Week 9, Term 1 2021

Dear Parents, Staff and Students,

The Easter holidays are fast approaching with a busy last week including the Holy Week Liturgy (Monday), Junior Swimming Carnival (Tuesday). End of Term Awards Assembly (Wednesday) and Cross Country (Thursday).

Holidays are welcomed by all. I am certain and also conscious that for many of our children they will spend time on devices during this break time.  Parents I urge you to be very mindful of what your child/children are viewing during this time. Jason Gibson is a behavioural specialist who talks about the importance of having ground rules and safety fences around the technology use.  Click on the following link to hear what he has to say:

How To Put Safety Fences Around Technology Use

 https://vimeo.com/431359206/be5970e9ab

Prayers please

Please keep in your prayers those St Saviour’s Primary staff and families who are dealing with serious health challenges as well as the passing of close family members at this time. It is the case in a large school, such as ours, there are always some families confronting health concerns. At present, we have more than is typical. I know that some of these families are very private while others engage easily with others about their situation. Either way, I know that there have been beautifully supportive actions from others within the school community that display the best qualities of compassion, care and support. 

Road Safety

We often see the headline at the start of each term, “Back to School Means Sharing the Road.” School days bring congestion and, at SSPS, that congestion can start before 8:00am and extend out to beyond 3:30pm, depending on what is happening on any given day.  There are school buses picking up the students, hurried parents trying to drop their children off before work. With the increase in our Prep population, it's never been more important for drivers to slow down and pay attention – especially before and after school.

If You're Dropping Off

We have a very specific drop-off zone and expected procedures. Make sure you know them for the safety of all children. The following apply to drop off areas in Perth and Lawrence St:

• Don't double park; it blocks visibility for other students and vehicles;
• Don't load or unload your passengers in the Prep driveway.
• Carpool, where possible, to reduce the number of vehicles at the school; 
• and, please don't park or stop in the bus zone. 

We all have to remember we are sharing the road with young children.

According to research by the National Safety Council, most of the children who lose their lives in vehicle related incidents in and around schools are walking. The precautions listed above go a long way toward keeping our children safe.

In relation to parking around the side streets, no matter how fast you think you’ll be, don’t park across driveways or on yellow lines. Please make sure you obey parking signs and limits as you could be stung with a fine if you overstay.  This has happened recently.

We are a very active and vibrant community.  We all need to be patient when driving around the school.  The School continues to work with the various authorities in an effort to make changes that will make entry and exit into the school smoother and quicker.  Parking and traffic is also a key issue we are trying to address in our new master plan.  Any solution will not be easy and will come at a significant cost.

Finally, some tips - even requests - when using the roads in and around the School:

• Slow down and obey the speed limit.
• Allow yourself more time to get where you are going.
• Stay alert! This way you won’t be surprised and will be prepared if you need to stop.
• Stop for the school buses and let them have the right of way.
• Use a “What If” strategy. What if that young person darts out in front of me? What if that car stops short? Remember our children are not able to accurately determine the speed of an oncoming vehicle and may take risks.

Responsible road usage and defensive driving starts with us - as parents, teachers and adults - modelling the behaviour we expect.

What matters most when it comes to student achievement?

A new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report has identified the teacher and school factors that matter most for student achievement and social-emotional development.  It found that classroom practices that create opportunities to learn and teachers’ use of working time are some of the factors most strongly linked with student outcomes.

Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, said that if there was only one conclusion to take away from this report, it’s that what teachers do in and outside the classroom matters the most for the cognitive and social-emotional outcomes of the school’s students.

The research suggests that students need sufficient support from significant adults in their lives, such as their parents and their teachers, to self-regulate and be achievement-focused.  Our learners are more likely to perform in reading in schools where a culture of student assessment, teacher accountability and there is a clear focus on writing skills.  At SSPS, our ‘Reading Improvement Strategy’, ‘STEM focus, Writing Program are key examples of how we put this research into play.

This report does not only confirm the crucial role of teachers in a young person’s development, it also sheds light on other factors.  The school’s culture and parental involvement are major factors in student holistic development. The research pointed to measures such as greater support from parents in school-related activities and positive relationships between teachers and students are essential to achieve this.

Students in a school with a strong sense of community are more likely to be academically motivated, socially involved in peace and justice events, and develop social and emotional intelligence. At SSPS, we know the long lasting benefits of building a sense of community.  The positive flow-on effects of this are learners who avoid a number of problem behaviours.  

Community and parental engagement recognises the important role that both parents and teachers play in developing positive attitudes towards learning and education for students, building their motivation, confidence and enjoyment as learners. Without fail, our support groups go above and beyond to ensure our students, parents and wider community experience nothing but the best. 

When you volunteer, you are making a commitment to share that most precious of resources – your time – to make life better for our students.  Our parent support groups are dedicated and appreciated for their hard work. Whether you are a long-time volunteer or only got involved fairly recently, and regardless of how many hours you choose to give, it’s important for you to know that what you do makes a difference.

PREP 2022 Parent Information Session - Friday 26th March 9a.m. 

This Friday we will welcome any interested parents who are considering enrolment for their Prep child in 2022.  Come along and hear all about what's on offer here at St Saviour's Primary School to help make an informed choice for your child's educational journey.   

We look forward to sharing our story with our 2022 Prep families.

The final week of the term coincides with Holy Week, which commences with Palm Sunday and concludes on Easter Sunday. This week is the culmination of the 40 day Lenten journey. Amidst all that is ahead of all of us in our professional, personal and family lives in the coming week we would do well to find a daily space for prayer and reflection. As Christians, we are called to prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus - the centrepiece of our faith.

With every blessing for the weeks ahead and for Easter especially.

Thanks for reading.

Madonna Sleba

Dear Parents and Carers,

IGNITE LEARNING - FEEDBACK FROM PARENT SURVEY

Thanks to the parents that have responded to the survery around learning dispositions.  The feedback has been invaluable when workshoping what our initial dispositions will be.  Below are some responses that summarise the overall feedback from the group:

Question: What are some of the barriers you see in your child's learning when faced with a challenge?

"My child lacks the confidence to start by themselves and will often ask for help first"

"My child is overwhelmed with learning at home"

"Frustrated when she can't get it correct the first go"

"I notice that my child is very insecure and doesn't know how to solve new problems"

"He gets sidetacked and needs encouragement to continue"

From these five simple comments, it is very easy to see that the only way forward is to equip your children with learning dispositions and skills that they can turn to when learning new things becomes difficult.  

At St Saviour's Primary, our initial list of dispostions is very close to being ready and I look forward to sharing that with you all in the near future.

NAPLAN ONLINE 2021

Students at St Saviour’s Primary in Years 3 and 5 will be completing NAPLAN Online in 2021. 

Preparation for the NAPLAN tests: there will be an online practice test for Year 3 and 5 students on Wednesday 31 March.  At St Saviour’s Primary, we are fortunate that our students are currently using devices to assist with their learning.  Teachers are currently asking students to write and read stories on their device, use an online calculator and drawing instruments in maths and teaching ICT skills such as drag and drop, copy and paste and understanding drop down menus. All of these skills will help them to complete the tests to the best of their ability.

For more information around NAPLAN please click on the below link for an online parent information brochure: https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/resources/naplan-online-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf

The timetable for the tests is below:

WHOLE SCHOOL SPORTING EVENTS – Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals

As you would be aware, parents have unfortunately not been able to attend swimming carnivals this term.  With the school cross country and athletics carnivals coming up, our plan is for parents to be able to attend as they are outdoor events.  Obviously, this will be reliant upon future COVID outbreaks and the fact that parents must remain socially distant when attending.  The dates for the two events are as follows:

Cross Country – Thursday 1 April from 9am.  This is a normal school day and students are able to stay at school once they have completed their race. If you wish to take your child/children earlier please ensure to sign them out at the school reception. The tuckshop will also be open on this day.

Athletics Carnival – Thursday 17 June (200m & 800m events) & Friday 18 June (Full day carnival for Prep – Year 6).

RACE DAY

SAVE THE DATE - Saturday October 30

St Saviour's Primary and St Patrick's Cathedral will again be holding a Race Day on Saturday October 30 in the Marquee at Clifford Park Turf Club.  This is also Victorian Derby Day and we will stick with the 'Black & White' theme for the day.

Please stay tuned for ticket sales and sponsorship opportunities in the coming weeks.

Sam Hannant

APA 

Hi everyone, Thanks for those who have shared their excitement or concerns about Daisy the Labrador joining our St Saviour’s community!

If you have any concerns about her coming to school please let me know before the end of this term via email at Nicarla.prentice@twb.catholic.edu.au. All going well, Daisy will be here in Week 1.

Here is a sway presentation to watch with your children to get them prepared and excited for Daisy being at school! Click the link then select play to watch.

https://sway.office.com/OubLuJH1rETavBIO?ref=Link 

Have a wonderful holiday!

Nicki Prentice

Project Compassion Fundraising 

• Together so far we have raised a whopping $234.50 for Project compassion!
• Children are invited to bring in any donations before the end of the term. 
• The Year 5 students are selling tickets in a 'guess the eggs in the jar' competition. The cost is 50c a guess at first and second break.

Holy Week Liturgy

• Next Monday afternoon on the 29th of March at 1.30p.m., parents are invited to join in the Holy Week Liturgy celebration in the Mercy centre. 

Harmony Day Liturgy

• Thanks to 4C for a wonderful Harmony Day celebration at assembly on Monday. The students created a giant map of Australia and included all the flags of students from our school. They discovered before the flags were added that our map was dull and empty. With the full map, you could easily see how vibrant and diverse our community is. If you were to even take one flag away, the map just didn't look finished.  Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. It makes Australia a great place to live.

Junior Swimming Carnival

The 2021 junior swimming carnival will take place on Wednesday, 30^th of March 2021. Please see the below information.

DATE: 30^th March 2021

TIME: 9am – 11am.

VENUE: Glennie Aquatic Centre

WHO FOR: Children born in 2016 (turning 5 this year) to children born 2013 (turning 8 this year).

TRANSPORT: The children will catch a bus from St Saviour’s to Glennie at 8:45am and return to school after the carnival. Children can then be picked up at the normal time of 3pm.

PLEASE BRING: Togs (students wear to school), towel, goggles, swimming cap, swimming bag and water. A house-coloured swimming cap is available for purchase from the school office for $5.

COST: The cost of the swimming carnival has been added to your child’s swimming lesson fees.

PERMISSION: Students do need permission to attend this carnival.  The permission form was included in the note for swimming lessons. 

UNIFORM: 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.  They will need their school sports shoes to wear back at school. No zinc, face paint or hairspray is allowed in the pool.

EVENTS: Your child’s events are listed below (All events are subject to time)

Prep – Year 1

• Kickboard Race
• Noodle Race (under arms)
• Noodle Race with Rubber Ball

Year 2 – Year 3

• Kickboard Freestyle Race
• Kickboard Backstroke Race
• Noodle Race (under arms)
• Noodle Race with Rubber Ball

COVID-19: Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions I have been advised by Glennie Aquatics Centre that parents cannot attend the carnival. Toilets will be available at the pool, however the change room and showers are off limit.

Extra Information: I understand that all students are at different levels and this carnival has been designed to accommodate that. Each lane will have a swimming instructor in it to assist the students as needed. All students will also have access to a flotation device (kick board or pool noodle) if needed. Students do not have to use these if they can swim and are welcome to do freestyle or backstroke in the kickboard events.

Thanks very much and if you have any questions please feel free to email me at brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.

St Saviour’s Cross Country

On April 1, we will be holding our whole school Cross Country at St Saviour's Primary School. We are also very excited to announce that parents can attend this event. Parents will have to adhere to social distancing while at St Saviour's Primary. Can you please complete the permission form for your child to attend and compete in the Cross Country event by clicking the link Cross County. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email at brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.

Zone and Darling Downs Trials

All Zone and Darling Downs trials will be placed on SchoolZine. Please check Schoolzine APP 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. Any questions, please contact me at brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.

School Sport

Congratulations to Scarlett Bishop and Addyson Jackson who both made the Toowoomba Basketball team and will attend the DD trials this week. We wish you the best of luck girls.

Queensland Squad

I am very excited to announce that Emma Barram made the QLD team for her 100 Fly in swimming coming 3rd in her final.  Emma is a very dedicated swimmer who trains six times a week sometimes twice a day. Congratulations Emma on such a deserving achievement (Photo Attached).

Toowoomba Twisters

I was very excited to hear that the following girls: Sophia Hooper, Evie Phillips and Mia Ragh made the Toowoomba Twisters Touch Football team. What a great accomplishment girls and I look forward to hearing about your experience (Photo Attached).

Sporting Schools Website

Sporting Schools provides after school programs to St Saviour’s through grants provided by the Queensland government. To help students make the move from school to club sport, Sporting Schools have created a new Find a Club webpage, where parents can explore over 35 sports and find a club in their local area. Please visit the website below and sign your child up for an exciting new sporting opportunity today.

Find a Club | Sport Australia

 Upcoming Events (Term One)

• Junior Swimming Carnival – 30th March 2021(9am) at Glennie Aquatics Centre
• SSPS P - 6 Cross Country - Thursday 1st April 2021 (9am onwards on Primary School Oval)

Kind Regards

Brendan Luck

PE Teacher

Are you interested in playing Basketball this year?  

We held our first Yr 5/6 morning tea book chat this week. What a joy it was to listen to the enthusiastic sharing from the students about the books they have read or are reading!

Students are able to borrow for holiday reading. Access to e-books on the Wheelers e-platform and online stories from Storybox library is available anytime via the ONLINE RESOURCES page in AccessIT http://au.accessit.online/STS02

We are proud of the wealth and depth of our student collection which allows students to explore ideas through story and information.

Easter greetings and happy holiday from the library team!

School Fees:

Term 1 School Fees are now overdue.  The due date for payment was Friday 18th March. Payments can be made via eftpos/direct deposit or cash at the office.  Thank you to those families who have finalised their Term 1 School Fee account.  Please note that Swimming Invoices will be sent home next week.  A notification will be sent home via the SZAPP to inform you when the Invoice has been sent.  Thankyou.

Prep 2022 Enrolments:

Interviews for Prep 2022 will be taking place early in Term 2.  Enrolment places are filling fast.  If you have a child eligible for Prep next year, or know of a family interested in St Saviour's Primary we encourage you to enrol as soon as possible to avoid missing a place.  

We are holding a Prep 2022 Parent Information Session and Open Morning tomorrow.

See information below.

Last day of Term 1:

The final day for Term 1 is next Thursday April 1.  This is a full school day.

Storage Boxes:

The office is in need of storage/packing boxes.  If your family has any spare we would love to take them off you!!  They can be dropped directly to the office between 8am - 4pm.  Thank you.

Congratulations to our Weekly Award Winners for Week 7 & 9.

Our Year 3 classes recently shared in a beautiful prayer gathering with Father Tom.  We discussed the precious gift of friendship - at home and within our school community.  Loving friends are a gift from God.

P&F News

We had a great general meeting on Tuesday, we discussed and locked in dates for our events for the year. 

See below:

1. Name? Renee Campbell
2. Position on the P&F? President 
3. How many children and what grade? I have two girls: Thea in 1K and Faye who is in Kindy this year.
4. Why did you join the P&F? I was the secretary last year and it was great to become involved in our school community.  This year I  continue being a part of our school community and share my ideas about why I became President and support the school. 
5. What is your job/who do you work for? I am a Chef and I work for the Oaks Motel Toowoomba
6. What is your favourite place to visit/holiday? I enjoyed living on Heron Island when I was younger and would love to revisit one day.
7. What are your hobbies? I love to knit and garden.
8. If you were a superhero what powers would you have? If I had superpowers I would love the ability to move objects with my mind or to teleport.  
9. What is your favourite animal? I love sloths and cats
10. What town did you grow up in? I grew up on Mt Tamborine. 

Thank you to all who attended the meeting and I look forward to seeing or hearing from you.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 20th April 6:00pm

Renee Campbell.

PIZZA TREAT DAY!!!

Thankyou to our wonderful volunteer parent helpers who came and sorted and delivered over 230 pizza orders today to our children!!

Mrs Condon, Mr Condon and Mrs Ray you are awesome.