CELEBRATING SENSATIONAL

BIG WRITE & VCOP SUCCESS

Last week our Year 1 and Year 4 students came together and worked collaboratively through the “Big Write” process. The students were first asked to select a writing topic from the three visual images their teachers had provided. What a difficult choice……. Superpowers, Magic Shoes or Qantas flight! Following that, the younger students teamed up with an older buddy and together they orally planned their writing. With great excitement and creative juices flowing, sensational pieces of writing eventually came together. It was wonderful to then watch the students editing and ‘uplevelling’ their work. They exchanged basic words for “vivacious vocabulary” (also known as “wow words”), and they made sure their composition included “outstanding openers” and “cool connectives”. The final check was to ensure that “powerful punctuation” was included in their work.

Well done Year 1 & Year 4 teachers and students on your enthusiastic approach to being “Big Write and VCOP” pioneers in our school! The rest of our St Nic’s staff are currently being trained and can’t wait to incorporate this methodology in their learning spaces in 2020.

QUESTACON SCIENCE CIRCUS

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to float off into space? What forces slow us down? Or maybe you have enjoyed dropping a fancy word like “ viscosity” among your friends!

Last Friday every student at St Nicholas School enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the Questacon Science Circus. The school was split into different stage groups to share lots of science concepts. At one point Halley Buckman went floating across the auditorium on a giant hoverboard!

Throughout the year we try to present different activities for the students both in and out of the learning spaces so as to ignite an enthusiasm, passion and interest in Science and the STEAM subjects.

HELPING YOUR CHILD LEARN TO READ

A Parent Guide

As mentioned in Mr Clery's message, we have been notified that St Nicholas School will be receiving the Australian College of Educators HTB Harris Memorial Award for our Parent Reading and Numeracy Workshops and Guide.

Learning to read is a lifelong skill. In the past we have held parent reading information nights, however in an effort to reach a wider audience and to be more accessible to parents, we have created a video presentation. In this video we share information that will help assist parents to support teachers with the task of teaching our children how to read. There are five main areas that we focus on in the presentation and each week we will release a short video of one of the areas; 1 Phonemic Awareness and Phonics, 2 Supported Reading, 3 Pause, Prompt and Praise, 4 Story Book Reading, 5 Sight Words.

In this issue we look at the final two videos, Storybook Reading and Sight Words.

Storybook reading is a wonderful opportunity for parents to read to their children and model expression and fluency. It is a fun way to help a child's reading development by expanding their vocabulary and grow their imaginations.

https://youtu.be/kGL-mXLb3co

Sight words are a collection of words that a child should learn to recognise without sounding out the letters. They are common and frequently used words that occur in up to 75% of early children's reading. Combining sight words with phonics instruction increases a child’s speed and fluency in reading.

https://youtu.be/FADiixTLbww

We hope parents will gain a few helpful tips and insights from the weekly videos as we work in partnership together to give children the best start when learning to read.

PRINCIPAL FOR A DAY

One of the great opportunities we give our Year 6 students in their final term of primary school is to step into the shoes of Mr Clery and become Principal for a Day. Over the holidays the students were invited to write a formal letter of application which were shortlisted by a panel of three Year 5 students, Mrs Robyn Burke and Mrs McSweeney. Six students were shortlisted and invited to present for an interview today with the panel where they could articulate their responses to questions put forward to them. Congratulations to Mia Shvili, Cooper Holzigal, Yentrang Tran, Angus Barwick, Tilani Smith and Caitlan Myers who were the final six to be interviewed. Tomorrow, Mr Clery will announce the successful applicant at our morning assembly. This student will have the opportunity to become Principal for a Day on Monday 4th November.

KINDERGARTEN 2020

Our Kindergarten classes are now full for 2020. If you have a child starting Kindergarten in 2020, please mark your diary with these upcoming Term 4 dates. Any queries, please contact our office staff.

Orientation Day 1

Monday, 4 November 2019 - 9.00am to 11.00am

There will be three orientation sessions for Kindergarten 2020 children. The Orientation Days for children are significant in helping children familiarise themselves with the school environment and helping to make the transition to ‘big school’ so much easier. These days are also used by teachers to make observations which may help us to cater for your child’s needs. Children should be dressed in appropriate casual clothing with a hat and closed in shoes. Your child should bring a water bottle and cut fruit for morning tea each visit.

Morning Tea for Kindergarten 2020 parents (hosted by 2019 Kindergarten parents)

Monday, 4 November 2019 - 9.00am to 11.00am

St Nicholas School Auditorium

On Monday, 4th November (first of the orientation days) parents are invited to morning tea in the school auditorium. This morning tea is hosted by our current Kindergarten parents and will give Kindergarten 2020 parents the opportunity to meet each other while having the opportunity to receive valuable information regarding uniforms and bus travel. New and second hand uniforms will be for sale as well as the school bag, hat and book bag.

Orientation Day 2 - 9.00am to 11.00am - Monday, 11 November 2019

Orientation Day 3 - 9.00am to 11.00am - Monday, 18 November 2019

Kindergarten Best Start Interviews - Thursday, 30January to Tuesday, 4 February 2020

Kindergarten 2020 students start 2020 school year (full school days) - Thursday, 6 February 2020

STUDENT ABSENCE

Please notify the school if your child is absent. Due to government legislation, notification of your child's absence must be received no later than 7 days after your child's last day of absence.

You can do this in the following three ways ....

1. Telephone our office staff (office hours 8am to 4pm).

2. Email our office staff (admin@stnicholastamworth.catholic.edu.au).

3. Use the school website home page to send through a student absentee.

Many parents are surprised by their child's absence details when receiving the end of Semester reports. Please do not panic. Notifying the school can be easily forgotten, especially when caring for an ill member of the family. If you are in doubt as to whether you have notified the school, please contact our office staff and they are more than welcome to print you a list of your child's absences and rectify.

MCCARTHY CATHOLIC COLLEGE

Year 7 2020 Orientation & Information Night

ORIENTATION DAY

Monday 2 December 2019 - 9.30am to 2.30pm

McCarthy Catholic College Hall

Students from St Nicholas School will be transported to MCC at 9.00am and returned at 2.30pm with Hannafords Coaches. Students are to wear their full primary school uniform and bring their own morning tea, lunch and a drink bottle. All students will be met by senior student buddies on their arrival at the College.

PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT

Monday 2 December 2019 - 6.00pm to 6.45pm

McCarthy Catholic College Hall

Following the Year 7 2020 Orientation Day we will be holding a Parent Information Night to discuss important information for the transition of your child to high school at MCC.

If you have any questions in regards to Orientation Day or the Parent Information Night please contact: Mrs Belinda Gleeson-Barker

Enrolments Officer

Telephone: 02-67610802

Email: bgleeson@arm.catholic.edu.au.

SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS

All parents need to be aware our supervision of students does not begin until 8.15am each day. We are becoming increasingly concerned that children are being dropped off and left on their own, unsupervised by parents before this time - often up to half an hour earlier. This is not a safe or acceptable practice. Currently students are expected to come in and sit in the Holy Family Courtyard unsupervised and wait. We cannot be responsible for any accident or potentially harmful incidents occurring. Please organise alternative care for your child if your child requires supervision before 8.15am.

SCHOOL STUDENT TRANSPORT SCHEME (SSTS)

For information visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts

2020 SCHOOL TRAVEL APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

Applications for student travel in 2020 opened on Friday, 11 October 2019.

Students progressing to year 3 and year 7 no longer need to re-apply if they:

· are continuing at the same school

· are residing at the same address

· have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification via email.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.

Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails

Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2019 to ensure student entitlements are updated and their current entitlement/card is not cancelled. If their application is submitted after 31 December 2019, the system will automatically cancel an entitlement/card and a new one will need to be issued.

Students residing in Rural and Regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the commencement of the new school year from their nominated operator, this may be distributed via the school or sent direct to their address. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students/Parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.

COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD

TAMWORTH REGIONAL GALLERY

WALK 'N'TALK FOR LIFE