From the Director of the Junior School, Anthony Banboukjian
Prayer for the Week
The May Procession is a devotional Act in Honour of Our Lady.
The very first May Procession took place on 21 May 1911. Instigated by members of the Sodality, it would become a distinctly Waverley tradition and has been called ‘one of the finest moments of grace’ anywhere.
The idea of the May Procession was the brainchild of Brother Aungier, who brought the tradition with him from his native Cork, in Ireland. He was also responsible for establishing the Sodality of Our Lady, from which the Procession grew. The Procession began as a ceremony in which the resident statue of the Blessed Virgin was carried ceremoniously through the grounds of the college.
Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Mary Mother of God: Pray for Us
St Mary of the Cross: Pray for Us
Live Jesus in Our Hearts: Forever
May Procession
The Annual May Procession and Celebration of the Feast of Blessed Edmund Rice will take place on Sunday 7th May.
This is a compulsory event for all staff and students while parents and relatives are most welcome to attend. In the event of a student illness a Doctor’s Certificate is required.
Students need to be present no later than 1.30pm and are to meet their house teacher in the Quadrangle of the senior school to have their attendance recorded.
The Parents’ Association will be providing refreshments in the Kenny Quad at the conclusion of this event.
Mother’s Day Mass and Lunch
A reminder that the Junior School Mother’s and Grandmother’s Mass will be next Friday May 12th at Mary Immaculate Church starting at 12.00 noon. All are invited back to the Junior School after Mass to join us for lunch.
Can I remind all those planning to attend to be careful where they park as the parking officers tend to be extra vigilant on occasions such as this. Please do not park across driveways as good relationships with our neighbours are important to us.
Boys who have a mother or grandmother attending may leave with them at the conclusion of lunch.
Year 6 Canberra Trip
Week 5 -Tuesday May 23 to Thursday May 25 will see all of Year Six head off to Canberra for their annual excursion as part of our HSIE unit on government.
During this tour they will participate in a variety of educational programmes focused on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.
The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit their National Capital as part of their civics and citizenship education. To assist you in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding under the Parliament and Civics and Education Rebate (PACER) programme toward the travel expenses incurred.
Activities undertaken as part of the educational tour include the tour of Parliament House, visit to the War Memorial and a session at the Electoral Education Centre. We would like to thank the Australian Government for their support of this program.
We hope that the excursion will be a rewarding experience for all students.
Special thanks to Mr Meadley for the tireless effort he has put in to ensure the boys have a great three days in our nation’s capital.
NAPLAN
In 2017 the National Assessment Program – Literacy & Numeracy (NAPLAN) will again be conducted for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 in all government and non-government schools. The program will assess the literacy and numeracy learning of all students in all Australian schools.
The results of the tests will provide important information to schools about what each student can do, and will be used to support teaching and learning programs. Parents will receive a report indicating their child’s level of achievement. Each student’s level of achievement will be reported against the agreed national minimum standard of student achievement.
The tests will be conducted across Australia on the same days for all students. The schedule for testing is as follows:
- Tuesday 9th May – Language Conventions (40 minutes) and Writing (40 minutes)
- Wednesday 10th May – Reading (50 minutes)
- Thursday 11th May – Numeracy (50 minutes)
Additional information for parents about the National Assessment Program can be found on this website: https://www.nap.edu.au/
How to best support your child –
- Ensure your child has a good night sleep
- Give them a solid healthy breakfast – but don’t overload them
- Provide healthy snacks and lunch on test days and plenty of water
- Cut back on after school activities if your child is tired, but encourage fresh air and a fun play outside
- Kids pick up cues from us – so keep it low key. The test will cover normal classroom/curriculum work learnt over a period of time – so no extra tutoring or last minute studying is necessary;
- Encourage your child to do their best but don’t put any pressure on them – emphasize that this is just one of many tests they will have during their schooling, and is to help them learn better ;
- Most of all – reassure them that you are proud of them for who they are – not what they can do. No test can ever measure a person’s worth
Sports Training
Now that we are well under way with Saturday sport can I please remind parents about ensuring their sons are picked up on time after training. All boys need to know their ‘Plan B’ in case of parents running late. Please appreciate the fact that teachers have families to get to as well.
Absence
If your son is absent from school please ring Mrs Coupe on 93875022 no later than 10.30am. The expectation is that on his return a note detailing his absence is given to his teacher. Please do not simply write a message in the diary as we need to keep the letter for administrative purposes.
Congratulations
Well done to the followings boys who have been selected to represent the Junior School at the May Procession on Sunday 7th May.
Year 6 Students for Procession
Kane Doull (Aungier), Carter Steyn (Brennan), Tom Johnson (Conlon), Will Perkins (Green), Oliver Schai (Lacey), Declan Strong (O’Connor), Charles Hely-Hammond (Quinn) and Rhys Vaughan (Tevlin)
Year 5 Students for Procession
Zachary Duane (Aungier), Sean Foley (Brennan), James McGreevy (Conlon), Oscar Bennett (Green), Jameson Hinds (Lacey), Hugo Kulcsar (O’Connor), Zac Coonan (Quinn) and Sonny Mori (Tevlin).
Year 6 Marion Banner
Joshua King, Bert Cottell, Hugo Morgan and Connor Andrews
Year 6 Prayer of Intercession
Billy Lyons (6 White)
Year 5 Prayer of Intercession
Ewan McDonald (5 Red)
IPSHA Rugby
Good luck to the following boys who have been selected to trial for selection to represent IPSHA at the upcoming CIS rugby trials – Lucas Young, Billy Lyons, Mitchell Gavin, Lachlan Grant, Joshua King, Xavier Savala and Darcy Standfield.
