23 February 2024

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

It really feels like the year is underway once our Parish School Forum has its AGM. We had a good roll-up on Tuesday evening and plans for the year ahead were shared. We had an early evening walk around the school grounds with a special highlight being a visit to the second gaga pit which was built using Bingo funds last year. (Levi and Will gave me a special demo this aftenoon as I missed the lunch time fun!)

I encourage you to check out the committees that report to the PSF further down in the newsletter. All are welcome to be involved.

I had a lovely visit from Kindergarten yesterday; they were on a bit of a school tour looking for signs that our school is a Catholic school. What a delightful group of little humans they are! They quickly found my crucifix, a holding cross and my great-grandparents’ pictures of the sacred heart of Jesus and Mary! Loved your visit,  Kindergarten. Come again soon!

Today, I was very pleased to present a principal’s award to Jacob McPherson for his consistent  good mornings this year and Mrs Waterworth presented a Walk Worthy of God Leadership star to Layla Verbruggen in Year 5. Congratulations Layla and Jacob.

We say a warm welcome to the Chawla and Meehan families who joined the school community this week.

Warm Regards,

Liz

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Monday 26th February - Zone Swimming in Maclean
• Tuesday 27th February- Class Parents meeting 5.30pm
• Wednesday 28th February - Kindergarten Breakfast
• Tuesday 12th-13th March - School Photos
• Wednesday 13th March - NAPLAN testing begins
  
• Wednesday 20th March - Years 1 & 2 Breakfast
• Thursday 21st March - Harmony day activities at school
• Friday 22nd March - MHOC Cross Country
• Sunday 24th March - Bunnings Easter Raffle and Cake Stall
• Wednesday 27th March - Years 3 & 4 Breakfast 
• Thursday 29th March - Holy Thursday
• Friday 29th March - Good Friday
• Monday 1st April - Easter Monday
• Wednesday 3rd April - Years 5 & 6 Breakfast
• Saturday 6th April- First Eucharist (Holy Communion) - 9am
• Monday 7th April-12th April - Catholic Education Week
• Monday 8th April - 12th April - Australian Dental Health Visit
• Monday 8th April - Year 3 Learning Showcase, 2pm
• Tuesday 9th April - Years 4 & 1 Learning Showcase, 2pm
• Wednesday 10th April - Years 6 & Kindergarten Learning Showcase, 2pm
• Thursday 11th April - Years 5 & 2 Learning Showcase, 2pm

WHAT'S THE BUZZ?

Class Parents

Our 2024 Class Parents are meeting on Tuesday at 5.30pm. You’ll be hearing from these good people in the near future.

Kindergarten 2025

Paretns of Kindergarten 2025 children: Our enrolment period officially commences in April but you are welcome to complete the application form on our website at your earliest convenience.

Smartwatches

From Monday, 26th March, MHOC children will no longer be able to wear smartwatches at school.

Classroom analog and digital clocks and automated bells make for an ordered day at school and your child is welcome to wear an analog or digital watch if they like to keep a closer eye on the time. 

As always, our administration staff are able to deliver messages to your child/ren during the day if required.  

If a smartwatch is required for before or after school communication, it can be dropped off to the front office upon arrival at school and collected at day’s end.

We’ve wrestled with this decision but our teachers have observed that smartwatches can be distracting for young children, drawing their attention away from learning activities and interactions with peers and teachers. As well, unfortunately, not all children use smartwatches responsibly and their misuse is difficult to monitor.

Thank you for your support. If this presents any difficulties for you, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will work out a solution together.

Class Breakfasts 

Class breakfasts will be held later this term from 7:30am - 8:30am. Come along and meet the teachers and other parents in your child's grade.

Order now on Flexischools!

Wednesday - 28th February - Kindergarten

Wednesday - 20th March - Year 1 & 2

Wednesday  27th March - Year 3 & 4

Wednesday  - 3rd April - Year 5 & 6

LOVING LEARNING

Year 3 students have been using lots of different strategies to work on  reading and composing (writing) during English. We have been focusing on reading fluency, using dictionaries to learn about new words and Typing Club to improve our typing skills.

FROM THE MISSION DESK

Year 6 Leadership Day/Mass

On Monday, our Year 6 students participated in a special leadership day to celebrate their leadership qualities, grounded in the principles of faith and compassion. The students explored the importance of empathy, compassion and service to others through fun team building activities  and reflection. Together they discussed the responsibilities that come with leadership, including making ethical decisions, acting with integrity, and being accountable for their actions. The pizza lunch was also a big hit! A fun day was had by all.

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Peer Groups

Our wonderful Year 6 leaders ran their first peer groups session today. The children had a lovely time getting to know one another, discussing all of their favourite people, places, and things. The conversations and laughter were beautiful to hear!

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Junior Joeys

This week Mrs Schmal visited our Junior Joeys. Junior Josephites (Joeys) is a group which gives hope for the future, keeping alive the Vision and Mission of Mary MacKillop, Fr Julian Tennison Woods and the Sisters of St Joseph. It is a way to foster a sense of belonging that supports and empowers the children to follow in her footsteps, responding to the needs of our time. 

There are three main areas of focus for the group: 

• Spiritual: coming together in the spirit of Mary MacKillop, in friendship, prayer and service
• Educational: learning about Mary MacKillop, her life and work and focusing on values such as service, compassion, and social justice.
• Service: seeking to respond to needs within the school and the wider community

Year 3 R.E

During Religious Education, students in Year 3 have been learning all about Lent. We have learnt that the three pillars of Lent are Almsgiving, Forgiveness and Prayer. We have each written a Lenten promise.

Term 1 Class Masses 

All parents are welcome to attend our weekly Tuesday Mass at 9:30am. These class Masses are held at MHOC Church Sawtell. Please see the timetable below for Term One. Masses will commence in week 3.

Tuesday 27th February - Year 3

Tuesday 5th March - Year 2

Tuesday 12th March - Year 1

Tuesday 19th March - Year 4

Tuesday 26th March - Year 5

Tuesday 2nd April - Year 3

Tuesday 9th April - Kinder & Yr 6

MHOC PARENT FORUM

Summer Family Games Night

The MHOC Parent Assembly team are holding a Summer Family Games Night on Wednesday 13th March from 5:30-7.30pm. 

The evening begins with a delicious Old Skool pizza dinner, followed by a variety of indoor and outdoor games. 

One child and one adult from each family will join with other child-parent pairs to rotate through the different games. It’s an enjoyable evening playing games and meeting other families - and it’s completely free!

Numbers are limited, we will be in contact to confirm your registration.  A waiting list will be created for any last minute cancellations.  

Register here.

MHOC- Bunnings Easter raffle and cake stall

The PSF is holding an Easter raffle and cake stall on Sunday 24th March at Bunnings. We hope you can join the fun!

We will be looking for some volunteers to join us in selling raffle tickets and baked goodies on the day. The stall will run from 8:30am until about 2pm (or until we sell out).

We are also in need of donations of cupcakes, biscuits/ cookies and slices (to be delivered to the stall at Bunnings) for sale on the day.

If you are able to assist with either selling and/or baking please fill in this form. We would really appreciate your support to help make this a success!

PSF AGM

The PSF members held their AGM on Tuesday 20th April. They reflected on the past year and began planning for the year ahead. They toured the school and discussed areas for enhancement.

Nathan Trezise was welcomed as the incoming Treasurer and Jamie Postlewait was welcomed as the Parent Assembly representative. - thank you both for supporting the PSF in these important roles!

The current members are  Raquel Desic, Erin Johnson, Lisa Mangan, Jamie Postlewaite, Anna McCarthy, Jo Melinz, Ged O’Sullivan, Amber Andrews (teacher rep),  Margaret Ryan, Amber Biddle, Nathan Trezise and Liz Watts.

PSF Committees:

- Parent Assembly

- Social & Fundraising

- Bingo

- Class Parents

- Canteen

- Sustainability

- Alumni

If you would like to join any of our committees, please complete this form.

Bingo

The rostered teams for the next few weeks' Bingo are:

• Thursday 29th February - team no. 4 (Teachers' team)
• Thursday 7th March - team no. 5 (Meg's team)
• Thursday 14th March - team no 1 (Gemma's team)

SPORT NEWS

Zone Sports Trials

This week a number of our students attended Zone trials in Netball and Soccer. These trials were highly competitive this year with a large pool of children trialing for a spot in each sport. 

Congratulations to the following students who will continue to the Diocesan trials later in the term in their respective sports:

• Gabrielle Laurie
• Maia Bennett
• Piper O’Sullivan
• Keeley Adamson
• Asha Cook
• Lacey Van Hoeck
• Harry Munro

Zone trials in rugby union will be held in week 7.

Trials were not necessary in rugby league and hockey, so the following students will trial at the Diocesan trials in the coming weeks.

• Lucas Townsend 
• Lachlan Forrest 
• Leo Salter
• Patrick forshaw
• Cole Adams
• Ashton Harding
• Ivy Walmsley

Polding AFL Trials

Good luck to our AFL superstars Lincoln Sawaya and Kaiden Doust at the Diocesan trials today. 

HABITS OF MINDS AWARDS

Term 1, Week 4

CANTEEN NEWS

What's Cooking in the Canteen?

Canteen Roster

Parent and grandparent volunteers are always needed and welcome. Please phone the school or complete this form if you can spare some time in the canteen.

Monday 26th Feb 

Tuesday 27th Feb

Wednesday 28th Feb

Thursday 29th Feb
Angela Thaler

Friday 1st Mar
Rachel Pryce
Nichole Brookes

LIBRARY WHISPERS

There’s something for everyone in this selection of new books we have for the library. It’s wonderful choosing books that I know the children will love. I can’t wait to see their excited faces when I show them all!

Lakey was concerned that the charade game we have at MHOC was too old for the younger students, especially for those children who aren’t reading sentences yet. She decided to do something about it and made a set that they can easily play with no reading involved!

OSHC

This week’s program theme is “The Ocean”. The children have been quite engaged and have also expressed  interest in some new activities they would like to see in the mornings and afternoons.

Week 4’s favourite activities have been keyring designing, paper plate fish craft, jellyfish craft, board games, bit and pieces craft and paper bag creations.

The educators are very excited for what the rest of the term will bring and the memories we will make together. 

Tahlia Q

NEWS FROM OUR PARISH

Baptism

The Sacrament of Baptism is available to those requesting it. Please ring Jennifer at the Parish Office (66583544) or talk to Amber Biddle, Liz Watts or Margaret Ryan at school if you have any questions.  Alternatively, if you wish to register for Baptism, there is now the option of an  online request form .

Parish Website , E-bulletin & Facebook Page

For all the latest news from our parish, check out the Parish website or subscribe to our  new e-bulletin which can be sent directly to your inbox each week. Why not sign up today by entering your details in the sign up box on the Homepage or Contact page of the website!

And don’t forget to check out our FaceBook page

COMMUNITY NEWS