PRINCIPAL: Mr Bob Brown PARISH PRIEST: Father Florentino (Boy) Galdo DEPUTY PRINCIPAL: Mrs Carmela D’Amato SCHOOL PHONE: (03) 9359 5423

R.E. LEADER: Mr Steven Hubbard SCHOOL FAX: (03) 9359 6400 EMAIL: principal@smfawknernth.catholic.edu.au WEBSITE: www.smfawknernth.catholic.edu.au

NEWSLETTER

Tuesday 11th September 2018. No 28. TERM 3 Tomorrow night Wednesday 12th September ~ YEAR 3 RECONCILIATION WORKSHOP, 7:00pm in the Library. Friday 7th September ~ 3V & 3PW COMBINED ASSEMBLY, 2:45pm in the Hall. Italian awards presented also. Thursday 20th September – SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION, 7:00pm in St Matthew’s Church. Friday 21st September ~ 4Y & PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS ASSEMBLY, 2:45pm in the Hall. Friday 21st September ~ END OF TERM 3, ALL STUDENTS DISMISSED AT 3:25PM. Monday 8th October ~ FIRST DAY OF TERM 4. School commences at 8:50am sharp. Make sure you are on time. Wednesday17th October ~ YEAR 2 WORKSHOP WITH FACILITATOR PAUL SPENCE, 7:00pm in the Library Thursday 18th October ~ READY SET PREP SESSION 1 FOR 2019 PREPS, 9am – 10am in the Library. Thursday 25th October ~ READY SET PREP SESSION 2 FOR 2019 PREPS, 9am – 10am in the Library. Thursday 1st November ~ READY SET PREP SESSION 3 FOR 2019 PREPS, 9am – 10am in the Library. Monday 5th November ~ REPORT WRITING DAY, NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS. Tuesday 6th November ~ MELBOURNE CUP HOLIDAY, NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS & STAFF. Thursday 8th November ~ READY SET PREP SESSION 4 FOR 2019 PREPS, 9am – 10am in the Library. Friday 9th November ~ ANNUAL SPORTS DAY. More details to follow closer to date. Thursday 15th November ~ READY SET PREP SESSION 5 FOR 2019 PREPS, 9am – 10am in the Library. Monday 12th – Friday 16th November~ PREP & YEAR 1 SWIMMING PROGRAM COMMENCES at Fawkner Leisure Centre. Thursday 22nd November ~ 1ST PREP ORIENTATION DAY, 9:00am – 10:45am. Gathering in the Hall and then moving to the classrooms. Monday 19th – Friday 23rd November YEAR 2 & 3 SWIMMING PROGRAM COMMENCES. Same Venue. Monday 26th - Friday 30th November YEAR 4 & 5 SWIMMING PROGRAMS COMMENCE. Same Venue. Friday 30th November ~ PARENTS & FRIENDS’ TWILIGHT MARKET, 5:00PM – 9:00PM IN THE HALL. Thursday 6th December ~ 2ND PREP ORIENTATION DAY, 9:00am – 10:45am. Gathering in the Hall and then moving to the classrooms.

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of St Matthew’s,

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT SURVEYS – VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE In the past students, parents and staff have completed the Insight SRC School Improvement Survey, but this

year we have been asked to be part of a pilot program with a different Catholic Education Melbourne Survey being presented. This pilot survey is coming home today for 120 families that have been randomly chosen. The survey will be revised and then become mandatory for all schools next year.

All students who are present at school this week in Years 4, 5 & 6 will be anonymously participating in filling out the survey about our school. and all staff have to complete the survey by Friday 14th September. We ask the families that have been chosen to please complete the survey by this coming Sunday 16th September as we and CEM need to know whether it has worked as a pilot survey and what changes need to be introduced for the 2019 edition of the survey..

FATHER’S DAY RAFFLE WINNERS

1. Marilyn Reyes- (2VP) –Spit Roast

2. Amelie Muchino- (4Y) Big Dog Tool Bag

3. Jack Reid- Car Care Kit

4. Hudson- (Prep F) Car Care Kit

5. Marcus P- (2P) –Hamper

6. Horis Dilan- (4Y) –Hamper

7. Jack Reid- Chemist Warehouse Hamper

8. Dimitri K- Forward Denim Voucher

9. Christina Lontos-(5M)-Hamper

10. Chantal Issa- (4C) –Assorted Hamper

11. Harrison G- (1M) –Assorted Hamper

12. Tia- (4C) –Assorted Hamper

13. Tegan Rapa- (6TM) –Assorted Hamper COMPANIES WHO DONATED 1. Chemist Warehouse Coburg-Hamper 2. Bunnings Coburg-Spit Roast 3. Repco Fawkner-Care Care Kit 4. Super Cheap Auto-Car Care Kit 5. Reece Plumbing Airport West-Tool Box and Tool Bag

6. Hadfield Newsagent-Assorted Hampers

7. Hadfield Safeway-Chocolate Hamper 8. Max Greco-Forward Denim Voucher

YEAR 4 INQUIRY UNIT – NEW VEGIE GARDEN The Year 4 students and their teachers have been working tirelessly on their Inquiry unit this term in preparation for their new vegie garden around the back of the school. Damian and Steven our grounds & maintenance men have cleared the area for the kids to come in, weed and prepare it for planting early next term. Year 4 parents would already be aware of what has been happening through Seesaw. Today there are a number of parents coming in to help and also we will be having the services of Kelly Gillespie & Sally Beattie from “The Hothouse - a Food Hub for Fawkner” (mentioned below). The Year 4’s will keep you updated throughout the upcoming newsletters. Stay tuned for some amazing things.

PICK MY PROJECT On pages 7 & 8 you will find a number of projects. “The Hothouse - a Food Hub for Fawkner” is one that our Prep teachers, Miss Kathryn Grbac is very involved in and passionate about. She has asked that we include this in this week’s newsletter along with a number of very worthy projects. If you get onto the link provided you can vote for what you think are the three most important for Fawkner. All are very worthy, but it is up to you to choose three. Please participate and have a say in achieving more for Fawkner.

REMINDER - THIS YEAR’S SWIMMING PROGRAM The Federal Government, Department of Education and Catholic Education Melbourne have all been pushing that swimming programs should be in all schools for as many students as possible. This obviously is in the hope that the number of children drowning each summer becomes almost non-existent. As a result of this, at St Matthew’s this year, all students in Year Prep-Five will be participating in swimming lessons at Fawkner Leisure Centre. The Year 6 students have had many additional inter-school activities and tournaments so they will not be a part of the program. As bus prices have almost doubled this year we will be walking to and from the Pool like the students did in the past. This is where we will need the assistance of parents, especially with the junior grades. PENOLA VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

On Friday the 7th of September our Grade 6 Sports

Captains represented St Matthew’s in a volleyball

tournament at Penola College. On the day students

participated in a training session led by Year 11

students as well as competing in seven games against

several other primary schools. Miss Thompson was

extremely proud of the way students conducted

themselves and worked as a team. It was a great day

had by all and to top it off students managed to win

five out of the seven matches.

Congratulations to Frank, Luca, Domenico, Adam,

Julian, Marissa, Chloe, Dlianna, Tegan and Mikayla.

We definitely have some future volleyball stars here at

St Matthew’s.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LINA We congratulate Mrs Lina Fieschi who has just completed 20 years of loyal service as an Administration Officer in Catholic Education at St Matthew’s. Lina is the lovely voice on the end of phone and the first person you are greeted by when you arrive at our front office. We are very indebted to Lina for her very calm and extremely friendly manner. Many a visitor comment on the welcoming way they were greeted when ringing or visiting the school. Thank you Lina for all that you do at St Matthew’s, we are truly blessed to have you on our staff. Congratulations again and well done on reaching this milestone. Lina is pictured below being presented today with her 20 years of service memento by Mr David Wilkes, Director and Chief Financial Officer at Catholic Education Melbourne in front of all her peers at the Catholic Leadership Centre, East Melbourne.

Magpie photo taken from a helmet cam, pretty scary! The weather is improving now that we are into September, but keep an eye out for the swooping Magpies. It is their nesting season and they hurt when they make contact. They love attacking bike riders. So beware. Bob Brown – Principal P.S. I hope the Magpies of the Collingwood breed are as attacking this coming Saturday night.

“Our School is committed to the safety, wellbeing and dignity of all our children and vulnerable adults.”

EDUCATION IN FAITH INFORMATION ABOUT THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

The Sacrament of Reconciliation / Penance is one of the sacraments of healing and restoration. The word ‘reconcile’

is from Latin, meaning to bring back together, or to restore. Reconciliation is about restoring or healing a broken

relationship or friendship between people.

Humanly speaking there are four steps we take to restore broken relationships:

1. We recognise and regret our wrongdoing.

2. We admit what we have done.

3. We say sorry to the people we have offended and are forgiven.

4. We do something good to make up for what we have done.

There are many reasons to regret something we have done wrong: we may

simply fear punishment; we may feel embarrassed or uncomfortable; or we

might be deeply sorry because we know that what we have done has hurt

another person, or is against the fundamental Law of Love for God and

neighbour.

There is a progression in the moral awareness of human beings, but at whatever

stage we are, the important thing is recognising that we have done wrong and

being sorry. This is called contrition. Then it is possible to make a fresh

beginning by naming the sin: confession; receiving the forgiveness of God:

absolution; and making up for the wrong we have done or the pain we have

caused: satisfaction.

When children prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, they learn to

understand the following:

Forgiving and being forgiven bring peace to self and others.

Healing involves reflecting on what has happened, saying sorry, and giving someone a second chance.

Scripture stories about forgiveness help Christians think and pray about forgiveness in their own lives.

Forgiveness and healing are celebrated in the sacraments of Penance and Anointing.

Through the sacrament of Penance Christians rebuild their relationship with God and others.

YEAR 3 SACRAMENT OF FIRST RECONCILIATION UPDATE Please pray for the Year 3 children who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of First Reconciliation next Thursday, 20th September at 7pm in St Matthew’s Church. A reminder to the parents of the children in Year 3 that we will be having the Year 3 Reconciliation Faith Night tomorrow (Wednesday, 12th) at 7pm in the Library. We have Mr Paul Spence (Spiritual Director and Educational Consultant) facilitating the night. We ask that only one parent attends with their child. We look forward to working with the Year 3 children and parents at this special evening! Also a further reminder that on Friday, 14th September all Year 3 children will participate in a special Reconciliation activities day called, ‘Making Things Right Day’. Only Year 3 children can wear casual clothes and they also get lunch provided (hot dog in roll and ice-cream).

Mr Steven Hubbard Religious Education Leader

ITALIAN POETRY WINNERS AND PARTICIPANTS Last Friday Trish Franzoni from Penola College visited St. Matthew to present some of our students with a winning trophy, medallions and participation certificates. Very special congratulations for Jamilya El-Khoury who won 2nd in the regional finals of the poetry competition. Congratulations to the following Grade 5 winners who placed as follows in our school level of the competition: Calvin Carpenter 1st, Katia Almeida 2nd and Christiana Themistokleous 3rd. Congratulations to the following Grade 6 winners who placed as follows in our school level of the competition: Jamilya El-Khoury 1st, Jessica Mirabile 2nd and Ariana Demontis 3rd. Congratulations to the following participants who received merit awards for their participation: Ruby Chahoud, Sara Arif and Faith Grima. Here are some reflections made by the children about the competition. Calvin Carpenter I felt nervous but I knew I had practiced enough to win. It was hard to practice. My mum is Italian and she was there for me and helped to not be as nervous. When I went up to say my poem I just knew that I had to try my best! Faith Grima I felt confident to say my poem but I was very scared that I would not win. I came 5th but I’m still happy I entered the poetry competition. Katia Almeida My experience was grand I really enjoyed memorising the poem and saying it Signora Cirillo she was very warm and helped me learn it. Signora Pace judged me for my poem. I was so glad that I came second. Next year I will definitely do it again because I think it’s a good opportunity for kids to learn a poem in Italian and then build up the courage to say it in front of another teacher that they don’t know. So when it’s your turn to enter the poetry competition just take the opportunity to do it. Jamilya El-Khoury Last term I competed in the Italian Poetry competition! It consisted of four Grade 6 students which were Ariana (6T), Jessica (6L) and Ruby (6TH). My experience in this particular event was very good and before the day was there I was constant practising my poem. I must admit it is very hard work! On the day of the competition I was very nervous especially because I was the first one in! When I came out I realised that It wasn’t that scary after all. As soon as we heard the results I was very proud because I placed first! When it was time for the regionals I wasn’t as scared because I had already done this performance once before. I ended up going in first again and it only took about three minutes to recite my poem. About a week later we found out the results and I placed second for St Matthews! At this point I was extremely happy and proud of myself because I didn’t think I could make it that far! I want to especially thank Signora Cesile for pushing me very hard to achieve this amazing goal! I like to thank all the students who participated in the competition this year for their initiative and effort. It was a team effort for Signora Cirillo and myself this year to encourage and assist the students in their participation of the competition. Thank you to all the families who support their children in learning their Italian poems at home. St. Matthews has been participating in the competition since it started in the late 1990’s. I’d like to thank Penola College for the opportunity of providing this competition as a forum for children to recite a poem outside our school audience and giving them the opportunity to compete with schools in our region. Thank you to the dedicated team of Italian teachers at Penola College in particular Signora Franzoni and Signora Pace who visited our school this year. This year the competition involved learning new poems for grade 5 and grade 6.

State Government money for Fawkner?

Please vote for local community projects

Take 5 minutes to vote. You could make a huge difference.

Vote online: www.pickmyproject.vic.gov.au Vote by phone: 1800 797 818

The Hothouse –

A Food Hub for Fawkner

(Fawkner Food Bowls and 3000 Acres) Building a community garden and gathering space for workshops,

feasts, a weekend food market, cooking classes, garden sessions,

composting, kids’ activities and more.

Community Market Champions (The Community Grocer) Working with the “Given The Chance” program - a program which specializes

in assisting marginalised job seekers into work – Community Market

Champions will give participants essential 'on the job' work experience, as

well a sense of community inclusion and language practice.

How to Vote

Voting is open until 5pm, Monday 17 September:

1. Register for a Pick My Project account on www.pickmyproject.vic.gov.au

2. Select your local community by entering your suburb or street name. You can then

browse the project ideas in your local community and create a shortlist of your

favourites.

3. Pick your three favourite project ideas from your shortlist and verify your mobile

number. You’ll then be able to submit your votes.

OR

Ring: 1800 797 818 with your 3 selections

Fawkner Projects Project description Potential funding

Community Market Champions

Employment opportunities for people from culturally diverse backgrounds

30,670

Social and Economic Inclusion Project

Social and Economic inclusion project for marginalized groups in Hume-Moreland

199,582

The Hothouse - A Food Hub for Fawkner

Growing sharing and teaching about Food from a repurposed space at the local Bowling Club

157,046

Composting Moreland Educating and resourcing Moreland residents with composting

20,000

Fawkner Inclusive Junior Development Tennis Program

Provide fifty kids an opportunity to become tennis champions

61,428

Open Table Community Connection

Free weekly open-invite lunches made from surplus food in Glenroy/Fawkner

82,995