Term 4, Week 4, 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
At St Saviour's Primary School, we educate students to live life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In a Catholic school, students learn about and experience the Catholic faith, its history, teachings, rituals and culture. A Catholic education is an invitation to experience the world with a Catholic imagination and a hope-filled view of the human person. One example of this is through our school Mercy Values of Compassion, Service and Excellence that are taught and lived by our community each and every day.
I sincerely believe that students at St Saviour's Primary School show compassion for each other and for other people in their life. A perfect example of compassion was rewarded last Thursday evening at the Toowoomba Regional Council Mayoral Achievement Awards. These awards recognise those students who have achieved at school in times of adversity and challenge. Each school across the Darling Downs is able to nominate one student for this award.
This year, Penny from Year 3 was the recipient from St Saviour's Primary.
Whilst Penny was receiving her medal and certificate from Mayor Geoff McDonald, the following information that Mrs Harkins provided was communicated to the audience:
In a moment of crisis, Penny's unwaivering courage shone brightly. When an accident occurred, she didn't hesitate. Despite the shock and distress, Penny stepped forward. But there is more to this story - a beautiful thread that connects her actions to her grandmother, who happens to be deaf.
Penny bridged the gap between chaos and clarity. She assisted the first responders, ensuring they understood her nanny's needs. With grace and determination, she relayed crucial information , providing comfort and reassurance. And in here own quiet way, Penny shared contact details, ensuring her mother would be reached promptly.
A very worthwhile recipient of this award and a credit to her family and Year 3.
Next week, I will be attending the termly leadership forum for all senior leaders within Toowoomba Catholic Schools. Whilst at this forum, Mrs Katie Hauser and Mrs Ann-Maree Ward will be at school and can be reached in person, via phone or email. I look forward to reporting my learnings in the next newsletter.
Sam Hannant
….experiencing FAITH in the Mercy Tradition
Dear families
Congratulations to Fr Michael on celebrating his jubilee of 25 years of priesthood! What a wonderful milestone. Mr Hannant and myself were fortunate to be there to celebrate Mass with all the jubilarians. Bishop Ken reminded us that being a Priest is not about being perfect, it is about embracing the weakness and strengths of humanity. Fr Michael is a living example of this. He serves our community by bringing the Gospel to life for us all through his words and actions. Thank you Fr Michael for your dedication and service to, not only the parishioners and families in the Toowoomba diocese, but to our entire school community. You teach us that to be like Jesus, we must humbly serve everyone we meet.
This special celebration directly links to Pope Francis’ message for World Mission Sunday, “to go out and extend invitations to everyone for the feast.” It is an opportunity for us to open our hearts and minds to each and to join those on mission who serve and support those who need essential social services in Mongolia. Catholic Mission are working alongside the Mongolian Church to further develop programs such as The House of Mercy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. To support the appeal this year, your financial support would be appreciated. If you’re able to give to this appeal, head to the online portal at www.catholicmission.org.au/mongolia Thank you in advance. Thank you to Rose, Aya, Estelle, Scarlett, Deborah and Erin (Year 6 leaders) who spoke at Mass last weekend. These mission ambassadors launched the appeal by speaking to each congregation appealing for their support. Well done girls! You represented SSPS with pride and we appreciate it.
Our students will take part in the awareness program as part of World mission month, called “Socktober’. You can read all about it at https://www.socktober.org.au/
What is Socktober? Socktober for Mission Month cultivates the passion of students to rise up, engage their local community, and take action against poverty through the world game of soccer. It provides young people in Australia with the opportunity to lead in mission, encouraging them to think not only of what they will do to help, but why they will do it. Each class will design and create a soccer ball by only using socks, plastic bags and string. It is a simple and creative way to bring people together through sport by sharing a simple item that represents a soccer ball.
Pencils for PNG – Huge thank you to Orla and Lotte McDonald (along with their parents) for initiating and supporting a whole school service activity for the Schindler school in Papua New Guinea. In a short time, the school has donated pencils, the McDonald family donated stickers and our students have labelled the pencils ready to be delivered to the school this week! Travel safely girls and we look forward to seeing photos of our new friends at the Schindler school using their new pencils!
Don’t forget to wear red for our “Day for Daniel” Friday 25th October! Thank you for your support.
Thanks for reading,
Ann-Maree Ward (Assistant Principal – Mission & Identity)
Dear Families,
This Friday communities across Qld will celebrate World Teacher’s Day. There are not many professions that have an impact on individuals and the community like teachers do. With that privilege comes great responsibility! We are blessed at St Saviour’s to have a committed and compassionate group of teachers who consistently strive to be a positive influence in the lives of children. As teachers within the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Diocese we value human dignity, unlimited potential, and fullness of life and strive to offer an education that brings these values to life. This year’s theme is Hats off to teachers. On Friday we will be raising a hat to our teachers and showing gratitude for all that they do for the children in our school.
As the weather heats up and the busyness of the year catches up with everyone, children (and often adults!) can become overwhelmed with their emotions as their resilience levels are down. Building resilience in children to be able to cope when they are tired, when things are challenging, when they are easily frustrated or when their friends don’t act the way they would like them to is not always easy. However, it is our job as adults to help children build resilience around how to deal with situations such as these. Sometimes a ‘break’ is an appropriate strategy to rest and recoup, however it is not the only strategy children need to have in their backpack. Some strategies that teachers use to build stamina and resilience include the skills of mindful breathing, taking a movement break, using positive self-talk, looking for positives, and creating things to look forward to when challenging work is completed. At this time of year a whole lot of patience is thrown in as well, mindful that young children are still learning how to navigate and manage their emotions, behaviour and attitude as they build their resilience. Maintaining a predictable routine at home during this time that prioritises consistent sleep, plenty of downtime and quality time with loved ones is an important way for parents to support students. This also sounds like a great plan for adults too!
Mrs Katie Hauser
Dear Parents,
Last term students from Year 2 - 6 had the opportunity to compete in the ICAS Maths and English competition. This is a competition where students are given the chance to shine in an internationally recognised gold standard academic competition. Students who participated were ranked in the following categories for their results:
High distinction - Students are in the top 1% of participants
Distinction – Students are in the next 10% of participants
Credit – the next 25% of participants
Merit – the next 10% of participants
Participation – For all remaining participants
26 SSPS students completed in the ICAS English competition and received 3 distinctions, 8 credits, 3 merits and 12 participation certificates.
We had 35 students compete in the ICAS Maths competition and received 1 distinction, 9 credits, 6 merits and 19 participation certificates.
The ICAS tests are designed to challenge students and require participants to apply higher order thinking skills to answer questions. Congratulations to all participants who were adventurous in signing up for the competition and demonstrated several SSPS Learner Qualities including ‘Be determined’ and ‘Be a thinker’ when completing the tests.
Reading resources
We have recently purchased multiple decodable home readers for the Library for 2025. This has been a big investment for the school and we require parent help to cover these home readers so they are ready to be used in 2025. If you can assist with the covering of these readers, Mrs Anne Anderson is more than happy to demonstrate the covering process and would love to hear from you: anne.anderson@twb.catholic.edu.au
STEM
Thank- you to Mrs Hawkins, Mrs Lainge and Mrs Bennett who have volunteered their time to run our Junior and Senior STEM Clubs for Term 4. We have had lots of eager participants who have been engaged in STEM learning all year and we are pleased to see so many students interested and involved in our STEM Clubs.
Have a great weekend,
Bec Thomas
Teachers have begun planning carefully for class groupings in 2025. I would like to provide the following information for the parent community to assist you in understanding how important we regard the task of class groupings and the many aspects that the staff take into consideration when working on these for the year ahead.
Staff consult with each other extensively on this undertaking. When doing class allocations, we reflect on the following points:
- What are the best learning combinations (What we know about the students this year/ last year/ previous years) for each class?
- How to ensure there is a balance of the learning needs in a class? Consideration is given to students with learning difficulties, difficulties with a learning area and students who are achieving above the expected level in a learning area.
- The balance of learning styles, including those who are fast, independent learners and those who require additional time to grasp concepts
- Boy and girl ratios
- Friendships between students that impact both positively and negatively on their ability to achieve the best possible learning outcomes
- Social/emotional considerations
- Family considerations such as keeping twins together or in separate classes, as well as the number of children who have siblings already at the school (particularly relevant in Prep class groupings).
The process of class allocation takes many weeks. Parental input has and is always welcomed and considered seriously by the staff. However, it should be obvious that friendships cannot always be catered for, especially if staff know that some friendships may inhibit classroom learning. Additionally, although we do our best, parent requests for specific teachers cannot always be guaranteed, with some of the reasons in the dot points above.
Parents are asked to send an email directly to the Principal: Sam Hannant sam.hannant@twb.catholic.edu.au for any considerations for class placements in 2025 by MONDAY 12 November 2024.
SWQ All Schools Touch Football Carnival
On Sunday, October 13th, 12 students from Year Five and Six participated in the SWQ All Schools Touch Carnival held at Kearney Springs Touch Fields. The team, a mix of 5 boys and 7 girls, had been diligently attending training sessions since Term Three under my guidance. Throughout the tournament, the students engaged in exciting matches of Touch Football against schools from the region. As the games progressed, the team demonstrated exceptional teamwork, resulting in highly competitive matches. They managed to secure victories in all games progressing through to the grand final, winning 8-1 against Our Lady of Lourdes. I couldn't have been prouder of the players for their sportsmanship, game play, and how they represented the school on that day. Members of the team were Rafferty Dwan, Georgie Hedge, Liam McHugh, Mahaylie Weribone, Joe Black, Deborah Thomas, Adelaide Adams, Lily Brookman, Parker Bohm, Aya Doherty, Darcy Phillips and Briella Schilg. Liam and Mahaylie were voted players of the grand final and Mahaylie was voted player of the carnival.
State Athletics
Samuel Abot, Emily Carrigan, and Adelaide Adams showcased remarkable performances at the State Athletics Carnival last week. All three students did extremely well in all their events, finishing in the top ten for Queensland in the majority of their events. The entire school community is immensely proud of these outstanding achievements. Emily qualified for nationals with 2nd place in Shot Put with a put of 12.27m (a PB) and is now gearing up to compete at nationals. St Saviour’s Primary is rallying behind her with wholehearted support.
Friday Night Basketball
Friday night basketball has resumed this term, with St Saviour’s Primary entering a boys' team, featuring students from Year Five and Six. The boys have enjoyed a strong start to the competition, engaging in competitive basketball matches. The school extends its gratitude to Mrs. Conway for her coaching efforts, recognizing the vital role coaches play in the development and success of young athletes. It's heartening to see students actively participating in sports and proudly representing their school in these basketball games. Best wishes for their upcoming matches.
Zone and Darling Downs Trials
All Zone and Darling Downs trials will be placed on Parent Portal. Please check Parent Portal regularly or set up notifications on your phone if you wish for your child to be eligible to trial for Zone and Darling Downs sporting teams as you will be required to obtain paperwork from myself. I am unable to nominate students after the closing date so please make sure you do keep an eye on Parent Portal. Any questions, please contact me at brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.
Cheers
Brendan Luck
HPE Teacher
BOOK FAIR SUCCESS!
With a sales figure close to $5,000.00, we are celebrating the fact that we have earned approx. $1500 in commission to spend on new books for the student collection!
Thank you to all the families and staff members who contributed to the success of this Fair by purchasing books and stationery and helping with supervision across the 4 days.
Special shout out to; Hazel Soriano, Donna Enders, Melinda Harkins, Narelle Jackson, Sara McHugh, Natalie O’Brien and Mary Milton for giving your time and expertise. I am grateful to the Year 6 volunteers who came to our aid during the busy times. Special mention to Gorgi Saad, Sophie Enders and Alexis Allen for writing names on the raffle tickets and to Liam Enders for his mental calculations at the sales table.
NEW HOME READERS FOR COVERING
We are currently adding 900 new home readers to our library database for use in Prep, Year 1 and 2 in 2025. These readers need to be covered using our high-grade library contact and we are asking for volunteers to take a bundle of 20 readers home to cover. A template of contact and a sample covered book will be provided. Please call in or speak to any staff member to register your interest in accomplishing this big task for the start of the new school year.
LEARNING IN THE LIBRARY
Year 4 – locating, selecting and organising facts for an information report on pelicans
Year 5 – Writing a review for publication in AccessIT
Year 6 – Strategies for successful online searching when working on complex research questions
FAMILY BOOK CLUB WILL MEET IN WEEK 8 ON MONDAY 18TH NOVEMBER
I have 2 copies of “Night Ride into Danger” available for borrowing if you would like to take up the challenge of reading this story together as a family and then join us for a chat in Week 8. All are welcome!
IMPORTANT END OF YEAR DATES FOR LOANS!
LAST BORROWING WEEK FOR STUDENT LOANS IS WEEK 6; 4th – 8th November
ALL STUDENT LOANS DUE BY END OF WEEK 7; 15th November
ALL STUDENT LEASED DEVICES DUE BY END OF WEEK 9; 29th November
CONTINUING STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO BORROW FOR THE HOLIDAYS IN WEEK 8; during lunchtime on Monday and Tuesday 18th and 19th November
PLEASE NOTE:
OVERDUE LOANS FROM SEMESTER 1 WILL BE INVOICED SEPARATELY FROM WEEK 8.
Happy Reading
Anne Anderson
Teacher Librarian
The SSPS community congratulates year 3 student Penelope Blair for receiving a Mayoral Achievement Award on Thursday night. This award celebrates courage, compassion and the embodiment of what it means to make a difference. Well done Penelope!
Please enjoy some more photos from our recent Grandparent's Day. These images show the year 5 students sharing their learning space with their grandparents.
