Kinder 2015 Christmas Party!

Great fun was had by all when our special surprise visitor arrived at the 2015 Kinder Afternoon Tea at Whitewater Park Chisholm.

Introducing some more new staff members

Welcome to our Year 4 teacher - Miss Larissa Quigley

Hi everyone, my name is Larissa Quigley and I am feeling very blessed and excited to be beginning this new adventure with you all at St Aloysius.

I grew up in Maitland, attending All Saints College, before studying and completing my Bachelor’s degree of primary teaching at the University of Newcastle in 2012.

I have had the pleasure of teaching at Rosary Park Catholic School in Branxton for the past 18 months where I have taught Year 4 and Year 6.

I am an active member of the East Maitland parish and am looking forward to seeing many members of our school community there.

I have a passion for dance, visual arts and sports and I look forward to being able to share my love of these areas with you all.

I am excited for what 2015 holds and cannot wait to meet the St Aloysius community of parents and students.

We have also employed our part time Teacher Librarian - Mr Stewart Ison

Hi everyone. My name is Stewart Ison and I am honoured to be a member of the teaching team at St Aloysius. I am an enthusiastic and energetic person and look forward to being strongly involved in the St Aloysius Catholic School community.

I am a country boy at heart being born and bred in Dubbo, however I have studied, worked and lived in Sydney prior to moving to the Hunter Valley.
My wife Kristin and I have two children, Ben aged 8 and Alex aged 7, and we have lived in the Branxton community for over 10 years.

Prior to entering into Education, I was awarded a Bachelor of Business majoring in Land Economics at UWS and worked in the commerical property sector and in the telecommunications sector in research and IT roles.

I completed my Post Graduate Master of Teaching Degree whilst managing the Wine Clubs at McGuigan Wines, and this year I have been working as Teacher/Librarian at Rosary Park Catholic School in Branxton.

Tennis is one of my passions, and I am President of our local tennis club and coach our junior players. I also coach our local Under 10’s Cricket Team and Soccer Team.

Music is also a passion of mine and I have been playing the guitar since I was 7 years of age. I have tutored guitar and vocal lessons to students of all ages as well as played in bands, composed music, recorded and produced music and last year was audio engineer for our local school performance. I am part of the music ministry in our local parish and school, and encourage students to participate in mass through music.

These are exciting times in education, and I am looking forward to being a member of the St Aloysius Teaching Team and meeting all the families of the St Aloysius Catholic Community, as we embark on this journey together.

To assist Stewart and the school in many ways we have also employed a part time School Officer - Library. Her name is Mrs Nadine Leighton

Hi, my name is Nadine Leighton and I am thrilled to be joining the St Aloysius team as School Officer - Library.

I have previously held senior human resources roles, as well as positions in finance, administration and event management. I currently work as a casual Support Officer for schools in the Diocese of Maitland/Newcastle. In keeping with my philosophy of lifelong learning and my love of books I returned to study last year with a view to gaining employment in a school library.

I am married with two young daughters, we are part of the Warners Bay Parish community.

 

I've been lucky to have travelled extensively for both business and pleasure and enjoy meeting people from all walks of life. I look forward to getting to know everyone in the St Aloysius community in 2015.

Proud students

Thank you to Grace (Year 3 2015) and Thomas (Year 1 2015) who modelled the St Aloysius school uniforms for a photo shoot for Waterford County last week. Can't wait to see their photos on the billboards in the estate!

What a difference landscaping makes!

It is exciting to see much of the landscaping and turfing of our school playground already completed!

 

Finishing touches to our classroom buildings included seating, bag racks and a sports shed.

 

 

External finishes to our temporary Admin building.

 

 

Twilight Family Picnic

What a wonderful turnout of St Aloysius families last week despite the heat! Thank you to all families for your enthusiastic participation in our family scavenger hunt. We hope you were able to meet some families you hadn't met before.

Our school is taking shape

The last couple of weeks has seen a lot of progress both within our school buildings and throughout the school grounds.
Topsoil has been laid and our school amphitheatre completed.

 

The first classroom block has been carpeted and is almost complete.

 

 

Our Chapel, Hall and Canteen are getting close to completion. Much of the wall and ceiling panelling has been completed and the flooring will be laid shortly.

 

 

Our temporary Admin and Staffroom building has been completed and is now locked up. It has an amazing view!

 

 

 

 

Contemporary Learning

At the recent Parent Information Meeting for students going into Years 1 - 6 in 2015 we introduced some aspects of 21st Century or Contemporary Learning that will feature at St Aloysius. We all know schooling has changed and some of the feature of modern education include a focus on:

—Collaboration (Teachers & students working & learning together)

—Learning how to learn

—Problem solving – not just one right strategy or solution

—Differentiation – helping each child achieve success

—Reflection on what was learnt  & how it was learnt

—Use of technology

—Balance – academic, cultural, sporting, spiritual, social & emotional wellbeing

 

We also looked at a couple of video clips that captured some of these priorities. These are just a few of the many videos available about contemporary learning:

 

 

http://vimeo.com/32674575

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DTUDczwtyc

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adPrARvQlVA