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Dear Parents and Friends of St Kevin’s,
Being a Learner is one of our school rules. This rule is clearly being followed in Year 2.
Last week when visiting Year 2, questions about learning were asked of Angus. When asked, “Where do you go for help?”, Angus promptly replied, “Well, first I look inside my own brain! Then I go to the walls to check, then I could ask a friend and then my teacher.” Angus was clearly articulating his responsibility for his own learning. He understands that for learning to occur he must ensure that he takes responsibility for implementing strategies to improve his learning. Well done, Angus. Congratulations Year 2 for being active learners and taking responsibility for your learning.
Being Safe is another of our school rules. This rule needs a little work in being followed by all students. Being over competitive on the soccer field or in a game of handball, or shooting hoops, can lead to accidents. We need to remind our children that when we play games, we don’t always need to be the best or the winner, and that at school it is about being fair and learning to take turns. We will as a school community continue to work on strategies in these areas.
Being Respectful is our last rule. What this looks like is how we use the MJR framework of being a WEST person. It is how we welcome, encourage, say sorry and always say thank you. It is about how we greet, treat and speak to others...and this means everyone. We need to assist the children that they must speak with respect to their peers, siblings and adults all the time. This is where we as adults in their lives must be very mindful of what we say and do, as our children will all too often mimic our words and actions that may not always be appropriate for use at school.
Finally, a very exciting update for 2023! Next year St Kevin’s will have 7 classes! Woohoo!! This means we are truly a single stream school with no composite classes. This extra teaching position is being advertised this weekend and we look forward to employing another amazing teacher to join our St Kevin’s Community. I ask that as we complete this very important process you keep us in your prayers.
Take care and go gently.
Mary-Anne Jennings
Principal
Year 1 Teacher
It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Mrs Emily Hogan has been appointed as the job- share teacher for Year 1 alongside Mrs Kim Hogan. Mrs Emily Hogan will be teaching Year 1 every Wednesday and Thursday. And yes, they are related through marriage!
Father’s Day Celebrations - Wednesday August 31
We would like to welcome all dads, grandads and uncles to our Father’s Day breakfast and Prayer Service on Wednesday August 31 starting at 8am with a BBQ breakfast. A Prayer Service will follow at 9am and following that, children will go shopping for gifts at our Father’s Day stall run by the P&F.
Father’s Day Gifts
These are $10 each and can be paid for via the QKR app.
Aboriginal Cultural Excursions
These will go ahead on Tuesday August 30 – pending weather! Please ensure you have provided consent via the COMPASS event that was emailed to you. No permission note, no attendance at the event.
Netball Gala Day
We have entered 3 teams this year in the Netball Gala Day to be held on September 1. We have an Open Boys Team, a mixed Open Team and a Junior Girls team. Thank you to Mrs Stretton for organising this event. Once again, a COMPASS alert was sent via email and we require permission and payment to attend. No permission form means no participation. Payment of $10 can be made by sending in cash in an envelope marked with your child's name, class and Netball Gala Day, alternatively you can phone the school office on 4954 0036 to pay with credit card over the phone.
Public Speaking
Congratulations to all students who participated in the St Kevin’s Public Speaking Competition. The winners from each class were Charlie in Kinder, Joseph Year 1, Arabella Year 2, Blake Year 3, Cierra Year 4, Reid Year 5 and Mackenzie Year 6.
The Regional Public Speaking Competition will be held on September 7 at St Joseph’s Kilaben Bay. This is a more difficult level of competition with entrants only being given 1 hour to prepare their speech on a set topic. There are again times to adhere to. They will be judged on the use of palm cards and not just reading the speech, being able to maintain eye contact and engaging the audience. They cannot have any help from adults or electronic devices. It is a Stage based competition, not a grade-based competition like we have at St Kevin’s.
To progress to the next stage, staff will select students from our school competition who can demonstrate their ability to prepare and deliver a speech under the Regional Guidelines, from the pool of students who participated last Friday. Therefore, the winners from each class last Friday may not necessarily represent their stage at Regional Level. Parents will be notified if their child is selected by August 31.
Pupil Free day
Staff will be attending a Faith Formation Day on Friday September 2. There will be no school that day.
News from the Assistant Principal
Colour Run
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou once again for your support of the Colour Run. We are getting very excited as the day draws near with final preparations in place. Please click here to complete a short form to indicate if you are able to help out in any way on the day. This will allow me to make a roster of volunteers for the day and ensure the smooth and safe running of this fabulous event. We encourage as many parents and family to join us on the day.
Can you help?
- Do you have a ute?
- Are you able to help us out at 7am on the day (Friday 23rd September) to move equipment down to Wilkinson Park?
- Are you able to help in setting up? (7:30 am onwards)
- Do you have a large tarp and tent pegs that we could borrow to use at our various stations along the colour run, passive play, seating throughout the day?
- Are you willing to volunteer to assist on one of the Colour Run stations (sorry no pre-school age children accompanying)?
- Are you able to assist on the BBQ stall?
- Are you able to assist on the drinks stall?
- Are you able to bake for the cake stall?
- Do you have a pop-up shelter that can be utilized?
- Are you able to attend on the day? Are grandparents coming?
Timeline
9:00 – 9:30 am transport by bus from school to Wilkinson Park
9:45 am Official Start – Welcome and Prayer
10:00 am Aerobics Warm Up
10:15 am Blue House v Gold House – War Cries
10:30 am Infants ( Playground and Activities)
11: 15 am Primary ( Playground and Activities)
12 noon Lunch Break
12:15 pm Colour Run (Year 5/6)
12:35 pm Colour Run (Years 3 / 4)
1:00 pm Colour Run (Years 1 / 2)
1:20 pm Colour Run ( Kinder)
1:50 pm Clean Up
2:05 pm Return to school by bus / equipment returned to school (helpers please!)
God Bless
Kim Hogan
Assistant Principal
Kaayi (hello in Awabakal; rhymes with ‘hi’)
Last Thursday Kiera, Casey and I attended the launch of the Diocesan Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). This plan was developed in collaboration with and is endorsed by Reconciliation Australia.
The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, in its acknowledgement of the Reconciliation Action Plan states:
Our vision for reconciliation is to follow the principles of Catholic Social Justice Teaching: to promote a vision of a just society that is grounded in biblical revelations, and principles to end poverty, promote justice, upload dignity, love of God and love of neighbour.
In our first step in our reconciliation journey, we are committed to:
- Establishing and strengthening mutually beneficial relationships.
- Including and listening to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in decision making and leadership.
- Raising internal and external awareness of our RAP.
- Promoting reconciliation across our Diocesan parishes, schools and agencies.
At St Kevin’s we are in the process of developing our inaugural school RAP which will soon be submitted to Reconciliation Australia for endorsement.
Indigenous Literacy Day 2022
On Wednesday 7 September we will celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day at St Kevin’s. Our school has registered for a live digital event broadcast from the Sydney Opera House at 10.30am featuring ILF Ambassador and music icon, Jessica Mauboy, and ILF Ambassador, Gomeroi author and performer, Gregg Dreise.
As well, children will participate in some fun and educational activities in their classrooms, including from learning a song and some words in Awabakal language and doing some artwork using earthy materials.
Nginowa (goodbye in Awabakal; the ‘g’ is silent)
Phil Taylor
Aboriginal Education Teacher
Staff Formation
We have our staff retreat faith formation coming up on Thursday 1st in the afternoon and Friday 2nd September. Adam Frost from the CSO RE&S Team will be joining us and leading us in our Formation experiences. We will spend time learning about Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St. Joseph. We will be visiting the Museum and Mary's Tomb. A significant amount of the day will involve us exploring the Josephite Charisms/Pillars; how we would like to make them meaningful to St. Kevin's, how we will make them visible to those who enter our school and how we will embed them into our daily lives as staff and students.
Father’s Day
Please join us on Wednesday 31st August as we celebrate our wonderful dads, stepdads, grandfathers and all father figures in our lives. Our Father’s Day celebration will begin at 8am with a breakfast sausage sizzle followed by a liturgy which will be held in the hall at 9am, it will be run by year 3. Students will have an opportunity to attend the P&F Father’s day stall.
Sacrament Reminder
For students registered in the 2022 sacramental program, the Confirmation date is 6th September. The Confirmation preparation session is on Thursday 25th August at 4pm. This meeting will be held in the meeting room at the Parish Office at Cardiff. Confirmation slips were sent out on Friday 12th August for families to complete and return at the Confirmation preparation session with Donna Morgan on Thursday 25th August.
Parish News
Altar Servers Training—For those already serving at our Masses and for any new servers are very welcome to come to this training day on next Sunday 28th August 12noon at St Philip’s Church Kotara. This is open to any students in Years 5 & 6 who are interested in serving at Masses.
For more information Contact Deacon Solomon on 4957 5949 or Helene O’Neill on 0400 781 374
God Bless
Fiona Stretton
Acting Religious Education Coordinator
Thank you to the St Kevin's community for your support of our Book Week celebrations and Book Fair.
We sold $2646.00 worth of books on the day and over $500 worth of books from book club.
We raised $793 from the fair and another $135 from the book club and were able to order 50 books for our library. We have ordered quite a few non fiction books but also some books suitable for all our students.
Thanks to Angus L for his kind donation of the book, Eyewitness Shark for our library.
Emily Hogan
Acting Teacher Librarian
School Fees and Compass Payments
School Fees
If you had elected to pay your 2022 school fees in one lump sum, payment was due by 30 June. If you have not already paid, it would be appreciated if your account could be finalised as soon as possible.
If you elected to pay your school fees in weekly, fortnightly or monthly installments, regular payments were due to start by 30 March and need to be finalised by 30 November 2022. There are only 16 weeks left until the 30 November so if payments have not yet commenced, please do so as soon as possible.
Year 6 parents, please be aware that school fees need to be finalised in full, prior to your child commencing high school. St Paul's Boorgaul request a fee clearance from St Kevin's before enrolments are accepted.
If you are experiencing difficulty please do not hesitate to contact the school office on 4954 0036 to discuss.
Compass Payments
Parents, I understand that it is easier for you to pay bills via Compass Pay and we gracioulsy accept your payment. But please be aware that Compass Pay brings with it a 2.3% charge and if possible, I ask that you consider using other payment methods such as credit card, BPAY, cash or direct debit.
The Catholic Schools Office (CSO) has created an online application for the volunteering process. On the volunteer site, you can find the Volunteer Handbook, and some videos that go through the Volunteers Induction. Applying through the volunteer site, results in your application going straight to the CSO, then the school gets updates once these are cleared. If you already have your WWCC and completed a paper volunteer application, there is NO need for you to reapply. If you would like to volunteer, and have not yet completed an application, please follow the link to do this online.
When you apply online, you will notified whether you require a WWCC and/or police check. Please note: it can take up to 6 weeks for your application to be approved. You now only need to apply once, further applications are only required if your circumstances changes e.g. change in name etc WWCC expires.
Please advise the school via email when you register online and we will contact you when the clearance is received.
From the Office of Safeguarding - National Child Protection Week
National Child Protection Week is a campaign held annually across Australia to raise awareness of child abuse prevention. This year’s campaign will be held between 4 – 10 September.
National Child Protection Week aims to engage, educate, and empower Australians to understand the complexity of child abuse and neglect, and work together to prevent it. The campaign does this through the sharing of events and resources to encourage communities to engage in conversations around children’s safety and wellbeing.
The theme is:
Every child, in every community, needs a fair go.
To treat all of Australia’s children fairly, we need to make sure every family and community has what kids need to thrive and be healthy.
As a diocese, our goal when it comes to child protection is to always recognise and uphold the dignity and rights of all children and vulnerable adults, in-line with the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle’s abiding commitment to their safety, welfare, and wellbeing.
In recognition of National Child Protection Week 2022, we're asking our schools and Early Education centres to decorate their school or centre gate, fence, or alternative space in line with the theme, 'Every child, in every community, needs a fair go'.
Prizes
- Schools can win a 10sqm locally-themed mural at your school painted by Mitch Revs, designed in collaboration with students (1x primary prize, 1x secondary prize).
- Early Education centres can win $500 towards a special treat for their centre community.