St Cecilia's Newsletter Term 2, Week 6 2024

A word from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

I cannot believe it is already week six of term two and we are heading towards another half a school year completed. Our dedicated teachers are in the midst of finalising the children's mid-year school reports. This is always  a meticulous and thorough process, designed to provide you with a clear and detailed understanding of your child’s progress, achievements and effort towards their learning. 

Last week, during our FLIP (Families Learning in Partnership) meeting, Mr. Madigan introduced the new system-wide reporting template. This template is an exciting development as it aligns with the updated outcomes in the NSW Syllabuses. It will not only enhance the quality and clarity of our reports but it was implemented to promote consistency  across all schools in Broken Bay.

The new template has been crafted to provide a more coherent and uniform approach to student assessment, ensuring that all parents receive a comprehensive and consistent overview of their child’s educational journey. This alignment with the updated syllabuses will better reflect the current educational standards and expectations.

While these reports are an important tool in understanding your child’s academic progress and efforts, I want to remind you that they are just one part of the bigger picture. Our children are unique individuals with a wide array of gifts and talents that may not always shine through in a school report. From excelling in sports and showing creativity in the arts to demonstrating compassion or leadership in community activities or pursuing personal passions, each child has their own special strengths. These aspects of their lives are equally valuable, significant and worthy of celebration.

Lastly, I want to express my gratitude to our teachers for their hard work in preparing these reports. Their ongoing dedication ensures that each child's progress is accurately and thoroughly documented. We look forward to sharing the mid-year reports with you in the last week of term. In week two of term three, all parents will be given an opportunity to meet again with the class teacher for the second goal setting meeting this year. We look forward to working together to support your child's growth and success.

God Bless

Marta Chylewska 

New School Phone Number

We have recently made the transition to Microsoft Teams which means we now have a new school phone number. Please save this number in your phone!

The old number will divert to the new line for a few weeks before it is disconnected.

Staying Connected

Eileen O’Connor Catholic School Parent and Student Survey, Catholic Schools Broken Bay Vision of Learner Diversity

Eileen O’Connor Catholic School will provide quality Catholic education for students with a disability from Kindergarten to Year 12. Collaborating in the Mission, focusing on human flourishing, using Christ’s example to serve, we believe that every child is a unique individual created by God and valued as an individual learner with strengths, gifts, and talents.

Eileen O’Connor Catholic School (EOCS) will provide a flexible and responsive model of education for students with disability through the structure of a Base School located in Tuggerah and a network of Support Classes in local parish schools across Broken Bay.

Catholic Schools Broken Bay currently has Eileen O’Connor Support Classes for students with a disability at St Martin’s Catholic School at Davidson, St Brendan’s Catholic School at Lake Munmorah and Prouille Catholic Primary School, Wahroonga.

Engaging with our schools and wider community has and will continue to be a priority to ensure we seek feedback, gain further insights and give opportunity to update as we progress to fulfilling our vision of providing an inclusive model of education for students with disability focused on strengths to promote engagement, enable learning growth and flourishing. 

We now seek further engagement and consultation and would appreciate your time in completing this brief survey. For more information, please visit www.eocsdbb.catholic.edu.au.

Survey Link

Year 6 at Canberra

Our Year 6 students will be heading to Canberra next week for their 3 day and 2 night excursion. This trip promises to be an exciting and educational experience, and I am thrilled to be joining them on this adventure with Miss Clancy and Mr Murton. In my absence please reach out to Mr Madigan for any emergencies. 

St Peter's Secondary College Enrolments for Year 7, 2025

St Peter's are currently reviewing all enrolment forms that have been submitted for their 2025, year seven cohort. If you currently have a year six child who you are hoping to enrol into St Peter's I would encourage you to submit the paperwork by the end of this week, to avoid any disappointment. I know the spaces are limited due to increased interest in the school.

Where the number of applications exceeds the number of available places, or  where distinction in potential enrolments is required, offers of enrolment are made in accordance with the following priority order:

Secondary Schools:
1. Baptised Catholic children who have attended a CSBB primary school for at least the previous 3 years and have completed the appropriate sacramental programs.
2. Siblings of children who are already enrolled in the school.
3. Baptised Catholic and other children who have attended a CSBB primary school for less than 3 years.
4. Baptised Catholic children from non-CSBB schools.
5. Children from other Christian traditions, other faith traditions or non-churched backgrounds.

NB: Where there are no vacancies at a particular school, parents/carers will be 
supported by CSBB for enrolment at another CSBB school.

School Services Team

School Office Staff

On Monday and Friday the school office is staffed with only one member of our School Services Team. As you can imagine the school office can be a very busy place with phone calls, sick bay, visitors, teachers and other staff. We kindly ask that if you call the school and your call is not answered, please try again or send us an email on scw@dbb.catholic.edu.au and we will return your call as soon as possible.

Teaching and Learning Matters

The Catholic School Broken Bay’s Numeracy Vision is: - Our students will embrace Mathematics!

Our students will be confident to examine and question, explore connections, and challenge themselves. Our students will develop a deep understanding of Mathematical concepts and appreciate how these concepts are interrelated, can be applied to everyday thinking and influence decision-making. In doing so, they will become adept and skilled Mathematicians and numerate 21st century citizens.

You can make a huge impact on your child’s mathematical attitude and success at home, in many simple ways. Making maths fun and relevant in everyday situations supports and encourages your child to explore concepts and take on challenges.  Three simple things you can help to make a difference with your children’s understanding and application of mathematics concepts at home.

Be positive about maths. Try not to say things like "I can't do maths" or "I hated maths at school" – your child may start to think like that themselves.

Point out the maths in everyday life. Include your child in activities involving numbers and measuring, such as shopping, cooking and travelling.

Praise your child for effort rather than for being "clever". This shows them that by working hard, they can always improve.

This link takes you to resources that can assist you, helping your child with mathematics at home.

https://curriculum.nsw.edu.au/resources/teaching-resources?stage=early_stage_1%2Cstage_1%2Cstage_2%2Cstage_3&q=parent&syllabus=mathematics_k_10_2022

Religious Education Update

SIMON HYLAND

To enhance and strengthen the Catholic culture within our school, we were fortunate to host Simon Hyland. Simon, the Senior Lead of the Evangelisation team at CSBB, is not only a gifted singer and songwriter but also a driving force behind our efforts to deepen our spiritual experiences. His recent visit left a lasting impact on our school community, and we look forward to incorporating many of his songs in upcoming liturgies and masses. His song Magnify can be found on Spotify. 

YEAR SIX LEADERSHIP

During the term, Gabby Scherer, our Wyong parish youth coordinator, led a year six session that emphasised effective leadership and the significance of teamwork. The students actively participated in two engaging activities: ‘Missing Piece’ and ‘Mindfield’. Through these activities, they learned to value each other as unique individuals, just as God values each of us. Additionally, they discovered the importance of trust in the Lord.

YEAR SIX SHOW CASING THEIR FABULOUS LEARNING IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Year six have been learning how the Bible is the foundation of the faith tradition of Christianity; its significant people and events. To highlight how this sacred text is written by people as a revelation of God the year six students have been exploring the meaning of different Bible passages. In particular, the students examined the story of when Jesus calls the First Disciples (Matthew 4:18-22) by creating beautiful artworks. Important words, that resonate from the scripture have been chosen by each student and incorporated into their paintings.

Year six students have been researching the significance of the Bible as the foundation of the Christian faith tradition. They have explored how this sacred text, written by people, serves as a revelation of God. Specifically, the students closely examined the story of Jesus calling the First Disciples (Matthew 4:18-22) and expressed their understanding through beautiful artworks. Each student selected important words from the scripture, which they skilfully incorporated into their paintings.

Congratulations, year six! Your respectful behaviour towards Gabby Scherer is commendable, and your meaningful artworks truly shine! Keep up the fantastic work!  

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

PEC Update

SHINE CONFERENCE 

Last Friday I accompanied our Pastoral Team and School Captains at the SHINE Conference at St Peter’s Catholic College, along with a host of other schools from the Broken Bay Diocese.

The event was hosted by the Youth Ministry team at St Peter's with the focus on assisting students in exploring their faith journey and leadership in their lives.

They were inspired to actively participate in their faith and the school and college community.The SHINE Conference was an exciting and spiritually uplifting experience for our students and was a fantastic opportunity to explore the college and all it offers. This event also provided the students with an insight into the 'bigger picture' of spirituality and Youth Ministry at St Peter’s. 

They were so well behaved and it was a privilege to attend this event with them.

Blessings

Jo Helm 

Parent Engagement Coordinator

Shine!

Sports News

Upcoming Sporting Events!

Paul Kelly Cup Final - Thursday 20th June

Stage 3 Netball Gala Day - Friday 21st June

Stage 2 Netball Gala Day - Friday 28th June

Classroom Connections

Year 4 have just completed a unit in mathematics focused on the big idea: What needs to be measured determines the unit of measurement. Part of this unit focused on measuring time. We completed a sample of work before and after our learning to show our growth in understanding. Be amazed by how much our leaning has grown when you see the before and after work samples.

Before

After

Awards & Acknowledgements

Congratulations to the following children for their achievements! The listed award recipients will receive their award at Friday morning's assembly at 8:45am!

Academic Achievement Award

PBL Award

Personal Best Award

Term 2 Key Dates