Term 1, Week 5

28 February, 2023

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School

​We are Respectful
We are Responsible
We are Safe
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is located on the traditional lands of the Punnilerpanner people of the North Nation. We acknowledge and deeply respect the Palawa people, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community, and all Elders past and present. We are committed to learning alongside our students and community in this place, and support the continued sharing of knowledge and culture.

What's On?

Whole School Prayer

Monday 6 March
Early Years School Prayer
(Grades Prep - 2)
9:00am in the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

​Parents and carers are welcome!

upComing Events

Term 1​​
  • Assembly (Friday 3rd March)
  • Grade 5 Excursion (Tuesday 7th March) - Clarendon House
  • OLOL Swimming Carnival (Thursday 9th March) - Grade 2 - 6
  • Public Holiday (Monday 13th March)
  • NW Primary Schools Swimming Carnival (Tuesday 14th March) - Burnie Aquatic Centre

Mr farr's  Reflection

deputy principal

I have an angel on one shoulder, a devil on the other.  I'm also deaf in one ear!​
Welcome everyone to Week 5.

Sunday marked the first Sunday of Lent.  The season in which we prepare for Jesus’ death and resurrection.  During this time we strive to follow Jesus’ example of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  On Sunday, and in our School Prayer - Primary yesterday and in our School Prayer - Early Years, we explore the Gospel of Matthew in which we here how Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights to become closer to God.

It's a fairly well known passage: Jesus goes into the desert where he is tested by the devil.  The devil attempts to have Jesus turn stones into bread so that he will not starve, but Jesus says no.  The devil takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple and tells him to throw himself off and the angels of God will catch him and he will not be hurt; again Jesus says no.  Finally the devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows him all of the kingdoms on earth, offering to give them to Jesus if he will worship the devil.  Again, Jesus rebukes him.

After each of the three 'tests' of the devil, Jesus explains why he says no.  In the first he says "No one can live off of bread alone.  People need every word that God has spoken."  In the second instance Jesus says "Don't try to test the Lord your God."  And, when the devil tests Jesus a third time, Jesus responds with "Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him."  These responses resonate with our school Charism of Trust in God.  Jesus placed his trust in God and, having learned what God was like through the scriptures, was able to say no to the devil three times because of his great faith.

Yesterday during our School Prayer - Primary, Mrs Broomhall provided a wonderful reflection for our students.  She shared the wondering questions of:
  • I wonder if you have ever been tempted to make a poor choice?
  • I wonder how willing and committed we are to stand up for what is right and what we believe in?
  • I wonder how we, during Lent, can follow in the footsteps of Jesus?  What are the good choices we can make, especially in the face of others making poor choices?

Mrs Broomhall also reflected on how this scripture passage reminds her of cartoons where a character is attempting to make a decision but has a devil on one shoulder telling them to make a poor choice and an angel on the other shoulder attempting to steer them toward the right choice.  When I think of this it reminds me of Kronk from 'The Emperor's New Groove' - a wonderfully entertaining movie if you're happy to watch cartoons!  This idea of having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other is made very clear in cartoons such as these, however in reality it is much less obvious, and for our students, this can make it incredibly difficult.  Sometimes when we are in a moment where we can choose whether we make a good choice or a poor one we may hear a voice in our heads telling us the right thing to do.  However our emotions or perhaps our impulsivity get the better of us and we make the poor choice.  Other times things are happening so fast that we don't even realise what the better choice in the moment, and again we make a poor choice.  At other times we know what the right choice is, but we have to make it in the face of others making poor choices.  This is incredibly hard to do.  It can be hard enough for adults to make these decisions, let alone our students! 

When our students are faced with the temptation to follow their friends and do the wrong thing of course this is going to be a hard decision!  It takes a lot of willpower and strength of character to stand up to ones friends - as Dumbledore so eloquently put "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."  It can also be incredibly hard for our students to recognise, in the moment, what the right thing to do is especially when it is something highly emotional / exciting.  It takes time for our students to learn to control their emotions, and even see past their emotions in order to respond to situations clearly and rationally.

I think the key is that although it can be hard for us as adults to consistently make good choices when we are tested and presented with opportunities to make poor ones, and even harder for our students, it is about constantly striving to make the good choice.  Jesus has given us the ultimate example through this week's Gospel passage, we are challenged to work toward being able to consistently make the right choice when we are tested.

I wonder what small moments you are presented with where you have a devil on one shoulder testing you and an angel on the other guiding you?

Enjoy your week,

​Stu

2023 NAPLAN Grades 3 & 5

2023 NAPLAN Grades 3 & 5

Students in Grades 3 & 5 will be sitting NAPLAN between 15 and 27 March 2023.

The National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so. 

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance; however, students and parents may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers.

This is the first year NAPLAN will be held in March, having previously taken place in May. This change was made so school systems would have access to results earlier in the school year, so they can be used to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year.

Why NAPLAN is conducted online
NAPLAN online provides a better assessment and more precise results.  One of the main benefits of NAPLAN online is that it uses tailored (or adaptive) testing. This means that students receive questions better suited to their abilities, so they can show what they know and can do.  Online testing also allows us to provide a wide range of accessibility options to support students with disability to access NAPLAN.  Feedback from students is that they find the online test more engaging.  Please note that students in Year 3 complete the Writing Test on paper.

Parent information brochures and other resources
Your questions answered on NAPLAN and what it means for your child: NAPLAN information brochure for parents and carers
The link will take you to the official National Assessment Program (NAP) website.

Please contact Mr Farr if you have any further queries regarding NAPLAN or your child's participation in NAPLAN.

Social & emotional learning 2023

At Our Lady of Lourdes students are encouraged to learn about their feelings in order to regulate them:
 I can recognise my feelings
 I can name my feelings
I can regulate my red feelings
I can understand my feelings
I can express my feelings 

The students become familiar with the quadrant below and where they are at any point in time.  No one quadrant is wrong; its about, recognising and  regulating these feelings to then come back to a centre of calm and control.

RE NEWS
Caritas
For the next 40 days as Catholics we try to abide by prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
​
As part of almsgiving we are fundraising for Caritas, as we do each Lent.

Caritas works to end poverty and promote justice in countries throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and the Middle East. Their work tackles global issues like food and water insecurity, national disaster readiness and gender-based violence. Caritas Australia is the Catholic Church’s international aid and development agency in Australia.  They are committed to working alongside the most vulnerable and addressing the imbalance of power by including the people affect in the decisions impacting their lives. Caritas’ vision is Justice, dignity and hope for humanity and all of God’s creation.
Sourced: https://www.caritas.org.au/
Luke 4:17-19

​Images from around the classroom.

School news

OLOL Swimming Carnival (Grades 2-6) - Thursday March 9th, Splash Aquatic Centre.
Parents are welcome to attend to watch their child swim. Please no filming, photos may only be taken of your child.
Children are to wear their PE uniform with their house colour t-shirt.
Sunscreen will be provided.
The Splash canteen will not be available to our children. Mrs Mulley will be running a BBQ with sausages for $2.00 and Juice for $2.00.
A program of event will be published in next week's newsletter and on Facebook.

Canteen
Grade 5 Excursion Lunch Box
Orders are now open to Grades 5 students for their excursion on Tuesday March 7th.
*Please order under EVENTS not the usual menu.
The Lunch Box costs $12.00 and consists of:
  • a sandwich
  • a piece of fruit
  • a packet of Corn Chips or BBQ Vege Chips 
  • yoghurt 
  • choc chip cookies
  • and a frozen juice or water to keep the lunch cool. 
  • GF available
All Lunch boxes will be delivered to the classroom/bus prior to leaving on their excursion. 
Orders will close Friday 3rd March at 9.30am. Late orders will not be accepted.
​
Taz Kids Club
Taz Kids provide support and education for young Tasmanians aged 7 to 17 who have a parent or guardian affected by mental health. In the near future, Anglicare Tasmania will be running a program at Our Lady of Lourdes, called Taz Kids Club. All activities are provided free of charge and facilitated by qualified, experienced staff from Anglicare.
If you would like your child to be involved please click on the link below to access the Parent Permission Google Form:
Taz Kids Permission Form
Road Safety and Traffic Rules Awareness
Trafficquiz.com
Trafficquiz.com is FREE to use website developed with an aim to spread awareness about road safety and traffic rules. Through  trafficquiz.com school students can learn and test their knowledge about traffic & road safety rules in an entertaining way i.e. by playing quizzes. Teachers and Parents can also use trafficquiz.com  regularly to refresh their knowledge about traffic, road safety & child safety rules. Benefit of being ONLINE is that trafficquiz.com can be used anytime, anywhere on any device. 
​
The links are as follows:
1.    For Age Group (5 to 9 years):
 https://trafficquiz.com/road-safety-quiz-junior-level-1/
2.    For Age Group (10 to 15 years):
https://trafficquiz.com/road-safety-quiz-secondary-level-1/
3.  For Parents (Child Safety Quizzes):
https://trafficquiz.com/child-safety-quiz-for-parents-level-1/
4.    For Parents and Teachers (Traffic & Road Safety Rules Quizzes):
https://trafficquiz.com/road-safety-quiz-for-adults-level-1/
5.    For Drivers and Support Staff:
https://trafficquiz.com/road-safety-quiz-for-adults-level-1/
6. Road Signs quiz

Student of the week

Sports News & Rosters

Click here to access 'Sports News, Registrations and Rosters​​
  • Devon Netball 
  • Soccer Prep - Grade 6 
  • NW Football League Primary School Roster 
  • Devonport Primary Basketball Roster

Move Well Eat Well

Community News

Click here access 'Community news'​​​
  • Devonport Surf Life Saving Club - Aquathlon - 17th March
  • City of Devonport Brass Band
  • Mersey Learn to Row Program
  • Net Set Go Come and Play - Netball  5-10 years
  • Tennis
  • Hockey
  • Studio 81 Dance Company

Technology NEWS

Policy in Focus

This week in our 'Policy in Focus' section of the Newsletter we have attached our Uniform Policy.  This policy outlines the expectations that we have for our students in regards to the wearing of their school uniform.  We are currently having a focus on 'doing the small things with pride'.  This means boys keeping their shirts tucked in, girls wearing the appropriate headbands, jewellery and nail polish, students with shoulder length hair keeping it tied back and the wearing of black, polishable school shoes.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School Uniform POLICY

OLOL School Calendar

2023 Term Dates

​
2023 TERM DATES
TERM 1
Friday 3 February - Thursday 6 April
TERM 2
Wednesday 26 April - Friday 7 July
TERM 3
Tuesday 25 July - Friday 29 September
TERM 4
Tuesday 17 October - Thursday 14 December