Term 2, Week 4 (16 May 2023)
FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S DESK
Our Mater Dei Choir once again shone brightly on centre stage in their performances at the recent Lipstick Luncheon. I am grateful for the time, preparation and organisation from Mater Dei staff in making this possible. This is yet another example of the many opportunities available for our students across a range of areas thanks to the generosity of all staff. Whether it be on the stage, in the classroom, in the sporting arena or the wider community. There seems to be no end to the possibilities and the lengths that staff will go to, ensuring that our students are exposed to life giving and enriching experiences that assist in the growth and development of knowledge, creativity and spirituality.
It was great to see Healthy Harold visit Mater Dei last week with the Life Education Van to promote physical, social and emotional health and wellbeing with the students. I am hoping that this experience may have prompted some communication at home as well.
With the cooler weather now upon us and the increase in cold and flu-like symptoms present among students, I kindly remind everyone of the importance of please keeping children at home should they display such symptoms. There have been communications sent out via Compass to inform parents and carers about the covid-safe measures in place at Mater Dei during Term 2, along with the types of symptoms to be aware of. Positive cases of Covid-19 in the school are being communicated via Compass to parents and carers of children in the same class/cohort, including school taxi runs, and are advised to monitor for symptoms. There has been an increase in positive student and staff numbers over the past weeks and I again stress the importance of staying at home if unwell and testing for Covid-19 using the Rapid Antigen Test.
STAFF NEWS
Earlier this term we farewelled Ms Annelise Hough as she commenced her maternity leave, and we eagerly await the news of the pending birth of her first child. During the holiday period, Ms Jema Hielman was married and has returned as Mrs Jema Langham. Congratulations Mrs Langham.
MOTHER'S DAY 2023
On Mother’s Day we take the opportunity to reflect on the courage and selfless actions of Mary, “Mater Dei” (Mother of God). The “Mater Dei” statue stands proudly at the entrance of our school, as a welcoming figure to all who encounter it. The loving gaze and bond of mother and child is beautifully captured and is a daily reminder of the nurture and care that we all aspire to in our relationships at Mater Dei.
Mother’s Day can also be a day filled with mixed emotions. For some it means celebrating motherhood with family, for others it is remembering or grieving a mum who has passed, and for others it can be the feeling of longing to become a mum. While it is traditionally a day to celebrate mums and mother figures in our lives, it is also an acknowledgement of all who nurture, love and protect us. I offer this reflection for all by Pastor Hannah Kardon from the United Methodist Church:
To the Mums who are struggling, and to those filled with incandescent joy.
To the Mums who are remembering children who have died, and pregnancies that miscarried.
To the Mums who decided other parents were the best choice for their babies, and to those who adopted and loved them fiercely.
To those experiencing frustration or desperation in infertility.
To those who decided not to have children, and the ways they have contributed to our shared world.
To those who mothered colleagues, mentees, neighborhood kids, and anyone who needed it.
To those remembering Mums no longer with us.To those moving forward from Mums who did not show love, or hurt those they should have cared for.
Today is a day to honor the unyielding love and care for others we call 'Motherhood,' wherever we have found it and in whatever ways we have found to cultivate it within ourselves.
With thanks, love and prayers to all our Mater Dei “mums”.
JENNIFER FOLDES
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
SCHOOL NEWS
MISSION & VISION
“The whole of life of a follower of St Benedict is a life of simple and realistic love for God and for our neighbour. The mainspring of everything in St Benedict is the love of Christ –
in himself, in the poor, in community, and in the individual person.”
Thomas Merton OCSO
2023 IS THE GSE YEAR OF THE NEIGHBOUR THROUGH THE LENS OF HUMILITY AND CONVERSATIO
Our 2023 Year of Neighbour brings into sharp focus Jesus’s redefining of the concept of neighbeyond proximity or familial relationship to all we encounter, even those we are tempted to shun. Living as a neighbour challenges us to see ‘the other’ and to live with ‘unboundaried’ hearts that welcome the stranger and shatter all barriers. It is the call of God to enter into an even deeper immersion in the present needs of the world.
Through the lens of conversatio and humility we are challenged to open and grow in relationship and awareness to explore what it looks like to be in right relationship with God and with all, including the Earth, as we respond to the call to be neighbour.
The Twelve Steps of Humility
These are an initiation to freedom.
If they had been written today, they would have sounded very much like this:
- Recognise God is God
- Know that God’s will is best for you
- Seek direction from wisdom figures
- Endure the pains of development and do not give up
- Acknowledge faults and strip away the masks
- Be content with less than the best
- Let go of a false sense of self
- Preserve tradition and learn from the community
- Listen
- Never ridicule anyone or anything
- Speak kindly
- Be serene, stay calm
SHARED LEARNING
During Term Two, Years 5 and 6 students from St Gregory’s College Junior School, will be visiting with 5/6 MacKillop and 5/6 Gibbons classes. The visits will be fortnightly and the students will be joining to do some maths and gross motor activities together. No doubt, the students will have a wonderful time getting to know each other! Keep an eye on the Facebook page for some photos!
VINNIES WINTER APPEAL
WELLBEING
Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework that promotes positive behaviours in the classroom and school. The PBIS reward charts are utilised to support the social, emotional, behavioural, and academic outcomes of students. Establishing and explicitly teaching behavioural expectations and social norms and providing a high frequency of consistent and specific positive feedback on expected behaviours, sets boundaries for inconsistent behaviours and increases student participation in learning. When giving instructions, in addition to visual aids, expectations are explicitly taught and modelled to students and provide purposeful and timely feedback by teachers about their learning.
Miss Sharnelle Ram in 5/7 Samaritan is acknowledging every student's contribution and rewarding them with a purple star for their learning, a red star when they are demonstrating safe behaviours and a blue star for when they are showing kindness to their peers/ teachers. The implementation of these instant rewards responds appropriately to students in a way that is gratifying and reassuring. Once a student accumulates 10 stars, they receive an individual reward of their choice. And get to level up on the class thermometer, where the class work together to achieve a class reward.
When working towards their individual goals, students feel a sense of self-worth and self-assurance. The effect of personalising reward systems has students feeling a sense of achievement, pride, justice and engaging in meaningful interactions with others. This builds the capacity for positive social relationships. Students work collaboratively towards a common individual and classroom goal and are able to celebrate their achievements both individually and together. Students express their empowerment; a strong and positive classroom culture is formed, and students display content in their efforts.
Reward charts and immediate feedback allow students to teach and learn from each other in an inspiring and stimulating environment. Students better understand the learning expectations not only from explicit instructional teaching but also by seeing evidence-based results from their peers.
PEDAGOGY
Pedagogy can be defined by the method and practice of teaching. At Mater Dei our teachers plan and implement many different pedagogies. I recently visited Mrs Gallagher’s classroom where 3/4M were engaging in a Mathematics lesson. Mrs Gallagher had planned her lesson to focus on subtraction. She implemented a task analysis which assists the lesson to flow one step at a time. One part of the task analysis is to review key vocabulary to ensure understanding before delving further into the content. Mrs Gallagher also encourages her students to physically show her the subtraction and equals sign using body movements. Another step in the task analysis is for the teacher to share the success criteria for the lesson. This is so the students also know the purpose and expectation for their learning. Mrs Gallagher revisits the success criteria at the end of the lesson when the students self evaluate their learning. 3/4M are always eager to participate in their Mathematics lessons.
CURRICULUM
Throughout Semester One, Mrs Robinson has been working with Stage 6 on the Technology and Work in the Community units. In these units, students have learnt about the principles of design and technology while exploring the process of building their own cafe and looking at the elements of being a professional in the workforce. Throughout the unit, students have created a name and logo for our cafe and designed a menu that best suits members of our community. Stage 6 will be opening our cafe up very soon and will be inviting classes, staff and families to enjoy this great place.
SPORTS NEWS
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
COVID - CURRENT MEASURES IN PLACE
Given we are a high risk, disability setting, we wish to remind families of the mandatory 7 day isolation requirement remains in place at Mater Dei for all staff and students who test positive to COVID (including if you are a close contact).
Students should not attend Mater Dei if unwell or displaying COVID symptoms and only return after completing isolation and/or when symptom free.
SCHOOL PHOTOS
School Photos will take place this Friday, 19 May 2023.
Students are to wear their full Winter uniform.
P&F SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE
CANTEEN
Canteen will be running on Friday 26 May 2023.
All orders must be in by 9am the day prior via the student diary. Unfortunately, no late orders can be accepted.
MUFTI DAY
2023 SCHOOL DROP OFF / PICK UP PROCEDURES
STUDENT BIRTHDAYS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
A reminder to families, we are currently not able to share any food at school including birthday cakes. If your child is celebrating a special event, we kindly ask families not to send in homemade treats or birthday cakes.
We understand these are important milestones and are more than happy to distribute individually wrapped, pre-packaged items such as lollipops, freddo frogs and cake bars.
MAISY'S CORNER
In the coming weeks all primary classes will begin the Responsible Pet Ownership program during their social sessions. This program educates the students on what it means to be a responsible pet owner and how to live safely with dogs.
5/6 Gibbons welcomed our four-legged friend into the classroom to join them for their Maths lesson. Maisy will begin to visit all primary classes to start developing relationships with the students. This is an important step in the program as research has linked the important relationship between children and pets to companionship, empowering responsibility and empathy.
EVENTS
LIPSTICK LUNCHEON
On Friday, 5 May we hosted the 14th Annual Ladies Lipstick Luncheon at The Cube, Campbelltown Catholic Club.
Our theme was ‘sowing the seeds of kindness’, and the incredible kindness of our community was on display throughout the day.
The School Choir were once again the stars of the day, performing “Count on Me” and “When I Grow Up”. An additional student performance of “Revolting Children” (from the musical “Matilda”) received a standing ovation from the 550 guests in the room.
Thank you to P&F President, Karen Witherspoon for bravely sharing her son, Jack’s, journey through sport, which the audience listened to intently.
A very special thank you to all of our supporters, sponsors, staff and families for contributing to this wonderful event.
McDONALD'S CHARITY FUN NIGHT
It’s on again! The McDonald’s Charity Fun Night for Mater Dei is happening tomorrow, Wednesday, 17 May.
During dinner on this day, 10% of all proceeds at McDonald’s in Macarthur stores will be donated to Mater Dei (Eat-in and Drive-Thru orders only).
Lock it in your calendars and enjoy dinner with a difference at McDonald’s!
NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME
National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 23nd successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy.
Our Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students will join in this student only event at school on Wednesday 24th May. Their class teachers are planning not only to read this years book but also some fun activities too.
This years book is, The Speedy Sloth by Rebecca Young.
BURGERS ARE OUR THING THIS MONTH!
Grill’d Narellan are supporting Mater Dei in their Local Matters program in May, and you can help.
Simply purchase a burger at Grill’d Narellan in May, and add your Grill’d Token to the Mater Dei jar in display in-store. It’s as simple as that!
1 BURGER = 1 VOTE
So be sure to stop by Grill’d Narellan this month, grab a burger, and put your token vote towards Mater Dei!
G DAY: GRATITUDE DAY - Where we celebrate the great people in our lives.
Friday, 23 June, we will start by celebrating Mass in the school hall and then families and friends are welcome to join the students on the playground for a picnic.
IMPORTANT DATES
HELPFUL REMINDERS
PARENT FORMS AND SCHOOL DOCUMENTATION
School documentation and common forms are stored in Compass for parents to access at any time. Parent Forms can be found by following these steps on your Compass App:
(Steps 1-3 are for App users only)
- Click on the student
- Click on the 3 lines in top left corner
- Click Open in Browser
- Click on Community Icon (2 heads)
- Click on School Documentation
- Click Parent Forms
ATTENDANCE EXEMPTION FORMS
Any families who wish to apply for attendance exemptions to attend therapy services in 2023, please download the Application for Leave Exemption form on Compass, complete and return to schooladmin@materdei.org.au
2023 AFTERNOON ARRANGEMENTS
In the event of either of the following:
- Student needs to be collected by a different family member or family friend over 18 years of age
- Student needs to be collected by parent INSTEAD of usual taxi arrangement for a specified day
Parent/Guardian is required to advise the school of the change, and MUST include the full name of person collecting, PRIOR to 2:30pm on the day of the change. This may be done via one of the following options:
- Noting change in student diary
- Phoning School Reception on ph. 4655 7481
- Emailing schooladmin@materdei.org.au
If your child needs to be collected by a service provider - a Parent/Guardian is required to complete a Collection by a Service Provider form (available on Compass) and email it to schooladmin@materdei.org.au
This form must be received PRIOR to 2:30pm on the day before the new arrangement is to take place.
If unable to provide the full name of the staff member collecting, the Parent/ Guardian is required to arrange the Service Provider to notify the school via schooladmin@materdei.org.au email by 2:30pm on the day the student is to be collected.
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