Newsletter #08 March 16
Principal News
Dear St Paul's families,
Welcome to this week's news. I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and had time to recharge the batteries. It's hard to believe we only have a few weeks of school left before the Easter holidays commence.
This week our children are participating in MAPPEN week across the school. There are lots of activities on offer for the children to be engaged in, culminating in an expo on Friday at 1.00pm. Due to the shortened week the expo will only be operating for 30 mins rather than the regular one hour timeslot.
Good luck to the Senior students involved in the interschool Sports- Lawn Bowls today. I am sure they will try their best.
It's good to see the children are making a concerted effort to wear their correct sports uniform on their allocated PE days. Notifications are being sent home to parents as reminders.
Tomorrow I am attending a Diocesan Leadership Gathering in Horsham. All the principals across the Ballarat diocese will be present. It's our first gathering in person pre-covid and there a number of new developments being shared with Principals in relation to Catholic Education moving forward.
Tomorrow is St Patrick's Day. St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. It is a day of National celebration amongst the Irish community all over the world. Several of our catholic schools in the Ballarat Diocese are named after St Patrick and will be celebrating with whole school masses and other activities. St Patrick used the three-leaf clover as a way of explaining the Holy Trinity to the people. St Patrick, like many other saints, devoted his life to spreading the gospel message of Jesus and bringing hope to many people throughout the world.
There are many Irish blessings but this one always rings true:
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Happy St Patrick's Day!
Don't forget the Junior Unit liturgy this Friday at 12.15pm followed by the MAPPEN Expo and assembly in the afternoon.
Enjoy the rest of the week and as always,
Keep the Faith!
Vicne Muscatello
Senior Unit News
This week Senior students are busy exploring the MAPPEN topic Think Global, Act Local and the idea of living sustainably. As part of this unit students will create a diorama to display alongside their project work. Students have been asked to bring in a shoe box and these will be needed tomorrow. Extra boxes will be gratefully accepted!
Camp reminder:
Students are required to bring a box of snacks to share whilst we are away. Thank you to those families who sent snacks in last week.
An information note and packing list will be emailed to families this week. Please contact your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions.
MAPPEN EXPO - Friday 18th March 1pm to 1.30pm
We are so excited to have parents attend our first MAPPEN expo for 2022.
Classrooms will be open from 1pm-1.30pm on Friday 18th March for you to look through and see the amazing learning students have been doing.
Middle Unit News
This week in Mappen we have been learning about Health. We have been exploring what health means to us and how we can be healthy in different ways. We have been learning about how physical activity, our wellbeing, food and feeling safe are all important in keeping us healthy. As part of our learning this week we are completing a daily 'Health Hustle'. Each day the students go out and exercise together for 10 minutes. The students record the distance that they have run or walked in that ten minutes. Students have set goals to assist them in trying to improve themselves.
To celebrate our learning this week, on Friday, we invite students to come dressed as something that represents being healthy to them. Some ideas we have discussed are to come dressed in their favourite sports team colours that helps them to stay healthy, to come dressed in sports gear, to come in their pjs to show how sleep keeps us healthy or to come dressed as a food that they know is healthy. The students are not limited to these ideas and can come up with their own outfit that means healthy to them. We look forward to sharing our learning with everyone who can make it to the Expo Friday.
Junior Unit News
We hope you all enjoyed a restful long weekend. No doubt the children benefitted from this well-timed break almost as much as their teachers did!
As you'd be aware, the children of the Junior Unit are currently in the midst of Mappen Week. This is a special time in the term, in which the humanities and sciences take centre stage, and the students engage in hands-on, investigative and cooperative learning. We have been learning all about different countries and cultures, which aligns perfectly with our RE focus of "Right Relationships". As we learn more about the differences between people and places, we also learn about the things we have in common and why all people deserve respect, compassion and inclusion. We are very much looking forward to seeing many of you at our Liturgy on Friday, which will be at 12.15pm in our St Paul's chapel. This will be followed by our Mappen Expo, where the children will be able to showcase some of their wonderful work.
Here are some photos of the Juniors waving their Nigerian flags.
Foundation Unit News
This week during our MAPPEN topic of "History" the children were very lucky to watch a wonderful presentation from Maeva (LSO in Foundation) about her very interesting life and all of the places she has travelled to, explored, volunteered and worked in. Maeva shared her beautiful photos and adventures she has had all over the world. She has also helped many people throughout the world. The children were very interested in learning about places like Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Spain, France, just to mention a few. They got to see what schools and buildings looked like in these parts of the world. They learnt a lot about different cultures and religions all over the world. We all learnt some very interesting things and are very grateful to Maeva for sharing her knowledge and experiences with us.
We also have a display table in the Foundation area with things from the past on it. If you have any "old" items you would like to share we would love for you to bring them in.
We will also be having some more guest speakers this week to share their experiences from the past. We will share more photos next week.
Library News
Hi from the Library, here are some photos of the Foundation students with the beautiful new picture story books their families have donated to our library. The students were very excited to see their photos in the front cover of these books and be the first to borrow them. Once again thanks very much to these families for your kind donations.
Could all families have a quick check at home for any library books that may be overdue. Students can borrow up to 6 books for 2 weeks.
Marg Pongrac
NAPLAN - YEARS 3 & 5
Practice Test - On March 24th year 3 & 5 students will be part of a Coordinated NAPLAN Practice Test. The aim of this is to check that the infrastructure at our school works and the NAPLAN platform across Victoria will hold up for when we do the 'real' NAPLAN in May.
NAPLAN 2022 - Will be held on May 10th, 11th and 12th. Please read the information sheet attached and sent home with your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please see Melissa Sutherland or your child's teacher.
Technology News
Last week in Technologies, the Middle Unit began learning to recognise different types of data and explore how the same data can be represented in different ways.
After exploring examples of data, students were able to successfully define data.
Data is information expressed as numbers, text, symbols, images or sounds.
Then, with their new found knowledge, students were able to explore and sort sets of data represented in a variety of forms.
Students then had a go at an online data sorting task, 'Sort the Street'. Students viewed a picture of nine houses on a street and were challenged to find as many different ways as possible to sort them.
CLICK HERE to have a go.
How many ways can you find to 'sort the street'?
Can you equal Aidan and Minh-Ky and find all of the possibilities?
Digital Technologies Acceptable Use and Cyber Safety Agreement
With Friday 18th of March being 'National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence', it is a timely reminder for students to:
Be Kind Online.
As a school community, we must all take responsibility for encouraging young people to block content, report it, and support each other if they see or experience cyberbullying or any other online content that makes them feel uncomfortable, unsafe or threatened.
The below videos communicate to young people that it is important they know they are not alone and help is always available. Share these videos with your child/ren and start a conversation to help identify, understand and respond to cyberbullying.
The theme for 2022's 'National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence' is 'Kindness Culture - It Starts With You'. By building a Kindness Culture together, we can promote inclusion, respect and community belonging for all everyone online and offline.
Until next week, remember; "technology should improve your life...not become your life." - Billy Cox
Mrs Narelle Simms
Sacred Heart Parish News
Parent Noticeboard
Football Sunraysia Information & Registration Day – Sunday 20 March 2022
Three Colours will be holding its Club information and Registration day on Sunday 20 March 2022 between 11am – 1pm Free sausage sizzle
Girls, Boys and Ladies needed
With the increase in playing divisions this Season, the Club is seeking additional boys, girls and ladies to play.
Jerseys are supplied for the Season and it is a great way for the whole family to keep fit.
For more information contact Lucy on 0439 302 090
Training Nights
- Under 6-10’s: Start Thursday 17/3/22 and will be held 5pm-6pm every Thursday
- Under 12’s : Start Tuesday 14/3/22 and will be held 5pm-6pm every Tuesday & Thursday
- Under 14’s & 16’s: Start Tuesday 14/3/22 and will be held 7pm-8pm every Tuesday & Thursday
- Womens: Start Thursday 17/3/22 and will be held 7pm-8pm every Tuesday & Thursday
- Reserve’s & Seniors : Have commenced and is held 7pm – 8.30pm every Tuesday & Thursday
For more details contact Michael on 0439 302 090.
Coaches and Volunteers needed
The Club is recruiting coaches for all J-League age groups and people to assist with our weekly meal nights
Heaps of fun and helps the Club provide the enjoyment that comes with having teams and equipment
For more information contact Lucy on 0439 302 090
HUMM now available
As part of its ongoing commitment to make Football accessible to everyone, Three Colours SC has joined HUMM
The Club will allow payments for registration fees, merchandise and club functions to be paid by instalments to approved persons.