Edition 21: 27th June 2016

Prayer for Restful Holiday

Father I thank you for the opportunity to take a holiday.. and be enabled to have a complete break from the daily rounds and the many responsibilities and routines that

govern our lives.

It is such a joy to have this break and I pray that it will be a time of rest and refreshment where I am enabled to go

quietly through the day without having to plan for the many ‘workaday’ things that have become the norm in

our busy daily schedule.

I pray that during this holiday I will enjoy both spiritual and physical renewal and find rejuvenating rest for my mind and spirit, as well as enjoy relaxation and respite

for my body too. Thank you Father in Jesus name, Amen

DATES TO REMEMBER...... Wed 29th June School Disco in Primary Hall – Infants

from 5.00 - 6.15pm & Primary 6.30 –

8.00pm; Theme: “The Olympics”

Thurs 30th June NAIDOC Week Celebrations (K- 6),

11.30am at Primary Campus

Friday 1st July Term 2 concludes

Monday 18th July Term 3 commences

Friday 22nd July Grandparents’ Day Celebrations

Wed 20th July Trial Athletics Day – Years 2- 6

Thurs 4th August School Athletics Carnival

Principal’s Note School Reports for First Semester will be distributed this Wednesday. A useful reference point for students, parents and teachers to ascertain the level of student performance is the New South Wales Board of Studies Assessment Resources Centre which provides samples of student work and the grading such work would receive. The following link takes you to this site http://arc.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au It is important for parents to realise that a C grade is a very sound result and one that indicates a student is performing well in that subject.

School Holidays This Friday 1

st July sees the end of another great term! Congratulations to the students

who have worked so very hard. We sincerely thank the teachers and support staff for their outstanding work and dedication. Thank you also to the wonderful band of parents who have supported our school in so many ways this term, either through classroom help, canteen duties or with our fundraising efforts. Huge thanks to Jenny Maloney and her hardworking committee members for their fantastic efforts so far this half year. We would like to wish all students and their families a very safe, relaxing and enjoyable break. Staff and students return to school on Monday 18

th July.

Staff Changes On Friday 17

th June the staff and children farewelled Mrs Amy Willis, Teacher of 1W, who has commenced a period of

Maternity Leave. We would like to take this opportunity to wish Amy and her husband, God’s every blessing as they await the birth of their first child and we hope you will both enjoy this special family time. We also take this opportunity to welcome Miss Adriana Purdy who will be teaching 1W for the remainder of the year. This coming Friday 1

st July will see our students and staff sadly say farewell to Mr Richard McIlveen, Teacher of 6M, who

will be commencing Long Service Leave in Term 3 and Term 4 and then retiring at the end of the year. We would like to sincerely thank Mr McIlveen for his many years of dedicated service at St Ed’s and best wishes for a long, happy and healthy retirement…. and hopefully lots of travel plans. You will be truly missed by all Mr Mac!

VALUE FOR THE WEEK: “TEAMWORK”

Due to the Twilight Swimming Carnival on Thursday 12th

February, please note that ALL children from

Eddies Endeavours We have had a huge number of students complete their Term 2 Eddies Endeavours which is an outstanding effort by all…..congratulations! We encourage children to look at their Endeavours over the holidays and plan various challenges for Term 3.

Student Banking Please note there will be no student banking this Friday, last day of term. Banking will resume on Friday 22

nd July.

Tamworth City Eisteddfod Congratulations to our Year 2 and Primary Choir students who recently competed in the School Choir Section of the Tamworth Eisteddfod. We are so very proud of the students’ efforts! Special thanks to Mr Unwin, Miss Bale, Miss Lowe and Miss Mace for all your hard work and preparation. Thank you also to Sally-Anne Whitten for your help conducting and mentoring the Primary choir students.

RE NEWS

Mass & Liturgies: Year 6 Mass - Tuesday 28th June, 10.00am

Grandparents’ Photos

Please forward a photo of your child’s grandparents (with or without the children!) to Mrs

Clarke before the last day of term for our slideshow. No late photos will be accepted.

sclarke@stedwardstamworth.catholic.edu.au Thank you!

Grandparents’ Day

Our annual Grandparents’ Day Celebrations will be held on Friday 22nd July (Friday of Week 1).

The celebrations will be at the Primary Campus in our School Hall.

We will begin with a liturgy at 10.20am, followed by a concert and a shared morning tea with

games in the grounds. We hope you can make it to this special occasion to give thanks for the

wonderful Grandparents in our School Community.

Marriage and Family Week (Monday 25th July - Sunday 31st July)

Marriage and Family Week will be celebrated in all Parishes in the Armidale Diocese. Our Parish

Priest, Father Paul, has organised a Retreat for families on Saturday 30th July to assist in

strengthening family relationships. A full outline of the day is attached.

Marriage and Family Week will conclude with a Mass at 9.00am on Sunday 31st July. All

families are encouraged to attend.

Altar Servers Installation

There have been many boys and girls from our school, training and serving with Father Paul at

the Parish weekend Masses. On Sunday 31st July, the servers will be installed as Altar Servers,

completing their training and wearing the new albs for the first time. Please come along to the

9.00am Mass to support and congratulate the children.

Family Enrichment Retreat

The aims of the retreat are:

To provide a venue for parents and children to address common concerns

and to thrash out areas of difficulty, with the goals of achieving unity and

building a peaceful environment in the home.

To strengthen family life by educating both parents and children about their

roles, skills and responsibilities in building a Christian home.

Saturday 30th July 2016

8.00 - 8.30am Registration

8.30 - 8.45am Prayer

8.45 - 9.00am Statement of objectives and proper conduct outline

9.00 - 9.45am Talk 1: God’s Plan for the Family

9.45 - 10.30am Group Discussion: youth among youth, Parents among parents.

10.30 - 11.15am Talk 2: RSVP - Roles and Skills Verified and Practiced

11.15am - 12noon Parent/Child dialogue

12noon Lunch

1.00pm - 1.30pm Teaching of Songs

1.30 - 2.15pm Talk 3: RSVP - Healing Relationships between Parents and

their Children

2.15 - 2.30pm Prayer

2.30 - 3.00pm Snacks

3.00 - 3.45pm Talk 4: Partnership in Building a Christian Home

3.45 - 4.30pm Parent/Child dialogue

4.30 - 5.30pm Personal Sharing

Sally Clarke, Religious Education Coordinator

NAIDOC WEEK CELEBRATIONS 2016

We all stand on sacred ground.

Together We Learn, Respect &

Celebrate St Edward’s School will be holding NAIDOC Week celebrations this Thursday 30

th June at the Primary Campus

commencing at 11.30am. Infants children will travel by bus to and from the Primary Campus for the celebrations/Liturgy; starting with a Welcome Smoking Ceremony. This will be followed by presentations from the Infants and the Primary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and a special performance by McCarthy students.

Morning tea will be held after the celebrations in the “Special Meeting Place” at the Primary Campus. All guests from our community, parents, caregivers and friends are welcome to attend the celebrations and morning tea. Children from the Infants and Primary will be participating in various activities throughout the week to recognise and celebrate NAIDOC Week 2016. We hope to see you all there.

2016 NAIDOC WEEK - Theme - “Songlines” The Living Narrative of Our Nation

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Dreamtime describes a time when the earth, people and animals were created by our ancestral spiritual beings. They created the rivers, lakes, plants, land formations and living creatures.

Dreaming tracks crisscross Australia and trace the journeys of our ancestral spirits as they created the land, animals and lores. These dreaming tracks are sometimes called ‘Songlines’ as they record the travels of these ancestral spirits who 'sung' the land into life.

These Songlines are recorded in traditional songs, stories, dance and art. They carry significant spiritual and cultural connection to knowledge, customs, ceremony and Lore of many Aboriginal nations and Torres Strait Islander language groups.

Songlines are intricate maps of land, sea and country. They describe travel and trade routes, the location of waterholes and the presence of food. In many cases, Songlines on the earth are mirrored by sky Songlines, which allowed people to navigate vast distances of this nation and its waters.

The extensive network of Songlines can vary in length from a few kilometres to hundreds of kilometres, crossing through traditional Country of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups. For example, the Seven Sisters Songline covers more than half the width of the continent, from deep in the Central Desert out to the West Coast while others connect the Gulf of Carpentaria with the Snowy Mountains near Canberra.

Aboriginal language groups are connected through the sharing of Songlines with each language group responsible for parts of a Songline. Through songs, art, dance and ceremony, Torres Strait Islanders also maintain creation stories which celebrate their connection to land and sea. Songlines have been passed down for thousands of years and are central to the existence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. They are imperative to the preservation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural practices. We invite all Australians to learn more about Songlines and explore those which have created the Country in your region. Learn how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are today using digital technologies and modern mediums to record and celebrate these ancient Songlines or dreaming stories.

Through learning more about Songlines and how they connect people to Country and the Country to people – we celebrate the rich history and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures - the oldest continuing cultures on the planet.

WEDNESDAY 29TH JUNE – PRIMARY HALL

CHIPS – 0.50c & DRINKS - $1.50

Mathematics We have been lucky to have Mrs Tracey Hughes-Butters from the Catholic School's Office working at our school one day a week this term. She has been working with our Stage 3 teachers focusing on Mathematics and its place in the new Geography Syllabus. While upskilling our teachers in Mathematics, we have been engaging in her expertise of technology and how it can be used in the classroom. Mrs Butters taught 'Equivalent Fractions' in Year 5 and 'Integers' in Year 6 in Mrs Mitchell's Collaborative Numeracy Team on Monday and Tuesday last week, where not only did the children learn a lot of fabulous things, but the teachers who were watching did too! We are look forward to working with Tracey further throughout the year and continuing our journey with 21st Century Learning!

Stage 3 Spelling Bee During Term 2, Years 5 and 6 have been working towards our Annual Stage 3 Spelling Bee. The students have been working hard to not only learn the spelling of words, but understand their meaning, sounds and origins. We selected 48 students to compete in Round 1, 24 students in Round 2 and then our 12 finalists who sat the last round last Thursday. A big thank you to Mrs Lane and Mrs Long for their enthusiasm and dedication whilst preparing for the Spelling Bee Rounds and the Stage 3 Teachers for working hard with the children in their class to prepare. Congratulations to our overall winner Blake Hutchinson, 2nd Gavril Tan and equal 3rd Ryan McKinnon and Eleanor Pawsey. Stage 3 Teachers also awarded one person in their class with an Encouragement Medallion for a student who had been working diligently and showing commitment throughout the term in our spelling program. Congratulations to Kaitlyn Young, Gillian McGrath, Jake Salvestrin, Claudia Cartan, Millie Fauchon and Wilbur Taylor!!

STUDENT OF THE WEEK (first name shown) & Curriculum Award (second name shown) Curriculum Focus: Handwriting KBC Sophie Demery KL Leah Boreham KP Gracie Kelly Mia Murray Seth Orman Lailarni Sands

1G Jayda Russell 1S Boyd Kenny 1W Riley Graham Lara Cartan Mia Flynn Charlie Benjamin 2B Kaelanie Sutcliffe 2L Matthew Jackson 2U Charlotte Sowden

Kobe Lane Sienna Pepperell Mitchell Hayward 3G Jack Benjamin 3M Brodie Tulacz 3R Mia Pengilley Haydon Hunt Lydia Tocknell Fletcher Norman 4K Noah Morley 4M Zoe McGilchrist 4P Charmaine Smith Harry Simshauser Emmett Wood Makayla Hoffman 5L Zach Lee 5Q Brandi Lye 5S Rylea Felstead Jordan Rogers Lexie Murphy Macklin George 6C Lochlan Humphris 6G Jack Vine 6M Jessica Reabow Will Ashton Harry Coster Brock Radburn

Values Award -“LEARNING”

Kinder – Alistair Coote, Bentley Hall, William Tomlinson Year 3 – Ella Murray, Riley Slingsby, Liam Poftlotski Year 1 – Jake Saddler, Isabella Fox, Abigail Weber Year 4 – Gabi Higgins, Tamika Manuel, Jemma Dyer Year 2 – Brenden Petterson, Anika Sutton, Caitlyn Morton Year 5 – Ben Chick, Amelia Newlan, Jayden Scott Year 6 – Noah Anderson, Elijah Allan-Saunders, Michael Lewington

House Award: Primary: MacKillop Gold Infants: Kennedy Green

Pride & Presentation Award: Infants: 1G Respect Rules Award: Congratulations to Ryli Johnson (6G) for displaying respect during cultural activities.

Bronze Awards Congratulations to the following students who have been awarded a Bronze Award for a consistent effort to be well behaved: Zayden Lumby (KP); Phuc Ho (KP); Jacob Allen (KP); Annabelle Doyle (1S); Kody Sylvester (1S); Myles Devine (2U); Jack Poole (3G); Aiden McMillan (3M); Matthew Tocknell (4K); Mikayla Hardy (4M); Emmett Wood (4M); Mia Whitbread (4M); Tamika Manuel (4M); Kerwin Richards (4M); Jimmy Purkiss (4M); Elijah Renton (4P); Thomas Clark (4P); Kayla Saggus (4P); Riley Thompson (5L); Kye Jackson (5L); Milly Maguire (5L); Blake Hutchinson (5L); Wade Lye (5S); Bella Brett (6C); Jordan Burgess (6G); Jack Frazer (6G); Harry Coster (6G) and Elissa Groth (6G).

Silver Awards

Congratulations to Hannah Briley (3G); Ariel Mettam (3G) and Sam Morris (4K) who have been awarded a Silver Award for maintaining a high level of good behaviour.

CANTEEN NEWS NETBALL VISORS are now available for purchase from either the Primary Canteen or Infants Office at $10 each for students who play Saturday netball.

CANTEEN ROSTER

Date Primary Infants

Tues 28

th June

Sara Watson Kristle Nicol

Kristle Nicol

Wed 29

th June

Kathy Smyth

Jade Swan Sarah Cathro

Thur 30

th June

Tania Young Kellie-Ann Hansen

Courtney Collins

Fri 1

st July

Nikki Bridge Raylene Mihell

Natalie Studte Leon Brydon

Mon 18

th July

Kirsten Scott Fran Hutt

Adam Jones Shayne Kapeller

SHERPA KIDS ST EDWARDS

Before, After & Vacation Care

Primary & Infants Campus

Monday to Friday 7.00am – 6.00pm

Breakfast & Afternoon Tea Included

This Week’s Theme: Zoo Animal Week

(L to R) Nicholas M, Nicholas C and Josh making yummy Tiny Teddy Cars

For enquiries please call Angie – 0481 373 883

stedwardstamworth@sherpa-kids.com.au

Our July Vacation Care Program is available NOW from the school office and Sherpa-Kids office. Simply email or message with your details and we will send you the program and a booking form. New families

welcome.

St Edward’s Parent Association

We need everyone to get involved! Please call Jenny on 0419 139 737 or email

jennyamaloney@bigpond.com if you have any ideas or can donate any of the following...

Empty jars or jars filled with treats/small toys, pre-loved toys (in good condition please),

used books, prizes or vouchers.

Green Team

With Winter now here we have been working hard in our

vegie gardens to prepare them for some Winter crops.

First we cleared out the watermelon garden.

Then we harvested the

Broccoli and Cauliflower. We were really surprised when

we saw how big the cauliflowers had grown. So we then

planted the new seedlings we had grown in the Greenhouse.

We have also

planted leeks.

When Mrs Quayle told us we needed to prepare the garden beds we all

knew exactly what to do. We made sure all the beds were empty and then

we had to aerate the soil. This makes it easier for the vegetables to grow.

We were excited because Mrs Quayle bought us bulbs this time, onions and garlic! She has been

teaching us to read the packets on seeds and bulbs so we know how to plant them. We had to

separate the onions and garlic and planted them in their own garden beds as per the instructions.

The best thing was, we have had so much rain, that the bulbs have grown so much already.

VERY IMPORTANT THANK YOU’S

Green Team would like to thank the McNay family for

donating a composting bin. We have put it to good use

and as you can see by Lexie’s reaction it is a bit smelly

in there. It’s going to be great compost.

We would also like to thank Ben from Mr Fothergill’s

for the generous donation of a box full of seeds that the

Green Team will definitely put to good use.

Finally, we really have to thank Laucke Mills and Hazells Produce for their generous

support in sponsoring our St Edward’s Coop. They will be supplying food for the coop for

the next six months.

CHICKEN UPDATE

We have some really magnificent chickens in the chicken coop and they have been settling

into their new home.

They had their first show in Gunnedah on Sunday 19th June. We are very excited to say

that Oxley, our black Australorp, and Abbey, our Silver Laced Wyandotte, both placed in

the junior class.

Tamworth Poultry show is the 3rd July, so fingers crossed we place there too.

The next newsletter will be in Week 2, Term 3. Have a safe holiday.

Who’s Who in the

St Ed’s Coop…

Abby Edith Mary

Caroline Chicken Ethel

Where did the names come from?

Emma - Saint Edward’s Mother

Ethel - Saint Edward’s Dad’s name was Ethelred Edith - Saint Edward’s Wife

Abbey - Saint Peter built St Peter’s Abbey in Westminster (he is buried there)

M&M - Mary Mackillop Caroline Chicken - Caroline Chisholm 19th Century Humanitarian

(thanks Mrs Clarke)

M&M

WISE WORDS FOR FAMILIES – “Reading your Child’s Report”

Reports can mean anxious times for children. Will my parents be disappointed or proud? This is the main concern of most children. Could try harder . . . always does her best . . . lacks concentration . . . easily distracted . . . a pleasure to teach . . . Do these comments, taken from a batch of student reports sound familiar? Student reports bring mixed feelings for parents. Pleasure and pride if they are performing well, but considerable angst when children are not progressing as you hoped. Reports can mean anxious times for children too. Will my parents be disappointed or proud? This is the main concern of most children. Kids of all ages take their cues from their parents, so your reaction to their school report can affect the way they see themselves as learners and as people. Before you rip open the sealed envelope containing the report, do a little self-check to see if you are in the right frame of mind: 1. Are your expectations for your son or daughter realistic and in line with their ability? Expectations are tricky. If they are too high then kids can be turned off learning. Too low and there is nothing to strive for. Pitch your expectations in line with your child’s abilities. A quick check of your child’s last report cards may provide you with a good yardstick. 2. Do you believe that children learn at different rates? There are slow bloomers, late developers and steady-as-you-go kids in every classroom, so avoid comparing your child to siblings, your friends’ children and even yourself when you were a child. Instead look for individual progress. 3. Are you willing to safeguard your child’s self-esteem rather than deflate it? Self-confidence is a pre-requisite for learning, so be prepared to be as positive and encouraging as possible. School reports come in different formats. Some are prescriptive while some use grading systems such as A, B, C, etc. with room for teacher comments. Regardless of the format, school reports should provide you with an idea of your child’s progress in all subject areas, their attitude and social development. Here are some ideas to consider when you open your child’s report: Focus on strengths. Do you look for strengths or weaknesses first? The challenge is to focus on strengths, even if they are not in the traditional 3Rs or core subjects. Take into account your child’s effort and attitude to learning. If the report indicates that effort is below standard, then you have something to work on. If your child is putting in the required effort, then you cannot ask any more than that, regardless of the grading. Broaden your focus away from academic performance to form a picture of your child’s progress as a member of a social setting. How your child gets along with his or her peers will influence his happiness and well-being, as well as give an indicator to his future. The skills of independence and co-operation are highly valued by employers, so don’t dismiss these as unimportant. Take note of student self-assessment. Kids are generally very honest and will give a realistic assessment of their progress. They are generally very perceptive, so take note of their opinions. Discuss the report with your son or daughter talking about strengths first, before looking at areas that need improvement. Ask for their opinion about how they performed and discuss their concerns. After reports are read and discussed, celebrate your child’s efforts with a special activity or treat. In this way you will recognise progress and remind them that the holidays are just around the corner when they can forget about assessments, tests and reports for a while.

By Michael Grose www.parentingideas.com.au