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 

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord - 6th August


Matt 17.1-9 Mark 9.2-9 Luke 9.28-36 1 

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.


What lesson does the Transfiguration teach us?

The Apostles' experience at the Transfiguration reminds us that no matter how powerful a spiritual experience is, the time comes when we have to come down off the mountain and rejoin our everyday life. But when we do so, we need to do it as a changed person.


News from our Principal

Dear Families,

We are coming to the middle of Term 3 and I hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine. Hopefully the days become warmer as the term progresses. Congratulations to our Football senior team for their outstanding performance in the recent games. They were able to secure a place in the regional finals and we couldn't be prouder of their display of great sportsmanship. Our senior students won 2 out of their 3 games which was an amazing achievement. 

We are very excited about our upcoming Sports Day tomorrow, Friday August 4. In the event of inclement weather, we will notify all families via email about the cancellation by 8.00am Friday morning . If no email is received, please assume that the event will proceed as planned. All families are welcome to attend and support our students. The timetable for the day's activities is included in this newsletter.

Safety is our utmost priority here at STM and we must address the concerns raised by our neighbors and teachers regarding unsafe driving during drop-off and pick-up times. School zones are designated areas intended to protect our children as they travel to and from school. To ensure everyone's safety, I urge all parents and drivers to be extra vigilant. Remember that pedestrians always have the right of way. Expect children to act unpredictably and be prepared to react quickly, especially in school zones. Allow for additional time when driving to and from school as rushing can lead to unsafe driving practices, so plan ahead to keep our children safe. I appreciate your cooperation in maintaining a safe environment for our students and the community. Let us work together to ensure the wellbeing of everyone in our school vicinity.

Thank you to the students who participated in PJ Day and have contributed to 'Hope in a Suitcase'.  Our students have been learning about the importance of human dignity and hope through scripture, guided by Jesus’ commandment to love one another. Through the partnership of the non-for-profit organisation 'Hope in a Suitcase', students have been reflecting upon Jesus’ teachings of being a disciple to others and respond to the call of Jesus through collecting donations of essential items to fill suitcases for children in foster care. This initative will continue throughout the term. 

We are all very excited for our upcoming school concert 'Amazing Race'. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday August 8 from 10am. Thank you to the staff who have prepared the children, and also to Sonia Mazzei for coordinating. There is more information located below in this newsletter. 

On Friday August 11 the staff will be taking part in a professional learning day. This will be a student free day. There will be an option for families to engage with OSHClub if there is a need to do so. 

In the coming weeks I will be asking for your support in providing me with valuable feedback about my practice here at STM. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 360 Reflection Tool supports principals reflect and gather feedback on the leadership behaviours they exhibit in their daily practice. The tool itself is aligned to 15 attributes that interconnect the Leadership Requirements and Professional Practices set out in the Australian Professional Standard for Principals. The 360 Reflection Tool, through a statistical approach to its 5 point scale scoring, tally all responses (from myself and others) to provide an average score against each leadership behaviour. Additionally it enables me to see my results normed against the responses of more than 3000 Australian principals. Through the comments section, the tool also collates qualitative feedback.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend. 

Warm regards,
David Hurn
Principal 








Important dates - Events for Term 3

Click this link to subscribe directly to our STM Public Events Google Calendar

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

**'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.

Sports Day Timetable

Sports Day timetable.pdf

Learning and Teaching 

Learning Showcases- Term 3

Learning Showcases will continue throughout this term. As this term is extremely busy with different events, teachers will send you an email to invite you to come into the classroom to come and learn with your child. Students are at front and centre, articulating their learning, demonstrating new knowledge, skills and strategies. We invite you to come along and learn alongside your child.  We will be mindful to offer you a range of times and different days to allow as many parents/carers as possible to attend. 

Inquiry Learning
Our focus this term is Chemical Science.
'People seek to explore, explain and deepend their understanding of the world by investigating scientific concepts. Science can be used to advance life on Earth and also raise ethical dilemmas. Our students will use the scientific process to, question, hypothesise, observe / recording and test to learn about the world. We seek to stimluate a natural curiosity and flexible thinking. '

Prep - Year 2
Students will explore a range of materials and describe their features using their senses. They will be introduced to the scientific process whereby they make a hypothesis, complete simple investigations, record their observations with words and pictures and then simply explain their results. Seeing science in our world is important part of this learning. A visit to the Museum will highlight entomology, paleontology, biology and botany. Teachers will capture students and wonderings to incorporate in planning to address students' curiosities and stimulate further learning about science in our world. 

Year 3-4
Classifying materials into solids, liquids and gases and identifying their properties is an essential prior learning. Making a measured hypothesis, following investigations accurately, carefully recording observations using their senses, and then recording their analysis of the result is required when using the scientific process. Students will work in pairs to complete investigations, collaborating and sharing their thinking and reasoning to explain what happens when different types of matter are combined. Students will also learn that scientists do not always get the results right the first time and be able to reflect and give possible reasons as to why investigations did not work the first time. Student will also learn about how our first scientists are our First Nations people. 
Students will then explore how science is in cooking. We will endeavour to provide students with opportunities to use the scientific process once again to explain why ingredients change and react they way they do in cooking.

Year 5-6
Once again, using the scientific process is integral part of learning.  Investigations focussing on using reversible and irreversible changes when mixing different matter is a curriculum demand at this level.  Formulating the question for investigations is scaffolded and repeated in order to empower students to eventually formulate their own questions for independent investigations. Students will work towards presenting their own investigations using acids and bases, highlighting their hypothesis, observations and then communicating their analysis drawing conclusions. from their hypothesis and observations. They will represent their learning using digital technology.

Learning and Teaching Leader          

Rita Totino           

Religion

Dear Families, 

This term our students will explore the importance of human dignity and hope through scripture, guided by Jesus’ commandment to love one another. Through the partnership of the non-for-profit organisation Hope in a Suitcase, students will reflect upon Jesus’ teachings of being a disciple to others and respond to the call of Jesus through collecting donations of essential items to fill suitcases for children in foster care. 


Hope in a Suitcase provides suitcases to foster care children to ensure they have a safe and secure place in which to pack their belongings and take with them wherever their journey may lead. Each year level will be given a suitcase to fill with essential items such as toiletries, underwear, a set of pyjamas, journals, comfort toys, puzzles and clothing to name a few.  


We will be hosting a pyjama day on Monday 31st July to raise money to purchase these essential items.  We are asking for children to make a gold coin donation through the CDF pay  app. If not, you can bring in a gold coin donation on the day.

Link to CDF Pay

We aim to bring HOPE, LOVE and SUPPORT to the lives of others. 


Religious Education Leader 

Clara Privitera      

English

Book Week 2023

The theme for Book Week this year is: Read, Grow, Inspire. Book Week is celebrated at STM, August 21-25, with our main celebration day taking place Friday 25th August. The dress-up parade will take place at 9:10am on Friday on the senior green (weather permitting). We invite all families to attend the Book Week Parade and encourage any younger siblings as well as parents and carers to dress up if you would like. Our students are starting to explore the shortlisted books under the guidance of  our amazing librarian, Lou! They will be well prepared for the whole school quiz! The students will be able to purchase a cookie on the day for $2:00 (gluten-free options available). Looking forward to a fun filled day where we have the opportunity to celebrate the wonder of books. Please let Lou or Julie know if you have any questions.

Spelling Bee

All students who have registered for this event will take part in the Spelling Bee next week. Good luck to all of our  participants!

Year 3 Reading Support

A special thank you to those parents who are assisting us in implementing this program. Your time and help is very much appreciated.

                                Author's Corner (each newsletter we will be presenting a student writing sample)

A summer comes with breaking glaciers and creatures in the sea, birds flying overhead and penguins sliding free.

Krill surfaces from the deep to feed the seals and whales, while on top the penguins' icebergs sail.

When you look from up top it seems very bland, but when you go underwater you can see the amazing colourful land. 

(Jessica Year 3)

Julie Hanna

Literacy Leader

Family Engagement

If you are able to volunteer for the Father's Day Breakfast on the 1st of September, please fill out this form.

As always, thank you for your support,
Kate Mackintosh

Thank you to our school concert sponsors

Community News and Announcements

A-K LINK Wednesday 13th:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/stm-amazing-race-wednesday-13th-september-2023-a-k-tickets-630527674247

A-K password - STMamazing13

L-Z LINK Thursday 14th:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/stm-amazing-race-thursday-14th-september-2023-l-z-tickets-675785682167

L-Z password - STMamazing14
Concert Venue: Penola Catholic College. 29 Gibson St, Broadmeadows VIC 3047

Pascoe Vale & Surrounds - All Girls T3 Flyer.pdf

Awards

Sebastian G - for showing an enormous improvement with focus this week and sounding out words with accuracy,. Well done!

Henry S - for taking on teacher feedback to add descriptions and detail to his writing. Keep it up! 

Jack B - for consistently showing whole body listening and contributing insightful and relevant ideas and answers within classroom discussions. Fantastic effort!

Raquel S - for aiming to apply learned letters and sounds in her writing. You are always putting in 100% effort!

Isaac K - for making responsible decisions and building resilience. Well done!

Phoebe W - consistently being responsible and giving a helping hand to all her peers and teachers!


Mia H - for using a range of problem solving stragies in maths and always having a positive mindset. Keep up the great work! 

Daniel M - for using his imagination to create exciting narrative storylines. I love hearing your creative ideas! Keep up the great work!

Leah L - for your persistence and resilience this semester! You are beginning to challenge yourself and have been working so hard on all your goals. You should be proud of yourself! Well done Leah. Keep it up! 

Jed M - for consistently following directions and trying so hard in your learning. Well done Jed! Keep it up superstar! 

Jordan D - for your amazing and engaging show and tell. Each week you bring in something interesting to talk about. This week you did a great job responding to the prompt 'If you could be any animal, what would you be." You had great facts listed to speak about and 1W loved seeing your props! 

Jordan F - for demonstrating positivity and resilience as you settled into 1W. You have done a great job remembering new routines and approaching learning with a positive attitude. 1W is lucky to have you, and your big smile, in our classroom! 

Aira B - for approaching all learning tasks with persistence and a positive attitude, always doing your best. Keep up the amazing work Aira!

Nicholas G - For working with persistence and a positive mindset when reasearching facts for your information poster about an animal. Keep up the great work Nicholas!

Luciano C - for his enthusiastic start to the term evident by his focus and concentration during class time as well as his eagerness to contribute during class discussions.

Cruiz M - For his thorough and enthusiastic mindset when researching a chosen animal for his digital information poster. Keep up the amazing work, Cruiz! 

Georgia K - For her happy and enthusiastic attitude towards all aspects of her work! Georgia is a kind and responsible member of 2 White! You are a superstar, Georgia!

Sidney M - For his great enthusiasm and interest during our inquiry unit 'Snap, Crackle & Pop'. You are showing to be an attentive and curious young Scientist! Keep up the fantastic work, Sidney!

Angelica T - for her wonderful addition to our collective noun class book. Great alliteration!

Khloe W - for working hard and showing persistence during maths to learn her times tables and solve mulitplication problems!

Antonio M - for persisting in our writing lessons to use the strategies you know to help your writing make sense. Keep up the fantastic work!

Jessica N - for her moving and powerful writing in response to the book Iceberg by Claire Saxby. You truly are an author and have wowed so many people with your ideas!

Landon F - for being persistent in your learning and giving things a go. Well done Landon!

Amelia W - for her enthusiastic participation during the Supreme Incursion. Your ability to observe and explain the chemical reactions was imprressive!

Anika H - For working independently and being a great model to her peers in both her work and her attitude. Well done Anika!

Daniel G - This award is proudly presented to Daniel for consistently demonstrating the values and taking on eaach learning task with enthusiasm.

Mariah T - This award is proudly presented to Mariah for her focus and dedication to achieving her learning goals! Keep it up!

Maya C - for showing responsibility by consistently taking pride in her work and for her creative writing in response to the text, 'Fire'. Well done Maya! 

Steven L - for showing the value of respect and consistently having a growth mindset when taking on new learning concepts. Well done Steven!

Benjamin B - For showing persistence in Mathematics and remaining determined to master the algorithm strategy in the multiplication unit. 

Luca C - For his detailed and descriptive analysis of Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon. You have used sophistocated vocabulary and interesting adjectives to describe his character traits.

Rosemarie K - for showing a growth mindset in her learning and persisting to master new concepts taught and taking pride in her progress.

Daniel T - for consistently modelling responsible and respectful behaviour and for applying yourself to your learning. You are a fantastic role model to others!

Zara B - For showing independence in her learning during mathematics by attempting to complete tasks on her own and then showing initiative when moments of challenge arise by seeking help from the teacher.

Steven K - for showing determination during mathematics by persisting and practising the multiplication algorithm despite challenges along the way. 

Oliver G - For showing empathy, care and understanding when learning about and discussing our Religion unit of Hope in a Suitcase.

Xavier G - For consistently being a responsible memeber of the class who is respectful to his peers and teachers.

Christian R - For always contributing insightful and thought provoking statements to whole class learning and showing an ability to analyse ideas clearly and concisely. Your willingness to share your ideas and perspectives with your peers creates a dynamic learning environment for everyone. Keep up the good work!

Alessia S - For always showing respect and kindness to all of her peers and lending a helping hand to anyone that needs it. An amazing quality to have. Well done Alessia!

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