Year 3 have been working hard on their writing  skills. These skills  involve using capital letters for proper nouns, paragraphing and rich vocabulary including adverbs.  The students use a ‘practice page’ to test their spelling skills before continuing with their writing. 

Pictured below is Patrick, has worked hard and written a great story, entitled The Wars End. Patrick’s work is a great example of the explicit teaching and student engagement in the process of writing.

Following an extensive recruitment and appointment process, the staffing for Good Samaritan is now complete and I am able to communicate the following staffing arrangements for the 2021 school year.

There are several changes to the Good Samaritan staff due to teachers gaining both permanent and temporary positions at other schools and in the Catholic Education Office.

Thanks and gratitude are extended to the following staff who have been successful in gaining permanent teaching positions with the Wollongong Diocese:

• Mr Anthony Nash: Mr Nash has been successful in securing a permanent position at St John’s Catholic Primary School Campbelltown. Whilst Mr Nash’s contribution to Good Samaritan has been short in time, he has made a significant impact on our school in particular our Year 3 students and colleagues. We wish Mr Nash every blessing and success as he joins the St John’s community.

• Mrs Lexie Hingston: Mrs Hingston has been successful in securing a permanent position at St Paul’s Catholic Primary School Albion Park. Mrs Hingston’s contribution to Good Samaritan over the last 5 years has been significant, impacting upon the learning of many students. In particular, this year Mrs Hingston’s role as Diverse Learning Support Teacher has made a remarkable contribution to the systems and processes that the school continues to improve around Diverse Learning Needs. We congratulate Mrs Hingston on her appointment and wish her every success as she joins the St Paul’s community.

Best wishes are extended to:

• Mrs Shirley Jancetic who will take up the temporary role of Education Officer in the CEDoW School Improvement Team for the 2021 school year. We look forward to welcoming Mrs Jancetic back to Good Samaritan in 2022.

Congratulations are extended to:

• Mrs Sarah O’Donnell and Mrs Patricia Foster who have both been successful in gaining the permanent roles of Middle Leaders at Good Samaritan.

Next year we welcome the following teachers, under temporary contracts, to the Good Samaritan community:

Mrs Fiona Sampson who will fulfil Mrs Robertson’s maternity leave position in Good Samaritan Amaroo. Mrs Sampson comes with a career background of working with students with diverse learning needs. This has included working with the hearing impaired and special needs students in Victoria and in Wollongong. Mrs Sampson is also currently studying for her Graduate Certificate in inclusive education. 

Mrs Tania McRobert has accepted an ongoing general classroom teaching position. Mrs McRobert has worked at Good Samaritan for a number of years and we have observed her commitment to the students and the school. Mrs McRobert brings a wealth of experience having worked in several different Dioceses. In addition, she also brings experience across both infants and primary classroom settings. Mrs McRobert is also committed to her own professional learning which continues to enhance her teaching and directly affect student outcomes.

Mrs Jody DeAndrade has accepted a general classroom teaching position. Mrs DeAndrade comes to Good Samaritan from the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn where she is currently working with a Year 4 class. Mrs DeAndrade brings a strong knowledge of how students learn in primary schools as well as experience in early childhood settings. 

Miss Rachel Daffara has accepted a general classroom teaching position. Miss Daffara is currently working at St Paul's Camden. Miss Daffara has accepted a temporary transfer in order to take the opportunity to work in another school to gain more experience of a different school setting. Miss Daffara is also committed to consistently improving her teaching to meet the needs of the students in her care.

Mr Jason Novak has accepted a general classroom teaching position. Mr Novak is currently teaching at St Michael's Thirroul and has also taught at Holy Spirit Helensburgh. Mr Novak comes with strong referees who cited that he is a reflective practitioner, keeping the individual needs of his students always in mind.

Mrs Paula Jackson has accepted the position of Creative Arts teacher for the 2021 school year. Mrs Jackson is currently working at St Michael's Thirroul in the same role. Mrs Jackson will work with Mrs Nuttall both teaching Creative Arts to our students for the year.

Below are the 2021 staffing arrangements.

Our GSFM Masterchefs were hard at work baking Gingerbread treats in the Learning Support Centre kitchen last Friday.

With Christmas just around the corner, the busy chefs spread joy across the school and at home, distributing the cookies to surprised staff and family members.

“I was proud to make the Gingerbread man for Dad and to see him so happy,” reflected Curtis.  Miguel was also thinking of others, hoping “everyone has a jolly Christmas”.

According to Mitch, the highlight of the day was “kneading, rolling and cutting the dough”.  Amalia’s favourite part was “decorating the Gingerbread men”, while Brandyn enjoyed “munching them!”