Term 3, Week 4 (8 August 2023)
FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK
SCHOOL NEWS
MISSION & VISION
PROPHETIC VOICES EXPERIENCE
Last Thursday, Saul, Breeana, Nathan and Tom attended a gathering of Good Samaritan Education students at Varroville with Good Samaritan Education staff. The students with invited guest speakers discussed important social issues such as Indigenous perspectives and inclusion within society. On Friday, we had the students and teachers visit Mater Dei to engage in the history of our wonderful site and to interact with our staff and students in their classrooms and playgrounds! We have received such positive feedback from the colleges about their visit!
GOOD SAMS FOUNDATION EDUCATION GRANTS 2024
We are delighted to offer GSF Education Grants for students attending Good Samaritan Colleges in 2024. Please see attached flyer.
Applications for 2024 grants are now open and close at midnight on Thursday 28th September 2023. All applicants must complete the application form and provide a reference from our Relieving Principal, Ms Jenny Foldes. Please note applications will not be received after the closing date.
ST BENEDICT
This Friday we will celebrate St Benedict’s Feast Day! The rule of St Benedict offers us countless opportunities for reflections of our own. It challenges us to remain faithful to our stated Benedictine values by translating those values into our everyday lives at Mater Dei and beyond. The Rule may have been written 1500 years ago with a very different audience in mind but even, or perhaps especially, reading in and between the lines, it offers us wise counsel for today. Mater Dei’s Values include Peace, Community, Love of Christ and Neighbour, Discipline, Stewardship, Prayer, Justice and Peace.
ST GREGORY'S JUNIOR SCHOOL
Today, we had our visitors join us for some Maths and Physical Education activities! We enjoyed having the St Gregory’s students and staff interact with our students and staff. It is a fantastic joint initiative between the two schools.
CURRICULUM
The work placement has commenced, and the stage 6 students have seamlessly acclimated to their new environment. They are enthusiastic about pursuing their predetermined objectives. The students have embraced their fresh job opportunities and are eagerly honing their skills within the industry. Their dedication to focusing on personalized goals is evident, and they are open to self-determination in case new goals emerge.
SPORT NEWS
NSW ALL SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY
On Friday 21st July, Jack C, Cooper, Lilly-Rose, Maria and Marco represented Combined Catholic Colleges and Mackillop at the NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships at Eastern Creek Raceway. All students ran extremely well, against tough competition. Jack finished in 3rd position in the 16-19 year boys MC 3km event and Lilly-Rose finished in 3rd position in the 11 year girls MC 2km event. Lilly-Rose and Jack have been selected to represent New South Wales at the National Cross Country Championships in Canberra, later this month.
WOLLONGONG DIOCESE ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
On Friday 28th July, Jacob C, Justin, Jack C, Thomas, Ian, Cooper, Austin, Jessica, Ruby, Torey and Maya represented Mater Dei at the Wollongong Diocese Secondary Athletics Championships.
On Friday 4th August, Maria, Rosie, Lilly-Rose, Marco, Corrado, Marius and William represented Mater Dei at the Wollongong Diocese Primary Athletics Championships.
At both events students competed in the 100m, 200m, shot put and high jump. We are waiting on results to find out which students will progress to the next level.
WELLBEING
ONLINE GAMING
Online games can be great fun for your child, but make sure you can help them manage the risks.
What are the benefits and risks?
Many games can improve your child’s coordination, problem-solving and multi-tasking skills, as well as help build social skills through online interactivity with other players. But it is important to understand what might go wrong.
Risks of online gaming include
- impacts on your child’s health and social spending too much time gaming, which can have negative and emotional wellbeing
- bullying and grooming through online or in-game chat
- costs of in-game spending.
How to create a safer gaming environment for your child
- Prepare — locate the computer or games console in an open area of your home and use available parental controls and safety features for devices, browsers and apps.
- Build good habits — help your child protect their personal information by using a screen name that does not reveal their real name. Teach them not to click on links provided by strangers, like ‘cheat’ programs to help with game play, which can contain viruses or malware.
- Agree on strategies to help them switch off — like a timer that signals game time is nearly over, with consequences for not switching off.
- Stay involved — talk regularly with your child about their gaming interests and who they play with online. Play alongside your child to get a better sense of how they are handling their personal information and who they are communicating with.
- Be aware of what they are playing — games vary in their level of violent or sexual content, and may contain themes, language and images that are unsuitable for your child.
- Empower your child — wherever possible, help them make wise decisions for themselves, rather than tell them what to do. Try to provide them with strategies for dealing with negative online experiences that will build their confidence and resilience.
PEDAGOGY
In Science, 3/4 Polding have been learning about Weathering and what it does to the Earth's surface. They learnt about the different types of Physical and Chemical weathering. One type of physical weathering is erosion. The students enjoyed re-creating a model of erosion using wave action. First they made their own beach then simulated the wave action with water. They could clearly see the coastal erosion with their sand spreading and their rocks moving. The students were able to relate this type of erosion to the Twelve Apostles landform.
K Samaritan started the term with Mrs Wylie teaching them Science. They are exploring different materials and identifying their properties. They started by trying out some binoculars and magnifying glasses to notice how they work. Then they made their own binoculars or telescope to use while they sorted objects into three categories, made from wood, plastic and metal.
YEAR 7 AND YEAR 10 VACCINATIONS
Public Health Unit Liverpool will be at the school on the 14th of August to administer Year 10 students their meningococcal ACWY vaccine and to administer any catch up vaccines to students in Year 7.
Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://nswhealth.service-now.com/school
A step by step guide to how to consent can be found here: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/online-consent-school-vaccination.aspx
If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form directly from your child’s school.
For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination or call the Liverpool Public Health Unit on 9794 0855.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent Teacher Conferences will be occurring this week across four days from Monday 7th August to Thursday 10th August from 4:00-6:30pm.
Any families who did not book will be allocated a day and time and advised via diary then will be called on the phone at the allocated time.
The above is all subject to change based on current COVID guidelines from NSW Government and any changes will be posted on Compass.
Mater Dei Teachers are looking forward to meeting with their class parents this week.
P&F COUNTRY FAIR
P&F FATHER'S DAY STALL
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.
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
This fortnight has seen Maisy join the primary students on the playground during break times. The students have been enjoying the opportunity to have a pat and to play with Maisy.
Secondary students commenced their responsible pet ownership lessons last week. At the end of the week, they were all excited to receive a special visit from Maisy.
EVENTS
Both our Teachers and Teacher Assistants participated in Professional Learning together to upskill their knowledge and understanding about some learning difficulties that some students may encounter. The staff reviewed information about Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia and Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Smaller groups presented posters to share information including definitions and strategies for adjustments that could be implemented within the classroom.
KINDERGARTEN 100 DAYS OF LEARNING
On Wednesday the 2nd of August K Samaritan students celebrated their first schooling milestone of reaching 100 days of learning at Mater Dei School! To celebrate, students dressed as themselves but as 100 years old! The grey hair, glasses, suspenders and walking sticks created for lots of laughs and fun for the day! Students completed some fun activities with Miss Duffy and Sophie, all themed around the number 100 and included counting to 100, placing 100 stickers on a chart, drawing themselves as 100-year olds, creating crowns and finally the students favourite activity of the whole day decorating their smart cookies!
It was a wonderful day for our students to showcase just how much they have learnt in their first 100 days at Mater Dei! Congratulations K Samaritan Students, Sophie and Miss Duffy are super proud of your achievements so far!
ST BENEDICT'S FEAST DAY
NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK
Students from Kindergarten to Year 12 will be involved in National Science Week at Mater Dei. The theme for this year is all about Innovation! Mrs Twine has some exciting innovations to show and tell.
BOOK WEEK
Book Week this year is between 19-25th August. Our K-6 annual Book Week Parade will be held on Friday 25 August, at 11:30am in the Carmela Ritchie Hall! This event is a highlight in the Mater Dei calendar! The theme for this year is ‘Read, Grow Inspire’. Students are encouraged to wear outfits from characters in books, that are low maintenance and low cost. Everyone is welcome to attend!
FOUNDATION DINNER
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.
JOIN US ON OUR SOCIALS
COMMUNITY NEWS
DISABILITY MACARTHUR
Disability Macarthur run a Peer Support Junior program that offers care for young people with low to high needs disabilities form 5 years old to 17 years old.
The program has three programs it runs which are:
- After School Care
- Saturday Programs
- School Holiday Vacation Care.