Sacred Heart Primary School Toowoomba eNewsletter

Student Protection Contacts

From The Principal

Dear Families,

Challenge is good for you! – Last week, Mrs Alice Lucas, Mrs Charlie Barrett and I had the privilege of participating in some professional learning with acclaimed educator and mastermind behind the ‘Learning Pit’, Mr James Nottingham. During his presentation to teachers and leaders from all over the diocese, he spoke to us about the importance of challenge in learning and the effects of not challenging our children.

When we ensure that there is the right amount of challenge for a child in any learning task, and provide them with the right supports and strategies in a safe and caring environment, their brain develops new pathways and stronger connections that they will continue to use. In basic terms, they are less likely to forget the information and better still, are able to transfer the new knowledge and skills to other challenges. The ‘learning pit’ is the tool or model that we use to create challenge through discussion so that a learner can go from having only one or two ideas about something, to having many different ideas and perspectives. More simply, they go into the ‘pit’ and come out of it at a ‘higher’ level. Sounds easy enough but what happens in reality?

In reality, we believe that there is only one answer and one way of doing things. While this might be the case in many circumstances, we respond to children’s ideas with an evaluation of their efforts, often accidentally. The next thing we do is that we ‘save’ them, usually because we don’t like seeing them struggle or getting things wrong. For example, take a simple addition for a young learner involving regrouping. The teacher/parent could respond in two ways:

“Good try Sally but you have taken the number away instead of adding them together. Let me show you how to do it.”
“Sally, tell me how you got to this answer when adding these two answers together. What do you know about adding? What do we have here in our room that you might be able to use to check you answer? Have a go and then come back and explain to me what you discovered.”

In the first instance, you can tell that the focus for the person in the first example was for Sally to ‘get it right’ and to do so in a timely fashion. Sally was probably able to do the addition the right way on paper after this explanation, however Sally’s concept knowledge about addition has not changed. She is likely to make the same mistake again. She has the procedure right, but is not likely to be able to take this learning onto the next challenge. Sally has walked away from this exchange believing that she now has the right answer, and that the teacher will help her again next time to get the right answer. The teacher likely finished the lesson with, ‘Let’s mark our work’ before moving on to the next thing.

In the second example, Sally was not discouraged in her attempt and instead of moving straight to correcting the ‘skill’, the teacher challenged her to explain her understanding of addition. The teacher then encouraged her to go away and use something in the room to help her check her answer. In finishing the lesson, the teacher would check in on Sally and see what she came up with and then celebrating the strategy Sally (and others) came up with to better understand the problem. In this instance, mistakes are not seen as ‘wrong’, they are seen as opportunities to challenge our brains and make them stronger.

The next time your child is challenged in their learning, don’t go straight to solving the issue for them. Encourage them to explain their thinking and respond with; “That’s interesting, tell me more about that”. Keep this going with ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions and see if by the end of the chat they have more than the one idea that they started with. Your child’s brain will thank you for it! Remind them that ‘the smartest people have made the most mistakes’.

Congratulations Kathryn! – on Thursday night I attended the annual ‘Mayoral Student Achievement Awards’. These awards recognise students from across the Toowoomba region who, despite challenges in their own lives, have persisted and made outstanding progress in their learning. This year, our teachers nominated Kathryn, one of our Year 5 students. Her whole family were on hand and like Kathryn, were rightly proud of this wonderful accolade and her efforts.

My New Gallery

2023 Classroom Teachers – As part of our planning for 2023, we are very happy to announce the appointment of some new teachers to our teaching team. We warmly welcome:

Mrs Genevieve McNair – Learning Support Teacher (replacing Mrs Anne Robinson).
Mrs Melissa Nelson – Prep Teacher (replacing Ms Mandy Johnson).
Mrs Megan Radford – Year 5 Teacher.
Ms Maddy Parkes-Moller – Year 6 Teacher (two days a week in year 6, replacing Mrs Mallory Anderson).

Please click below link for a brief introduction to our new teachers.

Introduction to our new teachers

With these announcements, we are able to finalise our class teachers for 2023:

Learning Support Teacher - Mrs Genevieve McNair
Prep C – Ms Jesse Curtis
Prep N – Mrs Melissa Nelson
Year 1J – Mrs Hannah Jesshope
Year 12T – Mrs Angela Tevelein
Year 2A – Mrs Jacque Armstrong and Mrs Alice Lucas (Mrs Lucas on Thursdays)
Year 3C – Ms Allison Campbell
Year 4G – Mrs Rhonda Gath and Mrs Jodie Manley (Mrs Manley on Thursdays and Fridays)
Year 5R - Mrs Megan Radford
Year 6B – Mrs Charlie Barrett and Ms Maddy Parkes-Moller (Ms Parkes-Moller on Thursdays and Fridays)
Physical Education Teacher – Mrs Alice Lucas
Arts (Music) Teacher – Ms Cherie Runciman
Librarian - Mrs Jan Watkins

I know that you will join me in welcoming the new members of our team in addition to celebrating the work of Ms Johnson and Mrs Robinson as the year draws to an end.

Happy World Teacher’s Day – Today, in Queensland, we celebrate ‘World Teacher’s Day. Ours is a very privileged job in society. We are shaping the future through the young people we work with every day.

We are truly blessed at Sacred Heart to have such a dedicated, hardworking and collaborative group of teachers. On behalf of our community, I wish to commend our teachers on their commitment to continued professional learning, their support of our children’s families and their support of all the members of our team to get the very best learning progress for each and every child.

God Bless,

Mr Tyronne Maher

From The APRE

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

Our First Communicants received the Blessed Sacrament for the first time on Sunday. Congratulations to Oban, MaCalla, Liam, Benji, Ada, Georgia and Alia on making your first Communion – you all represented your family and our school beautifully.

WORLD TEACHERS' DAY 2022

World Teachers' Day takes place on Friday 28 October. This year is a great opportunity to thank teachers for the resilience they have shown during particularly difficult times, all in the best interest of the students.

The 2022 theme is “Hats off to teachers!” What do teachers and teaching mean to you? Feel free to share your thoughts with your child's teacher next Friday!

Click on the link below to see how you can create your own special "Hats off to teachers" social media posts: World Teachers' Day - 28 October 2022 (worldteachersday.edu.au)

DAY FOR DANIEL 2022

Also on Friday 28 October, Sacred Heart will again support the annual Day for Daniel.

Please see the below information direct from the Daniel Morcombe Foundation Website:

Held annually on the last Friday of October, Day for Daniel honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe. We ask all Australians on this very special day to Wear Red, Educate and Donate.

Our theme for 2022 is brave conversations.

Parents, carers, and educators are encouraged to start a conversation with children and young people about personal safety. Schools and early learning centres conduct child safety education activities. Businesses and community come together to raise awareness of child safety issues.

At Sacred Heart we will remember Daniel by wearing red, the colour that represents child safety and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

Old Church

To assist in clearing out the Old Church we have glasses, cutlery, crockery, candle stands, candles, trays, Christmas decorations and many other items.

If interested phone Therese 0438303783 or Pamela 0488094127

A suitable donation for the Church is all we ask.

Mrs Alice Lucas

Prayer of the Week

Retrieved from: AMM - Prayer to Mary, Our Mother

From The Middle Leader/Curriculum Co-ordinator

Why is it important to ask children open-ended questions?

Open-ended questions have no right or wrong answers, but they are helpful in broadening children's thinking processes, developing their speech and language skills, and can lead to building confidence in the students’ ability to express themselves using words.

Open-ended questions encourage students to develop their language, express their thoughts, ideas and opinions by using different words and a wider range of vocabulary when responding to these types of questions. These responses then provide more information to teachers on the understanding that students possess. Open-ended questions also give students the freedom and space to answer in as much detail as they like. The extra detail really helps to qualify and clarify student responses, yielding more accurate information and actionable insight for teachers.

Mrs Charlie Barrett

From the Learning Support Teacher

Personalised Learning and Support

Every student has their own strengths, learning needs and interests and it is the responsibility of schools to respond to every student, and their unique characteristics. Providing personalised learning and targeted support is one way to achieve this for children who have emotional, educational or physical/medical challenges or high learning achievement.

There are four elements in personalised learning, which reflects the teaching and learning cycle:

Consulting and collaborating with parents, carers- Teachers meet with parents to discuss their student strengths, needs and progress

Assessing and identifying the needs of the student-Teachers seek expert advice, where applicable, on the student’s needs. They also draw on available evidence, data from testing, background information, medical reports, etc

Providing adjustments to address the identified needs of the student-Student Support Team and classroom teachers identify options, interventions, and other adjustments to curriculum, learning activities and the environment that address identified learning or other needs. Staff seek expert advice if needed when assessing and designing adjustments; for example, from inclusive schooling consultants or other relevant support personnel, such as the student’s therapist. Teachers complete the “Personalised Learning Plan” which is shared with parents during parent /teacher meetings. Teachers implement adjustments to help the student participate and carefully monitor the impact to their learning.

Monitoring and reviewing the impact of adjustments -Teachers implement adjustments which are documented in the Personalised Learning Plan. These adjustments are regularly reviewed for the effectiveness and whether these are still relevant or consider whether other support measures need to be incorporated.

NB Modifications are often referred to as adjustments to meet individual needs. Adjustments can be made to a range of areas to support an individual student, including but not limited to the way that teaching and learning is provided, changes to the classroom or school environment, the way that students’ progress and achievements are assessed and reported to parents, the provision of personal care and planning to meet individual needs, as well as professional learning for teachers and support staff.

For further information:

Planning for personalised learning and support - Nationally Consistent Collection of Data

Mrs Anne Robinson

From the Guidance Counsellor

The importance of sleep.
Quite often I talk to families about whether their child is getting enough sleep. Children who regularly sleep well, can concentrate, attend, learn much more easily. Children also feel happier and will behave better if they get enough sleep each night. The recommended amount of sleep for children aged 3-5 years is about 10-13 hours, whilst children aged 6-12 should get 9-12 hours sleep. Establishing a bedtime routine is important and here are some tips to assist:

Dim the lights before bedtime
Ensure the room is dark and quiet
Stop using electronics before bed
Limit caffeine- chocolate/ energy drinks
Try to get kids to take a warm bath
Participating in quiet activities such as reading before bed
Set a wake-up time each morning
If your child is consistently having difficulty either getting to sleep or staying asleep it is important to talk to your family Doctor.

Mrs Sarah Jackman
Guidance Counsellor

Class In Focus

Year 2/3A

As a part of our HASS unit – ‘Connections to Places Close and Far’ - we have begun reading Dreamtime Stories. These Dreaming stories help us to understand how the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are connected with the land, waterways and skies.

In Mathematics we have been revisiting number and geometry, in particular adding and subtracting, identifying and working with fractions along with 2D shapes.

In English we have started our poetry unit, discussing our thoughts about:

What we know about poems?
Where we have read, heard or viewed poems?
Who we think might read poems and why?

As a part of our Religion unit – ‘Who Do They Say Jesus Is?’, we will locate information about the cultural contexts in which the Gospels were written and the text types used by the authors of the New Testament.

In Visual Arts this week we have looked at famous paintings by well-known artists. These have included:

Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
Marilyn Monrow by Andy Warhol
Starry Night by Van Gogh

Looking at these artworks we have reflected on:

What colours were used
What was the artwork depicting
How did the artwork make us feel

In PE this week we have been strengthening our swimming skills at the Glennie Pool and it has been so much fun.

As you can see it is full steam ahead for us this term with so much more learning to do before we progress on to our new classes. If you have any questions regarding what we are learning in class, please feel free to contact me. God bless.

Jacque Armstrong.

Year 4C

What a busy start to term 4 we have had – and it shows no signs of slowing down! Between Speech Competition, Whole School Testing and Swimming block, we have managed to fit in lots of fun and positive learning as well.

In Maths we have been focussed on the language of Chance and relating fractions and decimals; and now we are having fun with Money! See our photos of us all engaged in games to support our learning of converting fractions and decimals.

For English we are writing Poetry this term and we are already writing some wonderful Haiku’s and Shape Poems. We have also been busy doing our final Probe reading assessments for 2022 and EVERY SINGLE STUDENT has blown me away with their progress in reading and comprehension – great work 😊

This week we are having our Swimming Block and it has been a BIG week! See some of our swimmers in the photos!

In Week 3 Kaeci, Cohen, Anita and Alia competed in the Sacred Heart Speech Competition. It is certainly no easy feat to stand in front of an audience of your peers and deliver an exciting speech – but that is exactly what they did! A big congratulations to these students and well done to Alia for taking out the Year 4 Speech Competition Award! Check out the photos…

Have a great week,

Allison Campbell

This year for our Christmas Celebrations, Sacred Heart School will be presenting
Tracking Santa: The Musical
Each class will have an item they will be able to perform as we move around the world following Santa Claus dropping presents off to all the boys and girls.
I have supplied a list of the country and costume requirements for each class. Could you please start sourcing these items. They need to be plain block colour with no printing. If you have any issues, please contact me.

As 6B as the seniors, they will be performing all the major roles.
As you can imagine, taking on a project this size takes a lot of time and skill. I am looking for help in different areas from the school community:

Simple costumes
Set making
Help to set up the stage area on the day

If you feel that you are able to help me in any of these areas, please let me know as soon as possible. cherie.runciman@twb.catholic.edu.au

Sacred Heart Instrumental Concert
We will be showcasing the students who have been involved in the instrumental program this year in an end of year concert. This is not compulsory, but a chance for parents and friends to see the wonderful progress that students have made throughout the year. The Sacred heart Choir will also be performing at this event!

Monday 14^th November
Sacred Heart Hall
Arrive: 5pm
Concert Starts: 5.30pm

Sacred Heart Annual Speech Competition - Years 4 - 6

Last week finalists from Years 4, 5 & 6 delivered their oral presentations to their peers and our guest judge, Mrs Sandra Neale. These talented students worked to research and organise their content, ensuring their information flowed well and was of interest to their audience, and then delivered with a focus on tone, volume, pace, clarity and expression.

Congratulations to our winners: Year 4 Alia Fraser, Year 5 Amber De Chastel and Year 6 Ruby McMahon. Encouragement Awards went to: Kimberly Alston, Clare Cox and Alana Reyes.

iPad Returns

Earlier this term, families received information relating to the change in our school iPad Program for 2023.

If you have chosen to return the iPad to the school, please ensure that the following occurs BEFORE returning it:

Back-up personal content from the iPad (such as photos) at home. The following link will step you through the process: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203977
All passwords and Apple ID are to be removed
Charging block, cord, and cover are returned

We thank you for your support in this matter.

ICT Support Team

School Fees

Term 4 School Fees fall due on 31^st October 2022 and have now been billed to family accounts. Statements have been emailed to all families. Methods of payment include Direct Debit, Centrepay or a bank transfer. If you need more information regarding your account or to obtain forms, please don’t hesitate to contact the office.

The Uniform Shop

Thank you for your continued support of the school’s uniform shop.
Normal Uniform Shop hours:
Mondays & Thursdays 8.00am - 10:30am.
If Monday is a holiday, the Uniform Shop will open on a Tuesday.
Red anklet socks (sizes 2-8 & 8-11) are $5.00 on special.

SCHOOL BAGS: School Bags are COMPULSORY to the WHOLE SCHOOL. Do you have the correct bag? Available from the Uniform Shop for $39.50
SCHOOL PULLOVERS - This is a compulsory uniform item for Years 1 to 6.
SPRAY JACKETS are compulsory for students in Years 1-6 only.
PREP STUDENTS DO NOT REQUIRE SPRAY JACKETS!

2023 Uniform Price List

FREE BUTTONS available for Boys’ red shirt, girls’ red and white blouse & Prep red polo.
The uniform shop carries donated pre-loved items (including Prep).
Thank you for all the donations to the uniform shop these are greatly appreciated. Please continue to support the uniform shop with donations. These can be left at the office.
*We accept Cash, EFTPOS or Layby* Please note: this is at the Uniform Shop ONLY
Ms Betty Davison
CONVENOR