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In last week's Gospel, Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. The message of stewardship is that God's gifts, shared with others, will always be more than enough.
The Gospel ....
Matthew 14:13-21
Upon hearing the news of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus seeks to withdraw, but the crowds follow him. Jesus reaches out to them in compassion and heals the sick. At the end of a long day, the disciples encourage Jesus to send the crowds away so that they might find provisions for themselves. Jesus again responds with compassion for the crowd. He tells his disciples to provide food for the crowd. The disciples reply with a collection of their own provisions—five loaves and two fish. The result is the very familiar miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. Matthew's Gospel tells us that 5,000 men were fed, and this number does not even include the women and children.
Jesus' blessing brought abundance from the smallest provisions of the disciples. In this action, Jesus offers us a sign of the Kingdom of Heaven that he has been teaching about in the parables. A feast results from the smallest of portions—remember the mustard seed and the yeast. In this miracle we witness an example for Christian life and ministry. Even the smallest of offerings can produce abundant results when placed in the service of the Kingdom of Heaven.
We find the story of Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and the fish in each of the four Gospels. In the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, Jesus performs this same miracle on two separate occasions. The story of this miracle is an anticipation of the Eucharist in which we are fed by the abundant grace of God. The importance of the Eucharist has been a defining element of Christian life from the very beginning.
Through the gift of the Eucharist we are called to show compassion, love and understanding to others, to be Christ for others.
Dear Parents and Carers,
On Saturday August 8th, we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. On this Feast Day we are called to pause and reflect on the wisdom her life experiences offer to us in this time.
Mary MacKillop was a woman who dared to believe in her dream and to trust in God. She lived the Gospel faithfully as a missionary, and this trust gave her the courage to take risks and to break boundaries. It called her to travel down rough roads and on stormy seas into places well beyond her imaginings. Her presence brought an explosion of God’s love to the most needy in Australia and beyond, thus improving the lives of those who were poor. She was a woman before her time with an incredible vision and is indeed a Saint for all people.
Trusting in Mary can light our path. No matter what darkness she entered or how uncertain she was at times, Mary never wavered in her belief that the work she was doing was the work of the Holy Spirit. She never doubted that hers was a call from God. Nor did she ever waver from her sense of duty – that there were certain things that she simply had to do, even if she didn’t want to do them, even when she found them painful.
Mary MacKillop brought about a change in the newly colonised Australia. Australia was a tough place at this time, there was little money and very few people. Mary, through her work in the Church, brought about a better living for all Australians.
She is Australia's first saint and a Saint for all the world to follow her example.
At 10:00am on Saturday 8 August, the Wollongong Catholic Diocese will be broadcasting a special Liturgy to celebrate the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop with Bishop Brian and the Sisters of St Joseph. It will be a wonderful occasion to come together to pray, sing and reflect on the life of Australia's only canonised Saint. As per usual, the Liturgy will be broadcast on the usual channels: YouTube, Facebook and the Diocesan website
On Monday morning, at Flag Raising, Miss Ferderer challenged the students to continue to live our lives reflecting on one of the key messages of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
Let us all take time over the coming weeks to see the needs of others and respond just as St Mary of the Cross Mackillop would have.
Wishing you many blessings over the coming week,
Jane Webb
Principal
PB4L
During Week 3 we have had a PB4L focus on Playground 3, especially the out of bound areas. These were explained by Mrs Cotterill at Flag Raising on Monday morning and then reinforced by each class teacher with their class during the week. Playground 3 is the large grassed area at the back of the school and a popular playground for students across the school to go to during break times and run around with their friends.
Mrs Cotterrill also updated our House Points by announcing that Sarkis is in front at the moment with Term 3 house points. At the end of last term MacKillop received their mufti day as a reward for earning the most points during Term 2. With students engaged in remote learning at the end of Term 1, Rose house missed out on their mufti day for being the winning house in Term 1. We will make up this reward day for them on Friday 28th August (Week 6).
Teachers will also be following up and awarding house points for wearing the correct uniform. It is important that we all work together to maintain our standards and adhere to the uniform policy. Thank you to all of the students who take pride in consistently wearing the correct uniform and to the parents for your support with this.
Once again I remind you of the expectations around hair in our school’s uniform policy. The emphasis is on “neat” and “tidy” hair so girl’s hair, which is longer than the shoulders, must be tied back using accessories to match the colours of the school uniform. Boy’s hair must be evenly cut without any extremes like shaved lines or sections. Please note that apple watches or interactive watches are unable to be worn at school.
We look forward to the many things coming up in the next few weeks, including our celebrations tomorrow in honour of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s feast day and the raffle and mufti fundraisers to raise money for our Vinnies Sleepout.
Alison Fazio
Assistant Principal
Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop - Saturday 8th August ( To be celebrated Friday 7th August at school)
St. Mary MacKillop, also known as St. Mary of the Cross, was an Australian nun declared a saint by the Catholic Church.
Her vision was to provide education for underprivileged children. Mary MacKillop was committed to serving the poor – to going to where the need was and living amongst those in need.
To celebrate her feast day, children will take part in a walking timeline learning about her life and mission. We will also be playing a range of games that would have been played in the schools of Mary MacKillop in the 1800s.
We will conclude our day with a liturgy led by our Year 6 leaders.
Return To Mass
During these unprecedented times it is important that we continue to engage with our faith and in the practice of going to Mass. Beginning next week classes will return to the Church on a rotational basis attending the parish Mass. Most classes will attend Mass twice throughout the course of the term and Years 4-6 will also attend Reconciliation.
In line with the Parish’s COVID safe plan students will sit away from other parishioners and staff will sanitise pews students have used before leaving. All students attending will have their name and family contact number recorded by the Parish Office.
We ask that you please contact the school office if you have any concerns about your child attending Mass or if you would prefer they did not attend.
Vinnies Sleepout
Our Fundraising Efforts
Fundraising Page - $2 278. Thank you for your generous donations. If you would like to make a donation please click on the link
https://my.fundraise.vinniesnsw.org.au/vinnies-community-sleepouts/olhc-sleepout
Lolly Fundraiser- Students loved eating their lolly bags and we raised $250!
Future Fundraisers
Weeks 3 and 4 - Raffle tickets are being sold via a note that went home to parents on Monday and students can purchase tickets at break times next week.
Week 5 Friday 21st August - a gold coin donation for our Blue and White mufti day
Friday 21st August- Teachers sleepout at OLHC
Ripples
The Catholic Education Office has developed a podcast to support the spiritual formation of staff and parents.
Ripples seeks to offer a space where people can draw on the wisdom of a series of guest speakers and can experience some treasured stillness through meditation. On Tuesday of each week a new Episode and Meditation are released. Practices like these create a ripple effect. They have the potential to impact the way we respond to family, friends, colleagues, to others in our world, to creation and to our loving God.
The Ripples Podcast is available on the Continuity of Faith and Learning website, on Podbean. and Apple Podcast.
Natasha Ferderer
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Students Unwell at School
If your child is not feeling well please keep them at home, in order for them to rest and recover.
If they need to have a COVID-19 test please make contact with the school office to inform the school of the date of the test as well as the test outcome.
At the current time, when your child is sent home from school exhibiting any flu-like symptoms, it is necessary for you to obtain a medical clearance from your GP prior to your child returning to school.
For your information, a sample of the letter that will be sent home with your child can be found here.
Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding especially at the current time.
Sport News
Due to the current circumstances of COVID-19 we are investigating the Term 4 events of swimming lessons for Years K-4 and the surf days for Year 5 and 6. We will continue to communicate with you about these upcoming events.
National Tree Day
“ Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the Earth.” - 1 Chronicles 16:23
National Tree Day is celebrated on the 31st of July and it has grown into Australia’s largest community tree-planting and nature care event.
At OLHC we responded to this call for action by getting our hands dirty! Our school community came together and planted over 50 native trees. Students, along with teachers, had the opportunity to play an active role in learning and contributing to the improvement of our environment. It is important to inspire and educate children to care for our land, in order for them to grow up as environmental custodians.
Celebrations and Sharing of Food
In light of the current environment that we are living in, we ask that you please do not send in birthday cakes or food to share with the class. I understand that this is something that the children enjoy, however, we need to maintain controlled safety and hygiene procedures in the school. If you would like to send in something to acknowledge and celebrate your child’s birthday, you are able to send in packaged goods only (eg, packets of Maltesers, small wrapped chocolate bars etc such as a Freddo Frogs). We will notify you when these restrictions are lifted.
Local School Funds Community Grant - Bottle Refill Station
Last year, under this Federal Government scheme, our school was awarded a grant for a water bottle refill station. This station has been installed between the Year 5 and Year 3 classrooms. We thank and acknowledge the Federal Government for this grant. As our students cannot use the bubblers, we hope this station is particularly useful for our community, particularly as the weather starts to warm up.
Clothing Pool
Until further notice, if you wish to obtain some part of our uniform from the Clothing Pool, please telephone the office with the size and what you require and a member of staff will select the clothing and send your requirements home with your eldest child.
Banking has re-commenced and takes place on a Friday.
This app should be downloaded so you can be kept up to date with the latest events and information from the school. This app is also used for distribution of the Newsletter. Please download the app from your relevant store. For more information please see the attached flyer "Accessing the Compass App".
eSafety Website
Social and Emotional Learning
Over the past few weeks, students have continued engaging in mindful activities. Social and Emotional learning helps students understand their emotions, manage their emotions, maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions.
Students have been engaging in mindful activities and tools that they can use to regulate what zone they are in. They have worked on journaling and guided mindfulness. These mindful activities and tools can be adapted to suit your child at home. Guided mindfulness is led by the classroom teacher or can be led by an adult at home. During guided mindfulness students are encouraged to awaken their senses and explore their surroundings. During journaling students were able to think about and ponder on a reflection question that was given by their classroom teacher.
Over the weeks students have been exposed to a range of methods and have a large toolbox of activities they can use to understand and manage their emotions. Students will be continuing to use the zones of regulation and mindful activities every day at school after Break 2.
Reading
Staff have continued engaging in professional learning in reading. Some classes are working on vocabulary. Vocabulary is critical to success in reading. It is important that when your child gets to an unknown word in a text you encourage your child to stop and have a discussion around the word.
- Brainstorm possible meanings. Point out any parts of the word that may help with the meaning.
- Can you reread the sentence?
- Can you read on to find what the meaning may be?
- Are there any clues that help you work out the meaning of the word?
- Let’s look the work up in a dictionary or internet.
Seesaw
During last term, I conducted a survey with parents. These survey responses were analysed and have informed future planning. Survey responses showed that parents would like to see current work samples of their child’s work. Staff will be using Seesaw across Years K-6 to share student work samples. I kindly ask all students to have Seesaw downloaded and available on their device. Students in Years 3-6 will require this app on their device that they use at school.
Please give our school Facebook page a like. We regularly upload photos of students through this platform and would love to keep our school community updated. Select the link below for our OLHC Facebook page.
Alana Stroligo.
Happiest of birthdays and congratulations to the following students who celebrate a birthday in August:-
Max Athanassiou, Roberto Barrett-Vizcaino, Skye Bishop,
Monique Brticevich, Maddison Burke, William Chanhdara,
Olivia Ditotto, Dante Foweraker, Charlotte Good,
Isabella Hili, Sienna Holmes, Alexis Jahshan,
Orianne Lennon, Amelia Lisita-Cocheci, Katrina Panikian,
Annabelle Smith, Sancia Soares, Isaac Soriano, Benedict Wijaya,
Leo Vagaja.
The Canteen is currently only open to provide Break 1 lunches - orders need to be at the Canteen by 9.00am. Please write your child's name, class and what they wish to order on a paper bag and enclose the correct money, if possible. We will advise you when this situation changes.
Please note: Banana Milk is no longer available for purchase.
The Canteen is run by Made Fresh. Should you have a need to contact the Canteen, please email Maria at "made.fresh@yahoo.com" or telephone 0410 481 150.
- Monitors will be present to assist and ensure required protocols and health requirements are fulfilled. Once Mass starts, the doors will be closed.
- After Mass you will be provided with a disinfectant wipe to rub over surfaces where you have been sitting or come in contact with.
- Toilets will not be open
Please find information attached from CatholicCare regarding Mindfulness.
HSC Supervisors Required
Please see the attached flyer from John Therry regarding HSC supervisor positions.
Ingleburn Softball Club
Please see the attached flyer regarding registrtation days for the 2020 season.
Lowes Australia Sale