St Gabriel’s News 1

St Gabriel’s News A school for students with hearing impairment

and other special needs

within Edmund Rice Special Education Services

Newsletter No: 6

Date: 10 May 2013 Term 2 Week 2

Diary

Tues/Wed/Thurs, 14/15/16

May

NAPLAN FOR YEARS 3

AND 5

Thursday, 23 May

SCHOOL BANKING

Friday, 24 May

Special Olympics Day

Happy Birthday to children

celebrating birthdays in May

Aaron T who will be

11 on 11 May

Hamish who will be 5

on 13 May

Samrath who will be

7 on 19 May

Blake M who will also

be 7 on 25 May

Nick who will be 9 on

28 May

Blake W who will be

12 on 29 May

Dear Families and Friends

This week both St. Gabriel’s and St. Edmund’s celebrated Founder’s Day. As

Edmund Rice Schools we are part of a truly remarkable and inspiring

journey. When Edmund reached out to poor children in Ireland recognising

both their physical and educa/onal needs, he wrote the first chapter in our

story. His band of Chris/an Brothers moved across the world con/nuing his

work. The impact on Australian society has been significant as Catholic

families took up the opportunity of a rigorous, faith based, educa/on for

their boys.

Ninety-one years ago St. Gabriel’s was established to cater for deaf boys and

62 years ago St. Edmund’s was established as a school for blind children.

Today our schools sit proudly within the network of Edmund Rice schools;

now numbering more than 40 across Australia. We share a history, a

tradi/on, a set of values and a dream of educa/on that develops the whole

child in a way that enables them to be honourable, contribu/ng members of

society. We have the inspira/on and the challenge but also much to

celebrate!

May Edmund live in our hearts – forever!

Kathy

IMPORTANT

REMINDER ABOUT REQUESTING LEAVE

If you know in advance that your child

will not be at school for any reason, and

especially if you are intending to take a

holiday during school /me, please

ensure you request the leave in

advance. Your request should cite the

educa/onal benefits of the, for example,

holiday for your child. As a ma?er of

course, most families do this already—

thank you—this is just a reminder to

everyone abut the process to follow.

Many thanks

SCHOOL FEES

School fee invoices will be

sent out shortly for Term

2—please remember that

payments made by credit

card will incur a 1%

processing fee. This only

applies to fee payments.

Please refer any ques/ons

regarding fees to Marilyn

Noonan, our Business

Manager.

St Gabriel’s News 2

Week 1 Term 2 2013 (Tuesday, 30 April to Friday, 3 May)

Student of the Week: Blake for always being an excellent role model, working hard in class and

following the school rules

Class Awards

Kindy N - Arpita for being a great friend

Kindy L - Aurora for doing her best at following instruc/ons in the class

Junior C- Jasmine for incredible progress with her reading

Junior W - Blake M for a 100% posi/ve and calm start to the term

Middle DJ - Dominic for an amazing recount of his holidays

Upper W - Emily for her excellent classroom behaviour

Upper R - Jayden for concentra/ng very hard in maths

Do Your Best Award: Aaron C

Be Safe Award: Tom J

Care and Share Award: James K

Wake and Shake Awards: Jayden, Evi and Emily

Social Skills Award: Arabella

Week 2 Term 2 2013 (Monday, 6 May to Friday, 10 May)

Student of the Week: Cullen for working hard in lessons and being a kind class member

Class Awards

Kindy N - Rioghan for great talking and listening in the class

Kindy L - Milena for doing her best in number work

Junior C- Olivia for trying hard to se?le back into class rou/nes

Junior W- Cody for excellent work in all class lessons

Middle DJ - Charlo?e for recoun/ng in detail her weekend news

Upper W - Miguel for excellent communica/on on Upper W’s excursion to

Gilroy canteen

Upper R - Melanie for playing, sharing and taking care of her friends

Do Your Best Award: Corey L

Be Safe Award: Blake M

Care and Share Award: Tommy

Wake and Shake Awards: Cody and Corey P

Social Skills Award: Ella

Children's Awards

St Gabriel’s News 3

The term has begun beau/fully. It’s such a pleasure to see the children re-united with

friends and teachers; they know the rou/nes of their new classrooms and have em-

braced the learning challenges throughout each day.

Amongst the many learning experiences happening, the senior classes are very busy

puIng finishing touches on their country-study posters about Morocco, have joined

classes for spelling and reading groups and are reading musical nota/on in music

classes. In Assemblies we’ve been thrilled to be read to by the Junior and Middle

Classes; we’ve watched their films about the books they’re reading and loved having

them drama/ze the stories. Kindergarten children are using sounds and le?ers, coun/ng, wri/ng and

presen/ng news with confidence and enthusiasm.

Happy, secure children are children who are absorbed and engaged, and in every class I am delighted to see

children’s ideas and curiosity about learning emerging and blossoming. Connec/ons about learning move

onto the playground as well: there is a group of children who ‘play’ school in our sacred space. Others join

in together coun/ng shapes, building construc/ons and interac/ng with one another to problem solve in all

aged groups. The maths and social games they are being taught in the classroom are played out on the

playground and they are using others’ ideas to expand and rehearse their own learning.

We are embarking on many aspects of the new na/onal curriculum in Maths, English and Science. Teachers

are working together in small groups to define what this learning looks like for all of the children at

St. Gabriel’s, now and in the future. Literature units and texts are being chosen and trialled in all classes

through shared reading and guided reading programmes and with the support of our speech consultant,

Ylana Bloom.

We have sourced Maths and Science programs which reflect the new curriculum and which bring a variety of

hands-on and symbolic learning ac/vi/es to all of our students at the individual stages they may be working

on.

Hearts and minds are truly opened each and every day at St. Gabriel’s, thanks to the quality of our staff, the

processes and structures that support them and our community affilia/ons. All ensure a Libera/ng

Educa/on is available and possible for all students, enabling them to take their righNul place in our diverse

society.

~ Dianne

H.o.C.’s

Corner

School Banking Dates for

Term 2, 2013

Thursday, 23 May

Thursday, 6 June

Thursday, 20 June

If anybody would like to open a student account or

would like more informa/on about school banking,

please speak to Val

WOOLWORTHS EARN & LEARN

PROMOTION 2013

Thank you to everyone who has been

busy collec/ng s/ckers and sending them in to

school. Don’t forget to let all your family and friends

know about this promo/on which will end on

Sunday, 9 June. We are hoping to once again be able

to get some lovely resources for our classrooms.

Charity Begins At HomeCharity Begins At HomeCharity Begins At HomeCharity Begins At Home

The staff of St Gabriel's care a great deal about the community we are in. As such, we regularly have charity afternoon teas to raise money for a good cause. On the last day of term 1, Bel Lu and Frances Rispoli held a charity afternoon tea to raise money

for Liam Knight. He was injured when the party he was attending was overrun by gate crashers, and a pole was thrown at him which pierced his skull. Liam's medical needs have been great, and a charity appeal was established by his school, St Pius X. St Gabriel's staff dined on the best three C's at any event - cheeses, crackers and cakes! And they generously

donated $154 towards Liam's appeal. He is in our prayers.

St Gabriel’s News 4

Dad's Ute Gets A Clean Last term in Upper R we learnt about God's call

for us to love one another. We looked at how we

can each live a life that shows respect and love

for others. A prac/cal way to show love to our

families is to help them, and what be?er way to

help than to wash a muddy car?

One of the Upper R dads (bravely? foolishly?)

volunteered his prized ute. And so it was, on a

sunny aUernoon, that Upper R donned their

washing gear, armed themselves with sponges,

buckets and detergent and set to work!

The bubbles swirled down the sides of the ute

(and the occasional student). The mud and bird

unmen/onables were washed away as students

rubbed and scrubbed. The love flowed as

gleefully as the water (sorry again for squir/ng

you Mrs Murphy… it was an accident I swear!).

And we all learnt two things; a) standing s/ll too

long can get you a soapy sponge on your back,

and b) loving each other can be a lot of fun!

Social Skill of the Month Social Skill of the Month Social Skill of the Month Social Skill of the Month –

“I use polite words with family and friends”

Social Skill of the Month Social Skill of the Month Social Skill of the Month Social Skill of the Month –

“I use polite words with family and friends”

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMSACRAMENTAL PROGRAMSACRAMENTAL PROGRAMSACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

Please come along to an informal mee/ng with

Father John Boyle on Thursday 6 June at 6:00 here

at St. Gabriel’s, to discuss how we can support the

process of preparing your children to receive the

Sacraments of the Catholic Faith. If you are a

Catholic family who would like your children to take

their first Holy Communion at some stage in their

primary years, please join us on the evening.

We will look at how the school can support your

child’s understanding through their sacramental

prepara/on and what op/ons might be available to

enable families to celebrate this significant

milestone in Catholic culture. The evening should

run for about an hour – a light supper will be

provided.

If you would like any further informa/on, please

speak to Dianne.

A World of Books in Junior W

Junior W have had a wonderful /me exploring some fantas/c books. We have made Wombat Stew, waited

eagerly for the Baby Owl’s mother to return and acted out the story of “Who’s in the Shed?”. Last week at

assembly we were very excited to show off our performance skills in our short movie of “HaIe and the

Fox”. All the students in Junior W had very important roles and loved dressing up and playing their favourite

characters. We are now looking forward to exploring many new books together.

St Gabriel’s News 5

On Monday the whole school gathered together

to celebrate Edmund Rice Day. We learned what a

kind and good man Blessed Edmund Rice was and

that St. Gabriel’s is just one of many Edmund Rice

Schools. Edmund (aka Thomas) did a wonderful

job of showing how Edmund Rice helped people

by giving food and clothing, and by building

schools for children to learn in. Our School

Captains then helped everyone share in a feast of

fresh fruit.

Lions Club of Parrama8a

“Kids Big Fun Day Out”

Sunday, 23 June

Parrama?a Lions would like to invite any special

needs children and their families to their “Kids Big

Fun Day Out”. This will be held on Sunday, 23

June at the Parrama?a Leagues Club at

13-15 O’Connell Street, Parrama?a.

There are two show /mes to choose from—

1.00 p.m. or 3.00 p.m. and they are offering free

/ckets to special needs children and their parents

or carers.

These /ckets are made possible by the generosity

of local business and professional people.

If you would like /ckets, please let Val know by

Monday, 27 May.

Entertainment BooksEntertainment BooksEntertainment BooksEntertainment Books The new 2013/14 Entertainment Books are now

available at $65 each (Sydney Greater West, Sydney

North and Sydney). $13 from each book sold comes

directly to St Gabriel’s School.

Your Entertainment Book can be purchased on-line

at www.entertainmentbook.com.au/

orderbooks/21426e9 or place your order now,

either by:

Telephone: 9634 2367

Fax: 9634 2610

Email : recep/on@stgabriels.nsw.edu.au

Please see our website for further details.

St Gabriel’s News 6

Our Mother's Day celebra/on was a lovely experience for our mothers, children, families and staff. The

children were very excited to communicate how much they loved their mothers and to share the beau/ful

giUs that they had spent /me making. Judging by the beaming smiles, it was an aUernoon never to be for-

go?en. On behalf of the St Gabriel's community we wish all our mothers a joyous Mother's Day. We are all

truly blessed to be in the presence of our children.

Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre

DATES FOR THE DIARY Visit by Westmead Dental Team Wednesday, 29 May

Design 2 Shine Mon/Tues, 3/4 June (BBQ/presenta/on on 4 June)

Sacramental Program Mee/ng Thursday, 6 June at 6.00 p.m.

Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday Monday, 10 June

Jump Rope for Heart Friday, 21 June

Student Term Dates for 2013

Term 2 Tuesday, 30 April - Friday, 21 June 2013

Term 3 Monday, 15 July - Friday, 20 September 2013

Term 4 Tuesday, 8 October - Friday, 13 December 2013

It is the policy of St Gabriel’s to distribute information when requested regarding activities and information

concerning disability. This does not imply that St Gabriel’s endorses these activities or the information

contained therein in any way.