THE WAY (Term 1 Week 8 - 16 March 2020)
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Going Deeper
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Announcement
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Donated Items For Bushfire Affected Community of St Joseph’s Kempsey
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Voluntary Accreditation at the Higher Levels
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Koori Kids - NAIDOC Week School Competition
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STEM in the Diocese for 2020
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NESA Notice: Updated Geography K-10 syllabus released
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Sydney Symphony Orchestra Opportunity
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NAPLAN Update
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HSC Marking Support 2020
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Better Together: Strengthening Family School Partnerships Pilot
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Positions Vacant
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My Learning
St Therese of Lisieux states: ‘For me, prayer is a burst from my heart, it is as simple glance thrown toward heaven, a cry of thanksgiving and love in times of trial as well as in times of joy’.
Prayer is being with God, it is a simple decision to make time and space just to sit with God, it may take many forms but at its core it is the desire to be with one who desires to be with us. In prayer God strengthens, consoles and guides us even though it might not feel like it though it at the time.
In the busyness of school-life it is understandable that a lot of people feel that they are simply too busy to pray. The Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft responds like this:
‘Lack of prayer is the cause of lack of time’.
To learn more click here.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE APPOINTMENT
Kathryn (Kathy) Robson has started a new role as Administration (Reception) at the Coffs Harbour CSO Annexure. Kathy was previously at St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour.
This week, the St Joseph’s Primary, Kempsey school community was very generously gifted with a pallet of school and student resources donated by a community in Toowoomba, Queensland. This donation encapsulates beautifully that in a crisis, the ‘Aussie Spirit’ of helping those in need, and reaching out to our neighbours suffering hardships, is alive and well.
Mary Ann Steinberg from Toowoomba, Queensland was the woman behind the project, and together their community donated a large amount of school supplies to help support students as they begin a new school year. Equipment and resources that we all normally take for granted; schoolbags, drink bottles, pencil cases, stationary, paint supplies, books, folders and much more, was very generously packed and sent to our community, to help those families who have had to deal with this bushfire crisis in a very real way.
These supplies have been shared amongst affected families, and the school and OSHC community. On behalf of our whole school community, our Principal, Mr Guy Campbell, shares a heartfelt thanks to all those who donated items to support our community, and all communities in need, for it is through charity and helping others, that we are truly serving God.
Article submitted by Erin McGovern, St Joseph's Primary School, Kempsey
The information meeting will be held face-to-face at Invercauld House, Goonellabah. If there are five or more people in both Port Macquarie or Coffs Harbour areas who register interest, there may be the opportunity to Zoom for those venues. Should this be the case, staff will be notified once registration has closed.
The course (different to information sessions held in the Diocese during 2019) will be interactive and a minimum number of participants is required to run.
For staff who are considering seeking accreditation at the higher levels, the course will support the annotation and collection of evidence and would be considered an essential first step.
Please register on My Learning via the link below if you are interested in this course.
My Learning Registration Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher
The Koori Kids National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week School Competition has provided an educational component to NAIDOC Week Celebrations, and has promoted respect and harmony within schools and communities. The initiatives have grown each year and continue to get bigger each year, with the sustainability focus on partnerships with the schools and the Catholic Schools Office.
Taking part in NAIDOC Week competition is a great way to celebrate Indigenous culture and build bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and to encourage all school students to take this opportunity to think about Indigenous history, culture and society. Please see the attachment for the competitions available to students and the entry form.
https://sites.google.com/lism.catholic.edu.au/lismstem/home
This year we are offering two different initiatives, one will be familiar, the STEM Partnership Grant up to $7000, the second is new and centres around a STEM Challenge for Stages 2-4.
The STEM Challenge involves students choosing their own project based upon real world experiences and/or real world problems. The challenge involves students choosing, in their context, a "real world problem" and then using a design process to come up with a solution for that problem. This would include using aspects of the four disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The scope of the challenge is totally open, and encourages the students to form groups within the school, class or if a student has a particular interest an individual entry. The possibilities are limitless for projects that are new and we welcome all types of projects, providing they have a clear link to the spirit of STEM.
The challenge also has a showcase. Registered participants will need to submit their entries for prior judging via the STEM website. A panel will assess each entry, provide feedback and then school winners will be invited to showcase their projects at one of two presentation events. Venues will be confirmed when numbers are established.
- Thursday 5 November (North)
- Friday 6 November (South)
All information regarding the Partnership and the Challenge can be found under the #STEM.lism.2020 page on the updated site.
If you have further questions or queries please don't hesitate to contact either Tim Kelly or Debbie Dwyer.
NESA has made some minor adjustments to the Geography K–10 Syllabus.
See the version log for the Geography K–10 Syllabus for further details:
The amended Geography K–6 Syllabus has been reprinted. You can buy print copies from the NESA Shop.
When: Friday-Sunday, 22-24 May
Where: Northern Rivers Conservatorium, Lismore
Age: Students in years 5–12 (ages 10–18) are invited to apply
Level: AMEB Grade 4 and above
Visit the Sydney Orchestra website to find out more at www.sydneysymphony.com/playerlink
Click here to access the 2020 Playerlink Poster
Applications close 27 March.
Please see the attached memo for more information.
The attached document is a system report to outline the learnings of the Better Together: Strengthening Family School Partnerships Pilot.
The Family School Partnership team from the Catholic Schools Office working in partnership with pilot schools, have reported positive outcomes for strengthening partnerships between the school and families through the use of new methodology.
Information on employment opportunities within the Diocese of Lismore are available via Positions Vacant.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE
- Education Officer – Pastoral Care
SCHOOL
- Child and Family Support Worker – St Mary’s Primary School, Bowraville
Staff are reminded that individuals are required to register for all professional learning courses through the My Learning site. The site has the facility to recommend courses to others. This will be potentially useful for Principals and Assistant Principals who wish to recommend staff to register for particular courses.
Staff are reminded that the closing date for courses is five working days prior to the course.
To register, please visit My Learning.
EMU Middle Years Specialist Teacher Course Day 3 - EMYSTCDAY301
This is day 3 of a 6 day course. This course is for staff who have completed days 1 and 2 only.
- 28 April - Grafton District Services Club Grafton
EMU Middle Years Specialist Teacher Course Day 4 - EMYSTCDAY401
This is day 4 of a 6 day course. This course is for staff who have completed days 1, 2 and 3 only.
- 29 April - Grafton District Services Club Grafton