Newsletter No. 38 | Term 4 Week 8 | Thursday 25th November

Acknowledgement of Country

At St. Brendan’s Primary School we pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Gulidjan people and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We will respect the land, animals and waterways, from the roots of the earth to the tops of the trees. Through the example of our first Australians, we understand that if we look after the country, then the country will look after us.

About Us

School Vision:   'For you I have a destiny and a hope.'                    

PARISH PRIEST: Fr Michael O’Toole                  PRINCIPAL: Mrs Leanne Eastman

SAC CHAIRPERSON: Ms Sophie Alliband          CHILD SAFETY OFFICER: Mrs Leanne Eastman

Prayer

Lord,

Give grace and courage to the ones who have worked hard and now greet this special time of graduation.

We thank you for protecting and guiding them to this point.

Inspire Billy, Cooper, George and Taman to put to good use all the knowledge, skills and life lessons gained through their Primary education.A chapter has closed and another eagerly awaits. Pave their road with opportunities and inspire them to live with hope.

Continue to bless them with love, protection, mercy, strength and wisdom.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,

You are invited!

It has been a long time coming but we can finally get together to celebrate!

On Sunday, we will be having a triple celebration. Three children Ava, Kaitlyn and Ben, will be making their Sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation; our Year Six students; Billy, Cooper, George and Taman, will be graduating and finally, we will all have the opportunity to gather as a community to celebrate our End of Year Mass. 

We would love to see everyone there. There will be party pies and sausage rolls  supplied. If you are coming along, please bring a plate of something else to share. We would love to see you there!

2022 CLASS STRUCTURES

I am pleased to be able to announce our class teachers for 2022. St. Brendan’s is lucky to have teachers with such high levels of professionalism, knowledge and commitment to their jobs. Most importantly, all of our teachers care deeply for our students and have them at the heart of all decisions they make. 

The class structures and teachers for 2022 are listed below:

Other staff structures and appointments will be finalised shortly.

LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH (LOTE)

I am also pleased to announce that next year, the Language Other than English that we will be learning is Auslan. As well as the change in language, we are also changing the way it is taught. It will no longer be taught once a week in an hour block. Our school will be trialling a program called Teachers as Co-Learners. We will provide more information about the program to you shortly, but put simply, classes will spend 15 minutes each day learning Auslan as a functional language. The students and teachers will be on this learning journey together. It is very exciting to be part of this program. We will provide you with more information at a later date.

HEALTHY HEROES

Yesterday, the students participated in an incursion on personal health and wellbeing. The incursion titled Healhy Heroes, was presented by the Geelong Football Club’s Health and Wellbeing team. The presentations were of a high quality and very engaging. The team was very impressed with the knowledge our children had about how to stay healthy and reinforced much of what was learnt in our Healthy Choices units last Term.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY EXPO

This Term our Inquiry Unit was focused on Design Technology. Students have been exploring the question. What do designers need to think about? The action taken from their inquiry process has been to create toys. They have designed some fabulous toys! We will be  inviting parents to come along to a ‘Mini-Expo’ on Monday 6th December. (Time to be confirmed).

Have a great week everyone,

Leanne Eastman
PRINCIPAL
principal@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

SMALL SCHOOLS TRANSITION DAY AT CSC

Colac Secondary College (CSC) is holding a Small School’s Transition Day coming up next Tuesday 30^th November. Please note there was a small error on the letter that came home to families from CSC and the date was listed incorrectly. We can confirm that the date is actually as above.

Students will need to meet at the Library Seminar Room for a 8.45am start. CSC will have their Year 9 Transition Buddies waiting for the buses and outside the front of the school. Students will need to bring lunch or some money for a lunch order, drink bottle, hat and pencil case. If you have any questions about the day please email Susi Lang at Susan.Lang@education.vic.gov.au .

CSC would like to thank those who have managed to fill in the Teacher Transition Forms via the link. These are proving to be very useful when creating class lists and providing teachers with information about incoming students. The link is below if you are yet to complete the form:

END OF YEAR EXTRA-CURRICULAR EVENTS

Prep/Ones

On Monday our Prep/Ones were very excited to stay at school until 5. They made pizzas and finally finally got to eat the yogurt ice-creams they had made the week before, as part of their work on procedural texts. They made cubbies, blew bubbles, made paint brushes out of plant materials and made ‘paint’ with dirt and water. It was clear that a lot of fun was had and the children were definitely not ready to go home at 5!

Thanks to Miss Kluver for creating such a fun afternoon for her students.

Years Two and Three

On Friday night, our Year 2/3 students are heading to Kid’s Kingdom as their special end of year treat. Miss Sutherland and I are excited to see what fun can be had at Kid’s Kingdom!

Year Four Camp

Today the Year Fours headed off on their overnight bike camp to Barangarook.  They have been counting down the days! Thank you to Alice, Woody, Terry Armistead and Miss Sutherland for helping out so that our students can have this valuable experience. The tracks that children can ride are graded according to difficulty, so students will have the opportunity to make choices about where they will ride. I will see them out on the short, easy track! 

Thank you to our Year Four parents for your support of this valuable learning experience for our students. 

Whole School End of Year Excursion

Our end of year excursion will be to Werribee Zoo on Tuesday 14th December. We are excited to be heading out on a mini safari. 

STUDENTS LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

The students last day of school will be Wednesday December 15th.

Learning conversations will be running on this day so students will be needed at school to present their portfolios to their parents as part of these conversations.

The specialist teachers will be running activites throughout the day so please wear sports uniform as you normally would for a Wednesday. Buses will be running at the normal time of 3.20pm.

Apologies for the error in previous newsletters that had listed December 14th as the students last day at school, this was an oversight and we apologise for any inconvience.

COVID UPDATE

Another week, and another modification to the COVID rules. Please note the following:

• Anyone over 12 years of age needs to be double vaccinated if attending a church service.
• Anyone over 12 years of age needs to be double vaccinated if attending a school function on school grounds. This applies to both inside and outside.
• Students who are exposed persons (previously identified as primary close contacts in education settings) from an exposure at school, no longer have to quarantine for between 7 and 14 days. They can instead return immediately to school after providing evidence of a negative result from a standard PCR test to our school.
• In exceptional circumstances the Department of Health may determine that close contacts in significant school outbreaks are still required to quarantine for seven days. In this scenario, students will be notified directly by the Department of Health of any additional quarantine arrangements.

If your child has been exposed to COVID at school:

• Your child must get a standard PCR test at your local COVID-19 testing site. If the PCR test is negative, please provide the results to your school.
• ·Your child can then return to school
• ·Your child will be strongly recommended to take a rapid antigen test at home on days each school weekday morning until you run out of tests. These testing kits will be available from testing centres from Monday 22 November.

CATHOLIC CULTURE

Our Diocesan Community Magazine

Please find below the link for the November edition of “Our Diocesan Community”. The magazine continues to share the good news stories of our schools, parishes and agencies across the diocese and St Brendan's has been fortunate to feature inside its pages many times...

SACRAMENTS

We congratulate Ava, Kaitlyn and Ben on receiving the Sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation this weekend. This is a very special day for them. May they feel the presence of God and may God bless them as they make a commitment to follow Jesus and strengthen their spiritual journeys.

What is Confirmation?

The Sacrament of Confirmation is the second of the three sacraments of Christian initiation.

Confirmation completes Baptism, by which in the laying on of hands and the anointing with Chrism Oil, which first happened at Baptism, we are confirmed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

We are reminded of our participation in the ministry and mission of Jesus, and strengthened to follow Jesus more closely.

What is Eucharist?

Eucharist is the sacrament that completes the process of initiation and is when one can fully participate in the Eucharist by receiving Holy Communion.

Eucharist is unique among the sacraments as it is at the heart of our faith. For Catholics, the Eucharist, or Mass, is the most powerful way we encounter the real presence of Jesus Christ. Sunday after Sunday (some, of course, gather everyday), Catholics gather to celebrate the Eucharist, the ritual in which, by the power of the Holy Spirit, bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. We who celebrate are also transformed, becoming Christ’s presence to others, and recognising the presence of Christ in others.

ST VINNIE'S CHRISTMAS APPEAL

This year we are running a small St. Vinnie’s Christmas Appeal and the household goods/food items for our Vinnie’s Christmas Appeal have been coming in thick and fast. Thank you!

A reminder that we request non-perishable food items such as tinned fruits, vegetables, canned meats. Soups, beans, noodles, pasta, pasta sauce. Christmas cakes, puddings, biscuits, lollies. Baby foods, formula, cereals, muesli bars, school lunchbox items. Hygiene products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, shampoo, deodorant, sanitary items, cleaning products.

There is a basket at the front of the school where everyone can place their items. Perhaps, each time we do the weekly shop over the next four weeks, we can throw in one extra item to bring along each week. Senior students will wrap the hamper in the last week of school and deliver it to Vinnies.

MASS TIMES

The first three Sundays of the month: Lay-led Service at 9.30

The last Sunday of the month: Mass at 5pm

ALL WELCOME.

Prep/1 Classroom News

Welcome to week 8! The Prep/1 afternoon on Monday evening was a lovely opportunity to relax and enjoy each other’s company. The children successfully made their own pizzas, built cubbies using branches, ate frozen yoghurts and even created natural paintbrushes and mud paint. The time flew so quickly – we all wished it could have lasted longer! It was a successful afternoon.

SPELLING: This week the Grade 1’s are focusing on the sound /oo/ like in moon. There are 4 common spellings: oo, ue, u-e, o and ew. The Preps have been learning to read longer words which have two consonants next to each other eg crab, swim and flip. All students are doing an amazing job!

WRITING: This week we are writing recounts and taking lots of care when practising our handwriting. I have been more than impressed with the quality of writing being produced.

MATHS: In Maths, the focus has been on counting, place value and identifying number patterns. We have practised counting small collections and partitioning numbers into their tens and ones.

RELIGION: Reflecting upon the Bible passage from the gospel of Luke; “Love one another as I have loved you,” the Prep/1/2s have been creating artworks that depict the world they would like to see. The students have depicted themes of kindness, generosity and caring for the environment.

INTEGRATED CURRICULUM: This week, we have been finishing our children’s toys and evaluating their success. Using ‘De Bono’s 6 thinking hats’ to guide their evaluation, students thought critically about their product and identified the positive aspects, areas for improvement, their feelings towards their toys and suggested ideas for next time. Well done to everyone for their incredible work and creativity!

It is coming up to that time of the year again where we prepare for Christmas and part of the preparation at school is doing K.K.

Kris Kringle (or as it is affectionately called K.K.) names will be drawn next Tuesday the 30th November. K.K. is when we draw out a name and we buy a gift for that person. The gift is to the value of $5 and will be handed out on the last day of school. Label it to K.K. from(your child’s name) then no one will know who it is for.

The idea is to keep your K.K. secret until the day when you give out the gift. Please don’t spoil it for others by telling people who you have.

Allira Kluver
akluver@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

2/3/4 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 8! Everyone is enjoying the opportunity to visit the pool and improve their swimming skills.

The Year 4’s are off on their camp today. We hope they have a wonderful time and look forward to hearing of their adventures when they return. The Year 2’s and 3’s are heading to Kidz Kingdom Friday after school and they are very excited about the event.

It is coming up to that time of the year again where we prepare for Christmas and part of the preparation at school is doing K.K.

Kris Kringle (or as it is affectionately called K.K.) names will be drawn next Tuesday the 30th November. K.K. is when we draw out a name and we buy a gift for that person. The gift is to the value of $5 and will be handed out on the last day of school. Label it, ‘To K.K. from….’ (your child’s name) then no one will know who it is for.

The idea is to keep your K.K. secret until the day when you give out the gift. Please don’t spoil it for others by telling people who you have.

LITERACY: In Literacy we have been reflecting on the goals that we set for Term 4 and our learning for this semester. Our Christmas narratives are nearly finished and the class have had fun writing them.

We are up to 2,652 books read on the EPIC website. You are terrific 2/3/4’s!

MATHS: In Maths we have been revising our Place Value skills: adding 10 more and 10 less to 3 digit numbers and 100 more and 100 less to 4 digit numbers.

Homework was sent home with a contract focusing on a range of mathematical concepts and new spelling words to learn.

INTEGRATED CURRICULUM: In I.C. we have completed most of our Santa sleighs. The Year 3’s and 4’s are now designing toys for young children.

The Star of the Week award goes to Nellie Armistead. Congratulations on your excellent work and effort!

If you have any concerns or queries please contact me at school or by email.

Mandy Sutherland
msutherland@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

5/6 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 8 of Term 4. This term is flying by! We have had another busy week this week. We have been getting ready for the Year 6 Graduation which is on Sunday and have been working hard on our products in our Design unit. 

WRITING: In Writing we have been working on a different type of Procedural text; ‘How to Build…” On Friday each student is going to present one of the procedures they have written to our class. I’m looking forward to seeing their presentations.

MATHS: This week in Maths we have been completing some work focusing on Time. In particular, we have been learning how to convert between 12 and 24 hour time.

RELIGION: In Religion we studied the Dalai Lama. We learned about his role and discussed how he advocates peace, compassion, forgiveness and contentment.

This week we had an exciting guest visiting us from the North Pole… Elf on the Shelf! Unfortunately due to Coronavirus Elf has to quarantine until the 1st of December. Take a peek of how Elf is spending his quarantine below.

It is coming up to that time of the year again where we prepare for Christmas and part of the preparation at school is doing K.K. Kris Kringle (or as it is affectionately called K.K.) names will be drawn next Tuesday the 30th November. K.K. is when we draw out a name and we buy a gift for that person. The gift is to the value of $5 and will be handed out on the last day of school. Label it to K.K. from (your child’s name) then no one will know who it is for. The idea is to keep your K.K. secret until the day when you give out the gift. Please don’t spoil it for others by telling people who you have.

Have a great week and please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Tahlia Whytcross
twhytcross@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

Recommended Reading

Geelong Regional Libraries are running the 'Big Summer Read' from December 1st until January 31st 2022. The BIG Summer Read has been developed by Public Libraries Victoria and will be supported by libraries across the State, in a joint effort to raise awareness of the benefits of reading over summer and to ensure Victorian children have access to resources proven to slow the slide. 

A "Pop Up" Big Summer Read Sign up is happening at the Colac Library from 3.30pm-5pm on 30th November after school to encourage as many kids to sign up -  plus we have giveaways!

To register online please visit https://www.grlc.vic.gov.au/big-summer-read .

Birthday Corner

We would like to wish a very big Happy Birthday to everyone who has celebrated their special day this week including:

November 21st   -   Tilly Scott (11)

November 22nd   -   Tallow Wolter (10)

Important Dates