Week 8

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 

Dear Lord, 


We pray for your blessing, favor, and strength over every Dad, for those who are seeking to walk closely with you in a dark world, and for those who just need to be reminded that you are real. We ask for your renewed courage, for your boldness, for your Spirit to fill them.


The single ‘Footsteps’ in this YouTube clip was nominated for the CMAA -People’s Choice Award after spending 20 weeks in the charts last year. 

Past stduents from St Thomas More can be seen in the clip and were invited to the Gold Coast to be part of the awards ceremony alongside a list of beautiful artists. 

For those interested, you can watch the live stream on the day of the awards from 6:30pm here: CONNECT23 Livestream (mediaarts.org.au)

News from our Deputy Principal

Dear Families,

Last Friday's Book Week character parade was a wonderful day showing our love for literature. It was great to have parents join us for the parade. Students were so excited to talk about their connection to texts and characters. Thank you families for supporting your children with their costumes and we hope that you enjoyed the process as you worked together to design and make them. - it is evident that many of your have a creative flair. A special thank you to Lou and Julie for organising the week, spotlighting the CBCA books and running the online quiz. Additionally, thank you to the staff for your willingness and commitment to dress up as book characters!

Crossing Supervisor on Middle St
Numerous attempts have been made by many previous families for a crossing supervisor on Middle St. Elizabeth F (mother of Brooklyn in Prep and Landon Year 3) has once again been advocating for a crossing supervisor since March this year. Merri-bek Council has finally agreed to fund a school crossing supervisor. Thank you Elizabeth and all the past families who supported this cause for the safety of our children and families. We had the pleasure of meeting Frank- our 'lollipop person' yesterday. Please make yourself known to Frank if you use the crossing. Additionally,  an enormous thank you to Mary who has been putting the flags out for the last 20 years!

School Concert
Students and teachers are now in full swing to finalise their year levels dance moves and costumes. Watching the students perform and sharing in their excitement has been rewarding. I am looking forward to my first concert at St Thomas More. 

Sports Colours Day - Tuesday 12th September
The school Leaders have met a few times over the last month to discuss and research who we will donate to on this term's casual clothes day. As the last week of term is our concert, the leaders decided that it would be a great idea to have a Sports Colours Day on Tuesday 12th September, in preparation for the Grand Final of AFL. On this day, children can come to school dressed in their favourite sport team colours - any sport is welcome. We do not encourage face paint or hair colour.

In the afternoon, we will  line up in our teams on the Green and see which is the most popular team and sport, and possibly sing a few theme songs. Please feel free to join us on the Green at 2.50pm. The donations from this day will go to Challenge - supporting kids with Cancer. 

On the last day of Term 3, Friday 15th September, children are required to wear school uniform, not casual clothes.

Glenroy District Athletics
Thirty six students from Years 4 to 6 attended the Glenroy District Athletics Carnival.  Congratulations to the 24 students who have gone through to the Banyule and Inner North Moreland Divisional's, which will be held next Wednesday, September 6th at Meadowglen International Athletics track in Epping.  If your child was successful, you will be notified by email and asked to complete  an Operoo form to attend the next Athletics day. We are proud of the way students represented our school displaying skill ands fair play. 

MACSSIS PARENT SURVEY (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Survey)
In 2023, our school is participating in MACSSIS is an annual process whereby schools listen to the thoughts and feelings students, families and staff have about how their school can improve. Families have been randomly selected as per the MACSSIS process. If you have received an email inviting you to complete the survey, we would appreciate you taking the time to complete it before Friday September 15. Thank you for your ongoing support in an effort to continually improve our school.

Family Faith Night for Year 4
Sarah Smith facilitated a deeper awareness and understanding of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist for our Year 4 students who will make these sacraments in the not too distant future. It was a lovely opportunity for parents and children to be guided through discussion and share personal reflections, based on concepts of forgiveness, connections and relationships with Jesus and our family and friends. A special thank you to Clara, Lucinda, Natalie and Rebecca for supporting and guiding the students as they continue their journey of faith. 

Father's Day Breakfast
Tomorrow, Friday 1st September, we celebrate fathers and significant role models in our students' lives.  We welcome you to come and be treated to breakfast between 7.30 and 8.30am. Thank you to all the people that filled out their expression of interest in attending - this helps so much with catering. This celebration would not happen without a dedicated group of volunteers and staff  -who will begin at 6.00am.  With immense gratitude, we sincerely thank you for your support. Happy Father's Day to the one who knows how to make us feel safe, loved and supported.

We wish all dads, uncles, grandfathers and significant models in our lives, a lovely day on Sunday. 

Music Soiree
This week we were entertained by students at our school who have private Experience Music lessons. Students had the opportunity to perform in front of an audience which requires courage. It was a great opportunity to celebrate with students who demonstrated their passion and skill in music, and encourage them with support to continue to pursue their musical talents. We look forward to another soiree this evening. 

Learning Showcases
Learning showcases have continued this term. The students are really excited to demonstrate their learning with their families. We hope that this gives you an insight into learning and teaching at school. 

School Colour Fun Run
We are  excited to announce that we will be holding our inaugural School Colour Fun Run this year on Thursday the 19th of October. The fundraiser was launched last Friday at assembly. Your child would have come home with a pamphlet with instructions of how to set up an online account. If you choose to collect cash, it is important that you send this money to school by Tuesday 17th October. There are incentives for students and families to raise money, with prizes allocated to different amounts of money raised. There is also an incentive for the class that raises the most money. They will run first on the day.

Look out for the permission form on Operoo which has all the details about the day. Many thanks to Kate Mackintosh for coordinating this event with our parent volunteers. The money from this fundraising event will be used for educational resources. 

Parking Inspectors
It has been brought to our attention that Parking Inspectors from Merri-Bek Council have included Angus St in their route.  Thank you to all the families that do an amazing job at being patient and taking turns at drop off and pick up along Angus St in order to keep all our children and family members safe. 

A gentle reminder that parking on Angus St is not possible between our school gates from 8am to 4pm every school day. Parking inspectors will issue tickets if you are parked illegally. 

Warm regards,
Rita Totino
Deputy Principal / Learning and Teaching








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.

Learning and Teaching

Projects in Year 5 and 6

At its very heart, inquiry is about investigation. It occurs when the learner seeks to discover/resolve/create/uncover/understand something. Inquirers are most often driven by questions. In the classroom – these questions may be devised by teachers or by students or both. They may be personal questions or questions develop with, for or by a group. As the young learner pursues these questions (Why? What if? Why might? How could? Why should? What makes…?) they inevitably require some form of guidance. The level and nature of guidance varies according to the needs and prior knowledge of the learner and the context within which the inquiry is taking place. The things we do and say to support students as they inquire – listening, observing, strategic questioning, timely feedback, demonstration, explanation, noticing and naming, suggesting and connecting them with resources/others who may be helpful. (Kath Murdoch) 

Students have autonomy to either choose to Make, Know or Do following the respective pathway below. There are times that Know projects can lead to either Make or Do. 

We have been learning about this for most of this term, preparing for our first project. A project proposal has also been made explicit with students, holding them responsible for their learning. Questions include:

Why do I want to make/know/do/ act this project? 

What do you hope to learn from your project?

Above is part of the Project proposal that students are required to complete before they begin. Thinking, collaborating, planning, persisting and seeking teacher guidance is an intrinsic part of student led inquiries.

We are excited to begin this learning journey and look forward to sharing the projects with you. 

Lego blocks

If anyone has any lego at home that they no longer need and you would like to donate, we would welcome them at school. You can drop them off at the office. Many thanks in advance. 

Rita Totino
Learning and Teaching Leader

Premiers' Reading Challenge

The Premiers' Reading Challenge 2023 will close on the 8th of September. Children who are enrolled in the Challenge should now finalise their reading lists. If you or your children have any questions about the Challenge or would like any help to complete the Challenge please me.

 

Lou Eveston

Librarian

English

Spelling Bee Update

We have been informed that our students who participated in the Spelling Bee, did not go through to the next round. Well done to everyone that gave it their best shot.

Author's Corner 

Crocodiles

Crocodiles have strong jaws and their nose is on top of their head. They can eat birds and fish. They prefer fresh water too. Crocodiles have long tails. They have strong teeth. They have little feet. They have one tail. 

By Audrey (Prep)

Dolphins

By Wilfred (Prep)

Julie Hanna,

Literacy Leader

Maths News 

Congratulations to all of the students for their amazing achievement in the Melbourne Rocks Times Tables Challenge this year.  

The following students were our top ten:

School Champion: 2M Esteban W (answered 2,108) 

4B Roney A (answered 2,101)

5B Lucas S (answered 1, 180)

4M Lucas M (answered 1,460)

4M Daniel G (answered 1,252) 

4M Aurik G (answered 1,229)

4B Leonardo H (answered 1,182)

5W Tanay H (answered 1,178)

4M Julian A ( answered 1,133)

4M Max G (answered 1,114)

These students were our classes most valuable players 

Family Engagement

We’re excited to announce that we will be holding a School Fun Run this year! Our Fun Run date will be Thursday the 19th of October. The fundraiser was launched last Friday. We hope you’ll support our school and students in fundraising for educational resources. 


As always, thank you for your support,
Kate Mackintosh

Community News and Announcements

Come Try Flyer Summer 2023 A4.pdf

Let me introduce myself. I am at present part of the Junior Development Committee for the Essendon Baseball Club.  We are a friendly and welcoming club that provides an inclusive sport for all ages, skill level, and gender. T-Ball and Baseball are great sports that provide an opportunity for young people to get active in a team focussed supportive environment and meet new friends in a non-contact sport that develops their motor skills.

 

Our “Come and Try Day” will be held in early September. 

Please contact me on 0477 633 367 or essendonbaseballclub.juniors@gmail.com if you have any questions and are interested in further information.


Thank You

Tim Hammond

Junior Committee Member

Coburg Little Athletics, Come and try day 16.09.23 FLYER.pdf

Hello, 

Coburg Little Athletics is offering a COME AND TRY on Saturday 16 September 2023.

Hope to see you there!

 

Regards

 

Linda Misuraca

Coburg Little Athletics Committee

2024 flyer.pdf

Hi there STM,


I'm contacting local schools to spread the word about a kid's art competition for the Coburg Harriers and Coburg Little Athletics Centre. 

We want artwork about "Jumping" from kids aged 5 - 12; the top 13 will go into a calendar we are making for next year, with one chosen as the cover page. There will be prizes involved, too!


Regards

Ben

Hi STM,

Please see our School Holiday Program flyer above.

 

Regards,

Bec Drake


Manager

Glenroy Neighbourhood House

Monday to Friday – 9am to 3pm

5B Cromwell St

Glenroy, 3046

(03) 9304 3910

Thank you to our School Concert Sponsors

Awards

Ayan A - for working with sustained focus and writing interesting sentences. Congratulations on your wonderful improvements!

Isabella M - for showing resilience by settling in to our school and making lots of new friends. Keep sharing your beautiful smile with others!

Antonio L - for always being a good friend by caring and looking out for others. Keep being a dolphin friend!

Bianca M - for trying her hardest to apply all the new content she has learned to her work and in classroom discussions.

Luke F - For consistently following school expectations and being a good role model to others.

Frankie P - For building resilience towards attempting learning tasks and trying her best in Writing. 

Havin K -  for showing persistence in her reading by sounding out unknown words. Keep up the great work! 

Antonio M -  for working with determination during Maths sessions and sharing his knowlegde and understanding with his classmates. Well done! 

Colwyn S - for your willingness and enthusiasm to share your knowledge during learning time and your participation in share time. Keep up the great effort! 

Harper V-S - for your outstanding resilience - giving things a go even if they seem hard! Amazing effort Harper! Keep it up! 

Dion P -  for consistently trying your best in every task you do. You always give everything your best go and complete all work to the best of your ability. You come everyday with a big smile and positive attitude, brightening up the 1W classroom. 

Jeram W - for practicing his skills of being an author by taking on feedback to improve. You used feedback to add more detail to the ending of your story 'Pirates.' 

Rafael F -  for being a focussed, responsible and respectful member of our class, especially during discussions and learning time. Amazing work with your listening Raf! 

Talia K -  for working with persistence and growing confidence in Maths, especially when solving multiplication problems and drawing arrays.Keep up the fantastic work Talia! 

Aurelia K - for demonstrating responsibility and enthusiam during our excursion to the Melbourne Museum by consistently following teacher directions and asking inquisitive questions. Keep up the amazing work Aurelia. 

Leon W - for his persistence and determination when working on his handwriting, ensuring he is using correct letter formation and the dotted thirds as a guide. Keep up the fantastic efforts Leon. 

Akiva F - for being a great role model to others by showing responsibility and respect during our excursion to the Melbourne Museum by consistently following teacher instructions. Well done, Akiva! 

Aaliyah H -  for always being respectful and demonstrating kindness to her teacher and classmates. Keep up the great work, Aaliyah! 

Nick K - for being resillient towards his learning, especially during maths.

Allegra S - for working hard in maths to achieve her maths goals.

Edie T - for being considerate of others and showing resilience when faced with challenges. You are an exceptional role model to our class. 

Francesco T - for being curious in your learning and modelling to others your questions and ideas. 

Alexander S - for showing the school values of responsibility and resilience both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Jacob S - for working hard to show the school values each and every day. Keep it up Jacob! 

Eleanor K - For her happy and enthusiastic attitude towards all aspects of her work and completes it with quality in mind! 

Nina O -  For showing resilience and a posiitve attitude when something is new or unknown to Nina.

Elijah M - This award is proudly presented to Elijah for focusing on the quality of his work while being an efficient and productive learner.

Lucas M - This award is proudly presented to Lucas for showing the values of responsibility and resilience when taking on new literacy learning tasks.

Eva L - for your use of descriptive language in your creative writing response to the text 'Rain Dance'. Well done Eva! 

Adam M -  for showing the value of responsibility and a growth mindset when completing your narrative writing piece. Well done Adam! 

Samantha C - for her descriptive writing piece about How to Train Your Dragon which included sophisticated vocabulary and showed text to self connections and an understanding of the film's themes.

Lucas S - for embracing challenging learning tasks with an open mind and persistence, especially throughout the Taco Truck project. 

Jordan F - for his resilience and determination to always produce his best work. You should be so proud of yourself!

Florentina T - for her continuous efforts to improve in every aspect of her learning. You are a legend!

Reuben E -  for completing science experiments using the scientic process and showing a deeper level of understanding as to why something has happened. 

Evdokia G - for demonstrating curiosity and a keen interest during Inquiry science experiments and following the scientific process effectively.

George G-K - for being an active participant in our Inquiry science experiments showing a keen interest in observing and explaining changes throughout the scienftific process.

Mia E - For consistently displaying a positive attitude and giving 100% effort all of the time. Well done, Mia! 

Yvette T - For having a growth mindset with all tasks, showing initiative in the classroom and showing the PBL values of respect and responsibility everyday. 

Maria T - 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. 

Eva Z - For showing a growth in confidence when sharing her wonderful and insightful ideas with the class during discussions. Well done Eva! 

Marcel A - For consistently displaying the PBL values of respect, responsibiliy and resilience and being a role model to all of his peers. Amazing work Marcel! 

Lucy M - For having a growth mindset with all tasks, showing initiative in the classroom and showing the PBL values of respect and responsibility everyday. 

Nicholas Y - For developing a growth mindset and pushing youself in class. Your positive attitude in and concentration has allowed you to develop a great APP for your STEAM project. Well done! 

Zoe Z - For always being a leader and a role model on the yard with the junior students, teaching them games and displaying our schools PBL values of respect and responsibility. 

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