NEWSLETTER   Thursday 28 February 2019 Term 1 Week 5 

A MESSAGE FROM JON FRANZIN Dear Parents, Students and Friends of St Gabriel’s, 

As the season turns to Autumn, the cycle of the Church year turns towards Lent                             and the 40 days of looking within – of reflection and retrospection in                         preparation for Easter and the great feast of the Resurrection. Life works in                         

cycles, including through the flow of a school year and, as a Catholic school, we work those key                                   moments from the Church’s cycle into the pattern of our year. Next Tuesday we will mark Shrove                                 Tuesday – the last day before Lent begins, starting with Ash Wednesday. In all the great religions there                                   are traditions of fasting, penance and self-purification, to improve and free ourselves and to reconnect                             with the simple heart of our humanity – a temporary life on this earth that God has given us, to live                                         and share with each other, as a precursor and path to eternal life. Ash Wednesday rituals can be                                   participated in by all students in that spirit. 

Parent Information Night 

Last week’s Parent Information Night provided an invaluable opportunity for parents to meet teachers                           and other key school staff. Although called an ‘information night’ and, with plenty of valuable                             information imparted, the most important aspect of the evening was the chance to initiate                           conversations and build relationships between parents and teachers; relationships which may prove                       vital in the months ahead as students and parents navigate the school year. Things are not usually                                 straight forward when it comes to young people and education, so knowing who to talk to and having                                   the confidence to make contact when necessary is an indispensable part of school life. For those few                                 who were unable to attend it is not too late to make contact via phone, email or in person, to begin                                         the joint endeavor of educating your children this year. Thank you to the parents and teachers for                                 

 

1 

 

 

taking time during a busy week to gather at the school and thank you to Simone, our Parent Group                                     leader, for her encouraging words.  

Website 

I am very happy to announce that we will be launching our new mobile friendly St Gabriel’s School                                   website which will go live this Friday, 1st March. The new website incorporates the new School crest                                 and imagery and is designed for easier, clearer and faster navigation of information. It also includes                               access to the student portal, Sentral. The new website will be the main ‘go to medium’ to find out all                                       about our School news and activities. I would encourage all parents to take the time to familiarise                                 yourselves with the website at your earliest convenience. 

Year 7 Launch and Blessing 

On Wednesday we celebrated the commencement of Year 7 at St Gabriel’s with a blessing and launch                                 led by Fr Fernando from St Bernadette’s Parish. Representatives from EREA, the Christian Brothers,                           the ERSES Board, local government and our financial supporters were present for this celebration. Our                             Year 7 students delighted our special and invited guests by participating in the liturgy and leading our                                 visitors with the School Prayer. I also thank the parents who attended and the staff who contributed                                 to a very memorable and enjoyable morning. We are so blessed to have such support from the                                 broader community enabling us to dream big for our young people and provide them with                             opportunities we once thought were impossible due to financial constraints. A very big thank you to: 

· Coleman Greig Lawyers 

· Woolworths Ltd 

· Rotary Club of Glenhaven 

· Rotary Club of West Pennant Hills & Cherrybrook 

· Castle Hill RSL Group 

· Castle Towers 

· Country Women’s Association 

Best wishes for the week ahead. 

 

 

Jon Franzin PRINCIPAL  

 

2 

 

 

A MESSAGE FROM JACQUI CASHMORE 

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of St Gabriels, 

We have had a very busy couple of weeks, it has been so nice to see all the                                   active teaching and learning that has been happening in all classes and the                         students continuing to form friendships and consolidate their old ones. 

It was lovely to meet you all last week at the Parent Information Night, it was                               a great opportunity for you all to hear about what is happening in your child’s classroom and some of                                     the new things we will be doing as a whole school. 

I was lucky to attend a Glenhaven Rotary meeting last week along with Mrs DJ we were delighted to                                     receive a very generous cheque donation along with some hobby horses which the students have                             enjoyed using in the playground. 

 

I also attended some meetings with some of our large corporate sponsors to plan and prepare how                                 they will be able to support and work with us again for the following year. 

Yesterday we celebrated the opening and the blessing of the Year 7 space. The liturgy was led by                                   Father Fernando and was well attended by our representatives from EREA, donors, community                         groups, local members of parliament and the Hill Shire                 

Council. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 

 

 

You would all have received your child’s personalised planning meeting letter, please return these as                             soon as possible so that we can book your meeting in. Please remember that if you can’t attend in                                     person you will be able to use Skype to attend the meeting. Please also invite any external therapists                                   to attend the meeting or supply some information about what they are working with your child on.                                 The Skype option will also be available for therapists. 

On Tuesday, 5 March the Year 7 class will be offering Pancakes and Milkshakes in their café for sale                                     with all money raised going to Project Compassion. Can you please return your child’s order slip by                                 Friday, 29 February so that the students have time to work out the ingredients that they need to                                   organise. 

The following students have received awards at the last two assemblies. 

Week 3: Do your best – Nicholas for trying his best when working Be Safe – Micah for playing well with others. Care and Share – Jessica for assisting her friends when they need it Student of the Week – Kaitlyn for working hard in all the work she does. 

Week 4: Do your best – Luca – playing well in the playground Be Safe – Making good choices in the playground Care and Share – Zain for sharing toys and turn taking Student of the week – Lucy M for being an amazing friend and class helper. 

Swimming 

Our Year 7 students will start swimming this week and have weekly sessions for the                             remainder of this term. The Primary students will participate in a two week intensive swimming                             program in early Term 4. The students will go for a lesson every day during this fortnight. 

If your child has some personal care needs and no longer can use the swim pants that you can buy                                       from the supermarket please visit this website for some further options. 

https://www.aussiebabies2kids.com.au/products/disability-range-coming-soon/ 

Last week of Term 

We have made some changes to the events during the last week of term: 

· Wednesday, 10 April – Easter liturgy 

· Thursday, 11 April – Easter Hat Parade, egg hunt and picnic (more details will follow shortly) 

 

 

 

4 

 

 

Companion card 

Can you please let your class teacher know if your child has a companion card as this will be helpful                                       when we are booking some of our excursions. 

For those that don’t know what a companion card is you will find further information at: 

https://www.companioncard.nsw.gov.au/about 

The Companion Card program is a not for profit program funded by the NSW Government. A                               Companion Card is for people with significant and permanent disabilities that need a carer with them                               at all times to participate in community based activities and venues. 

As we start to move into Autumn and the cooler days have begun can you please ensure that your                                     child has their school jumper or jacket in their bag so they can use it if required. 

Kind Regards 

  

  

Jacqui Cashmore Deputy Principal 

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN CLASS  MIDDLE SENIOR BLUE 

In PDHPE this Term the boys in Middle Senior Blue are looking at Promoting Health.                             They will be looking at all areas of health including food choices, keeping active,                           personal hygiene and promoting mental health through yoga and meditation.  

The boys have begun the Term looking at personal hygiene and discussing washing                         our hands to remove germs. Mrs Nicholson and Mrs Dimech sprinkled glitter on the                           boy’s hands to represent the germs and the boys used soap and good washing                           techniques to remove the glitter germs.  

The boys have also been brushing their teeth after lunch which has been very                           successful.  

Michael said “The glitter is like the germs and we had to wash it off.” Rico said “My mouth feels fresh after I brush my teeth.” 

 

5 

 

 

JUNIOR MIDDLE GREEN 

I feel like the luckiest teacher ever!!!!!!!!! By Mrs Kruger. 

 

I can’t believe it’s the end of Week 4 – hasn’t time gone quickly.                           Students are enjoying their new classroom and we have been working                     really hard making new friends and catching up with friends we knew                       before. I feel like the luckiest teacher because I have SO many amazing                         students in one class and Mrs McCann and Mrs Cochrane feel the same                         way. We are looking forward to an awesome year at St Gabriel’s School                         in JM Green! 

 

 

ENVIROMENTORS INCURSION 

On Tuesday this week, the school was lucky enough to be visited by our friends the Enviromentors.                                 The Enviromentors are a mobile incursion-based environmental education program, providing                   sustainability workshops for schools. The children loved digging through dirt and touching live                         worms. The children were taught ways to reduce waste and how to contribute to a sustainable                               environment.  

Kindy Junior getting their hands dirty with worms! Year 7 discussing recycling options 

  

 

6 

 

 

 

Year 7 Equestrians 

 

 

 

 

 

 As part of our learning around development of movement and engaging in physical activity, Year 7 Blue enjoyed an Equestrian Experience at Johnson Equestrian Services. Last Friday we met Chrissie and her friends who helped us learn more about horses. We fed the horses carrots, then groomed and cleaned their hooves. We took the horses for a walk and visited the stables. During lunch we watched Trevor the horse do some show jumping. We took turns to ride the horses and then we finished our day with a bushwalk.  

We had a great day! 

Belinda Lu Year 7 Teacher   

 

7 

 

 

 

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY NEWS PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT - What a great night! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARENT GROUP MEETING Please join us for our first Parent Group Meeting of the year on Tuesday 5 March 2019, 7.00pm -                                     8.30pm in the staff room. Everyone is welcome!  

AGENDA Welcome & Apologies – Simone Prayer - Kylie   Review of Kindy Picnic - Nyree Update – Jon (Master Plan, Year 7, Playground) Update – Jacqui (Programs, Ideas for Guest Speakers for T2, T3, T4 meetings) Key Dates for 2019 – Candice Mother’s Day breakfast and stall – Angela School Disco – Friday 24 May (DJ Andy is booked) 

 

8 

 

 

Any Other Business - ALL 

 

World Thinking Day is celebrated annually on 22 February by all Girl Guides                         and Girl Scouts. It is a day when they think about their "sisters" (and "brothers") in                               all the countries of the world, the meaning of Guiding, and its global impact. 

Melody is an active member of her local Girl Guides group and told her classmates                             all about this very special day! 

 

LIBRARY TIME To all Parents and Carers 

It was lovely to meet you at the Parent Information Night and to hear great                             feedback about your child’s experience in the library. It has been wonderful to see                           their engagement in a variety of activities and to observe the excitement and                         enthusiasm of the classes in the library. 

All students should now have a library bag so they can borrow a book each time                               they visit. I have library bags available in the library also so please do not hesitate to                                 request one. Students can borrow a book weekly to practise at home and some                           DVD’s are available also. Wednesday is library day so pack your library bag for your                             visit to the library! I look forward to seeing you there!  

Suzanne Toomey - Teacher 

MEN’S GROUP 

I constantly marvel at the resilient bunch of extraordinary parents at our very special schools but there                                 is no doubt that our families are under considerable stress. Outside of our family and friends our                                 school communities can be a real and unique form of support. The parents at our schools understand                                 the pressures each other is under. The Men’s Group is an amazing bunch of guys who are prepared to                                     listen to each other. The next gathering will be held at St Edmund’s College, Wahroonga on                               Wednesday evening 6th March. BBQ and drinks from 6.30pm & our meeting starts at 7.00pm 

The dates for this year are all set and they are: Wednesday 6th March, Tuesday 4th June, Wednesday                                   28th August and Tuesday 29th October 

Please come and join us and bring another dad from your child's class!  Warren Hopley and Brendan Wingrave  TO RSVP please email Cathy Laing at St Edmund’s: laing@erses.nsw.edu.au 

 

9 

 

 

 

FROM THE COMMUNICATION AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM  

 

 

 

Rotary Donation of $6,000 

A big St Gabriel’s thank you to The Rotary Club of Glenhaven for their wonderful donation of $6,000                                   towards iPads for Secondary school and new Library resources. We also received a donation of                             horses/unicorns for the students to enjoy.  

From all of us at St Gabriel’s, thank you to our good friends at Rotary Glenhaven.  Open Day 

If you have friends or family considering St Gabriel’s                 School please let them know about our Open Days. We                   have postcards at reception that you may like to take to                     your Allied Health providers or Pre schools for their                 reception/waiting room area.  

Thank you for your assistance! 

 

 

 

 

 

10