Week 3, Term 3

Welcome to the Term 3, Week 3 Newsletter. All students have settled back into school routines. It is a pleasure to visit classes and see the learning that is taking place. Thank you to parents who attended the Parent Teacher Interviews last week. I remind parents that our approachable teachers are available for parent teacher interviews at any time of the year. Should the need arise, please make contact with your child’s teacher to book a convenient time.

Educational Psychologist Visit

As a part of our partnership with Catholic Education South Australia, we provide access to a highly experienced educational psychologist. Trent Ames visits our school for two days, every term. With parent permission, he can observe children in class and complete assessments for social and emotional concerns and for academic or learning issues. Trent is available to meet with parents, on request. These services are provided for free. Usually access to this type of service is expensive, requires a long wait of more than 12 months and can mean multiple trips to Adelaide, resulting in parents having to take time of work. This service is offered to compliment our approaches to inclusive education. If any parent would like to find out more or has concerns about their child, please make a time to speak to me.

Junior Jimmies is a transition program designed specifically for kindergarten students moving into Reception the following year. With a focus on early literacy skills, school routines, oral language development, social skills, and familiarising children with the school setting, Junior Jimmies is here to make the transition to school seamless and exciting.

Junior Jimmies runs over Terms 3 & 4, offering an extended transition to school program that ensures children feel confident and prepared for school. Beginning with 2.5-hour sessions at school, our program gradually increases to a full-day experience towards the end, allowing children to grow their confidence in their new school environment.

Session Times - Starting 30th August (Wednesday’s fortnightly Term 3 and Wednesday's weekly in Term 4 for a total of 10 sessions)

• The first 8 sessions with be run for 2.5hr (8:55 – 11:20am)
• The 2nd last session (22nd November) will run until the end of lunch (1:45pm)
• The final session (29th November) will run for a full day.

Junior Jimmies will be led by Mrs Ellie Stacey, who is an experienced educator that understands the unique needs of young learners. Mrs Stacey will create a nurturing and stimulating environment that fosters growth and development.

Sessions will be held in our General-Purpose Learning spaces.  There will be some interaction with the current Reception class and specialist teachers throughout the program.

We believe in providing equal opportunities for all children, regardless of their background and that is why we offer our transition program for FREE!

Mary MacKillop JJJ Day

This Tuesday 8th August (Week 3), we celebrate Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day. Each year, we join together with St Joseph’s School Gladstone and St. Joseph’s School Peterborough for a Mass followed by activities at one of our schools. This year we will be travelling to Peterborough. This day is celebrated to recognise Australia’s first saint and to celebrate that her Josephite sisters founded our three schools. Students will have the opportunity to enjoy a sausage, cupcake and a fruit box for lunch on the day. Please check your Operoo note for further information about what your child might need to bring on the day. Students and staff will be leaving school by 9:30am and returning to school by 2:45pm.

Students are asked to wear their PE Uniform tomorrow for this excursion.

Year 3 First Reconciliation Parent Night

Just a reminder that we are hosting a Parent and Child Reconciliation Information Night this Wednesday 9th August at 6pm in the Learning Centre for Year 3 families involved in undertaking their First Reconciliation. Students will then go on to celebrate their First Reconciliation at the St James Church on Wednesday 23rd August at 6pm.

Year 3/4 Class Assumption of Mary Liturgy and SRC Leaders Induction for Semester 2

The Year 3/4 Class will be leading us in a liturgy on Friday of Week 4 (18th August) in the Learning Centre at 9:30am to celebrate the Assumption of Mary. At the end of this liturgy, we will be presenting students (Reception, Yr 1/2 & Yr 3/4) who have been elected as SRC members with their badges for this semester. The Year 5/6 students remain elected all year.

Father’s Day Breakfast and Liturgy - SAVE THE DATE

Our school will host a Father’s Day Breakfast and Liturgy on Thursday 31st August (Week 6). All fathers and father like figures are most welcome to join us with their child from 8:00am for breakfast and to visit classrooms. The Year 1/2 Class will then lead a whole school Liturgy in the Learning Centre at 9am. A Breakfast Order Form will be sent home soon.

Staffing Update

Reminder - Mrs Cathy Kelly will be taking 7 weeks of long service leave starting at the end of this week. Ms O’Reilley will be covering Mrs Kelly’s teaching duties on a fortnightly basis in the Year 5/6 Class. Mr Wrobel will take on the Inclusive Education and Literacy Leader roles for this 7 week period. We wish Mrs Kelly all the best during her long service leave.

Two Remaining School Closure Days for 2023

There are two School Closure Days planned for the second half of 2023. These include;

• Friday 1^st Sept – Curriculum Day
• Friday 15^th Dec (Last school day of the year) – Curriculum, Data and Handover Day

Year 5/6 Students to Visit Jamestown Community School

The Year 5/6 Class will visit Jamestown Community School next Monday, 14^th August for a “Master Mind Games Day.” The day is designed to provide senior primary students with a taste of life in a secondary school.

PJ Day

The Student Representative Council have organised a PJ Fundraiser Day for Thursday 17^th August. All students are invited to wear their PJs and slippers for the day. We ask that students bring runners to wear at playtimes. The cost is a gold coin donation. Funds will go towards the Mary MacKillop Today Foundation.

Book Week - SAVE THE DATE

Book Week is in Week 5. This year the theme is ‘Read, Grow, Inspire.’ The annual dress up parade will be on Monday morning 21^st Aug at 9am. Students are encouraged to dress up as a book character or related to the theme. We look forward to seeing the creativity of the costumes. All parents are welcome to attend the parade and the displays in the Learning Centre during Week 5.

Stranger Danger

I would like to remind all parents to have a conversation with their children about stranger danger. Recently, there were a few students from our school who were approached by a stranger outside of school hours. Luckily, they responded appropriately. Class teachers will also talk to students about this important safety message too.

LLL Parents Surveys - Reminder

Every year, we send home a survey to parents to gather feedback about our school. The results are used to develop strategic goals for the school for the following year. Catholic Education SA (CESA) has developed a survey tool, to gather the feedback about how our school is performing. This is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to tell us how things are going for you and your child/ren. There are no wrong or right answers and no individual data is collected. Results are presented in charts and tables as a collective set of data. The school highly values feedback from parents. We hope that many parents will take the time to complete the survey. Attached to the newsletter email is a page including a QR code to scan for access to the survey. Alternatively, a web address at the top of the letter can be entered into an internet browser. There is a unique survey code to use as well, which can be found in the top banner of the letter. The closing date of the survey is this Friday 25^th August. Thank you in anticipation for your responses.

Lost Property

Please ensure your child's jumper & clothing is clearly named. We have a growing collection of unnamed items in the "Lost Property" Box. Lots of lunch containers as well. Please call in and check if anything belongs to your family.

Book Club

Book club catalogues were sent home last Friday. Please place any orders online through LOOP. Orders close this Friday, the 11th of August (Week 3). 

P & F Meeting

Please note that the next P & F Meeting is Tuesday the 22nd of August at 6:30pm. This was previously listed as Tuesday the 8th of August in the Important Dates section of our Newsletter. We apologise for any confusion.

Last week in the Resilience Project we focused on Gratitude. We came up with 20 things that we should say to others more often. Some are to put a smile on peoples faces and others are to make people feel better about themselves.

We recognised that positive words have an impact on how people feel.

'’People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."