Week 1, Term 2, 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that all members of the St Saviour's Community enjoyed a happy and holy Easter and families got to spend some quality time together during the school holidays.

I would like to start this term by reminding you all of the some key areas of focus for St Saviour's Primary.  We believe they are very well summed up in the below graphic which may be familiar to you:

On the left, in black font you will see the the quote, 'The SSPS Learner....Strives in Learning and Life'. I believe that this sums up the reason that children attend school and the goal of St Saviour's Primary School.  That is, we want all of our students to be great learners, however we also want to help them to be great people.  If you then focus your attention to the RESULTS+ graphic.  This is to reinforce that, of course, results are important.  Report card results are important, NAPLAN results are important, testing/academic results are important.  The + symbolises that whilst results are imporant, many other areas of school life assist in creating an outstanding education that helps our learners to 'Strive in Learning and Life'.

Some of these areas include:

St Saviour's Primary is a Catholic Faith Community. A school where Jesus is present, where faith is present and where the education of the whole child is paramount. We are a school that has a clear set of values in the Mercy Tradition.

St Saviour's Primary provides a culture of learning where our learners are challenged and also provided with a set of qualities that help develop a set of skills and attitudes that promote effective learning and a lifelong love of learning.

St Saviour's Primary prioritises student wellbeing through everyday initiatives and the Positive Education Curriculum (PEEC).  PEEC is not a replacement for the implicit Positive Education that takes place every day through pastoral care, coaching, teaching and every interaction that teachers have with their students. Rather, it is an explicit curriculum designed for schools to lead dedicated Positive Education classes, where students can be taught the key concepts of wellbeing so they can live healthy and fulfilling lives.

St Saviour's Primary provides extra-curricular/enrichment opportunities for our learners to explore many different aspects that may be of interest to them.  The school is very well known for our focus on STEM and encouraging creativity and curiosity within our learners.

School Renewal Process

A big thank-you to the parents and community members who will be providing feedback on either May 8 or 9 this term.  As previously mentioned, this process plays a significant role in the development of our strategic plan moving forward.  I do encourage parents to contibute via phone or face-to-face.  

Please email sam.hannant@twb.catholic.edu.au with times that you would be available on the above two days if you would like to contribute.  Thanks in advance.

Thanks for reading and welcome back to Term 2!

Sam Hannant

Welcome back! I hope you and your families had a restful break where you enjoyed family time together and celebrated the hope and love of the Easter season. It’s lovely see everyone back together safely.

Our staff spent the student free day on Monday, reflecting on the Cornerstone values and what they look like, sound like and feel like in and around our St Saviour’s school community. Often, we say words like commitment, compassion, service and quality but what do they really mean and what do these words look like in action?

The challenge is to show our Mercy values to each other and model them to our students. In the busyness of the day, it is easy to miss opportunities to show Mercy to those who need it most. It is in 

these interactions with others, that God is present with us. Where do you see God in your life? In nature, at Mass, in your children’s smile, an aging parent, when you’re with your family? God is everywhere and I ask you to seek him out in all sorts of places throughout the day. He is there with you every step of the way.

On Wednesday this week, we held our whole school Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral with Fr Michael. We start Term 2 by coming together to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. His life brings us hope as we start another great term of learning where we, like Maria Goretti, DREAM BELIEVE AND ACHIEVE in the goals we set for ourselves. During this Term, we will focus on the House of Goretti. Maria Goretti is the founding Saint of Goretti house and the cornerstone of Goretti is Commitment.

Our Sacramental Program continues this term with our Parent Information night being held on Thursday 27 April 7pm in the Cathedral Centre. Confirmation with Bishop Robert on Friday 19^th June so we’ll begin cluster groups next week Sunday 30^th April 10am or Thursday 4^th May at 3.15pm.

Our Pastoral Care group is continuing to seek support for our community. It is a very important, simple and effective method of contributing to our school community and one which is very much valued and appreciated. If you’re making a lasagne, spaghetti bolognaise, quiche or any type of family meal, please consider making two so that we can store one here at school in the freezer and then we’re able to support our families who are in need. Thankyou for your support!

The centenary celebration of St Brigid’s Church at Southbrook will be celebrating 100 Years on Sunday 21 May 2023.  Mass will be held at 10am followed by celebrations in the church grounds.

An ANZAC Day reflection and prayer

Let us thank God for those Australians in the past who have sacrificed so much to protect us during times of conflict and peril.  Let us pray for the safety and well-being of current members of our Defence Services, who continue to preserve our peace, and for their families whose support of them is so vital.   Jesus reminds us: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

Inspired by this call, ANZAC Day also reminds us to pray for universal peace and the many communities who continue to face conflict in our world. O God, bless our world with your peace, healing and comfort! 

Gracious God, In you, we find perfect harmony. May we always honour the memories of those who have struggled to preserve our peace. Lead us to be people of compassion and reconciliation. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Prince of Peace. Amen

Have a great week and thanks for reading.

Ann-Maree Ward

APRE

Dear Parents and Carers,

 As I look forward to working in the role of Middle Leader this term, I would like to reinforce our school messages around reading.

I’m sure you have seen the graphic below at one of our parent information nights that reiterates just how important reading is.

I am writing this newsletter piece wearing many hats - classroom teacher, middle leader and a parent.  I understand the challenges of a busy home life and would like to offer the following suggestions to support you and your child in their reading at home:

• Don’t make reading a ‘chore’, rather make it apart of their routine - find a comfy spot to curl up with your child and read to them every night or take turns in picking somewhere to read.
• Take advantage of your child’s Reading Eggs subscription. If you are unsure of your child’s log in details, please see their classroom teacher. Reading Eggs has a collection of books in the library tab for students to read. These books can also be read to the student.
• Your child might bring home four home readers. Let them choose which one they want to read.  It is also okay to read the same book twice – this helps develop fluency.
• If your child seems to not be in the ‘mood’ to read, encourage them to read a few pages and then read to them.

I hope some of these suggestions assist you with your reading routine at home.

Happy reading,

Bec Thomas  

Hello Parents and Guardians, 

Welcome to Term 2! Yesterday as a Leadership Team, we visited each of the classes to welcome everyone back. What a delight it was to see everyone's smiling faces. I spoke to the students about our 4 school rules: 

Be Respectful

Be Responsible

Be Safe

Be a Learner

All of the students I spoke to came up with some great examples of how they see these rules being followed in the playground. They could easily remember all four rules and got very passionate about sharing their ideas, I was very impressed!

Have a chat to your children at home and see which school rule they might like to focus on for themselves this term. It might be that they want to work on being more independent at morning drop off? Or perhaps they know sometimes they run on the cement and would like to try harder to be safe when walking around our school. 

Have a wonderful first week back! 

Nicarla Prentice

Acting APA

Athletics Carnival (Qualifying)

As you might be aware the 2023 athletics carnival will take place on Friday 16th of June 2023. More information will come out in the following weeks. Due to the success of last year, qualifying will continue as per last year. Please see information below.

All students in Year Three to Year Six will participate in Shotput, Discus, Long Jump and High Jump. Students will throw and jump to determine the top eight in each age group (boys and girls) who will compete at the school athletics carnival on the 16th of June. Qualifying will happen in PE lessons again this year as the feedback from students is it is a much more relaxed and fun experience. Qualifying has been designed so all students get a chance to participate in each event in a fun environment regardless of ability. The top eight in each event (age group, boy and girl) then compete at the school carnival in a fun but more competitive level. It is important to note that whilst all students are not doing all events at the athletics carnival, all students have participated in an event during PE sessions which is a part of the athletics carnival and have gained points for their house in these sessions.

School Sport

Congratulations to Charlotte Franklin who made the Toowoomba Netball Team and will now trail for the Darling Downs team. Good luck Charlotte and we look forward to hearing all about your fantastic experience.  Congratulations also to Claire Ward and Akeer Adol on their recent selection in the Darling Downs 10-12 Years Girls Basketball team travelling to Townsville in May.  Well done girls!

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.

Upcoming Events (Term Two)

• Central Zone Cross Country (9-12) – 28/04/2023
• Darling Downs Cross Country (9-12) – 16/05/2023
• SSPS Athletics Carnival – 17/06/2023 9am-12pm (TBC)
• SSPS Athletics Carnival (P-6) – 16/06/2023 8am-3pm

Cheers

Brendan Luck

HPE Teacher

brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au

Students and Teachers are continuing to deepen their understanding of Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC) through weekly wellbeing lessons. This term students in the lower primary will focus on the topics of empathy and compassion, including showing empathy to others and recognizing and understanding different emotions. Our middle and upper primary students will focus on developing their creative abilities and harnessing intrinsic motivation. Keep your eye out in the class communication notes for more information about your child’s PEEC lessons!

On Friday May 12^th we have Backflips Against Bullying visiting and performing for students across the school. Backflips Against Bullying is an evidence-based program supported by renowned psychologists and is a registered E-Safety Provider with the Australian Government. The 1-hour acrobatic and parkour-inspired show will engage students in discussion about responding to and preventing bullying. For more information about Backflips Against Bullying you can visit their website, or watch this video.  This performance is part of our school-wide wellbeing program. If you’d like more information about wellbeing at SSPS, please contact either myself or your child’s class teacher. More resources, including our online Bullying Reporting Form, can be accessed via the SSPS Wellbeing Hub.

Anne Woodcroft-Brown

Counsellor

Arts Fest 19-22 June 2023, Toowoomba

This term, students from St Saviour’s Primary School Choir will be rehearsing choral, poetry and musical theatre items to perform at the inaugural Toowoomba Catholic Schools Arts Fest.

Arts Fest will provide opportunities for local TCS schools to share their skills in music, drama, dance and visual arts. This will include workshops, presentations, collaboration and celebration.

Mrs McVeigh (Drama teacher) and Mrs Stewart (Music teacher) will be leading rehearsals for the performing arts items throughout Term 2.

Students who wish to participate will be required to attend the following:

• Rehearsals Tuesday and Wednesday mornings 7:45am – 8:30am (from 18 April)
• Daytime rehearsals and performances during school hours (Tuesday 20 – Thursday 22 June)
• Evening performances:
  • Tuesday 20 June – Poetry/verse speaking
  • Wednesday 21 June – Music theatre

Please advise Mrs Kathryn Stewart via email if your child is willing and available to participate in this exciting event. This invitation includes current members of our choir and is also open to new members who are able to commit to the rehearsal and performance commitments as outlined above.

Email: kathryn.stewart@twb.catholic.edu.au

An RSVP link will be sent home to families tomorrow for those who are intend on attending on the night.  

Term 2 School Fees:

Term 2 School Fees are due Friday 19 May. Statements were emailed home on Tuesday to all families.  Please check your emails for this.  Statements are sent at the beginning of each Term.  Reminder that our school fees for the year are charged at the beginnning of  Term 1.  Statements provide you with your balances and due dates for term fees.  If you have any questions pleaese contact the office and ask to speak to Mrs McLachlan.

Parking - COLLEGE DRIVEWAY NEIL STREET ENTRANCE

Reminder that parents are not permitted to use the driveway beside the College to pick up or drop off students at any time.  These parks are reserved for Administration, deliveries and disabled access.  We are aware of parents using these parks of a morning and afternoon for drop off.  Boarding School students do cross at the bottom of the driveway and can be unpredicatable and at times and very hard to see when they are crossing.  We have had reports from Boarding School staff, that parents are driving down the driveway over the designated speed limit.  

Please park in the designated parking spaces, in Lawrence Street, Neil Street, Perth Street or the Cathedral Carpark.  Prep parents do have access to the Prep carpark.  

Thank you for your understanding.

Year 6 Leadership Shirts:

Year 6 Leadership Shirts have arrived in the office, for those families who ordered extras.  An invoice has been emailed to you for the cost or the shirt.  They can be collected from the office.

Anzac Day:

Reminder that ANZAC DAY public holiday is next Tuesday, 25 April. School will be closed on this day. Our school will commemorate Anzac Day on Assembly Monday commencing at 2.15pm.  Parents are welcome.

Pictured below are some of our Year 1 children who presented their fantastic Anzac Day stories to Miss Prentice, Mr Hannant and Mrs Ward on Thursday. 

Please note the change in times to Opening Hours for Term 2.  The Uniform Shop will now be open the following times:

Monday morning 7:30am - 9:30am

Friday afternoon 3:00pm - 5:30pm

All other times by appointment only.

Monday Pupil free days, the Uniform Shop will open from 2:30pm to 4:00pm.

All other times are by appointment only.  Please contact Dan Eagleson via Skooldayz on 0481 318 398.

SkoolDayz Uniform Shop is also on Facebook - we encourage you to like and follow for updates, changes in times, and information on stock.  

Volunteers

Volunteers are needed in the Tuckshop!!  Our Tuckshop operates on Monday and Friday.  Without volunteers we cannot operate the Tuckshop. If you can help out in the Tuckshop, even for a few hours, please contact me on 0417 797 854.  

Please remember that Tuckshop is only available to order via Flexischools.  No cash orders.

The cut off time for ordering is 9.30am.  Please keep an eye out for special treat days that come up throughout the Term, in particualar Pizza Treat Day.  

Renee Kilpatrick

Tuckshop Convenor

World Environment Day:

https://mailchi.mp/013e5370b21f/twed_launch?e=85e39797ce

On Sunday 4 June at Lake Annand Park from 10am to 4pm, Toowoomba World Environment Day will bring together:

• market stalls
• tempting street food
• free kids activities
• free live music and performers
• free ebike trials
• thought-provoking speakers
• an international art exhibition

and of course, more!

It’s a great day out to relax, meet friends, enjoy a yummy drink or lunch, and relax in the sun - so save the date in your calendar.