Newsletter No. 2 | Term 1 Week 3 | Thursday 15th February 2024

Prayer

Lord, 

We pray that during this time on Lent, we reflect on what is important in life and become better people.

AMEN

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,

I hope you all managed to stay cool in the hot weather earlier in the week. I remember the ‘old days’ when there was no air conditioning in schools, there were certainly some very hot afternoons in the classroom!

Today we celebrated our beginning of year School Liturgy. It was very special to see the Year Sixes presented with their badges. I would like to thank Mandy Sutherland and Liz McGuane for organising such a lovely Liturgy. I would also like to thank the families and parishioners who were able to make it to celebrate the beginning of a new school year with us. Your support is very much appreciated.

This year the Catholic of Ballarat is acknowledging 150 years of Catholic tradition and service in Ballarat and surrounding areas. Today during the liturgy we lit the special remembrance candle we received as a gift from the Diocese. We lit the candle to remember and appreciate the education and support they have provided to many schools, including our own.

On Wednesday, the whole school participated in a Mass for Ash Wednesday which marks the first day of Lent, a time of renewal. It was wonderful to be joined by members of the Parish, school families and Thomas Carr students and staff. I would like to thank Fr. Michael for once again coming out to celebrate Mass with us. 

The start of the school year has been extremely busy with concert practice, excursions, swimming etc. For those of you who are new to the school, this is a busier start than usual, but it is great to see that everyone has taken it in their stride. 

The two local excursions for Senior students were only available at this time, and they were really valuable learning opportunities for our students. I would like to thank Alice Armistead for having her eyes and ears out for learning opportunities happening in the local community. I might add that the last couple of weeks have been one of many times over the last year that we have felt so lucky to have our own school bus. It makes excursions such as these accessible and affordable for our school, and the children love getting out on the bus!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Leanne Eastman
leastman@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

The Wizard of Oz Production

I am really pleased to announce that the school concert will now be held in the Jubilee Centre at  Trinity College. This will allow us to seat more people and therefore there will be no limits on who families can bring along. We are very appreciative that Trinity are generously allowing us to use the space for two days. 

Rehearsals have been going really well. We are so proud of the students already. They are throwing themselves wholeheartedly into their scenes and dances. Georgie and Courtney are very impressed with them, as are the staff!

Production Working Group

We have had some volunteers to be part of a working group to make props, seek out items for props etc and make costumes. We could do with a few more hands on deck so if you are available please let Gracesyn know.

In order to clarify what we need and to make plans going forward, we will be meeting with Georgie (Director and Producer) on Tuesday 15th February at 2.30 in the hall.

ALL WELCOME.

New logo

You may have noticed that the new logo has been added to the front of school signage and to the school  bus. We are in the process of ordering a new banner for the front of the school which will really freshen up the place.

Eventually the logo will be added to uniforms, school bags etc but we will be using all of our current stock before we go down that path. A full changeover to the new logo will be at least a couple of years away.

Year 5/6 Camp

The Year 5/6's are heading off to urban camp in Melbourne on 28th February. This year they will be travelling by train. Luggage will be taken down on the school bus. This is another example of a time when we feel so grateful to have the school bus. It has made a massive change to the opportunities we can provide for our students.

St. Brendan’s Bees Back to Work

After a quiet year with unfavourable weather conditions for making honey, we are pleased to say that honey is back on the menu.

Last week, a  group of students walked to the neighbouring property which houses our bee boxes, and set about robbing the hive. The whole school then participated in operating the spinner to extract honey from the frames.

Thanks, once again, goes to Graham, Graham and Glennis (the three Gs) for being so generous with sharing their time and knowledge. Graham McNabb is Gayle’s Dad and even though he has no grandchildren at St. Brendan’s anymore, we are very appreciative that he still takes the time to share his knowledge and time with us. Thank you Graham!

The honey tastes amazing and it was such a great learning experience for our students.

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Corangamite Water Skink Excursion

On Monday our Year 5 students participated in a local excursion to learn about a threatened species, the Corangamite Water Skink.

The students played an important part in observing and monitoring skink population numbers on the basalt rocks of Lake Corangamite. Ten skinks were spotted lazing on rocks soaking up the sun, which is a significant population, considering the skink is critically endangered in Victoria.

The students were extremely respectful of the private property we were on, the indigenous stories it holds, the ecosystems we were in and the other participants who were with us! They clambered over rocks like champions and absolutely deserved the fresh sandwiches and fruit platters that were supplied for lunch.

We extend a big thank you to Greening Australia and the Corangamite Catchment Management Authoritiy for allowing us to be part of this special event. Thank you also to Alice for organising this wonderful learning experience for our students.

Advisory Council

Last night our 2024 Advisory Council met for the first time. I would like to thank them all for generously offering their time to be a voice for the parents and support me with decision-making in the school. I look forward to seeing all that we can achieve together in the year ahead.

Reading

You may have seen that there has been a lot of talk in the news this week around how children read. The recommendation is that children are taught to read most effectively through a Structured Literacy approach. We are proud to say that while many other school are yet to get on board with this approach to teaching reading, we have been implementing this approach for a couple of year.

As seen in this famous quote from Dr. Suess, reading opens up many doors and opportunities. Developing a love of reading in our children, will ensure that they will want to read more. To give them this passion for reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. 

One step towards developing this love of reading has been to re-open the School Library. It has been wonderful to see the enthusiasm that the children have shown for being able to borrow and also share what they have read with other children and staff. We hope that you have enjoyed reading together at home. If your child is a reluctant reader, come and see us so that we can work together to find a book series or genre that your child will enjoy reading.

Another way to support your child with reading is to ensure that your child reads each night. Take home readers are sent home each day. These books should not be difficult for your child, so we usually send books home that are easier than the level they will be working on with the teacher. Reading easy books builds confidence and fluency. We do not want your child to become frustrated with reading at home as this can hinder your child’s chance to develop a love of reading. 

The table below illustrates the importance of children reading each day: 

With strong support, both at home and at school, our children have the best chance to reach their potential and achieve success. There is real strength in families and schools working together.

Another factor which contributes to children’s interest in reading is when they see the adults around them reading. If you do not already read, maybe you could join your child on a search for a book that interests you, or find a book that you will both enjoy to read together. It’s never too late to start.

Prep/1 Planting

Last year Allira applied and received a Landcare grant for the school. The grant will be used to complete a gathering space on the back square. 

Today the Prep/1 children planted some of the plants purchased form the grant.  They worked like troopers and had lots of fun!

NAPLAN

NAPLAN testing will be undertaken a lot earlier this year. The testing window is between the dates, 13th - 25th March.

NAPLAN testing is for students in Year 3 and Year 5. We will inform you of the Test days for St. Brendan’s in the next few weeks.

If you have any questions about the testing please see Leanne.

Catholic Culture

What is Lent?

Every year, Christians around the world, and in many different denominations, observe the liturgical season of Lent.

Lent falls between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday and is a period of 40 days plus Sundays. Lent is based on Jesus’ time in the desert, in which for 40 days He fasted and prayed.

In the past and indeed for some people today, many people give something up as an act of spiritual discipline. Many people these days try to be better people and work on using Lent as a time to deepen their connection to God.

40 Deeds in 40 Days for Lent

Yesterday, being Ash Wednesday, marked the beginning of Lent. During this time as a school community we have a focus on completing 40 good deeds throughout the 40 days of Lent to show our love for Jesus.
Below is a copy of the '40 Deeds in 40 Days Program' that we will be following at school and we would love if families would like to join in at home as well. This is the digital version of the program that has links for you to click on a follow. Students will also bring home a paper version today which could be displayed at home in a shared space, such as on the fridge, to remind us of our daily tasks.

St Brendan's Coragulac & St Joseph's Pirron Yallock Mass Times

St Brendan’s Coragulac: 9.30am Sunday Lay-led  /   Mass 5pm 4th Sunday of each month
St Joseph’s Pirron Yallock: 10:30am Sunday Lay-led   /   Mass 1st Sunday of each month

Sacraments in 2024

St Brendan's will be offering the Sacramental Program in 2024.  If your child/children have been baptised and you would like them to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation please contact Liz McGuane via lmcguane@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au or Phone 0427041072.  If you have any questions regarding these Sacraments, the Sacrament of Baptism or our program please do not hesitate to contact me.

With Thanks, Liz McGuane.

P/1 Classroom News

Welcome to the 2024 school year! We’ve had a fabulous start in Prep/1. There have been so many exciting things happening at school so far and the students have all settled in really well. They appear to really enjoy the opportunity to engage in developmental play in the afternoons. I have observed lots of engaged learners who are exploring, creating and wondering during this time (see the photos for the amazing things we’ve been up to!)

Literacy: The Preps have started learning the letters: s, a, t, i, m and the most common sound that they represent. It has been astounding to observe them reading short three-letter words (such as mat, sit, sat, Sam) already! The Grade 1’s are considering the sound /ay/ and how it is represented by four different spelling choices: <ea> <ai> <ay> and <a-e>. We’ve been reading, writing and spelling lots of words containing this sound.

Maths: We have been practising our counting (forwards, backwards and by 2’s) so far in Maths. We’ve counted objects, animals, counters, shoes, drum beats, claps and even maracas. There’s nothing we won’t count in Prep/1! The most exciting counting event has been counting the number of school days. We have been using icy-pole sticks, numerals and dot stickers on tens frames to mark each day. We plan to continue our counting until we get to 100 days of school!

Religion: Our theme for RE this term is ‘welcome.’ We have been learning about Lent and are looking forward to our visits to St.Brendan’s Church this week for Ash Wednesday Mass and the Whole School Liturgy. All families are welcome to attend.

Congratulations to a wonderful start to the year - I can’t wait to see what this group can achieve!

Allira Kluver
akluver@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

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2/3/4 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 3!

We have all settled in nicely and finished two weeks of Learning to Learn.

In this time we have the opportunity to ease back into school work and routine. We set up our classroom ready to work through the year.

Shrove Tuesday was a hit as usual with the children loving the pancakes! Father Michael celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass with us yesterday and it was lovely to see Thomas Carr join us.

If you have any questions or concerns please email me or arrange a meeting.

Religious Education: The concept for R.E this term is Growth. We have started the unit by listening to the song ‘When I Grow Up’ from Matilda. The class are investigating the words in the song and reflecting on situations when they have shown growth in their own lives.

Literacy: The Year 2’s are unpacking the phoneme ‘or’ and the variety of spellings associated with it. The Year 3 & 4’s are looking at the phoneme ‘g’ and the different graphemes that represent this phoneme. The children read texts which highlight these words and identify them within the text.  Our morphology focus is ‘un’ for Year 2’s and ‘in’ for Years 3 and 4.

The class have been enjoying learning about minibeasts and are researching facts connected to a specific type. They are presenting the information in a poster and sharing it with their peers.

Numeracy:  We have completed a pre -test for Whole Numbers and started learning about Place Value. The Year 2’s are investigating numbers up to 1,000, the Year 3’s are working with 5 digit numbers up to 10,000 and the Year 4’s are exploring 6 digit numbers up to 100,000.

Integrated Curriculum: Our focus for Integrated Curriculum is Identity. The Year 2’s and 3’s have reflected on their own identity and things that they love and make them unique.

Homework: Homework was sent home this week and is to be returned by Monday. The focus is Place Value and is aligned with our current Maths cycle. Part of the homework expectation is to be reading nightly and bringing reader folders and diaries to school so they can be checked. We strongly encourage this, as reading regularly, helps greatly towards becoming a confident and proficient reader.

The Star of the Week award goes to Ivy Robb. Congratulations on your excellent effort!

Kind Regards,

Mandy Sutherland
msutherland@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

4/5/6 Classroom News

Welcome back to school for 2024! I hope you all had a lovely break. The past two weeks in 4/5/6 we have been engaging in Learning to Learn activities and have been settling back into school and our routines. We have a big term ahead! I would like to congratulate our Year 6 leaders; Brennan, Melody, Samiyah, Caleb and Ava. I can’t wait to see what you do as leaders of our school this year. A reminder that our parent information night is next Wednesday at 5pm. I look forward to seeing you there.

Year 5/6 Urban Camp: Year 5/6 camp is approaching very quickly! In the past week details about the camp were sent home. If you have any queries or concerns please come and see me.

SeeSaw: This week invitations to SeeSaw were sent home. SeeSaw is an app where teachers post students' work for parents to see. Please scan the QR code on the invitation sent home with your child. Please come and see me if you’re having trouble.

Homework: Homework was sent home this week. Students have a spelling and maths sheet to complete. This homework is due back on Friday 23rd February.

Maths: In Maths we have begun our unit on Place Value. We’ve started by reading and writing numbers in numerals and words. Year 4 students have been working on 5-digit numbers, Year 5 students - 6-digit numbers and Year 6 students - 7-digit numbers.

Integrated Curriculum: In Integrated Curriculum we’ve begun our unit on Identity. We have been discussing different qualities of people and identified 5 qualities about ourselves that we like. For example; creative, trustworthy, loving, brave and hardworking.

Tahlia Whytcross
twhytcross@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

Birthday Corner

Wishing a very big Happy Birthday to everyone who has celebrated their special day recently! Especially...

8th February   -   Nellie Armistead (11)

13th February   -   Greta Rock (5)

15th February   -   Annabel Balcombe (6)

Important Dates

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