Week 7, Term 3 2019

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This week we gave thanks and farewelled our beloved Mrs Christine Cosgrove.  Mrs Cosgrove notified the school community of her decision to take leave with the intention to retire in the last newsletter.  St Saviour’s Primary School students, parents and staff have been truly blessed by the wonderful Mrs Cosgrove. Her expertise and efficiency in running our school administration and finance has been integral to the success of St Saviour’s Primary School.  The compassion and care that she has shown every day to the students, staff and families over the past 35 years demonstrates how special she is to all of us.

The students, staff, Parents and Friends and school community gave thanks to Mrs Cosgrove on Monday at Assembly.  We spoilt her with a photo album created by each class and staff members, a pandora bracelet, flowers, a whole school photo of the students and staff and a journal of thanks and good wishes for her to treasure. 

We will miss you terribly Mrs Cosgrove and we wish you all the best in your next journey in life.  Enjoy every moment with your family and especially your grandchildren.  You will be forever in the hearts and minds of all of us here at St Saviour’s Primary School.

Mrs Jodie MacLachlan has been working alongside Mrs Cosgrove on Wednesday to Friday for the past few years learning the ropes of our administration and finance.  Jodie will begin working full-time from next Monday 3^rd September as the school finance officer whilst Mrs Cosgrove is on leave.  

Mrs Elizabeth Poulton our Learning Support Teacher has recently advised that she will be retiring at the end of the school year and moving to Brisbane to live.  Liz is a valued staff member and has been instrumental in ensuring that St Saviour’s Primary School provides and offers high quality educational support to all students at our school.  This position will be advertised within Toowoomba Catholic Schools system and outside agencies. In Term 4, we will farewell and give thanks to Liz for her service. 

Congratulations to Mrs Cathy Condon who was awarded recognition of her service to the Diocesan Parents and Friends Association recently.  Cathy is a keen advocate and contributor of parent engagement here at St Saviour's Primary School.  It's parents like Cathy who are dedicated and committed to encouraging all parents to engage in school community whether it be organising social events, children activities or fundraising for special projects. Thanks Cathy.  

What fun and busy times we have had over the past two weeks.

STEM PUNKS classes have inspired and challenged our students to build problem-solving skills; so that when students hit an roadblock, they are confident they can overcome them.  Very early on in the task students are often tentative to try things and by the end they are hands-on and deep into it, having fun and learning without even realizing it. 

Teachers are providing fresh opportunities with very little guidelines for students so that they can think for themselves to see what works well to solve the problem.  My hope for all our learners is that we can develop our students critical STEM skills throughout their education to ensure they are as prepared as possible for challenges they face in future study, work and life.

Teachers and students are on this creative, critical thinking, digital and problem-solving challenge together.  They are working collaboratively and sharing their new learnings with each other often. It is tremendous to see our staff working so collectively to support the learning here at St Saviour’s Primary School.  This is the beauty of collaborative partnerships – we learn from each other.

WELLBEING WEEK activities was another display of supporting our students and staff wellbeing needs. Students in the younger years joined the older students for an afternoon of fun activities to check in with each other and continue to support the culture of compassion and care for others.  Children engaged in art, STEM, reading and play activities and there was lots of laughter to be heard across our school last Thursday during this time.  Thanks to our Wellbeing Committee for their creativity once again in making Wellness Week a joy each term.

BOOK WEEK was a huge success with teachers and students embracing the theme: Reading Is My Super Power.  What a delight to see the happy faces of the children dressed up for Book Week Parade and the staff as Detectives, searching for the super power of reading.  The mystery readers, Fr Michael, Mrs Jarrett, Mrs Poulton, Mrs Horne and I enjoyed reading stories to the children throughout lunch time and we can’t forget the Reading Challenge Competition.  Congratulations Xavier readers for winning this competition.  Thanks Mrs Anderson, Mrs Milton and Mrs Powers for your energy and creativity in promoting Book Week for our school.

JAPANESE VISITORS

Thanks to Mrs Jayne Greenhalgh for organising our Japanese visitors from Imbari. 

Thanks also must be extended to Mrs Carol Kane and the many families who hosted the students during this time.  From all accounts it is an enjoyable and worthwhile event for all involved.  Certainly, at the Sayonara Partythe visiting students were very happy and comfortable in showcasing their learnings.

Student Protection Survey

During this week parents will receive a letter with information about an upcoming Student Protection Survey. The survey is intended to gather feedback on how well we are implementing our student protection processes. We would like all parents to participate in the online survey, which is confidential and voluntary. Students and staff will also be completing a survey.

The survey is being administered by an independent research organisation, who will collate results and provide us with recommendations for improvement. We will give you more information soon about how and when you can access the survey online.

Student safety is very important to us and we value the input of our school community. Please contact the office if you do not receive a letter by Friday 6^th September or if you specifically do not wish your child to participate.

Thanks for reading

Madonna Sleba

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing this from a very quiet motel room in Brisbane where I have been staying since Sunday. Hopefully, the staff and students have noticed that I have not been around the school at all this week. Why am I in Brisbane? I am undertaking a week long intensive theology course, Enhancing Catholic Schools Identity (ECSI), which is a two-staged research project initiated in 2004 by Cath Ed Commission of Victoria. It has since been adopted in Melbourne, regional Victoria, QLD, SA, and Parramatta, with Perth and Tasmania also interested. The presenters are from Melbourne and my fellow attendees, include educators from all the Catholic Diocese of Queensland. There are only 3 of us from the Toowoomba Diocese, so I am very lucky to have this opportunity. This course/program is the same one that Madonna undertook while overseas in Belgium earlier in the year and so, with "two heads being better than one", together we hope to discern if/ how the ECSI program can make SSPS even better for students, staff and parents. Stay tuned for further updates as we delve further into this.

FAREWELL Mrs Cosgrove:

I had to say my farewells to Mrs Cosgrove last Wednesday as it was our last day working together which of course was quite sad. As was many people's experience and recollection, Christine Cosgrove was the first person at SSPS who I spoke with on my first visit. For many families, Chris has been the "face of St Saviour's", the voice on the end of the phone answering all sorts of questions prior to or part of new enrolments. I have heard many times that families ended up choosing to go ahead with their enrolment with us, "because of the lovely, helpful lady on the phone".

As would happen in any school, sometimes our office ladies do have to deal too with parents who are stressed or upset. While this is fortunately not a frequent occurence however, it must be said that at all times, our Mrs Cosgrove has kept her cool and managed to "calm the waters". I know that her fellow office colleagues have learnt much from her example, and are in awe of her ability to respond appropriately in even the most trying of circumstances.

Now that Mrs Cosgrove has finished her work time with us, we are hoping that we will still see her now and then as we are not quite ready to say goodbye completely. And she knows we are not ready to give up her special treats as she is a very good, healthy cook as well. We look forward to some more casual catch ups with her. Not good bye Mrs Cosgrove... see you again soon. xx

Farewell Mrs Cosgrove - 2019 

Fathers' Day: To all the Dads, Grandads and Father figures in our lives, we wish you a happy day on Sunday and also invite you to a special Dads' Assembly on Monday afternoon, which is being presented by 2F. In the meantime, here is a special prayer for you....

FATHER’S DAY CREED

I believe in God the Father; I believe in my dad too.

I believe God gives us fathers to help us learn about life,

about all the gifts of the world

and about how to grow up.

 I believe Jesus came down to do what his father asked of him,

to be a brother, to teach us how to be good brothers

and sisters and sons and daughters.

I believe that the Holy Spirit is with us helping us to love our fathers and to grow in the way that they help us.

 I believe that the Church is all fathers and mothers and families working together to help people love more in their daily lives.

 I believe that in life to come, we will all join again,

to be happy families in the fatherhood of God.

PASTORAL CARE CONTRIBUTIONS: If anyone is able to contribute a meal or some "sweet baking" to our freezer supplies then that would be very much appreciated as our stocks are very low at the moment. As you would be aware we try and keep a supply of meals on hand to send home to families when a need arises. We have had a "bit of a run" over the last few weeks and sent home several meals in a last couple of weeks. If you can assist at all, your conribution would be very welcome. Thank you!

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Judy

NAPLAN 2019

The 2019 NAPLAN results for Year 3 and 5 students were released yesterday.  Congratulations to all students who participated in this and all of the teaching staff who have contributed to the student results.

Individual student NAPLAN results have been published to schools.  We expect the parent reports to arrive in the next week or so and they will be sent home with your child in a sealed envelope.  Only one copy of student results is provided by QCAA so  if you require a second copy, please let your child's teacher know so a photocopy can be supplied.

It is pleasing to report that St Saviour's Primary School has performed well above the state and national mean in each testing area.  Please see a summary below:

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher interviews take place in Terms 1 and 3 at St Saviour's Primary School.  This is an opportunity for parents to meet with teachers to discuss student learning and recieve feedback on how they are performing.

This term interviews will take place during Week 9, with the main portion of interviews being on Monday September 9.  There will also be some other days where before and after school appointments can be made.  Bookings will take place through Schoolzine. 

Please follow the link sent home today to make bookings for these interviews.

Year 3 Parent Information Evening for Surface Go Devices

An information evening will take place on Wednesday 11 September from 5.30pm in the school library for parents who will have children in Year 4 in 2020. 

Please refer to the letter that was sent via schoolzine on 27 June for further information.  This letter is also attached below.

Interschool Sport - Term 3

Interschool Sport has commenced for the Year 5 and 6 students.  Parents are most welcome to attend and the draw will be sent home every week via the newsletter and also Schoolzine.  

Draw for Week 7 - 30/8/19

Netball:

Senior A V TCC Court 10 at 1.45pm

Senior B1 V Concordia 1 Court 10 at 1pm

Senior B2V Concordia 2 Court 5 at 1pm

Junior A V St Thomas More's Court 16 at 1pm

Junior B V Wilsonton SS Court 16 1.45pm

Soccer:

Junior A Boys V Grammar at Nell E Robinson at 1pm

Senior A Boys V Grammar at Nell E Robinson at 1.45pm

Senior B Boys V St Thomas More's at Concordia (Hume St) at 1pm

Junior Girls V Highlands at Highlands at 1pm

Senior Girls V Highlands at Hightlands at 1.45pm

Book Week 

Our special Book Week events were celebrated with fun and flair. Thank you to parents and staff for your contributions. Please enjoy the photos in this newsletter as they tell the story of our celebrations.

Our Secret Readers - Thank you for your enthusiasm!

Our Team Challenge - Our winning house with only a margin of 2 points was Xavier House. There was only 8 points between 1st and 4th places so it was a tight competition. The students entered the spirit of this challenge with energy and focus.

Our Dress-up Parade - Our staff were wonderful super sleuths giving out the message that reading is a secret power and wih it we can open up our world and our imagination. The children enjoyed being other characters, people and objects through their costumes. I think this was the favourite Book Week event!

Our Class Posters - Thank you to the students and staff who shared their understanding of their reading power and created a poster for display in the library.

Thank you Mrs Cooper

We have a beautiful replacement reading chair in the library thanks to the generous donation made by Mrs Cooper and her family of her grandmother's chair. Thank you so much Mrs Cooper, this chair has already become special to us all and it will be treasured in our shared space.

Any DIY upholsterers who may be interested in the old chair can view it in the library, just speak to a library staff member. 

Second-hand Stall Next Tuesday

Please support our last fund raiser for the year by bringing some money to spend at our second-hand stall to be held at 11 am on Tuesday 3rd September. There are many items priced at 50 cents to $1.00, with $3.00 being the highest price. Money raised will be used to buy Christmas gifts for residents of St Vincent's Aged Care Home.

If you have any small, saleable item that you wish to donate, please leave it at the library on Monday morning. Items for sale will be on display at lunch-time on Monday.

We look forward to your support.

Min Vinnies members

Congratulations to our Weekly Award Winners for

Week 6 & 7

Term 3 School Fees:

Term 3 School Fees are now overdue. 

Camp payments:

Just a reminder that Year 5 & 6 camp payments have been separatley invoiced.  Payments can be made over the phone via credit card/eftpos/direct deposit.

Absences from school - extended time:

Families wishing to take their children out of school for a period of time throughout the school term need to complete a Flexible Schooling Arrangment Form which is available from the office.  This form must be completed by parent/guardian before leave can be approved and taken.  

Well Being Week:

Last week was Wellbeing Week at St Saviour's Primary.  On 'Thriving Thursday' afternoon, the children spent an hour in other classrooms.  They had a lovely time getting to know bigger or smaller children in the school.  It was also a great opportunity for teachers to see children they have taught in previous years.  Thank you to all the teachers who provided fun activities for the children and for the children who joined in the afternoon so wholeheartedly.

Miss Cosgrove

Teacher 2C

Year 4-6:

One of the most challenging issues facing parents today is their children’s technology use. Children are spending more and more time online, and in a world where children are "growing up digital," it's important to help them learn healthy concepts of digital use and citizenship. While technology offers many wonderful opportunities to our students, it can also present many negative challenges, including social isolation to lack of concentration, cyber bullying and exposure to bad language. Parents play an important role in teaching, guiding and monitoring digital engagement. The eSafety Commissioner has recently released a guide for parents that covers some of the key online safety issues for young people. The guide includes a range of practical tips and advice that may help you remain vigilant and proactive in this space. Students in Grades 4 through 6 will each receive a copy of this guide to bring home for their parent/carer. If you have any questions about the guide or would like support with this issue, please contact the school for further information.

Anne Woodcroft-Brown

School Counsellor

Dance Fever

Dance Fever is an event sponsored by the P&F in close collaboration with the School.

Every child has been included in a professionally-delivered dance training program to produce a dance which they will display on the Dance Fever night.

The 2019 Dance Fever night will be held on Friday the 13^th of September, 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

BBQ and bar will be available from 5:00pm.

Children’s dance displays from 6:00pm.

Cost is $10 per family for entry – bring your dancing feet.

Pizza Treat Day

Reminder for the pizza treat day on Thursday the 5 September.

Available to order now through the online Flexi-Schools account.

Request for Volunteers

The P&F are seeking volunteers to assist with running the Dance Fever BBQ and event. If you are interested in lending a hand please leave your name and contact details with the administration office or contact the P&F at ssppandf@twb.catholic.edu.au

Trivia night- A thank you from the P&F

On Saturday 27 July St Saviour's P&F held our trivia night at the mercy centre. We had a great turnout of 8 tables with 10 participants on each. It was a very enjoyable evening with only one point separating the top two tables in the end.

On the night we also had lucky door prizes, a competition for the best decorated table and other spot prizes.

A special thanks to everyone who helped out on the night, to everyone who came and made the night very enjoyable and to the sponsors of the lucky door prizes.

We hope to make this an annual event and any suggestions from the community on how to grow this event will be greatly appreciated.

See you all next year.

St Saviour's Primary - P&F