Dear Parents and Carers  of Good Samaritan, 

During the holidays we were able to reflect on Luke’s Gospel of the Good Samaritan. This Gospel is so well known and probably came straight from the words Jesus spoke so many years ago.

The Good Samaritan story answers the question: “Who am I required to love? Who belongs in our community?” Jesus tells us very simply that it is the one who shows mercy. Luke tells us that the ones who belong are those who take pity, who can live a compassionate life, who can live in love and don’t make decisions based on race, religion, gender or ability.

In the Good Samaritan story, Jesus chooses someone far removed from the Jewish society of the time - a Samaritan. He calls him the true neighbour. This calls on us today to broaden our very understanding of who should be included in  communities - all are to be welcome in our community.

As young people, our Good Samaritan boys and girls continue to grow in their understanding of the Good  Samaritan story - and they don’t always get it right. Sometimes their actions may result in others not feeling that great,  or feeling they have been outcast. The important thing is how we support them to ‘get it right’  next time. 

One of the ways we do this  is through Positive Behaviours 4 Learning (PB4L). PB4L is more than just school rules, it is a way of being in community. Each week the students  focus on a particular Mission Behaviour that is aligned with St Benedict’s Love of Learning. We support the students  by breaking down what these behaviours look like and, in turn, combine these with our Merit and Value Awards.

Each Monday morning, the students will gather in their stage groups to be oriented for the week ahead. This meeting will involve clear and consistent explanations of the week’s Mission Behaviour, the school focus and our playground social norms. It will also be within this stage meeting that students will receive Merit and Value Awards.

Positive reinforcement of student learning and behaviour is crucial for the success of all students. Each week in the newsletter you will be able to read about the Mission Behaviour, school focus and playground norms the students will be learning. Your support as a parent will only benefit your child and his or her peers.

Until next week, as we journey into Term 3 together with Jesus,

Toni Sillis

Principal

We look forward to welcoming all Grandparents and Great People in the lives of our Good Samaritan boys and girls this Friday. We celebrate this day in recognition of The Feast of Joachim and Anne which is celebrated on July 26 each year. Joachim and Anne were the grandparents of Jesus. ​​Joachim and Anne were the parents of Jesus’ mother, Mary. We don’t know many details about their lives because they are never mentioned in the New Testament. Everything we know about them comes down through tradition—the stories people told about them.

We believe that they were respected members of the Jewish community and that they wanted to become parents so much that Joachim went into the desert to fast and pray that God would hear their prayer. It is said that an angel told them that they would soon have a daughter who would become famous throughout the world.

Months later, Mary, our Blessed Mother, was born. Tradition tells us that when Mary was three years old, Anne and Joachim took her to the temple in Jerusalem to consecrate her for special service to the Lord. We call this celebration the “Presentation of the Virgin Mary.” It means that Mary was to play an important part in God’s loving plan for the world.

They also remind us to honour our own grandparents and to thank them for the blessings they have passed down to us in love. Anne is the patron of grandmothers, among many other things, and Joachim of grandfathers and grandparents.

The day will proceed as below:

Grandparent Goodies Hamper

The GSFM Student Leadership team will be selling tickets for a Grandparent Goodies Hamper. All funds raised will go towards new playground balls for students to enjoy during recess and lunch. 

Tickets: 1 for $2 or 3 for $5

Tickets will be sold during morning tea with the lucky winner being announced during Open Classrooms.

On Thursday  4 August I will be undertaking an appraisal of my role as Principal of Good Samaritan. 

The Principal Appraisal process is an important platform for reflection on performance and

achievement in the role allowing for successes to be acknowledged and affirmed and areas for development to be identified and used for ongoing Performance and Development processes. 

This process is designed for identifying areas of future growth and development for me as a principal. I invite you to complete the survey that will be distributed to all parents before the end of the week.

Mark your calendars on Friday  9 December as we join together with the Lumen Christi Parish and Schools’ Christmas Carols Concert. This event will bring together St Brigid’s and Good Samaritan schools along with the Parish to celebrate Christmas together. Celebrations  will  be held on the Cathedral grounds.

We are calling for sponsors for Good Samaritan’s 10 Year Gala Dinner Event. All sponsorship is greatly appreciated, and Products or Services or Vouchers will also be gratefully accepted to the sponsorship value. These items will go towards a main raffle, Lucky Door Prizes and other prizes throughout the evening. 

See the Sponsorship Packages below:

Sponsorship Packages

By sponsoring the 10 Year Gala Dinner, you will be contributing to the school’s ability to:

• upgrade classroom audio visual equipment 
• purchase playground equipment
• maintain a consistent renewal and replenishment of English & Mathematics resources
• upgrade play and garden areas of the school, including a prayer garden
• redesign and landscape the school’s pedestrian entrance from Cabbage Tree Lane.

This term we welcome Miss Lauren Ah Tong to Year 5 Red. Lauren will take up the full classroom teaching position in Year 5 following Mr Collins’ movement to another school.

We also welcome back to Good Samaritan Mrs Jacinta O’Connor who returns to work  every Tuesday and Wednesday supporting learning in classrooms.

Mrs Tania McRobert has accepted the position of Acting Middle Leader during Mrs O’Donnell’s period of leave this term. Mrs Jamie Smede will teach Year 2 Gold whilst Mrs McRobert undertakes additional duties for the school.

The next P&F Meeting will be held on Tuesday 26 July, 7pm in the School Library.

All are welcome to attend in person or via Zoom.

Topic: P&F Meeting

Time: Jul 26, 2022 07:00 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:

    https://dowcatholic.zoom.us/j/67120949298?pwd=OS9FRFpjQ1VnQ1ZIS0FjeVR4N0xxZz09 

    Password: 87590

Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School will be providing students in Years 3-6 the opportunity to participate in the ICAS external curriculum assessments. The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools, or ICAS for short, is an independent, skills-based assessment program. 

ICAS Assessments are now online, a move that reflects a sector-wide transition to online assessments. This allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results. 

Learn more about ICAS here: https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas

This year our school has signed up for the ICAS Assessments parent payment system (PPS) for English, Mathematics and Spelling Bee. Through this system parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will still be held at our school. Please use the following details to register your child no later than 1 August 2022. Students will require iPad devices and headphones on the day of the tests.

Please be aware that these assessments are external assessments and not mandatory assessments. They are targeted at students who demonstrate a particular strength in the given area outlined above. As these assessments are up to parent discretion, teachers will not be able to work through results with your child. 

As per the ICAS requirements each assessment needs to be sat during a particular test window. Therefore, the following are scheduled for the administration of assessments at Good Samaritan:

How to participate in ICAS 

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please: 

1.   read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas) 
2.   go to Parent Portal here: (https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps) 
3.   enter our school’s access code –

Prayer for Grandparents and Great People

Lord God almighty, bless our grandparents with long life, happiness, and health. May they remain constant in your love and be living signs of your presence to their children and grandchildren. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayers are asked for:

Please pray for Tri Vu whose mother recently passed away. Tri and her husband Quynh returned to Vietnam to be with family during this sad time. Tri’s mother reached the terrific age of 101 years.

May eternal rest  

Grant unto her O Lord

May she rest in peace,

Prayers are also asked to continue for Valentino Quintero, an ex-student of Good Samaritan and friends with our current Year 5 students. Valentino is still very unwell in hospital receiving treatment for leukemia. Your prayers are very much appreciated by the Quintero family.

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. 

The students have had a great start to the term. There are many things that students are looking forward to this term. Please enjoy this short video sharing what some of our students are looking forward to.

From the School Handbook:

The wearing of the correct school uniform is very important at Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School as it creates a greater sense of equality among the student population despite the diverse socio-economic backgrounds of their families. 

The following are some basic guidelines for following the expectations associated with wearing the correct school uniform at Good Samaritan:

1. All students are to wear the full, correct  uniform at all times.
2. Uniforms are to be labelled, cleaned, pressed, properly repaired and worn neatly at all times. 
3. Damaged or shabby items of uniform are to be replaced.
4. School uniform regulations apply equally to hair, jewellery, make-up (including false fingernails), hats and shoes.
5. Classroom teachers are responsible for checking uniform on a daily basis.
6. Where a uniform breach occurs a verbal reminder/warning is given.
7. If a repetition of uniform breaches occurs, parents will be contacted by way of letter.
8. Students out of uniform, who have a valid reason, should have a note to this effect, signed by their parents. This is to be counter-signed by the classroom teacher.
9. For extreme breaches of the uniform code, a student may be isolated from the rest of the school.
10. Where genuine financial difficulties hamper a student in fully meeting all uniform requirements, the Principal may supply items of uniform at the school’s expense. 

All items of uniform must be purchased from Poppets Schoolwear

31 Montague St North Wollongong 2500 

Phone 42261611

Basis of Discretion

• Discretion may be used when a student is out of uniform on the first occasion. 
• The Principal has the right to waver uniform requirements in special circumstances.

Term 3 2022 

July

Friday 22 July

Grandparents & Great People Day 

Tuesday 26 July 

Feast of Saint Joachim and Anne 

August 

Wednesday 3 August 

Year 3 Excursion 

Monday 8 August 

Feast of St Mary of the Cross

Tuesday 9 August 

Sth Coast Athletics Carnival 

Monday 15 August 

Feast of the Assumption 

Monday 22 -26 August

Book Week (Dreaming with eyes Open)

Wednesday 24 August 

School Photos 

Friday 26 August 

Book Parade 

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 

Friday 23 September

Last Day of Term 3

18-25 September

UCI 2022 Road World Championships- Wollongong