Dear parents and carers,

Grandparents Day – Thank you to all of our very talented grandparents and stand in grandparents who were able to come along and join us last Friday morning, it was terrific to see you all!

When it came to playing some board games, it was terrific to see something of a “competitive spirit” appear… It was a fantastic opportunity for the children to test themselves against players of skill and knowledge.

Already, the children are asking if there will be an opportunity for a “re-match” at some point soon!

Thank you to everyone who helped with the arrangements for morning tea, it was an excellent morning.

During this week, both Miss Schneider and Mrs Heath have been continuing professional development courses that they have been working on across the year.

Miss Schneider has worked on the Writing Project with staff from a number of Archdiocesan schools.

Both Miss Schneider and Mrs Heath have attended the Berry St training program commenced during Term 1. It is focused on the Berry Street Educational Model. This is based on Berry Street’s approaches to trauma-informed learning and the science of wellbeing. The Berry St School is located in Richmond VIC.

Kinder Transition - Orientation mornings for our 2020, Kinder students continued yesterday. The children have begun preparing a small presentation for our final Transition morning in a few weeks’ time. They also completed a variety of activities in their classroom. Next week will be our final Transition morning for this year.

Congratulations – to Skye, who has really taken on board the Mary Mackillop philosophy of seeing a need, and choosing to do something about it! Please see the message below to find out more about Skye’s project!

Swim Safe – Earlier this week, an information note for our forthcoming swim safe program was sent home. This note needs to be returned to school by Friday November 29.

Please be aware that the school will cover the cost of this year’s program for all students.

Chooks – the chooks have been very busy eating up our lunch scraps and giving us eggs that have been used in a number of different cooking adventures. We are asking if anyone is able to care for the chooks over the summer holidays. If you can help, please let us know. 

Choose Water to Drink – Grenfell Community Health has kindly donated a drink bottle for every child, which has been distributed to the students this week to encourage the children to drink more water. I encourage you to take the time to read the attached information sheet provided by Community Health – as it contains many useful pieces of information of which you may not be aware.

P & F News – our P & F held the final meeting for 2019 earlier this week.

Please note the Annual General Meeting is to be held on Tuesday February 18, 2020 at 7:00pm in our school library. All executive positions will be vacant 

Scholastic Book Club – the book club order forms have been distributed.  All purchased now need to be made online using Scholastic’s LOOP ordering system.  Instructions are on the order forms.  If you need assistance setting up an online account, please ask.  Book Club orders need to be completed by Friday, 29 November 2019.

Year 6 Graduation Mass Presentation Photos – We would like to kindly remind parents that school related photos of your Year 6 child, depicting a range of activities throughout their schooling, for the end of year school Graduation Mass presentation, are to be submitted to the school as soon as possible. Submitting these now will allow ample time to compile the presentation.

Library – as we are now moving towards the end of the year, please start looking for those extra library books to return to school. They might be under the bed, on the coffee table, in the pile of things on the kitchen bench.

All returns will be gratefully received – our record for the most overdue library book in this period is 256 days, I wonder if we can beat that.

Sincerely

With the smoke haze a very tangible reality, even here in Grenfell, today’s prayer is for all those suffering from the devastating effects of bushfires.

Bushfire Ecumenical Prayer

Almighty God, your son Jesus Christ has promised that you will hear us when we ask in faith: receive the prayers we offer:

For those who have experienced loss

We pray for those who lives and livelihoods have been affected by recent fires.  We pray for those who have lost homes and businesses, for those who were scared and have been traumatized by their experience, comfort and heal them in body, mind and spirit and give them hope of restoration.

Father, hear our prayer – Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For devastated communities

We pray for all the communities impacted by recent fires, and those that are currently being impacted by bushfires, that they may be helped, strengthened and restored by the concern and practical care they are receiving.

Father, hear our prayer – Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For the emergency services

We give thanks for the selfless service of all who fought and who continue fighting the bushfires.  Grant them protection in danger and strengthen them physically and psychologically for the ongoing demands put upon them.

Father, hear our prayer – Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For those giving care

We give thanks for all who are caring for the victims of the fires, for the emergency response teams, service providers, local churches and community groups, and all those assisting at all levels of government. Guide them in their labour and give wisdom that those who have suffered loss may get the care and support they need.

Father, hear our prayer – Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For generosity

We give thanks for the generous response of the Australian people to those in need.  May we give generously of our material wealth as to enable lives and communities to be restored.

Father, hear our prayer – Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For care of the environment.

We give thanks for this world, which sustains us, forgive us for the damage we have brought upon the environment through negligence, indifference and greed, heal your creation and teach us to be good stewards of its bounty.

Father, hear our prayer – Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This week, there is a chance to reflect on which books were favourites with our grandparents and what board games proved challenging for all.

Kindergarten and year 1 students have been investigating the properties of 3 D objects. Students categorised the shapes according to how many faces each object has. Then they counted corners – vertices and edges. Running their fingers along each edge.

Year 2/3/4 have been using pattern shapes to investigate area, symmetry and tessellations. We played celebrity heads with 2 D shape names and students wrote questions about shape properties to give clues as to which shape they were.

Shapes combined to make other shapes.

Symmetry

Year 5/6 have investigated Statistics and Probability. We began with a task of gathering data using tally marks then graphed the results. Then we picked different coloured counters from a collection of 20. Students then assigned fractions, decimals and percentages of the picks, once they discovered what the value of each counter represented, it was easier to achieve.

Proving a triangle has angles that add to 180⁰.