Newsletter v2015/16 15 OCTOBER...

Newsletter v2015/16 15 OCTOBER 2015

St Augustine, our patron saint, You loved God with all your heart.Teach us to live God's word through respect for ourselves, others and the world around us.May God always bless St Augustine's school.May God walk with us and be beside us.May God help us to grow into a strong, loving and peaceful learning community.We ask this through Christ our LordAmen


From the Principal

Welcome back, it's Term 4 already....

It's always good to see our students back at St Augustine's, refreshed and ready to learn. Again, I heard lots of stories about good quality family time and a few Hawthorn supporters who were still elated at the win shared their joy with me.

Term 4 has much to look forward to. The days are warmer and longer so it's good to be out and about. There are new units of learning planned and the skills and concepts taught throughout the year are beginning to gel and make sense. Term 4 is the time to push really hard and get our hands very dirty in learning. It is just as important for the Preps to 'get it' as it is for the Grade 6's who are preparing to transition into secondary colleges. What we know is that it won't come without effort and support.

Although there has been good consistency in the behaviour of our students, one area that we have noticed that has slipped is their choice of language. Our students might not swear in front of parents and teachers but when they think that no-one is around, it can be blooper after blooper...and I'm talking about big bloopers. I can understand the occasional slip but it seems to be a culture that is growing in momentum. Add to that an aggressive tone and it is really not what we want to hear from our students as we do not feel that this is a true reflection of our school.

Where does it come from? Television and videos, radio, music, the internet, dad, mum, brothers and sisters, other relatives, billboards in the community - in fact from a range of sources. Young children (and that includes Gr 6's) are exposed to all of these mediums either intentionally or unintentionally. That's life. But that doesn't mean that it is right, especially for children.

As much as we try to curtail bad language choices here at school nothing will change if you are not doing the same. Have a listen to your children when they don't think that you are around. What are they saying? How are they saying it? Is it appropriate? How does it reflect on you as a parent and as a family?

We know that it reflects poorly on our school, we all need to do something to clean it up.

Condolences

Our prayers are offered for the D'Agostino family

on the passing into eternal life of Brielle-Tayla and Alexander's grandfather.

May he rest in peace.

Class Allocations for 2016


The process of assigning students to classes is a complex one. Many factors are taken into consideration beginning with each student's intellectual, social, emotional and behavioural abilities and needs. Class placement involves considering students' physical, social and emotional maturity, interaction with other students, age, gender balance in each class, balance of leaders in each class, social dynamics within groups as well as student friendships.

Parents with special requests for 2016 are required to submit these in writing to the Principal. Any request needs to be for good reason with needs to be explained. Personal preference or selecting teachers is not an option. Parents are reminded that sometimes 'best friends' become the biggest distraction to learning or that friendships change over the course of a year. In 2016 we have approximately 274 students to be sorted into 10 classes.

Any requests need to be handed in or emailed to me no later than October 30th.

DeniseIn this edition ...

We begin this edition with a beautiful shot of Christian and Zac proudly showing us their strawberry plants in anticipation of a bumper crop just in time for the festive pavlovas at Christmas. You'll find out more about our gardening gurus in Around the Classrooms. There is also some important information about re-enrolment for 2016 - heaven help us, where did the year go? You can find the details on the From the Front Office page.The forms being sent home need to be checked thoroughly so that our records are always up to date. If you are not intending to return to St Augustine's next year we would appreciate knowing this as we plan ahead for 2016.On the Student Wellbeing page you can read about the characteristics of a resilient person. Sign up to sell icypoles/superdoopers and read about last minute auction details on the Parents' Auxiliary page.

Remember to slip, slop, slap and enjoy the read.


Looking AheadFriday October 16

2/3 Class Mass @ 12 noon

Saturday October 17

Eucharist Certificates @ Mass

Wednesday October 21

Pizza Lunch Orders Due

Friday October 23

Goods & Services Auction

Monday October 26

Pizza Lunch Day

Friday October 30

4 & 4/5 Class mass @ 12 noon

Monday November 2

Closure Day

Tuesday November 3

Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Wednesday November 4

Sausage Roll & Party Pie Lunch orders due


Thursday November 5

Lap-a-Thon (see Parents Auxiliary Page)

Friday November 6

Prep/1 Breakfast

Prep 2016 Transition 2.00 - 3.00 pm

Term 4 Calendar click here


http://www.sakeilor.catholic.edu.au/_uploads/_ckpg/files/Calendar Term 4 2015.pdf

From The Front Office

Enrolment 2016

Confirmation of Enrolment letters have been sent out recently, together with a Family Summary Report and Video/Photo Permission Form. Please sign and return the letter by Friday 23rd October together with your non-refundable $100 deposit. This deposit will be deducted from 2016 School Fees.

Please check your Family Summary Report, make the required amendments and ensure that all phone numbers are current, especially emergency contacts. Please also include or update your email address. This record sheet must be returned with your deposit.

School Fees

A reminder to check your email, as the school fee accounts were emailed recently. The final instalment is due on the Friday 23rd October.


Notice Board

Second Hand Uniform Shop

We will be holding a second-hand uniform sale prior to the end of this term. If you have any unwanted items, in a good and clean condition, please send them in to the office. The date of the sale will be advised in the next newsletter.

Woolworths Earn & Learn 2015

Congratulations! Our Woolworths Earn & Learn claim has been approved. We can now redeem our Woolworths Earn & Learn Points for new educational equipment. This will arrive in Term 1 2016 and will supplement the materials we use for group play around our friendship stop at lunch times.

We gathered 31407 Woolworths Earn & Learn Points

Thanks to all who have contributed to this initiative - children who gathered and submitted, mums who stuck, counted and tallied.

Catholic Regional College North Keilor

YEAR 7, 2017 ENROLMENT INFORMATION & KEY DATES

Click here for the latest information CRCNK Year 7, 2017 Enrol Info & Dates

St Bernard's College Open Day Sunday 25 October

See flyer for more details St Bernard's Open Day Flyer


/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/CRCNK Year 7, 2017 Enrol Info & Dates.pdf

/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/CRCNK Year 7, 2017 Enrol Info & Dates.pdf

/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/St Bernard's Open Day Flyer.pdf

/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/St Bernard's Open Day Flyer.pdf

CRC Sydenham

Welcomes you to tour the college on 15th October. See flyer for details.

CRC Sydenham College Tour Day 15 October

Catholic Education Today Magazine

Download the Term 3, 2015 edition of Catholic Education Today


/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/CRC Sydenham College Tour Day 15 October.pdf

/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/CRC Sydenham College Tour Day 15 October.pdf

/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/Catholic Education Today.pdf

Religious Education

'Socktober' for Social Justice

The Social Justice Committee at St Augustine's has decided to support the Catholic Mission's "Sock it to Poverty" fundraiser. This year's theme is "I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink," a project to help children in Madagascar access clean water. Catholic Mission is committed to working to overcome global poverty. Through faith they connect with a grass-roots network of community and Church workers around the world.

On Friday 23rd October we invite everyone to put on a colourful pair of socks, instead of their normal school socks.

All we ask is for a gold coin donation.

Year Level Masses

Parents and families are welcome to attend the following Year Level Masses:

Year 2/3 - Friday 16th October, 12pm at St. Augustine's Church

Year 4/5 - Friday 30th October, 12pm at St. Augustine's Church


Student WellbeingHi Parents,

Welcome back to the final school term! How quickly the year is passing.

This term I will be focusing on an area that we would all like to continue to develop in our own lives and in the lives of our children - RESILIENCE!

This week I will begin by looking at what it means to be resilient and what the benefits are in our everyday lives. In the coming weeks I will focus on how to work on becoming more resilient as well as how to teach your child to become strong, confident individuals.

Happy reading,

Ms JodieImage result for images about resilience

DOMPDF_ENABLE_REMOTE is set to FALSEhttps://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSj0ROS7O32QGl2JK3MFh1CxDH0j5xoWCwdjJmH1OJVSWlCqt9t

'Resilience' is an essential skill for life

It’s natural for parents to want to protect their children from adversity. From birth, we try to do the best for our kids, love them and nurture them. Sometimes, this may be intensified as some modern parents have been labelled ‘helicopter parents’, constantly hovering over their children, trying to solve their problems for them in an effort to protect them and keep them happy.

Ironically, a recent study by clinical psychologist and researcher, Judith Locke found that children who were over-parented were no more satisfied with their lives than children whose parents were less involved. And, in the long run, this can leave children ill-equipped to cope with life’s curve balls.

Positive parenting is a delicate balance between protecting children from adversity and letting them experience hardship so they can develop resilience and positive mental health and wellbeing.

Resilience is the ability to cope with life’s ups and downs, and bounce back from adversity. Children need to develop coping skills to help them respond to challenging times and maintain a positive outlook on life. Challenges can also be viewed as opportunities to learn about oneself and to grow as a person.

Someone who is resilient and has positive mental health and wellbeing shows the following characteristics:

The ability to learn from their experiences and grow

Good relationships with others

A capability to manage their own emotions and express empathy for others

Good communication skills

Good problem solving skills

The ability to set realistic but rewarding goals and actively work towards them

These characteristics mean that a child is better able to make sense of the world around them, connect with people, and


even seek out support when they experience difficulties. Good problem solving skills and the ability to work towards realistic goals also gives children a feeling of control over their lives and a sense of positive self worth.

All of these resilience characteristics contribute to positive mental health and wellbeing, and reduce the risk of social or emotional problems later in childhood. There is also emerging evidence to suggest that resilient children are more likely to achieve academic success.

Key to developing a child’s resilience is the relationship they have with at least one adult in their lives. Parents and carers are vital supports in shaping a child’s resilience as they can teach a child to develop a sense of optimism and a set of coping skills to help them bounce back from life’s challenges.

DOMPDF_ENABLE_REMOTE is set to FALSEhttp://www.intheequation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/strength-and-resilience.jpg

'Thumbs Up' program........

This term each class will be focusing on one of the main areas covered in the 'Thumbs up' program which looks at the different types of behaviour we can sometimes exhibit- COOL, WEAK and AGRO. When we discuss these terms it is important to note that we are referring to the child's behaviour. You may wish to discuss this with your child and ask them to explain what each behaviour looks like. You can also use this language at home when you are noticing your child displaying some of these characteristics.


Around the classes

Thumbs up!

At the end of Term 3, 4B and 4/5M came together to create a catchy song that reminds everyone of the Thumbs Up strategies. The creative minds of the Grade 4s and 5s went into groups to make verses of the Thumbs Up strategies. This fun song was recorded, then shown to the teachers and they said they loved it so much that we should present it to the whole school!!

On the 13th of October 2015, the Grade 4s and 5s presented their fantastic song to the whole school. All the students of St Augustine's sung and danced to the song. It was a big hit! Everyone hopes that you enjoy the song.

Written by Alyssa and Jade 4B

Garden Gurus

As part of our Inquiry learning on "Who's Job is it?" 4/B and 4/5M have planted some Veggie Garden's in our school. Before any of the planting could begin, we first had to plan where we would put all of our delicious veggies. We had to look at how much sun the plants needed, how much water, what type of soil would help them as it contained the minerals needed to support them, companion plants and what NOT to plant them with. It got very messy and confusing at times but in the end, I think we ended up with a good solution.

Now came the fun part, planting them! We headed out into the scorching sun to help Jason plant the yummy fruits and veggies. Mulching and planting was fun, but made us very hot. When it came to the end part, watering, we were very happy as most of us 'accidentally' got wet!

Later on, we came to a dilemma. How are people going to know what we have planted? So we troubleshooted and came up with a solution, let's make some labels. So of we went designing our labels for different veggies. Once we had chosen which veggie we would be creating a label for, we got to go off and paint! Some of us were creating our labels on spoons and some on cardboard birds, but no matter what we were painting on, we did an amazing job! If you wish to see our veggies and labels, just head over to the garden boxes near the "shops."

Please don't touch though, as we don't want any plants dying!

by Imogen R 45M


MSAC Excursion - 5/6

Monday 12th October, the 5/6 classes went to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre for an excursion. It was a chance to get some hands on experience with, “How Do We Keep Ourselves and Others Healthy?” - our Inquiry unit this term. Once there we participated in four different sports: badminton, table tennis, volleyball and squash.

It was a great opportunity to learn about different sporting activities that many of us had never experienced before. We found that badminton was lot harder than it looks and judging where the shuttlecock is going to land is particularly difficult. We also found out that squash is basically playing tennis on a half court. Some parents became involved and even taught us a couple of tricks on how to beat our opponent.

After that it was off to Albert Park for a couple hours where we had our lunch and saw some cute little baby swans with a couple of very protective parents. We spent a some time at the park playing a variety of games before being picked up and taken back to school. It was a GREAT day!

ByTomas G


St Augustine's Feast day - Tabloid Sports

One of the three activities to celebrate St Augustine's Feast Day this year (we held our whole school celebration of Mass close to the date) was a tabloid sports morning planned, organised and run by our student leaders. (The final activity is St Augustine's X Factor to be held in November).

It was a great morning that demonstrated the community feel of our school. Students were in groups representing students from Prep to Year Six and their support of all team members and enjoyment of one another's company was delightful to watch.

A huge shout out to the student leaders who designed engaging activities and led with enthusiasm.


Student Leaders

Dear All

We welcome you all back to to a new Term of learning at St. Augustine's. For the grade 6s this is their last term at primary school. Next year the grade 6s will move to the following schools -St. Bernard's, St Columba's, CRC North Keilor, Ave Maria, Rosehill Secondary College and CRC Sydenham.

The holidays went past so fast! We asked some Year 2/3 students about their holidays and here are some of the highlights:

My favourite part of the holidays was hanging out with my best friends. Ky

My favourite part of the holidays was going to the Melbourne show. Olivia.C

I think my favourite thing I did on the holidays was going to AMF bowling. Kade

The grade 5/6s went on an excursion last Monday to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC). We played sports like table tennis, volley ball, badminton and squash. It was a great opportunity to try some different sports and have a shared experience for our Inquiry; How do we help others be healthy.

We'd like to say a big "Well done - we love your work" to the Year 4 & 4/5s who wrote and performed a great song to help us easily remember the messages of the Thumbs Up program. Check out the video on the Around the Classes page.

A reminder to all students about St. Augustine's Feast Day X Factor on Friday November 6th. See your teacher for an application form and get ready to show our whole school community your talent.


Have a great couple of weeks and don't forget to slip, slop, slap.

Angelique & BlakeSchool Captain & Vice Captain


Awards and Events

Awards and Events

Congratulations to our award recipients for the last week of Term 3 and the first week of Term 4.

Mollie - Star Student of the Week


Massimo - Star Student of the Week

A big "well done" to Emerson and Jaidyn who both came 4th in their events at the Regional Athletics Meet.


Parent's Auxiliary

Goods and Services Auction - October 23rd

We are on track for a great night of bargains, games and most importantly, fund raising! This is the absolute last call for donations as the booklet needs to be printed and sent out to families early next week. Please drop anything off at the office by Friday.

If you would still like to come along but you are on your own, we have a couple of tables of 'mixed groups' where you would be very welcome. Again, drop your name into the office and we will ensure you have a seat on the night with some new friends.

Doors will open at 7pm on the night, the main auction begins at 7.30. There will also be silent auction items and games with great prizes.

If you can't come but would like to make a donation and participate, we are selling $10 Lucky N umbers for a bar fridge filled with goodies. Send your $10 along to the office in an envelope with your name on it and we will allocate your lucky number.

We have some great classroom artwork for sale.... take a look at this selection!


Lap-a-Thon

On Thursday 5th November students at St Augustine's are participating in a 'Lap-a-Thon'. Each child has 30 minutes to complete as many laps as they can around the top paddock track. Forms and sponsorship money is due back at school anytime but by Friday November 13th at the latest.

Wear sports uniform, hat and bring your water bottle and a smile. Stay tuned for each class' dress up addition.

Sponsor forms will be sent home at the start of next week.

Icy poles/super-doopers


Parent Info...

Three parents are required daily from 1:30 pm until 1:50 pm to sell icypoles/super-doopers.

Choose your days and register @ www.schoolinterviews.com.au code 4PSWF

Icy poles are only sold when the forecast temperature is 20oC or above.

If you are unable to make you day, organise a swap with someone else on the roster (a copy of the roster and mobile numbers of sellers will be

emailed to all volunteers)

Student Info…

No hat - no icy pole/superdooper

Icy poles/superdoopers are only sold when the forecast temperature is 20oC or above

Icy poles/superdoopers cost 50 cents

1 icy pole/superdooper per person (no buying for anyone else)

No colour choice – take what you are given "you get what you get and don't get upset"

Say thank you

Wrappers and sticks in the bin

2 lines – no pushing in or saving spots

Year 5/6’s wait a little longer before joining the line.

No money = no icypole (so don’t hang around, go and enjoy playing time)

Don’t ask an icy pole seller for a freebie (and sellers please don’t buy icypoles for children)


http://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/

Beyond the Gates

Ace Fun Tennis School

Click here for more info: Ace Fun Tennis School

Keilor Cricket Club

Click here for more info: Milo In To Cricket


/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/Ace Fun Tennis School.PDF

/data/2015 T4 Wk 2/Milo In To Cricket.pdf

Newsletter v2015/16 15 OCTOBER...

Documents

Transcript of Newsletter v2015/16 15 OCTOBER...