May Newsletter 2025

Welcome back to Term 2. It has been a busy and energetic start to the term, with classrooms full of eager learners and a calendar already brimming with activities. 

After enjoying weeks of beautiful autumn weather, we were met with steady rain on the day of our Cross Country. Despite the downpour, our students showed incredible resilience, especially our younger participants who ran in the heaviest of the rain. Unfortunately, our Kindergarten students were unable to complete their event when the rain became torrential. However, they will have their own special Cross Country next Thursday, and parents are very welcome to come along and cheer them on.

This week we also celebrate our school’s Feast Day, honouring our patron saint, St Peter Chanel. This is a lovely opportunity to come together as a school community, reflect on the values we share, and enjoy a meal together. 

As we look to this weekend, we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day—a chance to honour the mothers, grandmothers, and all those who take on the role of mothering in our lives. Their love, support, and presence shape our families and our children. We also take time to remember, with love, the mothers and grandmothers who are no longer with us. Having recently lost my own mother, I am deeply aware of the space this absence leaves, but with cherished memories that live on. To all mothers, grandmothers and mother figures in our community, I wish you a love-filled day on Sunday, surrounded by those who hold you dear.

On the last day of Term 1, all staff participated in a system wide Spirituality Day.  This was an opportunity to explore the Catholic Faith with DeoQuest, hosted by Fr Michel.  Staff were led through three unit modules: Creation or Coincidence, The Bible and God At Work and had the opportunity to ask any questions.  At the close of the day we offered a prayer of gratitude in time spent with colleagues and in our capacity to share, question, learn and grow together.

Congratulations:

We are delighted to congratulate three of our dedicated teachers on successfully moving from provisional to full teacher registration. This important milestone reflects their hard work, commitment, and professionalism in the classroom. Their passion for teaching and continuous growth not only benefits their students but also enriches our entire school community. We celebrate their achievement and look forward to their continued positive impact on our students’ learning journeys. Well done!

Student Support

Working Memory

Working memory involves the ability to keep information active in your mind for a short time (2-3 seconds) to be able to use it for further processing. Working memory is a temporary and is vital for many day-to-day tasks, such as:

-   Problem Solving

-   Understanding what we read

-   Doing math facts in our head

-   Following instructions

-   Responding appropriately in conversations

-   Answering questions and taking turns in class

During our day at school, teachers support working memory by:

-   Breaking tasks into simple steps

-   Using clear, specific language

-   Having students repeat back instructions and knowledge

-   Use visuals and gestures

-   Having an aesthetic classroom to minimize distraction

-   Using whiteboards for students to show understanding immediately 

-   Having clear and consistent classroom routines and schedules

At home, activities that assist working memory are:

-   Playing memory games (memory, snap, bingo, Connect 4, Simon Says,   Guess Who)

-   Card games (Uno, Go Fish, Snap)

-   Car Games (I spy – use colours, letter sounds, shapes)

-   Pause more regularly when reading and talk about the story or have the child finish sentences/ missing words

-   When shopping, have your child remember 2-3 things you need to buy

Can they pack their bag for swimming/ sport practice? What will they need?

We’re going to take a short break from spotlighting our literacy programs for this newsletter and introduce three exciting literacy events that we have coming up! It’s a great time to be reading! 

Read Every Day in May

Everyone should have seen the See Saw announcement that says we are participating in the ‘Read Every Day in May’ initiative by Scholastic. A reading log was sent home last week where students colour in the corresponding picture for the date that they read. The idea is that families read together on a regular basis, which is definitely something we want to encourage. At the end of May students can return their sheets to me to go in the draw for a prize. If you have misplaced your child’s sheet, please collect a new one from me or the office.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

This year the Premier’s Reading Challenge will take place from 16th June to 24th August 2025. Similar to last year, we will be giving students reading logs in the weeks leading up to the challenge start date, to keep track of what they’re reading in this timeframe. Weekly prizes will be given out for students who get their log book signed and end of challenge prizes will be given out in assembly. To make things easier, this year a ‘book’ will equate to at least 10 minutes of reading, as most picture books take around 10 minutes to read. Those reading chapter books can include each chapter if it takes around 10 minutes to read it. More information regarding this challenge will come closer to the date.

National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday, May 21st at 12pm schools around Australia will be listening to an Australian author read their book, ‘The Truck Cat’, by Deborah Frenkle and Danny Snell. This event has been going for 25 years, where they spotlight an Australian author and we are excited to be a part of it.

Ms Laura Korpershoek

We are participating in the Brixhibition Lego competition this year, which is exciting! Students need to create a lego display that is original (not following instructions or a kit) and no larger than 52cm x 52cm x 52cm, or no larger than four 32x32 lug Lego baseplates. Students will need to bring their creation to school later on in the term, where it will be judged. There will be in-house winners in Kinder/Prep, Y1/Y2, Y3/Y4, Y5/Y6 categories, and one overall school winner. The overall school winner’s display will be exhibited in the Brixhibition at Ulverstone, 12th + 13th July, 2025, and judged by the Brixhibition judges there. There are grand prizes for the winners of the school Brixhibition exhibits. More information will come home about this soon, but start thinking about what you might like to create! Any questions, please contact Ms Laura Korpershoek.

Our students showed incredible determination and school spirit during Tuesday’s cross country event. Each participant gave their best effort, tackling the new course with perseverance and a positive attitude. It was inspiring to see students cheering each other on, offering words of encouragement and support to their friends along the way. Their enthusiasm and teamwork created a fantastic atmosphere and we are proud of all our students for their ‘have a go’ attitude.  Congratulations to all our place getters, who will represent the school at the North-West Cross Country on Friday 16th May 2025.

Year	Place	Boys	Girls
Year 6	1st	Charlie	Nina
	2nd	Casey	Sophia
	3rd	Taite	Georgie
Year 5	1st	Brady	Tayla
	2nd	Dawson	Olivia
	3rd	Vin	Darcy
Year 4	1st	Lucas	Reegan
	2nd	Huxley	Millah
	3rd	Finn	Isla
Year 3	1st	Levi	Ava
	2nd	Brock	Tilly
	3rd	Mac	Cienna
Year 2	1st	Rocco	Quinn
	2nd	George	Rylee
	3rd	Archie	Avah
Year 1	1st	Jax	Ella
	2nd	Thomas	Avayah
	3rd	Lincoln	Ruby
Prep	1st	Angus	Dottie
	2nd	Jase	Skye
	3rd	Lucas	Billie

  

We are looking forward to Feast Day tomorrow, 9th May 2025, where we come together in a joyful celebration to share a special lunch, and the opportunity to connect with friends and classmates. Following lunch, teachers will lead buddy classes in special activities bringing together different year levels to foster friendship, teamwork, and a sense of belonging.

We would like to thank the Soroptomists for their kind donation of the book, “ANZAC girl”.

Ms Kylie Monson, Mrs Victoria Cotton, Mrs Courtney Wright and Miss Danae Ling experienced a once in a lifetime opportunity in the recent school holidays as they embarked on The Wukalina Walk. This walk is a transformative 4-day, 3-night guided hiking and cultural experience in northeastern Tasmania. Led by the Palawa people, it offers a rare opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the island’s First Nations community, connecting deeply with both the land and its stories. The journey unfolds across the stunning landscapes of Wukalina (Mt William National Park) and Larapuna (Bay of Fires) in Lutruwita (Tasmania). The girls stayed in architecturally designed huts and a restored lighthouse keeper’s cottage, while enjoying bush tucker meals featuring traditional ingredients like muttonbird, wallaby, and native herbs. 

They were led by an experienced Palawa guide, sharing ancestral knowledge, cultural practices, and personal stories that bring the land to life. Day 1 saw them depart from Launceston and embark on an 11 km hike into Wukalina, settling into camp. Day 2 was a gentle beach walk to a Cultural Living Site, where they engaged in traditional activities and storytelling, followed by an afternoon of cultural crafts. Day 3 was a 17 km coastal hike to Larapuna, with opportunities to explore beaches and learning about the rich history of the land. They finished their hike by visiting the historic Eddystone Point Lighthouse. On day 4, the girls started with a 129 step climb to the top of the lighthouse to watch the sunrise and take in the panoramic views of the Bay of Fire. After a leisurely breakfast, a guided walk to various points of interest on Larapuna’s northern headland the girls trip came to an end but not before one last stop at the Little Blue Lake.

Our students represented our school with pride and respect during the recent Anzac Day parade and service. They marched with dignity, demonstrating the values of our school community, and paid their respects to the servicemen and women who have served our country. A group of students had the honour of presenting a wreath on behalf of our school, a gesture that was carried out with great care and reverence. We are incredibly proud of the way our students conducted themselves throughout the event, showing true respect and gratitude for the sacrifices made by others.

We also thank the RSL for the donated books. 

Today, our school conducted an evacuation drill. This is a routine safety practice to ensure all students and staff are prepared in the unlikely event of an emergency.

The drill was carefully supervised and carried out in a calm and orderly manner, with the safety and well-being of students as our top priority. These regular drills are an important part of our commitment to creating a safe and prepared school environment.