Week 9, Term 4, 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

What an enjoyable and purposeful final week of school for all of our St Saviour's Learners.  Early in the week, the prep students performed their Nativity Play and all current and new students participated in the Transition Morning. Yesterday, we celebrated our final assembly for 2022, where we acknowledged several students who achieved excellence in learning, sport, faith and culture.  It was fantastic to be able to celebrate these achievements with the students, teachers and parents who were in attendance.  Today, we took time to recognise our 2022 Year 6 Leaders with their Graduation Ceremony where we welcomed Bishop Robert McGuckin, Fr Michael O'Brien and Ms Madonna Sleba as our special guests.  

This week has been a fitting conclusion to another successful year at St Saviour's Primary.  A year where the talented and committed St Saviour's staff have provided opportunities for our learners to Strive for Goodness, but to also Strive in Learning and Life.  Whilst there were numerous successes and events that took place in 2022, I would like to make special mention of the following:

• the finalisation of the new administration, Staff Room, Conference Room and Year 1 classrooms
• the launch of the Parent Engagement Network at St Saviour's Primary
• the enrolment of 430 students
• successful swimming, athletics and cross country carnivals
• Fitness Club, STEM club, Chess Club, Drama Festival and choir
• Catholic Education Week celebrations
• Prep transition mornings
• the recent Christmas Concert
• 12 students representing Darling Downs in various sports

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Parent Engagement Network (PEN) in 2022 - Hayley Hubbard, Renee Kilpatrick, Katie Boydpratt, Kristy Fitzpatrick, Shauna Green, Kim Benvenuti, Judy Smith, Rachel Harlen and Madonna Sleba.  The commitment and dedication that you have all shown to St Saviour's Primary this year is most appreciated.  Thanks also to Cathy Condon, who has helped organise Pizza/Treat days this year.  An invitation is extended to all parents to be part of the PEN in 2023.  There are four official meetings each year and they always happen on  Tuesday nights in Week 4.  The first meeting in 2023 will be on Tuesday 14 February at 5.15pm.  

Events for early 2023

There are some key events happening early in 2023 and I would like to share those dates with you all now.  Further information will be provided early in the new year.

Book Drop Off: Wednesday 18th January 8am-9am

First Day of 2023: Tuesday 24 January

Swimming Carnival:  31 January 9-12pm (Years 3-6)

Parent Information Evening:  Tuesday 1 February

Parent Engagement Network Term 1 Meeting: Tuesday 14 February 5.15pm

Welcome BBQ:  Thursday 16th February

I wish you all a peaceful and joyous break and look foward to seeing everyone again in January.

Sam Hannant

Acting Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

A very happy end of term to you all, as you read our final newsletter for the year. How we got here, I’m not sure. The days just flew by while the staff and students have journeyed together through another busy year at SSPS.

We received a A HUGE thankyou from Catholic Missions for the fundraising we did during the month of October. Thank you for your support. A snippet of their email is as follows:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your generous donation of $499.10 supporting the work of Catholic Mission and giving life to what we do. Your kindness and faithfulness inspire us, and we are ever grateful for you.

Your support makes an incredible difference to the lives of tens of thousands of children, their communities and Church leaders in Australia and around the world who are impacted through Catholic Mission programs…..

On behalf of missionaries around the world, thank you for your faith in action.

Sincerely,
Fr Brian Lucas
National Director

Last Wednesday our whole school community came together to celebrate our final End of Year Mass. Our time together was a great opportunity to stop and reflect and also to welcome and congratulate our 2023 school leaders. We wish our current Yr 6 leaders all the very best as we celebrate their Graduation on Friday 2^nd December.

This week begins the Advent season leading into Christmas. Advent is an invitation to become spiritually alert. It is the season where we cultivate an awareness of where we might see a need in someone else and fill it; we let the Holy Spirit guide us in the direction who most need our help; the poor, the lonely, the homeless, those who are battling ill health. Are we too caught up in the busyness of preparations and holidays to stop and notice the REAL reason for the season? As we approach the birth of Jesus, I hope you get a moment to serve the marginalised in our community and notice who plays the modern day roles in our lives today. Who do we see as the Holy Family in the 21^st Century? I think our Year 5H students have captured the recontextualised Bible images and stories just perfectly. Below are examples of two students’ work in 5H where they focused on what they see as the real meaning of the Birth of Christ, in the today’s world.

Abby's Recontextualised Nativity: My artwork is based in a bus stop, a modern-day location many people attend daily. I drew palm leaves on the ground symbolising Palm Sunday. I also drew a phone with the flash on (symbolising the Christmas star). Mary is wearing a blue sweater (her signature colour) and Joseph is seen wearing a shirt with a flame signifying the Holy Spirit. Instead of three wise men I drew three wise women. One is holding a bus ticket for Jesus, meaning that he can go on and share with people of the world God’s teachings and hope for us. The second woman is holding a jacket in her hand to keep Jesus warm, and the last one is holding a shopping bag with wine representing Jesus’ upcoming miracles. In the background of my artwork there are doves representing peace for the new born infant and also symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Written and illustrated by Abby Phillips 5H.

My Recontextualised Nativity, as shown below, shows Mary as an army soldier giving birth to Jesus in an army trench. Joseph is behind Mary summoning to one of the wise women. This particular woman has just been shot so she is dropping her gift. The bullet wound represents the blood that Jesus gave for us. Instead of gold she gives a pair of boots. The second wise women is also summoning the shot woman while handing Mary her gift to Jesus which instead of myrrh is a blanket to wrap around the baby Jesus. The third Wise person, this time a man, is climbing down the side of the trench carrying Jesus’ third gift. Instead of frankincense he gives a small army hat, again to protect the baby Jesus. It is night on the battlefield and instead of the shining Christmas Star they have a flood-light shining on Jesus and Mary. My scene is in an army trench, I chose this setting as I didn't want to do something normal, I wanted to do something different to show our SSPS learner qualities of Be Creative, Be Curious and Be Adventurous. I think this idea worked because every day we don't understand how lucky we are. Today, in many places around the world, there are many countries in war and the people who live there are in fear every day.  Australia is lucky as we have brave soldiers who fight for us to have the freedom and safety we do. The stars represent God and angels up in the Heaven looking out for Mary, the Baby Jesus and each and every one of us! Written and illustrated by Claudia Shoebridge 5H.

Aren’t they amazing!? And so inspirational. You can see more of the students’ work outside the office in the hallways leading to the library.

I wish you a very safe, peaceful and blessed Christmas to you and your families during the holiday season. 

Thanks for reading!

Ann-Maree Ward (Acting APRE)

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Welcome to the final newsletter for 2022 after what has been a very hectic few weeks. It feels like this term has just flashed by and no doubt the coming weeks will as well and Christmas wlll be here before we know it. 

As I mentioned in our last newsletter, there have been several transitional type activities and events in the calendar, designed to assist students (new and old), parents and staff be best prepared for what lies ahead in 2023, be it beginning in Prep, starting high school or moving onto a new teacher and class here at SSPS.

On Tuesday this week, I enjoyed meeting with some of our current Prep families to show them through the lovely Year One classrooms and discuss changes they will find as their child moves from Prep to Year One...a formal uniform (including the broad-brimmed hat) for a start! 

Wednesday was our Whole School Transition Day, Thursday our Whole School Awards Assembly and today our Year 6 Graduation. A very hectic week, with lots of disruptions to routines so do not be surprised if your child/ren is quite tired and out of sorts. Some of us adults are too!! 

Academic Excellence Awards

After the Report Cards were finalised, those students who achieved As, Bs and no more than 1 xC across all learning areas were presented with a Certificate of Academic Excellence. Photos of the recipients are below. 

Encouragement Awards

At Assembly yesterday, one student from each class who had shown consistent determination with their learning was presented with an Academic Encouragement Award. See photo here...

Cornerstone Value Awards - Term 4

Academic Excellence Medal 2022

Abigail Allan achieved straight As on her repord card, across all learning areas and so was eligible for the Academic Excellence Medal, the sole recipient for 2022. Congratulations Abigail, an amazing achievement and testament to not only your ability, but also the learner qualities that you consistently display.

Cultural Awards 2022

Our Speech and Drama teacher, Anita McVeigh presented awards to Riley Woods and Claire Wilson in recognition of their commitment to the cultural life of SSPS and also their achievements in Speech, Drama, Music and Dance at both school and the wider community. Congratulations Riley and Claire.

As I sign off for 2022, I take this opportunity to thank you the parents and families for your support, not only of the school but also of me personally. 2022 has been a big year of significant changes for me professionally and as I said at our Mass, while I deem it an honour and a privilege to have been the APRE at St Saviour's for over 10 years, I am ready for the next step and know that St Saviour's is in good hands with Ann-Maree Ward taking on the APRE role. The Leadership Team at SSPS, along with the Admin Team is an amazingly talented, committed, hardworking, collaborative group of people who really do "lead from the front". 

2023 will see me juggling between a leadership role as Acting APA and life in the Year 3 classroom, alongside a longterm colleague, Melinda Harkins. While I haven't had  "my own" class for a while, Melinda seems to be thoroughly enjoying the task of setting up and getting 3S ready for 2023 so I am confident that we will hit the ground running and get off to a flying start. I am looking forward to "life in the classroom" and am already at an advantage as I know the students, their familes and they know me.

Again, thanks parents and carers for all you do. While I did consider a change of school, why would I do that when I love the community that I am a part of. I hope you and your family have a wonderful, restful, joyfilled holiday and Chrismas break, and I look forward to coming together again in the new year, refreshed and ready for new adventures.

Regards and best wishes

Judy 

Dear Parents and Carers,

Have a chat to your children about their report cards!

This week you would have received your child’s report card on the Parent Portal. I always think it’s a worthwhile exercise sitting down with your child and having a chat about their results.

Here are a few discussion points you may consider:

• Which result do you feel most proud of?
• Which result would you like to improve on next year?
• What was your favourite subject? Why?
• Which subject have you found the most challenging? Why? How did you overcome these challenges?
• What surprised you on your report card?
• What is an area you’d like to work on next year?
• If you were to write your own general comment, what would it say?

If you are interested in reading more on the year level achievement standards and the curriculum being taught please visit:

https://acara.edu.au/news-and-media/resources-for-parents-and-carers

I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday and would like to thank you all for supporting your children so perfectly in their learning!

Warm Regards

Nicki Prentice

While all our current Year 5 students received their Leader Badges last week, we also congratulate the following students who received elected Leadership Positions for 2023

School Sport 

Over the year many students have competed in sport at a higher level representing the Central Zone team, Darling Downs team or the State team. Students who did make these teams have dedicated a lot of their time and energy to training in the lead up to events and are to be commended for the effort they bring to every training session and competition. Below is a list of students who made school sport teams. 

Swimming 

Zone – Mia Casagrande, Lucy Hardy, Sophia Hooper, Cooper Dunlop, Taylor Wann 

Darling Downs – Taylor Wann 

Touch Football 

Zone – Sophia Hooper, Evie Phillips 

Basketball 

Zone - Scarlett Bishop 

Rugby League 

Zone – Murdoc Thompson, Addy Jackson 

South West – Addy Jackson 

Hockey 

Zone – Claire Wilson, Evie Phillips, Lucy Hardy 

Darling Downs – Evie Phillips, Lucy Hardy 

Orienteering 

Darling Downs – Mia Casagrande 

Netball 

Zone – Sophia Hooper, Ariana Jeffrey 

Darling Downs – Ariana Jeffrey 

Cross Country 

Zone – Rose Stead, Aya Doherty, Finnegan Hannam, Taylor Wann, Jamie Lowe 

Darling Downs – Rose Stead 

Equestrian 

Zone – Chelsea Baker 

Darling Downs – Chelsea Baker 

Athletics 

Zone – Addy Jackson, Taylor Wann, Joseph Black, Finnegan Hannam, Rose Stead, Ava Orr, Samuel Abot, William Prust, Deborah Thomas 

Darling Downs – Joseph Black, Rose Stead, Ava Orr 

Cricket 

Zone – Evie Phillips 

Darling Downs – Evie Phillips 

Aquathlon 

Zone – Taylor Wann 

Darling Downs – Taylor Wann

Congratulations to all the Darling Downs Representatives who were presented with certificates yesterday on assembly

(missing from this picture are Evie Phillips and Taylor Wann)

Congratulations - MARGARET DOLJANIN AWARD 2022

Congratulations to Evie Phillips and Taylor Wann on achieving the Marg Doljanin Sorting Award for 2023. Both Evie and Tayor are dedicated athletes putting in many hours of training, qualifying for two Darling Downs teams this year, Cricket and Hockey for Evie and Swimming and Aquathon for Taylor. Both Evie and Taylor are very worthy recipients of this award, and I am super proud of both of them and am excited to watch their sporting journey unfold in the future.

Cheers 

Brendan Luck 

HPE Teacher 

Thank You 

A big thank you for supporting free choice reading in your home this year. It is one of the most helpful and enjoyable things adults can do to advance their child's literacy skills and their love of learning about the world! I trust you can spend some time reading together over the holidays.

I wish to acknowledge the outstanding volunteer work completed by Merryl Nunn this year. Thank you for your tireless efforts repairing and covering books Merryl.

St Joseph's College ENROLMENT 2024 and 2025:

Enrolment applications to St Joseph's College are open for 2024, and 2025.  New and current families are urged to submit their application now.  Applications for 2024 close in Week 6, Term 1 2023 (3 March), with enrolment interviews to be held from the 20-30 March.

Start your enrolment process today:  

https://www.sjc.qld.edu.au/st-josephs-college-enrolment/enrol/

Office Hours - Holidays:

The office will be closing from Friday the 16th December and reopening on Thursday 12th January, 2023.  The opening hours will be from 9am - 2pm.

Congratulations to our final Weekly Award Winners

for Week 8

Congratulations to our Year 6 Graduating Class of 2022