2024, Term 4, Week 6

Principal Message

Dear Families,

Last week you were informed of an exciting partnership whereby St Ambrose has joined with Southern Cross University (SCU) and the Catholic Schools Office (CSO) in becoming a “Teacher Training Centre".  In brief St Ambrose will welcome students from SCU into the school on a part time basis for the full school year. These students will be mature age students who are transitioning from their current professional employment into teaching e.g nursing to teaching. As they already have a degree outside of teaching, completing their educational studies through SCU and participating in this program will qualify them for a Masters Degree in Education. The students will attend the school three days a week (Mon, Tues, Wed), they will receive their lectures and tutorials at the school and will be fully immersed in the school and classrooms. Their role within the school will provide them with a holistic experience that will involve one on one tutoring, small group interventions, shared classroom teaching, coordinating special events, assisting at carnivals, etc they will become additional staff members!  This is a new initiative and the school is excited to be involved in this new approach to teacher training in Australia!

Last week we had our “St Ambrose has got Talent” and what a wonderful event was! A showcase of talented students performing and highlighting an array of talents and skills. Thank you to all who participated and attended.

To celebrate St Ambrose’s birthday - 10 years this year, we have arranged for some special events. Next week we have some exciting visitors; WESTPAC RESCUE HELICOPTER will be landing here at St Ambrose on Thursday 28th November at 9.30a.m. Students will have an opportunity to watch the helicopter arrive and land. We will hear the crew speak about their roles within the aircraft, ask questions as well as getting to see the helicopter up-close.

On the Friday of next week will have our Friday afternoon “SHOWCASE”. This is another opportunity for parents to come into the classrooms so that your child can share their learnings with you.

In Week 8 - our “birthday week” we have some special events planned for the Thursday and Friday. Stay tuned for more information - or check the school calendar!!

Recently our Yr 6 students have been attending their Yr 7 Orientation Days at St Joseph’s College and Mt St Patrick College. This reminds us that our Yr 6 students have only 4 weeks left at St Ambrose!!

Regards,

Brian Laybutt
Principal

WESTPAC RESCUE HELICOPTER LANDING

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter is planned to land at St Ambrose at 9.30a.m. on Thursday 28th Nov.

Term 4 Friday Assembly and Peer Support Calendar

Kindergarten Assembly

St Ambrose Special Awards

First Sunday of Advent: Sunday 1st December

On the First day of Advent, we celebrate the beginning of the Church’s Liturgical Year. We have a different set of readings each liturgical year. After Vatican II, the lectionary was divided into three years (A, B, and C) in order for Catholics to hear as much of the Bible as possible. This year we’re entering Year C, which focuses on the Gospel of Luke

Advent is a special time of waiting and preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The Advent Wreath is a circle of evergreens that symbolises God’s everlasting love for his people, a love, which gives us Jesus so that we may know the extent of this love.

The four candles represent the four weeks before Christmas, and one more is lit each Sunday, reminding us to shine with hope, love, joy, and peace because Jesus will soon be here.

Three candles are purple. The candle for the third Sunday is pink.

1st Sunday of Advent - Gospel reading Luke 21:25-28

All classes in Religious Education Programs will focus on the Advent Season, the preparation and waiting for the coming of Jesus, over the next 4 weeks.

An Advent Prayer

Father, Advent is a time of waiting, watching and praying:
A time of helping and longing and saying:
Come, Lord! Come into our hearts.
Please help us to think of other people.
Help us to work harder at home, In school and in the classroom,
We can hardly wait for Christmas to come. It’s a great time, so exciting!
Help us to remember that it is also a time of giving.
Amen

Year 1 Religion Retreat Day

You may have noticed some students in bright and colourful clothing on Wednesday because it was the Year 1 Religion Retreat Day!

Our Year 1 students spent the day focusing on the theme of Creation, rotating through four engaging activities: Bible journaling, reflecting and writing about ‘The Best Part of Me’, exploring the Creation story, and a multimedia activity where we used our senses to appreciate the wonders of God’s Creation around our school.

The day concluded with a beautiful liturgy, where some of our families joined us to celebrate and reflect on the blessings of Creation. The retreat was a wonderful opportunity to grow in faith and community.

The Christmas Appeal

We would like to thank everyone for your incredible generosity and support with the Christmas Appeal this year. St Vincent De Paul is very grateful for the donations from St Ambrose as these greatly assist those in need in our community at this special time of year. The Mini Vinnies did a wonderful job organising our donations and they presented them to St Vincent De Paul committee members today. 

Mrs McGill and The Mini Vinnies 

School Parish Mass

We would love to see you at the School/Parish Mass this SUNDAY 1st December

  STS MARY & AMBROSE CHURCH, POTTSVILLE
SCHOOL FAMILY/ PARISH MASS CELEBRATION 7:30am

We hope to see many St Ambrose families at this Mass celebration.

At this Mass celebration staff from St Ambrose will be attending to the ministry duties and there will be children’s liturgy.

Parish Newsletter

Mission Month

Sports Electives

Over the past six weeks, students in Years 3-6 have had the opportunity to participate in an exciting range of sports through our Sports Electives program. Each Monday, students were divided into their chosen sports groups, giving them the chance to try something new, improve their skills, and, most importantly, have fun! 

The sports on offer included: 

• Tennis 
• Stand up Paddle Boarding
• Surfing
• FitGroms
• Fishing 
• PlayBall 
• Skateboarding
• Dance
• Martial Arts 

We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm and dedication shown by all our students throughout the past six weeks. It was wonderful to see them take on new challenges, refine their abilities, and enjoy the experience. A huge thank you to the amazing coaches who have worked with our students over the past six weeks. Your expertise, encouragement, and commitment to fostering a love of sport have been invaluable in making these  sessions  a success.

Summer Sports Trials

Over the past few weeks, a number of our students have participated in the Tweed Zone Summer Sports Trials, where they had the opportunity to showcase their skills in a range of sports including: Basketball, Touch Football, Cricket, Tennis and Softball. 

We are thrilled to announce that several of our students have been selected to represent our school in their chosen sports at the upcoming Diocesan Trials. A huge congratulations to the following students on their outstanding achievement:

Touch Football - Beau Deegenaars

Tennis - Xander Hicks 

Cricket - Jorge Johnson and Sam Bressan 

A massive congratulations to Jorge Johnson. Jorge has been selected into the Lismore Diocese team and will be vying for Polding Selections in Cricket. We wish Jorge all the best in his upcoming selection trials in December.

Sporting Schools - Basketball

Over the next four weeks, students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will participate in the Sporting Schools Basketball program, run by Troy Stanley from Tweed Valley Basketball. These sessions will take place on Mondays or Thursdays during their allocated sport time. Students will have the opportunity to learn warm-up games, develop basketball skills, and play modified games.

Sporting Schools - Help us understand the cost of sport Survey

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Federation University are conducting a study to understand the costs associated with delivering and participating in community sport.

To gather valuable insights, we'd like to invite parents from St Ambrose to complete a short online survey about their total expenses related to sports participation.

The results of this project will be used to make recommendations to inform the ASC sport policies and strategies to minimise the cost of playing sport.Survey closes at 5pm (AEDT) on Tuesday 31 December. If you play and deliver sport or have children that play sport, you can complete the cost to play survey multiple times (indicating the costs involved for you and your child/ren to play sport).

Year 1 Visits David Fleay Wildlife Park

Last week, Year 1 had an exciting excursion to David Fleay Wildlife Park. During an interactive session with a park ranger, the students explored Australia’s unique wildlife and learned about what animals need to survive.

A highlight of the day was watching a live crocodile feeding. The power of these incredible reptiles amazed us all. Students also enjoyed seeing koalas, wallabies, dingoes and other native animals while learning about their habitats and behaviours.

It was a fantastic day of hands-on learning and discovery!

Year 5 excursion to the Rural Fire Service.

Year 5 visited the Rural Fire Station in Pottsville to learn about fire safety and the vital role of volunteer fire fighters. Students thoroughly enjoyed the hands on experience with the equipment.

Classroom Showcase: 2.15 - 3 pm Friday 29th November (Week 7)

We are excited to invite you to our Term 4 Classroom Showcase! This event is a wonderful opportunity for you to see firsthand the hard work and creativity your child/ren have put into their learning tasks since the beginning of the year. The purpose of the showcase is to highlight the accomplishments and progress of students in various subjects. Students will share their educational experiences and goals through technology, classroom displays, and their written bookwork. Please note that this is not a time for individual parent-teacher conferences.

You are critical partners in your child/ren’s learning, and thus you have a hugely influential role in supporting learning outcomes. To create opportunities for informative conversations with your child/ren, please bring along your parent magnet with the 5 questions to foster learning conversations. Staff and students have a similar scaffold they use to enable students to reflect on their learning within the classroom. 

1. What did you learn today?

2. How did you do?

3. What did you do if you didn’t understand?

4. How can you improve your learning? 

5. What are you most proud of? 

We look forward to seeing you at the Classroom Showcase and celebrating your child/ren’s achievements together!

Chelsea Carter
Assistant Principal- Learning & Teaching

Jess Wilson
Acting Leader of Pedagogy

Uniform Orders

Last Day for Uniform Orders 2024

Uniforms delivered to Classroom Wednesday 4th Dec – Order by 5pm Tuesday 3rd Dec

** Please note – All exchanges must be finalised by Wednesday 18th December

1st Uniform Orders for 2025

Uniform orders ready for collection in Classroom when attending MAI/Best Start Testing - Order by 5pm Thursday 30th Jan   (Place order for Fri 31st Jan)

Please make sure you have changed your child’s Year Level/Class in Flexischools to be their Class for 2025 so uniforms can be delivered to the correct classroom!

A Festive Craft Club in Term 4

School Colour Fun Run

SORA: Online Books

Wellbeing

Cyber Safety and Digital Wellbeing Incursions

Today, St Ambrose students participated in the first virtual incursion on Cyber Safety and Digital Wellbeing. The students thoroughly enjoyed engaging with the session and completing activities designed to enhance their awareness of safe online practices.

Attached, you will find the parent information letters, which outline the key topics covered during the incursion and provide useful discussion prompts to continue the conversation at home. 

Keeping Our Kids Safe on Social Media Parent Workshop - Monday 25th November

Reminder that there is a Keeping Our Kids Safe on Social Media Parent Workshop next Monday night at St Anthony's Kingscliff- click this flyer for more information and to register.

Cyber Safety & Digital Wellbeing Incursion - Friday 22nd November

Keep a Balance so your Child will Thrive

A key part of parenting is to ensure your child has a healthy, balanced life. This is also true of their engagement in the online world. 

Start the conversation

• Talk to your child about their online time and the importance of taking breaks.
• Spend time online with your child to understand their games and platforms better.
• Conduct an experiment to measure their device usage throughout the day. 

Thriving

• Children thrive with a balanced mix of activities. Ensure they engage in physical activity, connect with nature, bond with family, interact with peers and develop their spirituality.
• Follow Australian Department of Health guidelines for screen time limits: 1 hour per day for ages 2-5 and 2 hours per day for ages 5-17 (excluding online learning).

Practical Tips

• Create a family device agreement to set boundaries for device use.
• Establish device-free times such as before bedtime, during dinner, and overnight.
• Focus on quality content rather than quantity. Discuss and engage with what your child watches or does online.
• Provide alternative options and encourage offline activities, hobbies, and sports.
• Dedicate one screen-free day each week.

Parent Resources

1. esafety Screen Time
2. esafety Screen Time - 7 Tips

Free webinars for parents and carers

Supporting healthy tech use as your child transitions into high school. This webinar explores the social pressures, peer influences, and technological challenges young people face as they transition into high school. It also offers practical strategies for navigating online friendships and connections to help minimise negative experiences.

It is suitable for parents and carers of children in upper primary school (ages 11 to 12) and Year 7.

Thursday, 28 November, 12.30 pm
Registration link 

eSafety 101: how eSafety can help you. An overview of The eSafety Commissioner and supporting programs and resources for parents and carers, children, and young people.

It is suitable for parents and carers of children and young people in primary and secondary school.

Wednesday, 4 December, 12.30pm
Registration link

Get to know your child's friends and their families. Strong connections help your child feel a sense of belonging and safety.

Building strong connections with your child's friends and their families can be highly beneficial for your child's social and emotional development. Here are some reasons why getting to know your child's friends and their families is important:

• Sense of Belonging. Knowing your child's friends and their families helps create a sense of belonging for your child. Feeling connected to a social group provides emotional support and fosters a positive sense of identity.

• Enhanced Social Skills. Interacting with a diverse group of peers allows your child to develop and enhance their social skills. Building relationships with friends and their families contributes to improved communication, empathy, and cooperation.

• Safety and Comfort. When your child knows their friends and their families well, they are likely to feel safer and more comfortable in social situations. Familiarity with the people around them can reduce anxiety and build a sense of security.

• Shared Values and Expectations. Getting to know your child's friends' families allows you to understand shared values and expectations. Consistency in parenting styles and values contributes to a more cohesive and supportive social environment for the children.

Pottsville Community Christmas Day Lunch

Community Fun Day