Our strategic goal for 2017 is to provide quality learning and wellbeing for all.

This may sound simple as a six word statement, however every decision that we make for next year has this and the children at its heart. It is for this reason, that we are just finalising our staffing positions.

I am anticipating that a summary of all staffing will be provided to families at the commencement of next week.

In 2017, we are extending our classes on Thursday Island Campus to include the following structure:

Prep
Year 1
Year 2/3
Year 4/5
Year 5/6

Due to larger numbers of children in the higher year levels of the school, we have provided two classes for Year 5. This is similar to last year where we had two 5/6 classes to meet the needs of the students.

On Hammond Island, we will continue to have two classroom teachers at the school to support the P-3 class and offer a Pre Prep Programme – Foundations for Success.

As we continue to provide a quality learning and wellbeing to all students through the delivery of the Australian Curriculum, we aim to provide a consistent teaching approach across all of our classes on both campuses. The National School Improvement Tool (Aust Govt) identifies that having consistent teaching processes across the school linked to a sequenced and explicit teaching program are vital to students successfully learning. While any new learning is challenging, this year our staff have continued to strengthen the consistent approach across both campuses of explicit teaching and the common use of the engagement strategies that are now known and used daily by every student in every class.

As a community, we are strengthening our partnership with Tagai School Community to continue to support the practice of Explicit Teaching across both schools through professional learning opportunities in 2017.

I look forward to seeing you all at the many events over the next two weeks, especially the Thanksgiving Mass followed by the Carols under the Stars. This was a terrific night last year as we came together as a community to celebrate our thanks in the Catholic tradition of Mass followed by singing, laughing and friendship.

We would also like to wish our graduating students our thoughts and prayers over the next two weeks as they end one chapter of their lives, preparing to commence the next one in their life journey. May they be blessed by the Holy Spirit as they are guided in making choices and decisions during these important years of their lives.

Sharon County
Principal

APRE News

This week we celebrated Remembrance Day. The students in their classes spent the day learning about what Remembrance Day was all about and why we as a country stop for a minute silence to remember. On November 11th we remembered with thanksgiving those who made the supreme sacrifice for us in time of war. We prayed that the offering of their lives may not have been in vain. We dedicate ourselves to the cause of justice, freedom and peace; and for the wisdom and strength to build a better world.

Thanksgiving Mass and carols under the stars. Please keep Wednesday the 16th of November free to join us to celebrate 2016, and to help farewell our staff, students and community members whose journey take them on another path. Burgers and sausages in bread will be available to purchase at the school after mass for families to enjoy while our carols under the stars take place. There will also be glow in the dark items for sale ranging from $1.50 to $6.

Graduation Mass will be celebrated on Thursday the 24th of November at 9am. This will be followed by a Graduation dinner at 6:30pm for the graduates and their families.

Year 5 & 6 News

Hi everyone, only a short snippet this week as it's report writing time which always keeps me busy. Anyway the countdown is well and truly on. Less than three weeks to go to our big graduation. If you'd like to be involved and help us make it an awesome experience for our wonderful year six students, please get in contact with me and find out what you can do to help out. Meanwhile, here's what's happening in year 5/6.

In Routine

We are trying to stay in our routine as the end of the year approaches. We are sticking to our normal lesson format and will be working hard on English, Maths, Religion, Science and Geography right up to Graduation day. A few students have been asking about end of term tests and yes, we still have three assessments to complete. There is a comprehension assessment for English. A science test and a diagnostic maths assessment to round out the year. We will space them out and just do one a week until the end of term. I will speak to students who are going to be away and work out how to catch up on any of the assessments they miss.

Look Out Cairns!

Speaking of people not being here, we will have a number of students away over the next couple of weeks as they attend transition programs in Cairns and Townsville. I'd just like to wish all our Year 6 students well as they head off to the big smoke to prepare for the next phase in their educational journey. I hope you meet lots of nice people and make lots of new friends. High school is a wonderful experience and I'm sure you will enjoy yourselves as you find out all about your new school.

Regards

David Magner
Year 5/6 Teacher

Year 4 News

Congratulations to Paikai & Christina who were our award winners this week for their persistent efforts to design & create a sleigh. Last week Pari & Lilly-Ana were our persistent and consistent effort award winners. Well done!

REMEMBER - This is the last week for homework for year 4s for 2016! Make sure you hand it in.

In Year 4 this fortnight we have had fun with;

• Completing our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) design and trying out our Santa sleighs. (Fred, Jordayn & Matilda's went the farthest.)
• Celebrating Christina's Confirmation last Saturday with her family and of course the parish family.
• Going to the Parish Fete last Friday night…
• Making fascinators/ties so that we could go to the races for Melbourne Cup. See the pictures of how fabulous we looked.
• Celebrating a trio of birthdays for Lilly-Ana, Talitha & Matilda!
• Experimenting in Science with catapults and forces.
• Competing in Basketball and touch footy with Tagai primary campus on Fridays.
• Continuing our trip around the world in Geography and earning flights to different capital cities. This fortnight we have studied South America & Brazil and spent time with Miss Grant researching/making a movie clip of our animal using technology.
• Getting Christmas Carols ready for the end of the term.

Please contact me at the school/email below if you have any further queries,

Helen Osborne
hosborne@cns.catholic.edu.au

Prep & Year 1 News

Hi everyone,

I can't believe we are already at the end of week 6 - This term has gone by so fast!

I would like to congratulate the award winners this fortnight - Henry, Emily, Eddie, Hannah, Jenna and Joseph. These students have been demonstrating the 5 keys to success - well done! Also congratulations to Alaila for being a kind and caring friend and winning the 'Spirit of Jesus' award this week.

It has been a busy 2 weeks in the prep/1 room. We have been working hard to get our work and assessments done before end of term! Well done to the students who presented their history oral presentation about their families' roles and responsibilities - you have all done a great job!

We are looking forward to a more relaxed last two weeks of term to wrap up the school year.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Miss Sascha and Miss Nadine

Hammond Campus End of Year Event

Ukulele Club Concert

Ukulele Club Performance

The Ukulele Club showcased their skills learned in just 4 lessons, and performed during the Week 5 Monday morning assembly in front of the whole school and their parents. Thank you to Mrs Osborne, Miss Donna and Year 6 Student, Mali Kotzikas for dedicating their time to the club.

We have attached a video for those who were not able to attend.

Uniform Survey Responses

The Uniform Survey responses were counted up on Friday 28th October in the presence of our Principal, APRE, and P&F Assoc, Staff and SRC representatives, and the results were as follows:

Option C Design – Navy, Sky Blue, Yellow

The School would like to thank all families and students who participated in the survey to give us a clear picture as to what our whole school community wanted.

Changes to Privacy Act: Changes to our Privacy Policy and Collection Notice

Due to recent changes to Privacy legislation, the Diocesan Board of Governance Education has updated the privacy policy for all schools in the Cairns Diocese. The updated policy provides parents with guidance about the approved collection and use of student information.

The updated policy with marked changes and the revised Privacy Policy Statement can be found here:

The changes take effect from 1 January 2017.

If you would like more information about the changes please contact Andrew McKenzie, Manager Governance and Engagement, Cairns Catholic Education Services, telephone 40509783 or email amckenzie@cns.catholic.edu.au.

Photos from Hammond Campus

Photos from the Sacred Heart Mission Fete

Thank you

The Sacred Heart Mission Parish would like to thank the Families and Staff of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School for the support and help with preparations, generous donations for the cake stall, plants and second hand stalls. We would also like to thank you all for your assistance with manning the stalls and selling tickets at our Parish Fete on the night.

We appreciate all the help and support received for our annual major fundraising event.

God Bless.
Fr Saju and Parishioners

Our Award Winners

TI Campus Week 5 Award Winners

Winners of the Mura Kosker Calendar Competition with Ms Josephine Moloney

Thanksgiving Mass & Carols Under the Stars

Mrs Osborne has organised for each class, including the choir, to perform on the night. We are hoping families and friends take the time to attend and watch their child or children perform and also join in the carol singing. This should be a fun night with good food and entertainment. All funds raised will go towards helping in Fiji.

For catering purposes, our Tuckshop would like to know how much food to prepare for the night, so an order form has been sent out to all families to fill in and return with payment to the school office by Tuesday 15th November. A copy of the order form is attached if you have not received one.

Thank you and we hope to see you there.

OLSH School Working Bee

Term 4 Events

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