Term 1 2019 Week 7 Newsletter
Dear Parents and Caregivers
Wellness Week
Sincere thanks to our Wellness Committee who organised a number of events last week for students, families and staff that focused on being grateful for what we have. Activities throughout the week included:
*Simultaneous meditation throughout the school
*Staff meet together for a coffee prior to school on Wednesday
*Picnic Lunch on the school oval.
A Gratitude Walk for parents along the pathway from Lawrence Street into the school. It was wonderful to read the expressions of gratitude left by the students.
Parents of St Saviour’s Primary School are to use St Patrick’s Cathedral car parks and street parking only. Please avoid using the Diocesan Office Carpark as there are limited spaces for Toowoomba Catholic School employees. This is also the central location for professional development workshops and courses for staff from 31 schools across the Diocese. Thank you for your consideration and care of keeping our children safe.
School Renewal and Improvement Process
During Week 8, we will welcome to our school four panel members to visit our school. They will meet with parents, staff and students over the course of this week. Please feel free to engage with the panel members as they make their way through our school and engage in conversation with you. This process will support and assist in the many facets of maintaining our great school and making it even greater!
PREP Surprises!
The best part of my day is when the children share their learning with me. I was lucky enough to have some Prep children visit to show me their great writing work. In only six short weeks they are writing sentences about the book they are reading in class. Congratulations to our amazing Prep teachers and the students for your work. It is obvious you love coming to school to learn new things. Your attitude to your learning is wonderful to see.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Madonna Sleba
Principal
Bump It Up Walls
Recently the teachers at St Saviour's Primary have been inserviced on Bump It Up Walls. The main reason for these walls is to make success visible to the students in their writing. It provides instant feedback and explicitly shows/demonstrates the standard that the children can aspire to achieve.
It is a space in the room where the students can take a piece of their writing and compare it to the different standards (Below the standards are oops, so so, wow and outstanding). They can then take ideas from the wall to implement into their writing.
Please see photo below of a wall that is up in 3L.
Year 6 students on River 949
This week the Year 6 students have been reading the weather every morning on River 949. Tune in for the latest installment at around 8.40am on Friday morning.
Microsoft working with Year 4 Teachers and Students
Last week a Microsoft expert visited the Year 4 teachers and students and worked with them on their Surface Go devices. The children had the opportunity to create 3D objects and then insert them into a PowerPoint presentation. The students will then use these presentations for their assessment. We look forward to the return lesson in Term 2.
Teaching and Learning Meetings
This week all teachers have taken part in teaching and learning meetings with the leadership team where they have been looking at whole class and individual student data and setting goals for them.
Teachers have also been looking at planning, goal setting and school expectations.
STEMPunks
The STEMPunks company has been working with 6 classes at St Saviour's Primary in the last couple of weeks. The instructors are very big on STEM education and this is evident in the activity that all the students participated in.
The photo below shows the students attempting to code a drone to fly and land in a designated spot. Several students were successful, much to their delight.
If you get the chance, come into school and view the display on the noticeboard near the main entrance that shows some reflections of the year 6 students on the STEMPunks activities.
Darling Downs School Sport turns 40
Recently Darling Downs School Sport held a breakfast to celebrate their 40th birthday. There were some fantastic speakers including Gemma Etheridge, who played for the Womens 7s rugby union team at the Olympics and Karen Smith who played hockey at the Olympics. Both ladies went to school on the Darling Downs. I was lucky enough to attend with Miss Doljanin and several students who have represented Darling Downs recently. They were Lainey Currie, Cameron Dennis and Paris Orr.
Dear Parents/ Carers,
Ash Wednesday: Last Wednesday, Fr Michael spent time with each class to focus on the meaning behind Ash Wednesday and Lent. With the younger grades he spent time in the classroom and the older students met him at St Pat's Cathedral. He used the children's text, The Flower Man which has illustrations but no text, as a prompt for discussion about how we can bring about change/ joy/ light into the lives of others. Thank you Fr Michael for spending the day with us.
School Fees
School Fees are now overdue. Prompt payment would be appreciated for Term 1 school fee payments.
Prep Enrolments 2020
Any families who are wishing to enrol their child into Prep 2020 need to submit their application now. Prep interviews are being held from the 29th April. Please encourage any families who may be thinking of applying to St Saviour's to do so ASAP to avoid disappointment.
For the remainder of the term we explore with students how they can "unmask" their reading power. Here are some thoughts you as a parent might like to talk about with your students;
Our reading is powerful when we challenge ourselves to read to;
- learn something new
- develop our ideas
- enjoy a story for the thrill and satisfaction it brings
- improve our imaginations
- grow our vocabulary
- know what the world is like for other people
- know what the world was like in the past
- imagine what the world might be like in the future
To find this power we may need to ;
- look for the book or other material that we want to read
- try new and different books and formats
- think about what we are reading and how it fits with what we already know
- finish what we start to read
- give more time to reading
Thanks for all you do to develop powerful readers!
Thanks to Mrs Powers for the engaging display which highlights our reading focus and to Mrs Milton for her weekly crosswords which challenge our students to use our Non-fiction material.
Pikelet Stall
Due to the support from our school families and staff we made $138.30 from the stall. A very big thank you to the parents of our members and to the staff who donated items. Mini Vinnies members will spend their Monday lunchtime over the next 2 weeks creating Easter messages to attach to small Easter themed goodie bags to be donated to the St Vincent de Paul Office for distribution.
The St Saviour’s Primary School Cross Country will be held on Friday 29 March 2019.
Please see below information:
LOCATION – All events will commence and conclude on the primary school oval.
TIME – Events will commence at 9am and be concluded around lunch. It is hard to give an exact time for any race.
ORDER OF EVENTS & DISTANCES – All children will run in their age group.
Boys and Girls born 2007 - 1 lap of oval, 3 laps of school, 1 lap of oval
Boys and Girls born 2008 - 1 lap of oval, 3 laps of school, 1 lap of oval
Boys and Girls born 2014 - 2 laps of oval
Boys and Girls born 2013 - 3 laps of oval
Boys and Girls born 2009 - 1 lap of oval, 2 laps of school, 1 lap of oval
Boys and Girls born 2010 - 1 lap of oval, 2 laps of school, 1 lap of oval
Boys and Girls born 2012 - 2 laps of oval, out of school and down to Ruthven Street, back up stairs near prep and finish on oval.
Boys and Girls born 2011 - 2 laps of oval, out of school and down to Ruthven Street, back up stairs near prep and finish on oval.
TUCKSHOP – Will run as normal with online ordering. For this day only, there will be cash sales for students as well as family members.
UNIFORM – All children are welcome to wear their sport uniform. They can also wear a shirt/shorts/hat that matches their house colour and are encouraged to do so.
PARTICIPATION – All children do need to participate on the day as it is part of the school program. If your child is unable to run for medical or other reasons, please provide a note to their classroom teacher.
SUPPORTERS – Parents and friends are more than welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you there.
Sam Hannant
Please see the times below for swimming lessons next week. A reminder that all students (P-6) can wear their sport uniform all week.
Students will need togs, towel, swimming bag, goggles etc. They will receive a swimming cap from the instructors at Glennie. All parents need to complete the permission form prior to the lessons next week.
Parents are welcome to go along to Glennie and watch if you would like.
A reminder that swimming is part of the curriculum. If a student cannot swim for any reason, please send a note to your child's teacher.
Lesson Time |
class |
class |
class |
9:30-10:15 |
6H |
6M |
|
10:15-11:00 |
5JL |
5W |
|
11:00-11:30 |
Prep A |
Prep H |
|
11:30-12:00 |
1L |
1M |
|
12:00-12:45 |
4C |
4D |
4M |
12:45-1:30 |
3A |
3L |
3 PM |
1:30-2.15 |
2C |
2F |
2GM |
Thank you
Thank you to the new parents of St Saviour's Primary who have so generously donated their time to volunteer in the Tuckshop. Apologies for inconvenience with Flexischools ordering for the previous month. The issue is only occurring on a Friday. If possible please place your order on a Thursday evening. This will alleviate congestion within their system. If you have an outstanding invoice from the Tuckshop could you please finalise ASAP. Reminder phone calls to any parents with outstanding invoices will take place in Week 9.
St Patrick's Day
Special treats are on sale tomorrow in the Tuckshop to celebrate St Patrick's Day.
Thank you to everyone who attended the P&F Meeting on Wednesday evening.
PIZZA TREAT DAY:
Pizza Treat Day is being held next THURSDAY 21ST MARCH. Ordering will only be via Flexischools. The cost will be $5.50 and will include a pizza (your choice) and a Freddo Frog. A variety of pizza toppings are available including Gluten Free.
With the aim to reduce waste, we encourage students to use normal water bottle for hydration, rather than purchase a sugary drink. (cost is slightly reduced)
COLOUR RUN:
The St Saviour's Primary Colour Run is happening again this year!!! This event is the highlight of our school calendar year!! The date set down for the colour run is FRIDAY 3 MAY, 2019. Parents will be sent home an information letter and sponsorship form for your child this coming MONDAY. Please keep an eye out for this in your child's bag. More information will follow in the coming weeks about this fantastic event which promises to be bigger and better this year!