Sacred Heart Primary School, Cunnamulla eNewsletter

Principal Report

We’ve had a busy fortnight with many visitors and lots of learning taking place. During the weekly briefing this week we did some retrieval practice about the Learning Pit and asked the students to draw and write down everything they remember about the Learning Pit, why it is important and how it links to our Habits of the Heart and Mind. Students did a fantastic job remembering many aspects of the Learning Pit such as you use this when you learn a new concept, it requires persisitence, self-questioning and effort. We were very proud of how well they could retrieve information about this very important tool that helps us with our learning.

We had Mrs Kimmorely, our school Education Officer visiting last week. She spent time in the classrooms observing how well our students are completing their Reading Fluency routines to practice reading with accuracy, pace and expression. Mrs Kimmorely was very impressed with the significant improvements each class has made! While she was here she also worked with the teachers to unpack our new reading data and plan our next steps of learning for each class. Next term we will most likely take a deep dive into learning about the importance of vocabulary and will find out some strategies to help us build student vocabulary to enhance reading comprehension and writing.

Mr Savage our Senior Education Leader also visited last week. He spent time in the classrooms and met with each teacher as well. Mr Savage has begun staffing discussions for 2025 with us which we will share early next term. He was very impressed with how our school grounds are looking.

To add to the fun last week, students were lucky enough to have a school ‘incursion’ where the Character Builders company came out and ran a whole day of different workshops to enhance belonging and leadership skills. I’m sure you have all heard about the fun activities they did with the students. There are some fantastic photos and further details about the fun had on this day further down in the newsletter.

Congratulations to Penny who represented our Region at the State Netballs trials in Toowoomba last week. You should be very proud of your achievements so far.

Finally, we are very excited that our proposal to refurbish the classrooms and assembly hall has been endorsed by Dr Pat and Bishop Ken. This means that the Year One class will be moving to the library next term while work takes place on that building first. Each classroom will be completely gutted, asbestos removed, new ceilings and walls, teaching wall cabinetry, new electricals and lighting. We are very hopeful this project will begin in the June/July holidays and will be completed by early next year.

Mrs Cara Haig

Co-Principal

Prep

Happy Week 8! We have had a jam-packed fortnight as assessment is creeping up and the students are doing so well to demonstrate their learning. With only two weeks to go for Term 2, the Preps are hard at work completing assessments. We are definitely on the countdown for school holidays! On Friday, we did our first ever dictation and spelling test, and the results have well and truly blown me away. The students have been working so hard on developing their understanding of phonics and it is incredible to see in action and the results shining through.

In English, we have taken a deep dive into the book ‘Ollie in the Wind’ and our assessment on the book is soon to commence. Exploring the story, we have delved into conversations about our environment here in Cunnamulla versus the setting in the book. The similarities, the differences, and all things in between. It is great to her their opinions on playing in nature. We have our fingers crossed for a really windy day soon, as I have promised we will go out to the oval and fly some kites!

In Mathematics, the students have just wrapped up a huge unit which looked at ways to describe attributes of objects and events. The preps have proudly been describing timed duration, length, mass and capacity when exploring different objects. In the coming weeks, the students will have a summative assessment on number knowledge, and they have been doing great week to week, to prepare.

In our Connected Curriculum unit, we began discussing our new superheroes, the PJ Masks. The students were very excited to begin discussing some very familiar and popular superheroes for them. Over the next fortnight, the students will begin creating their own superhero. They will be asked to create a name, choose a superpower, design a superhero outfit and design and create their own superhero vehicle. This has been a very interesting and engaging unit for the students, and we are excited to become superheroes ourselves!

Miss Sophie Walker

Prep Teacher

Year 1

Wow time has flown by! I can’t believe we are in week 8 already! We have been continuing with assessment in Year 1 this fortnight. All students have completed their reading screeners and evaluations and I am happy to report that all students have shown growth in various areas.

In English we have continued exploring Informative texts and their features. We have viewed a variety of informative texts and identified important information from these topics. This information we have transferred into a scaffold with different sections to assist in organising our thoughts and facts. The next step has been to move this information into the structure of an Informative Text. The students have been very engaged with this unit and are enjoying learning all about the different animals we have focused on. We will be transferring this our Informative Texts into a Book over the next couple of weeks.

In our connected unit we have finished our exploration of animal habitats and how these habitats meet their needs. The students have sorted animals according to their habitats and have worked hard on communicating their understanding of why they live here based on their needs. We will be working on creating Dioramas that display information we have learnt about an animal of their choice. This has tied in well with our study of Old Testament texts, particulary the Creation stories and God’s Plan for Creation. The students have been very eager to learn about this and how they can continue to contribute to this plan.

I look forward to the next few weeks and wrapping up assessment tasks before a well earned break.

Miss Ellie Charlton

Year 1 Teacher

Year 2

Welcome to Week 8! We've had an exciting time lately! We went on a fascinating excursion with Lawrence Anderson and Dan McKellar, diving deep into all things Cunnamulla and the significance of local places and landmarks to Cunnamulla’s First Nations People. We learnt what plants and trees are native, what Cunnamulla used to look like, and the history behind it all. We also had special guests from Brisbane, Character builders, who guided our students out of their comfort zones, taught them how to be leaders, use communication skills, how to work as part of a team and had a lot of fun participating in all their activities.

In English, we’re learning about planning and writing recounts and Information texts. We have completed our task where we had to researching a native Australian animal and using Microsoft Word to create an information text on their chosen animal. We continue to follow our UFLI program. We are also working hard to become accurate readers which includes being accurate reading single words, sentences and then longer texts.

In Maths, we are learning about addition strategies, this fortnight working on part-part-whole and using our place value knowledge to solve single and 2-digit addition sums. We have also begun to apply our knowledge of addition strategies to help solving subtraction problems.

I, Miss Carter, am back in the classroom and I couldn't be more excited to be around all of the gorgeous Sacred Heart Students again.

Miss Ailie Lewis & Miss Grace Carter

Year 2 Teacher

Year 3/4

Welcome to Week 8! Another term nearly done and dusted, and the 3/4 stuents have worked incredibly hard this term and I am extremely proud of their efforts. This being said, with reports just around the corner, students need to continue this excellent perseverance right to the end.

In English, students have commenced their work writing their narrative titled “Fire”. We created a brainstorm with potential narrative options, discussing the setting, build up, problem and resolution. Students then began planning and writing the opening to their stories. We will continue working to complete these this week.

In Maths, we have been looking into the world of chance and probability. Students have been experimenting with the language of chance by discussing daily events, for example – It is certain the sun will come out today, however impossible that it will rain cats and dogs. We have been participating in a range of chance games and recording this information. Students have been discussing the outcomes and have really enjoyed these games.

In our Connected Unit, students have begun selecting and researching their chosen habitat. They can select from Jungle, Forest, Bush or Wetlands. Students will complete a planning document with their research by identifying animals, vegetation, water sources, the water cycle and various food chains that occur within their selected habitat. This information will then be transformed into a digital technology presentation using “Sphero”.

“Sphero” is a spherical shaped robot that students have been experimenting with this term. Students will code the robot to complete a certain path as well as share the information about their selected habitat. This has been a very interesting mode of learning this term that has made the students think outside the box.

With only 2 weeks to go, the countdown is definitely on for school holidays and a well-deserved break!

Miss Aimee Bretherton

Year 3/4 Teacher

Year 5/6

Welcome to week 8! The past fortnight has been such a whirlwind in 5/6 that it is taking a lot of retrieval time to recall what took place. Among learning, assessments, observations, incursions, fundraising and postponed excursions, the students managed to remain focused and persistent in their educational goals.

Over the past fortnight the students have had to display resilience and flexibility as our routines changed daily. Some of the days were spent experimenting with new learning strategies, while others were spent working independently on assessments tasks. One day was even spent outside, as the students learnt leadership skills with the Character Builders team. Friday we were meant to be heading to Bowra however, this excursion had to be postponed until Thursday due to the weather. In summary, I was proud of how the students adapted to the changing week with such maturity and leadership.

Due the changes over the last fortnight the students are looking forward to ending term 2 on a high. We have 2 excursions taking place in the next fortnight along with some exciting fundraising activities. As part of our science unit, we will be visiting Bowra this Thursday the 6^th of June. The following Tuesday (11^th of June) we will be venturing out into the Cunnamulla bush for our much anticipated ‘Survival Expedition’ - please keep an eye out for the participation note this week along with the survival pack list your child will need to organise before Tuesday Week 9. As part of our camp fundraising, this Wednesday the school will have a State of Origin free dress day and on Thursday the year 6 students will be running a car wash located behind the library.

As always, if you would like to pop down to the classroom to see any of your child’s work before or after school you are more than welcome. I hope you have a lovely fortnight.

Mrs Abby Kindelan

Year 5/6 Teacher

Class Awards

Birthdays

Character Builders

Last Wednesday we had Emily and Eleanor visit from Character Builders in Brisbane. Students participated in Scissors Paper Rock Tournament, Blind Snakes - where students were blindfolded and they must trust in each other to remove the obsticles in their way, Animal Resue, Balloo Balloo - fun balloon construction team challenge, Amazing Race -challenges are designed to test students teamwork, respect, communication skills and comradery , Ping Pong Mania and Big Ups - students stand on their own two feet and offer positive words of affirmation to peers they admire. The students had a wonderful day. Thanks again Emily and Eleanor for your great work.

Choir will take place every Wednesday morning at 8am to 8:30am in the Year 1 classroom. All students are welcome. We have decided to have a 3-week trial period where the students may come and go. If your child wishes to stick with choir after those three weeks, it will be expected that they attend rehearsals on a regular basis. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Mrs Abby Kindelan and Miss Ellie Charlton

Year 5/6 Teacher and Year 1 Teacher

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Dance

Uniform Policy

The school uniform represents the pride we have for our children and our school. A smart, neat and user-friendly uniform encourages the children to take pride in their appearance and in the school. The school uniform requirements:

Hats: Our school policy is ‘NO HAT – NO PLAY’. A green school hat must be worn and can be purchased form the office.

Jewellery: The only jewellery allowed is one set of fine studs or sleepers, a chain with some form of religious significance and watches.

Nail Polish: Nail polish is not to be worn.

Hair: Children’s hair must be neat and tidy. If hair is below the collar it needs to be tied back with appropriate white or green accessories. It is expected that hairstyles reflect the code of dress required by the school. The colouring of hair and unusual hairstyles are not acceptable.

Tuition Fees

Term 2 Fees have been sent home, can these please be paid by Friday 14th June 2024. At Sacred Heart, we have several payment options for your convenience: Cash, Cheque, ETPOS, Direct Debit and Centrepay. For further details on these payment options please see the school office.

Student Protection

At Sacred Heart the safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority. All children should grow up free of violence or exploitation and be able to learn in a safe and supported environment. Schools have a number of specific child protection reporting obligations that are detailed in our Student Protection Processes and Guidelines.

It is a legislative requirement that all non-state schools have at least two nominated staff members to whom a student can report the behaviour of another staff member that the student considers inappropriate. We call these specially trained staff members School Student Protection Contacts, or SSPCs. Each SSPC has been nominated by the principal in recognition of their integrity, approachability and knowledge in the area of student protection. Whilst students are encouraged to speak up to any trusted adult in the school community, it is important that they know they can access these specific staff members at any time should they have worries, queries or concerns. You will have noticed posters throughout the school depicting our current SSPCs. The SSPCs are also published on our school website along with information about our student protection processes. In everything we do at Sacred Heart Primary School student safety is our highest priority, therefore the SSPCs at our school are key personnel in our overall safeguarding processes.

If a student wants to talk to someone about harm, abuse or inappropriate behaviour toward themselves or others, they can speak to a trusted staff member or one of our School Student Protection Contacts (SSPCs). The SSPCs receive additional training and are identified in the student protection posters displayed around the school.

Summary documents have been developed for parents and caregivers about our student protection obligations and our broader strategy for maintaining safe school environments.

Further information on all of the above topics can be found on the Toowoomba Catholic Schools website at the link below:

Embed Link - https://www.twb.catholic.edu.au/parents-and-community/student-protection/

Our Schools Student Protection Contacts are:

Miss Ailie Lewis (APRE)
Mrs Carolyn Crick (Administration Officer)
Mr Jesse Kupper (School Guidance Counsellor)
Mrs Cara Haig (Co-Principal)
Mrs Pollyanna Goodman (Co-Principal)

Tuckshop

You can ONLY order Tuckshop on the App. Please down load the Flexischools App.

Flexischools App

The tuckshop uses the App called Flexischools. This will make ordering and paying for Tuckshop easier. Attached are the instructions to download and use the App. Make sure you update your child's class name.