St Saviour’s Primary School Newsletter
“making a difference since 1863”
14 Lawrence Street
PO BOX 1145
TOOWOOMBA Q 4350
Week 8 - March 18, 2015
Phone: 07 4637 1555
Fax: 07 4637 1556
Email: [email protected]
From the Principal - Donna Muir
Our School has registered for the NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION against
Bullying and Violence this Friday, 20th March.
Schools across Australia create safe and supportive learning environment for students all year round. The
National Day of Action is a chance to celebrate your achievements and highlight your own programs and
initiatives that counter bullying to the wider community.
Dear Parents
At our school we aim to create a safe and supportive school community for everyone. Sometimes, it can be difficult for
parents or carers to know what to do when their child talks to them about bullying. You are an important part of our
work to prevent bullying and to respond effectively if it happens. Stopping bullying involves everyone.
If your child talks to you about bullying:
1. Listen calmly and get the full story. Your calm response is important to allow your child to tell you all about the
situation. After they’ve told you their story, ask questions to get more details if you need to: who, what, where, when.
Although you may feel some strong emotions about your child’s experience, try to keep calm to avoid more distress to
your child.
2. Reassure your child they are not to blame. Many children blame themselves and this may make them feel even
worse. You could say things like, ‘That sounds really hard to deal with. No one should have to put up with that.’ or ‘I’m
so glad you told me. You should be able to feel safe at school; that’s not fair at all’.
3. Ask your child what they want to do and what they want you to do. A critical part of your response is to avoid
jumping in to solve the problem. While it is natural to want to protect your child, helping them to find their own solution
is a better option. It helps them feel they have some power in the situation.
4. Visit www.bullyingnoway.gov.au to find some strategies. The website has tips and ideas for different bullying
situations. One idea is to practise strategies at home to help your child feel more confident.
5. Contact the school. Your child may be reluctant for you to do this, so discuss the idea and reassure them that the
school would want to know and is able to help. Make an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher and, if you
need to, ask to talk with the principal. Contact the school immediately if you have a concern about your child’s safety.
6. Check in regularly with your child. Keep the conversation going. It can take time to resolve issues, so check in
regularly with your child about their experiences and their feelings. Your ongoing support is important.
Pocket cards are being sent home Friday for both your child and our parents—these provide a snippet of information
of ways to help STOP BULLYING IN OUR SCHOOL!
SCHOOL CONTACTS:
Mrs Donna Muir—Principal
Mrs Judy Smith—Assistant Principal APRE
Mr Sam Hannant—Senior Middle Leader/PE
Mrs Anne Anderson—Librarian
OFFICE ADMIN
Christine Cosgrove
Julie Robinson
STUDENT SUPPORT
Maria Dau
ESL:
Ann-Maree Ward
TUCKSHOP CONVENOR
Natasha Biggar
BEFORE/AFTER SCHOOLCARE
Hall Thorpe Sports
Phone: 4638 7965
From the Principal - continued
WORKING BEE THIS
SUNDAY
FROM 8AM—10AM
JOB CHECKLIST
Table Tennis Tables put together
Netball posts to be erected
General tidying of grounds
Gernie of tables
Trimming of trees
Please if you can spare an hour we would love you to come along.
Many hands make light work.
We look forward to seeing you all tonight at the P&F Welcome BBQ and Disco.
Donna Muir
Principal
Congratulations to our Weekly Award Winners for this week
From the APRE
Judy Smith
St Patrick’s Day: March 17 is St Patrick’s Day– a special day of celebration for (Irish)
Catholics around the world. For us at St Saviour’s Primary it is of special significance
as our local parish is St Patrick’s Cathedral. Historically too, our school was first
named St Patrick’s Cathedral School. Our Preps had a “Green Day, and got into the
spirit of all things Irish.
Project Compassion Awareness Day: As part of Lent, we have always supported Project Compassion. This year we
have done this in two ways:
1) Awareness: At an earlier assembly, our Yr 6 Leaders (Project Compassion Team) showed the students a Youtube
clip which highlighted the poverty that some children live in around the world. We talked about how they do not
have things that we take for granted, eg furniture, electricity and technology. On Tuesday, we held an Awareness
Day, where each class had a session at school, where they went without electricity, furniture and technology.
Teachers picked a session that best suited them.
2) Fundraising: Students were asked to bring a gold coin for the Awareness Day, which went towards our Lenten
Project Compassion Appeal. We appreciate the generosity of our families. Thank you! In total $325.00 was
raised.
Cyclone Pam devastates Vanuatu: Over the last few days, we have seen images of the devastation left behind after
Tropical Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu. Whilst Port Vila is the capital, the archipelago consists of over 80 small islands; 65
of these are inhabited. Due to the isolation and lack of communication, information has been scarce so far, about
the effect of the cyclone on the inhabitants and their homes, however it must be assumed that severe damage has
been done and perhaps more lives have been lost.
Communities will need much assistance, physical, financial and emotional in order to rebuild and move on from this.
Whilst we cannot provide manpower or building materials ourselves it may be possible for some of us to make a
financial contribution towards the rebuilding of Vanuatu.
If you are able to assist, please go to redcross.org.au
It is one way that we can help. Thanks for your support.
Enjoy the Show Holiday!
Judy
From the Sports Desk
Mr Sam Hannant
Cross Country 2015—Thursday 26th March
Cross Country Races for the whole school will take place from 9am on the 26th March. Parents and friends are
invited to come and watch the races that will start and finish on the St Saviour’s Primary Oval. The age groups
and the distances are listed below. Please remember that your child will race according to his/her year of birth
and not their class at school.
5 year olds (born 2010): 2 laps of oval
6 year olds (born 2009): 3 laps of oval
7 year olds (born 2008): 2laps of oval, run to Ruthven St and up stairs on Ruthven St, finish on oval.
8 year olds (born 2007): 2laps of oval, run to Ruthven St and up stairs on Ruthven St, finish on oval.
9 year olds (born 2006): 1 lap of oval, 1 lap of school, 1 lap of oval
10 year olds (born 2005): 1 lap of oval, 2 laps of school, 1 lap of oval
11 year olds (born 2004): 1 lap of oval, 3 laps of school, 1 lap of oval
12 year olds (born 2003): 1 lap of oval, 3 laps of school, 1 lap of oval.
It is anticipated that the winning house will be announced and everything concluded by 12pm. Please remember that all children from
Prep—Year 6 can wear their house colours on the day.
Aussie Hoops Basketball Program
Thanks for the fantastic response to the Aussie Hoops Program. We had 40 children register for this activity and
due to this registration is now closed. Thanks to Pop Dickenson for running this event at our school.
Development Cup Rugby League 2015
Unfortunately due to lack of numbers St Saviour’s/St Thomas More’s will be unable to field a Development Cup Rugby League Team this
year. We did have 13 children willing to play, however after discussing this with St Thomas More’s we decided against fielding a team as
we would have no reserves and over the course of five games there is certain to be any number of players away any given week. Thanks
to those children who nominated to participate.
Cross Country and Athletics Dates 2015
Cross country is booked in for Thursday 26th March on the St Saviour’s Primary Oval.
Athletics dates have now been confirmed:
The 200m heats and 800m events for athletics are booked for Monday 22nd June from 9am—12pm—Confirmed
The full day athletics carnival is booked for Thursday 25th of June 2015—Confirmed
Swimming Lessons 2015
A letter will be sent home in the coming days regarding swimming lessons in 2015. Please stay tuned.
Fitness Club
Fitness Club has now finished for the term. We have the cross country next Thursday and then the final week of
school. If your child makes the school cross country team, Mrs Dau will be running a few sessions at Kearney Springs next term to prepare
for the zone cross country.
Year 4 T-Ball Gala Day
A letter has been send home to all year 4 children regarding a Gala Day in the final week of school. This will be a great opportunity for
children to compete against other Catholic Schools around Toowoomba. All children will be in a team on this day and parents are most
welcome to come and support the children. All information can be found in the letter from the teachers.
Sam Hannant
Senior Middle School Leader - PE
General Notices
YEAR 5/6 CAMP:
Permission slips are due back to Mrs Muir as soon as possible.
PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS
NEXT WEEK
Monday, 23rd March
HAVE YOU MADE YOUR INTERVIEW TIME?
TIME SLOTS ARE ALMOST FULL
Interviews will be held in the Mercy Centre . Interviews will need to be booked through our Parent Teacher ONLINE
service. All families have received a letter and details of how to access this service. They will start during the school
day and finish in the evening. All parents are strongly encouraged to attend the interviews so you can touch base
with the classroom teachers and discuss how your child is progressing. If you have any problems booking your time,
we are happy to do the booking for you!! Just contact us at the office to arrange this.
Year 2 OPEN AFTERNOON
On Monday Year 2C and 2G had their open classroom afternoon. It was lovely to see parents, little brothers or sisters
and grandparents attend the event. The children recited poems and sang songs based on the theme of toys and the
olden days which has been our focus in History, Science and English. With adult assistance, they then had fun making
pinwheels.
Jo Cosgrove/Siobhan Grundon
General Notices continued
YEAR 2 NEWS:
Last Week in Year 2, the children were fortunate to have four scientists from USQ (part of the Scientist in Schools
activities) visit as a part of their Push/Pull science unit. This included two of our mums - Bernadette McCabe and Jo
Foley. The children were able to participate in four activities that investigated push/pull forces. It was a fantastic
opportunity for the Year 2 to be apart of such great "hands on" activities. Thank you again to Bernadette McCabe
and Jo Foley for all their knowledge!
VANUATU APPEAL - LOCAL
Tomorrow Thursday 19th March, Humeridge Church of Christ is organising a truck of donations and supplies to be
sent to the Cyclone ravaged Vanuatu. If you would like to help the following supplies are in high demand.
Clothing, toiletries, tools/garden tools, solar lights, crockery/utensils, garbage bags, baby supplies and buckets.
All donations to be placed in boxes and labelled due to customs expectations. Oceania Freight International will
be shipping all these good to Vanuatu on 21st March.
St Patrick’s Day
PREP 2015
Library News….Anne Anderson
Library Matters
Check out this site to hear some great Australian stories being read aloud.
http://www.storyboxlibrary.com.au
Our school has paid for a yearly subscription which can be accessed at home using the username and password contained in your
class communication note.
Some new additions to our magazine collection
Mini Vinnies News
Our group has enjoyed making Easter cards for the St Patrick’s conference. They will give
the cards to people they visit leading up to Easter. We will hold a brief ceremony during
the meeting in Week 10 for members who wish to commit to the work of Mini Vinnies for
the remainder of the year.
Lourdes Home visit during Family Week
Families are invited to spend some time in conversation with residents of Lourdes Home
on the afternoon of Wednesday 1st April at 3.30pm. This invitation comes from the
Lourdes Home Pastoral Care team. They will organise for children and parents to speak
with residents who will appreciate their company and be able to converse with the
children. We hope that this will be a rewarding experience for families. It offers an ideal
activity for Family week and, in the lead up to Easter, touches on the Mercy corner stones
of service and compassion.
Parents, please indicate by email to [email protected] if you and your
children plan to join us at Lourdes Home on 1st April at 3.30pm. The Pastoral Care team at
the home has asked for an indication of numbers to assist with organisation.
P&F News
P&F News:
The P&F is seeking suggestions from the school community for any ideas of functions that they would like
to have or any suggestions in ways to use funds that are raised through the year. We are always interested
in new ideas and would encourage any school community member to drop a note to the P&F via the office
for any suggestions. Remember you are always welcome at the meetings which are held on the second
Monday of the month. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 11 May 2015 commencing 7.30 pm. The P&F is currently
researching the ability to have an EFTPOS machine for the committee to use at our events including the Fun Day and also for use
by the clothing pool. We appreciate that not all parents carry cash to purchase uniforms but if you could please bear with us a
little longer we hope to have this sorted shortly.
P & F BBQ combined with our School Disco
TONIGHT
TIME: 5:30 TO 7:30PM
WHERE: MERCY CENTRE BOULDER AREA
WHO: Prep to Year 6 Family and Friends
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL TONIGHT
Thank you for your support in selling Multi-Draw tickets
St Saviours Primary School P&F
Class Representatives
2015
Nominations are being called for the SSPS P&F class
representatives for 2015. These nominations were to be finalised
at the Welcome BBQ,
unfortunately it was cancelled. If you
would like to nominate yourself or someone else please forward
your nomination to Donna Muir as soon as possible –
[email protected]
The role of the Class Representative
The class representative is someone who is willing to communicate
ideas, functions and general questions from parents to the P&F
and school management. Class representatives attend the monthly P&F meetings however if they are unable to attend they can
always send another parent as a proxy. All members of the school
community are very welcome to attend the P&F meetings. You
will gain first hand iformation and ideas that can be passed down
to parents.
Please consider becoming a Class
Representative for 2015.
Please also find below the Calendar
of Events for 2015.
Pizza and Treat Day
Thursday 2 April 2015
Information will be sent home next week
Thursday 18 June 2015
Thursday 17 September 2015
Pie Drive
Orders due 12 June 2015
Collection 22 June 2015
Fun Day
7 November 2015
Tuckshop News
Natasha Biggar
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who donate their time to help run the tuckshop. This is an
incredibly generous gift to our school and its students.
There is NO paper-bag ordering of tuckshop , all ordering is done via Flexischools.
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY - PREP - YEAR 6
Cut off time for orders is 9:30am Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
WELCOME BBQ
TONIGHT
The tuckshop will be open and selling drinks tonight for the Welcome BBQ/
Disco. If you are able to lend a hand to serve for any amount of time could you
please let me know. The normal tuckshop drinks will be sold as well as cans of
soft drink which will be $2. Ice blocks and chips will also be available for
purchase.
Please let me know if there is something you would like to see added to the menu. I’m always looking to
improve our menu and keep it fresh and hopefully exciting!!!
BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES - available again for 2015!!
Birthday cupcakes are now available as a special order. These orders will need to
be placed a week in advance through the school office. Special price for a Birthday
order will be $1 each, with a minimum order of 20. Please advise of any dietary
requirements.
ROSTER FOR TERM 1 2015
If you find the days you have been rostered on for are unsuitable can you please let me know as soon as
possible.
Week
9
23/03/2015
Courtney Kruger
25/03/2015 Jenny Moloney
10
30/03/2015
Volunteer Needed
1/04/2015 Carmel Charles
Tracey Hatch
Seona Gray
27/03/2015 Fiona Goodall
3/04/2015 GOOD FRIDAY
Melissa Darvall
Reminders
IMPORTANT DATES
TERM 1
Before and After School Care: - Please contact Hall-Thorpe Sports directly
(Phone: 4638 7965 or Mobile 0438764752). Bookings Essential
Email [email protected] Website www.hallthorpesports.com.au
School Banking: Each Tuesday. For information packs on becoming a school
banker, please contact the office.
Prep Car Park - The Prep car park is strictly for the use of families with children
in Prep. If you do not have a child in Prep then you are not to access the Prep
drive-way or car park, unless walking in from Perth St. Please do not park in the
Disabled Car Park at Prep. It is strictly for the families who need this
facility.
Parents please remember to STOP at the sign in the Prep driveway.
BUS ZONE PARKING: Please do not park in the Bus Zones. Police are monitoring
these parks closely. Tickets will be issued to those families parking in the bus
zones.
Lost Property: Please check lost property - we have a large number of hats,
lunch boxes and other items in the lost property bin located outside 5L.
All Ipad forms should now be returned to the office/classroom.
Clothing Pool is open from 8am to 8.30am every Wednesday and Friday
morning. Our convenor for 2015 is Cathy Condon. Any donations or items for sale
can be dropped off at the school office anytime. A completed form must be
attached to items for sale; this form can be found on our website or the school
office.
School back packs/water bottles/badges/visors are available to purchase from
the office.
School Fees are now OVER DUE!
Assembly 1.30pm - All Welcome!!
March
March 18
School Disco
Welcome BBQ
March 19
Toowoomba Show Holiday
March 20
National Day of Action against
March 23
Bullying and Violence
Parent Teacher Interviews
March 26
School Cross Country
APRIL
April 2
Pizza/Treat Day
Term 1 finishes
April 3
Good Friday
April 20
Term 2 commences
CLOTHING POOL NEWS
WEDNESDAY MORNING
8AM – 8.30AM
FRIDAY MORNING
8AM – 8.30AM
Just a reminder that if you would like to sell any uniforms through the Pool, you must complete a form (available from the office
or website) that outlines all the items you wish to sell. Our Clothing Pool convenors for this year are Cathy Condon, Leah
Millward, Genevieve Chappell and Helen Henningsen. Please note that payments for any items through the Pool are strictly
CASH only – no EFTPOS and payments must be made directly to the Pool not the office.
Cathy Condon
Outside Activities