Week 1, Term 3 2021

Dear Parents, Staff and Students,

The amazing win of Ash Barty and Dylan Alcott at Wimbeldon was a wonderful way to finish the holidays and provided much commentary at the start of the week.  Ash Barty’s determination to achieve her childhood dream of following in Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s shoes and winning Wimbeldon is true testament that if you set your sights on something anything is possible.  Despite being a paraplegic Dylan Alcott is also inspiring for our young learners as a true example of not letting his physical disabilities hold him back.  His determination has seen him represent Australia in quad tennis and wheelchair basketball. Simply outstanding!

As I visited the classes and walked through the playground throughout the week, I reminded students to continue to be determined in their learning, set goals and make good choices in order to achieve their best. This theme of being determined is one that I have emphasised at various times throughout the year. I have encouraged the staff and students to set goals, to dream big and to always strive to stretch themselves beyond what they think they are capable of achieving. This applies to all dimensions of school life as well as their development as young people. In sharing these thoughts with the students, it was to set the scene for the term ahead and to ensure that we make this second semester a successful one.

Let’s all be determined to have a champion attitude just like Ash Barty says, “It’s important to be a good person than it is a good tennis player.   Being a good human is absolutely my priority every single day.” 

Special thanks to the Year 1 staff and parents for helping move classrooms in the last week of Term 2 in readiness for our building project.  The children have settled in well in their new rooms. The building project has gone out for tender, which is a four week process.  It is anticipated that once a builder is secured, building will start mid to late August.  The first stage will be the Year 1 classrooms then administration. 

Catholic Education Week 25 – 31 July 2021

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated in Catholic schools in Queensland from 25 – 31 July 2021.

This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.
The theme for this year’s celebrations is: A Spirited Tomorrow.   Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.  There are 309 Catholic schools in Queensland that educate around 154,000 students and employ more than 20,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way.

Our school is planning a number of activities during the week including:

Tuesday 27/7/21: Whole School Mass 9 am in the Cathedral  - All welcome to attend; Acknowledgment of 20 - 45 years experience working in Catholic Schools

Thursday 29/7/21: Catholic Schools Netball and Touch Carnival

Friday 30/7/21: Student Free Day; Staff Professional Development Day

Finally, I welcome the new families who have joined the community over the holidays. We hope that these first few days and weeks of settling into the school go well for our newest SSPS learners and families.

With every best wish for the term ahead.

Warm regards

Madonna

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 3, which promises to be ten weeks full of various activities, gatherings and new learnings for young (and the not so young). I would like to highlight for your diaries (as mentioned in the last newsletter) that Week 3 is Catholic Education Week and while there are a number of events planned across the week, Tuesday (July 27) is a highlight with our 9am Whole School Mass, at St Patrick's Cathedral to which parents and grandparents are invited. (Check in via COVID QLD app). 

Due to the uncertainty at the moment with COVID outbreaks, also that many of our grandparents would be in the vulnerable category and vaccine levels are not at desired levels, we have made the decision to postpone our Grandparents/ Open sessions until a time later in the year, when hopefully the situation is such that we feel confident that we are not putting anyone at unnecessary risk of exposure.  Because we are a larger school and we always get such a great turn out for Granparents'/ Open Days, keeping adults socially distant is impossible.

Please pass on our apologies for any inconvenience or disappointment this decision causes, however we do intend to proceed with these very special events when we can. 

Welcome back to Term 3!

ICAS Assessments

This year St Saviour’s Primary will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS AssessmentsTM.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. This year St Saviour’s Primary students in Years 3 – 6 have the optional opportunity to participate in the English and Mathematics tests only.

For more information on the tests and the registration process, please see the below link.

The St Saviour's Primary and St Patrick's Cathedral Race Day will take place on Saturday the 30th October 2021.

As per attachments to this newsletter, tickets will go on sale from today.  Please direct deposit into the bank account and your tickets can be sent home with your child.  Family and friends are warmly invited to attend as well.

We are still on the look out for a few more sponsors.  If you own a business or would like to contribute toward the race day by sponsoring, please send me an email via sam.hannant@twb.catholic.edu.au

IGNITE LEARNING 

At St Saviour's Primary we want our learners to STRIVE at LEARNING and at LIFE and they can do that through the following learning dispositions:

Recently I have written about several of the learning dispostions that we are focusing on here at St Saviour's Primary School.

Today I would like to briefly write about the importance of talking about and demonstrating the "innards" of learning.  You may have noticed that lately, staff are calling your children 'learners', rather than 'students'.  There is a good reason for this.

People's beliefs, attitudes, values and dispositions are contagious.  Children pick them up unwittingly from everyone around them, particularly their parents, teachers and siblings.  How we (as teachers and parents) speak and behave in the presence of children matters.  

Claxton & Carlzon (2019) talk of a classroom example where the teacher began to slightly tweak her vocabulary towards learning and the positive influence that it had.  She stopped using the word 'work' and she starterd used the word 'learning'. Work generally refers to something that someone doesn't want to do.  The word learning can encourage curiosity, wonder and experimentation.  

Even though this teachers knows making mistakes is a part of learning, she also knows that students have an aversion to making mistakes. Therefore, rather than talking about the mistake, she talked to the learner about improvement.  Rather than correcting mistakes, she asked them how they could improve on what they had already done.

Although these are two simple changes that can be made in a classroom, they can have a positive impact on learning.  Why not give it a go at home as well.... 

Sources:

Claxton, G. & Carlzon, B.  (2019).  Powering up Children: The Learning Power Approach to Primary Teaching.  California, USA: Corwin.

Hi Everyone,

I hope you had a wonderful holiday!

How can I extend my child?

A question I've often been asked as a teacher is: How can I extend my child? For some students, learning and success with schoolwork comes easily. They may not have to stretch their minds as much as their peers during the school day. Extending students is not about more work or looking at the year level above and covering that content, it is about providing opportunities that light a fire. We want our children to be curious and we want to help foster a love of learning that lasts a lifetime.

One of our school dispositions is to be curious. Being inquisitive and asking questions can create powerful extension opportunities for students. Sadly, according to Guy Claxton (The Learning Power Approach, 2018). In the first month of primary school, the number of questions children ask each day drops by about 90%. If we gave children an opportunity at school and at home to ask more questions, be inquisitive and wonder, I think children would become the owners of their own learning – what a way for students to be extended!

Some ideas for encouraging curiosity and questioning:

• Create a book where the family can record questions they have thought about through the day.
• Around the table. Each person shares their wondering and the family can talk about it. Eg. I wonder why leaves are green?
• Have a random object presented to your child/ren and encourage them to ask as many questions about that object as they can.

May we all stay a little more curious and ask more questions in our own lives!

Warm Regards

Nicki Prentice

                       Welcome to Term 3 in the library!

We will be celebrating the 2021 Book Week theme OLD WORLDS, NEW WORLDS, OTHER WORLDS all term, culminating in our dress-up parade on Wednesday 15th September (Week 10). 

Reading Challenge

Students are encouraged to take one of the reading challenges using the 2021 Notable books to earn points for their house, their class and to be in the running for the prize for their year level. Details are available on the AccessIT homepage! 

Highly Recommended 

Australian Geographic - https://www.australiangeographic.com.au 

Scroll to the bottom of the homepage and sign up for the free newsletter. It offers great reading, great information and great images! 

Happy Reading Everyone!

Anne Anderson

Dear St Saviours Primary Community,

Thank you for welcoming me to the school. As the new School Counsellor, I am excited to provide support for challenges any child might be having that is impacting their school experience and learning. I am open to your questions, concerns and challenges.

A bit about me, I began my career as an early childhood teacher, teaching for about 20 years in Child Care, Preschool and Schools in a variety of locations. My second career began about 10 years ago, when I studied counselling and worked at Mercy Community Services and Catholic Care. I have just recently completed my Social Work Masters.

I look forward to engaging with you all over the next year.

Christina Peak

Dip. Teach, B. Ed, MSW

Interschool Sport Permission 

Interschool sport starts next Friday the 23rd July for our Year Five and Six students. This year the students have nominated to play either rugby league, soccer or netball. Please make sure you give your child permission via the parent portal. If you child is playing rugby league, they must have a mouth guard and footy boots. If they are playing soccer, they must have shin pads. The students will play every Friday afternoon until the end of Term Three. We look forward to a exciting term of sport. 

Catholic and ZONE Carnival Paperwork and Permission 

Please make sure you have completed your permission via parent portal for your child to compete at the Catholic and ZONE athletics carnival. If your child does not have permission, they will be unable to attend. Please also return all required paperwork to the front office ASAP. This paperwork was sent home with your child at the end of Term Two. 

Zone and Darling Downs Trials 

All Zone and Darling Downs trials will be placed on Skoolzine. Please check Skoolzine 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. 

Touch Football Carnival 

Evie Phillips and Sophia Hooper travelled to Hervey Bay over the holidays to participate in a three day touch carnival consisting of around 30 teams. Both girls played extremely well, both in defence and attack, helping their team to secure the win. Their team won every game they played winning their division two competition (photo attached). 

Rugby League Carnival 

Jaymon Pickering and Edge Luck travelled all the way to Gladstone over the holidays to play in a rugby league competition against 35 other teams from all over Queensland. The boys played 11 games of football over the two day winning the majority of their games. Both boys put in an awesome effort throughout the carnival showing heart and determination. Jaymon was voted "Players Player" in game two and Edge was voted "Players Player" in game four. Edge also was voted "Player of the Carnival" (photo attached). 

Brendan Luck 

PE Teacher 

Term 3 Important Dates and Reminders:

PYJAMA DAY:

Friday July 23 - NEXT FRIDAY 

In support of children in Foster Care.  See Flyer attached to today's Newsletter for details.

PUPIL FREE DAY - BISHOP'S INSERVICE DAY 

Friday July 30th - WEEK 3

Bishop's Inservice Day as part of Catholic Education Week 2021.  Students will not be attending school that day. 

PIZZA TREAT DAY:

Thursday September 9. 

More details to follow closer to the time.

Check in Qld APP:

Just a reminder that everyone entering the school grounds from Term 3 must check in using the Check in Qld App.  This process of compulsory checking in is now mandatory throughout QLD.  Signs with the St Saviour's Primary QR Code have been placed throughout the school at all entry points for you to check in.  Thank you for your support.

School Fees:

School Fees for Term 3 will be issued next week.  All term accounts will be emailed home.  This is the final term fees for 2021 as we do not send accounts home in Term 4.  Please ensure you keep an eye out for your Term Fee statement.  Thank you.

Parent Portal:

The Parent Portal Calendar is now active on the Sentral for Parents APP.  Please ensure you check this regularly as dates are uploaded on to the Calendar for all class activities, school events, term dates and pupil free days.  We encourage you to always check the calendar if you are unsure of any dates in particular term dates commencment and finishing dates.  Thank you for your support.

RADII Survey:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - Survey 

This year our school will be participating in a School Review and Improvement survey managed by Research Australia Development and Innovation Institute (RADII). As well as school staff and students from Years 5 - 12, all parents are invited to participate in the survey. The survey provides valuable feedback for the future directions of our school. On Monday 26 July 2021, RADII will send all parents a personalised invitation to complete the survey online. If both parents' email addresses are on file at the school, the invitation will be sent to both parents. However, the survey will close once the first person has completed it. If you do not wish to complete the survey, simply delete it. The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. You can complete the survey from anywhere you have access to the internet. The survey will close on Sunday, 08 August 2021. We encourage you to be very honest in your responses to the surveys. All responses go directly to RADII so they are confidential and anonymous. When the surveys are completed, and responses aggregated by RADII, overall data is sent to us so that we can then share the findings with you.

Pyjama Day will be celebrated on Friday July 23 here at St Saviour's Primary.  

Children will be asked to wear their PJ's to school and bring a gold coin donation to support children in foster care. 

Litter Free Lunches - YEAR 5

Much of the rubbish that we generate and send to landfill comes from the packaging on the food we buy, and lunch foods are no exception. 

In fact, it has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates three pieces of litter per day, which equates to 30 kg of waste per year. This works out to be 15 tonnes of waste produced by a school of 500 students each year from lunch boxes alone! 

Based around the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), litter free lunches are lunches that contain food items with no disposable packaging or single use items, such as pre-packaged foods, plastic bags, juice poppers, bottled water, disposable utensils, plastic straws or food wrapped in cling wrap or foil. 

Instead, all food is provided in reusable food and drink containers, so that there is no packaging to place into the bin and the majority of the waste produced is organic (i.e. food scraps) which can be recycled via compost bins  

Benefits of litter-free school lunches include: 

• students eating healthier lunches, as they are being provided with less pre-packaged 'gimmicky' snack foods and more fresh food in appropriate amounts 
• less waste being produced and sent to landfill 
• cheaper lunches, as food items bought in bulk are less expensive than pre-packaged products 
• a reduction in waste collection and disposal costs to the school, as less waste is being generated by the school community
• providing students with a practical example of how simple behaviour change can easily address a widespread environmental issue 
• promotion of environmental stewardship and advocacy within the school 
• a cleaner school (research has shown that less litter is dropped in areas free of litter compared to areas where litter is more noticeable) 

Introducing a litter-free lunch day or program is a great way to reduce the amount of rubbish coming into your school.  

The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) 2020 

Going forward, we are proposing a litter free lunch day. Where for one day we will avoid single use packaging. We have a lot to celebrate at our school and many families are already doing this. We can use these children and their amazing lunches as inspiration. We are calling these families our ‘litter free lunch champions’. We will keep you posted for the date of our term 3, “Litter Free Lunch Day”. The Year Five students have written a persuasive writing piece about why Litter Free Lunches are important. Below is Erin Ward’s very persuasive writing piece on litter free lunches.  

Litter Free Lunch Champions 

A Litter Free Lunch

By: Erin Ward

Are you sick of watching litter being thrown in the bin? I undoubtedly believe that it should stop. You can do that by having a litter free lunch! My reasons to persuade you to have one are that it is a healthier and organic food option, it is ecological for the school and its community, and lunches will save you money. All schools must attempt a litter free lunch at once! 

To begin with, litter free lunches inspire healthier and natural food choices. Firstly, foods that come in packages have been processed and are less healthy. If you try a litter free lunch, students are eating improved foods which therefore give them power and energy to learn. Natural foods do not arrive in packets so students will obviously be eating healthier at school and wasting less rubbish. Hold a litter free lunch at your school now! 

Another point to consider is that litter free lunches are environmental for your school and their community. During waste free lunches packets are not found in lunchboxes therefore minimal rubbish is being left around your school and there is a smaller chance of sea animals dying due to rubbish and plastic that is floating in the ocean. Natural foods are not found in packets so children will not be wasting plastics. Another idea could consider composting the fruits and vegetables that are not edible such as banana peels, apple cores and other scraps that can help your school environment. You can help your school by using containers instead. Persuade your principal for a litter free lunch now! 

Finally, litter free lunches include less expensive lunches. Fruits and vegetables that you will find at the shops cost less than packeted rubbish that does not fill your children with the nutrients they need in a day. These lunches can save you a lot of money and you can feel full of healthy vitamins while you do it! Litter free lunches need to happen in every school! 

To conclude, I undoubtedly, strongly believe that you MUST have a litter free lunch! They include healthier and natural food choices, it is environmental for your school and its community and you can save money while you eat healthy. You can make a big difference by using containers instead of plastic bags and wrap. Litter free lunches must happen everywhere!