St Anthony's School Term 2 Week 6 2022
Principal's News
Welcome to our Week 6 newsletter!
I thought I’d share with you today the goals we have in this year’s Annual Action Plan. These are goals and actions we create each year, through a collaborative process with community stakeholders that reflect our 4 year Strategic Plan. I have included a copy of our Four Year Strategic Plan in today’s newsletter for your perusal also. The work now is in bringing the plan to reality and we will continue our great work here at St Anthony’s as we execute our plan throughout the next four years.
The goals identified in this year’s Annual Action Plan are:
- Continuing to market the school. We have a goals over the next few years to become a comfortable 2 stream school and in order for this to happen we aim to increase our enrolments. We are embarking on a radio and television advertising campaign through the Austereo Network. We now have our electronic school sign on Memory Street and each year our Open Morning is gaining momentum. We need our current school community to keep spreading the work about what a great place of learning St Anthony’s is!
- Implementing and embedding our school wide learning dispositions explicitly taught and lived by staff and students at St Anthony’s School. These dispositions are our St Anthony’s Way and include our pathways of ‘Love of Learning’ and ‘Love of One Another’. Our dispositions or learning behaviours are;
Love of Learning – Be engaged
Be persistent
Be a communicator
Be curious
Be proud
Love of One Another - Be inclusive
Be fair
Be respectful
Be kind
Be honest
You may have noticed that our assembly awards are linked to these behaviours and we have also introduced our SAW awards that acknowledge students demonstrating the St Anthony’s Way. Kahren Leonard has been working on a graphic to represent our St Anthony’s Way and we think it looks pretty amazing! You will see these all around the school in the coming weeks!
- Continue to embed the expected and effective practices of the Reading Improvement Strategy and Lighthouse Numeracy and track student reading and maths data to ensure ALL students are progressing.
- Undertake the Tier 1 Illuminate Religious Education strategy to raise student engagement in Religious Education and ensure it is taught and assessed with the same rigour as other subject areas.
Absenteeism
Regular absence from school, except for genuine illness, places our students at risk of falling behind in their school work, missing out on new concepts, impacts upon friendships and reduces the child’s resilience for an appropriate work ethic. The current curriculum is very ‘crowded’ therefore there is a need for students to attend regularly to ensure their completion and comprehension of all concepts taught. Therefore, we ask for strong parental commitment in relation to school attendance. Please consider also the impact on your child’s learning when planning an extended holiday during term time.
Learning in classrooms at St Anthony’s begins at 8:40am sharp. Please endeavour to have your children at school between 8:00 and 8:20am. It can also be very unsettling and disruptive to the teacher and students to have students enter the classroom once lessons have commenced. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Through our Sentral System, where enrolment data is stored, with one click of a button we can raise an attendance percentage for each term and overall. This is data our leadership team view quite regularly and it is concerning the number of students that we have sitting at 75% or lower.
It is something I am very passionate about and frustrated by. We have this amazing education here at our finger tips that is often not being accessed either by students being habitually late or picked up early or having days off without being ill. My own children have a running joke that they could be missing a limb and still have to go to school. While that is a slight over exaggeration, I hope they will thank me one day!! Education is the key to a future full of endless possibilities and opportunities!
National Simultaneous Storytime
Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. The aim of this is to promote reading & literacy and the value of books. This year the chosen text is ‘Family Tree’, written and illustrated by Josh Pyke and Ronsjoy Ghosh.
Today, as a whole school we participated in this initiative at 11.30am
School Fee Options
There are a number of options for paying your school fees:
- Direct Debit a set amount (weekly, fortnightly or monthly)
- Pay in full by credit card, netbank transfer, EFTPOS or cash each term
- Centrepay
The ladies in the office are more than happy to talk you through how to set up a scheduled payment. It is essential that you ensure there will be sufficient funds in your account when the payment is deducted as with a payment rejection, we incur a fee. These fees then compound an already overdue amount.
Please make an appointment with the Principal if you need to discuss any concerns regarding finances.
Unpaid fees impact significantly on our school finances. Thank you to those parents who endeavour to always settle their accounts promptly. This is greatly appreciated.
We have a number of families with outstanding school fees currently and correspondence has been sent to families that this applies to this week. Prompt action of these outstanding amounts is an expectation and a commitment that parents make when enrolling.
We are so appreciative of the majority of our families who make their payments in a timely and regular manner.
Staffing Update
Holly Roche has taken Long Service Leave for the reminder of the year from her position as library officer – information services. After our recruitment and appointment process, I am delighted to announce that Naomi Rigby has been appointed to this position for the remainder of the year. Naomi commences in this position on Monday and will be the friendly face in the library from Monday – Thursday each week. Welcome Naomi!
Just a reminder that the new date for our Pizza and Disco evening is Friday 3rd June. Pizzas and garlic bread will be delivered at 5.30pm and the disco is from 6.00 – 8.00pm. If you are now able to come along, please order and pay at the front office.
Until next newsletter……God Bless!
Louise
Louise.Pfingst@twb.catholic.edu.au
APRE News.....
Confirmation and First Communion
This week the students on their Sacramental journey were confirmed by Bishop McGuckin. Florence, Kristopher, Jennessarae, Jaxon, Charly, Abut, Emily, Liam, Taysean, Sophia, Charlotte, Hayden and Leonardo joined other students from Downlands and the parish on this special occasion. The sacrament of Confirmation is another step in initiating these students into the life of the St Anthony’s parish and the larger Catholic church. Over the next two weekends they will become fully participating members of the Church by receiving the sacrament of Eucharist. Congratulations to these students and their families on their preparation for these sacraments. The larger St Anthony’s Primary School community are flourishing with students and families who take this journey and appreciate the faith life experience and perspective that they offer to our entire community.
Reconciliation Week
Next week we will celebrate Reconciliation Week concluding with a Prayer Assembly lead by Yr 4/5 PK. At its heart, reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.
Over the last half century, many significant steps towards reconciliation have been taken. Reconciliation is an ongoing journey that reminds us that while generations of Australians have fought hard for meaningful change, future gains are likely to take just as much, if not more, effort. Year 4/5 will encourage us to make Reconciliation ‘everyone’s business, every day’. Our pathway of ‘love of one another’ demonstrates a clear path of how we can strive to be reconciliation people who value being inclusive, fair, kind, respectful and honest.
Parish Family Mass
Sunday the 5th of June will be the next Parish Family Mass at St Anthony’s Parish. Year 4/5 PK and 2/3VN will be coordinating the mass so it would be great to see students and families attend on this day to help celebrate the Mass. All students and families are very welcome to
Middle Leader
Mid Term Two is an interesting time in a school. Routines, learning behaviours and attitudes often become a little shaky and things become a little harder to push through. The extended period of wet weather is also contributing to a feeling of being ‘stuck in the mud’. In terms of student learning, we are at an important part of the term where students are being expected to display their learning in engaged ways as teachers prepare to analyse student work and make judgements for this reporting cycle. That idea of ‘being stuck’ may reflect how some students are feeling in terms of their learning. However NOW is the time for them to use the strategies they have been taught to help themselves get out of the learning pit!
Using the Learning Pit as a guide, students at St Anthony’s School are encouraged to see that taking risks, accepting challenges and stepping out of their comfort zones is necessary in order to grow and learn. Making mistakes along the way, getting stuck and having to go back in order to go forward are all natural stages of the learning process that should not cause distress, but be a good sign! The only danger in getting stuck in the pit is if you choose to stay there! If you find when talking with your child that they may have found some learning challenging or be at a point where they want to ‘switch off’ from school, using the language of the Learning Pit at home can go a long way to encouraging your child’s dispositions towards learning.
Prep SR & TF
Welcome to Week 6!!
Thank you to all the parents that attended the ‘Under 8’s Day.’ The children had a fantastic time investigating the various activities.
Just a reminder – Lunch Boxes
It is important to remember to make your child’s lunch as healthy as possible – please limit treats to one per day! A healthy lunch box will give your child the energy they need to concentrate throughout the long school day. We would love to see food such as cheese, yoghurt, sandwiches, fruit and vegetables in your child’s lunchbox every day.
Hearing and Vision
Just a reminder if you have not yet had your child’s hearing and sight tested, it would be beneficial. With June/July holidays approaching, it may be the perfect time to plan a day out of the house!
Free Vision Screening will be held at school on Wednesday 10th August. More information to follow in July.
Report Cards
Preppies have been very busy testing their knowledge and all that they have learnt this semester. Report cards will be uploaded to The Portal in Week 10 and you will get a notification. In Prep, the achievement ratings of A, B, C or D are used. Please be assured that achieving a ‘C’ on the report card is considered a sound level of achievement. In other words ‘C’ should be acknowledged as achieving at the level expected of an average child at this stage of schooling. This quote is always good to remember when reading over your child's report card.
Tracey and Siobhan.
Siobhan.Rush@twb.catholic.edu.au
Tracey.Francis@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 1 ED
What a wonderful morning Under 8's morning was. Here are some reflections about the morning.
"Today was Under 8's day. I got my face painted. We got to play all morning". Celine
"At school today I played and got my face painted. I played with the dominos. It was really fun." Brooke
"Today was Under 8's day. I went to the petting zoo. It was so much fun. I had a sausage sizzle." Juwan
"Today was Under 8's day. I had Harry Potter face paint. Then I went to the petting zoo. Last I went to the sandpit." Martin
"At Under 8's day my favourite thing was picking up the chickens. But I also liked kicking the ball. It was fun." Flynn
Emma.Daniells@twb.catholic.edu.au
Jo.Keleher@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 1 KS
Hello again from 1KS
It has been a busy time since last newsletter. We have had a wonderful morning with Under 8’s. We have had a trip to the theatre for an entertaining show about one of our favourite emus – Edward the Emu and a trip the church to learn about parts of the church – particularly the Baptismal Font, the Paschal candle and the Altar. Thank you to all who made these wonderful learning experiences possible – please don’t forget to ask the children to tell you about it!
The last few weeks have also been busy in the classroom and after learning a lot about some Australian Animals the children are now ready to begin writing Information Reports on an Australian animal of their choice. Fun times and lots of learning! We are also gearing up for our athletics carnival and the children are preparing for this with Mr Tattam. If keeping busy is our thing in Yr 1, I think we’re doing OK!! Have a fun!
God Bless
Kathy Spencer
Yr 2 BH
Everyone seemed to enjoy our Under 8’s activities last week. What a wonderful morning. For Year 2, it’s our last turn of being Under 8, so it was particularly sweet.
“At Under 8’s Day it was fun and it was terrific. I loved the face painting. It was a good morning” -Dominick
“I loved the face paint. It was fun. I was happy.” -Rubi
“I really liked the face paint and the kite making but I wish I went to the animals.”
-Azariah
“It was so fun. The face paint was really fun. Some people had beautiful face paint.”
- Willow
“There was a farm there with one pig and a lamb and chicks. It was fun” - Emily
We’re still collecting bottle tops. Please keep them coming.
Mrs Hair
Barbara.Hair@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 2/3 VN
A huge well done is deserved for the students in 2/3VN for their delivery of our Prayer Assembly last Friday. All students read beautifully and took their roles very seriously. This week we are beginning to assess our learning in Math, time and patterns. I strongly encourage parents to keep the conversation about time going- regularly ask the students to read the time to you and discuss it. It is EXTREMELY difficult to teach and everyone has worked so hard on their learning that I would hate for it not to be built upon and used in our everyday lives. In English, students are persuading me that children should or should not have more than 1 hour of technology a day. In Science we are continuing to look at matter; solid, liquids and gases. Last week we looked at how a balloon can hold a gas (air), a liquid (water) and a solid (ice). We then looked at what element we could add to these items to change their state. For example, if we add heat to ice, we can make a liquid and if we continue to heat water we can create a gas- steam.
Vicki.Nauschutz@twb.catholic.edu.au
Ory.Tattam@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 3 RM
In 3RM we have busily been using our persuasive writing skills for the topic of children helping with household chores - there have been some interesting arguments! In Maths we have been working on subtraction with regrouping, which has proven to be a bit challenging for some of us, but with persistence (which we have learnt about in Health) we have managed to get ourselves out of the Learning Pit. In Religion, we have been learning about the Sacrament of Baptism. If you, or anyone in your family, has been baptised and would be happy for your child to share these with the class, we would love to see them (even if it is just a photo). In HASS we have started learning about continuity and change in communities. We became detectives to learn about the past from buildings and other community clues.
Rebecca.More@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 4 SC
The students of 4SC are working so well! It is pleasing to see many trying to achieve their goals for Term 2. We completed an investigation into mixed numbers and improper fractions. It was a challenge but all groups were successful in demonstrating an image of each. We are finishing our persuasive texts and many are now using Tier 2 words in their writing. Soon we will begin our major assessment piece for Science - the creation of our own toy demonstrating the properties of different materials. Many students in our class performed at the Eisteddfod and are congratulated on their wonderful performance. special mention to Abut who came second with her sister in the duets. As the weather changes please encourage your child to wear warm clothes and to be responsible for their jumpers and jackets as there are often many left on the floor near the bag area.
God Bless. Mrs Cox
Sharon.Cox@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 4/5 PK
Week 6 is keeping us busy; we have been working hard! We have finished writing persuasively and we are moving onto learning all about procedures. In Mathematics we have been working hard on fractions and decimals. This week has seen us move onto money and learning about simple financial plans. We have started reviewing the process around calculating change. We congratulate all those who were involved in recent eisteddfod pieces, particularly Puondak for receiving second place in her duet with Abut! We are so proud of them. We also wish many blessings to all our peers making their confirmation and communion this week.
Until next time,
Year 4/5PK.
Peta.Kingsford@twb.catholic.edu.au
Yr 5/6 TN
Funny that we have just had a Federal election as in 5/6TN we too are holding our own political election. Both Year 5 and 6 are learning about the structure of government within Australia, how our government was formed and how it operates today. As a part of this the Year 5 students have been running their own campaigns. We have four parties which have written to the Australian Electoral Commission (AKA Mrs Nolan) to state why they are fit to run for parliament. They have created their own posters and even written speeches. We have designed our own ballot papers which the whole class will cast their secret vote on.
Each day we are also reading more of our class novel study – Rowan of Rin. The students have been doing an amazing job decoding vocabulary and developing their ability to answer comprehension questions about the text. Over the coming days the students will begin their assessment tasks in relation to this novel. Students will be developing character profiles, exploring different scenery, creating a book review and more.
Until next time, stay warm.
Kind Regards,
Mrs Terri-An Nolan
Yr 6 LW
We’ve reached an exciting stage in our integrated Science/English unit. Students are demonstrating reversible or irreversible experiments which they’ve practised at home and are recording the steps of their experiments as written procedures. Our focus is then moving to learning how to undertake research in order to write an information report and being able to sort the facts under suitable sub-headings and paragraphs.
Next week the sound of hammering and sawing will alert passers-by that everyone in Year 6 is constructing their own birdhouse – after spending time designing environmentally friendly ones. Added to that will be the sound of the students learning an Indonesian song as part of their LOTE assessment!
In maths we continue to regularly practise the basic skills that are so important, as well as improving our understanding of the metric system and working with calculations involving larger numbers.
Selamat tinggal!
Leigh.Winters@twb.catholic.edu.au
St Anthony's Outside School Hours Care
Our Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services provide the opportunity for children to grow and develop their social skills in a leisure based environment nurtured by our Catholic ethos.
The services offer a combination of before school, after school, Pupil Free days and vacation care led by a team of qualified educators. Our educators work with all children to create fun and recreational experiences so that a child’s wellbeing, learning and personal development are a priority. The services provide a variety of indoor and outdoor activities to support the diverse interests of all children.
St Anthony's OSHC Toowoomba
Coordinator: Jacinta Rixon
Phone: 0458 937 154 or 0458 897 293
Email: ANTcare@tckc.qld.edu.au
Empathy - Encouraging Kids to Care
