Term 3 - Week 9, 2023

Acting Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

The second element in G.E.M from our work with the Resilience Project is Empathy, and it is empathy that I want to touch on this week. Developing empathy is an important area for us to focus on as we come into the last week of term 3, but also every day.

Empathy is a skill that I have noticed takes the most amount of time to develop in those that don’t possess it naturally. It takes a long time and requires explicit, repeated, 'in the moment' teaching.

If we have empathy we can look at a situation from someone else’s point of view. If we have empathy we want what is best for another. We are less selfish. We are able to embrace situations with a positive attitude, and we become more in tune with the needs of others. Having empathy helps us to feel connected to others and is hugely important for our optimal wellbeing. It is the very basis of human relationships and helps us to feel valued, loved, and cared for. Being connected to others is good for our mental wellbeing.

If children are not given opportunities to practise empathy they develop a fixed mindset about their own importance and their own needs over the importance and needs of others, and it makes it very difficult for them to build genuine friendships and to be truly happy.

Excellent opportunities to develop skills in empathy occur every day in children’s lives with sport. I am and always have been an advocate for children playing team sports. Team sports are designed to encourage people to work together. They provide opportunities to learn to win and lose with grace. They provide opportunities to teach children to have fun and not take themselves too seriously. This doesn’t mean they don’t do their best; what it does mean is that for them to do their best they also need to see and encourage the best in others.   

We all need to work together to assist our children to develop these skills. There are six simple things that we can do every day that will help.

1.   Model empathy.
2.   Discuss emotions.
3.   Get children to help out at home. Model helping others yourself.
4.   Praise empathetic behaviour as you see it.
5.   Praise the effort of your children and the effort of others.
6.   See the good in others and celebrate their success. Help children to realise that another's success doesn’t take from their importance or value in your eyes.

So if we want what is best for our children we need to remember that empathy is a key ingredient in positive friendships and relationships. It reduces conflict and misunderstandings and leads to helping behaviour, kindness, and even greater success in life in general. Jesus was an excellent teacher in this area as we see in the scripture reading below and many others in the Bible.

A reading from the Gospel of Matthew.

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 30 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”

Sue Darby

Acting Principal

Parent Gathering 21 September

For our Parent Gathering at 2pm next Thursday, we will be having a focus on how to help your children with Maths. All welcome!

Pupil-Free Staff Development Day

A reminder that the last day of Term 3 for students is next Thursday 21st September, as there is a pupil-free staff development day next Friday 22nd September. Please mark this date in your calendar.

Weekly Awards

Congratulations to the following students, who received learning awards this week:

Charlotte W - For amazing effort in our writing lesson when learning how to write narratives.

Ahlia H - For great effort when learning about arrays in your first week at Mt St John's.

Rory O - For being focused in Mathematics and using his number skills to solve problems.

Hunter G - For being a very engaged student in Mathematics.

GEM (Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness) awards went to:

Elle W - For being a kind and caring friend to others.

Ryan B - For being kind to a friend who was injured.

Lakota M-T - For being like St Mary MacKillop: seeing a need and doing something about it.

Canteen on THURSDAY next week

As next Friday is a pupil-free Staff Development Day, we will be having canteen on Thursday next week.

There will be a canteen special available for $7 (GF available)

RECESS - misc. baked goodies & fruit cordial

LUNCH - sausage sandwich & icecream cone

Clarence Schools Regional Public Speaking Finals

Congratulations to Makayla, Chloe and Finlay, who represented our school at the Regional Finals on Monday at St John Paul College. They were competing against students from all the schools in the Clarence region. The quality of the speeches was fantastic and the children represented their schools with confidence and pride. The judges were very impressed and thoroughly entertained. 

Huge congratulations to Finlay, who came runner-up in the Year 5 division - a fantastic effort!

Running Club

We have started Running Club again this week - students are encouraged to run or walk as many laps around the school grounds before school.

If children have a second pair of joggers and socks they can bring to school, they can run in them and then change into their school shoes before class (in case the grass is dewy and their shoes get wet). 

Chewing Gum & Lollies

A reminder that children are not to have chewing gum at school. We have noticed that some of our senior students have been bringing gum into school and we need to remind everyone to help us in stopping this.

We also need to remind parents and children that they are not to have lollies before school. The irregular spike in sugar levels causes disadvantages for student learning for all children, and also can have a huge impact on behaviour for many.

Toilet issues at school

The list of tasks a teacher has to perform has just got longer. Over the last two weeks we have been having hygiene issues in the boys’ toilets, so we are asking you, the parents, to talk about this with your boys.

Below is a summary of the things up for reteaching. 

Bell Shakespeare Incursion

Bell Shakespeare's touring troupe of actors is visiting our school next Wednesday 20th September to present Just Macbeth! (abridged), which features Andy, Danny, and Lisa - characters from Andy Griffiths’ Just! series. The show takes a hilarious and irreverent approach to Shakespeare's classic tragedy, exploring its themes and story through the eyes of Griffiths' much-loved characters. Griffiths is one of Australia's most popular and best-selling children's authors, known best for his 13-Storey Treehouse and Just! series. Packed into a pocket-sized play, Just Macbeth! (abridged) is a really silly version of Shakespeare's great big gory tragedy that will leave both students and teachers in stitches!

This performance is being presented at no cost to the school, thanks to the generous funding of The Scully Fund.

The Players are Bell Shakespeare’s touring ensemble of professional artists bringing Shakespeare to students across Australia in a fun, educational, and engaging way: 

https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/the-players-performances

The incursion includes a 50 min performance paired with a 10 min Q&A at the end - it is an action-packed hour of Shakespeare immersion. 

Rugby League Gala Day

Our students have been invited to participate in the Group 2 Greg Inglis Legend 7s Rugby League event in Coffs Harbour on Wednesday 20th September.

Garry Stevenson has been coming to school on Wednesday afternoons to run our football skills sessions. He has also been assisting at lunchtimes to work with the team to ensure they know and practice safe and correct tackling skills. On advice from Garry, we will field an Under 10-12 side as children aged 8-12 can play in this division.

A reminder that the bus will depart school at 8am and return by 3pm.

Students are to bring recess, lunch and plenty of water.

Project Compassion

We are continuing to collect toiletries such as soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, brushes, combs, sanitary items, shampoo, deodorant, washing powder and warm items like socks and beanies, all of which will be donated to Pete's Place in Coffs Harbour to help homeless people in our local area.

St Vincent de Paul are also looking for any 2nd-hand drink bottles such as kids' drink bottles (not plastic PET water bottles). 

Please help if you can - there is a basket at the front office in which to place your donations.

Thank you!

Louise Sprowles - LOSEC

How to Cancel a Canteen Order

If you need to, you can cancel canteen orders before 9am on Friday mornings. If you know your child is going to be away you can go into Compass Canteen and select "cancel order".

The refunded money goes back into your Compass "wallet" so you can use it next time you order - when you get to the Confirm & pay screen, click on the down arrow and select Compass Credit. 

School Facebook Page

Check out our school Facebook page! It is wonderful to be able to share the good news of our school with our families and community. 

Library Day - Wednesday

Library day for all students is Wednesday - please make sure your child brings in his or her cloth library bag on this day. Each student may borrow four books per week. 

School Bus Travel

Applications for student travel can be made online. Apply here 

School Drive Subsidy

The School Drive Subsidy is available for eligible school students where there is no public transport available for all or part of the journey. If you have to drive your child more than 1.6km to a school bus stop, you may be eligible for this subsidy – go to the link below to apply. 

Swimming Squad at Dorrigo Pool

If any parents are interested in helping to organise a swimming squad at Dorrigo Pool on Monday evenings, please contact Matt Moffatt on ph 0403 203 702.

Dorrigo Cricket Club Registration

Dorrigo Cricket Club is looking for players for the 2023/24 season. We will be entering an U16s,U12s and a Blast program for children aged 6 to 10.

Under 16s play on Friday nights, Under 12s on Saturday morning. The Blast program for children aged 6-10 will be held down at the Dorrigo Stadium on a weekday yet to be decided. There will also be a senior team playing on Saturday afternoons.

If you are interested in playing, please register at https://www.playhq.com, then search Dorrigo Cricket Club, then go to register.

If you have any questions, please call Justin on 0447 575308.

Rugby 7s Tournament - Coffs Harbour

Join the craze that's sweeping the nation - here's a great opportunity to join the fast-paced, action-packed world of 7s rugby!

Exciting Announcement from NSW Rugby: Term 4 Spring 7s Tournament - Coffs Harbour

Boys U11s,U12s,U13s,U14s Boys and Girls U12s, U14s, U16s.

• Friday nights starting October 20^th (times to be confirmed with entry numbers)
• Boys & Girls divisions
• $110 entry fee per player for insurance through Rugby Australia and tournament fees- 8 rounds including a crossover gala day on Sun December 3^rd
• Maximum of 6 teams per division so GET IN QUICK

For more information or to join a team please contact Craig Landrigan, Development Officer – Mid North Coast on 0406 884 504 or Craig.Landrigan@nsw.rugby

Dorrigo Drama - Kids on Stage

Hello to all the keen kids aged 5-17 who are wanting the opportunity to get back on the stage with Dorrigo Drama. We have 2 plays that we are looking to put on in November.

Alice in DownUnder Land is a delightful, unique Australian story combining the timeless tales of Alice, Mary and Matilda.... who are they?

The Sword in the Stone is the story of a young Arthur before he became King, his half brother Kai who thinks he should be King, Merlin the magician and of course Guinevere.

For the moment rehearsing will be Mondays at 3.30pm at the Dorrigo Theatre in Hickory Street. If it turns out Monday isn't the best day for rehearsals then we will work out what is.

You can get in touch with Dina via email at dinalucid@gmail.com OR phone on 66572243 - leave a message if necessary and don't forget your phone number.

GLUE

GLUE God Loves Us Eternally KidsClub is held each Wednesday during school term time from 3-5pm at the Anglican Hall. Afternoon tea, games, fun worship and craft. All primary kids in Years 1-6 are welcome, as are newcomers. For more info, ring Gwenneth on 6657 2135.

The last KidsClub for Term 3 will be held next Wednesday 20th September.

Dorrigo Highlanders Football Club Presentation

Presentation Night with Dorrigo Highlanders Football Club will be held on Saturday 16th September, 4pm until late. Come celebrate our 2023 teams' great year of soccer. Games, raffle tickets, lucky door prizes, player awards, dinner and drinks. Grab your tickets online at www.dorrigohighlandersfc.com.au or visit the Facebook page for more information.

Dorrigo National Park Kids' Holiday Activities - 'Gondwana Birdsong'

As the days get longer, the air feels warmer and the sounds of incredible birdsong fill the rainforest at Dorrigo National Park. These spring school holidays, we’ll take your curious young explorers under our wing for this season’s Nature Play ‘Gondwana Birdsong’ activity, informed by Ranger Andrew Turbill, our very own bird expert. Learn to find bird nests and to track the movement of predators (goanna, snakes and birds of prey) through the landscape by listening to bird language. 

The ranger-guided session will introduce them to understanding bird language through sensory and hands-on activities and a short guided walk, to connect with the fascinating bird life flourishing in Dorrigo National Park. 

Sessions are running each Tuesday in the school holidays at 10:30am and 12pm for children (ages 5-12), at only $10 per child - places are limited. The early bird catches the worm, so book your spot book at Kids Gondwana nature play: 5 to 12 years | NSW National Parks.

Dorrigo Lift The Lid Walk - Sunday 15th October 2023

School Holiday Activities @Dorrigo Library

Healthy Lunchbox Website

Cancer Council’s Healthy Lunch Box website is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about packing a healthy lunch box.  For recipes, information and health tips please visit the website below.