St Lucy’s Newsletter | Friday 05 May 2018 1

05 May 2018ST LUCY’S SCHOOL NEWSLETTER www.stlucys.nsw.edu.au

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to Term 2 after what was a big Term 1 in so many ways. No doubt this term will bring lots of focussed and productive learning opportunities for the children too. I managed some running on the beach and getting some rest. I hope you too had an opportunity to rest and relax even if ever so briefly during the break.

As you know, Mr Parkinson left us at the end of last term and we have appointed Julia Murphy as our new PDHPE teacher, we welcome her. We have also had three teacher’s aides resign, Siobhan O’Neill, Lynda Grogan and Fiona Ducklin, we thank them for their service. We have been fortunate to appoint qualified and experienced replacement staff and as such we welcome them too, they are: Brooke Wagstaff to Fire Rainbow class, Theresa Neely to Moonbow class, Renata Radogna and Shahereen Bhargava as Travelling Aides.

We have commenced this week with our ANZAC liturgy. It was lovely to witness that in the Last Post and the minute’s silence the children hushed and were amazingly still. I never cease to be surprised by the response of our students to the opportunities they have here. What incredible minds they have and what perception, which we can so easily underestimate.

We have concluded this week with a liturgy for the Feast Day of Catherine of Siena who was an advocate for the poor and underprivileged and who saw each one as an equal in the sight of God. Someone who was brave and wise and who the challenged the status quo. Much like our Dominican Sisters who commenced St Lucy’s back in 1938. We were delighted that our local State Member for Ku ring gai, Alister Henskens, was in attendance and participated in our Liturgy and Assembly. He is a wonderful advocate and friend of our School.

Next week we have our first Year 7 Open Day for new and continuing families of the School. Please continue to encourage your friendship circle of eligible new students to apply for Year 7 enrolment and book in for the event via the website https://www.stlucys.nsw.edu.au/enrolment/open-days-2018/. It has been truly remarkable to see the depth of emotion and thankfulness from our parent community to the Board’s announcement of St Lucy’s Moving Towards K-12 and again at the P & F meeting in the last week of term.

David Raphael Principal

FROM THE PRINCIPAL TERM 2 2018Wednesday 09 May

Year 7 Open Day 9.30am

Friday 11 MayMother’s Day Liturgy 9.00am

Mother’s Day Stall 9.30am

Tuesday 15 MayNAPLAN

Wednesday 16 MaySchool Photos & NAPLAN

OASIS Meeting Narrabeen 9.30am

Thursday 17 MaySchool Photos & NAPLAN

Friday 25 MayPast Sacrament Recipients

Mass 12.00pm

Wednesday 06 June Men’s Evening 6.30pm

Thursday 14 June Musica Viva Parent

Engagement Session 9.00am

Friday 22 June Family Mass 6.30pm

Wednesday 27 June P&F Meeting 7.00pm

Thursday 28 June Confirmation 10.00am

Friday 29 June Last Day of term 2

St Lucy’s Newsletter | Friday 05 May 2018 2

DISABILITY EXPOSt Lucy’s is going to be at the Sydney Disability Expo

The Sydney Disability Expo is a unique community experience and will be Sydney’s largest disability expo, with up to 3000 people expected to attend over the 2-day event. The Expo will give greater Sydney residents quality face-to-face time with service providers, as well as a range of government agencies and advocacy groups. Attendees will also have the chance to test drive the latest technology, aids and equipment to help improve their day to day lives. To top the event off our stage schedule will play host to a variety of all-ability performers, exhibitor Q&A sessions and key speakers from the sector including the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Café & seating area

Speakers from the NDIS, government agencies and disability organisations

Live performances and entertainment for the kids

150 exhibiting product & service providers

Southee Complex (Hall 5)1 Showground Rd, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127

9AM - 3PMMAY 2018

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Fri 25th & Sat 26th

At this years Sydney Disability Expo, ask questions about the National Disability Insurance Scheme and have them

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Limited free or reduced rate disability parking for permit holders - registration essential sydneydisabilityexpo.com.au/contact-us/disability-parking

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ST LUCY’S SCHOOL YEAR 7 2019 OPEN DAY Book in for a Year 7 Open Day on either:

Wednesday 9th May 2018, 9.15am Book via the trybooking link:

https://www.trybooking.com/VAMRor

Thursday 7th June 2018, 9.15am Book via the trybooking link:

https://www.trybooking.com/VPPZ

You can also email the Registrar at terryw@stlucys.nsw.edu.au

with an ‘Expression of Interest’for a place in Year 7, 2019 by Friday 13 April

St Lucy’s Newsletter | Friday 05 May 2018 3

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND PASTORAL CARE

St Lucy’s is turning 80!

Throughout the month of May we celebrate the foundation of St Lucy’s which began out at Homebush in 1938 as a school for students with vision impairment. The Dominican Sisters, who had successfully founded a school for students with hearing impairment in the Newcastle Diocese, were invited by the Bishop of Sydney to establish a similar school catering for the special needs of students. The school later relocated to Wahroonga, where we continue this foundational legacy today. We will be sending home special commemorative cards celebrating this exciting milestone over the coming weeks, which have braille included on them. We also marked the occasion at our Catherine of Sienna Liturgy on Friday 4th May.

St Catherine of Siena Liturgy: This liturgy remembered the work of St Catherine of Siena who was an advocate for justice and equality. At this liturgy, we will mark St Lucy’s 80 year anniversary and raise money for the Dominican Nursery School in Zimbabwe. Your child is invited to wear mufti on this day, with yellow/gold being the theme, and to bring in a gold coin donation that will greatly assist the Dominican Sisters of Zimbabwe. Thank you to the Arcus Class and Teachers, along with Mrs Ledlin, for preparing this special liturgy!

What is the Dominican Nursery School? Andrew Chibika’s (Comet Class) Aunty is a Dominican Sister based in Zimbabwe who coordinates and runs the Dominican Nursery School in the city of Gweru. The preschool caters for children aged 3-6 years and has been in place for the last 30 years. The goal of the Dominican Sisters

is to provide holistic education to 100 children per year that, embraces, their intellectual, emotional, moral, physical and spiritual needs to sustain them throughout their lives. Due to the economic hardships on the people of Gweru, the children who come are clothed, fed and educated for free. The financial support to operate comes from generous donations, like ours.

SAVE THE DATE! OASIS Meeting! Terry will be running our first OASIS Meeting for the year on Wednesday 16th May at 9.30am. The purpose of the meeting is for you to meet our new school psychologist, Raquel Noguez, and to offer suggestions as to how we can support you and provide future meetings on topics of relevance. The venue for the meeting will be Café Dalmatino at Narrabeen. We hope to see you there!

Parent Information Evening – Sacramental Program: A reminder that Sr Helen and I will be facilitating this meeting on Tuesday 9th May at 7pm. Any child who is baptised Catholic and turning 8 this year, is eligible to be part of our Sacramental Program. If you would like to attend, please email sacraments@stlucys.nsw.edu.au

Mother’s Day Liturgy and Stall: You are warmly invited to attend our whole school liturgy next Friday 11th May at 9am celebrating Mother’s Day. Thank you to the Zephyr Class and Staff who have organised this special celebration. Thank you also to the P&F who have organised a Mother’s Day stall for your child to purchase a gift from. It is a special day indeed for all our wonderful mums out there! How blessed your children and families are to have you!

Wishing you peace and blessings!

Vanessa Dillon

Softy the leaves of memory fall,Gently we gather and treasure them all.A thought, a prayer, are all we can give,

These you will have for as long as you live.

Celebrating 80 years of St Lucy’s and giving thanks for your part in our story

St Lucy’s Newsletter | Friday 05 May 2018 4

CREATIVE ARTS NEWSOur recent Creative Arts Holiday Program was a tremendously fun week enjoyed by all. The students were treated to a host of

Creative Arts activities throughout the week - Dance, Drama, Cooking, Visual Arts and Music - and were also able to let loose in the different obstacle courses set up each day in the gym. The weather was perfect all week, which meant that we also got to spend time riding bikes and playing on the oval. A big thank you to the very dedicated St Lucy’s staff and Creative Arts specialists who

ensured the smooth running of our program each day. I would also like to say another very big thank you to all the students who participated beautifully, and for bringing their energy and enthusiasm each day.

Lucy EggerActing Head of Creative Arts

Arcus: Luka R Comet: Will DFire Rainbow: Angelo AGeyser: Bradley HHalo: Campbell DLightning: Rory CMoonbow: Heidi F

Northern Lights: Austin SSea Circle: Bradley CSupernova: Brendan WTornado: Luke MWhirlpool: Lucas VZephyr: Rachel S

ST LUCY’S CLASS AWARDS

STAR OF THE WEEK 1, 5 MAY 2018

St Lucy’s Newsletter | Friday 05 May 2018 5

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St Lucy’s Newsletter | Friday 05 May 2018 6

P&F UPDATE

What amazing news and a wonderful end to term one with the unveiling of the St Lucy’s Master Plan. I know I speak on behalf of the parents in saying a massive thank you for believing in our children and hearing the concerns of the parents. This will enable us to have choices and future vision for our children.Our first P&F meeting was great with lots of ideas talked about • the Central Coast fundraiser• Mothers Day• Pictionary night • Conducting P&F meeting’s over Skype so it makes it easier for

parents to get involved as we understand we are all time poor these days.

I would love to encourage more parents to come on board with the P&F and bring new ideas to create a really strong bond within the School.

REMINDEROn Friday the 11th of May, the P&F will be running the Mother’s Day stall. We would love to extend the invite to all Mum’s, Aunties and special friends.

If you would like your child to purchase a present, please send $5 in an envelope with your child’s name and class on the front. Can be on the day (Friday 11th of May) or the week leading up to it.

Kylie GreyPresident of St Lucy’s P&F

10AM SUNDAY 6TH MAYTHE BUSH SCHOOL 71 BURNS RD,

WAHROONGA

YOU’RE INVITED TO

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LOST PROPERTY ITEMS

Dear Parents,please ensure you label your child’s clothes including socks. We have many pairs of unnamed socks in lost property.

We have a black draw string bag with side zip was left behind after Theatre Project (Mon 19th March) inside were St Lucy’s school shorts and polo top …. Unnamed and tags cut off.

Found:Fred size 6 top and jeans

are Country Road size 6

St Lucy’s Newsletter | Friday 05 May 2018 7

THERAPY UPDATEDear families,

I hope the school holidays went well for everyone. The kids seem happy and ready to start the new term, and it’s lovely to see them all again. In the newsletters this term we’ll be including some content from across the different disciplines in the Therapy Team, so I hope you find this useful. Let me know what you think.

Psychology: Food For Thought

Parenting is always a balance between holding our kids close and letting them go to explore the world of experiences and emotions. Over this term, I will include some content on Emotion Coaching, which is an approach which can provide a lot of guidance of how to achieve this balance. I thought you might enjoy this cartoon as a starting point.

Speech Pathology: Word of the Week “LOOK”

For weeks 1 and 2, we’re focussing on the word “look”. We’re talking about it in Morning Song, practicing the sign together, and making the most of the many voices the students use to communicate about looking. Here’s a link to the video we’re watching in morning song each day. https://tinyurl.com/stlucyslook. If you’re looking for a good model of any sign, I would always suggest checking out the Auslan Signbank. Here’s a link to their entry for “look”. http://www.auslan.org.au/dictionary/words/look-1.html

“Look” is a great word to facilitate shared attention. When you think about it, it’s amazing how often we use this word every day to point out something important or to share something we like. It can be useful in a range of situations, like talking about the pictures in a book, or showing someone a bird they might not have noticed when out for a walk. If you have any stories about little successes or breakthroughs you have using this word, let me know! I’d love to hear about it.

Occupational Therapy: Tip of the week

Empower independence through opportunity! Sometimes without noticing, we get into the habit of completing activities for our children. This reinforces “I can’t” feelings which results in reduced attempts. Let’s try to help guide our children through moving slowly & talking about the steps while we are doing the task, make mistakes a part of the process and add ‘let’s try”. Better yet encourage our kids to do the last part of the task.

Steve Davies Speech Pathologist /Head of Therapy Services

St Lucy’s Newsletter | Friday 05 May 2018 8

This seminar will assist parents to understand their child with intellectual disabilities’ challenging behaviour and knowing when to seek disability and mental health services. This seminar will also equip parents with strategies to work effectively with services and to look after themselves in their caring role.

Location Level 16 Citadel Towers Tower B 799 Pacific Highway Chatswood NSW 2067(3 hour free parking available at Mandarin Centre or Westfield Shopping Centre)

Cost Free. Light refreshments provided.

To register Please call 02 9900 1700.

16 May – 6-8pm (for parents with adult age offspring)

23 May – 10-12pm (for parents with children aged 6 to 17)

29 May – 1-3pm (for parents with adult age offspring)

30 May – 12-2pm (for parents with children aged 6 to 17)

Conducted by Dr Joyce Man, Specialist Psychologist

Understanding challenging behaviour and mental health in individuals with intellectual disabilities

A seminarfor parents

If you are travelling by car you are able to park your car at either Westfield Shopping

Centre or The Concourse as shown above. Parking car

range from $5 - $10 dependent on time and venue.

Each car park is a short 10 maximum a $10 minute walk

from the Chatswood Hub.

If you are travelling by bus, please refer to the NSW

transport Trip Planner app for what is the appropriate bus

from your location. Bus stops are surrounding the

Chatswood Hub.

If you are travelling by train, please refer to the NSW

transport Trip Planner app for what is the appropriate train from your location. The train

station is a short 3 minute walk from the Chatswood

Hub.

If you require disability parking, please contact us to arrange onsite parking prior to the seminar.