This week we entered the season of Advent. At last week’s assembly I asked the children: What does Advent mean? The responses were great and hit the mark. They spoke about Advent being a time when we wait for Jesus’ birthday - and that is Christmas. ‘Wait’ is the critical word. So much of  our lives no longer allows us the important  period of waiting. We can become so impatient and want the product or the service or the profit now!

This has led me to think about the times when we really have to wait. We wait nine months for a baby to be born into our families, we wait for a wedding as the couple enjoy a period of engagement, we wait between death and burial,  we wait until we graduate from school, university or TAFE, we wait and prepare to receive the sacraments, we wait until we hear if we are successful with a job application and the list goes on.

But all of these things are about life. They’re not about objects, how much we own, how much time we have. They don’t give us any guarantees either. Yet, from my observations, we seem to  look for these things instead of what truly will fulfil us in our lives.

St Benedict taught that life should be a continuous Advent.  In his Rule, he describes that we should be vigilant all the time and this can be seen in many ways including careful listening, attentiveness to prayer, prompt obedience, taking watchful care over words and actions, being the first to show respect to others, and readily seeing Christ in every person we meet.

COVID-19 has brought many positive changes to school life and one for me has been being able to greet the children as they come into the playground each day.  I wait  for the gate to open so that they can come into our school to greet their friends. Then I start to use the time to observe. I see such wonderful things happening each morning. Particularly, there are children who come to the Library steps and wait for their friends. They talk about their friends with such deep affection. Together we wait patiently and chat about the day ahead or the weekend we’ve just enjoyed, and then, they see their friend come down the path. Sometimes, I say excitedly ‘There he/she is!’ and they run towards each other greeting each other like long lost friends. These are truly beautiful moments of innocence and friendship - they are moments of life that are to be captured, savoured and treasured. 

The next time I’m in the line at Woolies, or  waiting  on the end of the phone with some service provider - and I’m becoming impatient  - I  am going to think about this story that Joan Chittister shares of a traveler who one day stopped at a monastery and asked an elder for a word of wisdom that would guide the rest of the journey….

The elder nodded affably, and though it was a day of silence took a sheet of paper and wrote on it a single word, “Awareness.”

“Awareness?” the traveler said, perplexed.

“That’s far too brief.

“Couldn’t you expand on that a bit?”

So, the elder took the paper back and wrote: “Awareness, awareness, awareness.”

“But what do these words mean?” the traveler insisted.

Finally, the elder reached for the paper and wrote, clearly and firmly,

“Awareness, awareness, awareness means… Awareness! (exclamation point).”

To live life as a continuous Advent means nurturing our awareness of Christ’s presence in his three comings – in history, in daily life and at the end of time.

A prayer for you to pray often:

I come to you today with all my heart - however you call. Amen

As we journey together, with Jesus, into Advent,

Toni Sillis

Principal

On Tuesday 15 December we will be celebrating Christmas as a school community. This will look very different to other years as we adhere to the COVD-19 restrictions. The most current directives allow for:

• End of year school performances, productions, plays and concerts can proceed.
• Parents/carers are allowed on school sites for specific principal-endorsed end-of-year events.

Therefore under these directives we will organise a ‘Presence of Christmas’ day. The day will include students meeting their new class and their new teacher in the morning session, a Presence of Christmas Liturgy to be celebrated by Fr Bernard (students and staff only) and then, to finish the day, the students will perform a Christmas Carol for parents.

One person (parent/adult) from each family is invited to attend. Unfortunately, pre-schoolers will be unable to attend as this will increase the number of people in the Church. Presence of Christmas Class Carol will begin promptly at 1:15pm. Adults must be seated, socially distanced, by 1:10pm. At 2:30pm, following the carols, students may go home with parents.

Students may wear Christmas Mufti on Tuesday 15 December.

Thank you for your co-operation when we join together. You will be asked to sign into the Church using a QR code.

Year 3 have been working hard on their writing  skills. These skills  involve using capital letters for proper nouns, paragraphing and rich vocabulary including adverbs.  The students use a ‘practice page’ to test their spelling skills before continuing with their writing. 

Pictured below is Patrick, has worked hard and written a great story, entitled The Wars End. Patrick’s work is a great example of the explicit teaching and student engagement in the process of writing.

Following an extensive recruitment and appointment process, the staffing for Good Samaritan is now complete and I am able to communicate the following staffing arrangements for the 2021 school year.

There are several changes to the Good Samaritan staff due to teachers gaining both permanent and temporary positions at other schools and in the Catholic Education Office.

Thanks and gratitude are extended to the following staff who have been successful in gaining permanent teaching positions with the Wollongong Diocese:

• Mr Anthony Nash: Mr Nash has been successful in securing a permanent position at St John’s Catholic Primary School Campbelltown. Whilst Mr Nash’s contribution to Good Samaritan has been short in time, he has made a significant impact on our school in particular our Year 3 students and colleagues. We wish Mr Nash every blessing and success as he joins the St John’s community.

• Mrs Lexie Hingston: Mrs Hingston has been successful in securing a permanent position at St Paul’s Catholic Primary School Albion Park. Mrs Hingston’s contribution to Good Samaritan over the last 5 years has been significant, impacting upon the learning of many students. In particular, this year Mrs Hingston’s role as Diverse Learning Support Teacher has made a remarkable contribution to the systems and processes that the school continues to improve around Diverse Learning Needs. We congratulate Mrs Hingston on her appointment and wish her every success as she joins the St Paul’s community.

Best wishes are extended to:

• Mrs Shirley Jancetic who will take up the temporary role of Education Officer in the CEDoW School Improvement Team for the 2021 school year. We look forward to welcoming Mrs Jancetic back to Good Samaritan in 2022.

Congratulations are extended to:

• Mrs Sarah O’Donnell and Mrs Patricia Foster who have both been successful in gaining the permanent roles of Middle Leaders at Good Samaritan.

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

Mrs Fiona Sampson who will fulfil Mrs Robertson’s maternity leave position in Good Samaritan Amaroo. Mrs Sampson comes with a career background of working with students with diverse learning needs. This has included working with the hearing impaired and special needs students in Victoria and in Wollongong. Mrs Sampson is also currently studying for her Graduate Certificate in inclusive education. 

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. In addition, she also brings experience across both infants and primary classroom settings. Mrs McRobert is also committed to her own professional learning which continues to enhance her teaching and directly affect student outcomes.

Mrs Jody DeAndrade has accepted a general classroom teaching position. Mrs DeAndrade comes to Good Samaritan from the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn where she is currently working with a Year 4 class. Mrs DeAndrade brings a strong knowledge of how students learn in primary schools as well as experience in early childhood settings. 

Miss Rachel Daffara has accepted a general classroom teaching position. Miss Daffara is currently working at St Paul's Camden. Miss Daffara has accepted a temporary transfer in order to take the opportunity to work in another school to gain more experience of a different school setting. Miss Daffara is also committed to consistently improving her teaching to meet the needs of the students in her care.

Mr Jason Novak has accepted a general classroom teaching position. Mr Novak is currently teaching at St Michael's Thirroul and has also taught at Holy Spirit Helensburgh. Mr Novak comes with strong referees who cited that he is a reflective practitioner, keeping the individual needs of his students always in mind.

Mrs Paula Jackson has accepted the position of Creative Arts teacher for the 2021 school year. Mrs Jackson is currently working at St Michael's Thirroul in the same role. Mrs Jackson will work with Mrs Nuttall both teaching Creative Arts to our students for the year.

Below are the 2021 staffing arrangements.

Our GSFM Masterchefs were hard at work baking Gingerbread treats in the Learning Support Centre kitchen last Friday.

With Christmas just around the corner, the busy chefs spread joy across the school and at home, distributing the cookies to surprised staff and family members.

“I was proud to make the Gingerbread man for Dad and to see him so happy,” reflected Curtis.  Miguel was also thinking of others, hoping “everyone has a jolly Christmas”.

According to Mitch, the highlight of the day was “kneading, rolling and cutting the dough”.  Amalia’s favourite part was “decorating the Gingerbread men”, while Brandyn enjoyed “munching them!”

Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas (or sometimes from the 1st December to Christmas Day!). Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

The four traditional advent themes for the four advent Sundays are:

• God's people -The Candle of Hope. Hope is like a light shining in a dark place. ... 

• The old testament prophets - The Candle of Peace. ... 

• John the Baptist - The Candle of Love. ... 

• Mary the mother of Jesus - The Candle of Joy.

Our Year 6 Students participated in Activate Fire on Friday of week 7. This was an immersive spiritual experience based on the Year 6 Unit Confirmation: Celebrating the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The day was co-hosted by the Catholic Youth Ministry, Wollongong via pre-recorded video. Congratulations Year 6 on your reverence and your ability to enjoy each other’s company in the presence of God.

Our students from Good Samaritan and surrounding schools celebrated the Sacrament of First Holy Communion over the past weekend. We congratulate them on this special day.

Dear Students,

Jesus shows His great love for you by giving His Body and Blood which you now receive.

Praying these sacred gifts will sustain you today as you grow in faith.

God Bless You on this Special Day

The Value for this week is: 

Forgiveness

 Forgiveness means when we are:

• Being a peacemaker

• Helping others solve a conflict in a peaceful way 

• Accepting apologies and working to fix a problem

Hello Families & Friends,

What challenging times we’ve seen in 2020 so far!  As our community responded to the global health pandemic, GSFM P&F have quietly focused on ensuring that our school and community remained safe and supported.  Sadly, this meant many of our fundraisers and activities did not go ahead.  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!  As season passes will not be offered this year, these tickets are the perfect gift for your family, friends and loved ones.  At a flat rate of $44.00 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.  To purchase tickets, please complete the attached form and return to school with any cash payments NO LATER THAN Friday 4th December 2020.

Friday 11 December 

• Reports available to Parents via Compass 
• Students may bring Christmas cards to share with friends 

 Monday 14 December 

•  9.30am Year 6 Farewell Liturgy(students only)
•  Year 6 Farewell(Fraternity Club 6.30pm)

 Wednesday 16 December

• Last Day Term 4

Thursday 28 January

• Students return (Years 1-6)