St Anthony's School - Term 2 Week 10 2021
Principal's News.....
Welcome to our last St Anthony’s Newsletter for Term 2. It certainly has been a long, exhausting yet productive term. The halfway point to our school year has arrived and I just cannot believe that we will soon be turning towards the latter half of 2021 and thinking about moving on again into a new year.
Let’s hope everyone survived the last 10 weeks. I’m sure we are all ready for a reprieve from the daily routine and busyness of life that school brings.
I would like to wish all St Anthony’s students and families a wonderful and refreshing mid-year break and look forward to seeing everyone return safely, ready to hit the ground running on Tuesday, 13th July.
School Portal
It became apparent on Monday morning prior to and during our Athletics Carnival, the number of parents who have still not accessed our school portal despite the extensive information that has been communicated last term and this term regarding the school portal.
The portal is our one and only platform for communication between home and school now. We put a ‘Week Ahead’ update out on a Sunday and during the week there are other important messages for parents also. Schools are very busy places with a lot going on. It is somewhat frsutaring when we have parents say they knew nothing about a particular event when it has been communicated for many weeks prior. It is up to parents to keep abreast of these happenings. Checking the portal once a day is a good habit to get in to. We are in an age where sending paper copies home for any correspondence is a rarity.
We can see through the portal, who still has not accessed and reminders via text have been sent to those parents this week.
Feedback we have received from parents accessing the portal is that it is user friendly and a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all communication.
We also use our school facebook page as a way of promoting the school and we also put out day to day reminders on facebook.
All end of Semester One reports have now been uploaded to the school portal. We are no longer providing paper copies of reports and you will be able to access these reports for years to come. We often get requests for copies of various reports, often when enrolling into secondary school, which is somewhat frustrating when these have already been provided by the school. We ask that parents have their own system at home of storing important information coming home from the school.
Staffing Updates
On Friday, we farewell Miss Rebecca White who is taking leave for 12 months. Bec has been on our staff at St Anthony’s since 2018. She will be dearly missed by her students and colleagues and we wish Bec all the best on her next adventure!! Mrs Kathy Spencer has been in Year 4 SC while Mrs Cox has been on sick leave and we are delighted to be able to appoint Kathy to Year 1 to replace Bec.
We are looking forward to welcoming Mrs Cox back in Term 3!
Athletics Carnival
Thank you to everyone who came along to our annual Athletics Carnival on Monday. The weather was very kind and all went smoothly. We always reflect from year to year on what went well and what needs refining for the following year.
A special mention to our organising committee Ms Y, Mr Tattam, Ms Nauschutz, Mrs Doherty and Mr Richard. There is a considerable amount of pre and post organisation that goes into such an event.
During our presentations yesterday, I reiterated to the children that one of the many things I love about St Anthony’s is that ‘give it a go’ attitude that I witness time and time again each and every day. The enthusiasm, persistence, courage and encouragement shown by our students is admirable not only in the classroom, but in the sporting arena also.
Congratulations to our age champions:
9 Years: Phoebe Seremaia-Tulilo and Brax Lugg
10 Years: Amelia Scotney and Sidney Geran
11 Years: Kaleesha Hall and Cedar Johnson
12 Years: Adelle Dau and Michael Moses
The winning house on the day by a very close margin was Treacy with 1299, second was McMorrow on 1265 and very closely behind was Nagle on 1130.
Best house spirit was awarded to McMorrow.
St Anthony’s Trivia Night
The PPF have funded the noise cancelling in our sports hall which is taking place at the beginning of this holiday break, so we’ve decided to test it out by holding a trivia night on Friday, 27th August. It’s been a number of years since holding such an event and what a great way to bring us all together for a night of fun and entertainment.
An opportunity to connect with parents you already know and meet new ones!
There will be tables of 10 for a cost of $100 per table. You can book a table or purchase individual seats for $10. This is an adults only event. There will be chips, softdrinks and basic beer, wine and spirits available for purchase throughout the evening.
With current Covid catering restrictions, there will be no food provided. You can bring your own food and there will also be an opportunity to order pizza throughout the evening.
The theme for the night is 80’s so dust off your flouros and your leg warmers and secure a table. Feel free to promote this evening with your friends, family and work colleagues!!
For this night to be successful and enjoyable for all, we need as many helpers as possible before, during and after the event.
Our next meeting to finalise arrangements and delegate jobs will be on Tuesday, 27th July at 6.30pm in the staffroom.
Until next term……God Bless!
Louise
louise.pfingst@twb.catholic.edu.au
APRE News.....
Mini Vinnies Winter Appeal Fundraiser
Thanks to the organisation of the Mini Vinnies group, the school community has managed to raise a substantial amount of money for the St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal. The pyjama day on Tuesday raised $234.45 and the Hot Milo Mondays raised $383.40. There was also a donation of many winter woolies in good condition to be passed on to St Vincent De Paul. This action of justice to empathise, care and reach out towards those less fortunate than ourselves is a lived demonstration of our pillar of Justice and Respect.
St Anthony’s Day Award Recipients
Congratulations to all of our St Anthony’s Day award recipients below. These people of action, live out Jesus’ message, walking in St Anthony’s footsteps.
Holiday Wishes
May this holiday allow some time to stop, reflect, connect and recharge for students and families alike. I pray this little reprieve from term life creates a small opportunity to delve into the pursuits and passions that can sometimes get lost in the busyness of school term. May you live in the moment, and not got lost in the future or the past.
katie.hauser@twb.catholic.edu.au
Middle Leader News
As the term comes to a close it is timely to consider our growth from the beginning of the year to now for all members of the St Anthony’s community. We are all learners in our community, staff and students alike. The term reports reveal how students are progressing against the Achievement Standard for that year level and learning area. They tell a story of a child’s learning journey so far this year. As mentioned in last newsletter, a grade of C denotes that the student has demonstrated they are meeting the expectations of the curriculum for that year level and learning area.
The report card reflects a teacher’s consideration of a student’s learning; however, it does not always capture a child’s voice in terms of what was significant learning for them. I asked a few students the following question to gauge a snapshot of the learning that occurred this term.
“What do you know now that you didn’t know at the start of the year?”
Kaleesha Hall – A lot, because Mrs Winters teaches a LOT! I have learnt about times zones, how optical illusions in art can be so effective. How a bio poem can really tell you a lot about a person and interesting history such as learning about the government and settlement.
Michael Moses – I have learnt how to be a leader and the responsibilities of leadership. I have learnt how to organise my books and note take. I have learnt about triangular numbers and how to observe plants in science.
Sophia Senagan – I learnt about shadows and that whenever the sun is positioned a different way your shadow changes. I have also learnt about times tables.
Alexis Hawkins – I have learnt about time and can tell the time better.
Jaxson Jesu Sebastian – In maths I can count in 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s. I have learnt about 10s, 2s and 9 times tables. We have done lots of quick writes. We have learnt about the continents, the olden days in the past and present.
Jayda Hood – I have learnt new times tables, multiplications, how to read longer and harder books and big subtractions in the thousands. I have learnt about the solar system and living and non-living things. I am learning how to spot built and natural objects. In English we have been learning about phrases.
Phoebe Donohue – I have learnt how to solve problems easily because I can share evenly. I can count in 5s, 2s and 10s now.
Elbrix Cuaton– I can add numbers together. I have learnt about the Eucharist, Baptism and praying in Religion. I have learned that a habitat is a home for animals. I have learned about living and non-living things and about Australian animals. I can read harder books.
Frederick Mooketsi – I know the name of all the letters. I can read lots of sight words. I can count to 200. In religion I have learnt about a lot of stories from the Bible.
Greta Martin – I can write words. I can say the alphabet and I know the names of all the letters. I can count to 100. I can read “Where’s the Green Sheep?” I can write numbers. I have learned that animals need food, water and shelter.
Taking time to reflect with students on their accomplishments in conversation, is an important step in developing their sense as a ‘learner’, regardless of where they sit within the spectrum of achievement. Knowing that learning does not happen ‘to them’ but ‘with them’ and ‘through them’ is an important idea to develop. Not all students may achieve a grade that they may strive for, however there is no limit to the curiosity, persistence, and engagement they can demonstrate when striving to achieve.
katie.hauser@twb.catholic.edu.au
Prep KJ & SJ
Over the past two weeks we have had lots of fun and excitement in Prep.
We participated in our very first Athletics Carnival, with all preps trying their best and behaving beautifully. We loved watching the students work together as a team in the mini-Olympic games and relay teams.
Students have donated to the Winter Appeal and worn their best pyjamas to show their support to the needy this winter. It was great to see students think of the needs of others.
We have completed our Under the Sea English unit with a final look at sequencing stories and creating beautiful craft to go with our writing. It has been excellent to see how far students have come with their sounds, writing and word formation with this unit. We look forward to seeing further progress of Preps next term.
We hope that you all have a happy and safe holiday.
Samantha, Kylie, Jo, Katie and Ang.
kylie.jones@twb.catholic.edu.au
samantha.jaeger@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 1 HS
Wow, what a busy end to Term 2! We had a wonderful day at the Athletics Carnival, testing our skill levels and competing with our class mates. A huge thank you to Latoya (Willow’s Mum) and Sharna (Bella’s mum) for all your help with the athletic games and for those other parents/Grandparents who attended to cheer us all on.
On Tuesday we all arrived in our pajamas. It was very exciting to wear them to school. Don’t we look cute?
Also this week we are role playing shopping in our class shop as a way to introduce money as a mathematical concept.
holly.sheehan@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 1 RW
We made it to the end of term! I am so proud of all the kids over the semester. Thank you so much for all of your support. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching these lovely students and I will really miss not seeing their smiling little faces each day. We had a lot of fun on pyjama day and at Athletics Carnival. We welcome Kathy Spencer to Year One and she is very excited to take over. Kathy and I have done a handover and she met the students this week.
I would also like to say a big thank you to Darcy Reeves for volunteering in our classroom each Friday. Your help has been so greatly appreciated and the kids have loved working with you.
rebecca.white@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 2 OT
We made it! I wish our families in 2OT all the very best for the holidays and look forward to welcoming you all back, relaxed, refreshed for an enjoyable and productive Term 3! Until then....Mr Tattam!
ory.tattam@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 2/3 VN
We have had a great term extending our thinking in Science and Art. In science we have learnt about our Earth. Starting with learning about our Earth's resources and how to preserve them. This then led to looking more closely at how the Earth works, such as day and night and the functions of the sun and moon. This involved a lot of hands on learning and experiments. One of these that really helped us understand the phases of the moon was pretending that we were Earth and rotating around as the Earth would to see the phases of the moon.
We finally got to finish our collage art pieces. This has been weeks and weeks of learning with a number of skills being developed to then allow students to use these skills to present their ideas in a finished piece. We made a mess but a lot of learning and fun was had a long the way.
It is hard to believe we are halfway through our school year. Now that we have reflected on the semester and where the students are at and needs that have arisen along with new learning to take place there may be a few general class adjustments and routines that will change to accommodate this. We are sure that the students will embrace this and thrive on new challenges in Semester 2.
Finally, we have had a lot of lost or misplaced jumpers and spray jackets. We do our best to remind students daily to put them in their bag and do regular checks to ensure all students have the correct belongings. However, some of our students are still missing named items. Over the holidays while taking stock of school clothing and catching up on the washing it would be really appreciated if you could check that you only have your child's items and return any to school that may of been taken home by mistake.
We hope everyone has a lovely break and takes some time to rest ready for Term 3 on Tuesday 13th July.
vicki.nauschutz@twb.catholic.edu.au
emma.daniells@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 3 RM
Happy holidays! Over the past few weeks we have been busy completing assessment tasks across all subject areas. I have been so impressed with the effort put into these, with no one ever giving up, even if they are in the learning pit. Well done! In our writing groups, we have been working hard on using our language to create sizzling starts, rather than simply saying what is happening. We have all been excited by what we have created together and have enthusiastically worked to continue our stories outside of the groups. In Maths we have had a big focus on subtraction with regrouping. There have been some misconceptions noted about how to regroup, which we have been working hard to address. Have a great break. See you next term.
rebecca.more@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 4 SC
The last two weeks have been very busy and very productive in Yr 4 SC. As well as all of our classroom tasks, athletics carnival and lots of other activities we went on a great excursion to Highfields’s Pioneer Village. All of the children wrote a recount about the trip. The recount below was written by Sid.
HIGHFIELD’S PIONEER VILLAGE
Year 4sc went to Highfields Pioneer Village to learn how olden days people lived. We got there by the bus.
Firstly, we made damper in the bakery and explored the bakery with Nina and Merve. There was an oven, and it was massive!!! The depth of the oven was 3 metres, and the width was 2 metres and the height was 3 metres too. Then we made butter out of cream. We mixed it in a Kangaroo churn for 15 minutes. It is called a Kangaroo churn because when you mix it, it jumps like a Kangaroo.
Next, we went to morning tea. We ate the damper. It was so good! I put golden syrup on my damper and the nice ladies made us a cup of tea. Then the teacher showed us the old toilets.
After that, I saw the dungeon it was gross. The bed had rat poop on it.
Finally, we went to see a puppet show. It started in 1830 and it showed how they used to live. It was cool. My favorite toy puppet was the Kangaroo.
We had lunch and played a game of stuck in the mud. After that we to saw the fire brigade and saw heaps of fire trucks. After that we went to a bike place there were about 50 bikes. The person had them in a two-story house. The top floor was where he lived, and the bottom was full of bikes.
The final place we went to was a massive fake cow. Then it was time to go back to school. I think that the Highfields Pioneer Village is good if you have not been there, you should try it. It is good.
Good job Sid! Well done to all of the children – they each did a great job of recounting the event.
This week I say farewell to Yr 4SC and we welcome Mrs Cox back at the beginning of the term. Thank you for being a welcoming and energetic group of learners. I have enjoyed the time I have spent with you.
God Bless – have a safe and happy holiday.
Kathy Spencer
kathleen.spencer@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 4/5 RS
Dear Families,
What a celebration we had for St Anthony’s day! Gathering in our St Anthony’s church, we attended the special Mass which we shared with our Prep Buddies. The children’s prayer, conduct and singing in the church was outstanding. 😊 The awards and fun followed. With buddies of all ages, we embarked on a treasure hunt around the school to solve the clues and find the pieces to complete our puzzle. Thank you Mrs Hauser and Mrs Winters! Congratulations to our St Anthony’s award recipient, Oliver Radice! Oliver always exhibits qualities of a willing student and a kind and caring friend, who has put his mind to improving his attitude and work in class.
We concluded our HASS History unit by taking our learning out of the classroom and travelling for hands-on, simulated experiences. Year 5s viewed the taxidermy exhibits of the Brisbane Museum, the ANZAC Legacy Gallery and fascinating cells and tales of Historical Boggo Road Goal and Year 4s sampled delicious damper, watched hand-crafted wooden puppets tell the story of Australia‘s history and visited the exhibits of the Highfields Pioneer Village. All are highly recommended for a family outing.
We will finish the term with a Term 2 reward and Maths/Design Technology investigation where we make pizzas (ourselves!!) for a pizza party.
Thank you all so much for your ongoing support and efforts to boost your child’s education.
We wish all our families a very safe, enjoyable and blessed break for end of Semester 1 and will see you back for Term 3 on Tuesday, 13th July.
Barbara and Robyn.
robyn.smith@twb.catholic.edu.au
barbara.hair@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 5/6 TN
Welcome to the Winter holidays. 5/6 have worked so incredibly hard this semester and achieved some amazing things. I would have to say that a real highlight of this term was our excursions. Year 5 visited the Queensland Museum including the ANZAC Legacy display, walked to South Bank and had Subway for lunch then had a private tour at Boggo Road Gaol. It was an amazing experience and a real eye opener for both students and staff. When the Year 6 students visited Brisbane, we had a tour of Parliament House. We were lucky enough to see Parliament in sitting and listen to some of question time. I think the real highlight for some of the students was to see some of the back benches sharing Jelly Beans. We then took a trip on a City Cat across to South Bank for lunch at Subway. Our afternoon was spent in the Queensland Art Gallery, the Science Centre – SparkLab followed by a brief trip through the Museum and ANZAC Legacy display. Again we had a day full of thoughtful questions. Both of these excursion were very big days and I have to say it was a true pleasure to take your children away for a day to Brisbane, they were polite, respectful and were amazing representatives of our school and your families.
I look forward to sharing with you all early next term what we will be up to for semester two.Enjoy the break and make memories today.
Mrs Terri-An Nolan
terri-an.nolan@twb.catholic.edu.au
YR 6 LW
What an amazing term this has been! I would like to congratulate all the Year 6s on their growth and effort over the past 10 weeks. We have had a really busy and productive term and are all ready for a break. Since we are half way through the year, it seems a good time to reflect on our performance and set goals for the next semester.
Thank you for the wonderful surprise birthday last week – I felt very loved!
Wishing everyone a safe and restful holiday.
Leigh Winters
leigh.winters@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yammer Group
Yammer Group finished with a delicious morning tea this week. We chatted about what we have done together and what we are going to do in Term 3. All I can say is, watch this space we are going to be busy! NAIDOC Week officially starts on Sunday 4 July. Please note that as a school we will celebrating NAIDOC Week in Week 4. Our Yammer Group will be leading the assembly liturgy on the Thursday. More information about NAIDOC activities and whole school activities will come at the beginning of Term 3.
Enjoy the break with your children.
Mrs Terri-An Nolan