Term 3 Week 6 2023
Principal's Message
Dear families and friends,
‘We do whatever it takes to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith, School Spirit, Sport & Community’
Celebrating Healthy Men - SMP in September
SMPtmenber
A few months ago, Alecia Kearney & Kasey-Lee Cowan visited me to have a little chat. These mums lost their loving partners, and father to their children quite recently due to health reasons, in particular the heart. The impact this has had on them, their families, and our community is profound. We know there are more in a very similar situation. From this, we wish to celebrate the importance of men in our lives, and ensure they are as healthy as can be.
Generalising, men are not great at going to the doctor and do not pay attention to their body and any health warning signs. As men, we often feel the pressure of many things. Some feel the pressure to be the provider, to protect our family and to show strength & keep going, even when feeling sick & weak. Men & women often suffer in relationship breakdowns, especially around the sharing of kids. Men often hold all their worries inside, not comfortable speaking to others, and sometimes this can come out in unhealthy ways we don’t wish to.
As a Catholic school community, we wish to show how important Men are to our community, to our families, especially our kids, and how much we value them and want them to be as healthy as they can be. We wish to put Casino Men’s Health very much on the radar. Our community is at its best when our men are at our best, our kids and families are flourishing when we have healthy males positively involved. So, to kick this off, initially we wish to:
- On Friday 8 & 15 September from 8:00am - 8:45am, our Fathers, Grandfathers, Uncles, Men in our kids' lives are invited to our Breakfast & simple games with our kids.
- For Father’s Day, from 2:30pm on Friday 1 September, we once again will put on Beer & Pies, but also have some healthy options available too and the optional opportunity to get a quick free blood pressure and sugar glucose test.
- A brochure will go home that contains how men can easily and discreetly access physical and mental health support.
I would love to have a huge roll up at these 3 functions above!
Student Led Conference
I want to STRONGLY ENCOURAGE all families to participate in our Student Led Conference at the end of this term with your child and your child’s teacher, especially to discuss where your child is at against their Success Criteria that has been shared with you. Please discuss with your child how they are doing with their Success Criteria and consider some goals from this criteria in going forward that you will discuss at the student-led conferences. More information to come soon.
Take care
John O’Brien
Assistant Principal's News - Mission
School Jacket Ordering Form - 2024
We are now taking new orders for school jackets for 2024. The price is $59 per jacket. To make an order, please follow the steps:
1) Fill out the order form below
2) Make payment for the jacket at the school office.
Please note - only orders that have been fully paid for in the school office will be processed. Orders and payments close on Monday 9 October. KIDS and ADULTS sizing guides below.
CLICK HERE for the order form.
Lockdown and Evacuation Drills
Ensuring the safety of our students is our top priority at SMP. This week we practiced a lockdown drill and next week we will practise an evacuation drills which are key safety protocols and processes for our students to understand. We are also mandated to practice these as part of our WHS processes.
These drills equip our students with the knowledge and confidence to respond effectively in case of emergencies. Practicing lockdown procedures cultivates a sense of calm and understanding, helping students comprehend the importance of staying hidden and quiet. Evacuation drills, on the other hand, teach them how to evacuate swiftly and orderly. By conducting these drills regularly, we empower our students with life-saving skills, ensuring a secure learning environment where everyone knows how to act responsibly in challenging situations.
Example scenarios of when we might have a real lockdown or evacuation:
Lockdown Scenario: In the event of a potential threat nearby, such as a wild animal (dog, snake etc) entering the school premises, a lockdown might be initiated. This is done to ensure the safety of students and staff by keeping them indoors and away from potential danger. Lockdown drills teach students to remain quiet, stay out of sight, and follow instructions until the all-clear is given.
Evacuation Scenario: If a fire breaks out in a school building, an evacuation would be necessary. Students and staff would be guided to leave the building in an orderly manner and assemble at designated safe points. Evacuation drills help students understand the importance of leaving quickly but calmly, and they become familiar with the routes and gathering spots for safe accountability.
Sacrament of Confirmation
Congratulations to our SMP students (majority in Year 3) who celebrated their Sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday 17 August. A big thank you to Karen McDonald, Rebecca O'Connor, Hannah Brooks and Connor Hannigan for all of the hours of hard work and time spent outside of their normal hours preparing everything for these students.
Three Sixteen Youth Group
The final after school Youth Group for Term 3 is on Friday 8 September for those who previously registered.
SMP & SMCC Mass - Feast of the Assumption of Mary
On Tuesday 15 August, Years 3-6 students joined together with Years 7-10 from the College to celebrate a Mass for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. This was the first time since Covid that we have joined together as two schools in such a large celebration. This will be a continued focus for us as a school moving forward. The students really enjoyed being part of a huge community and sitting with the big high schoolers!
Sam Irvine
Assistant Principal - Mission
Assistant Principal's News Teaching & Learning
Last Chance Premier's Reading Challenge
Parents and students are no longer able to add any books to their Premier's Reading Challenge Booklist. I can, however, add some in from school. If any children have missed the cut-off for adding their booklist but would still like to submit their books for the challenge, please email the list to me before Wednesday 30 August and I will submit this for you.
felicity.wilde@lism.catholic.edu.au
Celebrating our amazing writers
Please see the gallery below for some samples of the amazing writing that is happening at SMP.
Felicity Wilde
AP Teaching & Learning
Kindergarten East Retell of Goldilocks and the Three Bears
A Night Time Adventure- Ruby Seed Yr 5
Leader of Pedagogy
Byron Writers Festival
On the 9 August, 45 students from Stage 2 and 3 went to Bangalow for the Byron Writers Festival.
Each stage went to a different tent to listen to a range of authors with many other students across the district.
Stage 3 were lucky to have Karen Foxlee, Solli Raphael and Oliver Phommavanh at their workshops. Karen loved to share her stories of magic and how to use these to come up with exciting ideas, Solli loved to write about social and world issues and recite his poems with feeling. Oliver was entertaining with his funny stories and exaggerations. This sent the audience into fits of laughter.
Stage 2 enjoyed the company of Zanni Louise, a popular children’s author. Next, Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, a well known illustrator demonstrated the process of having stories published from the idea stage, right through to the selling of these at bookshops. The last workshop was with Carl Merrison & Hakea Hustler, a pair of writers that led the students in how to come up with ideas and turn them into stories.
Every student really enjoyed the experience, got lots of ideas and inspiration to take home and put to use in their own writing. We look forward to joining in again next year, it was a positive experience for everyone.
Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee
Recently, more than 50 students from Stages 2 and 3 competed in Round One of the annual Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee. This is an online event where each student is asked to spell 30 words as quickly and accurately as they can. The words given to the students are difficult and require an extensive knowledge of a range of spelling skills to complete the task. All of the students involved enjoyed the challenge and achieved great results. Each student received a Participation Certificate and the following students are our class champions for 2023:
Year 3-Leah McIntyre
Year 4-Aurora Silver
Year 5 -Myles Elwell
Year 6- Thomas Zeller
Congratulations to Aurora Silver for winning the School Championship with a score of 28 words correct in a time of 1 minute 50 seconds. Aurora has made it onto Round 2 of the competition, which is the State Level. This is a great achievment, well done Aurora.
Michelle Bratti
3-4 Instructional Leader
Spelling Bee
Writers Festival
Sport News
On Tuesday 15 August the Diocesan Athletics Carnival was held in Coffs Harbour. Congratulations to the following students who have made it to Polding in Sydney.
Marcos Barber - 100m
Rocco Jenkins - 100m
Marley Botfield - Shot Put
Eva Crompton - Dicsus
Relay Teams 4 x 100m:
Junior Boys - Rocco Jenkins, Marcos Barber, Chase Roberts, Finnan Martin
Senior Boys - Jonah Vakararawa, Callum Gava, Thomas McCormack, Teo Stavenow
Jack Fiedler
Sports Co-ordinator
Birthdays
Happy birthday t0 
Ellie McKenzie Thea Clark Harper Pratt Fenix Pratt Harrison Stokes Jackson Ferguson Archie Ferguson Ashton Newby Sydney Pehi Daisy Dougherty Austin Bird Arrabella Johnson Archie Bultitude Heidi Bunting Arabella Scheepers Caysen Lambeth Ruby Seed Axel Smith Curtys Aleckson Zoey Churchill Eboni Gibson Peyton Brown Jackson Gay and Dimity Smith who have recently celebrated their birthday and to Oliver Formaggin who celebrates tomorrow.
