20 March 2020

Newsletter Articles

School Calendar

Scripture

“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Matthew 2:13-15

Principals Report

Parents, Caregivers and Students,

On Thursday 19th March we celebrated the Feast Day of St Joseph, the father of Jesus.

St Joseph was a man on a journey. Not once, but three times, the Gospels describe Joseph as a man on a journey. First, he sets out for Bethlehem with Mary, his pregnant wife, for a mandated census.

Then, with their newborn baby, they flee Bethlehem for Egypt. Later, during calmer political times, Joseph takes his family to Nazareth to build a new home.

It is that middle journey to Egypt that has such a powerful hold on my imagination. King Herod, terrified by reports of a newborn king living in Bethlehem, has ordered the death of all the boys in that city. And so, one morning, the families of Bethlehem awoke to soldiers knocking on their doors and the sound of swords being drawn from their sheaths. The frantic and terrified cries of mothers and children followed. It was this ancient form of terrorism that compelled Joseph to escape with his family from Judea to Egypt. He, like so many refugees in our world today, begins a long journey through the desert into Egypt.

Joseph's heart stands with those fleeing the realities of war, starvation and violence as they face the realities of what it means to be both, a father and a refugee.

Today we are also fleeing, albeit our enemy is the invisible coronavirus. Instead of crossing borders to find safety we are fighting this enemy by drastically scaling back movement, activities and social interactions. In just a short time, coronavirus has had a major impact on the world, closing borders, sending stock markets on wild swings and leaving people everywhere unsure of what comes next. The situation in regard to covid-19 continues to evolve. Student safety and wellbeing is a high priority during this time and I will continue to keep you updated. CESA is working closely with SA health to ensure we have access to the latest advice on how to keep everyone safe. Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions.

When stress is heightened — which it is for all of us right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic — children become aware of it and they try to locate the source of the stress. It is important to both acknowledge their concerns and be open to discussing them. A recent online article provides some useful tips for talking to your children, depending on their age and level of understanding about coronavirus:

• Assess what they know already. Find out what they understand so you know where to start.
• Don't dismiss or minimise your child’s fear — validate their concerns. It is reasonable to be concerned because most have probably never experienced anything like this before.
• Make your explanation age appropriate, provide facts, and keep it positive and calm. Tell them scientists and doctors are working on treatments. Reassure them that right now the risk of getting the coronavirus is low and if contracted most people only get cold-like symptoms and then they are immune.
• Give them some control over what is happening. Teach the importance of hand washing and how to do it properly, remind them of their responsibility to protect others from coughs and sneezing.
• Make it an opportunity to learn. Talk about how our bodies fight viruses. Understanding the science can alleviate fears.
• Do not make it a one-time conversation. Keep checking in to see if they need reassurance or if they have any new questions.

At this stage all schools remain open. We are aware that a school closure is possible at some point into the future. We are currently looking at strategies we may need to implement if the school was required to close for a period of time to ensure students can continue their learning from home.

Next Friday students will take home their learning portfolio. This will be a more detailed version than previously as it will replace the parent-teacher interviews. You are invited to contact the school to request a phone interview with your child’s teacher if you would like to discuss their progress any further.

It's important to be aware of what your children do online. Sometimes things that are posted out of school hours on social media by children (especially unkind posts) deeply impact student relationships within the school. The key is to stay involved in your child’s online activities in a way that makes your kids understand that you respect their privacy but that you also want to make sure they're safe. As a school we cannot control how students use the internet at home. If your child is affected at school by home internet usage, please feel free to report the matter to me.

St Joseph eventually finds a new home for his young family in Nazareth. It is in this new home, that Joseph builds, that Jesus grows up. After the world is freed from coronavirus and we are able to pick up our daily lives lets pray that together we have built a world that is safer and more loving for our children to grow up in.

St Joseph, pray for us

Nanda de Winter

Religious Education

Celebrating our Saints

The saints are women and men who set out their life to live the truth of the Gospel in their own time, meeting the needs of their day. They show us what it means to be a disciple. They are people of faith who give us a glimpse of what is possible. This week we honour two remarkable men who were extraordinary examples of discipleship in their day.

St. Patrick’s Day – Tuesday 17th March

St. Patrick brought the Good News about God`s love to the people of Ireland. He taught them about Jesus and used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, which is the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. St. Patrick teaches us to share the Good News about God with other people.

St. Joseph’s Day – Thursday 19th March

St. Joseph was the foster father of Jesus. He was a wonderful husband and father who took very good care of Mary and Jesus and always tried to protect them from harm. St. Joseph St. Joseph teaches us to listen to God and to be compassionate and caring.

Project Compassion

Thank you for your support of our fundraising this week for Project Compassion. Your generosity supports long-term development programs in impoverished communities in Africa, Asia, Indigenous Australia and the Pacific — helping oppressed people to rediscover their dignity by taking greater control over their lives and overcoming poverty.

The following two stories are our Lenten focus for weeks Three and Four of Lent.

Father of four, Barry, embodies resilience and strength. Growing up in a tough environment, making mistakes and struggling as a young father, he had to look inside himself to make the right choices for him and his family. Thankfully, Barry and others like him, were able to take part in Red Dust Healing – a cultural healing program, which encourages participants to examine their own personal hurt and allows them to heal from within. A 2018 evaluation of the program demonstrated that it improved participants' ability to express deep-seated emotions, to make better choices and consequently changes in their lives. Your support of Project compassion can help build a brighter future for people like Barry through the Red Dust Healing program.

In India, over 70 million people live on less than US$1.90 per day.

Sakun, 32, is a Gond indigenous woman living in a village in central-east India. She developed polio as a child and has difficulty walking. Until now, she has been isolated in her community, unable to earn a living and with no knowledge of support schemes that could help her. With Caritas Australia’s help, she learned how to access the disability support she’s entitled to and has set up her own thriving business. Her income is growing, along with her confidence. Sakun now participates in village decision-making, her progress motivating other community members to reach for their goals.

Harmony Day – March 21st

Each Year we celebrate Harmony Day to acknowledge this wonderful Country that we call home. It's a day of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home – from the traditional owners of this land to those who have come from many countries around the world. Our Strength is in our diversity, and the way we care for each other in times of challenge.

In our current situation, where every bit of social media is focused on people’s reaction to the Caronavirus and the threat of having to self-isolate, this is sometimes a challenge to remember the Australian Spirit of “she’ll be right” and caring for our neighbour.

We need to remember the reason we celebrate Harmony Day, remember we all belong, remember God’s call to treat our neighbour with respect and compassion - we are all in this together, and together we will persevere. In the midst of preparing for potential lockdowns and ensuring we are doing our bit to prevent the spread of germs, let us remember to take time to stop in prayer, allowing ourselves to be calm, be at peace and reset our thoughts.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

Loving Father,

You bless us with this wonderful place we call home, Australia.
A country of diversity, in both its natural environment and its human landscape. Australians come from this country and from many countries around the world.
We live together in harmony, learning about each other’s cultures and embracing our differences. We are all different, yet we are all a part of Your family. We seek Your guidance in working towards achieving harmony in our country, in our community and in our school.

Your son Jesus, travelled through towns and villages “curing every disease and illness.” At his command, the sick were made well.
We ask for your help now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love. Help us to replace our anxieties with peace.
Stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.
Help us live our mission to answer your call to act justly, walk humbly and love tenderly.

Amen

Wishing you God’s healing Peace.

May we all remain safe and calm.

Rosemary Perre
Religious Education Coordinator.

The latest edition of the Southern Cross features all the latest news and information on our Catholic community. Click on the following link below.

Witness - Latest Addition

The Witness is a bi-monthly publication of the Catholic Diocese of Port Pirie. Issued every February, April, June, August, October and December.

School News

Literacy

A child with a wide vocabulary understands more of what they read and hear, exploring new words at home is an easy, highly effective way for parents to support literacy learning at home.

Here are some simple vocabulary building activities you can try at home:

• Notice and talk about new words that you come across when reading and listening.
• Give kid friendly definitions of new words and talk about words that have similar meanings. For example - Petrified - well that's very similar to scared but if you're petrified you are really scared, are you petrified of anything?
• Revisit new words often, children need lots of exposure to new words in order to use them really well.
• Identify common roots, suffixes and prefixes of words to super size vocabulary, if you know one word part you can easily begin to recognise new words using the same word part.
• Link new words to real life experience, use descriptive language with children and bring new words to life.
• Read a wide variety of books and expose students to lots of different visual and audio texts - magazines, comics, picture books, directions, recipes, podcasts, audiobooks, kid friendly television shows - a wide variety of materials will offer lots of new words!

Happy Reading
Melanie

Playgroup

Playgroup has been very busy creating their own tie-dye shirts (with a little bit of help from mums and dads).

We all liked learning a new skill.

The results are simply gorgeous.

Year R/1 & Year 1/2

The Year F/1 and Year 1/2 classes joined to create fish kites.

Young Environmental Leaders

YEL (Young Environmental Leaders) met for the first time on Wednesday at the Martins Bend Reserve in Berri. It was a warm day, but we embraced the opportunity to get out and re-connect with nature. Along the walking trail we spotted different kinds of birdlife in trees and in the wetland areas, as well as some lizards and butterflies. When we had finished walking we were taught the traditional art of weaving. Max and Sherrie taught us why weaving was so important to their culture and we also learned a few tips and tricks to help stop the reeds from splitting. We finished the day with a connection activity using a power stick and our own body connections with each other to make the stick light up and sing.

Mrs Stacey Hunter

Sports News

SACPSSA Swimming

Congratulations to the nine swimmers who made the trek down to Magill last Thursday to compete at the SACPSSA Swimming Carnival

• Overall as a team we placed in third place (behind two schools with 20 swimmers each)
• Max S finished as the Year 4 Age Champion
• Oliver S tied for Year 6 Age Champion
• Max S broke all three records in the events he swam in (freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke)
• Thank you to the parents and grandparents who either assisted with transport or supported the team on the day with cheering and timing!

SAPSASA Cricket

Congratulations to Slater, Paul and Yianni who are a part of the Riverland Cricket Team competing at the SAPSASA Championships this week in Adelaide. More info to come in the next newsletter.

General News

It is with some disappointment that I share the following news below from School Sport SA and Riverland School Sport.

School Sport SA:

The following School Sport SA events and activities are CANCELLED for term 1

• Western Zone Track & Field
• Southern Vales/Fleurieu Zone Year 8/9 & Year 10-12 Fleurieu Cup Volleyball
• Northern/North East Vista Zone Track and Field
• Sapsasa Metro and Country Swimming Championships, including the Diving Championships
• Southern Vales/Fleurieu Zone Touch Football· Western Zone 3v3 Basketball
• A-F Grade Year 8-12 Track & Field Championships.

During term 2 consideration will be given to the rescheduling of events where possible. The department is following SA Health advice in relation to the numbers of attendees at the events and we are constantly monitoring their advice.

Other events and activities are not cancelled at this stage and are subject to any changes in the SA Health advice. We will be in contact with the relevant schools with further information regarding these events.

Riverland School Sport:

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place our primary and secondary athletics carnivals, (scheduled for April 1 & 2) will be postponed.

I will provide further information on this and all other upcoming events soon.

Yours in sport,

Mr. Luke Cotter

REMINDERS

PLEASE READ THE NEWSLETTERS CAREFULLY. Everything you need to know about the school week and dates is on the school app. (SZapp) You can download on all smartphones and tablets for free. We get a lot of phone calls & text about events and programs that have been advertised widely.

Policy Documents

School Fees

As many of you are aware the school fees have been sent out for 2020, there is an early bird discount if the fees are fully paid before the 10th of April this year. If you have any questions regarding fees, School card or payments please contact Pat in the office.

Below is a copy of Our Lady of the River school fees that shows the breakdown of all fees and levies and discounts.

School Uniforms

Canteen

This term on every odd week (weeks 3,5,7,9and11) the following items will also be available:

• Cold rolls (chicken, lettuce, carrot & cucumber) - $1.20
• Watermelon cup - $1.00
• Jelly cup with fruit or plain - $1.00
• Cold salad
• (chicken or ham, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrot, cheese & half an egg) - $4.00
• Piece of chocolate cake - $1.00

Happy Birthday!