Week 1, Term 1, 2020

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students

Welcome to all our new and old families to the 2020 School Year.  We have 82 new students enrolled at the school giving us a total enrolment of 401 students. What a pleasure it has been to witness both the teachers, school officers and children go about their learning and socialising over the past few days.  Everywhere I went I experienced the well-known happy and inclusive community of St Saviour’s Primary.  I look forward to a productive year of working in partnership with you as we continue to challenge ourselves to make our community a place of educational excellence for the students.

Special thanks to the staff who worked tirelessly in tidying the school grounds, cleaning the school, preparing student records and of course the setting up of classrooms.  The enthusiasm and pride they have taken is greatly appreciated by all and ensured a smooth start to the year.  

Thank you to all those who have helped support the Sullivan and Adams family through this very difficult time.  Your hospitality and care is greatly appreciated.  

School Maintenance:

Over the school holidays period a great deal of scheduled maintenance has taken place.  Our new Prep room and the refurbishment to the other rooms has been completed and both staff and students have settled in well to their fresh new rooms.  The Mercy Centre also had to have some extensive work completed at the entrance and grounds maintenance to ensure everyone is safe and happy at the school. 

School uniform:

Out with the old and in with the new!  From January 2020, all students are to be wearing the new school uniform.    The two-year transition period has passed ending in 2019. No longer will the old uniform be worn.

Your assistance in ensuring that the school uniform is worn correctly each day is appreciated. If for any reason your child is out of uniform, please send a note along to your child’s teacher to explain the reason for not being in correct school uniform. Please clearly name all items of clothing and property with your child’s name – this will enable us to return lost items to the owners. Remember that long hair must be tied back each day, hair ties to be school colours only, one set of studs/sleepers and a wrist watch is the only jewellery to be worn and please ensure that sports shoes are predominately white (as per our school policy). Please note that coloured sandshoes are not part of the uniform policy – do not allow your child to wear these coloured shoes as part of their uniform.

Professional Development and Planning Days:

Prior to the children commencing school, the teachers and school officers at St Saviour’s Primary have engaged in five excellent professional development days. The focus for these days was on the following:

• Enhancing Catholic Identity and Knowing the Mercy Way
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) integration across all Key Learning Areas
• Expectations of the Teaching and Learning Programs at SSPS.
• Resourcing to support the Religious Education curriculum
• Administrative Information and Training –Workplace Health and Safety Training, and Mandatory Student Protection training and Code of Conduct. The 2020 Student Protection Contacts here at SSPS are: Mr Sam Hannant, Mrs Rachel Harlen, Mrs Anne Woodcroft-Brown.  These contacts receive further professional development to support them in their role and the students in our care.

Newsletter

The newsletter will be published fortnightly on the odd weeks of term.   It is available through the schoolzine app.  

PROCEDURES AT ST SAVIOUR’S PRIMARY SCHOOL

The beginning of the school year is a time to revisit our important procedures that we have in place here at St Saviour’s Primary: -

Communication is an important vehicle between the family and the school and I cannot stress enough the importance of you reading the newsletter, accessing schoolzine app, school Facebook page and the correspondence sent home from your child’s teacher. These forms of communication are our main means of keeping you informed with what is happening around the school. Teachers can be contacted via email or by calling the office to make an appointment. If you need to contact your class teacher urgently, please phone the school reception.  As you would be aware, teachers are unable to meet with you once the bell has gone as they are responsible for the students in their class.

• If you have an issue or a concern, please know that we will try and deal with this together. If you need to discuss a concern with the teacher, please take the time to make an appointment as the mornings and afternoons can be busy for teachers. It is also important to know that the teacher is the first point of contact in dealing with your concerns. You are always welcome to speak with a member of the leadership team after speaking with your child’s teacher. It is important that all parties speak calmly and respectfully in these situations.
• We encourage commendations as well. 
• Parent Teacher Night (Prep – Yr. 6) is scheduled for Wednesday 5^th February. There will be two sessions offered to parents in your child’s year level classroom. All Year level teachers present together to all parents. The first session will begin at 5:10p.m. – 5:30p.m. Then all Parents are invited to Mercy Centre to hear from the Leadership Team between 5:40 – 6:00p.m.  The second session will be a repeat of the first session and will begin at 6:10p.m. in your child’s classroom.  Parents will have the opportunity to visit classrooms, meet teachers and receive a brief outline of plans for the year. It is hoped the evening will conclude by 6.30 - 6:45pm. All year levels (including Prep) will make presentations on the night. Please note that this night is intended for adults only.
• Our Opening School Year Mass will be held on Tuesday 18^th February, commencing at 9:30am at St Patrick’s Cathedral. All are most welcome to attend.
• School commences at 8.30am each day. Please do your best to ensure your children arrive at school prior to this time.  Supervision commences on the playground at 8.10am. for all children. Children arriving prior to 8.10am should be enrolled into Outside School Hours Care which commences at 7am. Children arriving after the 8.30am bell need to report to the office to sign in late and collect a ‘late slip’ before going to class. Class roll marking is completed by 8:45am Any students arriving after this time will be marked as late to school.  The roll is taken again at 2:00pm each afternoon. Remember that every minute counts for your child’s learning.  If your child is absent from school, please make contact to the office before 9.00am.  Messages can be left on the school answering machine, or via the SZAPP.  Please do not email the class teacher directly as often teachers are unable to check emails until break time.  You can however email the school office directly ssps@twb.catholic.edu.au
• Bell times are as follows:  
• Session 1         8:30am – 10:45am
• Morning Tea    10:45am-11:15am
• Session 2        11:15am-12:45pm
• Lunch             12:45pm - 1:30pm
• Session 3           1:30pm-3:00pm

If you are needing to schedule appointments for your children, please refer to the morning tea and lunch time break times. 

• Please refer to our school website for important information about our school.
• Have you downloaded the Care Monkey app and Schoolzine app to your smart phone?  If you are needing assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.  The office staff are only too happy to assist you.  Please ensure you have selected your child's classes in the MANAGE tab on the SZAPP as this will ensure you receive notifcations directly associated with their classes only.
• The first few weeks of school often bring very hot weather. While air conditioning makes a huge difference, children are encouraged to bring water bottles to school to keep hydrated. Please ensure bottles are clearly marked with your child’s name.
• The application of sunscreen before coming to school is strongly recommended. Please ensure all uniform items are clearly marked with your child’s name.
• Assemblies take place on a Monday afternoon from 2:30-3:00pm  All parents are most welcome to join us at this time in Mercy Centre. The purpose of assembly is to set the scene for the week. We pray together, affirm children with awards, focus on our weekly behaviour and share important news and information.
• Tuck Shop operates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. Orders are placed through flexischools.  
• All are encouraged to come along to P&F meetings. Keep an eye out in the newsletter for the dates.  The P & F AGM will be held on Monday 17^th February at 6:30pm
• School Fees will be issued by Week 3.

Enjoy the start of the new school year. It is a special time as children settle into new routines, make new friends and get to know their teacher. If you ever have any concerns or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am looking forward to the year ahead.

Our Year 6 Leaders for 2020 pictured in their new Leadership Shirts

Yours sincerely,

Madonna Sleba

Principal
St Saviour’s Primary School

Toowoomba

Welcome to the new school year!!  There are some very exciting things happening around St Saviour's Primary School this year and I would like to share a few with you.

SSPS TEACHING AND LEARNING FOCUS AREAS FOR 2020

Reading Improvement Strategy

Reading will again be a focus area for St Saviour’s Primary in 2020.  The leadership team, classroom teachers and school officers are committed to collecting data on individual students and providing strategic, high quality teaching approaches to support every student with decoding words and comprehending what they have read. 

Spelling

This year teachers and students will also have a focus around spelling.  This program compliments the Reading Improvement Strategy and is student centred, research based and linked to the Australian Curriculum English.  It includes explicit instruction, practice and over learning, a variety of spelling strategies and the opportunity to learn in context through literature and their own writing.

STEM

We are now entering our third year as a STEM ‘Lighthouse’ School as part of the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Strategic Plan.  During the professional planning days before school commenced this year teachers were given time and support to start to plan their STEM focus area for Term 1.  Six classes will again be working with STEMPunks.  STEMPunks are a resource that we are lucky enough to have funding for and they work with students and teachers around different STEM tools.  Some of these tools include robotics, drones, 3D printing and virtual reality.  The aim is for all students to be using these tools when solving real life problems.

RACE DAY FUNDS

The 2019 St Saviour’s Primary and St Patrick’s Cathedral Race Day was a huge success.  Over $14000 was raised that has been split between both organisations.  The money at St Saviour's has been put toward the purchase of some new SmartBoards for the extra classes that we have this year.

SPORT UNIFORM DAYS

A reminder of days that students are able to wear their sport uniform this year.  This relates to the day their PE lesson takes place and then everyone will wear their sport uniform on a Friday.

Prep - All week

Year 1 – 1L Wednesday and Friday and 1M Thursday and Friday

Year 2 - Thursday and Friday

Year 3 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 4 - Wednesday and Friday

Year 5 - Thursday and Friday

Year 6 - Wednesday and Friday

PARKING IN PERTH STREET

Whilst on bus duty on Perth Street, I have noticed several parents parking in the bus zones.  Please read the signs carefully as the bus drivers can become annoyed and do report vehicles to council and the police.

RESPONSIBLE USE OF ICT DOCUMENTS

Toowoomba Catholic Schools has produced two Responsible Use of ICT Agreements.  One for young students in Prep to Year 3 and one for upper primary and secondary students.  I do believe some year levels have sent these documents home in hard copy format, however they will also be sent home electonically next week.  

These documents will be discussed with students at school, however it might also be a good opportunity for parents to reinforce the responsible use of ICT message at home.  

A warm welcome to our new families and "Welcome Back" to the rest of you!!

A Prayer for Parents and Families at the start of the new school year:

Loving God,

Help me in my divine task of parenthood:

Help me to see my children's problems through their eyes:

Keep ever before me my own childhood so that I will not expect too much.

Give me the patience of the silent stars:

Give me a sense of humour.

Help me to teach them to love bravely and to meet defeat courageously:

Help me to teach them that the value of their lives will be measured by the service they give.

Help me to teach them that true happiness is found, not in things,

but in unfolding of their minds and souls.

Help me to make my life go on in  theirs, bigger, finer, nobler than I ever dared to be.

AMEN

WELCOME BBQ: We are already at the end of the first week, and what better way to celebrate and to hopefully catch up with "old friends" or make new ones but by coming along to the P&F WELCOME BBQ, which is this evening, from 5pm-7pm. The SSPS P&F are supplying the BBQ, so come along, bring a few drinks and share the early evening in the school grounds. The rest of the night is yours!

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM: Parents of students in Years 4-6, if you are wanting your child to make their "First Communion, Reconciliation and be Confirmed", then you will need to get the Enrolment Form, along with a copy of Baptism Certificate into the school or parish Office in the next week or so. The Program gets underway on Tuesday evening, Feb 11th, with a Parent Info Session. With a weekly cluster group either Thursday (3:30-4:15pm) or Sunday (10:15-11am) for the 5 following weeks, with a parent/ guardian attending withe the child. Forms (blue) were sent home at the end of last year, and can be accessed from the school or parish office.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me, Paula Wagner (via the school office) or Fr Michael (via the Parish Office).

Our Catholic Identity: During our Professional Learning days last week we again began our year with a focus on our school history, our Mercy Charism. Along with several other "Mercy Schools" from the diocese we listened to Maxine McKew who went to All Hallows in Brisbane for her secondary schooling. With her background as a journalist, politician and academic she had a powerful, timely message about what makes a quality education, the impact of it (or lack of it) and the need for teachers to "just teach". 

At SSPS this term and throughout the year, teachers will be focusing on our Mercy Charism, the life, work and legacy of Catherine McAuley and the Mercy Sisters. We are also working on a recontextualised school prayer, that students, staff and the broader community will contribute to. This follows on from the rewriting of our Mission/ Vision which was launched at the start of 2019.

Supporting our Drought Impacted Neighbours: At the end of last year, with funds raised by the student DISCO, along with generous donations from staff we were able to pay for truck loads of water to be delivered to drought affected families around Stanthorpe. The Lancuba family (1L teacher Natalie) have a water carting business, and they kindly offered to transport the water that we paid for. At the time and still at times now, Stanthorpe families are having to limit their water use by

• Limited showers/ not watering animals, plants, including orchards
• Having a bowl/bucket in the sink and shower to catch run off
• Limited flushing of the toilet
• Reusing and storing water from the washing machine 

                             Some examples of where our donations went... 

Retired Farmer 1

He is an older man who has no water in his dam. He had to dig a desperate hole in a puddle to get some water and has bucketed water from the dam.

Family 2
Fire destroyed much of their property and they live in a shed. Husband was a builder but now is disabled from a work accident. They are barely surviving yet said to Mr Lancuba “ Are you sure there aren’t more people needier than us?" (to receive the water donation)

Family Three

Are a family with children and animals. They also are struggling as they own a farm and have had no income for the year. They had no money over Christmas due to the hardships they have experienced from the drought.

Further deliveries are being undertaken throughout January and February as the Stanthorpe water supply is still extremely low and many families have to rely on their own dams or bores (or buy water). Thanks for your support.

Thanks from Miss Cosgrove: At the end of last year, Miss Jo Cosgrove invited any students who were in town over Christmas to come to sing at the Christmas Eve (vigil) Mass where she was going to be playing the organ. Miss Cosgrove was delighted with the response she had and the would like to send out a "Thank you" to the 10 students and families who turned up. Well done to all!

I hope you have had a smooth start to the year,

Regards

Judy

St Saviour's Primary Swimming Carnival 2020

St Saviour’s Primary Swimming Carnival will be on the 4th of February 2020 from 9am to 12:30pm at Glennie Aquatic Centre. Children born in 2011 (turning 9 this year) to children born 2008 (turning 12 this year) will participate in the carnival. Students will catch a bus from St Saviour’s to Glennie at 8.40am and return back to school after the carnival. Children can then be picked up at the normal time of 3pm. Parents and Guardians are more than welcome to attend. Please make sure your child brings togs, towel, goggles, swimming cap, swimming bag and food. All items are to be labelled. A house coloured swimming cap is available for purchase from the school office for $5. Six dollars will be added to your child’s school fees for all children who attend the carnival in years 3-6. This is to cover the cost of the bus and the hire of the pool and lifeguard. The children can wear coloured shirts to support their individual house. If they choose not to do this, they can wear their sport uniform. Thongs are fine to wear to and from the pool. Please, no zinc, face paint or hairspray as it is not allowed in the pool. If you have not done so already, please give your child permission to attend the swimming carnival by logging into Care Monkey. If you have any questions in regards to the swimming carnival feel free to contact me at brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.

Our children gathered on the oval today in their House colours to practice their war cries in preparation for the Swimming Carnival on Tuesday.

Orienteering

This term in week three, Dominic Crosato from orienteering Queensland will be attending St Saviour’s Primary to run FREE after school sessions. Orienteering is a sport that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point whilst moving at speed. Participants will be given a map of the school, which they use to find control points. These sessions will run for six weeks starting on Tuesday the 11th of February 2020 to 17th of March 2020. The sessions will run for an hour starting from 3:15pm till 4:15pm. Parents do not have to attend the session and can pick their child up at 4:15pm. There are only 30 spots available for these free sessions which will be offered to the first 30 children to register. These sessions are open for year three to year six students. If you would like your child to participate in orienteering please email Mr Luck via brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au or see the office.

Fitness Club

Fitness club will run again this year in the lead up to Peak2Park and the School Cross Country. It will run every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:15am - 8am starting from Thursday 6th February 2020 until Thursday 26th March 2020. Fitness club is for students in year three to six. Mr Luck, Mrs Wagner and Mrs McHugh will be running these sessions. Please make sure your child is on time if they wish to attend, as the sessions start with stretching and a warmup which need to be completed before participating. If your child would like to attend could you please log onto Care Monkey and sign the permission form. If you have any questions, please email Mr Luck via brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.

Peak2Park

This year St Saviour’s will be participating in Peak2Park on Sunday 1st March 2020. The annual Peak2Park fun run/walk is organised by HALT (Healthy Active Lifestyles Toowoomba Incorporated), who are an independent not-for-profit registered committee of local people looking to encourage residents of Toowoomba and district to participate in exercise and to raise funds for local charities. The walk/run will begin at beautiful Picnic Point on the scenic rim of the Great Dividing Range and finishing at lovely Lake Annand. St Saviour’s Primary will enter in the 4km event which will start at 7.45am at the beginning of Heller Street, immediately south of Tobruk Drive. Marshalling will commence at 7:00am. Students are required to be supervised by a parent or guardian at the event and if they could wear their school sports uniform to represent the school. Cost of Peak2Park is $10 for St Saviour’s students and $20 for adults. Registrations can be completed by accessing the registration form at https://www.peak2park.org.au/enter.aspx or by seeing Mrs Robinson at the office. If you have any questions please email myself via brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au

PE Teacher

Welcome to Term 1 2020.  For those of you who are yet to meet the office staff, we would like to introduce ourselves to you.

Mrs Julie Robinson and Mrs Jodie McMcLachlan work 5 days a week in the office and Friday, Ms Debbie Volp works at the front desk.  The office is open each day from 8am - 4pm.  Just a few reminders for you starting the new school year:

Messages:

We understand that at times, messages need to be delivered to students and we aim to always deliver these messages to the classrooms before going home time. To help ensure that all messages are delivered before 3pm we ask that you please allow enough time for the office staff to do this. Often classes are outside or at PE and if messsages are phoned through at 2.55pm it can become quite hard to deliver these messages on time.  

Sickness:

If your child presents to sick bay and is too unwell to stay at school, the office staff will phone a parent/guardian to come and collect.  It is important to remember that if your child is unwell, we do ask that you keep them home until they are feeling better to return to school.  

Medication at school:

Medication at school can be administered by the office  staff, however it is very important to note that any medication must be prescribed from the doctor with a doctor's label printed on the medication.  We are unable to administer any kind of panadol or paracetemol.  Parents will be rung immediately if a child presents with high temps. A medication form must also be filled in before medication can be given. 

Asthma Medication:

Children who do have Asthma are requried to have their puffer, spacer and asthma medication plan at school.  This includes children who do suffer from seasonal asthma.  All asthma medication is kept in the classroom with the teacher.  If you are yet to send in your child's asthma medication and current plan, we do strongly advise you to do this as soon as possible.  The office staff will be following up with parents next week to ensure this has been done.

Head Lice:

We have had two confirmed cases of head lice in the school.  Please ensure you check your child's hair over the weekend for any signs of eggs.  It is very important to commence treatment straight away if there are any signs of lice to prevent the spread amongst children in the school.  Please see attached flyer from Qld Health outlining the correct steps in treating head lice.

Attached information for families.

Welcome back students and families. I’m looking forward to another exciting year at St Saviour’s Primary.

As the School Counsellor, I work to ensure the wellbeing of all students in the school. To support student wellbeing at St Saviour’s Primary I offer individual counselling, group counselling, class guidance lessons, and whole school wellbeing initiatives. If you are interested in your child receiving school counselling support, please contact your child’s teacher. You are also welcome to contact me via email: anne.woodcroft-brown@twb.catholic.edu.au to discuss any concerns you may have about your child’s wellbeing.

This Term St Saviour’s Parents and Caregivers are also invited to attend a series of Free Positive Parenting Seminars at Mater Dei. Positive parenting offers valuable parenting advice for mums, dads, stepparents, guardians and carers to nurture and care for their children. You are all welcome to attend one or all three. You will find a flyer with the details for these events in the newsletter. 

I look forward to establishing a positive relationship with each of you, working together to maximize the academic, social, and emotional abilities of your child.

Anne Woodcroft-Brown 

School Counsellor

Book Club flyers for Term One will arrive home today. The last day for placing orders is  Saturday 15th February. The bonus points earned from orders are used to boost resources for all students so thank you for your ongoing support. 

Your Book Club Coordinator,

Michelle Standing

Welcome back to all our current families and welcome to new families for 2020.

We are looking forward to another great year in the Tuckshop, with special days ahead of us including Valentines Day. Keep an eye out for the exciting items we will be selling.  Also, we would LOVE to see as many new helpers as we can in 2020. We have an amazing group of existing volunteers, but are always keen for more. If you’re interested in helping, please feel free to pop in to the Tuckshop on any Monday, Wednesday or Friday or register your interest with the office ladies.  
Look forward to seeing you all.  Please remember the all Tuckshop ordering is done via FLEXISCHOOLS.  The cut-off time for ordering is 9.30am.  Tuckshop is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  

Tash and Michelle

Tuckshop Convenors 2020

Uniform Shop open hours for February:

OPEN - Every Friday 2.30pm - 4.00pm 

If you need to arrange another time please contact Dan Eagleson on 0481 318 398.

St Saviour's Primary School offers a school banking service each Tuesday through the Commonwealth Bank.  School banking is a rewarding and fun program that encourages kids to develop saving skills for life.  Your child can get started and become a school banker by logging on to commbank.com.au/schoobanking or collect an information pack from the school office.  Bank deposit books can be dropped off to the office before school on a Tuesday morning or given to the classroom teacher at the commencement of the school day.  For further information please contact Mrs Robinson in the office.

Music Bus Enrolments Open

The Music Bus are taking new student enrolments for Term 1. The program is open now and we ready to enrol your child. Running weekdays at School. The Music Bus have limited availability in Singing, Keyboard, Guitar, Drum and Ukulele and so it is advised to enrol asap. 

The Music Bus is a wonderful music program that many of our students are already enjoying – a brilliant and cost-effective way for students to get fun and specialist music lessons without parents having to travel all over the area after school. Cost of lessons is only $20 per week (Drums $22).  If you’re interested in your child having music lessons through The Music Bus, check out their website at www.themusicbus.com.au or call 1300 168 742 

The Music Bus visits St Saviour's Primary School each Thursday.  Information flyers will be sent home over the next few week's.