St Anthony's School - Term 3 Week 6 2021
Principal's News
Welcome to our Week 6 newsletter! Here we are on the downhill run into the second half of Term 3. This week is Health and Wellbeing Week. A week without homework for students and meetings for teachers. An opportunity for self-care and a chance to recharge and regroup.
This week the The Life Education Van is visiting the school and family life lessons have been conducted in each class. Wellbeing is such a topical subject these days for children and adults. Here at St Anthony’s, we place emphasis on ensuring our students are happy and healthy in mind, body and spirit. We know that those of us with resilience, positivity and confidence are more likely to be able to deal with the challenges in life which are inevitable.
Across the school, we implement the Zones of Regulation and You Can Do It. Both programs focus on social-emotional learning and aim to develop strategies for individuals to regulate emotions and build confidence, resilience, persistence, organisation and getting along. When visiting our Prep classrooms, I love to hear the language used by students when they liken themselves to ‘Pete Persistence’ who always has a go and never gives up!
Wellbeing is a term we hear a lot when discussing adults and young people – but we don’t often think about it so much for young children. We know that rates of teenage mental health problems are rising alarmingly and we are aware that young people can feel stressed at times. But I passionately believe that if we work to support the youngest children’s wellbeing as well, then we are setting them off to a great start in in life.
One critical factor in helping children improve their wellbeing is making sure that they know that they are loved for being the unique and precious individuals that they are. Parents and grandparents clearly have a crucial role to play in letting children know that they are unconditionally loved, but I also believe that key workers, such as school staff have their own role to play in showing children that they are loved and wanted.
Principal Summative Review
Early next term, I will be engaging in a Principal summative performance appraisal in line with Toowoomba Catholic Schools (TCS) focus on professional recognition and development.
A Principal’s summative performance appraisal occurs in the final year of their contract and is based on outcomes of their annual performance reviews and school-based data.
The appraisal will be conducted by a Panel consisting of the TCS Senior Education Leader, a peer principal and the TCS Director: Teaching and Learning. It will consist of a self-review, a 360-degree survey completed by school staff and parents along with individual or focus group interviews including discussion with the local parish/school priest.
Based on the outcomes of these review tools, the Panel will produce a written report outlining their findings and providing feedback to the Principal for continued and future professional learning. These outcomes will also be communicated with the school community.
To assist with my appraisal, I invite all school staff and parents to participate in the 360-degree survey. This survey is an externally validated perception survey that will be compiled to allow for anonymous feedback around the leadership dimensions of religion, education, organisational skills, strategic planning, staff and community engagement and general leadership capabilities. The survey will be emailed to all school staff and parents over the coming weeks.
Interviews/focus groups with staff, PPF representatives and myself will also occur as part of the appraisal. Requested interviewees will be contacted via email over the coming weeks to confirm their availability. If you would like to be part of these focus groups, please email me directly and I will arrange timings with the Panel.
Once again, I encourage all school staff and parents to complete the 360-degree survey and provide open and honest feedback on my leadership as Principal in the school. I look forward to engaging in this process with you all, an opportunity for review and reflection to acknowledge and improve what I bring to our school.
Book Week
Next week, we celebrate all things Book Week!!
Our book character dress up parade is on Tuesday at 8.40am in the hall. Students can stay in their costumes all day or are welcome to get changed. Don’t forget to pop into our Book Fair in the library or you can purchase books online also.
Here at St Anthony’s we promote and encourage reading all year round. Reading is such an essential life skill and important to developing our thoughts, giving us endless knowledge, while keeping our minds active. Books can hold and keep all kinds of information, stories, thoughts and feelings unlike anything else in the world. The importance of books to help us learn and understand things cannot be underestimated.
This year’s Book Week theme is ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds’.
Stop, Drop and Go Etiquette
I would like to remind you about our drop-off zone procedures and ask you to please be considerate of other families who are also dropping off and picking up their children.
When dropping off, please:
- Stop, say a quick good-bye to your child and go. Give your hugs and kisses at home.
- Do not get out of your car.
- Do not stop to talk to other parents – you are welcome to drive around the corner and have a chat, but the drive through area must be kept clear.
When picking up, please:
- Remain in your car.
- Trust that if your child needs assistance with instruments etc, staff on duty are happy to support them.
- Make sure all children in the car are able to secure their seatbelts and do not require you to leave your car to secure them.
- Remind your children to head straight to the pick-up area at 3:00 pm. Some like to have a social chat on the way, which is lovely, but it holds up the flow of traffic.
Thank you for your attention and adherence to these requirements.
It is preferrable that people entering the line of traffic at Stop, Drop and Go do so via Hennessy St, left into Memory St and then left into the pickup and drop off zone. The biggest problems with congestion and impatience arise when traffic backs up on Memory St with cars trying to turn right into this zone.
Father’s Day
This year, the staff are co-ordinating a ‘Dads and Kids' evening on Thursday, 2nd September commencing with informal oval games at 5.30pm followed by a complimentary BBQ tea. The evening will conclude at 7.30pm.
The PPF are also once again co-ordinating a Father’s Day stall on Wednesday, 1st September. All gifts are brand new and are sold at a bargain price of $5.00 each. All students will go to the stall through the day with their class.
School Fees
At the end of last term, all families with outstanding school fees were contacted regarding prompt payment of these outstanding amounts. Please make an appointment to see me should you still have outstanding school fees. Using a debt collection service is our last resort but is inevitable if payment is not received and no contact is made. Each year we project our income from the collection of school fees and budget and resource accordingly. Many thanks to those parents who continue to meet their financial obligations in a timely manner.
Summer Uniform
Spring has nearly sprung and the warmer weather will soon be upon us! Students are able to wear summer uniform from Monday 6th September. The last 2 weeks of term will be a transition phase between winter and summer uniform and it is an expectation that all students are wearing Summer uniform from the commencement of Term 4 – Tuesday 5th October. Please ensure black and only black school shoes are worn to school each day.
Until next newsletter……God Bless!
Louise
louise.pfingst@twb.catholic.edu.au
Please notify the school if your child is not returning in 2022
We are in the process of considering our income and expenditure for the 2022 school year and as you can imagine, our budget is very dependent on our 2022 enrolment numbers. For this reason, we request that if you are aware of a change in your family situation that means your child/ren will not be returning in 2022, click on the link below and submit the response form so we can keep our records as accurate as possible. Many thanks in advance for supporting us with this trajectory.
APRE News.....
Weekday Mass Class Visit
This term, classes have resumed an attendance roster at weekday Mass either on a Wednesday or Friday. During the COVID period there had been some disruption, but it is wonderful to be able to celebrate with parishioners once again. Like all things, sometimes you do not realise the significance of routine happenings until they are no longer available to you. Students, staff and even parishioners have made comment how life giving it is for all concerned for students to be able to attend the weekday masses. In our diverse school community, where we extend hospitality to all student groups, attending Mass is an opportunity to be a part of a meaningful prayer experience that is particular to the Catholic faith.
The Eucharist ( another name for the mass) is a Greek word which simply means ‘give thanks’. One way of being part of the Mass, even if you are not Catholic, is to give your heart a little space for memory and thanks.
Tony Doherty
Thank you to 1HS who lead us in assembly today in reflecting upon Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop. Mary MacKillop, the first Saint of Australia, is celebrated in August each year. Mary MacKillop, famously told her sisters, ‘Never see a need without doing something about it.’ She is recognised for her commitment to the poor, helping those who needed it the most in any way she could. She created the Order of the Sister’s of Saint Joseph and like Nano Nagle our patron Saint, Mary of the Cross Mackillop inspired others with her determination to never give up, to always persevere to help others, even when there were obstacles in the way. Year One HS challenged us all to see Mary of the Cross as an inspiration in walking in Jesus’ footsteps.
Lord Jesus,
You awakened in Mary MacKillop a love of the poor. In our service of others, draw forth from within us a desire to find You in those we encounter, and so to love you in those we meet.
Lord hear us!
Middle Leader News
Our next learning behaviour along the ‘Love of Learning’ Pathway is ‘Be a Communicator’. As adults, we often assume that communicating is a simple process that children learn instinctively without any guidance or support. We know that all children learn to get their point across one way or another! However, in a classroom environment, students being able to share their thinking in appropriate ways for different audiences is fundamental to their learning. At its simplest form effective communicating for students includes interacting with others, listening, turn taking in conversations, answering questions and developing an understanding that others’ ideas may be different to their own. Have you ever had a conversation with a child, or an adult for that matter, where they couldn’t get their point across, went off tangent, waffled on and on or failed to understand the question you asked? Developing the ability to minimise tangents, speak directly to an idea, and checking other participants to make sure they’re engaged are just some of the skills students need to develop as they mature into effective communicators. We look forward to adding to the students’ understandings of good communication.
Love of Learning
Be engaged | Be curious| Be a communicator| Be persistent| Be proud
Prep KJ & SJ
Can you believe we are over halfway through the term?? We are working hard in the Prep classrooms, continuing our Fairy Tale themed work, improving on our writing, doing simple addition sums, participating in our guided reading lessons and learning more about Jesus. With Book Week taking place next week, we are continuing to study our books for the Reader’s Cup competition, ‘Who Sank the Boat?’ and ‘The Cow Tripped Over the Moon’. During Book Week, we meet up with Mrs Watkins and our buddies in the hall and Mrs Watkins tests our knowledge of both books by asking us ten question from each. She is very good at asking tricky questions, so we have to really know the books. Our buddies very kindly scribe the answers for us. Also during Book Week, we have a dress up day on Tuesday 24th August when students will be invited to come dressed as their favourite book character or dress up around this years’ theme, “Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds”. It is going to be a fun and busy week. We also want to remind parents to check that their child’s hat is named and packed in their bag each day as well as a water bottle. We have several drink breaks during the day and it makes it easier for us if the students have a named water bottle to drink from in the classroom. Don’t forget, Parent Teacher interviews will be held towards the end of this term, so please keep an eye out for an email in the coming weeks to arrange a time to meet.
kylie.jones@twb.catholic.edu.au
samantha.jaeger@twb.catholic.edu.au
jo.keleher@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 1 HS
Welcome to Week 6! Last week we began our reading level testing and it is wonderful to see the students progressing in their reading abilities.
This week we will be visiting the LIFE Education Van and meeting Healthy Harold. We can’t wait to share what we have learned.
On Thursday in Week 6 our class has the privilege of hosting the Prayer Assembly. We all have little jobs to do and I want to thank the parents who have helped their child practiSe their reading parts. We hope to see you there!
Week 7 is Book Week. Please keep checking in with the portal so that you don’t miss any of the fun. The dress-up day is Tuesday. I can’t wait to see your Book Week inspired characters.
holly.sheehan@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 1 KS
Hello again from 1 KS.
Another eventful week has been unfolding and the children have been working well. We have continued with our work on Nick Bland’s Bear series of books and have been looking at 'The Very Super' and 'Very Itchy Bears'! Ask the children to tell you about them!!
We have begun a new HASS Geography Unit on Our Personal World where we will discuss and explore the children’s immediate environments … their bedroom, their home, their neighborhood, their city and beyond. It should be an interesting learning time.
Book Week is next week so don’t forget dress up day on Tuesday and Book Fair every day!
God Bless!!
Kathy Spencer
kathleen.spencer@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 2 OT
Another big fortnight in 2OT. With the closing of the Olympics, it is now time to research deeper into our chosen disciplines to write our information report! Our students were super excited to build their 3D project for math, I am sorry if our parents are not as excited to welcome the masterpieces back into their homes!
Congratulations to last week's Student of the Week, Penny, Lexi, & Andrea! Keep shining girls. This week, we congratulate Callum & Brooklyn.
Until next time,
Mr Tattam & the superstars in 2OT.
ory.tattam@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 2/3 VN
Welcome to Week 6. We have been busily working on developing our paragraph writing skills in English. We are building our sentence structure knowledge and how to turn notes into sentences and then group these sentences into a paragraph. In Grammar, we are studying Simple Sentences and from here we will learn how conjunctions can be added to create complex and compound sentences. In Math we are finalising our learning of fractions. Year 2 have been drawing and identifying ½, ¼ and 1/8ths. They also are finding ½, ¼ and 1/8 collections. For example, you could ask your child to find ½ of the fruit basket. If there are 14 pieces of fruit, half of that is 7 pieces. Year 3 are investigating ½, ¼, 1/3 and 1/5. They are applying this knowledge to more complex questioning such as: I had 15 marbles. I gave 1/3 to my friend Sarah. How many marbles do I have left?
vicki.nauschutz@twb.catholic.edu.au
emma.daniells@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 3 RM
In English we have been examining the text features of non-fiction texts and practising our editing skills.
Our Maths focus has been on adding money and calculating change from $2. In HASS, we have started to investigate the world climate zones. In Religion we are learning about the link between the Last Supper and Eucharist.
rebecca.more@twb.catholic.edu.au
barbara.hair@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 4/5 RS
Hi Everyone. I’m Sienna Stark and I’m a new St Anthony’s student. I’ve been here for 4 weeks. I enjoy the work in my classroom. Art, Sport and Quickwrite are my favourite subjects. I am looking forward to Book Week and dressing up as Ruby Rat from the “Pie Rats” series. We are creating a collage out of recycled materials. I love St Anthony’s.
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Eleanor: Hello everybody. I have a big announcement. The Talent Show will have 11 contestants performing. They will receive a certificate and there will be a grand prize. It will happen on the last day of the school term and teachers and students are welcome. The Year 4’s went to Bike Safety at Groom Park! It was so much fun! We learnt about safety and laws for bike riders, such as the road rule ditty. “Wear a helmet, keep left, obey all signs and signals, no doubling, single file.” At night you should wear bright clothes, a bright helmet with red rear reflectors and more.
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Ava: The past two weeks have been informative. We have learned about Religion, Quickwrites, Maths and more. We did ‘The Lorax’ questions. It is Family Week, so there was no Homework. In Maths, we have been learning about equivalent fractions and 2-digit multiplication.
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Ethan: Reading Groups have helped my learning this fortnight. We have been going to Mass and learning about the Trinity. Every day we do prayer. We think of all of the people affected by Covid-19. We have learnt about the Zones, the human body, visited Healthy Harold the giraffe. We did some research of Indigenous Australian’s land use and tools.
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Marcus: We are talking about Aboriginal history and culture. The First Nation people looked after the land. They used less materials and hunted when they needed food. They looked after nature and cared for nature. The Europeans took over. They chopped down trees, wasted a lot, killed what they didn’t need and damaged the Great Barrier Reef. We’ve been studying for the Readers’ Cup. We are reading ‘The Lorax’ and ‘Fire’. We are also doing the Trinity, about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
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Keesha: At school, we have learned about Indigenous Culture and Sustainable land use. In Science, we are learning about sustainable packaging and materials that can soak, repel and stain and will make a collage. In Maths, we have been learning about equivalent fractions and multiples. With Mrs Nolan, we are learning German. Thank you for reading.
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We are all looking forward to Book Week! From the kids of 4/5RS
Parenting Note: We visited Jane and Harold in the Life Education van to learn about Cyberbullying. Age-appropriate games are good fun and there are many great ways we use our technology. Parents, please check the rating on games which may have concepts which are too advanced for young people. Kids, you may think you are OK, but these concepts leave an impression on your developing brain and it affects you when you’re sleeping. Jane said she cannot stress strongly enough how dangerous it is for your mind to be playing a restricted game. The restriction means you shouldn’t be playing them
Enjoy Family Week everyone,
Barbara and Robyn.
robyn.smith@twb.catholic.edu.au
barbara.hair@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 4 SC
During the last fortnight 4SC students worked hard to follow the school rules and make good choices on the playground. Our HASS unit on sustainability is producing some interesting conversations about waste in our homes and schools. Students have begun their assessment task about how Indigenous Australians have lived a sustainable life and can teach us about caring and respecting the environment. We are investigating what a square metre is and how we can change the perimeter of a square metre by changing the shape. Students wrote prayers of petition, praise and thanksgiving that were heartfelt and genuine. Many were proud of their efforts and achievement after bike safety. Our visit to the Healthy Harold van was informative and taught us many ways to be cybersafe. I encourage you to talk with your children about being safe online as some confessed that they were playing games that were not appropriate to their age. We look forward to another busy fortnight of learning and achieving our best in all tasks.
God Bless. Mrs Cox
Prayer of Praise by Paulo Barros
God of all creation,
Lift your heart and praise the Lord with all your heart.
Come give honour, come give praise to our beloved God.
Here and everywhere this beloved God will watch all people walking on His creation.
Pray to this lovely, kind God.
He has made your earth that we live on.
People pray, some don't.
People who pray are making God feel like He is loved.
God is loved.
God is kind.
God is beloved.
Amen
Prayer of Petition by Lauren Kropp
God of creation,
Help me to be me.
The kind-hearted, the helpful me.
Help me to lift my heart and love all.
Amen
Yr 5/6 TN
It is difficult to believe that we are over halfway through Term 3. As I have been marking current assessment items this past week, I have been reflecting on how far the students have come already this year. I am very proud of their effort and dedication to producing quality work.
Our classroom has been a hive of activity recently as the students have been working maths investigations, science projects, Geography assignments and the list goes on. Our classroom is also beginning to look very colourful as students have been creating pieces of artwork of animals from the different continents that they are studying.
Until next time, stay safe.
Mrs Terri-An Nolan
My New Gallery
YR 6 LW
As our maths Fantasy Flight investigation around Asia is drawing to a close, most of us understand more about Asia and travel than we did before. Everyone is making progress on their Volcanoes research task as well as spending some time considering how they will present information about Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy for a Religion task.
Although we spend lots of time discussing time management and forward planning strategies around the ongoing work expectations, I realise that some students still experience anxiety. Please remember that my door is always open, and I'm more than happy to discuss how I can support your child to achieve success with all the assigned tasks.
Have an AWESOME week!
Mrs Winters
leigh.winters@twb.catholic.edu.au
OptiMinds News
With the ongoing uncertainties around large gatherings and potential lockdowns, the OptiMinds organisers have decided that all teams will be expected to submit their entries virtually instead of in person.
This has resulted in some date changes and necessitates us recording our entries at school.
- Long term challenges must be submitted online by Wednesday the 1st September - which means we need to record this for both teams on the prior Sunday, the 29th August. (The original competition date). This is the challenge both teams are currently working on. It is expected that all team members are at school on this day, either being recorded or supporting the other team. Competitors are asked to wear plain black clothing for this.
- Spontaneous challenges will be released on Thursday the 2nd September and the teams' responses must be recorded and uploaded by midnight of the same day. This means that both teams will need to stay after school on this day. Please let us know as soon as possible if this is a problem. Again, competitors are asked to wear plain black clothing for the recording.
- The judging will take place on Saturday the 4th September - but no students are expected to be present. Hopefully, we will be able to post the results on Teams that evening!
Although these changes may be frustrating, please know that they are out of our control - and that we appreciate your flexibility in this.
As always, please contact us if you have any queries.
Leigh Winters Terri-An Nolan
Yammer Group
During our Week 4 NAIDOC Week celebrations the Yammer Group attended an excursion at the Cobb & Co Museum. Here they participated in a day long program: “Have Another Look Captain Cook – Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders Week.” It was a fantastic day where the students got to try their hand at a number of new skills and were apart of some very meaningful discussions about culture and the importance of celebrating their culture and identity.
Some of the activities included:
- Boomerang Throwing and Spears Demonstration
- Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander games
- Art – decorating stones and paper hands with traditional symbols
- Murri Connection to Country – Medicine, Tucker, Tools and Weapons
- Hands on Artefacts investigation
I would like to commend the group on their involvement, behaviour and thoughtful questions throughout the day.
Terri-An.Nolan@twb.catholic.edu.au
My New Gallery
Please notify the school office if you have updated your residential address, your email address, your phone number, household structure or if your child has had a change in Visa, medical details, eg asthma plan, allergies, medication.
These records are very important for our files.
If your child is sick or complains of feeling sick, please DO NOT send them to school.
Book Week - August 23rd - 27th
- We have a variety of Book Week activities this year, which will take place in Week 7. The theme is “Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds”.
- Book Week Dress Up – Tuesday 24th August, 8:40am in the school hall, Students will be invited to come dressed as their favourite book character or dress up around this years’ theme.
- Reader’s Cup competition – 23rd August to 25th August.
- Book Fair – we will be holding a Book Fair during Book Week. Books will be on sale in the library, with an online option available.
Book Fair
St Anthony’s Book Fair 23rd August – 27th August
A Book sale : Held in the school library and open for parents and friends to shop before and after school.
Monday – Friday 8:10 – 8:40 am
2:45 – 3:30 pm
Another option is to buy online @ www.thebookwarehouse.com.au
There will be a preview day for all students on Thursday 19th August, look out for their wish lists.
If you wish to purchase books and cannot come in, please place money in a clearly named envelope and direct your child to come straight to the library shop, alternatively shop online
A great way to support our school as every item sold, benefits our library and therefore benefits our students.
Dads & Kids Night
Thursday 2 September 2021
5.30pm to 7.30pm
If you’re a Dad or a Dad figure in our school community, we would love you to come and join in an evening of fun games and a BBQ dinner.
Please complete the form below to indicate your intentions
