Term 4 - Week 3, 2021

Acting Principal's Message

On Thursday morning, I visited Mary Help of Christians School in Toormina and saw the devastation of the hailstorm first-hand. There was not a tree with leaves, a car undamaged or a classroom that escaped water incursion. Many people in our school community, friends and family have suffered significant losses and will endure a long road ahead with repairs and insurance claims. Let us keep all those affected by the recent storm in our thoughts and prayers.

This week we celebrate Saint Luke, who was one of the four Evangelists. Like Saint Mark, Luke was not among that select group who walked step by step alongside Jesus as he journeyed through Palestine. He wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles —over a quarter of the New Testament. The two volumes of Luke and Acts are foundational works for knowing Jesus Christ and the early Church.

Warm regards,
Craig Warnes

Acting Principal

Weekly Awards

Abby M - for hearing and recording sounds in writing and recalling sight words accurately.

Rory O - for one to one matching when counting and then counting on.

Eden G - for your thinking on fractions. Great work with 1/4's and 1/8's. Keep it up!

Chloe T - for the effort you are putting into handwriting.

Ruby F - for awesome effort in Maths in converting kilograms into grams! Keep it up!

Cormac O - for awesome effort in writing, helping the class break down the learning intention! Keep it up!

Evelyn B - for excellent reading and comprehension in Guided Reading Groups.

Shyla G - for your continued effort and application in developing your understanding of proper and improper fractions.

Harry W - for being able to demonstrate your understanding of how to simplify and add fractions with different denominators.

Stage 1 Prayer Assembly

This Monday the Stage 1 class is having a prayer assembly. We will be streaming the assembly and sharing the link through Facebook with our school community.

Mini Mounties 'Big School' Experience

We are VERY excited to be able to hold our Kindergarten Orientation sessions in the coming weeks. These will be held from 9:30am to 11am on Wednesday 20th October, 27th October, 3rd November, 10th November and 17th November (please note the change of dates since last week's newsletter).

All children who will be starting Kindergarten in 2022 are welcome to attend. Please call the school on 6657 2552 to confirm your child's attendance.

School Photos POSTPONED

Due to the Level 3 restrictions, which state that external providers not directly related to educational outcomes and support are not permitted on school grounds, our school photos have been POSTPONED to Week 8 – Friday 26^th November 2021.

The order forms which have already been returned will be kept safely at school until this date. A reminder that all order forms MUST be returned before photo day. If you would like a sibling order form, please let us know at school and one will be sent home.

Clarence Zone Sports Nominations - Tennis & Basketball

Clarence Zone is taking nominations for the 2021 Zone Summer Sports in Basketball and Tennis involving students from Year 4 and Year 5. Nominations for Cricket, Softball and Touch Football will be called for in Term 1, 2022.

Please note that due to Covid-19 restrictions, there will be no physical competition at Zone level. Nominations will be assessed on representative history and involvement in regular, strong competition. 

Students who are successful in gaining selection for the Diocesan trial will receive information about the Diocesan trials from their school sports coordinator.

At this stage Diocesan trials will be held in Lismore on; 

-Wednesday 1 December (Tennis) 

-Thursday 2 December (Basketball)

*Please be aware that these trial dates are dependent on Covid restrictions easing and as such may need to be altered or changed at short notice.

If your child would like to nominate, please see Kim for a note.

Crazy Sock Day- Friday 29th October

The Mini Vinnies group is running a CRAZY SOCK day next Friday 29th October. On this day we are asking students and staff to wear CRAZY socks, and bring a gold coin donation. This fundraiser is to support our neighbours in Thailand. If we can raise $35 we can buy school supplies for a child for one year; if we raise $102 we will be able to pay for snacks for one kindergarten student for a whole year. Please help us to help others as we have some fun at the same time.

Thank you for your support,

The Mini Vinnies Group

2022 Enrolments Now Open

We are taking enrolments for 2022. Children are eligible for Kindergarten if they turn 5 by July 31 of that year. All children must be enrolled in school by their sixth birthday. To enrol at Mt St John’s, follow these three steps:

1. Collect an enrolment form from the school office.
2. Return the completed enrolment form to school office.
3. Attend an enrolment interview with your child.

Term 4 School Fees

Term 4 school fee statements were sent home on Wednesday. Term 4 school fees are payable by Friday 12th November, unless you are paying regular direct deposit payments. 
If you feel you will be unable to finalise your 2021 school fees by this date, some financial assistance may be available from St Vincent de Paul - to make an appointment with them, call 0472 718862. You will need to take your school fee statement with you to your appointment.

Several payment methods are available; 

• Regular direct deposit payments (see suggested amounts below).
• Lump sum direct deposit
• Cash
• Cheque

1 student - Term 4 - $276.00

       $46.16 per fortnight (x 25 fortnights)

       $23.08 per week (x 50 weeks)

2 students - Term 4 - $483.00

       $81.28 per fortnight (x 25 fortnights)

       $40.64 per week (x 50 weeks)

3 or more students  - Term 4 – $621.00

       $105.36 per fortnight (x 25 fortnights)

       $52.68 per week (x 50 weeks)

If you would like to arrange a regular direct debit payment from your Bananacoast Credit Union account into the school’s account, the BCU Credit Union in Dorrigo will organize this for you.

When using Internet banking, please use your child’s surname as a reference.

Bananacoast Community Credit Union   BSB no. 533-000

Account no. 3282 0430                 Name: Mt St John’s Primary School

Change of Bell Time - Term 4

During the first three terms of this year, we trialed a change of bell times. The decision has been made to change the times back again, meaning our recess break will now be from 11am to 11:25am, and our lunch break will be from 12:45pm to 1:25pm.

Mathematics Games Video Tutorials

Each week, students are encouraged to play some mathematics games at home to help support their learning at school. Our classroom teachers take students through the homework tasks and to assist families to play at home, we are including a video tutorial in the newsletter. 

Kindergarten - Mathematics Games (see video below)

Bundles

The game we are playing this week is 'bundles'. This game aims to help children build accuracy with one to one matching and making bundles of 10. This helps them then skip count by 10s and notice the number of 10s in other numbers. For example, 24 is 2 lots of 10 and 4 more. To play the game children need a dice, paddle pop sticks and rubber bands. A piece of paper is also useful. You need to set a timer (about 1 min) then children need to continue to roll the dice and gather the sticks until you say stop. They then make bundles of 10. Count their collection and record it. They can then record numbers before and after that number.

Stage 1 - Mathematics Games (see video below)

Number Path Game 

The aim of this game is to be the person to complete the Number Path Template. Numbers on the template must be ordered from least to greatest (smallest to largest) numbers. Shuffle a set of 0-9 numeral cards 0r 1-9 playing cards and place them face down on the table. Players take turns to select two cards and form a two digit number with the cards. The number formed is written on the number path in a relevant position. If a player is unable to place their number, they miss a turn. Key questions: Why did you select that position to place your number? Why did you choose to use XY, instead of YX?

Possible extensions: Play the game with 3-digit numbers (using 3 cards) or 4-digit numbers.

Stage 2 - Mathematics Games (see video below)

Three in a thousand number line challenge

What you will need:

• 0-9 Cards or dice

• Big sheet of paper

• Markers

Draw a long empty number line on the page. The aim of this game is to be the person to place a third number within one century on the number line e.g. from 1000 to 1999. Players shuffle a set of 0-9 cards (or use a dice) and select 4 cards from the back. These four cards form a 4 digit number which is then placed on the number line. This continues until there are three 4 digit numbers within the same thousand.

The person who puts the third 4 digit number in the same thousand wins! Challenge: If you’d like to challenge yourself you can add another card to make a 5 digit number.

Stage 3 - Mathematics Games (see video below)

Money Handfuls

This week we are doing money handfuls! Your child grabs a handful of money. Sort it any way they like and count to find their total. When your child has counted the money you can ask your child questions such as: How much money do I need to get to the next dollar? How much money do I need to get to a dollar and cent amount; e.g. $11:30? If I had a $10 or $20 dollar amount, how much would I get if I bought something equivalent to the child's amount of  money?

Parenting Webinars

The following webinars are coming up in Term 4.

• Anxiety in Kids and Teens with Karen Young
• Getting Real with Teens about Respectful Relationships with Paul Ninnes
• Supporting Children Through Change and Uncertainty 

School Facebook Page

Check out our school Facebook page! It is wonderful to be able to share the good news of our school with our families and community. 

Library Day - Wednesday

Library day for all students is Wednesday - please make sure your child brings in his or her cloth library bag on this day. Each student may borrow four books per week. 

Canteen

We will be able to re-open the canteen for the next few weeks! There will be a slightly limited menu as we need to use up the stock which was ordered prior to the COVID lockdowns. If you are available to help out in the canteen one or more Fridays, please call Alicia on 0488 280683. Thank you to today's volunteers, Alicia Miller & Amii Francis.

A reminder to place your canteen order before Thursday night each week.

Please note - if you top up your canteen account via bank transfer, the funds will take a week to clear so you will not be able to order canteen immediately. 

Please send your lunch wallets into school and we will keep them here.

Changes to times for Bellingen Drive Thru Testing Clinic

As of next Monday 25^th October 2021, the operation of the Bellingen ‘Drive Thru’ COVID testing clinic will be changing. The service will no longer be GP run, but instead will be operated by Sullivan Nicolaides pathology. They will provide COVID testing from 12:30-1:30pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). No booking is required – just turn up with medicare card or photo equivalent.

Vision Screening Clinics

School Bus Travel

Applications for student travel can now be made online. Apply here 

School Drive Subsidy

The School Drive Subsidy is available for eligible school students where there is no public transport available for all or part of the journey. If you have to drive your child more than 1.6km to a school bus stop, you may be eligible for this subsidy – go to the link below to apply. 

Instrumental Music With Hazel

We have a music tutor available to teach instrumental music through private tuition. Hazel Buchanan is interested in working with our students. Hazel can teach flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, percussion and bass guitar.

The school owns a flute and a clarinet, which are available for families to borrow long-term at no cost. The payments for lessons are billed each term and paid directly to Hazel. An Essential Element Band Book will be supplied by the school too.

Students wishing to learn these instruments can do so in individual lessons or in small groups depending on the instrument chosen. It is hoped that one day, we can start a small ensemble or band for instrumental students to play together. 

If you are interested in taking up this opportunity, please contact Hazel directly on 0458 572 525.

Lessons will take place on Fridays. 

GLUE

GLUE: "God Loves Us Eternally" (formerly GFS) is held each Wednesday from 3-5pm at the Anglican Hall. Afternoon tea, games, fun worship and craft. All primary kids welcome, as are newcomers. For more info, ring Gwenneth on 6657 2135. COVID-safe practices will apply.

Lego Legends back for Term 4 at Dorrigo Library

Healthy Lunchbox Website

Cancer Council’s Healthy Lunch Box website is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about packing a healthy lunch box.  For recipes, information and health tips please visit the website below.

Nutrition Snippet

Pink Fundraiser

Oh what a week it's been. I tell you all this running inside or like a drowned rat has me going a little bit crazy! So crazy that for the last weekend of October I'm opening up my PINK Hampers for Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st. 
Get in QUICK as limited orders! Please place your order by Monday 25th October by phone on 0413 459 489 or email aventseasy@gmail.com.
Dont forget to please cheer me on as I finish my 5kms a day. Can you believe I have reached 105kms already... no wonder I'm tired!
https://fundraise.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/fundraisers/corfecrew/fighting-for-mum---
Thank you to everyone who has already supported me and helped raise awareness throughout October - Ashlee Turner.