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Dear Parents and Carers of Good Samaritan,
Yesterday we welcomed our Kindergarten students to school on their very first day. What a wonderful day they had. Beginning school is a significant time in the life of our children and also our families.
School is a place where learning occurs and it is also where lifelong friendships begin and are nurtured over time. We have so much enjoyed being a part of this journey for our Kindergarten children.
Yesterday we recognised Safer Internet Day. Safer Internet Day is a global event that brings together communities, families, schools and organisations from more than 200 countries to help create safer online spaces.
This worldwide initiative is celebrating 20 years in 2023, making it a great time to reflect as well as look forward.
Technology has evolved dramatically in the past two decades and the benefits have been huge. These developments have also exposed us to many risks with real-world impacts, making online safety awareness even more important.
That's why the eSafety Commissioner is calling on Australians to Connect. Reflect. Protect.
Connect safely and with purpose – by keeping apps and devices secure and using social media in positive ways.
Reflect before we act – by taking a moment to consider how what we do and say online may affect others.
Protect ourselves and others by taking action – by telling family, friends or colleagues about eSafety and how we can help.
By doing these simple things, we can work towards making every day a Safer Internet Day.
What do you think of when you think about the words
CONNECT REFLECT PROTECT?
ESafety advice for parents - ThinkUKnow program
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are urging families to be proactive this school year and update the privacy settings on children’s devices to help prevent predators from contacting them online.
The AFP-led ThinkUKnow program – Australia’s first and only nationally delivered, law enforcement-led online safety program – has produced guides for parents and carers.
The eSafety Commissioner holds free 30 minute webinars across the year. Below are the Term 1 topics.
This PDF (below) has topics and dates for the year.
STAGES OF HOME-SCHOOL COMMUNICATION
- If you have any educational/behaviour concerns about your child always contact your child’s classroom teacher in the first instance. Your child’s classroom teacher will always make contact with you if they have any concerns regarding your child’s education or behaviour.
- Grades and classes across the school are supported by Middle Leaders. You are asked to contact the Middle Leader/s responsible for your child’s class/grade if you have continued concerns regarding your child’s education or behaviour. The Middle Leaders will also contact you when and if necessary.
- All academic and behaviour concerns made to the office will be directed to the classroom teacher in the first instance. This may be followed up by support from the Middle Leader responsible for the stage/grade.
Shade Sails:
You may have noticed that the shade sails in front of Year 2 & 3 have been removed. This is because one of the poles has buckled over the Christmas break. We have been advised that the safest option is to remove the sails until an engineer can assess the post and work towards a solution.
Our Year 6 students want to have some fun while raising money for some play equipment.
Bring along a gold coin to guess the number of M&M’s in the jars.
There’s 2 jars to win along with a kid’s voucher!
Winners will be announced on Friday afternoon at assembly.
Mark Your Calendars!
PUPIL FREE DAY
Thursday 6 April
(Holy Thursday)
Thursday 6 April will be the Good Samaritan Staff Spirituality Day.
This day aims to connect Christian Meditation to student social and emotional learning.
Students do not attend school on this day.
As we progress through the week as a full school community with all our Kindergarten students right through to all our Year 6 students, we journey together with Jesus,
Sincerely,
Toni Sillis
Principal
Car Lines
Car Lines is an effective way to drop off and pick up your child. Please read the document below to ensure you are aware of the process, times and expectations.
It is important to teach your child, especially our new Kindergarten students how to exit and enter the car safely on their own. Parents are not to leave their cars at any time. Please take the time to speak with your child about the safety of car lines.
KEY POINTS:
- Morning Car lines will begin at 8:20am.
- Afternoon Car lines will begin at 3:00pm.
- It is important that you display your child’s surname in the passenger side windscreen. (not just hold it up). If you require a replacement sign please contact the office ASAP.
iPads at School
During Safer Internet day, Year 3 students engaged in an iPad Bootcamp to learn about the features of their iPad and set up the iPad to ensure they are kept safe.
Students in 3-6 will bring iPads to school every day from Tuesday 14 February. This lapse in time was to allow for discussion of expectations and structures around the use of technology in the classroom.
The CEDoW STUDENT RESPONSIBLE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT needs to be completed before students can use iPads at school.
This agreement is important to outline the following:
- All students are able to use technology at school.
- All students must use technology responsibly and follow the school rules for using technology.
- There will be consequences for students who do not use technology responsibly.
NAPLAN: Information for Parents
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. All students in these year levels are expected to participate in tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All government and non-government education authorities have contributed to the development of NAPLAN materials.
At Good Samaritan we focus on quality assessment to drive student learning and reflection on teaching practice. As children progress through their school years, it is very important that checks are made along the way to see how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and mathematics – skills that will set them upon the path to success as adults.
NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents and carers to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress.
The NAPLAN online test window starts on 15 March and finishes on 27 March 2023. A NAPLAN brochure has been attached with further information.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO COOK PANCAKES
(NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE NECESSARY)
Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday) is Tuesday 21 February. If you are free to volunteer and help cook some pancakes at school and serve at recess, please contact Natalie Shelley (Religious Education Coordinator).
ASH WEDNESDAY
Mass will be celebrated at SJV at 11.00am. This will be a whole School and Parish Mass. Parents and friends are warmly invited to join us as we prepare for the season of Lent.
Our Parish:
PARISH CONTACT DETAILS:
General enquiries
Lumen Christi Catholic Parish, Wollongong
Diocese of Wollongong
PO Box 874 (36 Harbour Street)
Wollongong NSW 2500 Australia
Ph: (02) 42 110500
Email: wollongong@dow.org.au
Office hours: Monday to Friday (9:00am–1:00pm)
Year 3
The students of Year Three have had a very settled and enthusiastic start to the term. One of the most exciting things about starting the primary years is that we get to incorporate 1:1 iPads in our learning. Yesterday Mr Woods and Mr Llamas from the Catholic Education Office, along with Miss Rae, came to do an iPad Bootcamp with the students. We set up the iPads from scratch, signed into new apple ID accounts, logged into google and email accounts and explored many features within the device settings. After our GSFM Internet Safety Day next week, students will bring their iPads to and from school every day for lots of exciting new learning!
Year 4
The students of Year 4 have enjoyed a busy and exciting start to the new school year, as they settle into their new classes. They have been refamiliarising themselves with our school rules and classroom expectations and have been engaged in setting up their classrooms and preparing for learning that lay ahead.
They have been busy creating art works in different mediums which are then being used to cover their exercises books. They are extremely proud of their efforts and their books look amazing!
Swimming Trials:
Monday’s swimming trials were a great success with an enormous display of school spirit from our Good Samaritan swimmers. Results are currently being collated with ribbons, medals and trophies being organised. In order to ensure all this is completed, the recognition and awarding of our swimmers will occur at the school assembly in Week 5 - Friday 24 February at 2:10pm.
News from the Library
HELP NEEDED!
Once again, our school is asking for help in covering small new books (Decodables) to be used by our Infants students.
If you are able to spare a few minutes covering some books at home (they come in bundles of 6 plus 6 pieces of contact), please let our office or library staff know and we’ll organise a couple of bags ready for you to take home.
Books will be available from this Friday in the library.
We will appreciate your help.
Please see attached Welcome Letter from Fresh Start, School Online Ordering System, 2023 Menu.
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.
P&F Meeting Zoom Details:
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:
https://dowcatholic.zoom.us/j/69868601491?pwd=KytBbW5Ka0dSQTgxYTM0Vm16b0Vodz09
Password: 985308
