Week 7, Term 2, 2022
Parent Engagement Network (PEN)
As a Catholic school, St Saviour’s Primary School considers the partnership with parents and families as crucial in the education of each student and to the school being actively involved within the local community. As a school, we welcome the involvement of parents and families in all aspects of school life and commit to nurturing active partnerships.
At St Saviour’s Primary School we have elected to move to the creation of a Parent Engagement Network in response to requests to consider an alternative model to the School Board and Parents and Friends Association, acknowledging the changing nature of families and schools and evolving ways of working together. This Parent Engagement Network continues to honour the place of parents and families in the life of our school through providing an effective avenue for parents and families to come together to be informed, consulted, and learn in relation to school planning, policy, decision making and education programs and engage in activities, projects and events that build community.
The Parent Engagement Network supports the Principal and staff in implementing a comprehensive and contemporary education program. Parents/guardians have an advisory role in decisions made in the development and implementation of the strategic plan and policies of the school as well as the provision of resources to support the educational programs of the school.
All parents/guardians are welcome to be ordinary members of the Parent Engagement Network and assist in:
- developing a positive and affirming community spirit
- supporting the work of the principal and staff
- providing feedback to the principal and staff on school initiatives, policies and strategic direction
- prudent and consultative decision-making
- promoting interaction between home and school, parents and teachers
- encouraging parent/family engagement with their child’s learning and school life
- deepening parent/family understanding of teaching and learning programs
- promoting the school in the wider community
- the provision of resources to support the educational program.
The Network is an affiliate of the Catholic Schools Parents Queensland and CSPQ – Diocese of Toowoomba. Affiliation requirements are determined by the CSPQ.
On Tuesday night at the parent information session, parents and teaching staff gathered to hear more about the Parent Engagement Network both face to face and online. Thanks to those who braced the cold weather and attended the night and enjoyed the tour of the new school facilities. As a staff we loved sharing these new spaces with our parents.
Now it’s time for those in our community to consider nominating for the following positions at the upcoming AGM on Monday 13th June 5:30p.m. in the new conference room.
A FEW BRIEF FACTS ABOUT PEN:
Parent Engagement Network meetings will occur once a term. All parents are welcome to attend each meeting.
The PEN structure:
Executive consists of Chair, Principal, Parish Priest or parish delegate, Secretary, Team Coordinators
We are seeking nominations for the following PEN executive positions:
- Chair
- Meet with the Principal/Leadership team prior to the meeting
- Liaise with the co-ordinators of the working parties
- Prepare the agenda with the Principal
- Chair the PEN once a term
- Secretary
- Correspondence to the community – agenda, minutes
- Coordinators of short term projects (3 to 4 parents)
- Liaise with working parties
- Organise events and activities
- A Working Coordinator for the Community Interest Team
- assist with celebrations/events
- establish links with wider community
- grant applications
- school resourcing and fundraising
- A Working Coordinator for the Learning Interest Team
- parent education
- parent support in the classrooms
- classroom resourcing
- A working coordinator for the Service Learning Team
- organise working bees
- pastoral care of families in need
- welcoming new families
- tuckshop organisation
I encourage all parents and staff to consider your strengths, commitment and service to working together to strengthen parent engagement here at St Saviour’s Primary School. Please don’t hesitate to contact me to learn more.
Please complete the nomination form by clicking on this link to express your interest by Thursday 10th June.
Warm Regards
Madonna Sleba
Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
RECONCILIATION WEEK
POPE Francis has received a copy of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in St Peter’s Square, Rome.
He accepted the gift in Rome, offering the endorsement of a photograph with the document after a briefing from aides and a meeting with Gweagal woman Theresa Ardler presented a copy of the Uluru statement to the Pope during a 15-minute meeting last Wednesday, ahead of Reconciliation Week.
Gracious God, you have given us this great land of Australia.
You want us to share her wealth, her wonders and her land,
and for all people to be treated equally.
We pray for your strength and grace to welcome,
accept and include all people of this land.
May the spirit of reconciliation fill our hearts, our minds and our deeds.
We ask this through Jesus, our model and guide.
Reconciliation Week Breakfast at St Saviour's College this morning.
Our children performed along side St Saviour's College students.
Dear Parents and Carers,
SEMESTER 1 REPORTING
A-E Definitions
Semester One Report Cards will be sent home in the final week of this term. When you receive your child's report card you will notice that nothing has changed and we are still using A-E grades for each area of learning. These A-E results come with definitions which you will also see on the report card.
An example of the 'C' definition is below:
Evidence of the student's work typically demonstrates that the student has the targeted knowledge and
- expected conceptual understanding
- expected application of skills
- they are able to transfer the above to familiar situations
As you can see above, a 'C' result in any learning area (Maths, English, Science etc) is the expected result. Some other key terms that are included in this definition are below:
Evidence: a range of information that teachers collect including data, work samples, digital media, teacher notes, formal assessment tasks.
Typically: allows for those students who may not have displayed this during a particular assessment task, but it is evident in their work with the frequency required within this grade. No longer are grades given based on one test or one assignment.
Conceptual Understanding: connected web of knowledge. Different concepts in maths may include angles, perimiter, area etc.
Skills: These are often the things that students need to be able to do. Some examples include creating texts, asking questions, re-reading and editing and there are many more.
Transfer: transfer is the ability of a student to take their current knowledge, skills and understandings and apply this into a new scenario and/or different context.
Of course, several students will achieve above or below a 'C' grade and the definitions do alter to take this into consideration. The three key terms of conceptual understanding, skills and the ability to transfer knowledge are in all definitions and students show these at different levels and hence the A-E grade.
If you would like any further clarification on the A-E definitions, please don't hesitate to send me an email or talk to your child's classroom teacher.
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL in 2022
Mr Luck provides information regarding the 2022 Athletics Carnival later in this newsletter. You will notice that there have been a few changes from previous years.
The main change is for children in Prep - Year 2. Previously, these children have stayed on the Friday for the whole day. This year, all of their events will be concluded by 12.30pm. At this time, they will either stay with their parents at the carnival, go home with their parents or return to school on the bus with their teacher.
This decision was not made in haste. After much consideration and feedback, the decision to shorten the junior years carnival was made. It is anticipated that by shortening the carnival for the younger children, there will be less down time and more engagement. They will still have their sprint race, rotations and relay.
If you haven't already done so, please click on the relevant link below to complete a survey related to catching buses back to school. There is one for P-2 students and one for 3-6 students. Please complete the form for each child in your family. This will help with bus bookings and supervision.
P-2 https://forms.office.com/r/N8ZcHK6nxy
3-6 https://forms.office.com/r/B4VPVkkDkM
Sam Hannant
APA
Teaching and Learning Meetings
We are partway through our Teaching and Learning meetings and have had some rich conversations around reading results and improving student outcomes in learning. All teachers are released for half a day to meet with Madonna, Sam and myself. It has been a great opportunity to analyse the data from the latest reading assessments and decide on where to next for our learners. We also spent some time celebrating what is going well in the teaching of reading and phonics.
Along with reading data, we have also taken this opportunity to review how the dispositions are being taught and used in the classroom. We are working on developing strategies that sit behind our dispositions to ensure students not only know the importance of ‘Being Determined’, but what some strategies are to help the students stay persistent in their learning.
Prep and Year 1 Reading Parent Information Mornings
One of the outcomes of our Teaching and Learning meetings was to provide more opportunities for parents and teachers to work together to help our younger students with their reading. For our students to be the best readers they can be, we need to partner up with parents and get on the same page with how to teach reading and what the students need to be practising at home. Especially in Covid times, with higher student and teacher absences than usual, now more than ever we need parent support to ensure our students are successful in reading. We’d love to see you in person or online (we will record the sessions for your convenience) at the following information mornings.
Prep Information Morning
Thursday 14th July @ 8.00 am in the Prep classrooms
Year 1 Information Morning
Wednesday 13th July @ 8.00 am in the Year 1 classrooms
STEM Academy
Last week we had our first STEM Academy and had a great turnout! Students tinkered with Minecraft Education and learnt how to do basic block coding in a fun way. Your children can access Minecraft Education at home as part of the Office 365 suite. Children log in using their normal Windows username and password. Have a play at home and explore what Minecraft Education has to offer! Minecraft Official Site | Minecraft Education Edition
St Saviour’s Primary School Athletics Carnival 2022
As you might be aware the 2022 Athletics Carnival will take place on Thursday the 16th and Friday 17th of June 2022. To streamline the carnival, I have made a few changes this year that I feel will make a positive impact for students. Please see information below.
Field Event Qualifying
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 17th of June. Qualifying will happen in PE lessons this year as I feel it will be a much more relaxed and fun experience for the students. 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 on 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.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING UPCOMING ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
PLEASE READ ALL INFORMATION BELOW
DATE:
Thursday June 16 2022 (O'Quinn Street)
TIME:
9am – 12pm (Transport Provided)
VENUE:
Glynis Nunn-Cearns Oval, 16 - 44 O’Quinn Street, Toowoomba
EVENTS:
200m heats and 800m finals
WHO FOR:
Students in Year Three to Year Six
TRANSPORT:
The children will catch a bus from St Saviour’s Primary to Glynis Nunn-Cearns Oval at 8.40am and return to school after the carnival.
FOOD:
The children will need to bring their own morning tea, lunch, and water.
UNIFORM:
The children are welcome to dress up and can wear clothing of their house colour. Hair spray and zinc is also allowed. If your child/ren does not wish to wear their house colours, they are to wear sports uniform. Please ensure your child wears shoes suitable for running and has their school hat.
NOMINATIONS:
All students will run in 200m and 800m races.
DATE:
Friday 17th of June 2022 (O’Quinn Street)
TIME:
8am – 12pm – Prep to Year Two (Students will need to be dropped off but transport provided back to school). A message will come out later in the term to confirm if your child will require the bus back to school so buses can be organised.
8am – 3pm – Year Three to Year Six (Students will need to be dropped off and picked up).
VENUE:
Glynis Nunn-Cearns Oval, 16 - 44 O’Quinn Street, Toowoomba.
EVENTS:
Shotput, Discus, High Jump, Long Jump, 60m, 80m and 100m Sprints, 200m Finals, Relays, Prep – Year 2 Rotations
WHO FOR:
Prep – Year Six Students
TRANSPORT:
Prep to Year Two (Students will need to be dropped off but transport provided back to school).
Year Three to Year Six (Students will need to be dropped off and picked up).
FOOD:
The children will need to bring their own morning tea, lunch, and water. There will also be a canteen operating on Friday the 17th of June 2022.
COVID-19:
We encourage as many parents as possible to come and support your child/ren at the St Saviour’s Primary Athletics Carnival. All spectators will need to adhere to social distancing at the event and are encouraged to maintain good hand hygiene.
COST:
This carnival and transport is all inclusive in your child/ren school fees.
UNIFORM:
The children are welcome to dress up and can wear clothing of their house colour. Hair spray and zinc is also allowed. If your child/ren does not wish to wear their house colours, they must wear their sports uniform. Please ensure your child wears shoes suitable for running and brings their school hat.
NOMINATIONS:
All students will run in either a 60m, 80m or 100m race and year level relay. Students in Prep to Year Two will participate in modified athletics activities to gain points for their house. Students in Year Three to Year Six will also compete in 200m and 800m races. The qualifying eight from PE sessions will compete in shotput, discus, high jump and long jump.
PERMISSION:
Please fill out the permission for you child/ren via Sentral by Monday 13th of June 2022.
Discus Permission for Athletics Training and Event
During Term Two and Term Three I will be conducting Discus training in the lead up to St Saviour's Primary Athletics Carnival. As Discus is considered a HIGH risk activity, parent permission is needed for your child/ren to participate in training and the event at the School Athletics Carnival (if applicable). All training will be conducted by Mr Luck who is a qualified HPE teacher and an accredited athletics coach. Can you please fill out permission form on Sentral for your child to be able to receive training at school and complete in Discus at the St Saviour's Athletics Carnival? Please note that if no permission is received, then your child will not be able to participate.
Darling Downs Cross Country
On Tuesday May 24, Rose Stead, Aya Doherty, Finnegan Hannam, Taylor Wann and Jamie Lowe competed at the Darling Downs Cross Country. All students did a fantastic job on the day with Rose Stead qualifying for the Daring Downs team and will now be competing at the State Championships being held at Yatala in July.
School Sport
Chelsea Baker won the Darling Downs Inter-School Equestrian Championships over the weekend for 50cm show jumping (pictured below). Super effort Chelsea.
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)
- Athletics Carnival (Year Three – Year Six) Thursday, 16th June 2022
- Athletics Carnival (Prep – Year 6) Friday, 17th June 2022
Cheers
Brendan Luck
HPE Teacher
National Simultaneous Storytime
Our story for this national event this year was Family Tree by Josh Pyke and Ronojoy Gosh. A beautiful eucalypt tells it’s life story alongside the story of the family growing up around it. The student mime, directed by Mrs Anita McVeigh enriched the short text by expanding on the ideas and unspoken meaning of the story. Thank you, Mrs McVeigh and students, for bringing this story alive on stage for our school community.
Readers’ Cup Team for 2022
Our team this year is Abigail Allan, Piper Dolley, Amelia Taylor and Lucy Warner. These wonderful readers have been reading the five set books and meeting to discuss them during their morning tea break this term. The competition is less than 2 weeks away so they have started on a second reading of their favourite books. We wish them all the best for the Darling Downs competition on June 14th!
Inspiration to Make a Change
Mrs Smith and class teachers have challenged us to grow in our understanding of Indigenous Australians so we can be brave and make a change as part of the ongoing reconciliation with our First Nations peoples. We can find such inspiration through books available in our student collection. Here are some examples curated by Mrs Milton;
Mornings with a Book
Students are welcome to read in the library before school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings if Mrs Anderson is present. What a great way to start a day of learning away from the cold!
Happy reading everyone!
Anne Anderson
Congratulations to our Weekly Award winners for Week 6 and 7.
Special congratulations to Chelsea Baker in Year 6 (pictured below) with her trophy and sash she recently won for champion primary jumping at Scott's PGC interschool equestrian.
School Fees:
Term 2 School Fees are now overdue. Please finalise outstanding fees if you have not done so yet. The due date for payment was the 20th May.
Pizza Treat Day:
Pizza Treat Day for Term 2 is being held on Thursday June 16. Ordering will be via Flexischools. Reminder that no late orders can be filled. Flexischools is available now for you to order!
Skool Dayz Uniform Shop:
Opening Hours:-
Monday 2.30pm - 4.00pm
Friday 2.30pm - 4.00pm
All other times must be by appointment only.
Please contact Dan Eagleson 0481 318 398 to arrange a suitable time.
Winter Uniform:
Just a reminder that children can now wear the winter options of stockings or long socks and the long trousers/shirts. Tracksuits for PE and sports days can be worn also. Please ensure your child has a jumper/spray jacket at school.
Toowoomba Catholic Kindergartens and Care (TCKC) OSHC:
St Saviour's Primary before and after school care program is run here at St Saviour's Primary School. Please visit their website which has lots of information about their services including contact details, hours of operation, fees, locations, enrolment forms, policies and procedures. https://www.tckc.qld.edu.au
Assembly:
Assembly is held on a Monday afternoon in the Mercy Centre at 2.30 pm. Parents are welcome to attend.
Sickness at school:
Please be mindful of sending your child/ren to school unwell. If they are sick, please keep them home until they are better. Germs spread easily and we would much prefer them to be at school and feel 100% than have them at school spreading those nasty germs.
Any child who is unwell at school, will be asked to be collected by a parent or guardian.
Parking:
State of Origin treats on sale WEDNESDAY in the Tuckshop to coincide with Game 1 of State of Origin.
Keep an eye out on Flexischools for the special Maroon and Blue footy treats available for both morning tea and lunch.
