Mary Queen of Heaven Newsletter – Term 4 – Week 1

Dear families,

A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians.

If our life in Christ means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the Spirit that we

have in common, or any tenderness and sympathy, then be united in your convictions

and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common mind. That is the one

thing which would make me completely happy. There must be no competition among you,

no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be

better than yourself, so that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks

of other people’s interests instead. In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus.

 

Each one of us is called to live a path even as we follow in Jesus’ footsteps. We each have our own gifts and desires, and God calls each one of us to respond in a personal way. Let’s spend some time listening to our hearts, for that is where we can hear God calling.

 

What is my calling?

Who is God calling me to be?

What desires do I have?

What is God calling me to do with my gifts and abilities?

 

Term 4 has already been joy-filled, with so much to be proud of at Mary Queen of Heaven.  It is hard to believe that we are on the home stretch of our first year as a learning community!  I am extremely excited to be back, as are all staff, and we feel rejuvenated and recharged and ready for the term!  

At the beginning of the week we gathered as a staff to reflect upon our calling to Mary Queen of Heaven and remind ourselves of our mission to live out our Catholic Faith.  We reflected upon our school’s values of LOVE, RESPECT, HUMILITY and COURAGE and how we live these out in our day to day lives. 

We welcome Cathy back from leave and look forward to Renae returning from her Pilgrimage to the Holy Lands, at the beginning of next week. 

 

Term 4 is always often an exciting yet busy term, as we head closer towards the end of year and begin to plan for 2024.  This term we will welcome our Prep 2024 onsite for their transition days, and our children in Grade 1 – 5 will have their ‘Step Up Day’ when they meet their class and Educators for 2024.  

 

Prep 2024 Transition

Wednesday 15 November 9.00 – 10.30am

Wednesday 22 November 9.00 – 10.30am

Wednesday 29 November 9.00 – 10.30am

 

Grade 1-5 Step Up Day

Wednesday 13 December 9.15 – 10.45am

 

October is the month of The Holy Rosary 

October in Catholic tradition is the month of The Holy Rosary.  The Rosary is a repetitive prayer designed to calm us down, as we meditate. It was designed by St Dominic to assist the majority of people in the Middle Ages, who could not read or write. Through the mysteries of the Rosary, it enabled people to know important events in the Gospel.  Most families own a set of Rosary Beads and October would be a great time to recite all or some of the Rosary with your family during this special time in the Catholic Church.

 

 

 

Zooper Doopers

The sale of Zooper Doopers will continue this term on Mondays and Fridays.  Educators will be selling these at lunchtime for $1.00. Thank you for all your support throughout the year of this fundraising initiative. 

Tony’s Pies Fundraiser

You will have received a  note with an order form for our Tony’s Pies Fundraiser this term.  Should you wish to place an order, please fill in this form and return it to the school along with the money (cash only) for your order.  Please ensure you place the correct change in the envelope as we won’t be able to provide change. 

Orders are due by Wednesday 18 October and will be delivered to the school on Thursday 26 October.

If you have lost your order form, please see Teresa or Lucy in the office for another copy. 

School Fees Reminder

A friendly reminder to please pay any outstanding amounts as soon as possible. 

 

School Apps

Have you downloaded our school apps?

We invite all families who have not yet signed up to our Audiri app or joined on Seesaw to sign up and join us!  Stay connected with our school and your child’s learning!

SUNSMART: Wearing of  Hats

Mary Queen of Heaven  is a SunSmart School and our policy reflects the recommendations of the SunSmart organisation. The Bureau of Meteorology provides information about the times of day UV levels are forecast to reach 3 or higher, meaning that sun protection is recommended for all skin types. In Victoria UV levels regularly reach 3 or higher from mid – August to the end of April.

As part of general SunSmart strategies, our school:

• Requires all students and staff to wear hats that protect the face, neck and ears (legionnaire, broad-brimmed or bucket style) and suitable clothing whenever they are outside (e.g. recess, lunch, sport, excursions)
• Requires children outdoors without hats to sit in a designated shaded area during play times from the beginning of September to the end of April or whenever UV levels reach three or more. NO HAT- NO PLAY.
• All staff and parents are encouraged to access the daily local sun protection times via the free Sun smart app, or at sunsmart.com.au or the widget on our website. 
• All children are to wear hats beginning this week.

NOT RETURNING IN 2024? 

Have your circumstances changed? Are you not returning to Mary Queen of Heaven in 2024? Please contact the office to discuss your intentions. I have a waiting list of other families for different year levels. I can offer your child’s position to other families. 

 

Learning Diversity 

October is Dyslexia awareness month. Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder resulting in persistent difficulty in reading. It affects the ability to read accurately and at the expected pace. Dyslexia can also impact comprehension and spelling. Many children with dyslexia may avoid reading or show frustration when reading. 

It is important to note that the appearance of dyslexia is not associated with intelligence. It also has nothing to do with the amount of literature the child has been exposed to. The difficulty lies in the skills of phonemic awareness and decoding using phonics. Even with early intervention, individuals can continue to experience reading difficulty throughout their lives.

Individuals with dyslexia can go on to be very successful. Some famous people who have talked about their journey with dyslexia include Richard Branson (entrepreneur), Kiera Knightly (actress) and Whoopi Goldberg (entertainer). 

In schools, students who have difficulty in reading and spelling are provided with scaffolding and explicit instruction through teacher focus groups, co-educator support and goals that address the individual’s needs. As students become older, they may find using audio books more enjoyable and useful to support comprehension.

For more information see

The Australian Dyslexia Association: https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/

SPELD Victoria: https://www.speldvic.org.au/

 

Learning and Teaching

 

Celebration of learning and parent – educator chats

WOW! What a great way to end Term 3 by celebrating the success and achievements of our children at our Parent-Educator chats as well as displays of their learning journey. Children were beaming with pride and excitement as they shared their learning and discussed their growth with families. Walking around the learning spaces gave us a beautiful snapshot of our children’s ongoing learning journey. It was great to hear the children talk about what they had been learning and the growth they had achieved.

 

Our children truly outdid themselves, presenting their learning with such confidence. 

We are very grateful to all the families who attended.

 

Snapshots of learning from week 1

Out ‘n’ About week

You may have noticed an Audiri post recently about our Out ‘n’ About week this term, which is the Mary Queen of Heaven Camp program. 

The aim of our school camp program is to provide children with the opportunity to build independence by engaging them in experiences that help build life skills, such as setting up a table for a meal, sharing a meal and tidying up after a meal.  Our Camp program is also heavily linked to the Personal and Social Curriculum as well as the Health and Physical Education Curriculum.

There are further links to learning that can be made from such experiences, as well as dispositions that children will call upon and build, particularly; persistence, problem solving and empathy. 

We have designed experiences that are developmentally appropriate for children, and build age-appropriate independence.  Below is a brief outline of each year level’s experience and the date on which they will occur.  Each event will be a day event only (not overnight):

 

Event	Date
Prep Information Evening for 2024	Wednesday 11th October
Whole School Photo	Wednesday 18th October
Tony’s pie orders and money due	Wednesday 18th October
Tony’s pies being delivered	Thursday 26th October
School Closure day/Report writing	Monday 6th November
Melbourne Cup Day (School closed)	Tuesday 7th November
Prep Breakfast and Pyjama day	Monday 27th November (morning)
1-2 Afternoon tea	Wednesday 29 November (half day)
3-4 Extended stay at school	Thursday 30 November (all day)
5-6 Torquay Camp	Friday 1 December (full day)
School Closure day/School planning	Monday 4th December
End of Year Mass & Graduation	Thursday 14th December
Last day of school – 1pm finish	Friday 15th December

Your child(ren)’s educators will provide more information about our camp program in the coming weeks.