Week 4
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
Prayer
This animation video focuses on Jesus' acension after his resurrection and the message that he gave to his disciples right before he was taken to heaven. It also tells of the coming of the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus.
Based on Acts 1:6-11; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24: 50-53; John 20:17.
News from our Principal
Dear Families,
We are moving through Term 2 quickly and the weather has certainly changed to a more winterly feel. Thank you for ensuring your child has the correct winter uniform.
Over the coming weeks, teachers will be preparing for the Semester 1 Reports. Please continue to support your child’s development by following up with them about the learning being posted in Seesaw as well as reading daily. Semester 1 reports will be distributed at the end of this term and learning conversations will happen in Week 9 (week beginning Monday June 19). Interviews will be offered either face to face or online. Interviews will be held on Tuesday 20th of June and Wednesday 21st June from 12.15 - 4.30pm. Students will be dismissed at 12:00pm on these two days. You will be able to download your child's report on Monday 19th June. More information about how to access your child's report will be sent home in an email in Week 8. There will be information emailed to you regarding how to book a time for an interview in Week 7. As usual, parents are invited to contact class teachers any time to discuss their child's learning and experiences at school.
We are still having some students arrive in the morning prior to 8:30am. Please understand that teachers are on duty from 8:30am and this is when students are supervised. The front gate will be open from 8:30am and children are to make their way to the Sports Green. It has been great to start the week with a short Monday morning assembly. If you are available, it would be great to see you there.
Prep 2024 interviews are coming to a close. It has been delightful to meet the 2024 Prep students and their families. Offers of enrolment are currently being sent out via email. Next term we are excited to have More Learning, our Prep transition program. More Learning sessions will run on a Monday and Friday morning for an hour. More information regarding More Learning will be sent to 2024 Prep parents in the coming weeks.
We have held our first STM School Board meeting. Thank you to Rita Totino, Anthony Grima, Michael Tucci, Rose Caruso, Danielle Blundo and Kumbi Nzenza for your contributions on the night. I look forward to working with you this year.
A huge thank you to all who made our Mothers’ Day celebrations possible last week. To Sally and Adele for organising the breakfast, to Sarah for organising our craft station and to all of the dads who helped serve breakfast. Thank you to Katia, Ange and Alisha for organising all of the gifts for the stall, and to the parents that helped children purchase gifts. Thank you to the Cail family and The Original Juice Co. for donating all of the orange juice for the breakfast, and thank you to the Sayssauk family and Master Maintenance Property Services for donating the $230 Beauty on Rose gift voucher door prize. We would also like to thank Soul Sister Crystals for supplying a selection of gifts for our stall this year. Finally, thanks to Thanks A Latte for setting up your van to sell your delicious coffee! Thank you to Kate Mackintosh for supporting the STMPA once again.
A reminder that next Friday, May 26, is a School Curriculum Day. This is a student free day and provides our staff with valuable professional learning. Our focus for this day is Student Wellbeing.
On the 24th of May St Thomas More will be hosting National Simultaneous Storytime in the library at 11am. National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, bookshops and many other places around the country.
This year the book is the gorgeous - The Speedy Sloth written by Rebecca Young and illustrated by Heath McKenzie. Join Miss Lou in the library at 11am on the 24th of May to listen to the story and complete some fun slothy activities.
The Prep and Year 1 Reading Workshop has been advertised below. Thank you to Julie Hanna our English Leader for facilitating this evening and all those parents who have registered via Operoo. A form will be emailed Friday 26th asking you to please confirm attendance.
Like many schools in our area we have been facing staff shortages due to illness and a decreased casual replacement teacher workforce. Where possible teachers are being replaced by support staff and leadership team who are familiar to the students and school routines. At times, classes may need to be split across year levels when a replacement teacher is not available. This is a last resort. We recognise that the disruption to class teachers can be unsettling for our students and at all times their needs are considered. Thank you for your patience as we manage these staff shortages and the impact they are having on our daily routine.
Warm Regards,
David Hurn
Principal
Important dates - Events for Term 2
MAY
Friday 26th - Curriculum Day - Student Free Day
JUNE
Thursday 1st - Yr Prep & Year 1 Parent Reading workshop (see info below)
Monday 12th - King's Birthday Public Holiday - No students at school
Monday 19th - Semester 1 Reports available to families
Tuesday 20th - Students dismissed at 12.00pm - Three Way Chats - Report Interviews from 12.15pm
Wednesday 21st - Students dismissed at 12.00pm - Three Way Chats - Report Interviews from 12.15pm
Friday 23rd - Last day term 2 2023; 12.00pm finish; Canteen closed; Gold coin donation (Charity TBC)
JULY
Monday 10th - First day back term 3 2023
**'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.
Learning and Teaching
Learning Showcase - Term 2
We invite you to come and join us in your child's/children's Learning Showcase. This is a great opportunity for you to come and learn alongside your child at school.
The learning focus this term, will be from a different area of the curriculum than Term 1. Additionally, we have tried to change the day and the time (within the constraints of our school timetable) to allow parents who work, the opportunity to come to school if they could not attend in Term 1. This learning will take place in your child/children's classrooms.
Lock these dates and times in your diaries.
Year 6- Thursday 25th May - 9:10 - 9:30am
Year 5 - Thursday 25th May -2.45 - 3.10pm
Prep - Wednesday 30th May - 2:45 - 3:20pm
Year 1 - Friday 2nd June - 9:15 - 9:45am
Year 4 - Tuesday 6th June - 9.00-10.00am
Year 2 - Friday 9th June - 9:15- 9:45am
Year 3- Friday 16th June - 9:15-9:45am
Learning and Teaching Leader
Rita Totino
English
Prep & Year 1 Reading Workshop
Dear Prep and Year 1 families,
Thank you to all those parents who have registered via Operoo to attend the meeting.
When: Thursday 1st June
Where: 9:00-10:00am Grade 4W classroom located near the office building
6:00 - 7:00pm Staffroom
A form will be emailed Friday 26th asking you to please confirm attendance for the meeting.
Kind Regards
Julie Hanna
Literacy leader
Family Engagement
Mothers' Day
A huge thank you to all who made our Mothers’ Day celebrations possible last week. To Sally & Adele for organising the breakfast, to Sarah for organising our craft station and to all of the dads and other volunteers who helped serve breakfast. Thank you to Katia, Ange & Alisha for organising all of the gifts for the stall, and to the parents that helped children purchase gifts. Thank you to the Cail family and The Original Juice Co. for donating all of the orange juice for the breakfast and thankyou to the Sayssauk family and Master Maintenance Property Services for donating the $230 Beauty on Rose gift voucher door prize. We would also like to thank Soul Sister Crystals for supplying a selection of gifts for our stall this year. Finally, thanks a latte to Thanks A Latte for setting up your van to sell your delicious coffee!
If you are interested in becoming a Parent Rep for your child's class, joining the STMPA, or volunteering for fundraisers and events throughout the year, please fill out your details in this document. We would love to welcome you!
Regards,
Kate Mackintosh
Community News and Announcements
THE STM CONCERT IS BACK!
We are excited to announce that the STM concert is back in 2023!
It's been a long time since our last concert and we cannot express how thrilled we are to finally be able to bring back this wonderful event. The staff and students have already commenced their dance lessons and rehearsals are in full swing.
Please continue to read our newsletters and look out for important information and updates on our social platforms.
Tickets will go on sale in TERM 3.
We cannot wait to present to you 'The Amazing Race.'
Join Oak Park Girl Guides
Find us on Facebook or call for more info: Carol 0407313051
Ages 6 & up
Awards
Xavier Carrese - for being safe on the yard by keeping his hands and feet to himself. You're a superstar!
Audrey Chan - for stepping out of her comfort zone and showing courage within classroom activities. You're a superstar!
Brooklyn Field - for always putting in 100% effort in all tasks she completes! You're a super star!
Noah Kennedy - for his exceptional writing! Well done on correctly placing full stops in the right places! You''re a super star!
Leon Gomes - for always being respectful to others. I love how you take initiative by inviting others to play and holding the door open for your class. You are so kind!
Ella Hempfing - for always showing a positive attitude and caring about your friends. You always help out in the classroom and ensure your space is neat and tidy. Keep being fantastic!
Phoebe Eldridge - for showing creativity and using sophisticated vocabulary in her writing. Amazing job Phoebe!
Archie Lopez - for making a conscious effort to make positive learning choices throughout the day. Keep up the great work!
Jacob Glover - for your fantastic effort in reading. Keep up the great work Jacob! Your persistence and positive attitude is amazing!
Oneli Jayamaha Mudalige Don - for consistently applying yourself to all tasks, particularly in writing where you are using your knowledge of sounds to write interesting words. You should be so proud of yourself!
Alexis Cail - showing increasing resilience in managing your emotions. When you have been upset or frustrated you have tried to bounce back quickly and talk about how you are feeling with the teacher! You should be so proud of yourself!
Jakub Manjerovic - for consistently asking great questions during share time. You show amazing respect to your classmates by thinking deeply about what they are sharing and asking thoughful questions. Thank you so much for your kindness!
Eli Hocking - for including creative ideas and interesting vocabulary when writing narratives. What a great author you are!
Thomas Spataro - for always working with determination to do his best and approaching learning with a positive attitude. Keep up the great work Thomas!
Grace Gomez-Kennedy - for writing a creative narrative that included detail and sophisticated vocabulary.
Marco Spiteri - for consistently contributing to class discussion and building on the ideas of others with great enthusiasm.
Eva Caruso - for consistently making great personal connections. Well done for thoughtfully contributing to class discussions!
Rishav Gandhi - for consistently modelling responsible and respectful behaviour in class. You are a fantastic role model to others!
Ellysse Gamboa - for always being organised and ready to learn with a positive attitude and smile on her face.
Aleah Mantello - her excellent prepositional poem about her favourite place, the Grampians. Great work using prepositions and adjectives in your poem.
Thomas Gearing - for his incredibly powerful writing response about the texts 'Fox' and 'Stellaluna'. Your worldly knowledge is really shining through your rich word choice!
Zane Hill - for being continually persistant in maths when learning the jump strategy for addition problems. You are making awesome learning choices!
Dennis Raizel - communicaing with increased confidence, using outstanding manner and louder voice.
Anthony Territi - being an enthusiastic author in all writing genres, especially when innovating texts.
Roney Albadin - This award is proudly presented to Roney for always taking on board teacher feedback and showing a growth mind set by improving himself as a learner.
Lucas Goncalves - This award is proudly presented to Lucas for always using his prior knowldege and making brilliant connections in class discussions.
Sophia Di Pierro - This award is proudly presented to Sophia for consistently expressing enthusiasm and persistence when taking on challenges in math.
Jack Sozzi - This award is proudly presented to Jack for his curiosity and valuable contributions to class discussions. Keep up the great work!
Hailey Abhayasinghe - This award is proudly presented to Hailey for modelling responsible behaviour in class and showing a growth mindset when working on maths tasks. Well done Hailey!
Connor Conway - This award is proudly presented to Connor for showing enthusiasm towards learning and sharing his knowledge with others, particularly in our Inquiry unit. Well done Connor!
Benjamin Angelucci - for taking on board teacher feedback and applying a growth mindset and persistence to master new concepts in Maths.
Cooper Watson - insighful contributions to class discussions, building on the ideas of others and connecting prior learning to new concepts.
Eliana Delorenzis - her creativity and detail when rewriting ending of the text 'Ziba Came on a Boat' Well done Eliana!
Zavier Scarpino - for showing reverence and expressing prayers that show empathy towards others during special intention time.
Issac Ward - for independent completion of his maths task, remembering to build up to a larger number when applying addition.
Ashanthi Wickramasinghe - for fluent and expressive reading and showing excellent understanding of word meaning in context.
Elektra Pongas - For consistenly having a positive attitude towards her learning and giving her learning tasks her absolute best effort. Well done, Elektra!
Petro Skapetis - For frequently showing a growth mindset when faced with challanges and warmly accepting support when necessary. Keep it up Petro!
Stavroula Kalantzis - For an outstanding adaptation of the book 'Refugees' and showing her phenomenal ICT skills using the layering effect to create pictures for her story.
Michael Tamvakis - For sharing his knowledge and skills with the ISS Soccer team, teaching and guiding them in game play and showing good sportsmanship in Round 1.
