2024 Term 3 Week 6

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

I cannot believe we are at the end of Term 3 Week 6!  Tell me about it!  We are now over the midway mark of the term.  Life seems to be rushing by at the moment.  In the busyness of the term, I am forever grateful to be a part of this community and thank you all for your flexibility and support in settling into my role here.

When I was thinking about what to write in the newsletter for this week, I found myself reflecting on a recent staff meeting.  After the staff meeting I began looking for a quote to sum up my feelings regarding our staff.  I think this one sums up the group of champions I get to work with each and every day.  I sat there at the meeting and noticed their full engagement, them being themselves, them talking to each other with such care and felt this sense of awe in that our kids are so blessed to have them in their classrooms.  They are definitely a group of people that think of others before self.

The sharing that took place regarding our work with students allowed the staff to share their successes, but also empowered them to share how they can further grow in their role as educators at Matthew Gibney.  This type of conversation shows courage and a belief in one another in what we are building here in the education we provide our students.  I just wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge our staff for being an outstanding group of people who are genuinely invested in the learning of your children.  It is truly amazing what comes from focussing on the kids and how through that we improve as educators.

This is why this quote about fulfillment resonates with me this week.  For me in my role as Principal, it is such a gift to see our staff in action and engaged in teaching and learning because this is what brings them joy, this is why we all got into this game.  I can stand here and say the conversations our staff have are constantly about how we cater for the needs of the children and how we care for them so that they have the opportunity to show us their gifts, whether in literacy, numeracy, music or sport.  The profession of teaching is truly a privilege.  I was talking to one of our teachers the other day and mentioned a saying that one of my Principal mentors told me; “Parenting and teaching is beautifully messy work”.  It is quite freeing knowing that at times as parents and teachers things will not go as we want.  What is better, is knowing we have the support of our community, our colleagues.  We all have high expectations but we must be able to bounce back when our plans do not turn out the way we want.  This is so important for our kids to learn also.

Feeling very blessed to be part of this community and the privilege of what we do in working in partnership with you for your kids.

Book Week
I seriously love Book Week for so many reasons.  There is there is a love of reading. Then there is the creativity of the costumes.  But most important, it is a fun day that creates many memories for our students.  My first Matthew Gibney Book Week Parade was a wonderful experience and I loved how many parents and grandparents attended supporting our kids.  Clearly parents have been extremely busy in the lead up which got me thinking, maybe next year we need a parent parade!!

We are so lucky to have Mrs Marchetti running our Library and leading much of the Book Week festivities with her various volunteers and helpers.  Well done to all the people that assisted with lead up to Book Week.

Performing Arts – Matthew Gibney Choir

A huge congratulations to our Matthew Gibney Choir for their performance at this week’s festival event.  The choir sounded amazing, and they represented our school with so much pride.  Thank you to Mrs Aldred for her efforts in preparing our Choir.

Jumps & Throws Carnival

The new date for our Jumps & Throws Carnival is Thursday, 29 August.  I very much appreciate your understanding in making this late change for the safety and wellbeing of our students.

Father’s Day Breakfast

A reminder that next Friday morning, 30^th August we invite all father figures to attend a special breakfast at the school before our annual Athletics Carnival.  This event is possible due to our amazing P&F.  Please see below for further information.

Athletics Carnival

The students are very excited about the Athletics Carnival scheduled for Friday, 30 August.  We look forward to seeing our kids trying their best and most importantly, having fun.  Please join us on the oval for a day full of team spirit.

CEWA Leader’s Forum

Next Tuesday, 27 August Ms Zurzolo, Mrs Keddie and I will be attending a regional Leader’s Forum.  Much of this meeting will be unpacking future initiatives and upcoming election.

Student Illness

As mentioned, if your child is presenting with flu-like symptoms, we ask that you keep them home until they fully fit for school.  Let’s all play our part in keeping Matthew Gibney as germ free as possible.  Thank you for your support.

Online Safety

Online Safety is an important part of keeping children safe online. We have security measures in place in school, which are constantly monitored, to help safeguard pupils from any potential dangers.  We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with you to ensure the Online Safety message is consistent. Your help is needed to talk to your children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online. The widespread availability and use of social networking application bring opportunities to understand, engage and communicate with audiences in new ways. It is important that we are able to use these technologies and services effectively and flexibly. You may find your children asking to engage with technology that you have no knowledge or experience of. Children are accessing a greater amount of content online, than we were ever exposed to in our childhood. Remember that services like Facebook and YouTube have a minimum age limit of 13.

You will find children can accidently or deliberately be exposed to unwanted or unpleasant content or comments online and there are steps you can take at home to minimise this risk. What can parents/carers do?  Here are some basic rules:

• Discuss as a family how the internet will be used in your house. Consider what should be kept private online (personal information, photos etc.) and decide rules for making and meeting online friends. Make sure you know what your child is doing online much like you would offline.
• Install antivirus software, secure your internet connection and use Parental Control functions for computers, mobile phones and games consoles to block unsuitable content or contact.
• Remember that parental control tools are not always 100% effective and sometimes, unsuitable content can get past them, so don’t rely on them alone to protect your child.
• Think about locating your computer in a supervised family area. Always supervise the use of webcams in an application, which allows voice or video chat. Consider your child’s use of other devices that allow internet access such as Mobile Phones and Games Consoles.

Enjoy the weekend.  Good luck to all you footy tippers out there as we enter the final round of home and away games.  To all the Eagles fans, there’s always 2025 or 2026 or 2027 or 2030!!

Take care and nothing but goodness your way.

Clint

Book Week

Book Week Colouring Competition Flyers went out earlier this week with all Kindy to Year 6 Children. Please return these to the office before Thursday 29th August for judging and prizes after the Book Fair. Spares are available from the office.

Scholastic Book Fair is Friday 30th August until Tuesday 3rd September held in the Library, before and after school.

Canteen News

Order forms for Sports Day were sent home with Students on Tuesday. Please ensure they are returned to the office with the correct money by Tuesday 27th August. Late orders can not be accepted. Spare order forms are available from the office and through the below link:

2024 Sports Day Canteen Order Form

On Sports Day our annual cake stall will be available again this year with freshly baked scones, slices, muffins and faction jelly cups. Please note that payment for these items is CASH ONLY.

Please come and support your school canteen!

All made in our canteen by our wonderful supportive volunteers!

In Year 5 Mathematics, we have been learning about grid mapping and location, so we set out with a map of the school with specific coordinates to locate stamps at each location. We can confidently say we have some fantastic future orienteers on our hands.

All Emotions Are Okay!

Have you seen the movie Inside Out 2 yet?

This is fast becoming one of my favourite movies. It is full of messages that help our children learn emotional literacy. As they grow, this translates to being able to regulate our emotions, manage healthy relationships and show resilience – all promoting good mental health!

Use the QR code below to read more about why this is such an important building block for our kids.

HONESTY – MJR Value for Week 5 and 6

Our Gospel story this week has been about Zacchaeus and his meeting with Jesus.  We are all familiar with the story of how Jesus asked the short statured Zacchaeus to come down from the tree and to share a meal with him. Zacchaeus was a reviled tax collector, a cheat, a dishonest man.   The story speak to us on many levels.  Jesus accepted people for who they were, he reached out those most in need.  Surely Zacchaeus needed to change his life?   So Zacchaeus decided to be honest and return all the extra money he had taken. He wanted to make things right.  People were surprised but also happy to see Zacchaeus changing for the better.

Our focus for Making Jesus Real has centred on the value of honesty.  We need to be honest with our family, friends, and with ourselves.  Honesty is integral to developing a deep relationship with God. We need to honest with God about our feelings, struggles, and questions.  He doesn’t want you to keep hiding and feeling stuck. The Bible says God wants your broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17) because He is the only one who can heal you and help you overcome your struggle.