St Anne's Catholic Primary School Sarina eNewsletter

From The Principal

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy. "Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money." The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got thirty-five cents. Is that enough to take a look?" "Sure," said the farmer. With that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands." With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy. "How much?" asked the little boy.

"No charge," answered the farmer, "There's no charge for love."

The world is full of people who need someone to understand. Show your friends and family how much you care!

Principal's Messages

THE NATIONAL SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TOOL | The ultimate goal of school improvement is to improve outcomes for students, including levels of achievement and wellbeing. As part of our quest for improvement a team consisting of Mr Michael McCusker (Assistant Director Schools - Northern Region), Mr Trevor Gordon (Lead ACER Reviewer) and Mr John Campbell (Consultant - Catholic Education Office) are visiting our school 8 to 10 August 2023 to review and reflect on our efforts to improve the quality of classroom teaching and learning.

In preparation for this we have reflected on each of the following areas which the team will explore whilst they are here:

An explicit improvement agenda
Analysis and discussion of data
A culture that promotes learning
Targeted use of school resources
An expert teaching team
Systematic curriculum delivery
Differentiated teaching and learning
Effective pedagogical practices
School/community partnerships

Following the three day visit St Anne's will be left with feedback that will impact our School Improvement Plan.

SARINA DISTRICT SHOW | This coming weekend sees the Annual Sarina Show being held. This event brings the people of our community together in a special way to celebrate both our diverity and unity. Our students have entered individual visual art pieces in the show and our school has entered again in the school display section. Please take your children along and immerse them into the pavillion culture. If you have entered items into the show and take out placings, please let us know as we would love to celebrate with you.

PREP ENROLMENTS | Enrolments for Prep are currently being taken for the 2024 school year. If you have a child due to commence Prep next year born between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019, please complete an online enrolment form, available on our school website -
https://www.sasrok.catholic.edu.au/

It is important that this is done promptly so that the number of available positions for new families can be determined.

If you know of anybody seeking enrolment in Prep for 2024, please encourage them to head to our website for further information. If you have any queries or concerns regarding this process, please contact the office.

ALL ENROLMENTS MUST BE COMPLETED ONLINE: Once enrolment applications have been received and processed by our Administration staff, you will be notified of an interview time during Term 3.

COVID Requirements

Student Protection News

Across The Curriculum

NAPLAN

Individual student NAPLAN reports for Year 3 and 5 students will soon be distributed. The reporting process and format has changed significantly in 2023, so this article sets out to explain some of the key changes.

From 2023, NAPLAN results are reported against four proficiency standards to help provide clear information on how students are performing against challenging but reasonable standards of literacy and numeracy at the time of testing. The four proficiency levels for each NAPLAN domain at each year level are as follows:

Exceeding: the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing.
Strong: the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.
Developing: the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
Needs additional support: the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

Accompanying your child's NAPLAN individual student report, you will find a parent information sheet. This document is a valuable resource containing important details about the new proficiency standards and how test results can help teachers and parents identify strengths and areas where your child may need further assistance.

Should you have any concerns regarding your child's results or wish to discuss them in detail, we encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher. They will be your primary point of contact and can provide valuable insights and support.

The Good News

From the Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Erika Milne

St. Anne's Feast Day

Thank you to all of the grandparents and families who joined us to celebrate the Feast of Saints Anne and Joachim. We began our morning with a grandparents' day Mass with Fr. Gasper presiding. We then moved over to the school where grandparents were able to see their grandchild's classroom and what they have been learning about.

Voting was open in the library for our Catholic Education Week Art competition during this time. We had a total of 65 entries!

We then gathered on the lawn and in the undercroft for cake and coffee with our grandparents and families. It was such a fantastic morning celebrating our community of faith, hope and love.

Catholic Education Week Art Competition

Students from Prep to Year 2 created art that shows how St. Anne's is a community of faith, hope, and love. They considered how we follow Jesus's teachings to show our school virtues of respect, compassion, kindness, and responsibility. Years 3 to 6 students showed through art how Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy have shaped our school. They considered how St. Anne's students live out the Works of Mercy such as the corporal and spiritual works of Mercy 'caring for our common home'.

Well done to the 65 students who entered. People's Choice winners will be announced at assembly this Friday.

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 3 Fees | Term 3 school fees have now been issued. Please check your email to ensure you have received them. If you are unable to pay in full by the due date and do not already have a payment plan in place, please contact our Finance Officer to discuss options.

From The Counsellor

**Congratulations to Abby B, our newest Peer Mediator!!!**

Library News

Book Fair 17th - 25th August & Book Week Dress up 23rd August

BKF_Letter_Season2_2023.pdf

Students Of The Week

Congratulations To Our Students Of The Week | Taytum C, Aaliyah K, Evie M, Joe S, Rubie G, Mia S, Eva P, Beau P, Isabelle B, Chad K, Hannah C, Amelia H, Summer W, Mason c, Indee M, Dylan G, Khai T, Noah G, Kingston W, Olivia T, Benson P, Max M