Newsletter No. 8 | Term 1 Week 8 | Thursday 22nd March 2023
Principal's Message
Dear Families and Friends,
This week, Tahlia, Deb and I have had the pleasure of taking our Year 5/6 students to a school camp at Sovereign Hill. It is not lost on us how lucky we are to work where we do. Not only are our students a pleasure to take away, the small numbers allow us to spend quality time with them and get to know them well. It is truly a pleasurable experience.
I know from past experience with camps that it is not always this case. We have come across many schools over the last few days, much bigger schools, where students are continually being lined up and counted, broken into small groups, and then watching the clock to meet up with the big group again. We look at these schools and feel very grateful for what we have, and we know that our students feel the same way. We were able to explore Sovereign Hill at a leisurely pace and with a level of flexibility, allowing students to have a say in what they would like to do.
We all came away feeling pretty glad that we didn’t live in the goldfields. It was tough work in a dirty, dusty environment and the tents would have done little to shield the gold diggers from the cold of Ballarat! We also discovered that going to the dentist would have been an excruciating experience in those days!
Did you know?
People used to also go to the barbers for dentistry and medical care. The red and white poles outside a barber shop represent blood and bandages, letting you know that medical care was also available.
I would like to extend a thank you to Tahlia and Deb for taking time away from their families so that our students could have this experience. Thank you also to the staff back at school for ensuring that everything ran smoothly. When three staff members in a small school are away, it means extra yard duties and responsibilities for those left behind. We appreciate all that you do.
Warm Regards,
Leanne Eastman
principal@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au
HARMONY DAY
On Tuesday it was Harmony Day. Harmony Day celebrates and recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.
The Year Prep to Four students were fortunate to have Isis (Sofia’s Mum) in as a guest speaker. Isis is from Colombia and I have been told that she did a wonderful job of talking to the students about her country. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about Colombia Isis. It was a wonderful experience for our students, opening their eyes to the wider world.
Isis came to school on Tuesday to give us a talk about Colombia. She said it was made a country in 1810. She also told us about the different cities in Columbia. They have a lot of dresses and clothes for celebrating with parades and festivals. The native flower is an orchid and the population is 52 million people. Sofia came dressed in a costume that they wear. We liked listening to Isis and learning about Colombia.
By Grace and Kaitlyn.
Isis came to school and told us lots of things about Colombia. The buildings are really colourful. Most schools start at 6.00am and go to 1.00pm. Some schools start at 6.00am and go to 3.00pm! They have a city with giant walls to protect them and you could see your enemies coming. They celebrate a lot and have food, ice-creams, fireworks and lights. The clothes are beautiful and unique. They have jaguars and anacondas. They have monkeys and they steal food from people.
By Harriet, Nellie and Brianna.
On Thursday, many of us wore a touch of orange to celebrate the cultural diversity of our country. Mandy was in her element as orange is her favourite colour. It wasn’t hard to spot her!
KANA
What a fun time we had at KANA! We were excited to top it off with winning Best School Entry. Thank you to Isis, Kara, Lauren and Nenje who answered the call to help out with the planning. A special thanks to Isis for making the ‘Big Top’ and to Lauren for making the drums. It was a great idea to opt for a ‘walking’ Big Top rather than going with the truck. It really looked fantastic. The dahlia’s also added a special touch, the people in the crowd were clearly delighted to receive them.
Finally, a big thank you to all families who joined in the fun by dressing up and coming out to walk with us on the day. It was an amazing turnout!
COLAC DIVISION ATHLETICS
Congratulations to the following students who have been selected to represent St. Brendan’s at the Colac Division Athletics next Thursday:
- Nellie Armistead
- Jimmy Armistead
- Melody Baker
- Grace Bayne
- Joseph Bayne
- Kaitlyn Bourk
- Lexie Johnson
- Samiyah McLeod
- Archie Robb
- Brennan Robb
- Audrey Rock
- Jackson Scott
We wish you all the best of luck!
NAPLAN
The NAPLAN testing concludes tomorrow with the Numeracy test. Well done to all students who have approached the tests calmly and confidently.
MOTHERS DAY CLASSIC EVENT
This year we are taking part in the Mother's Day Classic to help those affected by women's cancers. Unfortunately this hits close to home for our school community and we are committed to making a difference. Donations and registration money from the event will support the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and other women's cancer charities in funding life saving research to improve cancer detection and support those living with cancer.
The Colac event is taking place on Sunday 14th May at the Botanic Gardens with two categories on offer; the 3.3km run which begins at 9am or the 3.3km walk which kicks off at 9.05am.
We have created our own fundraising team called 'St Brendan's Coragulac' and we would love it if you could register to join us in walking or running on the day. If you can't make it on Mother's Day please feel free to leave a donation in lieu of participation. To register or donate with 'St Brendan's Coragulac' go to: https://www.mothersdayclassic.com.au/fundraisers/StBrendansCoragulac11182
To stay up to date with the Colac event please follow their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MDC.colac
THE RESILIENCE PROJECT
GRATITUDE
Working on gratitude helps us to be thankful and appreciate what we have in our lives, rather than focusing on what we don’t have or what we want. When we practise being grateful, we start to scan the world to look for positives–this only takes 21 days! Practising gratitude every day increases our levels of energy, helps us to feel happier and more focused, determined and optimistic. It even helps us have a better sleep, lowers levels of anxiety and depression and we are less likely to get sick. So many benefits–let’s all try to be grateful for the things and people in our lives every day!
Whole Family Activity - Gratitude Scavenger Hunt: As a family create a scavenger hunt list of things that make happy that you are grateful for, you can make your own list or use the examples below:
- Something that makes you happy
- Something you love to smell
- Something you enjoy looking at
- Something that is your favourite colour
- Something you like in nature
- Something that is useful for you
Each member of the family uses the list, and has to find as many things as they can. You can hunt for things inside or outside, or both. You can hunt for real things, or you can also do this using magazines or pictures from the internet.
After a set amount of time hunting, come back together, have a look at what each person collected and let them explain why they are grateful for each item.
Family Habit Builder: Every night at dinner, have each person talk about their favourite thing about that day.
St Brendan's Foodbank
We are now taking donations for the St Brendan's Foodbank. Many of you will remember that the foodbank was in operation before Covid and many families benefited from that extra bit of help when it was needed.
Unfortunately, we currently have members of our community who are doing it a bit tough due to illness and, as is the nature of the St Brendan's community, we have had a lot of other families approaching us wanting to help. We see that the best way to help would be to get the foodbank up and running again. This will mean that these families don't have to worry about putting food on the table each night and can focus on what is most important.
We are looking for donations of home cooked meals that can be frozen and distributed as needed, basic grocery items and also hot meals that can be delivered to families on the same night they are donated. Any and all help is greatly appreciated, we all know how fabulous this community is at supporting each other when times are tough.
Donations can be dropped at the school office and we will coordinate delivery. If you have any questions about the program please phone (03) 5233 1464.
Prep/1 Classroom News
We’ve had another very productive week in Prep/1 this week!
Literacy: In writing this week, we’ve been innovating on our model story, “The Three Wishes” and developing new stories by changing the characters. Students appeared to really enjoy coming up with their own characters and adding some creative flair to their stories.
Maths: We are currently working on addition and subtraction. Our game of the week is “5 in a row.” This game requires players to either add up or take-away two numbers. They then decide where they would like to place their counter with the aim to get 5 counters in a row.
To check out how this game is played, scan the QR code. It might be fun to try at home!
Religion: This week, the Prep/1’s are running a liturgy for the whole school. The theme is “relationships.’ All parents are welcome to attend - Thursday, 2.30pm in the hall.
Integrated Curriculum: We have had some wonderful ‘family project’ presentations so far. It has been exciting to learn about Emily’s lawn bowls, Ivy’s Dad (the footy umpire) and Ruby’s pets. When your child is ready to present, email me and we can organise a time.
Keep up the home reading!
Allira Kluver
akluver@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au
2/3/4 Classroom News
Hi everybody!
It was fabulous to see our school represented at Kana. We were so colourful and looked amazing. So amazing that we won ‘Best School Entry’! Congratulations and thank you to all the students, parents and staff who contributed in any way. It was a wonderful opportunity to showcase our incredible school.
It was lovely to have the Year 4 girls back with us whilst the 5/6’s were on camp. We enjoyed having them in our class. The seniors looked happy but tired on their return!
Religious Education: This week we watched a clip and discussed what ‘Fratelli Tutti’ is. It is a letter written by Pope Frances explaining that fraternity and social friendship are the ways to build a better, more just and peaceful world, with the commitment of all: people and institutions. Fratelli Tutti is a profound message that calls each of us to a deeper understanding of social friendship, community, and our shared responsibility to promote the common good.
Literacy: This week we have been investigating different ways the long vowel /ee/ sound can be represented. We have also been working on narratives for our Portfolios. Tuesday was Harmony Day and we discussed its meaning and origins.
Numeracy: This week we have completed our Subtraction pre-test and are revising addition facts including doubles, near doubles, and adding 2 and 3 digit numbers.
Integrated Curriculum: In I.C. the children have been investigating Aboriginal Creation stories about the Rainbow Serpent and Tiddalik.
The Resilience Project: This week we reflected on moments of gratitude in our lives, identifying the events and how they made us feel.
Homework has been sent home with a range of basic maths activities and is due back by Monday.
The Star of the Week award goes to Sofia Gray. Congratulations on your excellent effort!
If you have any questions or queries please contact me via email.
Mandy Sutherland
msutherland@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au
School Photos
School photos are happening tomorrow, Friday 24th March.
There is no need to return any forms or money to school. Unique image codes will be issued to all students on/after photo day so families can register online to view images when they become available in the webshop.
Registration is simple, just follow the 3 simple steps on your child’s personalised flyer once you receive it and remember to add the codes for all your children attending this school. Even if you registered last year, it’s important that you do again this year using your child’s 2023 image code to link their images for the current year with your contact details.
When images are ready to view and in the webshop, all parents who have registered will be notified by SMS and email. Once registered, please wait for notification that 2023 images are online to view before making your purchase.
Important Dates
MARCH
24th - School Photo Day
27th - School Advisory Council Meeting 7pm
28th - Yr. 6 GRIP Leadership Conference in Melbourne
APRIL
3rd - Book Club Night (School Hall at 7.30pm - ALL WELCOME)
5th - Whole School Bush Excursion
6th - Last Day of the School Term
7th - Good Friday (Public Holiday)
8th - Easter Saturday
9th - Easter Sunday
10th - Easter Monday (Public Holiday)
24th - Pupil Free Day (Staff AUSLAN PD)
25th - ANZAC Day (Public Holiday)
26th - Term 2 Begins
MAY
14th - Mother's Day Classic Fundraising Event
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: Mark Robb CHILD SAFETY OFFICER: Mrs Leanne Eastman