Term 1 Week 2 of 9
Friday, 9th of Feburary 2024
This Week’s Newsletter Items:
● Welcome to the 2024 School Year
● Congratulations Mrs Betham
● Meet our newly appointed staff
● School Canteen Information
● Parent Helpers Training Program
● Questions to ask your child
● Prep’s 1st Day of School!
● Lenten Reflection
● School Uniform
● Reading
● Sunday’s Gospel
● Understanding the Gospel
● 2024 Canteen
● Parent teacher Conferences
Dear Parents, Students & Friends,
Welcome to the 2024 school year!
At the beginning of the year, we strive to ensure that the school newsletter is sent out weekly to keep all families informed.
The school newsletter includes all the important information and upcoming dates that you will need to be aware of. While our school office team are more than happy to answer any questions you may have, they often wonder why they are asked questions that have already been addressed in the newsletter.
Therefore we kindly request that you take the time to read through the newsletter every week.
Congratulations to Mrs Betham our new Deputy Principal: Learning & Organisation
Shannon will be a familiar face to many Resurrection families as a senior school teacher and team leader. Shannon is looking forward to getting to better know students and families throughout the school.
Meet our newly appointed Staff
A big welcome to the following staff who were appointed at the start of this year.
Mrs Belinda Collins (2A) Ms Rosie Nojdek (5A Term 1)
2024 Canteen Information
The Resurrection Canteen will be officially open and available for orders on Wednesday 14th of February. The canteen will be available for lunch orders on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. Information, including a canteen menu, was emailed to all families earlier this week.
School Advisory Council & School Parent Committee (SAC)
School Advisory Council (SAC) will reconvene on Tuesday 20th February at 7.00pm in the schools staff planning room.
The primary focus of the SAC for this year is to build community connectivity and engagement. We would love to see a true representation of our community’. In this spirit, all are welcome.
Parents wishing to participate in the School Advisory Council this year are asked to please contact the office via email office@rskingspark.catholic.edu.au
to advise us of your attendance.
God Bless,
Jess Davis
Acting Principal
Parent Helper Training Program
The partnership between parents and staff is highly valued and extra assistance is always greatly appreciated.
Fortunately, we have many parents who sincerely not only wish to visit the classroom in the morning but wish to help with the learning program. As a result this and to ensure quality of teaching and learning, we are offering a Classroom Parent Helpers Training Program.
The course outlines ways that parents can assist in the classroom by working with small groups of children and providing a role model for learning. It also ensures that parents assisting in classrooms are instructed on correct protocols when working with students, such as being aware of child safety, making judgments about other children and maintaining confidentiality.
It is in the best interest of the children in the classroom that younger siblings are not to be present in the classroom with their parent at this time.
Training sessions will be offered at the following times. Please note you only need to attend one session.
Tuesday 13th of February @ 9.00 - 9.30
Thursday 15th of February @ 9.00 - 9.30
Tuesday 20th of February @ 2.30 - 3.00
All sessions will be held in the staff room.
Questions to Ask Your Child Instead of "How Was Your Day?"
I know at home when I asked my own children how their day at school was, I would always get the answer “Ok” or an exaggeration around it being “the worst ever day!”
When I asked “What did you learn today? I would often get “Nothing” or “I forgot!”
Sometimes we need to change the questions that we are asking our kids. I now often ask questions such as:
What games did you play at recess?
What was the funniest thing that happened today?
Did anyone do anything super nice for you?
Who did you help today?
Who made you smile today?
What new facts did you learn today?
Who brought the best food in their lunch today? What was it?
What challenged you today?
What would you rate your day on a scale of 1 to 10? Why?
If one of your classmates could be the
teacher for the day who would you want it to be? Why?
If you had the chance to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you teach the class?
Who do you want to make friends with but haven’t yet? Why not?
What is the most popular thing to do at recess?
Tell me something you learned about a friend today?
I hope these questions help you to find out more about your child's day at school.
Well done to all our Prep students (and their families) on such a wonderful start to their Primary School Journey!
“almsgiving is an act of love… allowing us to care deeply for those in need”
During the season of Lent, we are called to pray, fast and give alms.
More than simply giving money, almsgiving is an act of love that incorporates both prayer and fasting allowing us to care deeply for our neighbours in need. An act that truly supports our Catholic Social Teaching.
We are grateful for the work Caritas does to help those in need within Australia and around the world, and thus we will be participating in the Project Compassion drive this year.
We hope to instil the value that generosity is an act of selflessness, an act that allows us to genuinely give of ourselves for the good of another. So, from Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent, a Project Compassion box will be placed in each classroom. Students are welcome to donate money into these boxes. Anything big or small within your means is welcomed!
You can track our progress on https://schools.projectcompassion.org.au/
We thank you in advance for partaking in our school initiative.
In Faith,
Erica Aclan
Religious Education Leader
Thank you to each and every parent who has supported us and your child in starting the year in the correct school uniform. Our students look amazing. THANK YOU!
Just a reminder that it is Term 1 therefore all students should have a school hat for play times and PE lessons outside.
Junior School Reading Reflection
To start the year in Junior School we read a story called Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr Seuss. In this hilarious story, the teachers that the school taught very differently to how the teachers at Resurrection do, as they teach subjects such as teaching ducks to sing, frogs to dance and even pigs to put on underpants!
Whilst reading, we thought about how different our teachers are, to the ones in the book, and created our own teacher. We then thought, since we have not met Mr Glasby, we wondered what he looked like and what kind of principal he could be. Have a look at our thoughts below!
Natalie 1C
Kyrie 1C
Grace 1B
Kaira 1B
Thangsang 1B
We look forward to meeting Mr Glasby soon!
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 1(40-45)
The leprosy left him and he was cured.
A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.’ The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.
Gospel Reflection
It is hard to imagine a person in 1st Century Palestine who would be more of an outcast from society than the leper. Unfortunately, any form of skin disease was categorised as leprosy (known as Hansen’s disease today). It was regarded as one of the greatest forms of uncleanliness and seen as a physical manifestation of God’s punishment on the person.
For a person like this to even approach Jesus is a huge risk and an enormous act of faith. He trusts that Jesus will not reject him like everybody else in his life has done. His request to Jesus is almost a demand; it is certainly filled with an utter conviction of Jesus’ ability and good will: ‘if you want to, you can cure me’. Jesus’ reaction is one of equally strong emotion – he is so moved by this man’s plight that he reaches out his hand and touches the man. To touch a person with leprosy was to break every rule of the clean/unclean social structure that dominated Jewish society. In this one action, Jesus challenges the entire basis on which Jewish society is constructed – the purity code. For Jesus to touch this man, according to the purity code, is to become unclean himself. But Jesus ignores these social rules and responds out of love and heals the man with word and action. However, Jesus knows that if the man is to be accepted back into society he needs to conform to the rules that dominate his world. He must present himself to the local priest who is the only one with the authority to declare someone cured of their disease and thus able to become ritually clean and welcome back into worship and back into everyday life.
Historical Context – Leprosy
To be a leper in 1st Century Palestine was to be utterly rejected from society. They were not permitted to engage in religious practice as they were permanently regarded as being ritually unclean and, indeed, unable to become clean as long as their disease lasted. The book of Leviticus, quoted in today’s first reading, contains two whole chapters of rules regarding lepers. Lepers were forced to live outside of any village for fear of contamination and even had to call out a warning of ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ if anyone came near them. They were forced to beg for food and money because no-one would hire them. They were literally on the very edge of society.
Gospel Focus – What is in a word?
Verse 41 of this week’s reading begins, ‘Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand.’ This translation is from the Jerusalem Bible but if we were to consider other translations of the Bible we would find other phrases used such as: moved with pity; filled with pity; moved with compassion; filled with compassion; or even, filled with anger. By comparison, ‘Feeling sorry for him’ seems a weak translation. Jesus’ reaction is a fully human one of indignation at what this man is forced to endure. It is a gut-wrenching response from the very core of Jesus’ humanity.
Living the Gospel – Who is your leper?
There is a story of Francis of Assisi in which he encountered a horribly disfigured leper. Initially, Francis was repulsed by the man but remembered that this man too was a child of God and made in the image and likeness of God. Overcoming his fears, Francis ran forward and embraced the man. Rather than seeing the disease, Francis saw the person. We can ask the question, Who is your leper? Who is the person in your life that you need to embrace rather than reject? Who would benefit from you viewing them with different eyes? Soft eyes! Eyes of compassion!
Colour Code Key
Blue = whole school events
Red = Public holidays or major events
Green = Mass/RE events
Purple = Parent advisory board etc
Orange = Interviews/PSGs/Parent helper training etc
WEEK 3
Monday 12/02
● Exec Team 9.30 – 11.00am
● Whole School Assembly 2.30pm - Parents not to attend
● Team Leaders Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30 pm
Tuesday 13/02
● Shrove Tuesday
● Parent Teacher Conversations 3.30 to 5.00 / 5.30 to 6.30pm
Wednesday 14/02
● Ash Wednesday (Whole School Mass/Liturgy)
● Prep Day Off - Scheduled testing of Prep students
● No Staff Meeting
Thursday 15/02
● Parent Teacher Conversations 3.30 to 5.00 / 5.30 to 6.30pm
Friday 16/02
●
Saturday 17/02
Sunday 18/02
● 1st Sunday Of Lent
WEEK 4
Monday 19/02
● 2025 Prep Enrolments Open
● Exec Team 9.30 – 11.00am
● Whole School Assembly 2.30pm
● Team Leaders Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30pm
Tuesday 20/02
● Parent Helper Training 9.00am (Legal & Classroom Support)
● Parent Advisory Committee 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Wednesday 21/02
● Saint Peter Damien (commemoration)
● Prep Day Off - Scheduled testing of Prep students
● Staff Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30pm
● EMERGENCY DISPLAN
Thursday 22/02
● Parent Helper Training 2.30pm in staffroom
Friday 23/02
● Saint Polycarp (commemoration)
● Year Level Mass followed by morning tea: Grade 5/6
Saturday 24/02
Sunday 25/02
● 2nd Sunday Of Lent
WEEK 5
Monday 26/02
● Prep’s Commence Full-Time
● Exec Team 9.30 – 11.00am
● Whole School Assembly 2.30pm
● Team Leaders Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30pm
Tuesday 27/02
● Saint Gregory of Narek (commemoration)
Wednesday 28/02
● Staff Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30pm
Thursday 29/02
Friday 01/03
Saturday 02/03
Sunday 03/03
● 3rd Sunday of Lent
WEEK 6
Monday 04/03
● Saint Casimir (commemoration)
● Exec Team 9.30 – 11.00am
● Whole School Assembly 2.30pm
● Team Leaders Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30pm
Tuesday 05/03
Wednesday 06/03
● Installment 1 - Family Fee & Student Levy Payment Due
● Staff Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30pm
Thursday 07/03
● Saints Perpetua and Felicity (commemoration)
Friday 8/03
● Saint John of God (commemoration)
● Year Level Mass followed by morning tea: Grade 3/4
Saturday 09/03
● Saint Frances of Rome (commemoration)
Sunday 10/03
● 4th Sunday of Lent
WEEK 7
Monday 11/03
● Labour Day – School Closure
Tuesday 12/03
● Parent Support Group Meetings
Wednesday 13/03
● Parent Support Group Meetings
● Staff Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30 pm
● Grade 6 Camp - PGL (Campaspe Downs)
● NAPLAN - Writing Grades 3 & 5
Thursday 14/03
● Parent Support Group Meetings
● Grade 6 Camp - PGL (Campaspe Downs)
● NAPLAN - Reading Grades 3 & 5
Friday 15/03
● Year Level Mass followed by morning tea: Grade 1/2
● Grade 6 Camp - PGL (Campaspe Downs)
Saturday 16/03
Sunday 17/03
● 5th Sunday of Lent
WEEK 8
Monday 18/03
● Solemnity of Saint Patrick (Dress In Green)
● Exec Team 9.30 – 11.00am
● Whole School Assembly 2.30pm
● Team Leaders Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30 pm
● NAPLAN - Conventions of Language Grades 3 & 5
● NAPLAN - Numeracy Grades 3 & 5
Tuesday 19/03
● Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
● Parent Support Group Meetings
● Parent Advisory Committee 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Wednesday 20/03
● Parent Support Group Meetings
● Staff Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30 pm
● Eucharist and Confirmation Formation Evening 6.30pm
Thursday 21/03
● Parent Support Group Meetings
● First Eucharist & Confirmation Sacramental Sessions @ 6.30 pm
Friday 22/03
● Saint Turibius de Mogrovejo (commemoration)
● Year Level Mass followed by morning tea: Buddies (Grade Prep/5)
Saturday 23/03
● The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Sunday 24/03
● Passion Sunday
WEEK 9
Monday 25/03
● Exec Team 9.30 – 11.00am
● Whole School Assembly 2.30pm
● Team Leaders Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30pm
Tuesday 26/03
Wednesday 27/03
● Staff Meeting 3.30pm - 4:30 pm
Thursday 28/03
● Holy Thursday (Whole School Liturgy)
● Last day of Term 1 & Student Dismissal 3.15pm
Friday 29/03
● Good Friday
Saturday 30/03
● The Easter Vigil
Sunday 31/03
● EASTER SUNDAY
PARENT TEACHER CONVERSATIONS
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I would like to welcome you to the 2024 school year. I am looking forward to working with you all in my role as Deputy Principal: Learning & Organisation, as we work together in partnership to provide enriching and stimulating learning experiences for our students.
Parent Teacher Conversations will be held on Tuesday 13th February and Thursday 15th of February from 3:30pm until 6:30pm. As it is very early in the year, teachers will not be discussing academic progress or testing data during this time. These meetings are an important opportunity for you to meet with your child’s teacher and share any information that will enable the school to best meet the needs of your child.
Attached to this note is all the information you require for making a booking for the Parent Teacher Information Meetings. Bookings are now open and will close on Tuesday 13th at 12:00pm.
Please visit https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/8h8sp to make your booking.
The following is a yearly timeline for reporting and communicating with parents at Resurrection Catholic Primary School. It outlines when we have meetings/reports, their length and purpose.
Warm Regards,
Shannon Betham
Deputy Principal – Learning & Organisation
