St Agnes' Weekly News - Term 1 Week 3 2023
Monday 20 February |
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Tuesday 21 February |
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Wednesday 22 February |
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Thursday 23 February |
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Friday 24 February |
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God wants you to never plant hatred and revenge towards those who have done wrong against you.
We are excited to be having parents join us to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day. Pancakes were an easy and quick way to use up dairy goods before the beginning of Lent (from back in the days when all animal products were forfeited during Lent). Somewhere along the line, someone attached special significance to the ingredients: eggs represent creation; flour, human work; salt, wholesomeness; and milk for purity.
Ash Wednesday dates back to the 11th century. Yet, the tradition of receiving ashes has even earlier roots — to the ancient Hebrew custom of clothing oneself in sackcloth and dusting oneself with ashes as a sign of penance. This week we will be participating in an Ash Wednesday Prayer Service encouraging all in our community to follow the steps of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
We are grateful to Father Prodencio for celebrating Mass with our Year Five students yesterday. His message was for them to make this year memorable by showing love to others in the St Agnes’ family and their own.
Year Four look forward to having family members join them at 10:15am next Thursday at Christ the King Chapel for their celebration.
Over the course of the week you should have received some information in your child’s Seesaw about ways that you can support your child with Mathematics at home. Please know that this information is not designed to tell you if your child is having difficulty, it is designed to give you supports and strategies to help at home. In the same way, the MAI tells us as teachers what the next learning points are for each child and how to help them develop their skills. If your child’s class teacher has any concerns about your child, they will contact you via phone or arrange an appointment.
K-2 New Curriculum Update
Have you heard your child talking about ‘Component A or Component B’ in their English learning. The children are referring to their instructional groups for English. We will continue to share more information about the learning as it progresses. We will include some photos next week of our work in K-2 English. We are so proud of all of the students as they adjust to the new style of learning.
Reading Update
As we continue to update parents on changes to home reading, all K-2 families will receive a bookmark and some information about home reading during their Family Sharing Time next week. Stay tuned for some invites to some learning sessions at school.
NAPLAN Reminder
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Each year students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.
From 2023, NAPLAN is moving to Term 1 and will take place from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March. The reason for this change is so that results can be returned to schools earlier in the year which will support teachers to understand the learning needs of their students and plan accordingly.
NAPLAN tests are just one part of our school learning assessment program and questions are primarily based on knowledge, understanding and skills gained from the prior year of schooling.
In preparation for NAPLAN 2023, our school will undertake activities to help students to become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked. At school we speak very positively about NAPLAN, reassuring and preparing the children for the assessments.
Students and parents can access the public demonstration site https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site to familiarise themselves with NAPLAN and the types of questions and tools available. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended.
If you have any questions or concerns about NAPLAN or your child participating in the assessments, please contact your child’s teacher or Kate de Bressac.
Congratulations to the students who were successful at yesterday's trials. We wish you all the best at the Zone Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 21 February in Macksville.
Zone Winter Sports Trials
These trials will be held on Monday 20 February. Netball trials will be held at the indoor stadium and Rugby League, Union and Soccer will be held at St Joseph's Regional College. The bus will depart from school at 8:15am and will return in time for afternoon buses.
Please contact andrew.wilson@lism.catholic.edu.au or renee.shaw@lism.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions, news, or suggestions surrounding sport at our school.
Assembly Awards
K Faith | Nina and Tate |
K Hope | Aston and Isla |
K Love | Lacey and Logan |
1 Faith | Mike and Billie |
1 Hope | Willow and Bracen |
1 Love | Alexander and Harper |
2 Faith | Angus and Maddilyn |
2 Hope | Jaxson and Gillyanna |
2 Love | Korbin and Issy |
3 Faith | Keeley and Sophia |
3 Hope | Harrison |
3 Love | Kruze and Catherine |
4 Faith | Malakai and Imogen |
4 Hope | Dean and Emme |
4 Love | Chloe and Xavier |
5 Faith | Jovan and Kaitlyn |
5 Hope | Aaron and Shivam |
5 Love | Cohen and Piper |
6 Faith | Addison and Max |
6 Hope | Isabelle and Kendall |
Canteen News
Monday | Jo McLaren |
Tuesday | Natalie Favalovo |
Wednesday | |
Thursday | Maryanne Field |
Friday | Daniel Stewart, Veronica Swadling and Nicole Carter |
If you would like to volunteer in the canteen on a regular basis, please see the link below with a form to complete and return to the school.
Enrol In Excellence
Give your child the best start to their learning life with St Agnes' Education. Register for a Kindergarten 2024 Enrolment Information Session to find out all you need to know about sending your child to a St Agnes' Education Primary School in 2024.
At our schools, your child will:
• learn from professional, highly skilled and dedicated teachers that know how to help them reach their full potential,
• be embraced by a community that cares for them and teaches them to care for others and their world,
• grow spiritually, socially, physically, morally and intellectually.
Please check your zoning before registering to ensure you attend the information session aligned to the school zoned for where you live. You can view the zoning map on our website www.enrolinexcellence.org.au
Information session details:
St Agnes' Primary School – Tuesday 21 March 2023 – 5:30pm
St Joseph's Primary School – Thursday 23 March 2023 – 5:30pm
St Peter's Primary School – Monday 20 March 2023 – 5:30pm
For questions regarding school zoning, please contact the Education Enrolment Team on (02) 6588 7444.
Zone Winter Sports Trials (selected students)
Zone Swimming Carnival (selected students)
Family Share Time
Carpark Pick Up Permission
P&F Meeting – Monday 20 February – 5:45pm
Please join us on Monday 20 February for the first P&F meeting of 2023. All are welcome and we would love to see some of the new families to our school attend. The meetings are an opportunity to ask questions, share your views on topics that concern your children and our school, as well as plan activities that support our school community.
The meeting will run for one hour in the school staffroom (access is via the staff car park). Monday’s agenda and the minutes from the last meeting can be viewed here. Please get in touch prior to have an agenda item added or to find out more via pandfstagnes@gmail.com.
Pancake Tuesday – call for parent helpers
Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the start of Lent - the 40 days leading up to Easter.
Next Tuesday 21 February, students will celebrate Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday, by enjoying pancakes as they learn about this feast day and what it represents.
We are seeking parent helpers over three time periods;
Session 1: 8:45am – 10:00am (Set-up, Kindergarten and Year 1 leave class to enjoy pancakes)
Session 2: 9:45am – 11:00am (Year 2 and Year 3)
Session 3: 11:45am – 1:00pm (Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6)
Please email corinne.white@lism.catholic.edu.au (Gross Motor Program and Family Engagement) if you are able to assist.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
St Agnes’ Primary P&F
Drawn to Art - After School Art Classes are back. Term 1 on a Wednesday from 3:10pm to 4:45pm.
There are still places available, so if you would like to enrol your child into the Term 1 program please book via the website www.drawntoart.com.au or contact Jane on 0438 803 992.
Ben Hardman Music Tuition
Enrolments are open for guitar, bass guitar and drum lessons with Ben. If your child is interested, please complete the attached form and return to the school office.