Term 3, Week 2 2024

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Dear Parents, caregivers and friends,

LOCHINVAR HYMN

History and tradition are such an important focus for any school community. St Patrick’s Lochinvar has one of the richest history and traditions of any school in our diocese. Established in 1883 by the Sisters of St Joseph, our school embraces all who came before us in establishing this beautiful school. One of the traditions very much entrenched into the life of St Joseph High School Lochinvar is the singing of the Lochinvar Hymn. St Patrick’s Lochinvar is pleased to announce that the Lochinvar Hymn is going to form part of our school culture from this year onwards. The inspirational words of this hymn were written by Sr Gerard Long rsj in 1933, for the Golden Jubilee (50 years) of the Sisters arrival in Lochinvar. The music was composed by Dom Moreno. Sr Gerard Long is buried in the Lochinvar cemetery next to our school. She died on 5/12/1954 aged 80 years. Sr Gerard had a love of music and an even deeper love for Lochinvar. Mrs Kleinman and Mrs Sadaj have been working very hard to teach the choir and band the Lochinvar Hymn. Claire Monk as a parent, has been using her musical talent to support this teaching. If you are present at our MacKillop Week assembly on Monday 5/8 at 9am, you will be treated to the singing of the Lochinvar Hymn for the first time at St Patrick’s by our talented choir and band. I’m sure Sr Gerard Long would be very proud knowing this was occurring exactly 70 years after her passing and 91 years after the hymn was first written. Our entire school will perfect this hymn over the second half of this year and it will feature at all official gatherings into future years. My favourite line of the hymn is in the final verse- ‘Bless the souls of Lochinvar’. Please find the entire hymn below.

LOCHINVAR HYMN

Where the meadows and the mountains
Meet in mellowed lines of rest
Thou hast set us as a jewel
On our country’s glowing breast.

Holy Joseph, guard and guide us,
Make thy children all thine own.
Dearest Patron, lead and guide us,
To our King’s eternal throne

Day by day the notes of children
Mingle with the wild birds’ lay,
Guileless hearts through bright eyes beaming
Grow and strengthen, dream and pray

Holy Joseph, guard and guide us,
Make thy children all thine own.
Dearest Patron, lead and guide us,
To our King’s eternal throne

Give us grace to stand unflinching
‘Gainst the storms that loom afar.
Give us love and power and wisdom
Bless the souls of Lochinvar!

Holy Joseph, guard and guide us,
Make thy children all thine own.
Dearest Patron, lead and guide us,
To our King’s eternal throne

SCHOOL DANCE

Since the beginning of term 2, Miss Prue has been teaching students from Years 2-5, dances linked to the theme, ‘Rhythms of the World’. The dance sessions culminated in 2 spectacular performances at the Cessnock Performing Arts centre last Friday evening. Congratulations to all of our children in Years 2-5 for the outstanding way they participated in the performance. There were many proud parents and grandparents in the audience.

A special thank you to Miss Prue for teaching the dance lessons and from a school level, thank you to Mrs Williams, Mrs Cunningham and Mrs Agapiou for the behind-the-scenes organisation that went into the event. There is so much to be planned and arranged and our 3 teachers have done this in such a professional manner. Thank you also to a former parent, Sharon Crossingham for taking the professional photos linked to the dance concert.

DISCO- KINDER, YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2

We look forward to another great night tomorrow evening when our K-2 children take part in their school disco. Please see the information below in ‘Organisation and Management’ around specific details relating to the disco.

HOUSE BANNERS

Our House banners have arrived and will be unveiled in our school hall on Monday morning at our MacKillop Week assembly at 9am. Parents and Carers are most welcome to attend this special assembly. We are very excited to reveal the large banners reflecting our houses and the Josephite value aligned to each house.

With best wishes,
Dennis Nolan
Acting Principal

CALENDAR EVENTS 

IMPORTANT DATES - LOOKING AHEAD FOR 2024

CURRICULUM NEWS

YEAR 3 NEWS

TERM 3 CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

SPORTS UNIFORM CHANGE

All of Year 6  will change to sports uniform of a Wednesday and Friday for the rest of term.

RE NEWS

MACKILLOP WEEK

We will be celebrating MacKillop week throughout Week 3 this term. The focus on the inspirations for our School Houses is a new project that links with all of the work that staff have been doing on creating a greater connection with these houses and the values they represent.

Throughout the week we will acknowledge Mary MacKillop and her connecting value of ‘Special Love for the Poor’ through a variety of activities. Please see the table below for a run down of these events. Parents and Carers are very welcome to join us for our MacKillop Week assembly on Monday morning as well as our liturgy for the Feast of Mary MacKillop on Thursday morning (led by Year 4).

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER NEWS

ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT

SCHOOL DISCO KINDER, YEAR 1 & YEAR 2- 5:30PM-7:00PM

Organisation around the Kinder- Year 2 disco on Friday 2nd August:

• Entry to the disco is through the hall gate near OOSH
• Gates will open at 5:15pm and will be closed at 6:00pm (no entry after this time)
• Parents are welcome to stay for the disco, however you can choose to drop off and return at 7:00pm to pick up your child/ children
• Entry to this event is for the disco only. Students are to remain in the COLA/ hall area for the entire time. No other activities like handball are to be played on the evening. This will be explained to students through the day on Friday 2/8
• Parents enter for pick up via the new gate near Year 6 and then walk up to the COLA. The gate will open at 6:45pm

Thank you to our wonderful P&F group of parents for the organisation around the disco

IMPORTANT MESSAGES FOR PARENTS

NEW AREA- YEAR 2/3 EATING SPACE

During the holiday period, the Year 2/3 area has been transformed. Most importantly, the path flooding next to Year 4 we have experienced since the completion of stage 3, has been fixed. The photos tell it all. This is a beautiful space to match the rest of the school.

DIOCESAN SPELLING BEE COMPETITION

Oliver McNally competed in the Diocesan Spelling Bee at St Catherine’s Catholic College, Singleton on the last day of Term 2. He displayed outstanding skill and knowledge in spelling, taking out first place in the Stage 3 category. Congratulations Oliver on this tremendous achievement!!

KINDER AND YEAR 1 OLYMPICS

To acknowledge the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic games, Kindergarten and Year 1 students will be participating in the ‘Infants Olympics’ – formerly the Infants Athletics Carnival on Friday 9th August 2024.

On this day students are invited to dress in one of the colours of the Olympic Rings in recognition of the 2024 Paris Olympics which are taking place from Friday 26th July to Sunday 11th August.

Students can choose to wear yellow, green, black, red or blue clothing and accessories. No coloured hair spray is to be worn. Throughout the day students will be participating in a number of tabloid activities that require running, jumping and other physical activities. As such, students are required to wear sneakers and clothing appropriate for such activities. You may wish to send you child in a coloured shirt or with a coloured accessory and their regular sports shorts/skort/trackpants. If you do not own any of these colours your child can wear their blue sports polo shirt. Parents are also encouraged to dress in one of these colours.

Gates on Gregory Road will open at 11.30am. Please bring a chair or picnic blanket to sit on.

The festivities will begin with an Opening Ceremony where students in Kindergarten and Year 1 will take part in a march past as well as a torch relay ceremony. All students will then participate in a running event before we move off into Kindergarten and Year 1 groups for tabloid activities, where parents are invited to join their children, and where possible, join in the fun.

At the conclusion of the Olympics parents are invited to join their children for a BYO picnic lunch.

To include the whole school in this event, each class from Years 2-6 have been assigned a country that is participating in the Olympics, and they will be researching this country to find out some more information about them and their Olympic journey. Students will then be making a replica of the flag for that country which will be displayed as part of the Infants Olympics.

We look forward to seeing our Kindergarten and Year 1 families on this day.

WHS

PROTECTIVE BEHAVIOURS FOR CHILDREN

Parents are often worried about ‘stranger danger’. But this is only a small part of keeping children safe from people who want to hurt them. More than 8 in 10 crimes against children are committed by someone they know, even relatives or friends.

Young children may not recognise when adults pose a threat. Most undesirable people are likely to seem friendly, or they may try to entice children with a treat or a sad story. But children can learn to recognise and trust their own feelings.

Protective behaviours encourage children to recognise unsafe situations and to take action through:

• recognising early warning signs, like butterflies in the stomach, sweaty hands, goose bumps or a racing heart.
• understanding when to take action. Children need to understand the difference between feeling scared and still having fun, like during a movie; feeling scared but still being in control, like at the dentist; and feeling scared and not being in control, like when they are lost or being harmed by someone. This is a personal emergency and the child needs to seek help.
• Taking action. This might mean talking to an adult they can trust, going to a safe place, or even dialling triple zero (000).

Practical tips for parents to keep children safe

• Always provide the supervision children need to remain safe.
• Trust your instincts if behaviour from a friend or relative makes you or your child feel uncomfortable.
• Believe your child if they tell you about something that made them feel uncomfortable.
• Make sure that your child understands what touching is OK and what is not OK. Let them know that no one has the right to touch them anywhere on their body that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, angry, upset or confused.
• Ensure that they know and use the correct language for their private parts.
• Explain that sometimes adults do things that are wrong and they should tell you if this happens.
• Many undesirable people make children keep their abuse a secret. Help your children to learn the difference between safe and unsafe secrets. Teach them that secrets are only OK if they give someone a nice surprise.
• Have a family password that your child can remember. If someone tells your child they have come to pick them up, the child can test them with the password.
• Make sure your children know where to go for help.

Staying safe with strangers

Here are some tips you can give to young children to help them stay safe from strangers:

• Strangers are people you don’t know. Most strangers are good people. But you don’t have to always trust or believe an adult.
• If a stranger wants to talk to you, always check with your parents first.
• Strangers may make up stories or offer treats to make you go with them. Never go with a stranger — no matter what they say. Never, ever, get in a car with a stranger.
• If you are on your own, always stay somewhere busy and well-lit where other people can see you.
• Make sure your parents or carers always know where you are.
• Sometimes you might need to talk to a stranger for help, for example if you are lost. Look for a mum with children or go into a shop, police station, service station, library or school.
• If someone is following you or grabs you, scream for help as loud as you can. Shout ‘Go away, I don’t know you’ so other people will understand.

GOVERNANCE

SPECIAL REPORT: Eating Anxiety

Eating anxiety encompasses the stress, worry, or fear associated with eating and can appear in various forms, such as a refusal of all foods or an aversion to specific textures or flavours. This is particularly challenging for children and teenagers during school break times or lunchtime. Often this anxiety can be intensified by either social pressures or the surrounding environment. While not a formally recognised condition, eating anxiety is a real and overwhelming experience that can stem from multiple sources including social anxiety, body image concerns, eating disorders, cultural or dietary restrictions, and bullying.

Students who feel self-conscious about eating in public, potentially feel their anxiety exacerbated by peer scrutiny when in school settings. Recognising this anxiety as a legitimate issue is crucial. It is important for parents and educators to create a supportive environment where affected students feel understood and safe. Many schools are becoming increasingly aware of these challenges and are implementing policies to mitigate stress and stigma by promoting body positivity, and accommodating students who feel uncomfortable eating in public spaces.

Ultimately, the goal is to build a trusting and resilient foundation, allowing children and adolescents to face their fears at their own pace, thereby reducing the anxiety associated with eating in social contexts. This collaborative approach aims to support young people in overcoming their eating challenges effectively.

Watch a short video for more information- click the link below.

SPORT NEWS

RUGBY UNION

On Wednesday of Week 1, St Patrick's students from Year 5 and 6 played in a 10-a-side Rugby Union competition against other schools in our diocese. The boys played with great sportsmanship and integrity and only lost one game against the team who were victorious over the whole day.

Congratulations to Kye Hedges, Miles Cavanagh, Tate Dunning, Astin Vadas, Cooper Robins, Mitchell Summers, Ned Cunningham, Charles Cooper, Lincoln Turner and Sam Horan. A special thank you to Flynn Ginty and Hudson Brown from St Joseph's Dungog who played with our school for the day.

Well done boys!

DIOCESAN ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

We had a large number of children who placed in an event at the Regional Athletics Carnival on July 2nd, this means they have successfully progressed to compete at the Diocesan Athletics Carnival. Unfortunately, due to other sporting commitments, many of these students are unable to attend the upcoming carnival. Nevertheless, congratulations to Finn Cooper, Myah Burgess, Addison Hahn, Ari Kemp, Sophia Unicomb, Hughston Robinson, Sienna Atkins, Harper Enright, Scarlett Crouch, Sophie Cant, Max Crowther, Phoenix Russell, Isabella Crouch, Cooper Robins, Mitchell Summers, Kye Hedges, Eli Unicomb, Kensi Gibson and Nash McGregor.

CAnteen news

The Canteen will be turning green and gold for the upcoming Infants athletics carnival.  Make sure to get your orders in for the country inspired meal deals.  We will be celebrating Australia (pies and sausage rolls), India (butter chicken) and the host country France (warm ham and cheese croissant).  All meal deals come with an Aussie inspired cupcake and a juice.

Orders will close on Monday 5^th August at 830am, so make sure you get your orders in early. There will also be other Olympic inspired goodies for purchase over the counter, keep an eye out on Facebook for these.  The meal deals will be delivered during recess so families can enjoy them for the picnic lunch. 

Kinder and Year 1 parents, if you would like to order one of the meal deals for family or friends, please do so under your child’s name. 

VOLUNTEERS

There certainly is a lot going on this term, so I would be very grateful for any extra help on the upcoming athletics carnival and Grandparents Day/Bookweek.  Both these days are marked on the roster, so if you can help at any stage of either of these days please get in touch.

Thank you to all the volunteers who continually help to get those goodies out to the children.

COMMUNITY NEWS

ENQUIRY EVENING 2024

CHISHOLM REGION MASS

PARENTING PAGE

P AND F NEWS

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