Embedded Files
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we gather today -
The Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Information in this Week's Newsletter
Information in this Week's Newsletter
Prayer
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
As we journey through Lent, guide us to the path that leads to you. Fill our hearts with gratitude, patience, strength, and peace as we strive to become the-best-versions-of-ourselves. As we renew our resolve each day to become a better person, let us hear your voice in the deepest reaches of our heart.
Important Dates - Events for Term 1
Important Dates - Events for Term 1
MARCH
Thursday 07th - Hot Cross Bun orders close
Friday 08th - Whole School Cyber Safety Day with the Cyber Safety Project
Monday 11th - Labour Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 12th - Easter Raffle donations and casual clothes day
Tuesday 12th - 2025 Enrolment Tours at 9.30am
Tuesday 19th - 2025 Enrolment Tours at 9.30am & 6.30pm
Monday 25th - 2025 Prep enrolments due
Thursday 28th - Last day term 1 2024 - 12.00pm finish; Canteen closed; gold coin donation to Royal Children's Hospital Appeal via CDFPay (School Event)
Friday 29th - Good Friday
**'Public Events' are listed on our website under 'News and Events', the link being; https://www.stmhadfield.catholic.edu.au/news-events
On the bottom right hand side there is a blue box with a + symbol. If you have a google account, you can link the 'Public Events' calendar to your own personal Google calendar and keep up to date with the most current events and times.
Please don't hesitate to contact the office if you have any questions.
News from our Principal
News from our Principal
Dear Families,
We are coming to the end of Week 6 of the school term. Thank you to the dedicated staff of STM who have continued to provide the best learning experiences for your children. This week will be our first full week for our Prep students who have had Wednesday as a non-school day. We look forward to having our newest students attend school full time!
Family Holidays
Holidays are a great opportunity for families to connect with each other. In the case that a family wishes to take a holiday during the scheduled school term, the parent/guardian must make contact with myself to grant a leave of absence for their child/ren. This is a legal requirement put in place by the Department of Education.
MACS Administering Medication Policy
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) have made some recent changes to their policies in regards to ANY student receiving and storing medication at school. This includes the use of Ventolin and Claratyne.
Both Medical Management Plans as well as a Medication Authority Form have been sent home to families whose children this has an impact on. The purpose of the two forms are to ensure we meet the responsibilities and duty of care for managing the medical needs of students with diagnosed medical conditions, health care needs, wellbeing and/or personal care needs, to support students’ equitable access and participation in education.
Thank you to Melanie Langtry who has coordinated this, and to the families who have returned these forms back to school.
Year 4 Camp
A huge thank you to the Year 4 team and the school leaders who attended the camp to Sunnystones in Merrimu (Bacchus Marsh). I'm sure everyone had a wonderful time away!
Prep Faith Night
I would like to thank our Prep families who took some time in their busy lives to attend our Faith Night on Tuesday evening. It was lovely to see our families come together and spend some time in the junior community working together, connecting and sharing. Thank you to Clara Privitera, Deanna Panuccio and Tarryn Cehner for organising and running the evening.
Upcoming School Tours:
We look forward to welcoming future families to our school for the first of our 2025 Open Day Tours. The tours will be held on:
Tuesday March 12 from: 9:30 – 10:30am
Tuesday March 19 from: 9:30 – 10:30am
6:30 – 7:30pm
We cannot wait to show everyone the amazing learning spaces within our school!
NAPLAN 2024 for Year 3 and Year 5
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has the responsibility for the development and central management of the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).
All states and territories in Australia complete assessments for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. This year, NAPLAN will be administered within a two week period from 13th - 25th March.
This gives us time to spread the assessments over the two weeks, and also allows time to administer ‘catch ups’ just in case a child is away.
NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation) and Numeracy. The assessments are all online except for Year 3 Writing, which is still in paper format.
NAPLAN is for everyone. All students will be provided with the appropriate conditions, inclusive of necessary adjustments that meet the criteria that ACARA has set.
We want to make this part of our learning and approach it with a positive growth mindset.
Year 3 and 5 children will be supported with the demonstration materials to be familiar and build confidence in how to navigate the online portal. They will use the practice portal provided by ACARA.
Additionally, find attached information about NAPLAN from ACARA.
Youth Leadership Conference Melbourne
Next Tuesday, March 12, our School Captains, Faith Leaders, Sport Captains, and Senior SRC members will attend a Youth Leadership Conference at the Convention Center in Melbourne. This offers an incredible opportunity for these young leaders to glean insights on leadership, its challenges, and the profound rewards it brings. An invaluable experience awaits them. Thank you to Melanie Langtry for providing this opportunity for these students.
Casual Clothes Day
Next Tuesday March 12 students are invited to wear casual clothes and asked to bring in a donation of Easter items in lieu of a gold coin donation. The Easter items (chocolate, crafts, toys) collected will be made into Easter baskets and raffled off in the last week of Term 1.
St Patrick's Day Mass
Next Friday, March 14, our School Captains, Faith Leaders, Sport Captains will be attending St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne for Mass. This is a great opportunity for our student leaders to represent our school and celebrate together. Thank you to Clara Privitera and Grace Grech for organising this and supporting the students.
Last Day of Term 4
Thursday March 28 is the last day for Term 1 2024. Students will finish at 12.00pm on this day. Canteen will be closed and there will be a gold coin donation to the Royal Children's Hospital Appeal via CDFPay (School Event) - Children are able to wear casual clothes on this day.
School Closure Days Term 2
Melbourne Archdioceses Catholic Schools provide student free days to enable staff to access professional learning. In Term 2 we will have both Friday April 26 which staff will be provided with Religious Education professional learning and Tuesday June 11 where staff will be working curriculum development.
Thank you for your ongoing support,
David Hurn
Learning and Teaching
Learning and Teaching
Parent Helper Course
Many thanks to all the parents/carers that attended one of three Parent Helper Course over the past 2 weeks. Once we have all the necessary documentation, you will receive an email that will let you know that you are welcome to help in the classroom and/or canteen. Rita Cardamone is always looking out for helpers so any time that you can give will be most welcomed.
These courses will be offered again in 2025. You only ever have to do this course once in your time at St Thomas More.
English
English
Spelling
Did you know…
Long ago, some common words were spelled differently? About a thousand years back, words like where, what, why, when and which all started with ‘hw’ instead of just ‘w’. So, people wrote and said them in a fancy way (referred to as Old English) ‘hwer’, ‘hwat’, ‘hwy’, ‘hwen’ and ‘hwelch’. Around the year 1200, folks in Britain stopped saying the ‘h’ sound for a while. So, the words became ‘wy’, ‘wat’ and ‘wenne’. But eventually, people thought that suddenly removing the ‘h’ might be confusing. So, they put the ‘h’ back in to remind everyone of the original words.
Very interesting!
Author's Corner
This week, our Year 2 students share their ‘Special Places’, after connecting to the mentor text Florette.
My special place is my backyard. I like my backyard because it has a playground and every day after school I go on it. Sometimes my dad puts the gazebo up in summer and always puts sunscreen on me so I don't get sunburn.
Phoebe (Year 2)
A special place that I like is my house because I sleep there but my extra special place is my room, because that is where my jewellery is. Also another special place is my school because I get to see my friends. I feel loved and safe in those special places because they make it special with their words and actions.
Isla (Year 2)
Michelle Rinaldi
Acting Literacy Leader
Languages
Languages
Ciao!
The studenti are enjoying using their italiano at every opportunity. Bravissimi! We encourage you to also attempt engaging them in simple conversation using the language charts we provide in the newsletters.
Please see the below for the language focus for the next 2 weeks.
Grazie e arrivederci
from the TCL team
Adriana Bonacci and Maria Vainieri
Family Engagement
Family Engagement
Community News and Announcements
Community News and Announcements
AusKick Flyer.pdfJunior Player Wanted.pdf
Awards
Awards
Anastasia K - for constantly displaying respect and acts of kindness towards her friends and teachers. You are a great superfriend!
Rian P - for trying his best to display whole body listening and remembering to put his hand up during whole class discussions. Keep up the good listening!
Mason E - for showing great focus in learning his short a and long a sound. You were independent and resilient. Keep it up!
Arianna T - for settling into prep like a superstar! You show respect by coming in and getting yourself ready in the morning, lining up after break and following teacher directions! Keep it up!
Brooklyn F - for approaching all learning tasks with a positive attitude and showing determination and persistence. Keep up the great work!
Noah K - for consistently making great personal connections during learning time. Thank you for your insightful contributions to class discussions. Keep up the great work.
Iva D - For always displaying a positive attitude towards her learning and being inclusive of all her friends! Keep up the kindness!
Jasmine H - for demonstrating a positive attitude and showing determination and focus when completing her writing activities. Well done Jasmine!
Zoie B - for making a great start to the year by consistently following directions and taking responsibility for your learning. Well done Zoie!
Antonio L - for showing a growth mindset and persistence during Writing tasks. Keep up the great work Antonio!
Isla C - for your enthusiasm when sharing your exercise program in Inquiry and your great contributions to class discussions. Keep it up Isla!
Aria G - for being a responsible learner who respectfully contributes to discussions. Keep up the great thinking, Aria!
Jed M - for approaching all learning tasks with a positive attitude and showing determination and persistence. Keep up the excellent work Jed!
Isla M - for her heartfelt response to Florette where she made a text-to-self connection and wrote about her special place that makes her happy.
Harper V - for giving all learning tasks her absolute best and taking on board teacher feedback in order to make constant improvements.
Grace G - for consistently listening attentively during whole class discussions and sharing her learning and prior knowledge with the class. Well done Grace!
Julietta S - For sharing and demonstrating her understanding and enthusiasm of the Italian language with her peers .
Thomas S - for sharing your valuable insights about parts of speech in our Language Orientation! You made me so proud!!
Hudson V - for transitioning efficiently and respecftully to make the most of your learning time! Well done Hudson!
Aira B - for being an excellent support for your peers and for alwyas being willing to lend a helping hand. You are a star!
Adele R - for confidently sharing her wonderful singing with the class. You are a superstar!
Mila I - for giving learning tasks her undivided attention and for consistently demonstating expception bookwork.
Isaac P - for his growth mindset towards learning tasks and for being the finder of lost treasures in 4LT.
Sara P - using the vertical algorithm strategy for subtrcation and checking her answers were correct.
Mirabelle S - for an increase in her confidence with Maths and indepentlty using the vertical subtraction algorithm.
Steven L - for positively taking on teacher feedback and applying himself to all learning tasks.
Alessandra P - for approaching all learning tasks with a positive attitude, displaying determination and persistence when mastering new concepts.
Elisa A - for pushing herself further in Mathematics and taking on challenges.
Alexia S - for being persistent and asking questions to clarify her understanding when finding multiples in maths.
Sienna L - for including a variety of persuasive techniques in her writing while trying to convince her audience.
Lucas M - for showing focus and determination when identifying multiples of set numbers through the proces of skip counting.
Marcus R - For being a role model to all the students at our school showing initiative, responsibility and kindness every single day. Well done!
Luke T - For showing what a responsible learner looks like by being organised, listening in class and being a good learner. Well done!
Michael T - For showing resilience when faced with challengings situations. Well done, Michael.
Florentina T - For always willing to give her teachers a helping hand with a big smile on her face. Well done!
Zane C - for taking on teacher feedback and working with persistence to make positive choices and enhace his work. Keep it up Zane!
Hunta S - for pushing himself, using text clues and his own knowledge, to make an informed inference about passages and unknown words. Keep it up!
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