Term 2, Week 6 2022

Dear Community Members

Welcome to Week 6! The term is certainly moving fast with much to celebrate including the quick onset of Winter!

Many thanks for your ongoing cooperation at the Drop Off and Pick up zone on Dunn Street. This has improved greatly over the past two weeks. Child safety is paramount to all of us at all times.

This week we will have our Pupil Free Day on Friday 10 June. This day is committed to our IDEAS project-Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievements in Schools. Were are now at the tail end of this 2 year project. Successful Schools depend on the Principal and the professional community collectively taking responsibility for school success and achievements. Alignment of aspirational goals for improvement requires a shared understanding of the successes and challenges within the school and the alignment of community input, classroom practices, school resourcing and professional learning to build on the successes and address the challenges. The whole staff will be working towards a clear vision for learning on Friday and we look forward to sharing this with you once this has been completed.

The Building program continues to take great shape and I have included some latest photos that I took this morning to share with you.

Have a great fortnight and enjoy the long weekend!

Have a great fortnight and enjoy the long weekend!

Kind regards,

Phil Holmes
PRINCIPAL

Vinnies Winter Appeal

One of the ways we put our faith in action is by supporting those in need.  Our Year 6 Justice Leaders are getting ready to promote the VINNIES WINTER APPEAL to provide outreach to those doing it tough this winter.  This week they will launch the appeal by visiting classes to raise awareness of the work of St Vincent de Paul and to discuss the food items we are collecting to provide to our local Vinnies to help the needy in our community. 

All students are invited to donate a tin of food to support our school CAN DRIVE for the Winter Appeal.   We will be collecting donations until Friday July 8, the last day of term… these will go a long way to warming the hearts of those doing it tough this winter.

Confirmation and First Holy Communion

COMMUNION WORKSHOP
For families of children in the Sacramental Program, please note that our next workshop will occur on Saturday June 18 from 2.00 – 4.00pm at the Veritas Centre, Our Lady of the Visitation School, Taperoo. Our Family Gathering will have a focus on First Holy Communion and the Eucharist: Sharing in the Body of Christ.
 

Alison Tanti-Clark
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL RELIGIOUS IDENTITY & MISSION

Congratulations to our certificate recipients for Week 4:

Prayer: Nidal Hoffman (1/2S)

Study: Roman Coro (RN), Spencer King (RN), Lincoln Mensforth (1/2AB), Ashley Hocking (1/2S), Zane Tatrai (3/4L), Amelia Lock (3/4S), Zoey Freeman (5/6K), Oscar Lane 5/6OK)

Community:  Max Lane (3/4L), Lucas Clark (5/6K), Brianna Hallion (5/6OK)

Ministry (Service): Maddison Yates (1/2AB), Isabelle Clark (3/4S)

Reading is an exercise for the mind. It helps kids calm down and relax, opening doors of new knowledge to enlighten their minds. Kids who read grow up to have better cognitive skills. Here are 5 benefits of exposing students to daily reading:

Reading improves vocabulary: Even as adults, when we read, we come across many new words we never really heard of. And we learn from this. As you read, you come across new words, phrases and writing styles. This is even more so for young people. Children sometimes stumble over their words, do not know how to pronounce them or what they mean. By reading, young people encounter new words more frequently and sometimes repetitively and therefore can see them better in their context.

Better comprehension: Kids who are encouraged to read at an early age have better comprehension of things around them. They develop smart thinking abilities and are more receptive to creativity and ideas that other kids their age lack. 
Develops critical thinking skills: One of the primary benefits of reading books is its ability to develop critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills are crucial when it comes to making important day to day decisions. Reading requires an individual to think and process information in a way that watching television can’t. The more you read, the deeper your understanding becomes about what you’re reading and its application.

Improves writing skills: Reading a well-written book affects your ability to become a better writer. Kids who learn to read also tend to develop better writing skills. The reason: they have been introduced to a world where words are their main weapon. Parents must try to develop an interest for writing. Kids with good writing skills don’t fall victim to cramming and can express themselves more candidly through their words
Improves results at school: Kids who indulge in reading book and learning new things do better at school. They are more creative, open to new ideas, and develop empathy for others. For instance, kids who read about heroes idolize them, kids who love reading anatomy books dream of becoming a doctor, etc. They learn to empathize with characters in the books and want to be like them. Not only that, they learn valuable life lessons such as helping others and being kind. Moral codes such as goods things will be appreciated and evils punished take root in their minds too, as a result of which they learn to stay away from trouble.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is a literacy engagement program that encourages students to read more books and enjoy reading to improve literacy levels. The Challenge requires students to read 12 books between the beginning of the school year and early September. Students must read 8 books from the Premier's Reading Challenge booklist and 4 personal choice books. Last year, Dominican School had a number of students participate in the challenge with the school acknowledging all these students in a Term 4 assembly. We also acknowledged two students who had completed the challenge through every year of their schooling and received Hall of Fame recognition. 

Every student received a copy of the Student Reader Recording sheet early in the term. This can also be downloaded here for a digital copy. Once the challenge is completed and signed, please send it back to school with your child so that this can be submitted.

All Student Reader Records need to be submitted by the end of Term 3 for this recognition, however we encourage families to complete this sooner rather than later, and continue to read with your child or encourage their independent reading for at least 20 minutes a day.

Nick Ryan
PEDAGOGICAL COACH

Let's Get Together for Afternoon Tea

Join us on Wednesday 15 June at 2pm for coffee, cake and conversation. We will gather in the staffroom to talk about community events and activities for the Dominican Parents and Friends for 2022 and beyond.  Please let us know if you can make it by clicking the link below.

If you are not able to make it to afternoon tea but would like to be involved we also want to hear from you! The P & F always welcome new community members who can help make all our events a success. Again, please click on the link below.

We look forward to sharing the afternoon with you.

Families are kindly asked to contact the school office by 9.30am if your child will be absent or late. Please leave the students name, class and the reason for the student’s absence.

You can do this by:

• Phoning 8114 3636 (select option 1 and leave a message)
• Emailing absent@dominican.catholic.edu.au

Please don’t email teachers directly or use Dojo for absentees as quite often these are not checked by teachers at the beginning of the school day. If an absence is unexplained an automatic SMS message will be sent to parents requesting confirmation of an absence.

If a student arrives at school after the 8.50am bell they must sign in at the Front Office.

If a student leaves the school before 3.05pm dismissal time they must be signed out in the Front Office by an adult.

Communication with the classroom teacher is required when a student needs to leave before dismissal time, is going on a family holiday or any other pre-arranged absence.