Dear Parents and Carers of Good Samaritan

Since we have returned to face-to-face learning, I have had the pleasure of being on duty for the morning car lines. It is one of the best duties to be on across  the school day and I feel blessed each day as I welcome the children into their school.

It always amazes me how you, as parents, get your children ready for school each morning, into the car with bags strategically placed (and many 4 legged family members there as well) for a quick exit from the vehicle, a ‘goodbye’ wave and an ‘I love you!’ as the children come into school. I did it, too, many years ago and wonder how I managed it but we do because as parents we build a strong culture of routine within our  homes, almost unknowingly, that impacts upon the learning of our children.

From here I watch siblings say ‘see you later’ and even ‘I love you!’  to each other as well. Friends meet each other with a smile, sometimes a hug and the older girls check each other’s pony tails as they head off to play together.  When we talk about schools, we often  talk about the community that is built and how the community supports the learning. All of these interactions are community building,  creating a positive atmosphere for learning.

As I greet the children I am so pleased that they often want to engage in conversation with me or return the smile, the greeting and let me know how their morning has been. This is so important as together we work to instil in the children the importance of developing relationships that are positive and life giving.

St Benedict wrote about the deep value of hospitality in building community. His work spoke about hospitality as literally meaning to receive all as Christ. Our simple morning gestures and routines deepens our own expression of hospitality in community (in communion) with each other, and the world.

Recently, our School Captain, Matisse, welcomed our 2022 Kindergarten parents by describing what she has learnt as a Good Samaritan girl. I share this with you here as no one could say what it means to be a part of Good Samaritan better than our own students.

Following a recruitment and appointment process, the staffing for Good Samaritan is now almost complete with part time teaching positions and school support officer appointments still to be completed. However, I am able to communicate the following staffing arrangements for the 2022 school year.

There are some changes to the Good Samaritan staff due to movement between schools and decisions affecting employment at Good Samaritan.

Thanks and gratitude are extended to the following staff:

• Mrs Julie Mewett: Julie has been successful in gaining a permanent position at St Brigid’s Gwynneville. She has had a significant impact on the teaching and learning at Good Samaritan. Julie’s ability to develop strong relationships with students and their families is admirable. Julie has always possessed a strong desire to consistently improve her teaching based on students’ strengths and needs. What has been our blessing at Good Samaritan is now that of the St Brigid’s community.

• Mrs Jacinta O’Connor: Jacinta will be  taking a period of leave for Semester 1 (Terms 1&2) of 2022. This will be a well deserved period of rest and renewal for Jacinta who has been committed to improving the literacy of Good Samaritan students for many years. Jacinta has also been instrumental in the establishment and ongoing implementation of PB4L across the school.

• Miss Rachel Daffara: Rachel will return to her substantive position at St Paul’s Camden in 2022. Rachel has demonstrated a commitment to Good Samaritan throughout 2021 displaying strength in her teaching and strong relationships with her students. As a community, I thank Rachel for all that she has brought to Good Samaritan and wish her well on her return to Camden.

• Mrs Michelle Cook: Michelle has made the courageous decision to resign her position at Good Samaritan at the end of the 2021 school year. Michelle intends to pursue a lecturing position for those studying to become early childhood educators. Michelle has made a significant contribution to the Good samaritan community in  establishing the Library at the time of amalgamation of two schools. Michelle has shared her deep love of literature with countless Good Samaritan students. She has managed the technological devices of the school and has been a champion of digital awareness  and citizenship. Michelle will be remembered for Book Week and the exciting experiences that our students enjoyed. We may see Michelle in a casual teaching capacity in the new year.

• Mrs Shirley Jancetic will return to her substantive position at Good Samaritan in 2022 following  twelve months of working as an Education Officer within CEDoW. Shirley’s role in 2022 will focus on supporting the Diverse Learning Needs of Good Samaritan students.

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

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. 

Mrs Jenny Black will continue as a member of the teaching staff of Good Samaritan in a full time classroom position in 2022. Jenny has worked as our EAL/D teacher and partnered Mrs Tubaro in Kindergarten. Jenny’s strong ability to build upon the Literacy and Numeracy skills of students will enable a classroom learning environment that is student centred.

Mr Jason Novak has accepted an ongoing general classroom teaching position continuing the work and commitment that he has brought to our school this year. Mr Novak works to create a learning environment that is rich and challenging for the students.

Mr Michael Gore has also accepted an ongoing general classroom teaching position. Mr Gore has worked well to create strong relationships with his students this year which has resulted in a learning environment that reflects the strengths and needs of the students.

Mrs Christie Gray will continue to work in Amaroo. Christie has experience across a number of schools and a variety of settings including Special Education. She has a good knowledge of the curriculum and well developed skills of differentiating the curriculum to suit student learning needs. Mrs Gray develops good relationships with students allowing for a positive classroom climate. 

Mrs Lauren Mahar has accepted a general classroom teaching position. Lauren is an  experienced teacher having taught in the Melbourne Archdiocese prior to teaching with the NSW Department of Education at Nowra. Lauren comes to Good Samaritan  with strong referees and a commitment to Catholic education.

Miss Ashley Rae will join the Good Samaritan staff in 2022. Ashley currently teaches at St Justin’s Oran Park and is excited to join the Good Samaritan community. Ashley has a love of learning and a particular interest in teaching STEM.

Ms Jane Stackhouse will take up the position of EAL/D teacher at Good Samaritan. Jane is appointed to this role by CEDoW and comes with extensive experience in the area of teaching students whose first language is not English.

Below are the 2022 staffing arrangements with part time positions still to be confirmed.

Last Thursday our School Captains, Matisse and Christian, accompanied me to the Blessing and Opening of a memorial garden at Wollongong Cathedral. This was a beautiful ceremony and has been the only official function where Matisse and Christian have been able to represent Good Samaritan. They certainly represented their school very proudly. This Illawarra Mercury article talks about the significance of this event.

Our Good Samaritan P&F had claimed this Friday as the 2021 Colour Run however due to the Level 3 restrictions still in place we will not be able to hold the Colour Run this year.

However, on Friday 3 December we will be having a Good Samaritan Fun Day. This will include different activities across the day that the children can enjoy with the grade. Students can wear mufti clothes on this day.

As we begin planning for the new school year, we will return to the usual expectations for the wearing of the correct school uniform.

The wearing of the school uniform is an outward sign of the respect that a student has for themselves and the Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School community. The Good Samaritan uniform serves as an outward sign of what the school stands for, and the correct wearing of uniform is an indication of students’ pride in being members of the school community. At Good Samaritan, we believe that the wearing of a school uniform reduces the social inequities that may be evident in a community that does not enforce a standard uniform. This assists in respecting the dignity of each individual by reducing social class barriers. 

Joggers that are predominantly white are to be worn for sport and fitness. They must be predominantly white and may be lace up or velcro. No slip on ‘Raben’ type shoes, indoor soccer boots or coloured joggers are to be worn. Pictorial examples of appropriate joggers are shown here. Students currently wearing coloured or incorrect joggers will receive a reminder for the new year.

Stage Three GSFM Public Speaking Competition

Yesterday Stage 3 students were involved in the GSFM Public Speaking Competition. This opportunity enabled students to demonstrate the skills involved in structuring a speech for an audience that included stating their opinion, providing evidence of researched examples as well as being able to present the speech with strong voice projection, pace and intonation.

All speeches were an excellent representation of our Stage 3 students’ skills in this area. All spoke with confidence, they worked to inform and persuade the audience and had a terrific use of rhetorical questions.

It is very pleasing to be able to advise our 2021 GSFM Public Speaking Finalists:

Year 5 Finalist:

Hope Hill

Year 6 Finalist:

Christian Lopresti

Congratulations to the finalists of the GSFM Public Speaking Competition. Special thanks to Mrs Sillis and Mrs Smithers who had the very hard job of judging such fine speeches.

Year 5B: In 5B we have been continuing the “Yarning Circle”. We have been focusing on both listening and speaking from the heart, which means being honest, genuine and understanding. We always finish with compliments for each person (that's our favorite bit) everyone feels really positive and ready to learn afterwards. So far this term we have discussed topics like - our relationships, integrity, leadership as well as solved some of the problems that have come up since returning to school. 

Year 5G:5G has returned to class with lots of energy and excitement for the coming term. In particular, students have worked diligently to compose their very own speeches for our Public Speaking unit and for the chance to be entered into the GSFM Public Speaking Competition. With a range of topics from ‘Every Child Matters’ to ‘What Makes an Australian?’ students had the opportunity to research and discuss ideas that they found interesting and inspiring. 

Year 6: With 4 weeks left of primary school, Year 6 are definitely enjoying their final weeks. It truly is “the final countdown”. With various thoughts and feelings about their exciting adventures into high school next year, they are focusing on maintaining and fostering their current relationships with their peers. 

Last Friday, the 24th Annual CDF sports awards were held. 

Congratulations to Finley, Talia, Ben G, Hamish G and Kobi for being awarded the Primary Sports Council medallion and to Gemma H. for achieving the Primary Sports Council Red award. Congratulations to Matisse, Gemma, Ava H and Samantha- Our Senior Girls Swimming relay team who were one of only two Primary teams to receive a team award. Finally, the winner of The Father Ward Trophy for Most Outstanding Primary Girl is Gemma H!!! Congratulations to all of our award recipients, they were chosen because of their achievements in representative sport during 2021 out of more than 500 Diocesan representatives. We are very proud of all of you.

Diocesian Representative Sports Trials Update

The diocesian trials that were set down for November in tennis, cricket, basketball, touch football and softball have been postponed due to the current Covid restrictions. Once a date has been set  the participants will be informed.

Being Considerate of Confidentiality

At times there may be incidents within the school that involve certain students and you may hear about them through other parents. These may relate to another child’s progress and learning or their behaviour. It is most important that the confidentiality of that student, and of his or her family, is protected. Always treat such incidents with empathy – no one would like their own child to be the topic of discussion amongst parents. If you have some specific concerns that relate to your own child please do not hesitate to address these through the classroom teacher, Stage Middle Leader, Mrs Smithers or myself.

Do you really know the apps your child has access to?

It’s time to check in on the apps that your child is downloading. Some students have been accessing an app called Discord. This is another app that allows the user to ‘talk & hang out’. It was built  for those who accessing gaming on devices but has morphed into another messaging app. 

Children may be at risk of talking to people they do not know online. Please keep your child safe online by regularly checking what they are accessing. Discord looks kid friendly (see below) but is recommended for those over 13 years so no Good Samaritan student should be using it.

Find out more from the eSafety Commissioner about Discord.

The Council of Catholic School Parents invites you to a FREE live webinar on Monday 22 November. Further information is below:

P&F News

Jamberoo Tickets

Hello Families & Friends,

After the challenges of 2020 we were certainly not expecting to repeat these challenges in 2021, but how amazing to be coming out the other side and have all our kids back at school together!  As our school community responded to the global health pandemic, GSFM P&F have met regularly throughout the year and quietly focused on ensuring that our school and community remained safe and supported. Fundraising has not been a priority and we did not wish to place any additional financial pressure on our school community during these times.

As the end of the year approaches and with the easing of restrictions, your P&F is very excited to once again offer our Good Samaritan School Community discounted single entry tickets to Jamberoo Action Park!  At this stage, Jamberoo will not be offering Season Passes for the 2021/2022 Season, so these individual tickets are the perfect gift for your family, friends and loved ones.  At a flat rate of $49.00 per ticket, and no limit on the number of tickets you can purchase, this is an offer too good to miss.

This offer is available for a short time only. Tickets can be purchased by filling out the attached order form, which is also being sent home, and transferring payment into the P&F account. Order forms and payment must be made by Friday 26 November 2021, with tickets being available the week commencing Monday 6 December 2021.

Account Name: Good Samaritan P&F, BSB No: 066-711, Account No: 007 045, Ref: ‘JAP – Your Name’

The Canteen will open on Fridays only until futher notice.

TERM 4 DATES:

November:

• Friday 19 November - Book Club Orders Due to Schoolastic

December:

• Wednesday 1 December - Red and Yellow Day-Surf Lifesaving MUFTI DAY

• Friday 3 December -  Good Samaritan Fun Day
• Friday 3 December - St Vincent De Paul Christmas -MUFTI DAY

• Monday 13 December - Year 6 Farewell 

• Wednesday 15 December - Last Day of Term 4 2021