Week 1, Term 3, 2022

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

If the relaxed and happy faces across our school yesterday and today are anything to go by, our students certainly enjoyed the beautiful winter weather and made the most of the mid-year holidays even with a few days of rainy weather. We are looking forward to an exciting semester, with activities like assemblies, Catholic Education Week celebrations, Prep 2023 transition mornings, Book Week, excursions, sport and culture programs.  I know this will be welcome news for all.

The cyclical review process for staff is an important aspect of our School’s commitment to continual improvement. As part of the cyclical review process, I thank parents and staff who have provided feedback, via a survey, on the performance over the past five years of Mrs Judy Smith in her role as Assistant to the Principal – Religious Education. On Monday, July 18th panel members consisting of myself, Ms Angela Travers (Manager of Mission and Identity), Kathleen Doherty (APRE – Mater Dei Primary School) will interview staff and then provide feedback on Judy’s commitment to leading our faith community. I would like to thank you for taking the time to provide this important feedback which assists in growing Judy’s leadership.

With end of Semester One report cards sent via the parent portal in the last week of Term 2, I wish to share with parents and students, the importance of the upcoming teaching and learning that is ahead for Semester Two. In supporting our learners it is necessary to take on the feedback provided to parents and students via the reporting process for future guidance for improvement in learning.

This effort on the part of teachers to provide pointers and guidance about improvement matters for little if we don't also provide students with the skills and mindset needed to respond to this feedback in positive and productive ways.

Dylan Wiliam is a leading educationalist and researcher into the science of how students learn and some of his most noted work is in the area of teacher feedback to students. His research indicates that in schools, feedback tends to fall into two categories: ego-involving and task-involving.

According to Wiliam, feedback that focuses on praise or a student's position in the class (e.g. 'you produced some of the best work in the class') is ego-involving and the research clearly shows that this has almost no impact on learning improvement and in many cases it leads to negative outcomes in the long run. In contrast, task-focused feedback where students are advised what they need to improve and how they can improve it, shows a significant effect when it comes to learning and academic outcomes.

Teachers, in their comments to students on class work and assessment, aim to provide feedback that causes them to think. So for students (and parents!) the challenge when receiving feedback, is to do this thinking rather than react emotionally or disengage.

Wiliam's analysis of the research in this area shows that when students receive feedback, they make a choice about whether to protect their ego through an emotional response or whether to engage in activities and tasks that respond to the feedback advice provided. If a student's first reaction is to protect themselves, then they remain focused on activities and practices that are about their sense of self rather than focusing on learning.

As you can imagine, responses that focus on emotion and self-protection are ultimately counterproductive because they don't lead to improved learning or performance and produce more disappointment and emotion then when the next task and feedback is returned. This is the sort of thinking that leads to disengagement, demotivation and a stagnation or slide in academic performance.

Teachers give feedback to students that shows them performance and ability are incremental and not fixed, and that by adopting a task-focused response to feedback they have some agency in their own improvement. Our understanding of the interrelatedness of wellbeing and academic improvement supports the position that in the long run, a healthier sense of self-worth in students is gained by task-focused responses to feedback where the student can see how strategies they apply can make a positive difference to their learning and performance.

What can parents do to help students regulate emotional responses in favour of thinking?

What conversations about results and feedback will help to foster motivation for improvement?

The following might be helpful discussion points for parents to draw on when speaking about student learning and progress for Semester 1 and into Semester 2.

• Look for areas of improvement in student results and ask your child what they used do and what they now do that has made a difference.
• Discuss your child’s attitude to different subjects and how this might affect their effort or performance.
• Look at teacher feedback comments and suggestions for improvement. What sort of support does the student need to take on this advice? If more information is needed, rehearse with your child how they might go about asking clarifying questions of the teacher.
• Work with your child to identify one small goal and learning strategy that they can work on for each of their learning areas this term. Avoid focusing on getting a particular grade and instead focus on an aspect of learning that can be improved. If the learning strategies improve then the results will take care of themselves.
• Talk with your child about their learning this term. Improved learning and outcomes usually comes from the effort put into classwork and homework in the first half of a unit when new knowledge and skills are addressed in lessons rather than at the end with the assessment response itself. What can students be doing to be better historians, mathematicians, writers or readers before they get to preparing the assessment response?

The research data is quite clear that having the right mindset when it comes to feedback will ultimately influence the way a student engages in the learning process to improve performance. Parents play a crucial role in supporting the development of positive mindset in their children - one that focuses on thinking, learning and growth.

God bless everyone and thanks for reading.

Madonna

Disappointing to return to school and find that cars have run into the Mercy Centre's eastern wall and there is considerable damage.  This is not a pickup or drop off zone for TCKC parents or staff. This is and has always been an allocated staff carpark. All students are to be dropped off and collected on Lawrence or Perth St only. 

If you know how this damage occurred, I ask that you please come forward and speak with me as soon as possible.

Please drive carefully around our school.  

Welcome back to Term 3 everyone!

Chair: Mrs Hayley Hubbard

Secretary: Mrs Rachel Harlen

Ex-officio: Madonna Sleba (Principal) and Fr Michael O’Brien (Parish Administrator)

Service Interest Team Coordinator: Shauna Green

Learning Interest Team Coordinator: Kim Benvenuti and Kirsty Fitzpatrick

Community Interest Team Coordinator: Renee Kilpatrick and Katie Boyd-Pratt

Diocesan Representatives on the Catholic Schools Parents Queensland: Renee Kilpatrick

On Tuesday night our new committee met to organise the operational proceudres for our new parent engagement network.  There was a great deal of enthusiasm and new ideas to help promote parent engagment in supporting our children's learning here at St Saviour's Primary School. 

Our goal is to work in partnership with the school engaging parents to provide and support the best possible outcomes for all children at SSPS through service, community and learning events.

Our events for this term are:

PEN General Meeting – will occur Week 4 of every term; Tuesday 2^nd August 5:30p.m. – 6:30p.m. All are welcome to attend.

Father’s Day event – Wednesday 31^st August 5 – 7p.m.; helpers needed please contact:

Renae (0417797854) OR Katie (0434059115) 

Pizza Treat Day – Thursday 8^th September

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

PEN committee

• A Liturgy of the Word with Fr Michael and the whole school from 2.15pm on Monday 25 July in the Mercy Centre.  There will not be a normal assembly in Week 3.  Parents welcome to attend.
• The launch of Catholic Education Week in QLD which is happening at St Patrick's Cathedral on Tuesday 26 July at 10am.  Some Year 6 Students will be attending with Ms Sleba and Mrs Smith.
• On Thursday 28 July, our Year 5 & 6 students will be participating in the Catholic Netball and Touch Carnivals.
• Thursday night is the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Awards. See below.
• Friday 19 July is a pupil free day, where staff will be attending the Bishop's Inservice Day at St Saviour's College.   On this day, all staff from Toowoomba's Catholic Schools gather for professional development and faith formation.

Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Awards

This year three staff members from St Saviour's Primary were nominated:

1. Mrs Ann-Maree Ward was nominated for Excellence in Teaching and Learning: Primary Expert Teacher and also for the Spirit of Catholic Education Award.  Ann-Maree will be recognised at the school liturgy on Monday 25 July, during Catholic Education Week.

2. Mrs Annette Murdoch was nominated for Excellence in Education Support: Teaching and Learning Support and also for the Spirit of Catholic Education Award.  Annette will also be recognised at the school liturgy.   

3. Ms Madonna Sleba was nominated in the category of Excellence in Leadership: School Leadership.  Madonna has subsequently been announced as a finalist in this category along with four other leaders in the Toowoomba Diocese.  Madonna will be recognised at the school liturgy, but will also attend the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Awards on Thursday night of Catholic Education Week.

Congratulations to these three fantastic educators for being nominated and good luck to Ms Sleba as a finalist.

Sam Hannant

APA

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Ignite Learning Project

Late last term we did a review of the dispositions as a staff. We made 3 significant changes that we will be rolling out this term with our students.

Our list of Learner Qualities is now:

Be a Thinker

Be Determined

Be a Communicator

Be Collaborative

Be Adventurous

Be Curious

Be Creative

1. New Name: Learning Qualities.

Our previous name was dispositions. The reason for the change is we felt dispositions was a hard word for students to understand and relate to. The word ‘qualities’ will be more child friendly. If we asked a prep student to describe the qualities of a good friend, we think they would be able to do so. Learner Qualities is really just about describing what makes a good learner?

2. New Learner Quality: Be a Thinker

We reflected on our current Learner Qualities and noticed a significant gap. None of them capture the importance of reflecting on learning and thinking about our thinking. Overwhelming evidence suggests that if children can explain their thinking and reflect on learning, they will have much greater success.

3. New posters: our final change in our project is to give students and teachers more strategies to use the learner qualities in their learning. For example, some strategies to help children to ‘Be Curious’ are below:

• I pose questions and seek answers
• I have a questioning attitude
• I can figure out what is missing and create strategies to answer problems
• I experiment and tinker
• I can use wonder to form an opinion

Reading Information Sessions

Please find a link to the Parent information sessions on Reading for Year 1. Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties and the recording of the Prep session was unsuccesful. We will be in touch with a summary of the presentation and apologise for the inconvenience. 

Year 1 Reading Information Session

STEM Academy

Where: 5H classroom

When: Thursday 8.00 – 8.30am

Who: Grades 4-6

What: This term the focus will be on Design Technology. More details to come shortly!

Integrated STEM Grade 3-6

Please see the poster below with all the details!

Have a wonderful week!

Warm Regards

Nicki Prentice

St Saviour’s Primary School Athletics Carnival 2022

All students had a fantastic time at the St Saviour’s Athletics carnival. Students dressed up in their house colours competing against each other gaining points for their house. I was very proud to see so much determination and sportsmanship on the day. It was a tough competition, but Goretti was the overall winner. Below are all the results from the carnival.

Overall Winner

1^st Goretti, 2^nd Xavier, 3^rd McAuley, 4^th Coolock

Field Events

1^st Goretti, 2^nd Xavier, 3^rd McAuley, 4^th Coolock

Relays

1^st Goretti, 2^nd Xavier, 3^rd McAuley, 4^th Coolock

Ball Games

1^st Goretti, 2^nd Xavier, 3^rd McAuley, 4^th Coolock

Age Champions and Runner Up

9-Year-Old Girls – Deborah Thomas, Emily Carrigan (Runner Up)

10-Year-Old Girls – Rose Stead, Ava Orr, Aya Doherty (Runner Up)

11-Year-Old Girls – Arianna Jeffrey, Sianna Thomas (Runner Up)

12-Year-Old Girls – Chelsea Baker, Addyson Jackson, Charlee Smith (Runner Up)

9-Year-Old Boys – William Prust, Liam McHugh (Runner Up)

10-Year-Old Boys – Joseph Black, Finnegan Hannam (Runner Up)

11-Year-Old Boys – Taylor Wann, Thomas Prust (Runner Up)

12-Year-Old Boys – Jamie Lowe, Jayce McLeod, Murdoc Thompson (Runner Up)

High Jump

8-Year-Old Girls (Year 3) – 1^st Madeline Franklin, 2^nd Alvina Farkarlun, 3^rd Scarlett Costingan

9-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Maddilyn Timmins, 2^nd Emily Carrigan, 3^rd Deborah Thomas

10-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Rose Stead, 2^nd Ava Orr, 3^rd Jyda Blades

11-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Sianna Thomas, 2^nd Madison Gale, 3^rd Lucy Hardy

12-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Addyson Jackson, 2^nd Erin Ward, 3^rd Chelsea Baker

8-Year-Old Boys (Year 3) – 1^st Darcy Phillips, 2^nd Kai Bailey, 3^rd Brooklyn Metcalfe

9-Year-Old Boys – 1^st William Prust, 2^nd Oliver Guy, 3^rd Samuel Abot

10-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Joseph Black, 2^nd Finnegan Hannam, 3^rd Olly Goodland

11-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Taylor Wann, 2^nd Thomas Prust, 3^rd Kobie Matthews

12-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Jayce McLeod, 2^nd Jamie Lowe, 3^rd Murdoc Thompson

Long Jump

8-Year-Old Girls (Year 3) – 1^st Abigail Robinson, 2^nd Andrea Anoop, 3^rd Madeline Franklin

9-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Emily Carrigan, 2^nd Nyigok Gakeer, 3^rd Deborah Thomas

10-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Rose Stead, 2^nd Ava Orr, 3^rd Mahaylie Weribone

11-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Sophia Hooper, 2^nd Sophia Bumatay, 3^rd Ariana Jeffrey

12-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Charlee Smith, 2^nd Addyson Jackson, 3^rd Chelsea Baker

8-Year-Old Boys (Year 3) – 1^st Darcy Phillips, 2^nd Akuok Geu, 3^rd Bailey Wunsch

9-Year-Old Boys – 1^st William Prust, 2^nd Samuel Abot, 3^rd Liam McHugh

10-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Joseph Black, 2^nd Sam Currie, 3^rd Grayson Nissen

11-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Taylor Wann, 2^nd Kobie Matthews, 3^rd Thomas Prust

12-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Jayce McLeod, 2^nd Jamie Lowe, 3^rd Kayden Marino

Discus

8-Year-Old Girls (Year 3) – 1^st Madeline Franklin, 2^nd Kahila Kuhn, 3^rd Akech Adol

9-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Emily Carrigan, 2^nd Alexis Allen, 3^rd Deborah Thomas

10-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Ava Orr, 2^nd Ellie Smith, 3^rd Lucinda Allan

11-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Lucy Warner, 2^nd Sia Luck, 3^rd Sophia Bumatay

12-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Azariah Hart, 2^nd Charlee Smith, 3^rd Chelsea Baker

8-Year-Old Boys (Year 3) – 1^st Darcy Phillips, 2^nd Sam Jones, 3^rd Brooklyn Metcalfe

9-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Liam McHugh, 2^nd William Prust, 3^rd Oliver O’Toole

10-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Joseph Black, 2^nd Joseph Humphreys, 3^rd Jimi King

11-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Casey Weeden, 2^nd Taylor Wann, 3^rd Caleb Cavanagh

12-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Jamie Lowe, 2^nd Murdoc Thompson, 3^rd Kayden Marino

Shotput

8-Year-Old Girls (Year 3) – 1^st Lillyarna Ruthenberg, 2^nd Makaya Teske, 3^rd Abigail Robinson

9-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Emily Carrigan, 2^nd Nyigok Gakeer, 3^rd Alexis Allen

10-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Ava Orr, 2^nd Ellie Smith, 3^rd Akeer Adol

11-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Matilda Crothers, 2^nd Sophia Hooper, 3^rd Ariana Jeffrey

12-Year-Old Girls – 1^st Chelsea Baker, Abigail Allan, 2^nd Charlee Smith, 3^rd Addyson Jackson

8-Year-Old Boys (Year 3) – 1^st Darcy Phillips, 2^nd Brooklyn Metcalfe, 3^rd Sam Jones

9-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Liam McHugh, 2^nd William Prust, 3^rd Samuel Abot

10-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Joseph Black, 2^nd Finnegan Hannam, 3^rd Jimi King

11-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Peace Irakoze, 2^nd Taylor Wann, 3^rd Casey Weeden

12-Year-Old Boys – 1^st Murdoc Thompson, 2^nd Jamie Lowe, 3^rd Jayce McLeod

Track Events

5-Year-Old Girls (60m) – 1^st Nariah Monagle, 2^nd Mila Welsh, 3^rd Faye Campbell

5-Year-Old Boys (60m) – 1^st Aiden Carrigan, 2^nd Ryan Galea, 3^rd Bodhi Burima

6-Year-Old Girls (60m) – 1^st Kaiya Jeffrey, 2^nd Alice Prust, 3^rd Ivy Land

6-Year-Old Boys (60m) – 1^st Ewan Phillips, 2^nd Lucus Callaghan, 3^rd Elijah Hooper

7-Year-Old Girls (60m) – 1^st Chelsea Ray, 2^nd Arok Gakeer, 3^rd Hayley Klein

7-Year-Old Boys (60m) – 1^st Kenn Corpuz, 2^nd Jagger Witt, 3^rd Leo Barker

8-Year-Old Girls (80m) – 1^st Myley Bengston, 2^nd Emily Callaghan, 3^rd Ruby Land

8-Year-Old Boys (80m) – 1^st Jethro Butel, 2^nd Lachlan Scott, 3^rd Harrison Black

9-Year-Old Girls (80m) - 1^st Deborah Thomas, 2^nd Nyigok Gakeer, 3^rd Emily Carrigan

10-Year-Old Girls (100m) – 1^st Rose Stead, 2^nd Ava Orr, 3^rd Amelia Ellis

11-Year-Old Girls (100m) – 1^st Ayan Gakeer, 2^nd Sianna Thomas, 3^rd Ariana Jeffrey

12-Year-Old Girls (100m) – 1^st Addyson Jackson, 2^nd Chelsea Baker, 3^rd Lilly Kilgour-Henry

9-Year-Old Boys (80m) – 1^st Samuel Abot, 2^nd William Prust, 3^rd Oliver Guy

10-Year-Old Boys (100m) – 1^st Joseph Black, 2^nd Finnegan Hannam, 3^rd Grayson Nissen

11-Year-Old Boys (100m) – 1^st Taylor Wann, 2^nd Peace Irakoze, 3^rd Luca Chalvien

12-Year-Old Boys (100m) – 1^st Jayce McLeod, 2^nd Jamie Lowe, 3^rd Murdoc Thompson

8-Year-Old Girls (200m) (Year 3) – 1^st Alvina Farkarlun, 2^nd Lilyanna Ruthenberg, 3^rd Akech Adol

9-Year-Old Girls (200m) – 1^st Deborah Thomas, 2^nd Nyigok Gakeer, 3^rd Charlotte Crothers

10-Year-Old Girls (200m) – 1^st Rose Stead, 2^nd Aya Doherty, 3^rd Amelia Ellis

11-Year-Old Girls (200m) – 1^st Sianna Thomas, 2^nd Ariana Jeffrey, 3^rd Ayen Gakeer

12-Year-Old Girls (200m) – 1^st Addyson Jackson, 2^nd Chelsea Baker, 3^rd Erin Ward

8-Year-Old Boys (200m) (Year 3) – 1^st Darcy Phillips, 2^nd Sam Jones, 3^rd Brooklyn Metcalfe

9-Year-Old Boys (200m) – 1^st Samuel Abot, 2^nd William Prust, 3^rd Liam McHugh

10-Year-Old Boys (200m) – 1^st Joseph Black, 2^nd Finnegan Hannam, 3^rd Grayson Nissen

11-Year-Old Boys (200m) – 1^st Taylor Wann, 2^nd Luca Chalvien, 3^rd Thomas Prust

12-Year-Old Boys (200m) – 1^st Jayce McLeod, 2^nd Jamie Lowe, 3^rd Murdoc Thompson

8-Year-Old Girls (800m) (Year 3) – 1^st Madeline Franklin, 2^nd Akech Adol, 3^rd Morgan Porter

9-Year-Old Girls (800m) – 1^st Deborah Thomas, 2^nd Nyigok Gakeer, 3^rd Benite Mwamikazi

10-Year-Old Girls (800m) – 1^st Rose Stead, 2^nd Aya Doherty, 3^rd Phoebe Neenan

11-Year-Old Girls (800m) – 1^st Rhiannon Stephenson, 2^nd Ariana Jeffrey, 3^rd Madison Gale

12-Year-Old Girls (800m) – 1^st Chelsea Baker, 2^nd Erin Ward, 3^rd Addyson Jackson

8-Year-Old Boys (800m) (Year 3) - 1^st Darcy Phillips, 2^nd Sam Jones, 3^rd Akuok Geu

9-Year-Old Boys (800m) – 1^st Liam McHugh, 2^nd Oliver Guy, 3^rd Lachlan Giuffrida

10-Year-Old Boys (800m) – 1^st Joseph Black, 2^nd Finnegan Hannam, 3^rd Sam Currie

11-Year-Old Boys (800m) – 1^st Taylor Wann, 2^nd Thomas Prust, 3^rd Casey Weeden

12-Year-Old Boys (800m) – 1^st Jamie Lowe, 2^nd Jayce McLeod, 3^rd Murdoc Thompson

School Sport

Congratulations to Addy Jackson who made the Toowoomba team for Rugby League. Evie Phillips and Lucy Hardy also represented the Darling Downs team for Hockey with Evie making shadow for Queensland. Mammoth effort girls and we are all cheering for you. Over the holidays Chelsea Baker and her little partner Soda achieved Interschool State Champion for show jumping. Chelsea was very consistent with her riding and placed with two thirds and rode a top round in A2 round (power and speed) taking out first place, having no eliminations or faults in any of her rounds, being the highest point scorer. Chelsea represented St Saviours very well and demonstrated excellent sportsmanship to fellow competitors, wishing them best of luck and congratulating them on their rounds. St Saviour’s Primary is extremely proud of Chelsea and her achievement.

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

Congratulations to all our students who participated in the 2022 St Saviour's Primary School Drama Festival. 

Well done to all our finalists who were amazing.  Thank you to Mrs McVeigh, Mrs Whip and our guest judge Mrs Sandra Neal, for all your hard work in preparing the children for their performances.  

Scholastic Bookclub catalogues have been sent home this week to children.  The due date for orders is Friday 29th July.  Please note that no cash can be accepted for orders.  Online ordering only.

The current catalogue does contain a special offer of any purchases over $30.00, you will receive a free book.

Please click on the following link which has information and special offers relating to Bookclub.  

https://www.scholastic.com.au/book-club/free-book-resources/

Regards

Mrs Anderson

Teacher-Librarian

St Saviour’s College, Toowoomba is a Secondary Catholic Day and Boarding School for girls. The College is holding a 2023 Scholarships afternoon on Wednesday 20 July, 2022 from 3.30pm – 4.30pm and students in Year 6 are welcome to register.

Please click on link below to register.

https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?embed&eid=916950

Welcome back to another Term of Tuckshop.  

Flexischools Ordering:

Unfortunately Flexischools have contated us to advise that if you had previously placed a recurring order for your child's Tuckshop, you will need to go in to check your account to see if payment has gone through.  If not, you will need to reorder. Apologies to families who have placed recurring orders, it unfortunately is a glitch in the system that Flexischools have only recently come across.

State of Origin:

Thank you to everyone who supported the State of Origin treats in the Tuckshop.  We look forward to many more special treat days this Term.

Late orders:

Just a reminder that 9.30am is the cut off time for ordering Tuckshop.  Please be mindful of ordering late, as often it is difficult to prepare late orders.

Volunteers:

The Tuckshop is always looking for volunteers.  If you would like to donate some time to working in the Tuckshop, pop in and see us!! Even if you can give an hour or two of your time, it would be greatly appreciated.

Natasha Biggar

Tuckshop Convenor