Dear Parents & Caregivers,

Welcome to Term 3! It has been great to see everyone back at school over the past week. Here’s hoping that this term will be a productive one and that we stay healthy.

Thank you for your attendance at the recent parent & teacher learning conversations. The staff really enjoyed catching up with so many parents and students to discuss their learning. You are welcome to arrange a visit to the classroom before or after school, please contact your child's teacher.

Last Monday we welcomed our 2023 Prep students to school for their first session of More Learning. More Learning will continue each Monday & Friday morning. What a great introduction to school life! Thank you to Labibi Zakkour and Melissa Zuccarelli for conducting this program for our youngest students.

Planning for our athletics day on the 8th August at Coburg Harold Stevens Athletic Track, 20 Outlook Rd, Coburg North 3058 (off Murray Rd past the Coburg Swimming Pools) is well under way with our students eagerly preparing at sports time. We hope to see many parents in attendance this year. A reminder that the bus transport back to school from the track will only be available to students who are enrolled in OSHC that afternoon.

This term we are excited to have our book week celebrations in Week 7. Our celebration day and parade will be 26th August. The theme for Book Week 2022 is Dreaming With Eyes Open.

As you aware, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) have informed us that as per government directives, the vaccination mandate has now been removed for schools. This means that vaccination is not required to be able to help in the classrooms or canteen anymore. For anyone who has missed out on being able to help in the canteen or classroom because of vaccination status, you can now apply to complete the volunteer training via this form:https://forms.gle/S43DPz8gbydCpSzZ6

Please complete the following if you would now like to sign up as a volunteer at STM. All volunteers will be added to our Learning management system so they can be assigned the relevant training module/s. Please keep an eye out for emails from St Thomas More School's Staff Learning System.

A reminder that the dental van visits next week. Only students who have returned a signed permission slip will be seen.

We have received correspondence from MACS in recognition of the efforts schools are making in minimising disruption for staff and students despite the high number of COVID-19 and flu cases. MACS appreciate that the staff shortages these cases have caused and the resulting reduction in our CRT budgets has made it difficult to release teachers for professional practice time. Because professional practice time remains significant to delivering improved educational outcomes and maintaining staff engagement, the MACs Executive Leadership Team have approved an additional Student Free Day for MACS Primary Schools in Term 3. STM will take this day on Monday 15th August to participate in First Aid training. This day along with the already designated Curriculum day on Friday 12th August will mean a four day mid term break for our students.

You will be aware by now that the Department of Health and the Educatioon Department is recommeding that masks be worn indoors by staff, students and visitors to school until the end of winter. Disposable masks are available for students at school, we would appreciate your support in encouraging your child to mask up.

In case you missed last Friday's summary email:

• COVID emails: Schools are still required to notify their community of COVID cases within the school so the Positive COVID case notifications will continue until further notice

• COVID notifications from families: We ask that families continue to notify the school if their child has COVID or is a close contact

• Close contacts: Close contacts are still required to wear masks at school if they are over 8 years of age

• School Absence Google form: We ask that families reporting absences due to COVID through the google form, please indicate dates when Covid was contracted to help us with isolation timelines. This form is linked to our school website under 'quick links'

• RATs: The school will get 3 further shipments of RATs each term and these will be distributed so that families still have access to RATs if symptomatic.

• Celebrations of Learning: will return to the classroom at the end of this term and will be held in the last two weeks of school

• School Events Calendar: In response to feedback from our School Advisory Council, we have created a new calendar for families to refer to. This is located on the school website that will hopefully help families track what's on each term without digging through emails. This will be updated as needed.

Congratulations to our Prep students who next Friday will celebrate 100 days of school. What a group of superstars!

Thank you for your support of our school,

Geraldine & Leadership Team.

Dear Parents,

Just a reminder that Athletics Carnival will be held on Monday 8th August 2022 (Monday Term 3, Week 5)

A few reminders:

Sausage sizzle orders:

• We have extended the collection of orders until July 27th

• All sausage sizzle orders will be made through ‘CDFpay’ via https://stmhadfield.cdfpay.org.au by clicking on the ‘School Events’ selection.

• IMPORTANT Please note – Selecting the items on the menu will remove items. If you would like bread, sausage and sauce then leave the boxes empty

• Please note: STRICTLY NO late orders accepted after Wednesday 27th July, as items will need to be ordered in advance

Parents/family spectators

• All parents/families are welcome to come and watch their child on the day

• Additional sausages will be available for purchase for adult/younger sibling spectators only (correct change cash or eft)

Parent Helpers

• We will require at least 2 parents from each year level to help distribute sausages on the day, if you can be a parent helper please fill out the form - 2022 Athletics Day Parent Helpers

• Parents will be notified of their duties for the day via email

• If you are not required to help on the day you can still be present as a spectator

Please ensure that the Operoo form is completed by Wednesday Week 1, Term 3 to ensure that buses can be organised on time.

Clothing & Equipment:

• Children are encouraged to wear their Sports uniform and a t-shirt in their House colour (Blue, Green, Red, or Gold)

• Please ensure that children are dressed according to the weather forecast - rain jackets recommended

• Appropriate footwear must be worn to ensure that children can safely participate in organised sporting events

• Children are welcome to bring a backpack of their choice, however, ensure all items are clearly labelled

• Picnic rugs (optional)

Food:

• • Children are required to bring their packed brain food and snacks

  • If you would like to purchase a sausage this can be done through CDFpay as mentioned above

  • Students not ordering a sausage for lunch will need to provide their own lunch for the day

  • Water in plastic bottles only

Travel Arrangements:

• All children are expected to be dropped off (by parents/guardians ) at the Coburg Athletics track between 8:30 am - 8:45 am for a 9:00 am start. Please be aware that there will be no teacher supervision before 8:30 am

• Parents and caregivers will need to pick up their child at Coburg Track at approximately 3:00 pm

• Bus transfer from the track back to the school will only be provided to students enrolled in OSHclub after school on Monday 8th August

PLEASE NOTE: In the case of inclement weather (e.g. high chance of rain and/or winds, etc), families will be notified of the cancellation via email and Seesaw by 5:30pm Sunday 7th August

Celebrations of Learning

We are excited to be welcoming back our parents community to 'Celebrations of learning' later this term. An important part of the culture of celebrating learning @ STM, these termly events enable our children to share aspects of their learning with their parents. It enhances the connection that our community has with the learning of not only their child, but the entire class. The children will be co-designing these celebrations with their teachers which may focus on various aspects of the curriculum. You will receive an invite from your child later this term.

Excursions

Our teachers are in the process of organising Inquiry related excursions which will occur in term 4. Your child's teacher will forward you more information about these excursions later this term via email and Operoo.

Inquiry focus for term 3

This term in Inquiry, our whole school focus is 'systems'. Systems are all around us. A system is a group of related things that work together as a whole. Systems can be man-made things like a car engine or natural things like a star system. Systems can also be concepts made by people to organize ideas. Without systems, things don’t work properly. We seek to nurture children who identify how systems can help us to solve problems and improve the world around us.

Year level Inquiry context of learning:

Prep: Our Community - The prep children are exploring the system of Communities. They are investigating how communities are organised and structured to keep us healthy, safe and happy. Throughout this term the children will be working with members of our community in various occupations and roles. This will include the emergency services of Fire, Police and Ambulance. They will develop their own awareness of the ways in which we need to work together to develop responsibility and safety for ourselves and others. See our Instagram reel below for some of the amazing questions that our children have developed!

Grade 1 / 2: Paddock to Plate: This term the year 1 /2 children exploring 'Paddock to Plate'. They are investigating the story of food and the various roles that people play in the growing, harvesting, production, transport, distribution and cooking of food. Throughout this Inquiry the children will also be cultivating their own vegetable garden to experience their own Paddock to Plate journey throughout the term. Bring on Spring and harvesting time! See the Instagram reel below to catch them preparing their garden beds!

Grade 3/4: This is Australia: This term our year 3/4 children are exploring the structures of Geography and how Australia is organised. This includes an investigation of the localities of suburbs, cities and towns, states and our country as a whole. They will develop their understanding by comparing and contrasting our nation to other countries. Throughout this the children will develop their own questions to investigate aspects of Geography and their local and global world.

Grade 5/6: Our future is bright! Finally, this term our year 5/6 team are learning about the way in which we use and rely on energy. They are exploring both non renewable and renewable energy sources in an effort to understand and develop ideas for conquering the energy crisis. Stay tuned to learn about how you can make small changes to make a big difference!

NAIDOC WEEK: Last week was NAIDOC week. The children throughout the school learned about the week's significance and the importance of developing our understanding, awareness and respect of our Indigenous heritage and culture. Check out our learning posts below from Grade 2 and Prep!

Many thanks for your ongoing support of all of the amazing learning happening in our STM classrooms!

Kate Korber - Learning & Teaching Leader

Are you following STM on our Instagram and Facebook pages? Head on over and follow us for learning updates and community news! Click on the images below to be taken to our social accounts

STMPA

Term 3 & 4 Events

A few exciting events have been planned for term 3 and 4 with a few dates confirmed. Funds raised will be allocated towards new sports equipment and resources for literacy and numeracy.

• Sports Day Sausage Sizzle – 8 th August

• STM Art Show – 13 th October (term 4)

• Parent Trivia Night (term 4)

• Father’s Day Breakfast (term 4)

• Father’s Day Stall (term 4)

9 facts about boys that you may not know

Boys can be a mystery to many parents, particularly those who were raised in all-girl households or who have had minimum exposure to males in their formative years.

The more you know about boys the better placed you are to meet their needs as a parent, carer or teacher.

Here are nine facts to help you better understand what makes boys tick:

1. Boys are more likely to be heuristic learners than girls

Boys, more than girls, are likely to learn many of their lessons from experience rather than being told. This can be make parenting them challenging, particularly if you don’t have an appetite for risk yourself. Perhaps the biggest challenge is keeping them safe so some risks need to be out-of bounds. It can also be difficult as a parent being the support person when the lessons that boys learn bring hardship and tears.

2. Boys brains are designed by a different architect

In the first five years of life a girl’s brain is busy developing fine motor skills, verbal skills and social skills, which are all highly valued by parents and teachers. Meanwhile, a boy’s brain is busy developing gross motor skills, spatial skills and visual skills. These are all handy hunting skills. So boys often start school with a distinct disadvantage when it comes to learning and fitting in.

3. Boys mature differently to girls

The maturity gap between boys and girls of anywhere between 12 months and two years, seems to be consistent all the way to adulthood. Parents should take this into account when deciding the school starting age of their sons. This maturity gap is also evident when kids finish school and move into tertiary studies or the workplace. Girls are often better placed to succeed, and many boys get lost once they leave school.

4. Loyalty is high driver for boys

Understand that a boy’s loyalty to his friends and family is a key driver and you’ll begin to understanding the male psyche. They are incredibly influenced by their peers, which can hold many of them back. It takes a brave boy to get too far ahead of the pack, so they often hold each other back when it comes to achieving.

Loyalty to others can get boys into trouble. Call a boy’s sister an insulting name and you are in for fight. Insult his friends and you are asking for trouble.

5. Boys are more likely to be visual learners

Boys generally need a reason to learn. If you are having difficulty motivating your son then try linking learning to their interests. They may play a musical instrument when they know they can play in a band or practise their kicking if they can see it will help kick more goals.

If they love skateboarding the chances are they want to know more about it, so use this as a lever to motivate them if reading is a problem.

6. Boys fight more than girls

Leonard Sax author of Why Gender Matters reports on the year long study of elementary (primary school) students in the playground where boys fight 20 times more than girls. The fighting wasn’t always destructive, as they researchers found that boys usually ended up being better friends following the dispute. Sax, notes that male primates have the same proclivity toward fighting and theorises that aggression is a part of the socialisation process for males. He asserts that male primates that don’t fight with other males when young, grow up more violent as adults, not less. I’d hasten that even though some boys may fight, an important part of the socialisation process is to teach how to resolve conflict with words, rather than using physical means.

7. Boys benefit greatly from silence

Boys don’t have the same innate tendency for reflection that girls are born with. Don’t get me wrong, males of all ages have the ability reflect on their behaviours, values and their lives (when older) but they need the environment to be right for them to do so.

Quiet time and down time give boys the chance to let their thoughts wander around inside their heads. It also helps them get to know and even like themselves. Boys will often do their best thinking on their own, so they tend to retreat to their caves (bedroom) when things go wrong at school or in their relationships. They need to go within to find their own answer.

8. Boys just want to blend in

Boys are group-oriented by nature. They want to fit in. They tend to play group games and form themselves into structured friendship groups. Boys generally don’t want to stand out from the crowd.

Don’t put them down in front of their friends and understand that they may make poor friendship choices rather than be in a group of one – by themselves. They prefer the ‘wrong friends’ rather than no friends at all.

9. Approval is at the heart of working with boys

Approval is at the heart of working successfully with boys. They will walk over broken glass or hot coals if they feel you like them. In a sense this notion holds many of them back, as most boys will only work for a teacher if they like them and close down on learning if they sense the teacher doesn’t like them.

Take the time to nurture a relationship with your sons or the boys that you interact with. Some boys like to talk; others like to share an activity; some like you as an adult to do something for them; others are very kinaesthetic and love to be touched, cuddled and hugged; while some just love gifts and mementoes. Work out the relational preferences of the males in your life and make sure you match these.