2023, Term 4, Week 4

Principal Message

God moments happen around us all the time. Jesus uses us as his special agents to get his message across to others. We need to be looking for these special God moments. When people act with kindness, compassion, show forgiveness and serve others it is Jesus working through them.

I saw Jesus yesterday. He was talking to a student in the morning and helped him carry his bag into school. He spoke kindy and with a big smile. For a moment I thought he looked like Mr Palamara, but I know it was Jesus by the kindness he showed.

I Saw Jesus last week. They were wearing black clothes and working in our school office. They were looking after a little kindergarten student who was feeling sick. For a moment I thought they looked like Miss Charlotte and Miss Ash, but I could tell it was Jesus by the love and care they showed.

I saw Jesus this morning. He welcomed me when I got to school and asked how my morning was going and wished me a happy birthday. For a moment I thought he looked like students and teachers in our school, but I know it was Jesus by the smiles they gave me and how special they made me feel with hugs and high fives.

I see Jesus everywhere at St Ambrose, helping others, welcoming others, teaching children, being friendly, speaking nicely and helping us to be better people. And for just a minute, I always think that it is someone I know. But it is always Jesus. I can tell by the way he works through us to make our school a better place.

God moments are happening all the time and they are contagious. You never know how an act of kindness no matter how small might help someone have a great day.

Book Week and Grandparents and Friends Day

Book Week and Grandaparents and Friends Day is a special time in the year when we celebrate and give thanks for the special people in our lives and our love of reading and learning. It is a time to give thanks for the love and support that we receive from our families and the wonderful learning and teaching that takes place each day in every classroom.

Grandparents hold a very special place in our hearts and their love and support has a significant impact on the lives of their children and grandchildren. I would like to thank all our grandparents and friends who were able to be with us last Friday and enjoy being part of a beautiful Liturgy, spend time in our classrooms, enjoy an amazing morning tea, be entertained by                                                                    our very talented children at the Talent Show and brave the torrential rain.

It takes a village to raise our children and being part of St Ambrose is to belong to something much bigger than ourselves.  Well done to all our amazing students and families for your creativity, effort and support of everything we do here at St Ambrose.

A BIG thank you to our Year 4 Parent Rep Amanda Ross and Year 4 volunteers who made the day run smoothly and catered for all our lovley visitors. 

2024 Classes

In the coming week we will be begin the process of placing students in classes and allocating
teachers for 2024.  A great deal of thought and planning is involved with these decisions. We take
into account social groupings, academic performance, intervention needs, previous teachers the
children have had as well as a number of other factors.

To ensure that this process is done with every student’s best interest at heart, a collaborative
process is undertaken with all school professionals who have relevant knowledge of any of the
students to be grouped into new classes and teacher allocation. This includes the current class
teachers, intervention teaches, Additional Needs teacher, and members of the leadership team.

We are extremely proud of the emphasis that is placed on learning and the school wide structures
that are in place to promote high levels of learning across the school. Staying true to this vision and keeping our students at the heart of everything we do enables us to make the best decisions for our school community when it comes to staffing, school priorities and school structures.

I thank you in advance for your continued support and understanding with this important aspect
of school life. I have every confidence in our staffing allocation, class distribution process and in
the quality and care afforded all students at St Ambrose.

If there are genuine reasons for parent requests in regards to class placements, these
should be addressed in writing to the Principal.

Social Media-Are they Old Enough?

While the internet offers incredible opportunities for children to access information and connect with others, it's important for parents to teach them how to navigate online environments safely. Without proper supervision and understanding of concepts like privacy, children may face negative experiences that can impact their well-being, friendships and future endeavours.

Wait Till 13

One common question that arises is when your child should have a social media account.

Most social media platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook, require users to be at least 13 years old to register. Following these guidelines, we recommend that no primary-aged child should have their own social media account. 

After they are 13, take into account your child’s:

• Maturity
• Resilience
• Understanding of the impacts of social media.

Saying No

Safeguarding your child's confidence and self-worth during their primary school years is crucial, and social media can have negative consequences on your child’s developing identity. We encourage you not to let the online environment distort this important phase of their development. Stay strong and resist the pressure to introduce your child to social media when they are too young.

Together, let's empower our children to explore the digital world safely while preserving their well-being and fostering a positive sense of self.

Learn about the latest games, apps and social media use for children in The esafety Guide.

Kindergarten Teal Assembly

Year 1 Teal Assembly

Student of the Week and Most Improved Awards

Year 1 Religion Retreat

Our Year 1 Retreat on Monday was all about God's Creation. It was a great success! We had the pleasure of being joined by some incredible Year 9 Ministry students from St. Joseph College, Banora Point: Tom, Ruby, Haylee, Joce, and Samara. Our helpers shared some of their favourite parts of God's creations, including their favourite colours, animals, and seasons.

We kicked off the day wearing bright-coloured clothes and started with a special prayer, followed by hearing the creation story. Throughout the day, we participated in four activities: we made a Creation booklet, drew self-portraits, used iPads to take pictures of God's creations, and learned about Psalms.

In the afternoon, we had the joy of inviting our families to participate in a Liturgy. We sang a creation song, prayed, and shared the day's activities with some of our special family members.

Feel free to ask any Year 1 student what they love about God's creations!

Exuro

On Tuesday, a small number of our Year 5 students attended this Retreat Day with students in Year 5 from other schools in our local dioceses.  

The theme this year was: 'Be an example in your speech & actions'.                                

Year 6 Firefly STEM MAD

This week the Year 6 Firefly STEM MAD team travelled to Mt St Patrick's College to spend the morning with Mr Bressan in the TAS department. Mr Bressan helped us to create prototypes of our Firefly emergency system consisting of a fire alarm, wristband and app. We used TinkerCAD to create our designs on the computer and brought them to life using the 3D printer. Mr Bressan then showed us how to use the laser cutter to make our firefly sign. Thank you so much Mr Bressan for taking the time to spend with us! 

The Prehistoric Journey Of Surfing - by Marlin Lynch

The Prehistoric Journey Of Surfing

Shimmering emerald waters glisten with the long rolling waves of the ocean. Foamy white splashes create an environment or all to enjoy. That's why surfers devote their lives to the competitive, peaceful and thrilling sport of surfing. From the start of humanity to the end of time connecting to the Earth with nothing but a board for your specialty an a harmonial environment will always be a glowing part of humanity for all to enjoy.

The First Session of Surfing

Surfing is bursting with ancient echos from Polynesians prehistoric periods. The Fascinating Sport of surfing Started in the culture's heart of the Polynesian Islands in pre-colonial times which was thousands of years ago when dinosaurs and mysterious creatures roamed the planet. Surfing was first introduced to the remainder of the Earth in 1885, when three men, with British backgrounds (George Freeth, Alexander hume ford and Jack London) released there surfing Stories in Hawaii. Instantly the popularity of surfing was raised to record heights all around Hawaii's islands and eventually the entire globe. Riding waves was first documented in 1778 when James Cook and his crew visited Hawaii. Nowadays Surfing is a recreational and Competitive Sport, and boards have even been specified for different surf breaks.

Location fit for surfing creation

Many surf breaks surround the Earth, from Antarctica all the way to the North Pole everyone will be bound to find a surf break fit for them. One of the most known breaks is Teahupo'o in Tahiti. The heavy and glassy waves average 2 to 3 feet but can get as high as 23 feet or Seven meters. Teahupo'o is known for its big spitting barrels and is so good because it receives swell easily and has shallow reef that creates the ability to be open to all tides. Another glamorous break is a beach, off Eukai in the north shore the one a kind surf break is called pipeline. Pipeline is similar to Tahiti's Teahupo'o because it also barrels when the power of the wave hits the Shallow reef. Pipe or pipeline averages 9 ft and can get as high as 20 ft or in metres 6 meters. "The back door" is the heaviest part of the wave and is when a surfer drops in and goes left to get a hefty barrel. Earning pipeline or pipe the name deadliest surf spot on Earth. The Gold Coast in south-east Queensland, Australia has a variety of beaches that are amazing for surfing. The 'GC' or the Gold coast is a pristine coastline that is good for Surfing for the same reasons to the others only instead of reef the hypnotising and symmetrical waves hits ankle-height sand. The metropolitan district can reach from flat to Surf to 15ft high. The 'GC' is an almost perfect surf spot which gives it reasoning for holding so many jaw-dropping competitions.

Competitions And Cash

A huge variety of Competitions are scattered around the Earth and some are more recognised than others. The World Surf League (WSL) is a world wide Competition that goes the all over the world Stopping at the best surf breaker in the world and touches four of the best continents fit for wave riding. The WSL starts off with 80 Men and 48 women who compete to be crowned best in the world. Some of the popular stops are pipeline in the clear waters off Hawaii, Bells Beach off the glamorous coast line of Melbourne, Australia and J-bay in the emerald waters of the beautiful South Africa. Surfers can not just take every single wave, they have to take turns this is called priority, priority can only be excused if the prioritised surfer is not competing for the wave there opponent is. Half way through the WSL season there is a career threatening cut that prevents 56 men and 36 women from competing surfers refer to this as the mid-season cut and a professional surfer can only come back into the WSL if they gain enough wins and points in the lower leagues.  If surfer comes out on top of the surfing world they will receive $100,000 and will win the world title putting there names in the record books. Around the world there are also local comps that define the whole upbringing of title winners, they compete at there local beach and have many different divisions. there are big wave competitions that surf at huge wave breaks like Nazarè in the high headland of Portugal. Jaws is also a commonly competed big wave surf break that is also in Hawaii just like pipeline. Needless to say and a huge variety of competitions and lots of travel fun!

All the way around the glistening beaches of the World surfers are Scattered like an army of ants all along the beach to gather in harmony, Sure within surfing theres big 30 ft waves, tricks But to some Surfing way of being in the beautiful world and accompany the crystal clear ocean, surfing is will with peace and love, thats is why its beloved.

Sports

CASUARINA RUGBY CUP

We want to extend our best wishes to all the students participating in the Casuarina Cup on Wednesday, November 15th. The teams have been receiving coaching from Mr. Lock, Mr. Townsend, and Mr. Cutler during lunchtime. The final training sessions are scheduled for the upcoming days:

• Monday and Wednesday: Senior Boys and Girls (Year 5 and 6)
• Tuesday and Thursday: Junior Boys and Girls (Yr 3 and 4)

Rugby Union Gala Day

Birthday Celebrations

School Planning and Organisation for 2024

Is your child returning in 2024? It is the time of the year where we begin planning classes and staffing for 2024. To assist with preparation, we need to know who is NOT returning to St Ambrose next year. Information is sought for any student who will not be returning in 2024.

Please advise in writing your plans and details on sapot@lism.catholic.edu.au or contact us on 02 66760099 as soon as possible.

Second Hand Uniform Call out

If you have any school uniforms you wish to donate to the school please send them to the School Office, we woud be happy to take these off your hands. 

Thank you in advance. 

Christmas Appeal

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

e-Safety Webinar for Primary School Parents

Parenting Video Gamers

Parent Forum Meeting Invitation

Please join the Parent Forum & Social Committee via ZOOM on Wednesday 15th November if you would like to be involved in fund raising activities in 2024. This meeting is to discuss all your wonderful ideas for the 2024 year!
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78207628483?pwd=Ebw1rKFfUmABnNDr1bBA9ghtOI1n7s.1  

Water Saving Tips for Kids

Stall Holder Call Out

Pottsville Pre-school Trivia Night

Boarder Clay Trails