Term 2 - Week 9 - Update

Prayer of the Week

This week, we share a special prayer for our children who will be receiving their First Communion over the weekend. Please keep all of the St Thomas More's Sacramental children and families in your thoughts and prayers over the coming week.

Image retrieved from https://www.stpetersplumbridge.com/news/first-holy-communion-362/ 

From our Principal

Congratulations to our choir on their performance at last week’s Sing Out. They performed a song by themselves and then were part of a massed choir of approximately 500 singers, it was quite a spectacle. They were once again excellent representatives of the school in front of a full house at the Empire Theatre. Thanks to Liz Skinner for all of the work she puts into preparing our students.

Individual Student Report Cards will be issued through the Parent Portal next week. Please contact the school office if you require assistance in accessing the portal.

One piece of information that is included on the report cards is the number of days a student has been absent from school. The TCS Managing School Attendance Guidelines indicates that the school should be taking action if attendance is below 85% (more than 14 days absent during Semester 1). We do understand that many households have been adversely impacted by having to quarantine due to Covid but we do have a legal requirement to monitor student attendance and to act when attendance rates are low. We are always willing to work with families to assist when there are attendance concerns.

Last week our crossing supervisor, Anne, fell and broke her ankle. She has had a plate inserted in her ankle and will be off work for a number of weeks. Thanks to the many parents who offered to assist, have expressed their concern or offered to provide meals.

God Bless.

Mr Michael Cash

Principal

School Renewal and Improvement Process (SRIP)

Part of the renewal process for Toowoomba Catholic Schools includes a formal review process that occurs every few years. Our last review at STM was in 2018 and many areas of strength and areas for development were identified. The full report from the 2018 review can be found on our school website or you can email the office to ask for a copy to be shared with you.  

This year we will once again be undergoing a whole-school review. Part of this process involves reflecting on the previous findings and the big-ticket items that have come about because of these. Over the next few newsletters, we will share four of these big-ticket items with you.  

If you would like to be part of the 2022 review process, we want you! Please contact the school office to register your interest.  

Religious Life of the School – Connection with the STM Parish  

The 2018 review found STM to be a community that actively engaged in daily personal and communal prayer experiences, with the provision of a prayer space in each classroom. School Prayer Celebrations were found to be part of the tapestry that makes up the Religious Life of the School, with the role of the APRE and teacher noted in the planning of these experiences. It was noted that some of the communication around these experiences was not clear and this was an area of development for the school community. Some connection with the parish was noted, with the Parish Leader identified as the main connection with the school. Further connection in this area was encouraged, as well as connection with the broader community. School values were found to be well represented visually around the school and in the interactions of the students and staff. 

With changes to both the Priest Director (Father Michael O’Brien) and Parish Leader (Mr John Briffa) in recent years, there has been significant growth in the school community’s engagement with the parish community. Classes now attend Parish Mass on a regular basis. This regular attendance at Parish Mass has allowed students and parishioners to get to know one another and share stories of faith. Classes are invited to share a hymn of their choosing with the parishioners each time they attend Mass, which is always well received by those gathered. Currently, several members of the school community are also members of the Parish Pastoral Council. This further strengthens the connection between the school and the parish and keeps a constant flow of communication happening between the two entities. The school P&F has recently made their own connection with the Parish, working to complement the STM Care and Concern group to provide community outreach and support. Several members of the school community work closely with the Parish Leader to run the parish Sacramental Program, which has capped out with a whopping 47 candidates for Confirmation and First Communion this year! This year, a Liturgy Committee was introduced at the school to support the APRE in planning whole school celebrations. This rich sharing of ideas has already provided some engaging and reverent prayer experiences for the school community in 2022. The APRE continues to work closely with the Parish Leader, Priest Director and Deacon to plan whole school experiences which are done so in a way that hopes to allow for full, conscious and active participation during prayer experiences. Classroom teachers are also engaging the support of our Parish Leader, Priest Director and Deacon in enriching the learning experiences in the classroom, with frequent invitations for guest speakers and classroom visits.   

To support the whole school community in being aware of the timing of Prayer Celebrations, all 2022 celebrations were included in the 2022 STM Calendar, a copy of which has been gifted to each family this year. The school newsletter also has a regular ‘Important Dates to Remember’ section which outlines all upcoming school events. Classroom teachers also provide details of upcoming events and celebrations in their year level/class news shared electronically each week.   

Community Partnerships - Parent Engagement 

Parent Engagement has been a big-ticket item at STM for a few years now. Our review back in 2018 noted parents conveyed appreciation regarding their relationship with both the school leadership team and the staff, but that parental engagement regarding academic progress was mainly limited to Report Cards. The panel also found that some teachers across the school were very proficient at providing regular communication around learning and behaviour, while others were less consistent.  Over the past few years, STM has continued to nurture these positive relationships with parents and families and continues to strive to maintain the comfortable and welcoming relationship parents appreciated back in 2018.  

STM now enjoys an active Parent Engagement Committee, welcoming both staff and parents as members. This committee meets monthly and discusses all things relating to parent and family engagement within the school community. Some initiatives that have come out of the Parent Engagement Committee that have been implemented across the school include:  

• Weekly communication from class/year level groups with parents regarding the curriculum content to be covered each week and special events coming up. 
• Establishment of Parent Reps for each year level to support families and teachers in sharing information and questions. 
• Top tips shared regarding new curriculum covered which includes sharing of resources used in class if appropriate. This might be in the form of a website or video used as part of the main teaching and learning in the classroom. 

• Parent information evenings for each year level at the start of the year to give families an overview of what to expect from the year ahead. 
• Provision of professional development experiences for parents based on parent interest and school priorities. These have been around behaviour management and emotional/behavioural regulation. 

The Parent Engagement Committee also works closely with the P&F to fund initiatives and to find ways to gain parent voice on topics of interest.  

From our APRE

Thank you to Mrs Wright and 2 Gold for leading the lower school so beautifully in prayer last Friday. Your celebration, which focused on how we can show love to one another, was a great reminder of how we can treat all of those in our community with kindness and care. 

To celebrate the Feast Day of St Thomas More in Week 10, we will be having a Whole School Prayer Celebration on Wednesday, June 22nd at 10:00 am in the Sports Centre. All family members are most welcome to attend. A big thank you to 3 Red and Miss McVeigh who have agreed to take on an extra prayer celebration this year and lead us in our celebration of St Thomas More. 

A big congratulations to Aimee in Year 6 for bravely leading Happy Birthday at assembly last week. Being a musician myself, I know how scary it can be to play in front of a large audience (over 400 people for Aimee last week including adults and children) and Aimee did a wonderful job! We look forward to welcoming Aimee back this week to lead us in our Happy Birthday celebraitons once again!

Once again, I wanted to include a shout out to our assembly helpers. Each Friday I arrive to a team of Year 6 children already at work setting up the Sportscentre for assembly. The children show great leadership and initiative each week and I urge all members of our community to thank our leaders when they see them during the week for setting up for this important event each week. 

Confirmation

On Wednesday, June 1st, a large group of students from STM made their Sacrament of Confirmation at the STM Church. This same group of children are currently preparing for their Sacrament of First Communion, which they will receive this weekend. Please keep these children in your prayers during the coming week as they make their final preparations for their First Communion.

Family Mass

This Saturday, June 18th, we join together with the STM Parish to celebrate Family Mass as part of the 6:00 pm Vigil Mass. As this Mass will also be a celebration of First Communion, we don't require any children or families to take on special ministries within the Mass, but we welcome any STM families to come along and celebrate with us. Any children who attend are most welcome to come and join the choir for the evening. The Parish Council will be sharing a sausage sizzle following the Mass to celebrate First Communion.

Vinnies Winter Appeal

We are a bit late starting our Winter Appeal Drive due to my busy schedule over the past few weeks, but we are now ready to start accepting collections in each classroom. Each year, STM proudly supports the Vinnies Winter Appeal, helping Toowoomba families in need. Over the next two weeks, I encourage families to donate what they can to help those in need. You might like to send in...

Report Cards

Our Semester One Report Cards this year will be distributed via the Parent Portal in the last week of this term. If you have yet to start using the portal, it is vital that you make the move to doing so in the next two weeks. If you need any assistance at all accessing the portal, feel free to contact our wonderful staff in the office and they will be more than happy to help you however they can. 

Over the course of this semester, teachers have been gathering evidence of learning for each learning area for each of our students. This process involves gathering, analysing and reflecting on multiple sources of evidence to make an informed judgment about what students know, understand and can do.  

Assessment in the classroom can come in many forms. It can either be … 

• Diagnostic (assessing prior learning) - pre-tests and work samples. 

• Formative (assessing for learning) - observations, group work, individual conferencing, ongoing work samples. 
• Summative (assessing of learning) - tasks, assignments, presentations.

In Week 10, families will receive Semester 1 Report Cards for students from Prep to Year 6 via the Parent Portal. This Report Card is a culmination of your child’s academic achievement throughout the semester, as well as a snapshot of their spiritual and social development. It is just one way of communicating information about student achievement, effort and behaviour.  

The Australian Curriculum is written in such a way, that there is an ‘Achievement Standard’ for each year level for each subject area. It is this Achievement Standard that we report against. The standards are written as a statement of what a student is aiming to achieve by the end of the school year for their year level. A student receiving a ‘C’ standard indicates that they have met this standard, that is, that their work demonstrates a conceptual understanding of the concepts covered and that they can apply this knowledge and skill in familiar situations. Simply speaking, a ‘C’ standard indicates that your child is able to do what is expected of them for their year level. 

To move beyond a ‘C’ standard, a student must demonstrate that they are developing sophistication of conceptual understanding, with a strong application of skills, and that they are beginning to transfer their knowledge and skills to new situations (B standard). For an A standard, students must demonstrate the excellent application of skills and be readily applying the knowledge and skills to new situations. 

Similarly, a ‘D’ standard does not constitute a fail but indicates that a student is continuing to develop their understanding of the expected curriculum, and may be able to demonstrate some of the elements within it, whether with support or inconsistently. A rough outline of these standards is provided below.  

In each KLA, students also receive an effort achievement level. This level is derived by the level of application and study habits during that particular KLA. Please see the table below for the effort achievement scale.

Matilda Jnr Update

Details of costumes for our Year 4 - 6 classes and our main cast have been shared with our families. With the exception of a few main cast costumes which still need to be confirmed, these will not change now. Please remember if you don't have the items needed at home, please let Mrs Deb or myself know before going and buying anything new as we may have things here you can borrow.  Please note that students can wear parts of their STM uniform as their costume. 

Please see the rehearsal schedule for Week 9 and Week 10 below. 

Week 9 Rehearsal Schedule

Week beginning June 13th  

Week 10 Rehearsal Schedule

Week beginning June 20th  

Just a reminder that if children cannot make their singing sessions after school, with Mrs Skinner, Mrs Skinner needs to be contacted directly to arrange an alternative time.
You can reach her by email at Elizabeth.Skinner@twb.catholic.edu.au 

God Bless.

Miss Kristin Byrne

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Your invitation

Huge Thank You to Tierney Signs

If you haven't been down to the Music Room to check out the AMAZING wall mural provided by Tierney Signs, make sure you do!

From our Sport Desk

Athletics Carnival  

Our athletics carnival is being held TOMORROW, Tuesday 14th June at O’Quinn Street Oval. If your child/children are catching the bus to the carnival, they will need to be at school promptly by 8:30am as the buses will be leaving at 8:40am. Children can come dressed in their house colours for the carnival. They will need to bring a hat, water bottle, sunscreen, warm clothes morning tea and lunch. Below is a program for the day. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Program 2022 

Tuesday 14th June  

*Buses will be leaving school promptly at 8:40am. Please ensure your child/children are at school by 8:30am.  

God bless,

Stacey Hancock

HPE Teacher 

From the Library

Cooking Demonstrations

In Week 7 Mrs Toye did a very popular popcorn demonstration.  The students loved watching the popcorn flowing out of the machine and of course sampling the treat is always a winner.  

In Week 8, Isabella helped me to make three rainbow dips using chickpeas, a touch of garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice as the base.  Then we added beetroot for red, sweet potato for orange and avocado for green.  The children were able to have a taste with a carrot stick.  These dips were super easy to make, nutritious and would make a great addition to lunch boxes.

Book Week Theme Heads Up

This year the Book Week theme is “Dreaming with Eyes Open”.  So, for our Book Week dress up day, students can come dressed as something they dream of doing or would like to be. Some examples include:

• Playing netball for Australia
• Flying to the moon
• Climbing Mount Everest
• Becoming a doctor, painter, mechanic, chef.
• Snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef.

The students will also need a book to accompany their outfit so it might be a non-fiction book the moon, netball or the Great Barrier Reef.

BOOKCLUB

Issue 4 is about to close!  Make sure you get your order in ASAP.

ALL orders are to be processed ONLINE!   

Lost...

Are you missing someone from your household?

This well loved unicorm is missing her family

We will keep her safe and warm in the front office until her family can be found.

Please call if you have any information 4591 3900

From our Tuckshop

Open every Friday.  Please place your childs order through FlexiSchools by 12pm Thursdays and please supply a Paper Bag for your childs order.

Awards

Great work from our Week 8 award recipients! 

Have you filled out your enrolment forms?

Department of Transport and Main Roads

Dear Parents, carers and staff

In partnership with Arup and Zwart Transport Planning, the Department of Transport and Main Roads is gathering insights from parents, carers and staff about bicycle and scooter parking at schools across Queensland. If you would like to contribute your experiences and assist in improving bicycle/scooter parking at schools, we invite you to complete the following online survey by Friday, 24 June 2022 - Bicycle and scooter parking at schools survey for parents, carers and staff.

From our Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop will be back to normal hours this term.

Monday: 8:15am - 8:45am

Wednesday: 2:45pm - 3:15pm

Friday: 8:15am - 8:45am

Email orders are encouraged. You can email your orders through to thouniform@twb.catholic.edu.au

Needs some uniform alternations?

A hem taken up?  A skirt taken down?  Some buttons adjust on a shirt?   Give Mrs Fix It a ring and see if she can help.   

From our P&F

If you can't make it in person, you can attend via Zoom.

Care and Concern committee

Earlier this year our P&F started a Care and Concern committee. The idea of the committee is to provide short term help for STM families in their time of need. This might include when a parent or child or staff member is sick and requires meals, transport or just a supportive hand. It also includes supporting our families in times of grief. We already have a number of volunteers but would love some more so if you would like to join our team of volunteers or even just find out more, please contact Kylie Haywood (kyliehaywoodbusiness@gmail.com).

If you or your family are requiring support, please do not hesitate to reach out to our school leadership team or P&F team and we will discretely and respectfully work with you and your family to provide support and care.

Have you ever wondered what information you should be sharing with your child's teachers? How to help your child through a transition at school? How to build a great relationship with their teacher?

The Catholic School Parent's QLD Parent Engagement website has some great quick reads for parents and teachers to help create a positive and rewarding school journey.

Read them here: https://www.parentengagementcspa.edu.au/

Parent Engagement Day

Thank you!

A huge thank you to Westridge Fruit and Vegetables for their continued support with the donation of fresh fruit every week for our students!

Parish News

Click on the links below for the latest news from the Parish.

Important Dates to Remember for Term 2

Looking for a Part Time Job?

There is always someone there to help.