St Anne's Catholic Primary School Sarina eNewsletter

From The Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It is my hope that together, we form a powerful partnership that nurtures academic success, personal development, and overall well-being.

Your open support for the school sends a powerful message to your children. When they see you actively engaged and invested in their learning environment, it fosters a sense of belonging, responsibility, and motivation.

One important way to demonstrate your support is by attending the upcoming Opening Mass this coming Thursday at 9.00am. This special ceremony sets the tone for the year, uniting our school community in prayer, reflection, and shared hopes for the future. Your presence will not only enrich the experience for your child but also send a clear message about your commitment to their academic journey.

The Opening Mass is just one tangible example of our ongoing partnership. Throughout the year, we encourage you to stay involved in various ways, such as:

Attending parent-teacher conferences and school events.
Volunteering your time and talents.
Communicating openly with teachers regarding your child's progress.
Participating in school fundraisers and activities.

By working together, we can create a supportive and nurturing environment where every student flourishes. We believe that strong communication, collaboration, and mutual respect are essential for cultivating a thriving learning community.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Opening Mass and partnering with you throughout the year. Together, we can make a significant impact on the lives of our students, your children.

Principal's Messages

Before School Procedures | This is a reminder that students are only supervised by staff from 8:20am onwards. Any students that arrive prior to 8:20am must sit quietly on the grid and wait for the teacher on duty. We ask parents that they do not drop off their children prior to 8:00am at the earliest. If you have no choice but to drop them off before 8:00am then they must be brought up to sit in the office. Thank you for your help in this regard, to keep our students safe.

Student Led Three Way Parent Teacher Interviews - Weeks 8 & 9

Student Led Three Way Parent Teacher Interviews are being held in weeks 8 & 9. These interviews are held before and after school hours, not during the school day. Your child's teacher may not be available before and after school every day during this period. If none of their available times suit, please speak directly with your child's teacher to make other arrangements, as we believe it is important for all parents to have this chance to connect with their child and teacher together. Please see details below for when to book your interview through Parent Lounge. An SMS reminder will also be sent when Parent Lounge opens for bookings.

Parent Teacher interview dates: 11/03/24 - /22/03/24.

Parent Lounge open for bookings: 1pm 01/03/24 - 12pm 08/03/24.

COVID Requirements

Student Protection News

Our Updated Student Protection Contacts for 2024 are:

Across The Curriculum

NAPLAN - Years 3 & 5

National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy Information for parents and carers

All students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in Australia undertake NAPLAN tests beginning 13th of March.
• NAPLAN tests students’ skills in reading, writing and maths.
• The test questions are presented in Standard Australian English dialect.
• Students read some of the questions and listen to others with headphones.
• The tests will get easier or harder, depending on how students are going in the test.
• Students complete four different tests. The names of the four tests are:

Students in Year 3 will complete the Writing test using pencil and paper. Year 3 students will answer the other test questions on the computer.

Students in Years 5 will answer all their test questions on computers. Teachers will be providing sample questions to help students get ready for NAPLAN tests.

Schools will receive their students’ results. The school will then give parents/carers a report showing their own child’s results. A NAPLAN individual student report will be provided by your child’s school later in the year. If you do not receive a report, you should contact your child’s school. Parents/carers can talk to the teacher about these results.

NAPLAN provides a 'picture' of how students are going all over Australia.

NAPLAN EXEMPTION

Students may be withdrawn from the testing program by their parent/carer. This is a matter for consideration by individual parents/carers in consultation with St Anne's. It is the decision of the parent/carer to withdraw their child from NAPLAN. Withdrawals are intended to address issues such as religious beliefs and philosophical objections to testing.

If you wish to withdraw your child from NAPLAN, please complete a form by this Friday the 8th of March. This form must be collected from the office.

ESTI MYSTERY

An ESTI mystery is a fantastic way to engage students at the beginning of the lesson.

Each image invites students to wonder what number is represented by the image. As you work through each Esti-Mystery, clues will appear that will allow the students to use math concepts to narrow the set of possibilities to a small set of numbers.

Have a chat with your child and discuss the possible answers to the below ESTI Mystery.

DRUMROLL PLEASE............

The answer to this mystery is 39 objects!

The Good News

From the Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Ms Georgia Moloney

Opening School Year Mass

Please join St Anne’s Catholic Primary School on Wednesday 7th March at 9am for the Opening School Year Mass at St Michael’s Church. All members of the St Anne’s community are welcome to join us for our first School Mass of the year.

St Anne’s Monthly Family Mass

Mrs Gill and Ms Moloney have been working together to enhance the Religious Life of the School.

On the 4th Sunday of each month, St Anne’s Catholic Primary School students and teachers will be working with St Michael’s Church to assist during 9am Sunday Mass.

Each class has been allocated a Mass, and we will be asking for student volunteers to assist with different aspects within that Mass. Students will be given help in the lead up to help them prepare for their reading.

All families are invited to join the Mass and stay after for a shared morning tea. More information will be sent home to classes leading up to their rostered Mass.

To help with planning please see the table below with dates of when your child’s class is rostered for this year.

It would be really lovely to see families attending our Family Mass to strengthen the union between the St Anne’s and St Michael’s communities. Looking forward to seeing you there and having a chat after.

Sunday 28th April	Year 6
Sunday 26th May	Year 5
Sunday 16th June	Year 4
Sunday 28th July	Year 3
Sunday 25th August	Year 2
Sunday 28th September	School Holidays
Sunday 26th October	Year 1A & Year 1B
Sunday 24th November	Prep

Project Compassion

Samoa may be a country surrounded by water, but access to clean drinking water is scarce in some areas, with many families facing extreme hardship as a result.

Leaia lives with her five children, husband, brother and sister-in-law on the island of Upolu in Samoa. Not having access to a reliable source of clean water caused Leaia a lot of worry.

Their home is not connected to a piped water system, so they had to rely solely on rainwater collected in old fridges. When their water ran out, Leaia had to walk with her young children to collect water in buckets and containers from a neighbour down the street.

With the support of Caritas Australia's local partner, Caritas Samoa, a water tank was installed at Leaia's home. She and her family now have a steady supply of clean drinking water at home. Next year, they will also have a toilet built, with the support of Caritas Samoa, which will further improve their health and living conditions.

“We are very thankful and grateful for the water tank. It has helped us so much and made our daily life easier,” Leaia said.

Watch Leaia’s Story

Please donate to Project Compassion.

Together, we can help vulnerable communities face their challenges today and build a better tomorrow for all future generations.

You can donate through Project Compassion donation boxes, online by visiting caritas.org.au/project-compassion or by calling 1800 024 413.

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 Fees | Term 1 fees are now overdue. Please contact Sandra in the office if you have not paid in full or have a payment schedule set up for payment.

Sports News

Netball News

From Ms Moloney

On Sunday 3rd of March, the STA Firebirds and Spirals played 4 games of netball against other teams in the Sarina and District Round Robin Carnival. The girls played so well, displaying excellent sportsmanship and enthusiasm. It was pleasing to see students that have never played before being actively involved and give it all they had. More experienced players helped their teammates to learn and understand the rules, displaying great teamwork and encouragement.

Huge thanks to Mrs Larkin and Dr January for their help and support on the day.

Congratulations to both teams on your participation in the Carnival.

Tuckshop

If you order Tuckshop for your child, please remember to still supply fruit for fruit break for that day, as well as second lunch if you only order first lunch Tuckshop.

If you can volunteer to help in the tuckshop from 8:30 -9:30am please ring Debbie Nielsen on ph. 0417 128 428.

Student Leadership

Newsletter Report By Lucas | Welcome back to school for the New Year. I hope you are all ready for a year of learning & fun. Please remember to show respect to your teachers, staff and other students. Treat others as you would like to be treated. I have noticed some students walking around during eating time, please remember to stay seated until the teacher asks us to line up.

Students Of The Week

Congratulations To Our Students Of The Week | Hunter C, Ameliyah G, Scarlett J, Asher H, Deejay P, Kingston W, Paige G, Mathew W, Amelia H, Amelia S, Chris B, Wyatt H, Allira H, Charli W, Ben T, Zoe P, Molly M, Phoebe W, Zoe D

5R Solar Oven Experiment

This term 5R have been hard at work exploring how Earth compares to other planets in our solar system. This past week we began exploring what impact the Sun has on different planets. As a part of our investigation, we explored how we can harness Solar Energy and use it here on Earth. This was completed through our 'Solar Oven Experiment'. The students had to plan and conduct their experiment resulting in a gooey chocolatey treat as their reward for their scientific investigating. It was an amazing experience for all involved. I have the reports from a few keen scientists below to share their experience of this experiment.

In grade 5 we made solar ovens. We are looking at the power that the sun gives to the Earth. We used pizza boxes, tin foil, plastic wrap, skewers, and paper. We used the ovens to make s'mores. We got to melt the chocolate and test our designs. All of year 5 had different designs and it was great to experiment. - Ben B

It turns out the s'mores melted super fast, faster than I thought it would. The chocolate started to melt as soon as we stepped outside. The marshmallow and the cookie didn't melt much. My oven turned out successful. Also, it was really yummy and I did not share. - Khloe S

This week we tested out our solar ovens. They are made out of pizza boxes, alfoil, glad wrap and skewers. It was fun making them. My one works with the reflection from the sun. The sun has energy that we used to power the ovens. The experiment saw which design will absorb the most energy and create the most heat. - Chris B

5R would love to thank all families who kindly donated supplies for us to all be able to create individual solar ovens. We extend an extra thank you to the Sarich family for their donation of pizza boxes for the class. We cannot wait to see where our learning will guide us to next.