Dear Parents

I would like to thank all of the parents who attended the Parent Information Sessions last

week. It is essential that parents are aware of the expectations of the school, and in

particular each year level. The staff put a great deal of time and effort into preparing and

presenting their information. We are blessed to have such a professional staff.

I have been receiving some random requests and complaints regarding the safety and

well-being of the children at the school. I would like to reassure you that your child's safety

and well-being is paramount. Please respect the professional decisions of teachers who

have individual and whole class needs of students in mind. Whilst we make every effort to

work with families, we are entrusted to use professional judgment in classroom and

school matters for the students in our care. Our primary concern is the well-being, safety

and education of all our children. Like you, we want the best for them. Unlike you, we have

over 700 children so the dynamics are a little different to family life. Your support is an

essential element of our wonderful school. We value your feedback and perspective even

when we may need to make decisions that you may not personally agree with.

There continues to be a great deal of activity in the fenced off building site. We will slowly

see the builder’s fences being removed as the paving, road sealing, landscaping and

delivery of the transportable classrooms are completed. Final completion date is Friday

3rd April and the builder has reassured me that they will have completed all of the above

by then. Thank you for your support and patience with this huge but amazing project.

The P&F have organized a community building event the ‘Welcome Back Carnival’. The

carnival will be held this Friday 21st February from 4:30pm– 6:30pm on the school oval.

Please get your tickets though the P&F. I look forward to seeing you on Friday.

Our Lady Star of the Sea Lead Us and Guide Us

Steve Dowie

Principal

Jesus said to his disciples, “You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike.” Matthew 5:38-48

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Help one another, and forgive each other and forget anything painful in the past.

Lord God,

As I look back on my life, grant me the peace

that comes from knowing I wouldn't change

any part of it even if I could. For you have given

me the courage to endure every trial and the

wisdom to know everything works together for

good. True peace comes from leaving it all in

your hands,

Lord,

and so I do.

LOVE

LOVE is a special feeling that fills your heart. You show LOVE with a smile, a pleasant way of speaking, a thoughtful act or thinking of others. LOVE is treating people and things

with special care and kindness because they mean so much to you. LOVE is treating other people just as you would like them to treat you – with care and respect.

KOLBE CATHOLIC COLLEGE

YEAR 7, 2022 ENROLMENTS

Interviews have now commenced for enrolment in Year 7, 2022.

Please ensure that an application is lodged for all new and sibling students as soon as

possible.

Applications can be obtained by visiting the College website at www.kolbe.wa.edu.au or

by contacting the College directly on 08 9592 1500.

WASTE WISE

FOOD

Buying a loaf of

bread in a

reusable cloth bag

from a bakery

each week will

save 52 plastic

bags and plastic

tags each year.

Bread also lasts

longer in cloth. Or

you can always

freeze your bread.

RECYCLABLES

By 2050, the ocean

will contain more

plastic by weight

than fish if we don’t

start making

changes today.

OTHER

Rather than buy a

new gown or suit

for an event, ask to

borrow from a

friend or hire from

businesses like

Glam Corner, Rent

the Runway and Girl

Meets Dress.

BEYOND

There are more

and more websites

and apps where

you can shop

online for second

hand goods: eBay,

Gumtree,

Craigslist,

Facebook

Marketplace and a

number of

independent

websites.

By the time my granddaughter Sarah was five years

old, it was obvious that she had an incredibly strong

personality. She knew what she wanted even at this

young age. She is interested in stories about strong

women. She can’t tell you why, but she keeps coming

back to books like The Paper Bag Princess by Robert

Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko. This

story is about a young woman who does not need to

be saved by a chauvinistic prince. She ends up saving

him. Another favourite of this little girl is The Twelve

Dancing Princesses. This is a Grimms’ fairy tale about

wild women who party in the middle of the night

against the wishes of their father, the king. Keep in

mind your children's personality characteristics when

you select books for them.

The Reading Bug PAUL JENNINGS -

IMPORTANT DATES

Fri 21/02 Friday Assembly

Welcome Back Carnival

Mon 24/02 Swimming Training

Monday Assembly

Tues 25/02 Running Club

Gardening Club

Wed 26/02 Swimming Training

Ash Wednesday School Mass (Yr 6

hosts)

Thur 27/02 Running Club

Fri 28/02 Friday Assembly

Mon 2/03 Labour Day Public Holiday

Tues 3/03 Pupil Free Day

Wed 4/03 Swimming Training

NO MASS

Thur 5/03 Running Club

Fri 6/03 Friday Assembly

Mon 9/03 Monday Assembly

Please support local businesses

that support our school

READING FOCUS 2020: NEW DECODABLE READING BOOKS K-YR 2

Late last year, we made the big commitment to replace our non-decodable early

readers with decodable readers in line with our class-based instruction in our

Kindergarten to Year 2 classrooms. Decodable readers allow children to apply their

learning about letters and sounds to their reading to develop their decoding skills,

which will ultimately build their word-level reading skills. This avoids children developing

inefficient ‘guessing’ strategies which undermine their decoding skills. We want our

students not only to learn to read, but learn to be skilled readers, which will set them

up for success in further learning.

This has been a huge investment but it also meant a whole lot of book covering. We

would like to send out a huge thank you to parent volunteers, especially the world

champion of book covering, Nok Smith, who covered an enormous number of books.

Thanks also to many staff who gave of their valuable time to assist with this mammoth

task.

We have books for in-class instruction and home readers. We ask that you please assist

your children in caring for these books, not just because the books themselves are

expensive, but also because of the love, care and countless hours, that has gone into

covering them and getting them ready for use.

A reminder that decodable readers are designed for multiple reads over time to move

the child from decoding the words to instantly recognising them, allowing for fluency in

reading.

This Month’s Community Networks Healthy Eating and Nutrition

Free healthy eating and nutrition workshops held throughout the year in our local Rockingham community.

Website: https://rockingham.wa.gov.au/community/community-support/health-and-wellbeing

Relationships Australia

Provides resources to couples, individuals and families to help enhance and support relationships.

Website: www.relationships.com.au

Bookstars Club

Bookstars introduces the benefits of using the library and promotes the joy of reading through a variety of activities. In February Bookstars kids will be making

recycled wind chimes.

Website: https://rockingham.wa.gov.au/events-culture-and-tourism/events/what-s-on-calendar/2020/february/bookstars-club

If you would like further information regarding local services that assist, please see the Parent/Families Community Link folder kept in the OSHC

Foyer and ELC This folder is update Monthly and we welcome families input in services that may be of assistance to add to this folder.

A friendly reminder to all families that a Family Suggestion Box has been placed in the front foyer of the OSHC and by the entrance of the ELC

for any suggestions and feedback regarding the Centre. We are always looking at how we can improve and we value your input.

SOTS EARLY LEARNING

& CARE CENTRES

Early Learning Centre News

21st February 2020

Time flies when you are having fun! It is Week 3 already and we are having so much fun over

in the Early Learning Centre. We have met so many new friends and families; it is going to

be a busy year. Our new reading scheme has begun and the children should have all

brought home their files ready to start the book swap. We had a visit from a Penguin last

week to tell us all about our new book corner, our favourite books and as you can see from

the photos, we had a great time! We even listened to a story with him. We are so excited for

this project and some children have already swapped their books from home for new ones.

We have recently sent out a request to families for a photograph of the family for our new

‘Family Tree’ display in our centre. This will make

our room feel more personal and give each of the

children a sense of belonging. If you could please

bring in a photo or email one to elc@sots.wa.edu.au

we would be hugely grateful.

We would like to thank all of our families for their

continued support and we look forward to the rest

of Term 1 as we continue our exciting adventure

together.

The ELC team

This Month’s Community Networks Healthy Eating and Nutrition

Free healthy eating and nutrition workshops held throughout the year in our local Rockingham community.

Website: https://rockingham.wa.gov.au/community/community-support/health-and-wellbeing

Relationships Australia

Provides resources to couples, individuals and families to help enhance and support relationships.

Website: www.relationships.com.au

Bookstars Club

Bookstars introduces the benefits of using the library and promotes the joy of reading through a variety of activities. In February Bookstars kids will be making

recycled wind chimes.

Website: https://rockingham.wa.gov.au/events-culture-and-tourism/events/what-s-on-calendar/2020/february/bookstars-club

If you would like further information regarding local services that assist, please see the Parent/Families Community Link folder kept in the OSHC

Foyer and ELC This folder is update Monthly and we welcome families input in services that may be of assistance to add to this folder.

OSHC News

A friendly reminder to all families that a Family Suggestion Box has been placed in the front foyer of the OSHC and by the entrance of the ELC

for any suggestions and feedback regarding the Centre. We are always looking at how we can improve and we value your input.

SOTS EARLY LEARNING

& CARE CENTRES 21st February 2020

What an exciting first few weeks it has been at OSHC!!

OSHC has created our own sensory experiments using glitter, sand, shaving foam and wa-

ter. Played musical chairs in the hall with children’s choice of music, wrote our own stories

based on what we have been doing at OSHC. Very creative indeed! We have eaten delicious

healthy food and collected a few veggies that we have grown from our own little garden. Our

capsicums have a lovely sweetness to them. Some children have also been doing their

homework in the afternoon as our Homework Club has kicked it up a notch and we are

endeavouring to support working families and completing this task so they can simply enjoy

being together once home.

There is a public holiday Monday 2nd March, the next day,

Tuesday 3rd March is a Pupil Free Day, we will be having a

classic Aussie BBQ and playing Bubble Bash Soccer.

Please get your bookings in before the week ending Friday

28th February so, we can accommodate your booking re-

quest. Remember to bring a wide brimmed hat and drink

bottle on the day.