24 August 2020 (Term 3, Week 6)

CEO/Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Another week passes and more COVID-19 restrictions are making life at school look very different. The limit on visitors to the Mater Dei site has meant that our normal interactions with parents and carers has been impacted significantly. Thank you for accommodating the parent-teacher meetings by telephone. Let’s hope we can return to normal next year. I will be hosting an online Principals’ Forum by Zoom in lieu of the Parents and Friends Meeting planned for Monday evening 7 September. Feel free to join me if it suits you. Details will come closer to the night.

At the moment we are considering how to appropriately farewell our graduating students at the end of the year. If current restrictions continue we will not be allowed to hold our usual ceremonial or liturgical events in the same way. Please be assured that we will be very creative in making sure that their end of year is special and commemorated in the best possible way, but for now we need to strictly adhere to the guidelines set down by the health authorities.

Thank you once again for you cooperation and understanding in these challenging times. May 2021 be a brighter year when we can go back to our tried and trusted ways of being with each other in this wonderful community.

Kind regards,

Mark Raue
CEO/Principal

New Website Launch

If you haven’t recently visited us online at www.materdei.org.au you will find that things looks very different… we have a new website!

We’re excited to be able to connect better with our community through a modern, user-friendly site. We thank you for joining us on the journey as we continue to populate this new site with exciting content and images.

Get online and start exploring!

Winter School Uniform

A reminder regarding the Mater Dei Winter School Uniform.

• Woollen V-neck jumper may be worn with year K-6 winter uniform.
• Blazer and/or woollen V-neck jumper may be worn with year 7-12 winter uniform.
• Sports zipper jacket is only to be worn with the sport uniform.

School Calendar

School Calendar via Newsletter (Schoolzine)

If reading the Newsletter on your device, you can access the School Calendar by clicking on the Hamburger button on the top left of the screen, underneath the School banner.  You can also sync the calendar with your own calendar by clicking on the "sync calendar" button.

School Calendar via Compass

The school calendar can also be viewed on Compass

From your computer (recommended due to presentation of calendar):

Click the calendar button on the top toolbar

From your device (not recommended due to presentation of calendar):

1. Click on the hamburger button at the top left of the screen

2. Click open in browser

3. Click the calendar button on the top toolbar

Compass Update

Thank you to Parents and Carers for their engagement with Compass this term by booking Parent Teacher Conferences, viewing reports and completing Insight Surveys.  During Parent Teacher Conferences, many of our families provided feedback and were excited to be getting photos home each week on what the students were doing in class.  Some of our avid Compass users advised they find it beneficial to use both the App and Website for different reasons.  The App is the easiest was to access Class and School Newsfeeds which give notifications on events and important school updates. The website is easier for viewing reports and completing insights.

For any families requiring password resets or support with Compass, please email:

Management of Students with Epilepsy at Mater Dei School

As part of the review process for our student’s with health care needs, we will be requesting annual updated reviews for students with Epilepsy.  Each year families will be required to meet with their doctor and provide the school with an updated Seizure Management Plan. 

A seizure management plan is a document providing essential information to Mater Dei on how to assist someone who is having a seizure.  They are a practical tool that can be used by all staff to manage seizures and seizure emergencies, treatments and safety.  This will help to minimise both the impact of seizures on the person’s daily life and the risk of injury in the event of a seizure.

Please see attached an example of a Seizure Management Plan and Emergency Medication Order (if required) from the Paediatric Epilepsy Network NSW.  This can also be located in Compass in the School Resources section. In the event of suspected seizure activity for students who are not yet diagnosed with Epilepsy, Staff will follow standard Epilepsy First Aid (see attached poster). For more information regarding Epilepsy, see http://pennsw.com.au or https://www.epilepsy.org.au.

Staff Professional Development Day

On Friday 14^th August, Teachers and Teachers Assistants participated in Professional Development on:

• Universal Design for Learning - Teachers considered how to provide multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression. Teachers reflected on previously taught lessons and applied the principles to future lessons.
• Strategic Planning – Teachers and Assistants reflected on school/Benedictine values and contributed to long term visions and goals.
• 2021 Planning

National Science Week Engineering Days

National Science Week was embraced by Mater Dei this year with Engineering Days following the 2020 theme, Deep Blue. Kindergarten to Year 3 students solved a problem to design and create a floating raft. Their success criteria included that the raft must float and the person must not fall off. Year 4 to Year 12 solved a problem to design and create an aquaculture fish farm. Their success criteria included that the top must float, the fish must stay wet and predators like seals must be kept out. All students took on the role of being an ocean engineer in a small group. Following the Engineering Design Process our Mater Dei Ocean Engineers asked questions, drew plans, imagined ideas and types of materials that could be used, created, tested, improved and re tested to achieve the success criteria. The Engineering Days were a great success with students showing active engagement and a desire to follow Engineering Habits of Mind; I try and try again to make things better; I am a problem solver; I investigate the properties and uses of materials. Well done Ocean Engineers!

You can keep following our Engineering on Twitter:  @Engineer4Allau

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Parent/Teacher Conferences

Thank you to all Parents/Carers for contributing to your child’s personalised planning via our Parent/Teacher Conferences that occurred on Tuesday 18^th and Wednesday 19^th August. Although these had to occur remotely, it is still a wonderful opportunity to connect with the class team, discuss progress and set future goals.

K-6 Book Week Parade

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) have made the decision to postpone Book Week 2020 until Term 4. Therefore, our annual K-6 Book Week Parade, scheduled for Friday 28^th August, will now be postponed until Term 4. Date to be advised.

Father’s Day Stall

We are unable to facilitate our Father’s Day Stall which was scheduled for Tuesday 1^st September, due to current COVID restrictions. Our Father’s Day stall is usually hosted by some wonderful parent volunteers. Our students will miss seeing these parents this year and getting the opportunity to purchase a gift. Our students will no doubt still be bringing home some wonderful creations made with love this Father’s Day.

Pupil Free Day

Students are not required at school on:

Friday, 4 September (Week 7) – Staff are participating in CPR training update, hosted by Wave Learning.

Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day to all Mater Dei Dads and Father figures for Sunday 6^th September!

Mufti Day

A Mufti Day is scheduled for Friday 11^th September (Week 8)! A day for students to wear casual, comfortable clothes with closed in shoes. No donation required!

Senior Retreat

Due to the continued difficulty and ever-changing circumstances around COVID-19, Mater Dei’s 2020 Senior Retreat will now be facilitated ONSITE conducted by Wedderburn Christian Campsite at Mater Dei, on Thursday 17^th September. This decision has been made to ensure experiences can still occur for our senior students during a very difficult year.

Celebration of Learning

Unfortunately, due to continued COVID-19 restrictions we have had to cancel our second Celebration of Learning scheduled for Friday 18^th September. Keep an eye out on our School Facebook Page and your Compass Newsfeed for more opportunities to be closer to the classroom.

Principal's Assembly

Our next Principal’s Assembly will be held on Friday 25^th September. As per previous communications, due to COVID guidelines, this will be a student-only event. No visitors. The assembly will be limited to 15 minutes and there will be no class presentation for prayer and learning. Photos of award recipients will be published to the school Facebook page.

P&F Meeting

An online Principals’ Forum by Zoom in lieu of the Parents and Friends Meeting is planned for Monday, 7 September.  Please feel free to attend.  Details will be made available closer to the night.

PAN COVID Update

Due to COVID-19 restrictions and the need for planning and preparation, we have made the decision to change the format of our Performing Arts Night for 2020.  This year’s theme will be “Mater Dei’s Got Talent” and students have been preparing a class act to feature in our show.  We are currently working on how this will be shared with family and friends, with the most likely format being viewers purchasing a link  Although, we are unable to gather as a community during this time, we are hoping we can gather as a virtual community and continue to enjoy the talents of our students.  As a result of this format, students who DO NOT HAVE VIDEO/PHOTO PERMISSION will NOT BE RECORDED and therefore will not be able to appear in our online performance. They will continue to participate in rehearsals with their peers, however will be strategically placed to ensure they DO NOT appear in the video.  If you wish to change your child photo/video permission, please contact the school by Wednesday 2^nd September. Over the coming weeks more information will be sent home via Compass or your class teacher.

Flyer - Term 3 Canteen Update

'Texts4families' project by Positive Partnerships