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Dear Parents and Carers,
Yesterday we began remote learning for the majority of our student community. Thank you for your support as we ironed out a few hiccups with access to online tools the students may have needed.
The teachers were pleased to meet the students in some Zoom sessions and felt confident that they were set up for learning. The students who are at school have engaged really well with the same learning provided for those at home.
As we continue to work through this week please be assured that the support you are offering your child as a learner is invaluable and very much appreciated by the Good Samaritan staff.
This newsletter provides an update of information regarding school events as well as general school news.
Logging In for Remote Learning:
Thank you for ensuring that your child has logged into the Learning Hub by 11am each day. This is how we are able to accurately mark the roll for remote learning. You are still able to indicate if your child is unwell and needs to be marked as ‘sick’ on Compass.
Teacher Contact between 1pm-3pm Friday 16 July:
Please note that teachers will be offline on Friday afternoon between 1pm-3pm. This is to allow for preparation time for next week’s remote learning plans.
Students at school will continue to be supervised.
P&F Meeting:
The first Term 3 P&F meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday 19 July 7pm
All are welcome to attend.
Log in with these zoom details:
ID: 69872893155
Passcode: 485261
School Events:
Due to the lockdown we have had to postpone and reschedule or cancel some school events:
- Grandparents Day has been rescheduled for Friday 15 October(Term 4 Week 2)
Diocesan Events:
Non pathway sport events have been postponed for the first two weeks of term 3. This includes:
- Primary Soccer Gala Day
Canteen & Uniform Shop
The Canteen & Uniform Shop are currently closed. If necessary, parents may purchase uniforms using the manual order form process. Information regarding this process is available through the school office.
Diabetes Awareness Week:
This week is Diabetes Awareness Week. Did you know:- 280 Australians develop diabetes every day. That’s one person every five minutes
- It is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia
- More than 100,000 Australians have developed diabetes in the past year
- For every person diagnosed with diabetes there is usually a family member or carer who also ‘lives with diabetes’ every day in a support role. This means that an estimated 2.4 million Australians are affected by diabetes every day
- In 2013, diabetes caused 5.1 million deaths globally.
Do you know the Diabetes 4Ts?
Every year 640 children and adults are admitted to hospital because the early signs of type 1 diabetes are missed.
If not diagnosed in time, type 1 diabetes can be fatal.
It’s about time you took the time to learn the 4 T’s – the early warning signs of type 1 diabetes.
- Tired – unexplained or excessive fatigue
- Thirsty – a thirst that can’t be quenched
- Thinner – sudden or unexplained weight loss
- Toilet – going to the toilet a lot
People of all different ages live with Diabetes. It does make some aspects of life more challenging, but it doesn’t define who the person is or prevent them from enjoying and participating in a full and rewarding life.
(https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/)
Jump Rope for Heart:
Good Samaritan is participating in Jump Rope for Heart this year – a fantastic fundraising and physical activity program by the Heart Foundation.
By participating in Jump Rope for Heart this term, we are expecting to get our students moving. We’ll have ropes available at school and will be encouraging everyone to help raise funds for lifesaving research and support programs.
Over the coming weeks your child will learn new skills, increase their physical activity, and learn about heart health. And the program will end with our school-wide ‘Jump Off Day’ on Friday 17 September (COVID permitting) where your child gets to show off their new skipping skills to their friends.
Further information will be included in next week’s newsletter.
Playground Building Works Update:
Unfortunately the planned start date for upgrading our playground area has been held back due to the unavailability of building materials. It is anticipated that work will begin in the next month.
CHANGES TO GAZETTED ANNUAL STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS/PUPIL FREE DAYS:
Catholic Education has advised that Wollongong systemic Catholic schools will come into line with the Gazetted Staff Development days of NSW Department of Education from January 2022.
Specifically, for 2022 the CEDoW gazetted dates are:
- 26 January - Australia Day holiday (Wednesday)
- 27 January - Student vacation (Thursday)
- 28 January - Staff return Pupil Free Day (Friday)
- 31 January - Staff at schools Pupil Free Day (Monday)
- 1 February - Year 1-6 students return to school (Tuesday)
Kindergarten 2022 Best Start will be conducted 1 February through to 7 February and the official first day of school for the 2022 cohort is 8 February (Tuesday).
Mark these dates in your calendar!
eSafety: Have you heard of Omegle?
Omegle is a social media platform that operates as a free online chat site where participants are randomly paired with each other. Omegle can be linked to Facebook accounts making for easy access.
You can learn more about Omegle from the eSafety Commissioner.
It’s a timely reminder to have a discussion with your children about any social media access they may have.
From Fr Bernard:
Dear Parishioners of Lumen Christi
Extinctive Union | Lumen Christi Parish Wollongong
It is with great joy that I announce Bishop Mascord has decreed that the new parish of Lumen Christi, Wollongong will commence on 1st January 2022.
Thank you for your witness of faith and love for so many years in the parishes of St Francis Xavier, Wollongong, St John Vianney, Fairy Meadow, Mater Dolorosa, Balgownie, St Brigid’s Gwynneville.
A very special thank you to past pastors and parishioners who were more closely involved in the establishment of our new parish. It has been a great privilege for me to work with you in the service of our faith communities for these past three years. It is a great sense of hope that I look forward to working with you in the building of our new parish into the future.
God bless you and be assured of my prayers for you, your families and your friends, especially who are in the greatest need in this time.
Yours in Christ,
Very Rev Bernard L Gordon
VICAR GENERAL & ADMINISTRATOR
Figuring out Families: A Podcast Series
Figuring Out Families is a podcast produced by Majellan Media. It is designed to provide practical advice on family and relationship issues. Some of the episodes include 'Win Win Parenting', 'Emotional Intelligence', 'Raising Healthy Kids' and 'Importance of Work Life Balance'.
These are practical and easy to listen to with some well credited speakers and come from a Catholic perspective.
You can follow this link to Majellan Media or download Figuring Out Families from the podcast app on your phone.
Congratulations to Seth!
One of our Year 4 students, Seth completed the Ride for Autism this week by riding an amazing 41 kms his goal was 25km! Seth set a target fundraising goal and exceeded his target raising $1318.00
Seth rode to help create a world where no person with Autism is left behind - what a true Good Samaritan! Congratulations Seth - we are very proud of you!
Canteen News:
Canteen is currently closed until further notice
The Uniform Shop will be Closed for Appointminents until further notice
In order to manage the physical distancing requirements, parents will continue to make appointments at the uniform shop to purchase uniforms.
This can be done through the Compass Portal.
If you would like to place an order with the uniform shop an order form has been added to the school website under parents/uniform.
Please complete the form and return with the correct money to the school office.
These orders will be filled on uniform shop days.
Tuesday mornings 8.30am to 9.30am
Thursday afternoons 2pm to 3.15pm
Central to the teaching of St Benedict was a Love of Learning. Our children already know what it means to be Ready to Learn and we continue to instil in each of them a Love of Learning by recognising that learning happens all the time. We can learn in our classrooms, on the playground, when we make mistakes, when we interact with other people and the list goes on.
The Mission Behaviours help us to recognise the actions of others, and ourselves, when we are together in community. The students are also coming to know these behaviours and what are being taught the actions that can identify the behaviours.
Understanding the Mission Behaviours also provides an opportunity for us to love learning. Our PB4L values are aligned with the Mission Behaviours.
TERM 3 DATES:
AUGUST:
- Tuesday 3 August Sth Coast Region Athletics TBC
- Thursday -Friday 5-6 August Year 6 Camp TBC
- Monday 8 August Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop
- Mon-Fri 23-27 August Book Week TBC
- Thursday 26 August Book Week Parade TBC
SEPTEMBER:
- Friday 3 september - Father’s Day Breakfast/Prayer & Stall TBC
- Monday 6 September Students return to wearing Summer Uniforms
- Tuesday 7 September Staff Spirituality Day - PUPIL FREE DAY
- Wednesday-Thursday 8-9 September Assistant Principal Overnight Retreat
- Thursday-Friday 9-10 September Basketball Gala Days (Junior & Senior) TBC
- Monday 13 September MacKillop Athletics Carnival TBC
- Friday 17 September Term 3 Concludes
October:
- Friday 15 October Grandparents Day