Term 3 - Week 1 - Newsletter Update

Prayer of the Week

Image retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/614741417859164843/ 

From our APRE

Welcome back! I hope all our STM families had a safe and relaxing holiday break! This term we warmly welcome Miss Emily Candale as the teacher in 4 Gold for the rest of the year. Emily had a chance to meet with Miss Sore and some staff and students last term and we are very excited to welcome her to our STM family!

As you may have seen in the last few newsletters from Term 2, we have some visitors from Toowoomba Catholic Schools visiting next week to conduct a whole-school review. This involves classroom visits and interviews with staff, students and parents. If you would like more information about the review or to be part of it, please contact me or the school office and we can book you in for an interview with one of our panel members. This review is a great opportunity to capture the things we are doing well and identify areas for improvement. 

In Week 3, we celebrate Catholic Education Week. This year, CEW is super exciting as the Nationaal Launch is happening in our very own Toowoomba! I will give you some more information about CEW in the next two newsletters but wanted to take the chance today to congratulate Ms. Anita Roberts on her nomination for a Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Award this year in the category of Emerging Leader. Well done, Anita!  

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. 

Week 1 Rehearsal Schedule

Week Beginning July 12th 

Week 2 Rehearsal Schedule

Week Beginning July 18th 

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

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 in Week 2 of this term. 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 as 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.  

Social Justice and Action - Student Voice 

Our 2018 review found that members of the STM community at the time were invited on many occasions to share their ideas and have their voices heard through a range of platforms, including the P&F, School Board and various surveys. It was noted in 2018 that the school generally looked beyond itself and engaged in a range of outreach activities, but the panel encouraged the school moving forward to carefully consider these outreach experiences and ensure that all members of the community were able to participate in some way and that all outreach experiences were reflective of school culture, vision and mission. 

To further engage the student body in outreach experiences, the school has made great growth in collecting student voice over the past few years. The most obvious way this is done is through our Year 6 led Service Club, which with the support of the APRE leads the fundraising, awareness and community action each term. The school still chooses to support Vinnies and CARITAS, but Service Club now work in a way that helps make the links between the school's participation in these fundraising efforts and school culture, vision and mission more obvious. Service Club have also introduced the school to new outreach experiences in the past few years based on their interests and the needs of the local community including Socktober, Jeans for Genes Day and Hike for Homeless.  

The past few years have also seen the introduction of a Kindy Outreach program, which involves both staff and students working with our three local kindy classes to support the children in readiness for Prep; and heightened awareness of Social Justice issues in the school community which resulted in the establishment of both a Year 5 Social Justice Club and a Staff Social Justice Committee. Unfortunately, neither of these groups gained much traction and are no longer active in 2022 but they provided a good example of how to engage more members of the school community in leadership around social justice issues. 

Teaching and Learning – Reading Improvement Strategy and clarity around classroom teaching and learning 

Back in 2018, the Reading Improvement Strategy (RIS) was still in its infancy but was perceived by members of the school community as worthwhile, having a positive impact on both how reading is taught and student progress. Students also noted a difference in how reading was being taught. Elements of visible learning could be seen in the implementation of the RIS, providing both teachers and students will clarity around the intended learning for each lesson. This was mainly evident in the use of Learning Intentions and Success Criteria (LISCs) to frame lessons. The review panel suggested STM continue developing the RIS and visible learning practices at STM moving forward.  

RIS is part of the expected practices at STM and has been embedded in school culture. Classes from Prep to Year 6 engage in a variety of reading experiences on a weekly basis including whole class reading, guided reading groups, and individual reading time. Teachers have fine-tuned the feedback process around these reading experiences using LISCs to ensure they are able to give students feedback that is targeted and relevant to their learning.   

Over the past few years, the collective understanding of staff and students around LISCs themselves have developed. Staff have gained a deeper understanding of the purpose of LISCs and have worked on using cognitive verbs to help make LISCs clear and concise. Both staff and students have explored diverse ways of both crafting and using LISCs in the classroom, which has enabled not only teachers to give feedback, but students to engage in peer and self-assessment as well.  Currently, LISCs are used across all Key Learning Areas at STM.  

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data On School Students With Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). This collection of data will assist us in ensuring all students take part in all school activities on the same basis as students without a disability. Thomas More’s Primary school is dedicated to ensuring all students have effective and differentiated learning programs to ensure all students have the ability to succeed at school.   

The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about the support provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019). At St. Thomas More’s Primary School learning adjustments could be in the form of extra time to finish tasks, small group instructions, 1:1 support time, Learning and Support Teacher assistance or physical adjustments made to the environment to better support students. Students do not need to have a diagnosed disability to receive learning adjustments, however, students receiving these do come under the National Consistent Collection of Data. These learning adjustments are significant to their learning program and assist their learning style. Should you wish to discuss adjustments that might benefit your child please talk to your child’s class teacher.  

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes: 

• year of schooling 
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional 
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive. 

This information assists schools to: 

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools 
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools 
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability. 

The NCCD provides State and Federal Governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability. 

The National Consistency Collection of Data (NCCD) will take place in Term 3 and will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information.  

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au). 

From our Sport Desk

Swimming Lessons – Term 3 – Years 4-6  

Below is the timetable of swimming lessons for Year 4 - 6 for Term 3. Please ensure your child has their swimming costume, towel, cap and goggles for their lessons and anything else you feel they may require. Boardshorts are not acceptable for swimming lessons as they hamper improvement. They do not need sun shirts as they are inside for lessons. Swimming caps are compulsory for both swimming lessons and the swimming carnival at the end of the year.   

Absences 

If you are aware that your child will not be participating for an extended period of time due to medical reasons or a family holiday, please contact your child’s teacher immediately.  

If there is a problem with your child’s lessons, please speak to their class teacher and they will deal with the concern.  

COVIDSafe Initiatives Pertaining to the School Program 

• Children and School Teachers are not permitted to attend the DLSA if they have experienced cold or flu like symptoms within the previous 72 hours or have visited a Covid-19 Hotspot within the previous 2 weeks. The DLSA reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone who we feel are exhibiting symptoms. 
• Anyone entering the DLSA Facility 18 years and above will be required to provide a Health Declaration/Contact Tracing log. 
• No parents will be permitted to attend the lessons. 
• Everyone must wash their hands using hand sanitiser provided when entering and exiting the facility. 

• School program participants need to minimise the need to utilise the facility change rooms. We require the swimmers to arrive with their togs on underneath their school clothes. (Children will get changed into their togs underneath their uniform before heading over to their lesson)  
• Any personal belongings left behind will be passed onto the school teachers in the following group if possible, otherwise lost property items will be discarded. 

Due to maintenance work on the pool heater in Week 1, swimming lessons have been pushed back a week to accommodate this. Below is the new/updated timetable. 

Catholic Athletics 

Congratulations to the 75 students who will represent St Thomas More’s at the Annual Catholic Athletics Carnival this Friday 15th July.  

The bus will be departing school promptly at 8:00am. Please meet Mrs H at South St from 7:45am. Children who are being privately transported to O’Quinn St need to arrive by 8:15am and meet Mr Fechner at the school tent to get their names marked off.  

Children will need to wear their sports uniform including a hat and will need lunch and morning tea including adequate water and sunscreen.  

Catholic Netball and Touch Carnival – Year 5 & 6 

The Annual Catholic Netball and Touch Carnival is being held on Thursday 28th July. All students in Years 5 & 6 participate at these carnivals. Students will need to wear their sports uniform, hat, sunscreen, bring water and lunch.  

Boys Touch  

Venue: Kearney’s Spring Touch Fields, Ruthven St, Toowoomba 

Who: Grade 5 & 6 Boys  

Girls Netball  

Venue: Nell E Robinson, Toowoomba 

Who: Grade 5 & 6 Girls  

Parents of children in Year 5 & 6 are required to complete the form via the link below to indicate their travel arrangements for that day.  

Click Here - Catholic Netball & Touch Travel Arrangements  

Interschool Sport Term 3 – Year 5 & 6 

St Thomas More’s has nominated teams in the girls netball, boys & girls soccer and boys rugby league. We look forward to finally being able to play and have fun against other schools around Toowoomba. Interschool sport will commence on Friday 22nd July. A reminder for any children who are playing soccer that they are required to wear shin pads to play and any boys playing rugby league that a mouth guard is compulsory and head gear is encouraged. If any children are wanting to wear footy/soccer boots, they are welcome to, as long as they have plastic molded studs. A hat, water bottle and sunscreen are also compulsory items for students to participate in interschool sport. Draws will be emailed out to parents as soon as they become available.   

God bless,

Stacey Hancock

HPE Teacher 

From the Library

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.

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.

REMINDER - TUCKSHOP IS NOT OPENED WEEK 1

Have you filled out your enrolment forms?

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/

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

Important Dates to Remember for Term 3

A Message from Road Safety

Looking for a Part Time Job?

There is always someone there to help.