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Dear Parents and Carers of Good Samaritan,
Last weekend we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. As adults, this can be one of the most difficult concepts to understand about our faith. Pope Benedict XVI wrote that the ascension ‘...expresses our belief that in Christ human nature, the humanity in which we all share, has entered into the inner life of God in a new and hitherto unheard of way. It means that man has found an everlasting place in God.’
Recently, Year 6 studied the meaning of the Ascension by looking critically at Acts 1:6-11. In this passage we can misinterpret the meaning of ‘...when he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him away.’ The misinterpretation is that there was a temporary absence of Christ in the world.
As Year 6 delved deeper into the meaning of the Ascension, they came to forming their own understandings of why we celebrate this feast. Ezekiel, from 6 Gold, shared with me his understanding:
‘I feel the Ascension means the continuation of God’s work and teachings, the stories of the Bible passed down for thousands of years to what we have today. We can continue his work by bringing compassion to the community, and putting others before ourselves.’
Ezekiel’s work reflects the writing of Benedict XVI who goes on to say ‘...It meant rather his new, definitive, and irrevocable presence by participation in God's royal power... God has a place for man!… In God there is a place for us!’
Pope Benedict, along with Ezekiel, call us to understand that our actions toward one another, our community and ourselves demonstrate that God is alive and well within each of us.
How wonderful it is that our students can teach us, in such simple terms, how to live as God intended - with compassion and selflessness for others.
Have a wonderful week, as we journey, together, with Jesus,
Toni Sillis
Principal
It is bittersweet news for Good Samaritan that Mr Collins and Mrs McCabe will leave Good Samaritan at the end of the term.
Mr Collins has been appointed Assistant Principal at St Mary’s War Memorial School, West Wyalong. Mrs McCabe and her husband are making the significant move to London for the next couple of years.
We have valued and enjoyed both Mr Collins' and Mrs McCabe’s expertise as teachers and commitment as staff members to our whole school community.
The recruitment process for replacement teachers has begun. I sincerely thank Mr Collins for what he has brought to Year 5 and Mrs McCabe for what she has brought to the role of Creative Arts teacher. I am grateful for what they have both brought to our school community. I am sure that, along with me, you will wish them every success as they move onto this next stage of their professional lives.
All students who travel on the bus to or from school each day must carry an Opal Card with them every day. Drivers are warning students and communicating to teachers that travel can and will be refused without an Opal Card.
Please ensure that your child has a current Opal Card if they travel to or from school by bus.
Information below will assist you in applying for the Opal Card.
At Good Samaritan we follow PB4L which is Positive Behaviours for Learning. Students in Year Five have been creating short video clips about how to be safe, responsible and respectful on the playground or in the classroom.
Students identified safe behaviours and explored actions to enhance their own and others’ safety and wellbeing at Good Samaritan.
These videos will be shared with students across the school.
How should I talk to my child about their day at school?
Recently, a number of parents have commented that their child/children don’t provide much feedback about what happens at school each day.
It may take a few attempts over the course of a week or two, but try switching up your questions from "How was your day?" or "How did school go?" to more open-ended questions. These require your child to reflect on their day and put a little thought into their answers, and provide you with something more informative than the usual "I don't know" or "nothing."
Examples of Open Ended Questions to try:
- What was your favourite part about school today?
- Tell me one new thing you learned at school today and I'll tell you one thing I learned at work/home.
- Who or what made you laugh today?
- How is the preparation for your Musical going?
- What skills are you working on in PE/Sport?
- What book(s) did you read today? Tell me a little bit about the characters/story.
- What are you looking forward to at school tomorrow?
Year 6 Confirmation
Our Year Six Students have been preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Confirmation marks the continuation of the journey first begun at Baptism. During Confirmation candidates receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and are strengthened in their faith. Please keep these children in your prayers at this time.
PRAYER FOR CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES:
Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people, so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.
Look kindly on all candidates for Confirmation as they listen to Your voice. Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to fulfilment the good work that You have begun in them.
As we prepare these children for Confirmation, make each of us an instrument of Your love.
Teach us to appreciate what is holy in others, and to be patient with what we do not understand.
Deepen our faith in the Gospel and help us to pass it on by our example. We pray that You will continue to guide us and sustain us.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
LUMEN CHRISTI PARISH RECONCILIATION & FIRST HOLY COMMUNION ENROLMENTS 2022
The Sacramental Programme for Reconciliation & First Holy Communion will begin with the Parent/Caregiver Meeting at 6.30pm on Wednesday 29 June, and Thursday 30 June 2022, at St John Vianney Co-Cathedral, Fairy Meadow.
Parents/caregivers must attend either one of these meetings to enrol their children for the First Holy Communion Programme. Please bring your child’s completed enrolment form and a copy of your child’s Baptism Certificate.
You can download the enrolment form from our parish website. Go to: www.lumenchristi.org.au/sacramental2022
Enrolment forms will only be accepted at the Parent/Caregiver session held 6.30pm on 29 & 30 June at St John Vianney Co-Cathedral.
No late enrolments will be accepted.
The cost for administration and materials for the First Holy Communion Programme is $60. The sessions for each sacrament will be held in St John Vianney Co-Cathedral commencing at 6.30pm sharp.
If you require any further information or need to discuss any concerns, please contact Cathy on 4211 0506 or email: cathy.zamroz@dow.org.au
Celebrations for Families Weekend
On the weekend of 25/26 June our parish will offer the Mass for families. A prayer card for families will be distributed at all Parish Masses and will be read during the prayer of the faithful.
National Sorry Day 26 May
Our liturgy on 26 May marked the beginning of Reconciliation week. It was a prayerful experience for the whole school to recognise the importance of this national event. Thanks to Mrs McCabe and the GSFM Choir as they introduced students to the Aboriginal Our Father.
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2022 is Be Brave. Make Change.
Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
For the Catholic Church in Australia, this week offers us a time to be fully the Church that God dreams for us - a Church in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make their own unique contribution and that contribution is joyfully received by others.
Kindergarten students have certainly embraced our school mantra of being “Ready to Learn”. Every day the children are developing new skills and engaging in exciting activities that always seem to bring a smile. Our focus over the past several weeks has been the build up to National Simultaneous Storytime where we have read and discussed this year’s chosen book “Family Tree” by Josh Pyke. We will be creating a whole class family tree, whilst embracing the technology and fun of green screen - definitely a highlight last week!
We made desert rose flowers for our Sorry Day liturgy and worked with our Year 6 buddies to create a Reconciliation Week display for both grades. We discussed the meaning behind the word “sorry” and why it is so important to our First Nations People and how our catholic school motto of “moved to compassion” applies to our everyday life.
Our daily reading and writing journey is coming together for many of our youngest learners who are now starting to enjoy the magic of becoming independent and confident readers and writers. We are also learning to write our own sentences with the help of Miss R, our wonderful student teacher.
In Mathematics, we are looking at different strategies for addition and subtraction with lots of hands-on activities and investigations.
One thing is certain, it’s always busy and full of excitement in KB and KG!
News from Amaroo Gold:
In Amaroo Gold we are also having a busy and exciting time so far this term!
Open Classrooms
We loved having our Mothers and Grandmothers in our Amaroo Gold classroom. We made some paper flowers for our Mums and shared our learning with them when they visited our classrooms.
English:
One of the books we have read together this term is “The Little Red Hen”. We loved this book and even made some of our own bread.
Religious Education
We have been learning about what happened after Jesus died. We enjoyed the story ‘Fish for Breakfast’. Our favourite part of the story is when Peter jumped into the water and swam to the beach to see Jesus! The rest of the disciples followed with a net full of fish behind them.
Science:
We have been learning about small creatures in our garden in a Science unit called “School Yard Safari”. We are using our magnifying glasses to look closely at small animals like worms, snails and ants.
Music with Mrs McCabe:
We have been practising for our school musical called “The Litter Muncher”. It is so much fun learning all the songs and acting out the story.
ATHLETICS RESULTS
We are pleased to announce the following results from the Athletics Carnival. Ribbons for these place getters will be handed out on Friday 3rd June at assembly. Congratulations to our students receiving ribbons!
TRACK
|
7 years |
8 years |
9 years |
10 years |
11 years |
12 years |
|
|
100m Boys |
1. Alexander T |
1. Oliver H |
1. Jacob D |
1. Phoenix D |
1. Edward P |
1. Joshua T |
|
2. William D |
2. Leon P-J |
2. Flynn C |
2. Noah G |
2. Callum C |
2.Alexander B-W |
|
|
3. Gus L |
3. Zane S |
3. Louie K |
3. Marcus P |
3. Ezekial D |
||
|
100m Girls |
1. Evelyn B |
1. Maddi T |
1. Aaliah G |
1. Jazzmin N |
1. Ivy T |
1. Sarah C |
|
2. Raven N |
2. Piper T |
2. Milla E |
2. Ria R |
2. Lucia I |
2. Calli F |
|
|
3. Taylah O |
3. Ruby S |
3. Eadie C |
3. Amelia P |
3. Maude H |
3. Hope H |
|
Junior |
11’s |
Senior |
|
|
200m Boys |
1. Jacob D |
1. Callum C |
1. Alexander B-W |
|
2. Louie K |
2. Edward P |
2. Joshua T |
|
|
3. Lachlan B |
3. Marcus P |
3. Lucas C |
|
|
200m Girls |
1. Milla E |
1. Macy E |
1. Sarah C |
|
2. Aaliah G |
2. Lucia I |
2. Hope H |
|
|
3. Sophia T |
3. Ivy T |
3. Bonnie K |
|
Junior |
11’s |
Senior |
|
|
800m Boys |
=1 Flynn C 1. Jacob D |
1. Callum C |
1. Joshua T |
|
2. Nash T |
2. Edward P |
2. Alexander B-W |
|
|
3. Noah G |
3. Kavai P |
3. Max S |
|
|
800m Girls |
1. Milla E |
1. Annastasia P |
1. Sarah C |
|
2. Ruby G |
2. Lucia I |
2. Calli F |
|
|
3. Ayla S |
3. Ruby R |
FIELD EVENTS
|
Long Jump |
Junior |
11’s |
Senior |
|
BOYS |
1. Jacob D |
1. Marcus P |
1. Alexander B-W |
|
2. Oliver H |
2. Edward P |
2. Lucas C |
|
|
=3 Flynn C 3. Lachlan B |
3. Callum C |
3. Jaxon V |
|
|
GIRLS |
1. Aaliah G |
1. Lucia I |
1. Bonnie K |
|
2. Milla E |
2. Darcie W |
2. Sarah C |
|
|
3. Piper T |
3. Annastasia P |
3. Isabella V |
Good Samaritan High Jump Trials
Due to the wet conditions and compromised safety on the day of the athletics carnival, high jump was unable to be completed. High jump trials will now be conducted on
Tuesday 14 June 2pm at Beaton Park.
Students will need to be picked up from school by parents at lunch time and travel to Beaton Park to meet Mrs Olima who will manage the trials.
These trials are aimed towards experienced high jumpers who will be striving to move to the Diocesan level of competition. Students compete in Junior, 11 Years and Senior categories. Therefore, students in Years 2&3 may not be eligible. In addition, nominated students must have experience jumping at Little Athletics or similar.
Parents are asked to nominate their child by completing this form by Tuesday 7 June. Following this a Compass event will be sent for nominated students only.
Netball Gala Day - POSTPONED
The Netball Gala Day originally calendared for 21 June has been postponed until Term 3. Further details will be communicated as they become available.
Love of Learning
How Can We Show Support in Our Community?
- Let others have a go before jumping in
- Be aware and supportive of those less fortunate.
- Show care for others
- Being resilient and Bouncing Back
- Showing that upstanding is more supportive than bystanding
- Knowing it’s okay to make mistakes
- Using Consistent & Agreed upon practices in our classrooms
- using signals to show the teacher how I’m going with individual independent tasks.
Working With Children Check (WWCC)
In order for the school to ensure that all staff and volunteers have the necessary WWCC, all parents who wish to volunteer are asked to ensure that they have the appropriate clearance in order to remain as a volunteer within the school. Once the WWCC is completed the school maintains a register of parents who are able to volunteer within the school. This includes classroom assistance, excursions, camps, canteen, Library assistance and general helping about the school.
Further information about the Working With Children Check can be found on the CEDoW website. Follow this link to the website.
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
June
Friday 10 June
PB4L Mufti Day
Monday 13 June
Queen's Birthday
Thursday 23 June
School Musical
Monday 27-30 June
Parent/Teacher Interview Week
Wednesday 29 June
Parish Reconciliation & First Communion Enrolment Sessions
6:30pm: Parent/Cargiver meeting at St John Vianney Co-Cathedral
Thursday 30 June
Parish Reconciliation & First Communion Enrolment Sessions
6:30pm: Parent/Cargiver meeting at St John Vianney Co-Cathedral
July
Friday 1 July
Whole School Run & Picnic
Last Day of Term 2
Monday 18 July
First Day Term 3
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
