St Jerome's Newsletter
Week 4 - Term 1 (Thursday 27 February)
St Jerome’s Primary School acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Owners and Elders, both past and present, of the lands on which this school is located.
Dear Parents and members of our school community
Message from the Principal
TUESDAY 3RD MARCH IS A PUPIL FREE DAY
Why You Should Encourage Your Child's Love of Graphic Novels
Here are four of the most popular books for 7 to 12 year olds in our school library.
They are each a part of a larger series. We term this type of book as "junior graphic novels". Quite often we hear parents complaining that "I want them to read real books".
Dav Pilkey, the author of the Dog Man series and of the Captain Underpants series, recalls that he was rapt in reading Charlie Brown comics as a child and really enjoyed the various characters.
When children read graphic novels, they have to follow the plot, the characters and the general theme: all aspects of more complex novels. It is as if they receive lots of practice in understanding how a story is structured in an easy to read way. There is no lack of complex vocabulary in graphic novels. Research from the University of Oregon found that comic books averaged 53.5 rare, or complex words per 1000. That's more than children's books which average 30.9 and even adult books at 52.7.
For children, especially reluctant readers, it is not what they read, but how they read and how often they read that will improve their literacy.
So don't worry if your son or daughter seems addicted to a graphic novel series. They are identifying themselves as a reader and in time they'll pick up a longer novel, a biology textbook or a book on volcanoes.
This article is adapted freely from a longer piece in "Why You Should Encourage Your Child's Love of Graphic Novels" by Sarah Lindenfeld Hall. The link to the complete article is here
20 Seconds to Optimize Hand Wellness
A timely reminder article on this simple act that needs doing especially well at this Corona virus time.
Share with students, family & friends.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/02/hand-wellness/606181/
P&F Welcome Back Picnic last Friday
Principal
RE NEWS
Lent is the six-week period leading up to Easter. It is one of the most important times of year for many Christians around the world, particularly those within the Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox traditions, held at a similar level of importance to Advent – the build up to Christmas.
While Advent is a celebration and a time of great anticipation, Lent is more frequently seen as a time of solemn observance and preparation for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter. From its start on Ash Wednesday until its conclusion on Easter Sunday, Lent has been a traditional time for fasting or giving something up or abstinence. Just as we carefully prepare for events in our personal lives, as a wedding, or birthday; a commencement Lent invites us to make our minds and hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ life, death and body resurrection.
Because Lent follows the liturgical calendar, the exact date that Lent falls each year changes. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is always held 46 days (40 fasting days and 6 Sundays) before Easter Sunday.
Ash Wednesday is the day after Shrove Tuesday, often known as Pancake Day. Elsewhere in the world, Shrove Tuesday is known as Mardi Gras (meaning ‘Fat Tuesday’ in French).
These days, Christians around the world observe Lent in many ways. Many from more orthodox and traditional denominations will still observe the fast strictly, beginning with the wearing of ashes on Ash Wednesday and abstinence of meat, fish, eggs and fats until Easter Sunday.
Others will choose to give up just one item for Lent, more commonly a ‘luxury’ such as chocolate, meat or alcohol. It is also becoming increasingly common for people to give up other things in order to refocus their faith during this time; such as watching TV, going to the gym, even social media.
And, of course, more and more Christians are turning to the 40 acts challenge as a way of doing Lent differently; using simple daily reflections and acts of generosity as a way of putting others first during preparations for Easter.
Sundays during Lent are very important to Christians around the world. Where the Monday to Saturday of each of the six weeks are concerned with fasting and abstinence, the Sunday is a celebration symbolic of Christ’s resurrection. Instead of fasting, Christians hold feasts in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. The fourth and sixth Sundays are particularly important in the UK – the fourth because it is Mothering Sunday (Mother’s Day) and the sixth because it’s Palm Sunday.
Ash Wednesday 26 February
This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice.
We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box and/or a set of envelopes for their donations or you can donate online via our website at lent.caritas.org.au
Let’s Go Further, Together!
Shirley, 36, is an indigenous Manide woman living in a remote province of the Philippines. She is a mother of four and the sole breadwinner of the family, as her husband is sick. But Shirley was struggling to support the whole family and keep her children in school.
Indigenous minorities in the Philippines face regular discrimination and disadvantage, limiting their access to education, employment and healthcare. But thanks to Caritas Australia’s Supporters, Shirley’s live has transformed. She is now leading her community to take a stand against discrimination, improve health and education, and pave the way for a better future.
Unequal access to health services means that many indigenous children and families cannot access basic medical care. Preventable diseases, such as tuberculosis, dengue fever and measles are common among their community, and there is a high maternal and new-born mortality rate.
With Caritas Australia’s support, Shirley trained to become an indigenous health worker and a leader in her community. She has learnt to supplement her income so she is able to feed her family. The program has also helped Shirley’s children with school fees, uniforms and supplies.
Shirley says there’s still a long way to go to fight for better employment opportunities for the Manide tribe and to reduce discrimination, but together they’ll get there.
Your support is life saving for people experiencing poverty and oppression. Please help more people like Shirley gain confidence and respect within their community and help improve the conditions of indigenous people’s around the world. Let’s Go Further, Together.
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Uniform News
The Uniform Shop will be open on the Pupil Free Day, Tuesday 3rd of March from 8.15am till 2.30pm.
St Jerome's Classroom Volunteers are Making a Difference
Dear Parents
We invite you to consider participating in our MAD volunteer program in 2020.
MAD volunteers receive training and on-going support to work with our students to develop skills in the area of Language. Volunteers work 1:1 or in a small group each week at a time that is suitable for both the volunteer and the class. Simple, routine tasks repeated over a period of time provide the opportunity for our students to consolidate basic skills whilst enjoying the interaction of peers and members of the community.
A ‘hands on’ information session will be held on THURSDAY 5th March from 9-10am in the Discovery Room.
We hope you will consider joining the MAD program for term 1 and invite you to come along to the information session on Thursday 5th March or email regarding further information.
MAD VOLUNTEER INFORMATION SESSION RSVP to Joanna.roper@cewa.edu.au
With thanks Joanna Roper
School Banking
Contact Details
Email: admin@stjeromes.wa.edu.au
Website: www.stjeromes.wa.edu.au
Location: 38 Troode Street, Munster WA, Australia
Phone: 08 9499 9500