Term 4, Week 4 (31 October 2023)

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK

I recently listened to each of our current Year 11 students present their leadership speeches during an assembly that included students from Years 5 to Year 12 along with parents, carers and family members. Each student spoke about their personal values and attributes, and the many ways that they have contributed to our Mater Dei community. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about each of them and I congratulate Year 11 on overcoming their nerves and on the wonderful job that each of them did in their presentations. During the assembly I acknowledged our current Year 12 students and spoke about the positive role models that they have been for all students, particularly Year 11. I thanked the current Year 12 captains for the leadership that they have shown and asked them to enjoy these remaining weeks of school as they head towards their graduation events where I will have further opportunity to speak about the legacy they will leave on our school community. 

I would like to personally acknowledge and thank our Parents and Friends Committee for their efforts throughout this year, particularly with our recent Country Fair. Melissa Pascoe, Country Fair Coordinator, Laurie Cuthbert, Outside Stall Coordinator, Karen Witherspoon, P&F President, and many other Mater Dei parents, carers, families, friends, and staff, ensured that the day was a successful community event for all who attended. Having heard about the torrential rain that hindered the Country Fair last year, the sunshine was certainly a welcomed sight. Walking around amongst the stalls, performances, games and rides, it was abundantly apparent that people were enjoying each other's company and having a great time. Again, well done and thank you to everyone who contributed, organised, volunteered and participated in the day. I encourage all parents and carers to consider coming along to a future P&F meeting, your presence would certainly be welcome. 

I am looking forward to the PAN events this week. There is certainly a ‘buzz’ in the air, or perhaps more like the sound of ‘hard rock’ coming from each of the classrooms as Mater Dei transforms into a School of Rock! The planning, rehearsals, logistical organisation and fine tuning is something to be witnessed and I am certainly grateful for the efforts that our staff make to ensure that PAN is a successful experience for our students and families. There may be a ‘cameo’ appearance on the night and I would like to declare that the story, names, characters, and incidents portrayed in PAN are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental (more will be revealed on the night). 

Below I have included some details about the Sisters of the Good Samaritan and two projects currently being coordinated by The Good Sams Foundation where you may be able to provide support. 

The Sisters of the Good Samaritan (or Good Sams) were Australia’s first ‘home grown’ order of religious women, established in Sydney in 1857 by Archbishop Bede Polding.  They take their name and inspiration from the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29) and share a commitment to be ‘neighbour’ to those in need, with a special focus on assisting vulnerable women and children. In the early days the Sisters walked the streets of Sydney, bringing direct assistance to those suffering and living on the streets. The Good Sam community now stretches across Australia, the Pacific and Japan. There are Sisters, Oblates, graduates and students of Good Sam Colleges and many supporters and friends, all who take inspiration from that simple yet compelling story told more than 2,000 years ago.

The Good Sams Foundations’ purpose is to connect Good Samaritans to create a safe and sustainable future for women and children in need. In keeping with the Sisters of the Good Samaritan’s ministries, the foundation’s priority is to provide a safe haven, education and empowerment to people living in Australia, the Philippines, Kiribati and Timor Leste. Their programs have reached over one thousand women, children and families through thirteen programs spanning four countries. The women and children living in the communities they serve are facing challenging circumstances including food insecurity, domestic violence, financial hardship, and extreme weather conditions. Feeling safe contributes to mental and emotional well-being.  Education empowers individuals to make informed decisions, participate actively in their community, and advocate for their rights. 

THE PHILIPPINES CHRISTMAS TOY DRIVE

Every December the Good Sams Foundation invites children and families in need to a Christmas celebration.  A much-loved part of the festivities is the Christmas toy giving. The toys are not expensive; $5 is the highest price tag. Toys represent more than just a material possession, they symbolise happiness and hope and allow children to imagine, daydream, and express their emotions. 

1,000 toys for 1,000 children
You can help to achieve this ambitious goal by making a $5 donation.

Donating is easy

• Click the donate button below (or go to https://good-samaritans.raisely.com/)
• Select Philippines $5 toy drive as your donation preference
• Please donate before 24th December so that we can deliver the toys
  in time for Christmas

Your $5 toy will give a gift to a child in the Philippines who, without you and the Good Sams Foundation, would go without this Christmas.  

Urgent Appeal: Collecting used laptops and any USBs for students in Timor Leste.

East Timor is home to numerous students who face incredible challenges in their pursuit of education. These young minds are not deterred by the absence of public transport or the fact that they often have very little food to eat at times. They firmly believe that education can be their ticket to a brighter future. Many of them walk for about an hour each way to use a university's computer, highlighting their unwavering commitment to learning.

Can you help the Good Sams Foundation source laptops for 65 tertiary-level scholarship students in East Timor? Your contribution will go a long way in bridging the digital divide and empowering these young minds to reach their full potential.

Here's how you can make a difference:

Monetary Donation: Consider making a donation towards the purchase of new laptops for these deserving students. Your support will directly impact their education and future. You can donate by clicking on the provided link on our website. 

Laptop Donation: If you have a second-hand laptop that is in good condition or even some USBs, your generosity would be greatly appreciated. Please let us know by emailing us at info@goodsamsfoundation.org.au, and we will coordinate the logistics of your laptop donation.

Kind regards,

JENNIFER FOLDES
PRINCIPAL

SCHOOL NEWS

MISSION & VISION

The 1st of November is All Saints Day, a Feast Day observing the lives of the many Saints for whom there is no specific feast day during the year. The following day, 2nd November, is All Souls Day which marks a day of prayer for, and remembrance of, the faithfully departed: relatives, friends and strangers who are no longer with us.

How to Love Your Neighbour 

With countries in our world in absolute turmoil, these words remind us of how our words and actions can affect others.

You can have lots of theories about love, but what does it actually mean in practice? St Martin of Tours was a young soldier in the fourth century. He was riding his horse in the coldest part of the winter when he met a beggar sitting at the side of the road by the city gate. He had nothing to give him, but in a moment of inspiration he drew his sword, cut his cloak in half, and gave one half to the beggar.

That night, St Martin had a dream. In the dream, Jesus was wearing the half of the cloak that Martin had given away. Jesus said to the angels, “See how Martin has clothed me with his robe.” It’s a true story, and a beautiful symbol of the love of neighbour that all Christians are called to.

Jesus said to his followers: “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” Then he went further and said, “Love one another, as I have loved you”. And he went even further and said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

It’s a radical call to love without conditions, without calculation, without expecting any reward. We are called to a sacrificial love that seems to go beyond the normal call of duty and even beyond what seems reasonable.

Sometimes we need to stand up for ourselves, to stand up for others, and to stand up for justice. And it doesn’t mean that we are without joy. So many of the encounters that Jesus has with others are filled with joy. There is a lovely phrase. It goes like this: “Life grows by being given away.” We receive more, in unexpected ways, when we give more.

SHARED LEARNING

Our school continues to have positive interactions with our fellow Good Samaritan Education and Diocesan schools.  This week, our year 5/6 classes will go over to St Gregory’s Junior School to have social interaction through maths and physical education games.  We also have four students from St Patrick's College visiting our four primary classes, every Tuesday afternoon for Term Four.  

WORLD TEACHERS DAY

Last Friday, 27 October, we celebrated World Teachers’ Day. World Teachers' Day is an opportunity to celebrate and thank our teachers for their important role in our communities and for the positive impact they have on the lives of our students.

PEDAGOGY

3/4 Polding students love to be actively involved in their learning in the classroom. One of the most engaging ways to learn is to have a try using hands-on materials. During a mathematics lesson about volume and capacity, Mrs Langham’s students were pouring and measuring water in 100ml increments. They soon learnt to pour carefully and slowly so they matched the measurements accurately. They also worked out that it is easier to read the measurement scale if you position yourself at eye level. 

3/4 Polding also enjoy reading in their classroom, however sometimes it is the students who ask to read to the whole class. Keep up your engaging lesson learning 3/4 Polding.

WORKPLACE LEARNING UPDATE

The final cohort for this term of year 10 students are enjoying attending their workplace learning at Meals on wheels Camden where they deliver meals to elderly residents in our local community. Students  build on skills such as communication, confidence, organisation, following job processes and travelling to and from the work place. They participate in a hands-on experience of what it’s like to work within a food delivery and packaging organisation.

WPL Date Reminders for term 4 -

Last week of WPL for term 4:
Years 11 and 12 – Week 5
Year 10 (Meals on Wheels) – Week 7

WPL thank you morning tea and assembly  - Wednesday 15 November – Week 6

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

END OF YEAR IMPORTANT DATES

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.

Students should not attend Mater Dei if unwell or displaying COVID symptoms and only return after completing isolation and/or when symptom free.

LABELLING UNIFORM ITEMS

Just a reminder to families to please label all items of clothing as this greatly helps us in finding the owner of any missing items.

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

Maisy and Prue’s friends came to visit last week. Sable and Krystine will come to Mater Dei when Maisy and Prue are unable to come to school. 

We welcome Sable and Krystine to the Mater Dei family!

EVENTS

PAST EVENTS UPDATE:

Recently Miss Marco and Mrs Twine attended a professional learning workshop facilitated by Catholic Schools NSW. The focus was about planning and implementing adjustments for students with disability to create learning opportunities for all students at their age and stage of education. Miss Marco and Mrs Twine had opportunity to meet with other teachers from other Catholic Schools to engage in the sharing of knowledge and school practices for students with disability.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

PERFORMING ARTS NIGHT

We can't wait to see you all this Friday, 3rd November!

A reminder that students will need to be dropped off at Camden Civic Centre between 5:45pm and 6pm on Friday afternoon.

CAROLS AT MATER DEI

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)

1. Click on the student
2. Click on the 3 lines in top left corner
3. Click Open in Browser
4. Click on Community Icon (2 heads)
5. Click on School Documentation
6. 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 

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COMMUNITY NEWS

YERONGA SCHOOL UNIFORM SHOP 

Yeronga Camden store is moving to larger premises!

Over the next 2 weeks Yeronga will be moving into a new store, and apologise for any inconvenience to the community, but it will be great once they are finished.

Their current Camden store will continue trading for now, and the new store will be fully operational by Monday 23^rd of October.

New Address: