Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mullewa
Newsletter - Term 2- Week 3 - 11th May 2022
Mother's Day
Dear Lord,
We pray for mothers, who give life and count toes and tend to our every need; may they be blessed with patience and tenderness to care for their families and themselves with great joy.
We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us; may they continue to guide us in strong and gentle ways.
We remember mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty or conflict; may they feel the loving embrace of our God who wipes away every tear.
We pray for women who are not mothers
but still love and shape us with motherly care and compassion.
We remember mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers who are no longer with us but who live forever etched in our memory, with love.
Amen.
OLMC Important Dates
16th - 20th May Book Fair
17th May Book Fair Dress Up Day - Under the Sea
17th May Kindy-Pre/Primary-Yr 1 Assembly 2.45pm
23rd - 27th May Communio Week
1st June Yr 2/3 Assembly
6th June WA Day Public Holiday
From the Principal’s Desk
Welcome back to everyone for the start of Term 2. I trust everyone was well-rested from the holidays. This term will see us return to having school assemblies and our Cross Country Faction events. Please see our Term Planner for dates.
Our school community sadly farewells our Teacher Assistant, Miss Ann. She will be missed for her beautifully gentle nature, and in particular her therapy work with the students. We wish Miss Ann and Steve all the best in their transfer with the Police Force. We welcome Mrs Nikki McCuish who will be working half a day in with our K/P/1 class and a full day on our therapy program alongside Mrs Sheree Tropiano.
All OLMC staff spent the first day back for Term 2 participating in an online professional development course on the use of Character Strengths. This is part of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy the school is currently developing, and we will also be introducing these to the students across the term. OLMC staff joined with the staff from St Mary’s in Northampton for the day.
Our NAPLAN testing for Year 3 and 5 students will take place this week in Year Three and Five. The students’ reports from the testing will be received by the school later in the year. If you have any questions, please feel free to see your classroom teacher.
CEWA continues to keep principals and schools updated with all Department of Health COVID protocols. I would like to thank all of our parents for their continued assistance and cooperation with all of our COVID protocols. We will continue to take care and practice our COVID safe protocols, in particular hand washing for the students. Mask wearing is optional but will be encouraged and supported by the school where students wish to wear a mask. Students who are unwell should always remain at home and undertake a RAT test as necessary. The guidelines that currently apply include:
· If a child tests positive to COVID-19 they must isolate for 7 days and return to school on Day 8, as long as they are showing no symptoms
· If a student is living in a household with a person who has tested positive to COVID-19, they may attend school if they are: showing no symptoms and have taken a RAT test each morning that has come back negative.
God bless and keep safe.
Jill Hollands
Principal
Staff Professional Development
- Mrs Tanya Moffat attended a Talk for Writing PD in Week 2 that she found extremely beneficial in terms of the work we are currently doing at OLMC on speech therapy, as well as her storytelling sessions on Thursdays
- Miss Rachel Kernaghan attended an online PD on the use of the Technologies Curriculum
- Miss Jill participated in refresher training on the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for 2022
- Mrs Messina has attended (via Teams) the second component of the CEWA Middle Leaders Course for this year
Keeping Safe: Child Protection Program
The Education Act mandates the teaching of a Protective Behaviours program in all schools. At Our Lady of Mount Carmel we follow the Keeping Safe Program. The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) aims to help children learn to recognise abuse and develop ways of protecting themselves from abuse and, in wider terms, covers rights, relationships, responsibilities and ethical behaviour.
The KS:CPC is divided into 5 documents specific to the age and year level of students. There are an additional three documents for educators working with:
· Aboriginal children and young people
· culturally and linguistically diverse children and young people
· children and young people with disability and additional needs.
The KS:CPC is predicated on two main themes which are presented through topics and activities of increasing complexity. The two KS:CPC Themes are:
· Theme 1: We all have the right to be safe
· Theme 2: We can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust.
The two KS:CPC Themes are explored through four Focus Areas, which are examined in growing complexity in accordance with the age of the students. The four KS:CPC Focus Areas are:
· Focus Area 1: The right to be safe
· Focus Area 2: Relationships
· Focus Area 3: Recognising and reporting abuse
More information can be found on the KS:CPC website: http://tiny.cc/KSCPC-ParentCarerInfo. Please contact your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions about the curriculum.
Anzac Day Service 2022
Our Year 2/3 class prepared a beautifully reverent ANZAC Day service that took place in the front garden. The students read very well, along with Cohen who recited an ANZAC poem he had presented at the Mullewa community’s ANZAC service. Thank you to those students who brought in posies of flowers to lay at the foot of the Australian flag.
Lest we Forget
They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them.
NAPLAN 2022
All children in Years 3 & 5 will complete the NAPLAN Online testing in Weeks 3 and 4 this term unless exempt or withdrawn.
The testing period is from Tuesday 10 May to Friday 20 May.
The school has undergone extensive School Readiness Testing procedures to ensure our devices and networks can support the online assessment.
Please note all tests are online except for the Year 3 Writing Test.
Students who are absent on a particular testing day are still able to complete the test when they return to school. The NAPLAN testing window is open until Friday 20th May, giving us a full week to complete any catch up testing needed.
NAPLAN assesses fundamental skills in literacy and numeracy that are developed over time through the school curriculum, rather than specific content. It is not a pass-or-fail type test, for which students can study or drill, but rather shows how students are progressing in numeracy and literacy skills against national standards for all Australian children. It also provides information that allows schools and governments to better target efforts to help all students achieve their potential and acquire the basic skills to help them build successful lives.
The best way you can help your child to prepare for NAPLAN is to ensure that they are well rested and send them to school after having a nutritious breakfast. Please reassure your children that NAPLAN is just one part of the school program and urge them to simply do the best they can on the day.
An individual student NAPLAN report will be issued by the school later this year. Parents can use this information to monitor how their child is progressing and identify any areas of concern. Parents may also wish to use their child’s results to discuss progress with teachers. More information is available at www.nap.edu.au
Book Fair
Our Book Fair will run from Monday, 16th May until 20th Friday, May in Week 4.
The theme this year is Under The Sea. Our Book Fair Dress Up Parade will be on Tuesday 17th May.
Happenings Within Classrooms
Other News
School Fees
School Fees have been emailed and/or sent home to all Parents and Carers. If you have not received your school fees, please contact the office.
For those families who hold a current, eligible Centrelink Concession Card please complete the 2022 Health Care Card form and send to admin@olmc.wa.edu.au with a copy of your concession card.
Medical Reminders
To ensure your child’s wellbeing, the school requires that parents provide up-to-date medical information in regard to any allergies or medical conditions. If your child is allergic to bee stings, nuts, shellfish, eggs etc. and may suffer an allergic reaction, it is paramount that the school is informed. Your doctor will need to provide an anaphylaxis document with instructions that the school will follow. If your child suffers from asthma, a plan is also required for staff to follow in the event of an asthma attack. Anaphylaxis documents and asthma plans are to be presented to the office with medication to ensure that in an event of a medical incident, your child can be treated effectively. Any other medical information that may be relevant must also be presented in written form to the office. This information will remain confidential within the staff-teaching environment.
Office Reminders
P&F News
Mother’s Day Stall
The students enjoyed purchasing their gifts for their mothers last Thursday morning. Thank you to Mrs Rebecca Dreghorn who took on this job for the P&F.
Parish Reminders
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish – Mass is celebrated every Sunday commencing at 8:30am. Everyone is welcome to attend.
For further details and information on any Mass services please feel free to contact Fr Robert O’Bryan PP on 9961 1181 or 0457 980852
School Term Dates
Term 1: Monday, 31 January to Friday, 8 April 2022
Term 2: Wednesday, April 27 to Friday, 1 July 2022
Term 3: Tuesday, 19 July to Friday, 23 September 2022
Term 4: Tuesday, 11 October to Friday, 9 December 2022
Pupil Free Dates
Term 2: Tuesday, 26 April
Term 3: Monday, 18 July and Monday, 22nd August 2022
Term 4: Monday, 10 October 2022