Issue 5 - 30th March 2023

Term 1 has most certainly been a busy one!  We hit the ground running from the start of the year and it’s been a sprint ever since.  Listing some of what has taken place this term emphasises just how much we have achieved, in addition to the day-to-day ‘busyness’ in every classroom:

Students

K-6 Swimming on Tuesdays

K-6 'On Country' excursions

K-6 School Photos

K-6 Dental Van

3-6 Swimming Carnival / K-2 Activity Day

3/5 NAPLAN

K-2 Speech Assessments

K-2 Lions Eye Health

1/2 Harmony Day

3/4 Spirit of Jesus mornings

6    PCYC Leadership Day

P&F - Donut Drive, Bake raffles, Easter raffles

Staff

System-wide Professional Learning - Insight and the Science of Learning

First Aid Training

‘It Starts With Us’ - Behaviour management training

7 Steps to Writing Success training

Diabetes Training

Early Career Teacher Development

Read Write Inc Training

Essential Assessment Maths training

Weekly PL - Science of Learning

Know Your Child Meetings

Thank you to our wonderful students, staff and families who have supported all that we have done this term.

I wish you all a wonderful Easter break.  Along with the excitement of the Easter Bunny and the one time in the year we can happily justify eating excessive amounts of chocolate, this is also the most significant time in our Catholic calendar.  Jesus died for us and rose again, bringing to us the promise of new life.

I did not realise just how popular Mrs Flynn’s Word of the Week would be.  Every class across the school loves having me go in and introduce a new word each week and talk about its meaning.  I am held to account if I miss a class. I am loving it, too.  Being a Principal means I am no longer in the classroom and this exercise allows me to be a teacher again, if only for a short time each week. 

The words of the week for Term 1 were put into a story - about Monty of course!

‘Monty was ecstatic to go outside to play.  He swaggered to the Ga Ga Pit to watch the game. He breathed in the fragrance of the wallaby poo, his favourite smell.  When it started to rain, he got drenched and had to go back inside.  He was so exhausted from his adventures, he was tongue-tied.  He couldn’t even bark at a cat he saw out the window. 

Have a good sleep, Monty!’

Students were invited to write their own stories using the words of the week.  I was swamped with stories!  These few stories were randomly selected from the many:

Olivia - Year 3

On Tuesday we go to the pool. All of us get drenched. The fragrance of the pool is stuck in my hair until I wash it. At lunch when we get back I swagger in the playground. When I was lining up I was singing and got tongue-tied. When I got picked up I was very ecstatic.

Henry - Prep

When I Went To Launceston

On the first of March I was ecstatic because it was 22 days until we will go to Launceston. When we got there I was so exhausted that I fell asleep.  When I woke up I could smell the fragrance of a cake.  I got drenched because it rained and I swaggered to the playground. The end.

Amelia - Year 3.

Amelia wrote a lovely story using the words of the week.  She also wrote a message:

To Mrs Flynn.  I have loved the words of the week.  Thank you so much. 

Jedda - Year 6

Hi, my name is Jedda and I play football for Irishtown Football Club. Today we played outside in the rain. We played for 1 hour and 30 minutes. After we played I was absolutely drenched and exhausted, but I was still ecstatic when we finished, so I swaggered down the field because we won. I walked inside and the fragrance hit me like a shockwave. I wondered where it came from. I walked up to the canteen and the smell came from the hot chips.  I tried to talk to the man but I was tongue-tied and left.  

Ellie - Year 5

A little boy was ecstatic to play outside. As he walked outside he could smell the fragrance of the flowers.  He swaggered the rest of the way. But then it started to rain so he ran as fast as he could. When he got inside he was exhausted and drenched so he had a bath and went to bed. 

From the Deputy Principal

Next week is Holy Week, the most important time in the Catholic liturgical calendar.

Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter Sunday. It is the last week of the 40-day season of Lent. It is considered the most holy and most important of all the weeks in the Church’s liturgical calendar because it is in this week that we focus on the last week of Christ’s life, remembering especially His passion, death and resurrection.

 While the season of Lent is a very important time in the Church, it is helpful to remember that our Lenten practices (prayer, fasting and almsgiving) are meant as preparation for Easter.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday which recalls the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem. This day takes its name from the fact that as Jesus approached Jerusalem on a donkey with a huge crowd that followed Him, carrying palm branches as they praised Him.

This brings us to the Triduum. “Triduum” is a Latin word for “three”. It is the last three days of Lent: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

The evening Mass on Holy Thursday begins the Sacred Triduum. On this night we remember the Last Supper and celebrate the beginnings of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders. At the end of the liturgy, the sanctuary is stripped clean in preparation for the most sombre of feasts, Good Friday.

Good Friday is a sombre remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion and death on the cross. It is a day of fasting and penance and a time to examine all of the places in our lives where we fail to follow Christ and fall into sin. 

Holy Saturday is a day of mourning, rest and contemplation as we prepare for Easter.

On Easter Sunday we celebrate the risen Lord at Mass with the singing of the Gloria and alleluias, the renewal of baptismal vows, a sprinkling with Easter water and receiving the Eucharist. It is a day to celebrate new life and renew our faith in Jesus Christ.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter and a restful break. 

Mr Casey Moore

Deputy Principal

Project Compassion Boxes are due to the office by next Wednesday 5th April.

Fred’s Phonic Star Award is given to students for their consistent efforts in our Phonics Groups. This fortnight we have two recipients of this award:

Tayla Berechree and Darcy Jolly

Congratulations Tayla and Darcy!

Congratulations to the following students who received Shooting Starr awards today at Assembly: 

Kinder - Eva Burke & Quinn Courtney

Prep - Louie Tonks and Ellsia Dawson

Year 1 - Mac Fraser & Ava Bryan 

Year 2 - Isla Burke & Levi Korpershoek 

Year 3 - Chad McSweeney & Jake Moore

Year 4 - Sophia Hardy and Chayse Collins

Year 5 - Liam Bell & Harper Bishop 

Yr 6 - Kye Moore & Eliza Cornish

Congratulations also to our end of term STAR winners:

House Winner - Hanlon

Class Winner - Prep 

Student Winner - Ava Bryan

My child is on a Learning Plan, what does this mean?

At St Peter Chanel students with a documented diagnosis, whether this be in the form of Speech, Neurodiversity, Medical or Physical, are provided with a Learning Plan.  Essentially, this document outlines a profile of the student, which would include:

-   Their strengths and interests; both at school and in the community

-   Their challenges; both at school and throughout the day

-   Adjustments within the school environment that best support access and inclusion

-   Referral to additional reports from specialists

-   Individualised goals; which state what they are working towards, how this will be         achieved, a desired timeframe and evaluation of these goals.

Learning Plan meetings are held twice yearly between the classroom teacher/s, family members and our Student Support Coordinator to ensure that all influential adults within the students’ lives are provided with the opportunity to assist in the student reaching their goals and being successful.  Within school, the Learning Plans are closely monitored to ensure that the outlined adjustments, strategies, and recommendations remain relevant and individualised.

At the conclusion of each school year, the updated Learning Plans are transitioned to the students upcoming teacher to ensure consistency between grades levels.

If you have any questions or queries regarding your child or their Learning Plan, please do not hesitate to contact their classroom teacher or our Student Support Coordinator, Brooke Lardner.

Thank you to all families who have donated for this years Easter raffle. Can any final donations please be dropped into the office tomorrow, Friday 31st March. 

The raffle will be drawn on Thursday 6th April.  

Congratulations to Harry on winning today's bake raffle!

All students will be receiving 3 x RAT's today. These are to be used when your child has cold or flu symptoms.

We are aware of some sickness that is present within the community and ask that families please look out for symptoms of Hand, Foot & Mouth. Please see attached a fact sheet with information regarding this.

JackJumpers are coming to Smithton! JackJumpers Captain and Sharp-Shooter Clint Steindl will be visiting Smithton, along with his pal Jack the Jumper and the JackJumpers community coaches, on Sunday 2 April to run basketball clinics for the young people of Smithton.

10-11am: junior ballers. Fun and games and beginner basketball skills for those under 10, book here

11-12pm: skills session. Basketball skills with a focus on form shooting, footwork and playmaking, aimed at those 10-16 years, book here

Sessions are $50 per person, which includes a basketball valued at $25, snacks from Banjo’s, plus plenty of great prizes.