Dear Parents

It was a delight today to visit Kindergarten who were dressed as animals for their virtual zoo excursion. The children watched the elephants at Taronga Zoo, linked up with the Coastal Environment centre at Narrabeen and took part in an animal hunt in the Shared Space. It was fantastic to see the smiles on their faces and to hear the roars as I walked in the door. Thank you Mrs Hocking for providing Kindergarten such an enjoyable alternative to what was going to be their excursion to Taronga Zoo today.

There has been a great deal of activity throughout the school this week. Year 4 went on a Geography field trip yesterday to Manly Dam as well as taking part in Robotics and Yoga. Year 3 were flying parachutes today as part of their Science unit and most students completed their Bear Pit speeches today.

Preparations are being made for classroom refurbishment work that will take place over the next school holidays. All classrooms, except Year 2 and Stage 3 will be having new carpet, lights, Interactive White Boards and acoustic pin boards installed.

Earlier this week, extra restrictions were placed on schools to prevent further spread of COVID-19. Since my communication on Tuesday, there has been clarification around some of the restrictions. The good news is that we are allowed to go ahead with our Athletics Fun Day next Friday! Parents however will not be allowed to attend. As there are no other representative athletic events this year, the emphasis will be on modified track events and games. The students will be walking to Millers Reserve at 9am and will return to school around 11am. More details will be sent home next week.

We are still awaiting clarification on restrictions around before school and lunch groups such as Eye-Heart Science, band ensemble and drama club. At present, these are not going to continue for the remainder of the term but I will update you when changes come to hand.

Thank you to all our families for your diligence when it comes to keeping your child at home when they are unwell. Symptoms of COVID-19 can be as simple as a scratchy throat or a sniffle. If your child has a COVID test, you must wait for the negative result before returning to school. The school must also sight the negative result, whether it be a certificate or an email. This requirement is part of the restrictions introduced this week.

The number of responses to the survey that was distributed last Friday has been very good to date. The survey will close early next week so I encourage you to complete it over the weekend when you get the chance. The School Advisory Council will be collating the survey data over the next few weeks.

This weekend and over the following weekends, many of our Year 3 students will be making their First Eucharist. This is a significant event in the faith journey for these children and their families. Congratulations to all these students on this momentous occasion.
 

God Bless

 

Congratulations to the following students who received Merit awards this week:

KB:  Ivy A and Emily X
1B:   Jorgie A and Emme O
1W:  Jude C and Fletcher C
2B:   Madeleine G, Billy B and Madison B
2W:  Felicity M and Natasha M.
3B:   Bellinda D, Zara B, Patrick H and Sophia T
3W:  Lucy W and Lexie P
4B:  Nina F, Toby S and Zaara B
4W:  Oliver F and Sophia S
5B:  Mya B and Nicholas H
5/6:  Eve C and Lachlan D
6B:  Amelia S and Jaden W
PE:  Hayley O and Thomas K

Best wishes to the students who will be making their First Holy Communion this weekend. Thank you to their parents and teachers who have helped prepare them for this Sacrament.

This week our Monday morning prayer was based on the Feast of the Assumption. Thank you to the Year 4 students who lead the school with reverence and respect. 

This week Year 1 spent an afternoon at church with their teachers and Fr John Sullivan O.S.A.  They explored the area around the Baptismal Font and looked at the various oils our church uses in our Sacraments.  Once again our thanks go to Fr John for facilitating our student’s knowledge of their faith and providing rich interactions with our parish and the Church.

Yours in Religious Education
    Mrs Kerrie Wetzlar

As part of our Geography program Year 4 enjoyed a field trip to Manly Dam yesterday. Students observed micro climates, identified plants and flowers, recorded information about leaf litter and took leaf rubbings. We also listed made and natural features of the area and looked at ways in which we are preserving and sustaining our environment. 

From the Students . . . . . .

Group 1
I loved the walk both there and back. I loved the beautiful nature and animals. The other thing I liked was looking at the flowers using our flower I.D. They were beautiful and smelt amazing. The golden wattle smelt like vanilla. 

One of my favourite parts of the field trip was when we used the quadrat and drew what we saw in the squares.  My other favourite part was when we drew the wetlands and had our food by the beautiful water. 

One of my favourite parts was doing the leaf rubbing, and doing the flower I.D.  There were lots of things about nature that I never noticed before. So, for me, I think that walking / climbing was really fun, and leaf rubbing did the drawings so that you didn’t have to draw it yourself. The quadrats were a lot different to what I thought they were, but the whole thing was fun after all.

My Favourite part of the field trip is was when we sat down on the grass and ate our food and watched the swans and ducks play. It was fun and I'd like to do it again
 
Group 2
One thing that was really fun was doing the quadrats and drawing them in the booklet. Another thing I liked doing was climbing up the rocks and through the tracks to try to find the flowers. It was fun when we went to the rocks. I love drawing all the ducks as they were so cute. I loved seeing all the flowers and drawing them. I really liked doing the leaf rubbing. I also liked when we were trying to find all the flowers in the wildflower booklet. I also think that quadrat was really fun because we got to draw it in our booklets. I think the walks there and back were both super fun. 


 
Group 3
We got to do leaf rubbing and find all the different flowers. We also got to use quadrats and copy what we saw into the booklet. We saw some beautiful animals like a duck and a goose and we got to do a sketch of bushland and wetland. 
 
After sitting on the grass eating our recess we went to the rocky bit of Manly Dam and used our quadrat. We used our flower booklet and went on a hunt to find all of our listed plants. To me the highlight of the day was when we sat on the grass together and had a chat and saw lots of small birds, majestic swans and noisy ducks. We sketched the lake and gazed at the birds, this was the highlight of my day.
 
Group 4
One thing that I loved was the amazing walk. I loved seeing the beautiful animals and the amazing bush walk and to see all the beautiful flowers in the bush walk was such a good experience.

When we arrived I was excited to do our quadrat and when we did do it you could see all of the flowers in the ground and there were different types of leaves that looked really cool.

My favourite part of the field trip was when we did the leaf rubbings.  It was really easy and fun. I also loved the smell of the trees and flowers. We also grabbed a magnifying glass and saw things close up.
 

Group 5
I loved the field trip because we got to do lots of fun things like leaf rubbings, use our quadrats and go on a bush walk.

We got to look for flowers and plants that were interesting. We found Old Man Banksia, Australian Bindweed, Water Gum, Honey Thyme, Myrtle, Boobialla, Wax flower and Black-Eyed Susan. The teachers gave us a map while we were walking. We were trying to figure out where we were.

Remember to enter books read as we are nearing the end of the 2020 Premier’s Reading Challenge which closes next week on 28 August. Currently 105 students have completed the challenge. Keep reading - there is still time to complete the challenge.

Cool Kids - Taking Control is an online self-help program that is designed to help children (7-12 years) who have been targets of bullying and who also have high levels of anxiety. It is based on the well-known Cool Kids anxiety program developed at Macquarie University in Sydney. The efficacy of Cool Kids - Taking Control in reducing peer victimisation is currently being investigated by a team at Macquarie University.   The program is designed to teach children skills to manage bullying and anxiety with the intent to help them better manage these experiences in social situations. These lessons will be conducted outside of school hours and are designed so that parents work through them with their child over 10 weeks. The family’s progress through the program will be supported by a member of the research team at the Centre for Emotional Health.  For further information click here.

Sacramental Program News First Communion 2020

For information regarding baseball registration click here.

SNHN (Sydney North Health Network) has created a range of useful resources to inform Northern Sydney community members about COVID-19, including:

• ‘COVID-19 testing options explained’ factsheet (linked and attached) – we have outlined the main differences and key details (including links to booking and location information) in a one-page factsheet, so community members can decide which testing option is most appropriate for them and their family
• Community information website, including where to get tested in the Northern Sydney region, advice on maintaining physical and mental health during the pandemic, and more.