T4 W3 Newsletter 2023

From The Principal

Once upon a time, there was a small seedling growing in the forest. It looked around and saw that some seedlings turned into great oak trees while others became no more than little shrubs.  The trees were strong and beautiful.  The shrubs were weak and ugly.

One day the forest ranger was passing through.  “Excuse me, Mr Ranger, will you help me to grow into a great tree?” the seedling asked.  “Do you really want that?” the ranger asked. “It will be a very painful process, one that will require great patience and incredible discipline.  It is much easier just to be a shrub.

“No,” the seedling replied, “I really want to be a great oak tree. I don’t care what it costs in time and patience.  I don’t care how difficult it is.  To be an oak tree is my only desire.”

Every day when the ranger came the seedling’s way he dug at the soil, forced the seedling to stand straight and even pulled off some of its’ leaves and branches.  Sometimes when other seedlings were close by, the ranger uprooted them and left the seedling all alone.

One day the seedling complained, “Why do you treat me so harshly?  Why don’t you let me do what I want to do? Why must you prune my branches, dig my soil, restrict my friends?  Why can’t you just let me be?”

The ranger replied, “There is only one way to be an oak tree.  Because I want to help you, I must cause you some pain.  That is the way of growth.  Without pain you will be nothing more than a shrub and never a full grown tree.

Catholic educators are required to teach children in all curriculum areas, with support for transport safety, relationships, consumerism, finance, defence, health, computers, philosophy, OH&S, civics, road safety, inclusivity, mental health, fire safety, anti-bullying, multi-culturalism, media, various disorders, stranger danger, student protection and even magpie education.   So often we find ourselves being ministers, social workers, salesmen, janitors, historians, elocutionists, financiers, facilities officer, public relations officers, nurses and gardeners.  Oh, and dentists!

We are blessed to have such committed, enthusiastic, dedicated professionals (teachers and ancillary staff) at St Anne’s Catholic Primary School.  Our students receive quality education by staff who go well above and beyond their required duties in love of students and their vocation.

Principal's Messages

Join us for our 'Family Wellbeing Expo'.

This term we are celebrating St Anne's families by offering an opportunity for quality family time while participating in workshops promoting healthy minds, bodies and connections at our Family Wellbeing Expo. We will be holding a fun family afternoon on Friday 3 November, starting at 1pm with a free sausage sizzle afternoon tea, followed by a chance to participate in four workshops - with sixteen interactive workshops on a variety of topics to choose from on the day.

We would love if you were able to take an early mark on Friday 3 November to come along and participate with your children. Please complete this form - a response is required from all families to ensure that all children have someone to support them on the day and for catering (if parents can't attend, grandparents or uncles/aunts are welcome to come along). Please complete this form if you are unable to attend also, so that we can place your children with a group to participate in the event.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Please complete the form here: https://forms.gle/Qwk1TEniY3NYWHfm7

STUDENT LEADERSHIP  |  We begin our journey of looking for Student Leaders for 2024.  As you are all aware, the role of an elected leader carries with it a number of important responsibilities.  A School and Sports Captain at St Anne’s would be expected to demonstrate and live by our Mission Statement, School Motto and Virtues.

All Year 5 students will be involved in leadership preparation activities to develop their understanding of the role of a leader.  They will draw on experiences from their Year 5 camp where leadership has been displayed.  Further, students will participate in preparation lessons and activities designed to engage and enhance their leadership qualities, facilitated by the Year 5 teachers and the leadership team.

Please keep our Year 5 cohort in your prayers as they discern their call to leadership.

SUN SAFETY POLICY  |  Recently the School Board updated the school’s Sun Safety Policy.  It is important to note that the School Board in conjunction with the St Anne’s Catholic Primary School FOCUS Group will keep the issue of sun safety in mind - as well as matters relating to climate and functionality, when making decisions about school uniform.

Also, where particular parents consider that special circumstances exist with respect to their own children sun safety needs then such arrangements can be made through contact with the principal; this can mean that the parent supplies a particular sunscreen which suits that student's needs.

Day For Daniel

Wear red on Friday 27th October to raise awareness for child safety education and awareness. 

Tuckshop Reopened

The St Anne's Tuckshop is now reopened. It will operate on Thursday and Friday each week. Orders can be placed and paid for online via Flexischools or cash orders can be placed first thing in the morning in a brown paper bag with the student's name, class, first or second lunch and order clearly written on the outside. 

If you can volunteer to help in the tuckshop please ring Debbie Nielsen on ph. 0417 128 428. 

COVID Requirements

Student Protection News

Across The Curriculum

READING

The next reading comprehension strategy to feature in the newsletter is predicting. When making predictions, readers will be asked to make educated guesses about what they think will happen in the story. Students are thinking ahead based on their prior knowledge of subject matter, the text type, headings, visual features, the intended audience and text clues. 

Predictions are different across the year levels and readers will be asked to:

• Predict the next event in a story (Prep)
• Make predictions from illustrations and from points in the text before reading on (Year 1)
• Make valid predictions and review them (confirm, reject or modify) based on meaning in the text (Year 2)
• Make predictions drawing on knowledge of  the topic, subject-specific vocabulary and experience of texts on the same topic (Year 3)
• Make predictions based on the interplay of words, images and sounds (Year 4)
• Predict the value of a text for research purposes  (Year 5)
• Use prior knowledge and textual features to make predictions (Year 6)

PAT TESTING

Over the next few weeks, students from years 2-6 will be completing PAT testing in English and Mathematics. If you have any questions regarding your child's data results for their PAT testing, please email me: shona_gibson@rok.catholic.edu.au and I will be more than happy to explain this data.

Have a fabulous week,

Shona Gibson

The Good News

From the Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Erika Milne

Sacrament of Reconciliation 2023

Please keep the children preparing for the Sacrament of Penance through the individual Rite of Reconciliation in your prayers. We pray that the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of Katelyn, Evelyn, Louise, Zane and Zeva to guide them to choose what is right and good. 

Sunday 22^nd October: 10am – Workshop 2 at St. Anne’s Library.

Sunday 29th October: 10am - Sacrament of Reconciliation at St. Michael’s Church.

CATHOLIC MISSIONS MONTH

This October is Catholic Missions Month. 

Catholic Missions is the Pope's Australian Mission organisation that partners with communities, helping them to flourish by supporting grassroots projects, including healthcare, education, and spiritual care. It is a network of religious and lay missionaries operating in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas. Catholic Mission’s work supports children, communities, and future Church leaders across education, healthcare, and spiritual care.

As a Catholic School, St. Anne's is called to this mission. We support the mission by holding a Crazy Sock Day, collecting containers for change and holding our annual Mission fair. 

Sports News

Run Club

Run Club is back every Tuesday 8am on the oval or hall. All ages and parents are welcome!

PE in Term 4

Prep-Year 2 are combining all the fundamental movements skills gained throughout the year to play whole-class team building games such as Corner Soccer, Dodgeball, Sharks and Islands. As well as these team building games, students are being exposed to Soccer rules and given the opportunity to play with their classmates. 

Years 3-6 are also utilising their teamwork skills to learn and play Touch Football. This is a popular sport at lunch times and is proving to be well received by students. 

In the closing weeks of Term 4, all classes will be given the chance to learn a current sporting trend in the game of Pickleball! 

SAVE THE DATE - STA Swimming Carnival Monday 27^th November @ Sarina Pool. 

Finance News

Concession Card Discounts  |  If you have an existing concession card discount,  please be aware that discounts are not automatically applied to new enrolments.  Discounts are applied to each student upon individual application and there is a form that is required to be completed each time.

If you have an existing concession card registered at St Anne’s and have more than one student, please contact Sandra Adams to confirm that discounts have been applied to each student. 

Term 4 Fees  |  Term 4 fees have now been issed. Please keep an eye out for your email. If you believe you may have issues with paying your fees in full by the due date, and do not already have a payment plan in place, please contact our Finance Officer, Sandra Adams, to discuss options. 

Students Of The Week

Congratulations To Our Students Of The Week  |  Sonny T, Summer P, Blake E, Benson P, Chad K, Brooklyn Q, Mackenzie S, Lincoln F, Louie K, Tia F, Toby T, Xander B, Year 3, Thomas B, Mackenzie W, Lilie P, Charlotte W, Jed P, Amelia S, Nait B, Chad M, Zane L, Lucas B, Indee M, Stevie M, Dylan G, Archie K, Sophia C, Addison W, Year 6 

Year 4 Recycling

Waste Free Wednesday

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