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Dear Families,
My regular newsletters normally open with a review of what has happened in the past weeks, however this newsletter finds us in the quirky circumstances of a lot more happening away from the school.
Firstly I must reach out and congratulate our wonderful school community for the way we are coping through this pandemic. Our staff are doing a terrific job, but as a group we know that the people doing a significant job are our parents. To all parents we say thank you and congratulations - we are so impressed with all you have already achieved during this significant time of change.
Last week we had significant contact from parents, all living through this experience in different ways though a common thread was a desire by parents to give their children the very best of opportunity during this time. As educators it is always a positive when parents engage with us, and even though Remote Learning was definitely no one's preference or choice, we are faced with it for this term. We can either look on it as an opportunity or allow it to have a negative impact on our children and families.
This week staff have been kept busy working both on and off site interacting with students, while also preparing the next set of Learning Packs that were made available for collection on Thursday. This past week we have seen a tremendous growth of online interactions and engagement in learning, and while COVID-19 is in no sense welcome, we do welcome this unexpected opportunity to bring learning from the classroom to the dining room. Many of the staff have children at home so they too are living through the changed circumstances of Remote Learning while also working - and we probably echo the pleas of school parents for things to go back to normal as teaching a classroom full of students is much easier than teaching your own kids at the kitchen bench!
So I offer you the corny catch cry we hear on Channel 7 commercials we I say "We're all in this together".
Take care, keep safe.
Kind regards,
Dave
PS. Please note the absence of any reference to football in this newsletter ;)
We offer of prayers for those who have died, their families and the sick. We also give thanks for the skills and knowledge of those leaders and scientists who guide us in this time, especially those leading the medical research to deal with this crisis. We pray for those who offer care and comfort to others.
Our Lady Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia: Pray for Us
Saint Mary MacKillop: Pray for Us
Saint Luke, Patron Saint of Doctors:Pray for Us
Saint Agatha, Patron Saints of Nurses: Pray for Us
Remote Learning will look different in different settings so it is worth considering some really important points:
- Establish routines that suit your family, and that are appropriate to the age and capacity of your children
- Ensure that you and your children are safe online
- Set small, achievable goals and slowly build up the length of time children spend on tasks
- Never risk someone's well being by refusing to be flexible with the set learning plans
- Look for ways to increase your child's independence as a learner
- Take advantage of this unique experience to learn more about your child as a learner
- Realise that so much learning can happen outside of mainstream education
Classroom teachers, working with colleagues in Remote Learning Teams, have created a Learning Pack for the next fortnight. These packs have a similar structure but each is unique. The packs cannot possibly be a 'one size fits all' model so serve as a core set of activities to be attempted. Teachers have provided adjustments and extensions that can help parents modify and add to tasks to make them easier to complete or to extend the student's thinking. The online learning platforms we use across the school also allow staff to set and monitor tasks at different levels for different students
Additionally staff across the school have provided other ideas either in the pack or via the various Google Classroom platforms. Please look to these ideas if you are searching for further work tasks to engage or occupy your child, or consider the amazing resources that are appearing daily online and through social media.
Recently we added a Remote Learning Ideas page to our regular Lumen Christi Facebook and this will be a location for ideas and motivation. We would welcome any feedback or suggestions of ideas that we could share across the school.
If your child is struggling to keep pace with the work suggested or is at the other extreme of not being challenged please consult your child's teacher immediately for support.
Due to the Government regulations enforced to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, all churches have been completely closed. Our parish has deal with this heartbreaking news by responding by hosting regular online gatherings, that have been well received. Further information is available on the Parish section of the school website.
As a consequence the plans for First Communion have been thrown out with this special event postponed, while our plans to prepare the Year 3 for Reconcilaition have now been put on hold.
We are investigating ways of preparing the children for Reconciliation and Confirmation while we cannot gather for any workshops.
Any questions? See Mrs.Colaciello or Mrs.Campbell
https://scholastic.com.au/
Orders can be made using the Book Club LOOP platform.
The Book Club LOOP platform for parents allows you to pay by credit card. Your child’s order is submitted directly to school safe and sound and the books will be delivered to class. You can place your child’s order at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or using the LOOP app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
Thank you to Marie for coordinating the supply of some new beanies. We have a new design and they are currently available via CDF-Pay for $15.00 each.
They will be available for purchase and collection at each Learning Pack pickup session.
The move to Remote Learning has impacted our regular Prep Enrolment procedures which normal start with an invitation for interested families to visit our school during this term. This week we have made contact with the kinders to distribute our school flyer. If you are existing family with a Prep 2021 can you please make contact with the office to let us know about your child, or if you know of any new families interested in learning more about Lumen Christi please encourage them to make contact with us.
ANZAC BISCUITS
Ingredients:
1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of plain flour
1 cup of sugar
¾ cup of coconut
125g of butter
1 tablespoon of golden syrup
1 teaspoon of bicarb soda
2 tablespoons boiling water
Method:
- Combine oats, sifted flour, sugar and coconut in a large bowl
- Combine butter and golden syrup in a pan, stir over low heat until butter is melted.
- Combine soda and water, add to butter mixture and stir into dry ingredients while mixture is warm
- Place 3 leveled tablespoons of mixture together about 4cm apart on greased oven trays, press down lightly.
- Bake in the oven for approx 20minutes or until golden brown.
- Take biscuits out of the tray while they are still warm. Cook on a tray
- Makes approx 30