Dear Parents and Carers,

Lord Jesus,

The Holy Land is once again struck by violence. Look with mercy upon the land that was your earthly home. Be close to those who are full of fear and despair.

You are our peace and light to the nations. Let peace flourish. Let the people be safe in your love.

Amen

The conflict in the Holy Land continues to cause grief and confusion across the world. Mother Teresa wrote beautifully about peace:

"The fruit of silence is prayer; the fruit of prayer is faith; the fruit of faith is love; the fruit of love is service; the fruit of service is peace.

Let us not use bombs and guns to overcome the world. Let us use love and compassion. Peace begins with a smile. Smile five times a day at someone you don't really want to smile at; do it for peace. Let us radiate the peace of God and so light His light and extinguish in the world and in the hearts of all men all hatred and love for power. Today, if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other - that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister." www.scu.edu/mcae/architects-of-peace/Teresa/essay.html

What a great message for us all - to smile five times a day at someone you don't really want to smile at! Many children seem to be far more capable at smiling than some adults - maybe they can teach us something about its importance!

Sport Achievement

Congratulations to Nimo R who received a Wollongong Diocese Red Medallion at an awards ceremony last Friday night. During this year Nimo has represented MacKillop in the NSW Primary Schools Sports Association competitions in Rugby League and Rugby Union. These achievements qualified him for the Red Award. Well done, Nimo.

Paul Moroney

Principal

TARGETED TEACHING IN MATHEMATICS K-6

This year our teachers have engaged in professional learning to improve student outcomes in Number, with a particular focus in Place Value. 

'Place value is an important foundational area of Mathematics that underpins the development of more complex skills, including addition and subtraction, ‘decimals, and multiplicative thinking.'                                                                                                                                                Siemon et al (2011)

Targeted teaching refers to an instructional approach that focuses on the specific needs of individual students or groups of students. When applied to the concept of place value in Mathematics, the data has shown us that targeted teaching has had positive impacts on student learning outcomes. As a result, the majority of students have made significant progress in this area. 

Thanks to all the teachers for their hard work in implementing this approach in teaching Place Value. It has resulted in an improvement in other areas of Mathematics too. 

Congratulations to the majority of our students for their efforts to improve in this area.

Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who are celebrating their birthday this week  12th November - 18th November

Justice

KG- Loki P- for always looking after his friends. 

2G - Naira M

3G - Grace B- for always looking for ways to help others

4G - Ben O - For being inclusive of others and showing compassion towards your peers. 

5G - Mackenzie P - For showing justice in her friendships by listening and respecting others

Week 5 - Awards: INFANTS

Any families who know that they will be leaving St John's at the end of the year (except for year 6) can you please notify the school as soon as possible. We do have an exit form that will need to be filled in

Thank you in advance