Sacred Heart Primary School, Cunnamulla eNewsletter

Principal Report

Welcome to the last week of Term 3! It has been an extremely busy term of learning, sporting, welcoming visitors, interviewing 2023 Prep students, writing a new school song and much more. This week, we are going to be trialling the inclusion of our school habits into our behaviour celebrations. Teachers have been seeking student voice on how we can update this process. The first two habits that will be of focus in our celebrations include belonging and communication. We look forward to sharing with you our developments in this area.

Feedback

Recently, I interviewed a number of our students to capture student voice on what they now know about feedback and how it connects to the learning process. Questions students were asked include; Tell me what you know about feedback? Do your teachers give you feedback? What does that sound like? Do you give your peers feedback? What does that sound like? Do you have any classroom routines established in your classroom about giving feedback? What do we need to learn next about feedback?

Some of our student responses included…

“Feedback helps us to improve our learning.”

“There’s lots of different ways we can give feedback like TAG and grow and glow.”

“We give each other feedback to improve our learning.”

“Feedback is telling you what you need to do and what is good.”

“To get to our final copy, we need to do lots of drafts and receive feedback to learn.”

“Feedback sounds like noise, people talking, walking around the room and asking people to swap work so we can give feedback.”

“Success criteria helps us give feedback.”

“We use two stars and a wish to give feedback.”

It is evident that our students are more clear that the purpose of giving and receiving feedback is to improve their learning. Students are able to give examples of the types of feedback and list strategies they use in class to give and receive feedback. More of our students are beginning to link feedback to the success criteria and the upper students are connecting feedback to the drafting process. This baseline data captured will be used when planning our Term 4 school impact cycle.

Josh Arnold

Last week, students put on their creative thinking hats to write and produce a new school song with Josh Arnold. It sounds amazing and truly encompasses what school life is about at Sacred Heart (of course our school Habits of the Heart and Mind are included!) Josh in now in the process of developing the film clip that we hope to launch early next term. We will keep your posted on when to keep an eye out.

I hope everyone has a great week and students enjoy a rest over the school holidays so they are recouped for Term 4.

Polly Goodman

Principal

Prep

Another term is done and dusted! We have had a busy two weeks in Prep and are definitely ready for a well-deserved holiday!

As part of our HASS unit, we were lucky enough to participate in our excursion with Dan McKellar and Lawrence Anderson. We ventured down to the Weir and discussed different plants and elements of the environment that were used by the Indigenous people. We learnt about the River Red Gum Tree, the Coolibah Tree and the Bumble Bush as well as many others. We then walked to the Sandhills and learnt about the significance and history connected to this area of Cunnamulla. We would like to say a huge thank you to Dan and Lawrence for taking the time out of their busy schedules to teach and share with us all their knowledge. It was lots of fun and we took lots of information away from it.

In Maths, we continued looking at comparisons of taller and shorter and lighter and heavier. We used our newly taught knowledge of the iPads and the ‘Numbers’ app to create some more representations. We searched for our different images and created a side by side look at things that are taller and shorter, lighter and heavier. Some of our ideas were definitely more on the creative side! This was a fun activity and we have enjoyed learning about the iPads this term.

The Prep students in English completed creating their Most Magnificent Things and wrote their procedures based off their creations. During our morning briefings, we have been learning about the importance of drafts and using the success criteria to provide quality feedback. As part of our assessment process, the Prep students worked to use the success criteria and give themselves some feedback on their original pieces of work. We then used this feedback to continue improving our work for the next copy. The fun did not stop there though, as we continued looking for ways to improve our work for our final copy. This was definitely a challenge for the Preps, but one that they are sure to continue working on next term!

On Tuesday 6^th of September, we were very lucky to welcome the Kindy students to our school for a ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’. As part of the transition process for the Prep students of 2023, they are spending time with the current Prep students as they begin their journey to starting school next year. The current Prep students were very excited to welcome their Kindy friends into the classroom and show them what it’s like being a big kid at Sacred Heart. We completed some painting activities together, some dress ups with the outdoor kitchen, some colouring activities as well as played on the obstacle course together. We had lots of fun and thank everyone that worked hard to make this picnic happen. We are excited to continue the transition process with the Kindy students next term.

As the term draws to a close, and our current Prep students only have one more term left in their first year of school, Mrs Fett and I would like to thank parents and family for your support this term. It has been a very busy yet exciting term and we are all definitely in need of a well deserved break. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday and we are looking forward to a fabulous Term 4!

Welcome to week 10! In just a blink of an eye another term is done and dusted. Over the past fortnight the students have rounded up learning for the term with the completion of their assessments. In English students finished publishing their information reports on dinosaurs and then presented them to the class.

In Religion, students had a blast creating collages of God's creation out of old magazines. Students then described ways that they would look after the creation and live in accordance with Gods plan. The Year Ones requested to read more of the bible so for the past week we have been getting to know God better by diving into some bible stories and then linking them with characteristics of God. The story of Gideon and his army of 300 men taught us that God is almighty. We linked the word compassion with the story of Jonah and the people of Nineveh. Finally, the story of God parting the Red Sea helped us to realise that God is awesome. We look forward to reading some more of the bible over the next week.

In Mathematics, the Year Ones did some work on fractions, but the majority of the time was spent strengthening the students’ number knowledge. Students have been learning not only to sequence numbers but how to partition them in terms of their place value.

The Deadly Choices program finished on a high last week as the students were gifted with some fantastic shirts. We had some fun playing traditional games for the last lesson.

Along with all the learning the students also attended the stop motion presentations put on by the 5/6 and 3/4 classes. The Year Ones also helped Josh Arnold in the recording of the new school song. Drama skills were put to the test as the class created their own short film of Catherine McAuley for Friday’s liturgy. The students got creative making Father’s Day gifts and were excited to collect their remaining Junior Palaeontologist badges.

Students will be receiving their final badge on Thursday at 2pm at our Night at the Museum open afternoon. I welcome you all to come and see the wonderful work the students have completed throughout the term!

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday.

Miss Abby Davidson

Year 1 Teacher

Year 2

Who can believe that we’re very nearly three quarters of the way through our year and we only have one short term left together. This being so, we’ve been very busy in our room over the last fortnight.

Assessment has, of course, been high on the agenda but we’ve been busy doing a myriad of things. We completed our Deadly Choices course and learnt some ways to keep ourselves fit and healthy by thinking carefully about what we eat and drink. If we exceed the limit, we know a good way to work it off by playing some Indigenous games, which gets us moving, a very important component of good health. So, if they request a health check or chip you for indulging in unhealthy habits, you know where it’s coming from! Keep your eye on their dinner plates and lunch boxes, as many pledged to remain healthy by incorporating more fruit and veggies into their diets!

Exploring the evolution of toys has been a focus for us in English, History and The Arts. Assessment tasks were to write an information report on a chosen toy and sequence chosen toys from earliest to modern day. Some information reports were of a high standard. The important thing to remember however, is that while some are still learning the basics of writing, if we compare their efforts now, to those in February or March of this year, all have experienced very pleasing growth. As is true in all aspects of life, don’t look at where you are and grow despondent, rather look at how far you’ve come and congratulate yourself. We’ve sequenced some toys on a timeline and pondered on their reasons for change, namely the incredible impact of technology. Despite this, some of the old games played in the dirt in playgrounds when I was a girl like hopscotch and marbles, still capture their interest today.

Co - writing and producing a new school song with Josh Arnold was a highlight last week and you’ll enjoy the result. Josh has a natural way with children, and they enjoyed every minute of the time spent with him. Many thanks to Ethan Capewell for donating a Deadly Choices shirt for him, as he had sweater envy when he saw the children parading around in theirs. No doubt he shall remember Cunnamulla and our wonderful students each time it’s donned!

Creating gifts for their fathers to forever cherish was a highlight in year two since our last newsletter went to print. The time and love they poured into icing cupcakes, drawing a portrait of their dads, and making a card, was beautiful to watch. I look back on those little treasures each time I open My Precious Memories box that I have kept for many years now. The years go by so quickly and memories fade, so keeping them to look at in the years to come, is worth it. The creation of our hen and chickens from polymer clay was a popular activity as well. Hope they’re taking pride of place somewhere with all their parts still intact. The clay arrived after we’d completed the unit but I’d promised them that we’d make them before the holidays.

Wishing you all a happy and safe holiday and we’ll see you back all refreshed and ready to start the final term of 2022.

Mrs Jenny Shellshear

Year 2 Teacher

Year 3/4

We have made it! Another busy term has come to an end. Over the last fortnight, the Year 3-4 class have been busy finishing off assessment and preparing to wind down for the holidays.

In English, we have continued to learn how authors make their writing interesting and beginning to apply this knowledge to improve our writing. Using a variety of different texts, we have explored how stories pull us in and make us want to continue reading. We have also looked at different simple story starters and used our knowledge and skills in imaginative writing to improve these. Together, we created success criteria for our imaginative writing- particularly the start of a story. Using this success criteria and our knowledge about feedback and how it can be applied to improve our work, gained from our whole school Morning Briefings, we began writing our Sizzling Story Starts. Our writing was based on a writing stimulus from Pobble 365 called “The Broken Road”. We each chose a sizzling start technique to use for our story and wrote our first draft. Then we applied the Success Criteria and teacher feedback to improve our stories. We have enjoyed learning how to make our writing more interesting and look forward to seeing how amazing our future writing will be.

In Maths we have been looking at the key features of 3D shapes, as well as the area of regular and irregular shapes. To begin, we did a shape walk through the school playground to identify the different shapes that make up our school environment. Continuing this, we discussed how we can identify these different shapes using key features including vertices, edges and faces. We then moved onto area and how we use it to measure the space a 2D shape takes up. To further our knowledge we wrote our names in block letters, most of which contained irregular shapes created by combining two or more 2D shapes, and calculated the area of each letter using square units. We have enjoyed learning about Shape and how it can be applied to real world situations.

Thank you all for another wonderful term in the Year 3-4 classroom and I can’t wait to return for Term 4. I hope you all have a relaxing and refreshing holidays.

Miss Ellie Charlton

Year 3/4 Teacher

Year 5/6

It is just a hop-skip-step to the end of the term. The Year 5/6 students have been striving for excellence with all their assessment tasks. Students have been seeking feedback, developing their inquiry skills and been involved in the drafting process for many of their tasks.

This week the Year 5/6 Students will be attending the Digital Music Workshop Digital Music Workshop with Shiny Shiny Productions who are visiting Cunnamulla with an introduction to electronic music production. During the workshop, students will be, producing music and recording with live instruments. Students will also be involved in a sports day at school on Thursday, developing kicking, throwing skills, and playing team sports.

Last week the Year 5/6 Students thoroughly enjoyed hosting Josh Arnold in their classroom to write the new school song. It was great to see all students involved in the process and experience firsthand the production of music. They also presented their stop motions, that they have worked on all term, to the rest of the school. Students had to discuss with peers the process of making the stop motion and challenges that occurred when producing the short film.

I hope everyone enjoys their holidays and I will see you all next term!

Miss Lilly Daly

Year 5/6 Teacher

Birthday Awards

Horse Sports Competition

Congratulations to Lucy, Penny and Ruby Schmidt who recently represented Sacred Heart in the Border Ridge Christian College Horse Sports Competition. It looks like they had lots of fun competing.

Robotics

Last Tuesday our year 3-6 students walked down to the Cunnamulla Library with Mrs Tolete to participate in a Robotics clinic during their IT lesson. A big thanks goes to Miss Tammy for organising this.

Teddy Bear's Picnic

On Tuesday 6^th of September, we were very lucky to welcome the Kindy students to our school for a ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’. As part of the transition process for the Prep students of 2023, they are spending time with the current Prep students as they begin their journey to starting school next year.

Prep Transition Days

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.

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.

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:

Mrs Cara Haig (Deputy / LST)
Mrs Carolyn Crick (Administration Officer)
Ms Karen Bruggemann (School Guidance Counsellor)
Mrs Polly Goodman (Principal)

School Tuition Fees

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.

Tuckshop

We are looking for cake cookers and volunteers to run tuckshop on a Friday for Term 4. There is only 8 Fridays in Term 4 that Volunteers are needed. If you can spare one Friday next term, can you please let Mrs Crick know at the office. Tuckshop runs from 9am – 1.30pm

Flexischools App
The tuckshop has purchased an App called Flexischools. This will make ordering and paying for Tuckshop easier. Attached are the instructions to download and use the App.