Term 2, Week 4 Newsletter
Principal's Message
Leave from School
Thank you to everyone for your involvement in the life of the school this year. It is an absolute joy to be with people who are positive and willing to walk in partnership with the school as we work together to bring out the best in our children.
I will be taking leave from school from Week Six up to the school holidays. During this time I will be visiting family overseas. Lauren Magnus will be Acting Principal in my absence. We also welcome Lauren Buttigeig to the team commencing in Term Three. Lauren will be taking over from Mrs Hunnibell who will be taking long service leave for the remainder of the year.
Survey
We had 41 responses from families for the Tell Them From Me survey. Thank you to those who took the opportunity to provide feedback to the school. We will report back our findings in future newsletters. Teachers and Students (Yr 4-6) also completed the survey.
Safety at School
With the financial support of the Catholic Schools Office we have been able to create a pathway and safety wall on the oval and near the Year Three classrooms. Please use the path and small gate for entering and exiting the school premises. The final stage of this project will be landscaping and gardening and its progress will be dependent on weather conditions at this stage.
Dogs at School
Please keep all dogs on a lead when inside the school grounds.
School fees
Just a reminder that Term 1 fees are overdue for payment, can I ask that any family who hasn't yet finalised their Term 1 school fee account that they do so by the end of the week. Thank you to those families who have already paid. If you require assistance with school fees, can I ask that you contact Alison Mason in the school office.
Parent Community Group Meeting- All Welcome Monday 22nd May @ 5.30 pm
Agenda includes:
- Major Fundraiser for 2023
- Committee formation for events
- Parent Survey Feedback
- School Disco Plan
School Assembly this week- Friday at 2.15pm all welcome.
Yours in Partnership,
Tim Bleakley - Principal
MISSION
Mother's Day Liturgy
This week began so beautifully as we gathered as a school community in the hall to celebrate our Mother's Day Liturgy. Our Kindergarten students presented a video at the end of the Liturgy celebrating their love of their mum's along with some wonderful portraits they had painted.
Upcoming Masses
This Friday the 19th of May, students from Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 will be celebrating Mass at St Finbarr's Church, Byron Bay.
All of our families and friends are warmly invited to join us at 9:30am which is sure to be a very special occasion.
Save the Date
Our next Whole School Mass will be on Friday the 2nd of June, 9:30am at St Finbarr's Church Byron Bay.
Reconciliation
A number of our students are continuing on their sacramental journey by preparing for the Sacrament of First Reconciliation. We ask you to keep these students and their families in your prayers.
Our Vision
It is wonderful to see the Vision we have at St Finbarr's of Loving like Jesus, Growing Together as Friends and Learning for Life evident as you walk into each classroom whether it be in images students have created, posters on walls or included in the prayer spaces that are a part of all classrooms. There have been many discussions within each class, defining and identifying what our vision means personally and as a part of a community. Please see below some examples of these discussions from our students and staff.
Yours in Partnership,
Mrs Sonya Piccoli
Assistant Principal- Mission and Additional Needs Teacher
Wellbeing
Sleep is important for children’s growth, learning, development and mood. When your child sleeps well, your child will be settled, happy and ready for school the next day. That’s because good-quality sleep helps your child concentrate, remember things, manage emotions and behave well. This all helps your child learn well.
Please see the link below to better understand just how much sleep children need and what helps them to get enough sleep.
Learning & Teaching
Mother's Day Breakfast
What a beautiful morning we shared together as a community to celebrate our mums and all the mother figures in our lives. The rain didn't stop us or the amazing turn out of parents and students (and how nice it always is to see some of our ex students join in the morning and get a photo with their siblings and mum). A HUGE thank you to the amazing dads for cooking the bbq all morning, to the families who arrived early to help set up and to the infants families who donated food to the buffet - it was an impressive spread. Thanks again Mrs Boggis for your photography skills (and to Buffy for ensuring every child at school that day had their photo taken).
Learning Collaborative
The Learning Collaborative is a growth, development and research partnership with Catholic Schools Lismore and Dr Lyn Sharratt. As a Diocese, we are committed to 'maximising the learning potential of our children and young people to be lifelong learners who are actively engaged with a range of people, places and disciplines as they grow as critical and creative problem-solvers who embrace society in all its diversity,' (Diocesan Literacy & Numeracy Strategy, 2021 - 2024).
At St Finbarr's we have a focus this year on improving the teaching and learning of Mathematics using data informed practices. A big part of the Learning Collaborative work is "Making Learning Visible".
By making the learning visible we create and sustain powerful cultures of learning in classrooms and across the school. We help students to understand what we are learning, why and how they can be successful.
Here are some samples of how we make the learning 'visible' in the classroom to support student learning. All classrooms have their Learning Intentions and Success Criteria visible along with anchor charts, student work samples and exemplars. We encourage the students to use this as their "third teacher".
Talking to your child about their day
Your child's been at school all day and you've walked to meet them out of school with a big smile on your face, looking forward to seeing them and hearing about their day. However, it's a common complaint from parents of school-age children: 'I ask them what they did at school today, and all they say is "Nothing!"
This can be frustrating and concerning at any time, try not to worry: there's a number of ways to gently encourage and help your child to open up a little more so that you can support them and understand more about their learning and their social development at school.
To support students with their learning we are helping them to understand what they are learning and why (learning intentions) and also what is required (success criteria) - this not only gives purpose to the tasks but it also helps the students take ownership of their learning as they can check in as to how they are going. You might also like to ask them questions that align with this.
- What are you learning about in Maths / English etc?
- How are you going with your learning?
- Where can you go to for help with your learning?
We support students by explicitly teaching learning dispositions. You might like to ask questions along the lines of;
- What did you find challenging today?
- What did you do to overcome this challenge?
- What is something you are proud of today?
- Tell me about a time you worked with your friends today?
Try to ask 'open' rather than 'closed' questions. A closed question only requires a 'yes' or 'no' or another single word answer; for example, 'Did you have a good day at school?' An open question needs a fuller answer and lends itself to more detail: 'What was the best thing that happened at school today?'
Home Readers
We have been absolutely blown away by the generosity of time to help us get our new readers covered and in our K-2 students little hands. As you can understand, 2000 readers takes a while to cover (and a whole lot of contact) so please bear with us as we continue to send packs home and distribute the books into the classrooms. If you are available Thursday mornings we would love to invite you in to cover books at school, alternatively packs are available to collect from the front office or email Buffy or myself to let us know you can help and we can send a pack home with your child/ren.
Yours in Partnership,
Lauren Magnus
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
Sports News
School Cross Country
Congratulations to all St Finbarr's students who competed in the Tweed Zone Cross Country Carnival, held in Murwillumbah. St Finbarr’s was the overall winning team of the carnival on the day.
Well done to the following students who have qualified for the Diocesan Carnival to be held in Grafton, next Friday. We wish them all the very best.
Alfie C (10th)-called up reserve.
Milla P (1st) -11yrs Age Champion
Isla C (6th)
Bonnie Mc (4th)
Charlie S (5th)
Hamish K (4th)
Angus A (8th)
Lucy R (6th)
Hayden C (2nd)- 8/9yrs Runner Up Age Champion
Jack G (3rd)
Levi L (6th)
Mia B (8th)
Roley (2nd)- 10yrs Runner Up Age Champion
Oliver B (3rd)
Mila H (2nd) - 10yrs Runner Up Age Champion
Libby (5th)
Lisa Clark
Sports Coordinator
Tweed Zone Cross Country
Gather Community Project - Canteen
IS OFF AND RUNNING!
It has been so great to see how many families are ordering and enjoying the delicious food from Gather. As this is a new ordering system for families, Jay has asked us to share with families the importance of filling in the note section on the Checkout page. The details he requires here are your child's full name, year and class (Toby Smith Yr 2 Wategos) an example is shown below.
ORDERING FOR MORE THAN ONE CHILD:
If you have more than one child you will need to place a separate order for each child.
MULTIPLE DAY ORDERS:
The ordering system allows you to order ahead for the current week, you just choose multiple items and add them to a week day (an example is below). Please remember to always add your Child's Name, Year and Class in the note section on the payment page and to do a separate order if you have more than one child. The pre ordering system will only allow you to order for the current week in advance.
Thank you to all the amazing volunteers who are doing such a great job, it is very much appreciated.
Thank you,
Jay
Student Awards - Week 4
Parent Connect
