2025 Newsletter Term 1 Week 2
Letter from the Principal - Brad Toole
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Week 2 at All Hallows. We have a busy week this week with our Swimming Carnival being held Friday and the organisation for our Opening Mass being held next Thursday. My appreciation to Kylie Statham for all her hard work in putting together the swimming carnival and preparation work for the Mass next week.
Parent Meetings.
Our parent meetings are scheduled for next week on Monday. Teachers will be putting together Parent Information booklets that will be available during the meeting. It will give you an outline of what will be happening in your child’s class, routine, structures and expectations. Teachers will also outline how you might be able to be involved in your child’s education and support from home. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher via email. It is a really important meeting and a great opportunity for you to connect with your class teachers.
Times for the meetings are:
3.30 - 3.50 - Kinder
3.50 - 4.10 - Year 1 & Year 2
4.10 - 4.30 - Year 3 & Year 4
4.30 - 4.50 - Year 5 & Year 6
The relationship between the teacher and parent is vital to improving the learning outcomes and school experience of your children. The role of schools is to work in partnership with parents to provide an environment that encourages students to connect with each other and their community, so they can succeed and thrive.
P&F AGM
We pride ourselves on being able to have parents involved in every aspect of the school community again soon. Our P&F AGM will be held 3.30pm on Monday the 24th of February in the School Hall.
It would be great to see many new and returning faces. The more the merrier.
Have a great week!
R.E Matters
The theme for 2025 is…
All Hallows - People of Hope
2025 is a Year of Jubilee!
This year we embrace being ‘People of Hope’ in our school and life.
The theme fits well with our All Hallows Motto - ‘Know Love, Serve’
We are Pilgrims, following Jesus with him as our guide (Know).
With the HOPE that he gives us, living our lives trusting in him (Love),
we want to reach out to those in need. (Serve)
Let us celebrate the year with deep faith, lively hope and active charity.
Know – Love – Serve
ALL HALLOWS CATHOLIC SCHOOL MASS
We will celebrate our ‘Beginning of the School Year’ Mass on Thursday 20th February, 2025 at 10.30am in the church followed by a Morning tea.
As a school community, we will begin our year together, welcoming our new students, teachers and their families as well as inducting our All Hallows 2025 School Leaders and SRC . Please join us in this celebration.
Sport
ALL HALLOWS SCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL.
The All Hallows School Swimming Carnival will be held this Friday, 14th February, 2025 from 9.45am.
The carnival involves ALL students Kinder to Year 6 with a variety of events for all swimming levels. Our school carnival is about having inclusion with 25m, 50m and 100m events that students have nominated for. Students who do not yet swim these distances will be involved in across the pool races (with Yr 6 / teacher helpers) Kinder and Yr 1 will also have novelty games in the little pool and surrounds.
All the teachers and students will walk to the pool after morning lines. Students will take their recess, lunch and drink bottle to the pool.
Entry to the pool is free for competitors and $1 for spectators.
We ask that all students wear their swimmers under their sports uniform in the morning, with their underwear in their swimming bag to change into at the end of the carnival.
All students will sit in their Sports House group when they are not swimming. Kinder and Year 1 will be in a group with their teachers.
Parent helpers are needed for timekeeping and judging and your help is very much appreciated.
Please join us for this fun whole school event. If you are able to help with timekeeping could you please let Ms Statham or Mr Toole know by Thursday.
Please remember to have the FIVE for SWIMMING
- Swimmers/ Rashy
- Towel
- Sunscreen
- School hat.
- Bag to carry swim gear.
Hope to see you there.
NORTHERN REGION SWIMMING CARNIVAL
From our school carnival, a team will be selected to represent All Hallows at the Northern Region Swimming Carnival to be held in Gulgong, hosted by us, All Hallows, on Tuesday 25th February, 2025 (Week 4). We will need to provide a number of officials for this carnival. A note will be sent home after our school carnival, for those students involved in Northern Region and to ask for volunteers. Thankyou.
Leadership Team for 2025
Congratulations to the following students who have been voted into leadership positions at All Hallows this year. I thoroughly look forward to working alongside you to keep the great traditions of the school alive this year and into the future.
School Captains - Caitlin Britten, Noah Warren
Liturgy Captains - Dakota Watts
House Captains
- Carmel: Lexi Williams & Logan Thomasson
- Clare: Olivia Seis & Noah Thompson
- MacKillop: Pippa Large & Braxton Butler
SRC Representatives:
Student Leaders - Frank Keevil, Ethan Dover, Dylan McKeown, Logan Jones, David Howden, Tayla McKeown, Aliyah Kosij
School Fees
School Fees will be invoiced later this month and will be available in the Compass Parent Portal.
Your invoice will show the full year but can be paid in instalments either by the term or by making regular weekly or fortnightly payments via direct debit. Direct Debit forms are available at the office.
We would like to remind families on direct debit to please ensure enough funds are held in your account to cover the direct debit as we have had a lot of payments reject in recent months. The school is charged a fee from the bank each time this happens.
Families on direct debit will find their payments resume this month. We will contact families who need to increase/decrease their payments to cover 2025 fees.
NAPLAN 2025
NAPLAN will be completed from 12th March to 19th March for Years Three and Five.
Important Items for the Start of the Year
General Permission: A form is available on the Compass Parent Portal and must be completed for all students. This form gives permission for students to participate in various walking excursions throughout the year including swimming for sport. There are also other permissions included in the form. Please read and complete this form before we head to swimming for sport tomorrow, Wednesday 12th February.
After School Arrangements: Please let the school know if there are any changes to after school arrangements for your children (change of pick-up, bus etc). Please ensure we are notified of what days your children will catch the bus, walk or ride. This helps us ensure that children get home safely. We also ask that any one-off changes to your child's normal arrangements are advised to the school office by 2.45pm.
Canteen: The school canteen is open for lunch each Tuesday and Thursday. A menu is attached and has also been sent home in paper form with your child. Reusable lunch bags are available for purchase from the school office $10.00. Or simply write your child's name, class and order on a paper lunch order bag and place in the tubs provided on the playground each Tuesday and Thursday.
Mobile Phones/Devices at School: We would like to remind all students that mobile phones, ipads etc that are brought to school MUST be handed into the school office on arrival and collected again at the end of the school day.
Uniform Policy
The new year starting means that we need a friendly reminder on the uniform policy at All Hallows.
Please ensure that all uniform items must be clearly labelled with full name or initials clearly marked on the clothing item.
Hair
Hair should be neat and tidy at all times. Shoulder length hair should be tied back and not in the eyes. Radical/Trendy haircuts or cuts which may cause the student to be the object of ridicule are not permitted. If in doubt the school should be contacted before the child’s hair is cut.
Jewellery
Jewellery is not part of the uniform. Students may wear stud or sleeper earrings only and there may be occasions during sport where these must be removed for safety sake. One bangle or signet ring is permitted. Costume jewellery is not appropriate for wearing at school.
Make-up and Nail Polish are not to be worn at school.
The effort with the uniforms has been great to start the year. Just a few minor issues with some jewellery, nail polish and inappropriate hair cuts. It would greatly be appreciated if these issues could be rectified quickly.
Resilience Project
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from setbacks, to adapt to challenges, and to thrive in the face of adversity.
The Resilience Project is a program that focuses on building resilience, gratitude, and mindfulness in young people. Developed by Hugh van Cuylenburg, and is seeing remarkable results, in schools across Australia, in improving student well-being and academic outcomes.
Through The Resilience Project, we aim to equip our students with the tools and mindset they need to navigate life's challenges with confidence and positivity.
The program is divided into three key pillars:
- - Gratitude: Practising gratitude has been scientifically proven to improve mental health and well-being. We hope to instil in them a sense of appreciation for the blessings in their lives, both big and small.
- - Empathy: Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Developing empathy helps to foster strong relationships, build resilience, and create a supportive community.
- - Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment, without judgement. In today's hyperconnected world, teaching our students to be mindful helps them manage stress, improve focus, and enhance overall well-being.
I encourage all members of our school community – students, parents, teachers, and staff – to embrace The Resilience Project and actively participate in its implementation. Together, we can empower our students to thrive in all aspects of their lives.
Home Pickup Procedures
Reminder about parent pickup procedures:
When the bell goes, children wait on the basketball court near the gate. A teacher will open the gate. An adult must come and collect the students from inside the school grounds. It is important that the kids say goodbye to the teacher at the gate and let them know who they are leaving the school grounds with. If crossing the roads, please use the crossing to ensure safety for all pedestrians. The roads around the school are very congested at pickup time and we need everyone to be vigilant and follow these procedures carefully. It is a school rule that students leave in their full school uniform including their hat and have their shirts tucked in.
Parents are also invited to wait in the seating area to collect your children prior to the bell.
Loreto Normanhurst Visit Week 5
During Week 5 we will be joined here at All Hallows by nine Year 10 students and two teachers from Loreto Normanhurst from Monday to Thursday.
As a boarding school with many students from rural communities in NSW, Loreto Normanhurst is committed to fostering a sense of community between rural and metro communities. The primary aim is to do this through developing the understanding of students from all schools involved in the partnership through an exposure to differing lifestyles. Loreto Normanhurst is a Catholic school and has looked to partner with other Catholic primary schools in rural NSW as the shared faith provides a common connection between our communities. Loreto has been in partnership with Dunedoo and Coolah stretching back eleven years and we are excited to be invited into the partnership again this year for our fourth year. The Year 10 students will be helping with classes and around the schools, as well as teaching lessons in the afternoon. After school we will be providing them with some opportunities to explore rural life. We look forward to welcoming the Loreto staff and students to our community in Week 5.
Wellbeing
Merit Awards - Wk 1, Term 1
Kinder: All of Kinder for an amazing start.
Year 1: Tom, Winnie
Year 2: Harriet, Charlie
Year 3: Nathan, Marley
Year 4: Jack, Amber-Lilly, Elise
Year 5: Cooper, Eloise
Year 6: Caitlin, Noah W, Dakota
Halos: Ryan, Wyatt, Charlie W, Alice, Albert, Winnie B, Reid, John, Nathan, Lennon
Noticeboard
