Newsletter, W7, T1, 2024
Principal's Report
Can you believe how quickly this term has flown by? It seems like just yesterday we were welcoming students back after the Christmas holidays, and now we're already nearing the end of Term 1.
Firstly, well done to all our Year 3, 5, and 7 students who have completed the Writing part of the NAPLAN assessment. Your efforts and perseverance are truly commendable as we gear up to tackle the remainder of NAPLAN next week. Keep up the great work!
A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the students and parents who have already generously donated Easter Eggs for our school Easter raffle. Your contributions will help make our Easter celebration extra special. We would love to see more donations come through to the office, remember the more donations means more prizes to win! The raffle will be drawn on the last day of term after our Easter Liturgy, Thursday March 28th.
Next week marks Harmony Week, a time to celebrate diversity and promote inclusivity within our school community. Families are welcome to join us on Friday March 22nd, at 2:15pm in the Gym for a special performance as we come together to celebrate unity and cultural diversity. More details about this exciting event will be shared next week. Please note that this will replace our normal assembly.
On behalf of the entire school community, we want to extend congratulations to all the students who represented our school, swimming at both division and regional levels. Your hard work, dedication, and outstanding performances are truly commendable and we couldn't be prouder of your achievements.
A special thank you goes out to Mr. Lowry for his tireless efforts in coordinating and supporting our students to attend these events. Also to the parents who helped with the transportation of students to and from the venues, we are immensely grateful for your ongoing support.
Looking ahead, we have our Parent/Teacher Interviews scheduled for Week 9. Stay tuned for all the necessary information which will be sent home with students to ensure smooth communication between home and school. We are looking forward to seeing you during that time.
Warm regards,
Maryanne Leslie
SWPBS
The SWPBS focus for this week is to strive for excellence and take pride in our work.
Primary
Foundation
Over this last fortnight, the Foundation students have settled well into their lessons and are becoming confident in their numbers from 0 to 10. In our InitiaLit lessons, students have now learnt the letter ‘a’ and will learn the letter ‘p’ on Friday. The time has come that students have begun reading and writing words using the sounds they know, for example ‘mat, sat, at, am’. They are very excited to share this new knowledge they have!
Student’s are doing a great job with their new responsibility of taking home and bringing back their library bags each day. It is crucial that students are developing these important skills as it allows them to be in control of their learning. By bringing their library bags back each day, even if students are not necessarily changing their readers, it allows them to keep their work and notes safe when travelling home.
Well done Foundation students and their families on a great start to the year! We look forward to finishing off the school term with lots of learning!
Year 1/2
The 1/2 teachers are thrilled to witness the tremendous effort and dedication our students have shown towards their learning endeavours. From exploring new mathematical concepts to diving into captivating literary adventures, our children have demonstrated a remarkable commitment to their academic growth. Their enthusiasm and perseverance inspire us all.
As we continue to nurture a culture of learning and discovery, we would like to remind both students and parents about the importance of regular reading. This means bringing library bags each day in order to have the opportunity to change books should they need it. This also allows for teachers to effectively monitor reading throughout the classroom. Reading is not just a task; it's a gateway to new worlds, ideas, and perspectives. Therefore, we encourage all our students to engage in reading at least four times a week as part of their homework routine. Let's cultivate a love for reading that will empower our children to thrive academically and beyond.
Year 3/4
The Yearr 3/4 students have been working diligently to prepare themselves for the upcoming NAPLAN Tests. All students have been practising with the help of online practice tests and past years NAPLAN Tests resources.
To all our Year 3 students, we wish them best of luck for the upcoming NAPLAN Tests.
Here are a few tips you may like to use to help your child prepare for NAPLAN:
- Talk about it with them
- Encourage positive self-talk
- Encourage them to get plenty of rest
- Encourage them to eat healthy food
- Advise them to limit screen time
- Encourage and help them to do something fun each day, ideally outdoors
Just a gentle reminder that students are expected to engage in nightly reading, record their progress in their diaries and bring them regularly to school for the teacher to sign.
Year 5/6
As we approach the NAPLAN testing period, we would like to congratulate both our Year 5/6 students for their hard work in preparing for these assessments. We have been impressed by the excellent narratives that many of our students have created demonstrating their creativity and writing skills. To all our Year 5 students, we wish you the best of luck for the upcoming tests. Remember to stay calm, do your best, and trust in the knowledge and skills that you have.
We are delighted to see the majority of our students wearing their correct school uniform. Please remember that nail polish and nail tips are not permitted.
As we are still experiencing this hot weather, students may like to pack an extra water bottle. It is really important that students are keeping hydrated in this heat. All students are expected to bring a water bottle to school.
Again, thank you to those students who have diligently returned and attempted most of the learning tasks for their homework. Just a friendly reminder to all students and parents: homework is distributed on Monday’s and is due back by Friday. Additionally, students are expected to engage in nightly reading and record their progress in their diaries. Consistent reading habits play a crucial role in improving literacy skills and expanding knowledge.
Performing Arts
During Term 1 in Performing Arts our focus has been on Drama.
Foundation students have loved role playing,dressing up and playing shops. The last few weeks we have been using our imagination and turning an ordinary ‘stick’ into many wonderful things such as a sword, fishing rod and weights. The children have been developing their expressive skills through using movement and their voice.
Year 1/2 have enjoyed learning how to mime and use their movements and facial expressions to communicate. We have read ‘The Gruffalo’ and the children have role-played the various characters from the story and have created their own Gruffalo monsters.
Year 3/4 have continued to develop their improvisation skills through playing various drama games. The last few weeks they have been looking at commercials and are in the process of creating their own commercial for a product they have invented.
Year 5/6 have enjoyed learning a number of improvisation games, where they need to ‘make it up on the spot.’ One of these tasks required them to do the voice overs for some children shows such as Peppa Pig and Bluey. This week they have worked extremely hard to create their own scripts for a short animated film.
Visual Arts
Term 1 in the Year 3-6 area has been focused on Australian Artists.
In Grade 3/4 students have been creating some funking food characters inspired by Sydney artist ‘Mulga’. Students have been replicating the process Mulga takes of sketching, colouring and adding finer details to their artworks. We have some very creative characters starting to emerge.
If you have been wondering why your child has been out in the garden or on the farm studying the plants it may be due to the Year 5/6 students studying and creating artworks based on Queensland artist Bernadette Twomey. Students have been developing their skills and learning the process Twomey goes through to create vibrant artworks based on local flora. Using a step by step process students have worked on their sketching skills, developed their understanding of the elements of art and have begun creating their final pieces for the term.
Secondary
Yr 7/8 Homeroom
As we approach the end of Term 1, we wanted to provide you with an update on the exciting activities and learning experiences that our Year 7 and 8 students have been involved in.
Throughout the term, our Year 7 and 8 students have had the privilege of welcoming a variety of guest speakers into their classes. In Health class, they had informative discussions about the effects of vaping, gaining valuable insights into this important health issue. Additionally, our local Police Officers visited Year 7 and 8 Humanities to discuss different aspects of the law, providing students with a deeper understanding of our legal system.
One highlight of the term was the visit from the SALT program, where our students had the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities and learn about various trades. We're thrilled to share that our students have now painted and decorated their boxes, which they will be taking home as a memento of this enriching experience.
We also want to congratulate all our Year 7 students for their excellent start on NAPLAN. NAPLAN testing will continue next week, and we encourage our students to continue giving their best effort.
Looking ahead, we have Parent/Teacher Interviews scheduled for Week 9. This is a valuable opportunity for you to discuss your child's progress and achievements with their teachers. We look forward to seeing you there and working together to support your child's learning journey.
English
Year 7 - NAPLAN started on Wednesday 13th and is in full swing. The students have been doing practice tests covering all 3 areas of English; Writing, Reading Comprehension and Language Conventions on Education Perfect. They have been working super hard and wish them all the best of luck!
Year 8 - We have now finished watching our Film ‘Big Hero 6’ and happy to say that they enjoyed it as it links very well with our unit topic ‘Advances in Technology’. I handed out their assignments for this term last week and we have been working on them as our main focus this past week as it is due next Friday 22nd of March.
PE
Year 7 - we have continued our development in Basketball skills and games consisting of dribbling, shooting and passing. The students are showing great improvements in these focus areas and strengthening their Teamwork skills.
Year 8 - We have been participating in dodgeball as requested by the class as they really enjoy this and it fits well with our focus areas of working together as a team, throwing and dodging objects (balls).
Health
Year 7 - We have been incorporating Wellio which is a great online platform for students to engage with by watching videos, looking at different case studies and answering questions as a group. This week we have looked at Stereotypes and Prejudice as students learn about Identities and Valuing Diversity to become more inclusive and develop positive relationships.
Year 8 - This past week we have looked at Food labels and calculating the sugar’s in different products of food. Identifying how much is too much sugar and how much is a good amount. This links in well with our Assessment task “Sugar Investigation”. This is due next Friday 22nd of March and we’ll continue to work on this until then.
Languages
In Languages, students watched a video about Italians being in Internment camps in Australia during the second world war. They had to answer some questions relating to the documentary and then had to write a personal response in their books and had to include an illustration.
Digital Technology
Students have been looking at a unit of work titled ‘How technology has influenced our world’. They have found this topic relevant and useful.
Performing Arts
During Term 1 our focus in Performing Arts is Drama.
Students have learnt about improvisation, which is when you create something on the spot without rehearsing. We have learnt about accepting offers and blocking.
The students have enjoyed playing a number of drama games practising these skills. A recent challenge has been to improvise the character’s voices for a range of different children’s shows such as SpongeBob Square Pants and The Minions. They are beginning to become more confident when performing in front of each other.
Humanities
Year 7 - We are almost done with our content and in preparations for our Topic test at the end of the term about Civics and Citizenship.
Students have been working through their booklet and will start doing practise tests to help them prepare.
SIMON EVERYWHERE
Simon Everywhere is the home of your school related, student information.
By installing the Simon Everywhere app, it will provide you with information on a range of areas relating to your child’s education.
Inlcuding daily messags, school calander, medical forms, contact details, school reports, sick and absent passes just to name a few.
St Mary's Easter Egg Raffle
We are requesting donations of Easter eggs - big, small, character eggs or anything in between for prizes for our annual Easter Egg Raffle. Please send donations to the office.
Raffle books have been sent home, if you requiring more please contact the School office.
The raffle will be drawn on Thursday March 28th.
