5 April 2024
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Happy Easter everyone!
Remember, even though Lent is over, the Season of Easter lasts for 50 days, leading up to the Feast of Pentecost. Keep on celebrating!
With the Easter Hat Parade, two class breakfasts and the Cross Country Carnival all in the last fortnight, it's been wonderful to see so many of our parents around the school. We're looking forward to seeing you next week, during Catholic Education Week, for the children's Learning Showcases. These commence at 2pm each day with a prayer and introduction by your child's teachers. See the timetable below.
Please keep the children receiving the Eucharist for the first time this Saturday in your prayers.
Warm Regards,
Liz
Liz Watts
Principal
UPCOMING EVENTS
Term 1
- 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
- Monday 8th April - Hot Dog Day in the canteen
- Tuesday 9th April - Years 4 & 1 Learning Showcase, 2pm
- Tuesday 9th April - Zone Cross Country, Grafton
- Wednesday 10th April - Years 6 & Kindergarten Learning Showcase, 2pm
- Wednesday 10th April - Schools Soccer Cup (local round)
- Wednesday 10th April - final AXIOS youth group meeting for Term 1
- Thursday 11th April - Years 5 & 2 Learning Showcase, 2pm
- Friday 12th April - Catholic Schools Week Liturgy and Term 1 Effort Awards
- Thursday 26th April - ANZAC Day march
Term 2
- Monday 29th April - Staff Development Day - no school for students
- Tuesday 30th April - first day of term for students
- Wednesday 22nd May - MHOC Athletics Carnival, Coffs Harbour
- Thursday 30th May - Staff Development Day (pupil-free day)
Term 3
- Friday 26th July - Grandparents’ Day - Save the date
WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
Catholic Education Week 2024
You are welcome at the following Catholic Education Week events:
- 2pm Monday 8th April - Year 3 Learning Showcase
- 2pm Tuesday 9th April - Year 1 and Year 4 Learning Showcases
- 2pm Wednesday 10th April - Kindergarten and Year 6 Learning Showcases
- 2pm Thursday 11th April - Year 2 and Year 5 Learning Showcases
- 8.50am Friday 12th April - Catholic Education Week Liturgy and presentation of Term 1 Effort Awards
Easter Hat Parade
We had another wonderful Easter Hat Parade. Thank you to our families and friends who joined us.
Morning Drop-Off
A reminder that morning drop-offs are to take place at the Kiss and Drop Zone located at the top of the stairs near the school hall. The area at the front of the school is a no-go zone for parking and dropping off before school. Yes, it is convenient but if everyone were to drop off in this area, we would end up with a traffic jam of epic proportions, blocking access for buses and emergency vehicles.
For before school drop-offs, please drive through the Kiss and Drop Zone or park in the surrounding streets and walk your child/ren to the front gate.
Grandparents’ Day - Save the Date
Our annual Grandparents Day will be held this year on Friday 26th July.
LOVING LEARNING
Explicit Instruction - What’s all the fuss about?
There has been a lot of discussion in the media in recent weeks about changes to the way classrooms are teaching, particularly in English lessons. They have been reporting that the method that gets the best results is something called explicit (or direct) instruction. But just what does this involve?
Explicit instruction involves directly teaching students the content or skill to be learned, using clear and unambiguous language.
Teacher modelling and then teacher guidance is followed by scheduled opportunities for practice. Student/teacher interaction is high.
Explicit instruction is also systematic: there is a carefully planned sequence for teaching that is constructed in a logical sequence from simple to complex content and concepts, commencing from the point at which the students are already competent.
Explicit instruction is a teaching model, rather than a specific teaching program and has Explicit the following characteristics:
- Teacher directed
- Planned and sequenced lessons
- Clear and detailed instructions and explanations
- Content / skills are introduced in small steps
- Practice after each step
- Modelled and guided instruction and practice – (‘I do – we do – you do’)
- Teaching to mastery
- Frequent, systematic monitoring and feedback
- High level of teacher-student interaction
- Cumulative reviews and spaced practice
A perfect example of this is our English lessons at MHOC. The teaching of skills in English takes place within a tightly structured program which embeds ongoing assessment to inform instruction and monitor the progress of each student. You may hear your child talk about the following resources we use to support the teaching of English skills:
- InitiaLit - a program used from Kindergarten to Year 3 to teach skills in English
- SpellEx - a program used in Years 3 to 5 to teach spelling
- MiniLit-sage - An English intervention program for children in Years 1-2
- MacqLit - An English intervention program for children in Years 3-6
We are very pleased with the positive impact this approach and these programs have had on student learning across the school, and teachers are very excited about the individual student growth that is evident.
As always, if you have any questions about your child’s learning, please don’t hesitate to contact his/her teacher by email or via the school office.
Year 2 History
Over the last few weeks, during our History lessons, students in Year 2 have enjoyed sharing family 'artefacts'. All students were invited to bring in a special object from home that told a story about the past. We set up our Classroom Museums and asked each other the questions, including 'What is your object?', 'What does it teach us about the past?' and 'Why is this object important to your family?'
It was such a rich learning experience that created opportunities for students to connect their learning at school to their homes and families.
Margaret Ryan
Assistant Principal
Learning & Teaching
FROM THE MISSION DESK
Easter Prayer
Lord, the resurrection of Your Son
has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people
in pursuit of the Christian ideal.
Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,
the will to want to do it,
the courage to undertake it,
the perseverance to continue to do it,
and the strength to complete it.
Amen
Stations of The Cross
Last Tuesday, our year 6 students re-enacted the Stations of the Cross. As student’s walked through the Stations of the Cross, they were able to empathise with Jesus’ suffering and reflect on the meaning of forgiveness. A big thank you to our Year 6 students who did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life. They certainly touched the hearts of everyone present. A special mention to Donna Edwards and Ann Brennan for their assistance with props and costumes.
Holy Week in Year 1
Mrs Biddle visited Year 1 during the week. The students were excited to tell her all about Holy Week. Here is what they shared….
“It began with Palm Sunday, when people were waving palms to remember when the crowd cheered for Jesus. Then there was The Last Supper, when Jesus had a special meal with his friends. Next came Good Friday. This was a sad day when we remember Jesus dying on the cross, but then we celebrate Easter Sunday when Jesus comes back to life, which is like a happy ending to Holy week”.
Look at their beautiful artworks!
First Holy Communion Mass this Saturday
Please keep our students who will be participating in the Sacrament of Holy Communion (Eucharist) this Saturday in our thoughts and prayers, as they prepare for this special milestone in their faith journey.
Ice Cup Sale
Mini Vinnies and the Social Justice Team organised their last ice cup sale today. The students have done a wonderful job raising money and awareness about homelessness and the importance of lending a helping hand to those in need. Well done!
What’s Been Happening in Religious Education in Year 2?
Over the past 2 weeks, the students in Year 2 have explored the stories of Holy Week through to the Resurrection of Jesus. Using technology, students were asked to illustrate and retell each event. Students were then challenged to reflect on why they think these events are still significant to Christians today. Some students spoke about Holy Thursday being a great example of Jesus showing us how to serve others in the washing of the feet, other students spoke of the miracle of the resurrection.
Term 1 Class Masses
All parents are welcome to attend our weekly Tuesday Mass and morning tea at 9:30am. These class Masses are held at MHOC Church Sawtell. Please see the timetable below for Term One.
Tuesday 9th April - Kinder & Year 6
Amber Biddle
Assistant Principal
Mission
Toni Fletcher
Leader of
Catechesis
SENSEI'S CORNER
Kanji is fascinating and can even be relevant to life. Here’s an idea that can go beyond the classroom.
The Japanese word for hardship or troubling is ‘tsurai’ and it looks like this 辛い, then with only one stroke of the pen difference, it changes to shiawase 幸せ, happiness.
Week 9 in Japanese has Year 2 focused on perfecting their margins. Mastery of fine motor skills is not only satisfying but leads to developing quality and pride in bookwork and organisation.
Japanese Club is on Thursdays at lunch for Year 3-6 but last Thursday we welcomed everyone to try to do the Pokemon hunt around the school. Clues were in Japanese and answers required copying down the kanji numbers“Gotta catch em all” We only had time for 4 clues but next time they will be even harder to find.
Kindergarten have almost mastered saying “May I go to the toilet please” in Japanese, supported by Auslan. "Toire ni itte mo ii desuka."
Boyd Sensei
MHOC PARENT FORUM
Bingo
The rostered teams for the next few weeks' Bingo are:
- Thursday 11th April - team no. 5 (Meg's team)
- Thursday 18th April - team no. 1 (Gemma's team)
- Thursday 25th April - team no. 2 (Kelly's team)
Jo Melinz
PSF President
SPORT NEWS
Cross Country
Thank you everyone for your prayers for sunshine last week for our Cross Country event; we had a glorious, hot day and a fairly dry track for the event. As always, the day was a team effort by all the MHOC staff and we would like to thank everyone who helped make the day a success.
Congratulations to the “Teachers” who took out the “Parents vs Teachers vs Students” race, with Mrs Sevenoaks showing her competitive streak to take out the blue ribbon for our team! Some amazing sportsmanship was shown at the finish line and the event is always a hit all round. This year we even had a mum and bub team competing! What will next year bring?!
We finished our event with a House Colour Picnic on the field with Mrs Watts announcing our Cross Country winning house as GOLD HOUSE! The excitement of these little goldies was palpable!
Thank you very much to our house captains who put in a lot of time and effort on the day to ensure we all had a great day. We couldn't do what we do without these little minions!
Congratulations to the following runners who will make up the MHOC Zone team to compete on an extremely difficult track in Grafton next week:
Keeley Adamson, Frankie Barreto Gunn, Peyton Brown, Archer Casson, Grace Chape, Tessa Chape, Ruby Culverwell, Andi Dennis, Luke Doust, Ella Duncan, Tallan Duncan, Easton Fargher, Eli Fernie, Georgia Gleeson, River Griggs, Jacob Harrington, Lachlan Herbert, Max Herbert, Alex Howard, Victoria Jones, Nate Little, Nate Maguire, Noah Meehan, Ella Morton, Harry Munro, Piper O’Sullivan, Zac Pearson, Zara Pinder, Leo Slater, Archie Shepherd, Tommy Snow, Ella Snow, Charlee Stevens, Eli Stitt, Laila Summers, Miles Thompson, Lacey van Hoeck, Sophie van Hoeck, Layla Verbruggen, Miah Why.
NB: We will await a decision on the viability of this event, considering the rain event predicted for the weekend and beyond. Information will be circulated about this as soon as we get it.
Netball
To cap off a busy week of sport at MHOC last week, three teams of netballers from Yr 3-6 attended the Regional round of the Netball All Schools Cup on Thursday.
Mrs Dennis and Mrs Adamson were almost more excited than the children to attend the event and came back beaming and bragging about the amazing talent and sportsmanship the students displayed on the day. This is always an awesome day, attended by a large number of local schools with competitive through to beginner categories.
Our green & gold teams had a ball (pardon the pun) and we hope this day has instilled a love of netball in all who attended.
Rebecca Bennett
Leader of PDHPE
Geraldine Hourigan
Sports Administrator
HABITS OF MINDS AWARDS
Term 1, Week 10
Kindergarten | Edric Morgan, Kaia Rozyn, Emily Borra, Hunter Prowse |
Year 1 | Olive McGeary, Lauren Young, Zahra Atwal, Campbell Miller, Tahlia White Keevers, Hunter Stevens |
Year 2 | Maddison Kolosque, Paige Rallings,Koa Benedict, Scarlett Carson, Matias Barreto Gunn, Gabriel Hughes, Willow Strazzari, Levi Postlewait, William Andrews |
Year 3 | Sonny Diacono, Coco Lionetti |
Year 4 | Tyler Rook, Ollie Brandon, Harley Bulanyi, Ella Morton |
Year 5 | Lily Fowler, Jaxson Power, Adam McDonald, Ella Snow |
Year 6 | Oscar Lane, Maia Bennett |
CANTEEN NEWS
Hot Dog Day
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 8th Apr - HOT DOG DAY
Kath Rallings
Nichole Brookes
Nina Bowden
Cheryl Jones
Tuesday 9th Apr
Kirsten Hoy
Wednesday 10th Apr
Thursday 11th Apr
Angela Thaler
Friday 12th Apr
Nichole Brookes
Meba Winter
Lisa Mangan
LIBRARY WHISPERS
Overdue notices will be going out this week and early next week. Could you please help your child have a look at home for any overdue books? If you feel sure your child has returned their book or it definitely isn’t at home, feel free to contact me or their teacher so I can amend their borrowing record.
Scholastic Book Club books were handed out this week. Please let me know if your child didn’t receive their order.
Savannah in Year 1 was very excited to share her book with the class this week. She was our visiting author for story time and shared the book with the group and they got to ask her questions (and there were a lot!) I really enjoy seeing the books children make and am always happy to share them with the year group and have them on display in the library. It lets me know how much they’re enjoying looking through and reading books if they’re inspired enough to create their own.
Rachael Hewitt
Librarian
OSHC
Week 9’s program theme was ‘Easter’ and of course the children absolutely loved it!
Monday was a great day full of bix box creations, easter egg puffy painting, scratch art and loom bands galore.
Other favourites from this week included: chalk drawing on the basketball court (this was so much fun!), paddlepop bunny craft, playdough creations and lots of group photos with friends to celebrate Term 1 coming to an end.
This week has been filled with an abundance of fun and happiness from the children which has been lovely to see before the holidays.
MHOC OSHC Vacation Care
Laura McDiarmid
MHOC OSHC Coordinator
NEWS FROM OUR PARISH
Easter celebrations
We are grateful for the presence of Fr David in our parish throughout Holy Week. Fr David travelled from Sydney to be with us from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. He even celebrated two funerals and a baptism while he was here. Our parish Easter liturgies were very well attended and we especially thank our Altar Servers: Gabby, Sophie, Ben, Eva, Jacob, Grace, John, Johan, Hayley, Hannah and Zavier, for being at the different liturgies to assist Fr David and the people present.
AXIOS
Before Easter we spent time thinking about the Resurrection. We created dioramas of the empty tomb and tried to imagine what it would have been like for Jesus' friends to find his tomb empty.
Sacrament of the Eucharist
41 children are celebrating their First Holy Communion this Saturday with Fr Joy. Please remember them in your prayers
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
Parish Team
COMMUNITY NEWS
