Newsletter No. 30 | Term 4 Week 3 | Thursday 20th October 2022

Prayer

Lord, Please bless our students

and help them as they grow.

May we teach them faithfully

the things they need to know.

So they may face the future

knowing they are prepared,

and when they think of school days,

may they know their teachers cared.

Principal's Message

Kia Ora families and friends,

I hope you all managed to remain dry last week. It has been a very tough time for many of our fellow Victorians, we keep them in our thoughts and prayers. In contrast to the weather here, I was very fortunate to have blue skies every day in Queenstown, it seems that I left Victoria at the perfect time. I would like to acknowledge the staff for ensuring that things ran smoothly when I was away. We are so fortunate to have a staff who work so hard and take such good care of our children. I am extremely grateful for all that they do. 

Queenstown is a truly spectacular place with breathtaking views around every corner. I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to take the trip with some of my siblings and Mum. We learnt a lot about New Zealand and were surprised to find a monument to Saint Mary McKillop in a beautiful little town called Arrowtown. I had forgotten that Mary McKillop’s order had spread as far as New Zealand. She answered the call of Fr. Keenan, the Parish Priest of Arrowtown, who convinced her that the school at Arrowtown desperately needed teachers. Sr. Mary’s arrival in Arrowtown was met with a big parade, with locals very excited that their children would be provided with an education.

FUN FACT: There are no snakes in New Zealand and not one deadly creature of any description. Quite a contrast to Australia!

Art News

Over a few Art sessions, the students have spent time creating fabulous creatures from recycled wine bottles. Check them out, they look absolutely amazing! It is a credit to the children that they applied themselves to the task so wholeheartedly. It is also a credit to Alice for the wonderful direction and opportunities she gives our students to explore their creativity. Fabulous!

Friendly Reminders

Uniform Expectations

Being a small country school has many advantages. We are able to provide a more individualised education for our students and we are also able to be more flexible with rules and regulations. An example of this flexibility can be seen in regards to our uniform expectations. Students are still required to wear the school uniform but we also allow them to wear boots and leggings so that they are able to play and explore our beautiful outdoor environment, without feeling hindered by wearing inappropriate clothing. Whilst allowing children to be suitably dressed for the outdoors, we also ask that the uniform is respected and adhered to as much as possible.

Attendance Expectations

The last couple of years has seen huge disruptions to school attendance. Fortunately, we are now coming out at the other end. As we are now at the end of Winter, with Covid less prevalent and Winter bugs subsiding, I feel it is a good time to revisit attendance expectations at St. Brendan’s. 

I recently came across the following quote:

"The relationship between teacher quality and student achievement is mediated by the amount of time students spend in the classroom. Irrespective of the reasons for absences, non-attendance affects student outcomes."   John Hattie

In order to ensure that the children have the best opportunities for success and set good habits for life, please note the following:

• Line-up is at 8.52 and classes begin at 9.00
• The school day ends at 3.20
• Where possible, please make appointments out of school hours. Of course there will be times when there are exceptions to the rule. However, it is extremely important to remember that it is in the best interests of a child’s success at school for parents to ensure that their child is at school for the allotted time. 
• We are extremely fortunate to have excellent teachers at St. Brendan’s which, as mentioned above, is pivotal to successful outcomes for our students. When children miss classes, teachers have to find a way to catch them up, and this is often quite difficult. We ask that parents support the teachers by ensuring that children attend school within the set hours. 

If we are all on the same page with setting high expectations and demonstrating to our children that we truly value education, it will be the children who benefit.

Warrion Flower Show

The Warrion Flower Show is nearly here! We have one week to get the tombola jars in. Thanks so much to everybody who has contributed so far. They look fantastic!

Please see if you can slot yourself onto the roster for our stall at the flower show. The more hands on deck the better!

Hats

Just a reminder to ensure that your child has a hat at school each day. Children will be asked to stay under shelter if they do not have their hats. Check out the table below. Last week on an overcast, showery days, the UV rating was 7.

Lost Property

We have a lot of lost property built up again, including quite a few near new sports jumpers without any names. We have laid all lost proerty items out in the bus shelter, if you are missing  anything please have a good look through the pile.

It is really important that all uniform items are named, especially jumpers and hats, so if we do find them lying around we can quickly return them to you. Old fashioned permanent marker is still effective or if you are looking for some iron/stick on options these websites might be worth taking a look at:

Stuck on You https://www.stuckonyou.com.au/labels/clothing-labels/round

Tiny Me https://www.tinyme.com.au/name-labels/iron-on-clothing-labels 

Bright Star Kids https://www.brightstarkids.com.au/name-labels/iron-on-clothing-labels 

Child Safe Standards

The Child Safe Standards commenced in Victoria in January 2016. After five years, we have seen how the standards improve safety for children and young people. Changes are being made to make our standards even stronger. Organisations covered by the standards were required to ensure compliance with the new standards by July 1st 2022. The new standards set out minimum requirements and outline the actions organisations must take to keep children and young people safe. They provide more clarity for organisations and are more consistent with standards in the rest of Australia. The things organisations already do to keep children and young people safe will help them be compliant with the new standards. In some areas, organisations will need to change or develop their current child safe policy, practices and organisational culture to meet the new standards.

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Leanne Eastman
principal@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

Catholic Culture

This month is Catholic Mission month. This is a month where Catholic churches and schools across the country ‘reach out’ to give people the opportunity for a full, enriched life—physically and spiritually—regardless of race, stigma, religion or gender. Catholic Mission operates in over 160 countries to support initiatives in 1,100 dioceses, including remote Australia. As the world witnesses the ongoing devastation of famine and drought in the Horn of Africa, we are responding to the call of Pope Francis, to be a witness of love in the world. 

Traditionally at St. Brendan's, we celebrate Mission Day in October.  This year we will be celebrating Mission Day a bit later on 18th November, and like other years, money raised will go to those less fortunate than us.

Prep/1 Classroom News

We have had another successful week in Prep/1! The students enjoyed swimming last Friday and we are looking forward to another session this Friday. Remember to pack bathers, goggles, towel and drink bottle.

Literacy: Students have been writing some wonderful recounts this week. I have been blown away with the Preps who are independently writing their own drafts! It's very exciting to observe. The Grade 1’s are also making great strides and are becoming confident little writers.

Maths: This week we have been investigating 3D shapes. Students have been learning to identify cubes, spheres, cylinders, pyramids, cones and rectangular prisms. They have also learnt to count the number of faces, edges and vertices on each.

Religion: To explore the overarching theme of “Celebration,” we have been thinking about celebrations and traditions in our own lives. These have included Easter, Christmas, and birthdays.

Integrated Curriculum: This week for Geography, we read the story “Sled Dogs Run!” Set in North America, this story was an absolutely hit with the students who were very taken with the puppy characters: Skookum, Hawk and Bamboo. We will be learning more about North America over the next week or two.

Allira Kluver
akluver@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

2/3/4 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 3!

During Week 4 and 5 Alice and Liz will caring for my class as I enjoy some Long Service Leave in Noosa. I hope they enjoy spending time with my precious ones!

Two weeks of homework has been sent home and is due back on Monday November 5^th.

Literacy: In Literacy we have created and shared simple procedures and are designing our own games. We have looked at the Dr. Suess story ‘There’s a Wocket in my Pocket ‘ and  devised our own rhymes and creatures. The children are enjoying the syllable work that we saw in Camperdown at the Sounds Write day.

Maths: In Maths we have investigated quadrilaterals including rhombuses, kites and parallelograms. We are also learning about what ‘two and three dimensional ‘means, and the properties associated with these shapes.

Homework: Homework has been sent home with new spelling words to learn and revision of basic mathematical concepts. I have sent out 2 weeks of homework to complete and it is due back on Monday November 5^th. Please send a procedure for a snack(previous homework task) as we are making a class booklet with our recipes.

Integrated Curriculum: In Integrated Curriculum we are exploring Australia. The class is still researching states and territories and will be investigating rivers and some natural landmarks within our country.

Religion: This term we will be learning about the ‘origins’ of the Jesus story as we prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. The people of God had been waiting for God to send them a ‘messiah’ who would teach them how to live well. The Old Testament contains writings about what this messiah would be like and we will be looking at some of these passages from the bible.

The Star of the Week award goes to Caleb Price. Congratulations on your excellent work and effort!

Mandy Sutherland
msutherland@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

5/6 Classroom News

Welcome to Week 3 of Term 4! It has been lovely to have some spring sunshine this week.

Homework: Homework was handed out on Monday and this is due back on Friday 28th October. 

Lids4Kids: Thank you to everyone who donated lids last term for Lids4Kids. I’m excited to say that we collected 631 lids! These lids will be melted down and upcycled to create items such as USB sticks.

Spelling: In Spelling this week we have been focusing on the prefix ‘micro’ which means small in Greek (eg. microphone and microearthquake). We have been identifying the syllables in our words and have been writing our own definitions.

Writing: This week in Writing we have been creating our own board games or physical games. Students have been writing detailed instructions on how to play their game and some students are now up to creating their games, stay tuned!

Maths: In Maths we have been working on Volume. This week we have been calculating the volume of cubes and rectangular prisms. 

Religion: This week we have been investigating Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. Laudato Si’ is a letter that is addressed to every person on the planet, asking us all to protect the earth.

Integrated Curriculum: This week in Integrated Curriculum we have been learning about Asia. We have been investigating the different countries in Asia and geographical features of these counties.

Have a great week and please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Tahlia Whytcross
twhytcross@sbcoragulac.catholic.edu.au

NCCD Information

What is NCCD?

NCCD is the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data.
Schools must now complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with
Disability (NCCD) every year. It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments
or “help” at school because of a disability. The NCCD helps governments plan for the needs of
students with disability. For more information please take the time to read the attached fact sheet:

Important Dates

Acknowledgement of Country

At St. Brendan’s Primary School we pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Gulidjan people and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We will respect the land, animals and waterways, from the roots of the earth to the tops of the trees. Through the example of our first Australians, we understand that if we look after the country, then the country will look after us.

About Us

School Vision:   'For you I have a destiny and a hope.'                    

PARISH PRIEST: Fr Michael O’Toole                  PRINCIPAL: Mrs Leanne Eastman

SAC CHAIRPERSON: Ms Gayle McNabb          CHILD SAFETY OFFICER: Mrs Leanne Eastman