2023, Term 3, Week 7

Principal Message

Dear Families,

With only three weeks left before the end of Term 3, we have a great deal to look forward to.

This week we had our Father's Day Stall and on Friday our Father's Day breakfast. A BIG thank you to all those friends of the school who came along and assisted in the organisation of the day.

On Monday night we had many of the families from our school come together as the children prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation. A big thank you to Mrs Falcke who is coordinating this programme.

Next week we have the Milkiri Ant Dance program for Years 3-6, Kinder is off to Tropical Fruit World, Year 3 & 4 students are going to the Murwillumbah Theatre to see the theatre production "Hiccup." To top it all off on Friday Night 8th Sept the school is having a "MOVIE NIGHT" (see details in the newsletter).

In the last week of Term, our Year 4, 5 & 6 students will be heading off to their School Camps. Year 4 will be going to Camp Goodenough at Bilambil, Year 5 is heading off to the Sunshine Coast and Year 6 will be venturing to Sydney and Canberra. No doubt the children will have a fantastic time and hopefully come back with some lifelong memories.

Pete our Road Crossing Supervisor will be finishing up at the end of the Term. We are desperately looking for a replacement. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in filling the position - please get in contact with the school office.

To all Dads hope you have a wonderful Father's Day.

Enjoy the weekend,

Brian Laybutt
Principal

Maternity Leave: Mrs Carter

Today, 1st September is Mrs Carter's last day at St Ambrose as she takes Maternity Leave. With her baby due on the 14th Sept  - we wish her all the very best!

Staffing Changes

As sent via email to our families the following staffing changes will be implemented at St Ambrose:

• Mr Michael Piccoli, current Principal at Our Lady Help of Christians, South Lismore will be taking the position of Acting Principal for term 4 at St Ambrose.
• Mrs Kimbereley Mathewson has been appointed as Acting Assistant Principal replacing Mrs Carter.
• Mrs Jessica Wilson has been appointed Leader of Pedagogy replacing Mrs Mathewson.
• Mrs Wilson's classroom teaching position will be taken by Mr Nock Lock. Mr Lock will be taking Year 6 until the end of the 2023 school year, he will commence on Monday 4th September.
  
  We welcome those who are new to our school and congratulate all staff who have been appointed to the various leadership positions.
  

Staff Appraisals

Recently Mrs Mathewson our Leader of Pedagogy and Mrs Carter our Assistant Principal participated in an appraisal process. Both staff members had staff fill out a survey, which reviewed their application to the role, outlining areas for commendation and areas for development.

Both staff have received feedback. 

It is clearly evident that both Mrs Mathewson and Mrs Carter are highly valued by the staff. Their knowledge of the curriculum, interpersonal skills, and capacity to lead was highly recognised.

We congratulate both of them for their wonderful appraisal and for their contribution to St Ambrose. 

POSITION AVAILABLE: School Crossing Supervisor

Role: School Crossing Supervisor - Part-time - Regional NSW -St Ambrose Primary School, Pottsville

The Role: The role of School Crossing Supervisor is held in very high esteem in our communities. In taking on this role, you’ll become vital to the safety of our kids, parents and teachers, and be an important second pair of eyes for local motorists. You’ll also grow to be a much-loved familiar face around the school with a unique opportunity to touch the lives of countless families.

St Ambrose Primary School crossing requires 20 hours of supervising per fortnight. Shifts fall between 8:00 - 9:30AM and 2:30 – 4:00PM, Monday to Friday Morning and Afternoon shifts during the school term.

If you would like more information please contact the school office 02 6676 0099 or email sapot@lism.catholic.edu.au

Important Reminder: Class Weekly Videos

Each Tuesday class teachers issue a short video to all families. This video outlines the events of the upcoming week for their class, homework activities, and general class information. This is pushed out through Seesaw.

When looking at the amount of "hits" on these class videos it is very obvious that the large majority of families are not watching the video. 

The class video is an important way for families to be informed as to what your child's class is doing each week and how you can assist them. Teachers and the office receive numerous inquiries/questions each week from families about their child's class - this can be answered by watching the video.

Generally, the video runs for a few minutes.

I strongly encourage you to access and view this video each week.

Brian Laybutt
Principal

Award Recipients

Special Awards: Week 5, Term 3

Weekly Awards: Week 6, Term 3

Religion

Happy Father's Day

A Father’s Day Prayer
God, bless all the fathers in the world, Father, we ask that You guide them to be good role models and loving dads to their children. We also ask that You help them to be a father like you are. Give them grace and patience as they continue to guide and look after their family.

Confirmation Parent & Child Meeting

A big Thank you to the many parents and children who attended the Confirmation Meeting last Monday evening. We look forward to your continued support in preparing your child for the Sacrament of Confirmation. 

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Next Friday we celebrate the birthday of Mary.
Let us be glad for the mother of Jesus.
God, our Saviour,
Thank you for giving us Mary, who agreed to be the mother of your Son.
Amen

Save the Date: Next School Parish Mass Sunday 10th September

When: Sunday 10th September
Time: 7.30am
Where: Sts Mary & Ambrose Church, Pottsville

At this School Parish Mass children preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation will complete their commitment. 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. 

Burger Day - Support Year 6

Year 1 Podcast

Science Week

As part of Science Week, students had the opportunity to enter a science project in our Science Showcase. We only had 23 entries this year but the quality was excellent! Classes visited the hall to view the fantastic investigations, projects, experiments and research. The creativity and scientific understandings that were shared left us in awe. It was extremely impressive to hear and observe the knowledge and skills the students demonstrated throughout the two days.

CSO Student Art Display Semester 1, 2023

Congratulations to Daisy Bain, Ezra Stokes, Ayla Arslan, Alyssia Wilde, Georgie Thurtell, Jack Shuback, Annabelle Batson and Darcy Holder for having their artworks selected to be showcased in the CSO Student Art Display for semester 1, 2023. The quality of art and the level of creativity displayed by students at St Ambrose is incredible. 

I’m so proud of all our artists!

Mrs Kirby Bressan
Visual Art Teacher

Sports

SportsAbility 
The last two weeks we have been blessed to have Paralympian David (DJ) Johnson engage all our students with his achievements as an elite athlete and stories from the Sydney 2000 Olympics. He has spoken to St Ambrose about bullying and inclusion and teaching the students key skills in custom-designed sports wheelchairs. Boys and girls in Kindy to Year 6 all have had an enjoyable time learning new skills of how to be inclusive and having a fun time as well. 

Thanks, DJ for taking the time to come to our school!

Tell Them From Me Survey- 2023.

Last term Years 4-6 students, staff, and parents completed a school survey. Below is a summary of the results, thank you to all of those who contributed to this feedback for school improvement.  If you are able to provide information as to how we could address your concerns, or what could be done over and above what we currently do, this would be greatly appreciated. Simply email sapot@lism.catholic.edu.au with the subject line TTFM 2023. 

Students (Years 4-6)-

• Students feel like they are provided with enough opportunities to engage in prayer and celebrate Jesus. 

• Students feel like teachers at the school care for the students. 

• Students feel safe at school & have positive relationships with the teachers. 

• We need to look further into students' engagement and interest in homework.

Staff-

• Staff seek opportunities to collaborate with each other. 

• Staff feel that professional learning leads to positive and effective changes in teaching practice. 

• We are well above the region's mean for successful implementation of technology.

• Moving forward, we could implement tighter structures that enable the sharing of best practices across grade levels (classroom observations). 

Parents (completed by ⅓ of parents)-

• 88% feel welcome to come into the school. 

• 80% believe the information they receive is clear.

• 79% speak openly with teachers.

• 82% of parents feel their kids are safe at school.

• Parents feel that teachers expect their child/ren to work hard and that they show an interest in their child's learning. 

• Parents feel that teachers expect their child/ren to pay attention and show positive behaviour in class. 

• 58% of parents feel that teachers inform them of their child’s social and emotional development, and indicated that they would like some professional development/information on wellbeing and strategies to support their child/ren. 

• 18% of parents believe their child is excluded for ‘other’ reasons, we need to determine what these ‘other’ reasons are. 

• We need to seek feedback on changes to homework and canteen days in response to the 2022 TTFM survey.

Chelsea Carter
Assistant Principal- Learning & Teaching

Kimberley Mathewson
Leader of Pedagogy

Wellbeing

Cyberbullying: Being Mean is Never OK

As a parent, you play a vital role in helping your child develop digital intelligence, which encompasses the social, emotional, and practical skills needed to navigate the digital world successfully. To start the conversation about kindness, ask your child how they would like to be treated by others face-to-face and online. Have they witnessed someone being mean either online or in person? Discuss the values they should remember when they are online, such as compassion, empathy, and doing the right thing.

Take the time to talk about what constitutes mean behaviour. This could include saying hurtful things, sending hurtful messages, deliberately excluding someone, spreading lies, or being unkind while playing games. 

To help your child recognise if they are being mean, ask them how they would know if they are hurting someone's feelings. They may mention outcomes such as the other person being upset, telling a teacher, crying, or refusing to play with them anymore. It's important to help them understand the concept of getting personal, which involves making comments about someone's appearance, speech, race, disability, or family background. Explain why this is never acceptable.

Here are some ways you can support your child:

• Sit with them and review their online conversations, as well as their interactions with friends and family face-to-face. Discuss what they are saying and help them understand the impact of their words.
• Encourage and praise their kind behaviour at home and beyond.
• Talk about accepting differences in others and discuss strategies for dealing with people who annoy them. Openly coach them through specific situations.
• Guide your child to imagine being in someone else's shoes, promoting empathy and understanding diverse perspectives.
• Explain that there are consequences for mean online behaviour, even if it occurs outside of school hours. Emphasise that schools may intervene and address such behaviour if it is towards a school peer.

By having these conversations and providing guidance, you can empower your child to navigate the digital world with kindness and respect.

Resources to use with your child

1. esafety kids Someone is being mean to me online
2. esafety kids  How do I know if I have been mean to others online?

Assemblies

Father's Day Breakfast 2023

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We extend a heartfelt thank you to the Year 2 Parent Representatives and volunteers who organised the Father's Day Breakfast BBQ bright and early this morning. 
We trust you all enjoyed your delicious hot breakfast and drink to start the day! 
As we celebrate fathers and father figures this weekend, we hope that you all enjoy a fun-filled Sunday with meaningful moments. Once again thank you for fostering a strong sense of togetherness within the St Ambrose Community. 

Movie Night - Book now!

A final reminder that the St Ambrose Outdoor Movie Night is on Friday 8th September, commencing at 5:30 pm, Movie starts at 6:00 (ish). Please purchase your prepaid tickets via the eventbrite link OR tickets are $7 on the night.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/st-ambrose-2023-family-movie-night-tickets-667237915567

Enjoy a night off from cooking with our tasty canteen menu available at the event... see menu below for information. 

Look forward to seeing you there for another special event.