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- From the Principal's Desk
- Whole School Assembly: Friday 6 May
- Kindergarten Enrolment 2023:
- Mark Your Calendar:
- Winter Uniform:
- Easter Hat Parade:
- From The Assistant Principal's Desk
- Our Catholic Life and Identity
- School News
- Sport News
- PB4L @ GSFM
- Parent and School Partnership
- Office News
- ALUMNI:
- Canteen News
- Library News
- Noticeboard:
- Important Dates
Dear Parents and Carers of Good Samaritan,
As we enter the month of May, our Catholic tradition is to remember Mary - the mother of Jesus. Gerard Manley Hopkins, the great Jesuit poet, said in his poem, “The May Magnificat,” that the reason May is Mary’s month is that it is the season of growth. In Mary grew the vision that made her open to the Incarnation; in Mary grew the image of the strong and independent woman; in Mary grew the Christ who changed the lives of all of us. Mary is not a plaster statue. Mary is the woman whose commitment and courage saved the world from self-centeredness.
“Mary, our mother,” is one of Mary’s most common titles. We cling to it all our lives. Why? Because “mothering,” the sense of being cared for and protected, supported, and understood, is the human being’s primal need. “Mother’s Day” is the call to all of us to remember those—both women and men—who have “mothered” us in life and then be conscious of our call to mother those around us, as well.
This week at Good Samaritan we acknowledge all the mothers, grandmothers and mother-like figures in our lives. We give thanks for them and pray that they are enriched by their lives with us as we are with them.
We look forward to celebrating our Mother’s Day morning tea tomorrow at 11am followed by Open Classrooms between 11:45am and 1pm.
As we journey together into May, with Jesus - the Son of Mary of Nazareth,
Toni Sillis
Principal
All parents are invited to attend our whole school assembly which will begin at approximately 2:15pm on the primary playground. Should it be wet weather, the assembly will go ahead in the hall with Kindergarten, Years 1 and 2 in attendance.
The zoom link below can be used in the event of wet weather:
Topic: Whole School Assembly
Time: May 6, 2022 02:15 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:
https://dowcatholic.zoom.us/j/69634561048?pwd=eGczSGhGSG1JNUp0VEJDMlEyd3hwUT09
Password: 100030
On Saturday Mrs Hailstone and I began the Kindergarten interviews for students coming to Good Samaritan in 2023. This is a time of great privilege as we begin forming our relationship with families for the first time and also welcoming siblings into the school.
Enrolling your child into school is a significant decision and many parents speak about Good Samaritan as the place they want their child to be because of the happy nature of our students and the warm welcoming environment that students experience.
Enrolment interviews will continue throughout May with offers of placement being sent towards the end of the term.
GSFM Pupil Free Day
Monday 9 May 2022
Students do not attend school on this day.
This day is a day of Professional Learning for staff.
At Good Samaritan, the Winter Uniform is worn the week following Mother’s day through to the Friday prior to Father’s Day each year. This year Winter uniform is worn from Tuesday 10 May - remembering that Monday 9 May is a Pupil Free Day (Staff Development Day - students do not attend school on this day).
Parents may use their discretion for the week on either side of these dates based on the weather.
It was certainly wonderful to enjoy our whole school being together again last Friday with the Easter Hat Parade. Many thanks to all our parents who worked tirelessly to create such wonderful hat designs. You could feel the excitement of the children as they enjoyed the afternoon together.
NAPLAN
Videos have been created to support the use of the NAPLAN Public Demonstration Site. The more comfortable and confident our students are with the format of the test and the way the online tools work, the more accurately the students' results will reflect their knowledge. In addition, some simple modelling of exam strategies will assist students to show their potential.
Teachers have been modelling the use of the public demonstration tests, highlighting exam strategies and the use of the online tools. Students can then complete the sample exams, they might even find it useful to complete exams above and/or below their year level, building confidence and comfort in the test environment through the process.
General Example
https://watch.screencastify.com/v/ljuCWqbAWkvk4w3eLH0U
Numeracy example
https://watch.screencastify.com/v/BXwzR3xvtxlZKSEDIX02
The NAPLAN testing window is from 10 - 20 May. The proposed timetable is as follows:
- Writing - Tuesday 10 May
- Reading - Wednesday 11 May
- Language Conventions - Thursday 12 May
- Numeracy - Friday 13 May
Mrs Catherine Hailstone
Look Closer:
Breakfast by the Lake:
When the disciples came with the boat, Jesus was cooking a breakfast of fish and bread. John recognised Jesus and Peter jumped into the water and swam ashore.
Try it:
Get up before sunrise and have breakfast by the water, or watch a sunrise together. Talk about what it would be like for the disciples seeing Jesus risen.
News From Year 6
Year 6 students and teachers enjoyed a busy and productive Term 1. The first week of Term 2 has started swiftly as well. Already students have been involved in a special liturgy to commemorate ANZAC Day, the Good Samaritan Cross Country Carnival, the first Year 6 Leadership sessions of this term with Cameron and the Easter Hat Parade. All of this in a four-day week!
Leadership with Cameron
Imarli and Emme display handwork that is as quick as lightning and just as spectacular during one of the team games as part of the Leadership Session last week.
Alexander and Samuel engage in an activity that requires creative thought,
co-operation and communication - all essential for any leader.
Issa, Lennox and Nate provide a great example of the type of listening skills that all quality leaders need to possess.
Easter Hat Parade
Noah and Lennyx certainly make a happy and colourful pair
Lennox certainly has a feast ready for the Easter Bunny. We’re sure that he’d “head” straight to Lennox’s house.
It was great to witness Year 6 getting into the spirit of the Easter Hat Parade.
Da Vinci Decathlon
The Da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students.
Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy.
The GSFM team will compete on Wednesday, 4 May, at The Illawarra Christian School, Cordeaux Heights.
Our team is pictured above: Joshua, Chloe, Ben, Calli, Cayleigh, Alex, Issa and Harry.
Absent: Emmerson.
GSFM/Dragons Flag Bearers
Congratulations to Lucas Cicero, Bede O’Donnell, Xander Hyslop, Jeremiah Waqabaca, Harrison Clarke, Ezekiel Daszkowski, Zac Epton and Alexander Bradshaw-Wett who had the opportunity to lead the Dragons out on the field on Sunday at Win Stadium as the flag bearers. The Dragons beat the Tigers 12-6. Go the Dragons!
Love of Learning
How Can We Build & Maintain Empathy in Our Community?
- Show kindness towards others through actions and/or words.
- Use active listening & showing this with your whole body
- Think through what you say before you say it
- Be aware and supportive of those less fortunate
- Value the perspective others even though you may not always agree
- Turn taking when listening and speaking
- Setting expectations for social interactions
- Recognise different opinions and viewpoints are ok
- Speak up when you know or hear something that is not right
From the School Handbook:
What do I do if I have a concern regarding a student/s who is not my child?
At times parents may become concerned about the behaviour of other students and, in an effort to resolve the situation, approach the student concerned. However, under no circumstances are parents to approach other students when trying to resolve an issue. Always seek assistance from the school. Incidents such as this can very quickly lead to reportable Child Protection matters that have to be investigated and reported.
It is also good practice to seek assistance from the school when you have a concern rather than approaching other parents about school related matters.
Always think about what you would do, or how you would feel, if another parent approached your child or confronted you about a matter where you were not fully informed of the details.
If you have a sibling that will be ready to begin school in 2023 contact the office for an enrolment pack.
The Canteen will be open
WEDNESDAY,THURSDAY and FRIDAY EACH WEEK
PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE (PRC) 2022
PRC is back again. From Monday 21 March, students will be able to borrow any books from their respective challenge group (3-4 or 5-6).
Those students doing the PRC can check in SORA and find one of the Premier's Reading Challenge categories matching the right challenge level. If students are having trouble, they can download the reading log from the PRC website (https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html) to keep a track of what has been read. We will assist them to enter their data.
Students from Yrs 3-4 need to log 20 titles in which 5 of them are free choices. Yrs 5-6 need to log 20 titles of which 5 are free choices. Students from K-2 will do the Challenge (K-2) as a classroom.
The last day to log PRC titles is 19 August 2022 for students.
Mrs Medina
2022
May
Wednesday 4 May
6:30pm Confirmation Sessions begin at SJV
Thursday 5 May
6:30pm Confirmation Session at SJV
Thursday 5 May
Mother's Day Liturgy 11.45am -1pm:Open Classrooms
Friday 6 May
Mother's Day Stall
Monday 9 May
Staff Development Day (Pupil Free Day)
Tuesday 10 May
Winter Uniform
Tuesday 10 May
NAPLAN Writing
Wednesday 11 May
NAPLAN Reading
Thursday 12 May
NAPLAN Language Conventions
Friday 13 May
NAPLAN Numeracy
Friday 20 May
School Athletics Carnival
Tuesday 24 May
Cross Country B/Up Willandra
Monday 30 May -3 June
Screen Aware Week
June
Friday 3 June
7pm Confirmation
Saturday 4 June
2pm & 6pm Confirmation
Sunday 5 June
Pentecost Sunday
Friday 10 June
PB4L Day
Tuesday 21 June
South Coast Netball Gala Day
Parent/Teacher Interview Week
July
Friday 1 July
Whole School Run & Picnic
Last Day of Term 2
Friday 22 July
Grandparents & Great People Day
September
Friday 2 September
Father's Day BBQ Breakfast & Stall
Wednesday 14 September
Feast of the Holy Cross - Feast Day 10 Years of Good Samaritan
18-25 September
UCI 2022 Road World Championships- Wollongong