St Peters Lutheran School Newsletter

Thank you to everyone for another successful term at SPLS. So much happens in ten weeks, it is a credit to staff, parents and students about how much is achieved.  I’m still smiling after the musical. We hope everyone can enjoy a few weeks of life at a different pace and be ready for our final term of 2019 (which also looks very busy too!).

A few end of term reminders:

1. Student led conferences – Thursday 26 and Friday 27 September (see emailed link for booking details).
2. Pupil Free Day - Friday 27 September.
3. A good time to take stock of uniform needs for Term 4.  Please make sure the Summer uniform is in good condition. A close check, especially of hats, shoes and socks, would be greatly appreciated. Please label all items. (See summer uniform policy attached).
4. Lost property – there is quite a bit of lost property in the front office (including a number of unnamed sports jackets).
5. Term 4 begins on Monday 14 October, with chapel at 8.45am.

As you all know we have been working hard to fund our Nature Play Space. In order to prepare for some action, we are needing to do a clean up of the area (along with some other general tidying up around the school). We are having a Working Bee on Saturday 21 September starting at 8.30am to do this. Please bring along gloves and any handy tools (eg rake, shovel, whipper-snipper, wheelbarrow). Even if you can give just one hour, that would be greatly appreciated.  Please go to the school office on the day to sign in first. Thanks in anticipation.

The 2019 NAPLAN results have been received by the school these past days. Families will receive copies of results for all students in Year 3,5 and 7. These will be handed out to parents next week at Student Led Conferences (in sealed and labelled envelopes).  We are pleased with the overall results once again this year and proud of all students who complete the tests. A synopsis of the school’s results will be included in the newsletter next term.

They are of course one snapshot of a student’s abilities in a very specific focus.  If you would like more information, teachers are able to give a much more rounded picture of how your child is progressing.  

The 2020 school fee schedule will be sent home to all families next week.

They will be sent via email. 

‘Restorative Practices at St Peters – What’s it all about’ - with Bill Hansberry

We are most fortunate to be able to have Mr Bill Hansberry come to our school next term to lead a parent workshop on the topic of Restorative Practices.  He will lead a 1-2hr session for any interested parents on Wednesday 30 October at 6.45pm here in our chapel.  There will be a free sausage sizzle and a crèche to help all families attend. (See Skoolbag to RSVP).  We are able to engage Bill for this session thanks mostly to a ‘Parents in Education’ (PIE) grant our P & F received this year for a focus on Well-being in our school (It’s the ‘W’ in G.R.O.W.).

It is regrettable that this clashes with the Southern Music Festival that evening but we were unable to find another time this year to have him come and speak with us. We apologise to any families to whom this will be a conflict.

Our Year 5, 6 and 7s head off to camp on the first days of next term.  We hope they have fabulous three days of learning together at Victor Harbor.  There is so much to learn and experience on a camp, where students are involved in activities that they probably don’t get to experience very often. This can be challenging for some but so important as we develop those attributes such as risk taking where they learn some resilience and grit.  School camps are often the experiences we remember fondly long after they finish as there are often times where significant achievements and new-found confidences emerge from trying new things.  Have a great time everyone! 

Planning for the 2020 school year is already well in progress.  In order to assist with this planning, it is essential that we have details of current students' intentions to continue at St Peters in 2020.

The School enrolment policy states: "Where a student is to be withdrawn from the school, parents are required to give the Principal one term's notice, in writing, before the withdrawal date, otherwise parents will be liable for an additional term's fees".

Therefore, if your child is not returning in 2020, and you have not already advised the Principal, notification must be received in writing, addressed to the Principal, by the end of Term 3 (Thursday 26 September 2019).

In some cases, it may not be possible to give a clear commitment for next year but, bearing in mind the policy stated above, it is important for us to have as clear a forecast as possible.

If you would like to discuss your enrolment situation for 2020, please contact the Principal.

The term dates for next year have recently been approved by School Council.

We follow a very similar pattern as for 2019.

Term 1:  Wednesday 29 January - Wednesday 8 April
Term 2:  Tuesday 28 April - Friday 3 July
Term 3:  Wednesday 22 July - Friday 25 September
Term 4:  Monday 12 October - Tuesday 8 December

1. Term begins - Monday 14 October (with Chapel at 8.45am)
2. School Disco - Friday 25 October
3. Southern Music Festival - Wednesday 30 October
4. Bill Hansberry Parent workshop - Wednesday 30 October
5. New Families Welcome and Information night - Wednesday 13 November
6. PE Week - starts Monday 25 November
7. Colour Run - Monday 25 November
8. SPLASH Day - Friday 29 November
9. End of year service - Tuesday 10 December 

Parents/caregivers are to inform the school if a student is to be away from school for any period of time. The preferred method is via the Skoolbag App. Simply go to eForms and select Absentee Form. This submission is forwarded to the relevant teacher for their information. You may also telephone the school on 8278 0800 (a message can be left on our answering machine before 8:30am) or email admin@stpeterslutheran.sa.edu.au if this is more convenient for you.

While we appreciate that parents are busy in the mornings, it is important that the school is informed as soon as possible of the student's absence. In the event that a student is absent and we have not been informed, the school will send you an SMS to confirm the reason for the absence. To enable us to ensure our records are correct, in the event that you do receive an SMS from the school, please reply confirming the reason for your child's absence (either via SMS or by submitting a Skoolbag absentee form). 

If students arrive late to school (any time after 8:45am) they should enter the school grounds via the school office and sign-in. Following this procedure avoids the necessity for the school to contact parents regarding their absence. It should be noted that children arriving in the classroom after 8:45am may have been marked as absent. Again, in this event, the student should visit the school office to sign-in.

Extended Absence

Requirements under the current Education Act mean that students who are on leave from school must seek approval through the school using the Application for Exemption Form A (available at the school office). For temporary exemptions less than one month or for family travel/holidays up to twelve months, exemptions may only be approved by the Principal. NB School fees still apply during any absence unless approved by the Principal.

Thank you for your cooperation.

What a busy term it has been, full of wonderful learning opportunities for the children. Below are some curriculum reminders and information that pertain to the last week of school and next term. If you ever have any questions about curriculum at St Peters, please make a time to come and visit. I would love to chat with you about what we are doing!

NAPLAN

NAPLAN results will be given out to parents at Student Led Conferences. Please let your child's teacher know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Student Led Conferences

The students are looking forward to sharing Term 3 work with you all. Please take the opportunity to ask qustions of the students and help them reflect on the knowledge, skills and attitudes to their learning.

Seesaw

Our Learning Journals are constantly being updated with learning from all areas of the curriculum. These updates are work samples that show how the children's learning is progressing and areas for improvement. Please take the time at the end of this term to review the Term 3 work, celebrate what has been achieved and make learning goals for Term 4. It's a fabulous way to partner with the school in educating your child and showing interest and engagement in your child's progress.

ICAS

This year's ICAS tests are now complete for the year. This year we added Digital Technologies to the list of tests on offer to the children and it proved to be quite popular. We had a pleasing number of students participating in all six tests. During Term 4 a review of ICAS will be sent home to parents in order to gauge the interest in offering the tests again next year. Please keep an eye out for this.

Literacy Review

Our Literacy Review is well under way. As a school we are examining what is working well, what needs improvement and what the research says about best practice in literacy. It is common practice for schools to review and reflect on  curriculum to ensure the learning that is taking place is the very best standard possible. We are excited about the possibilities of what our review will bring about and will share information along the way.

Have a fantastic holiday break!

Bronwyn Wilson
PYP Coordinator

The next information sheet in our series about apps currently popular with children, kindly provided to us by the Carly Ryan Foundation, relates to Instagram (download via the link below).

Working Bee

A working bee to start preparations for the first stage of our new nature play space, as well as other maintenance work around the school, will be held this Saturday 21 September from 8.30am-12noon.  If you can help, please bring some handy tools - rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows - and sign in at the front office when you arrive.

Aprons

There are still a few aprons left available for sale - $20 each, cash only.  This is your last chance to get one of these 20th anniversary commemorative aprons, so get in quick, before they are all gone! 

Engraved Leaves

Engraved leaves for our community tree are still available for individuals, families and businesses.  Order forms are available on the school's website (see About Us / 20th Anniversary Celebrations) or at the front office.

Silver September

We are now halfway through Silver September.  Please continue to bring in your silver 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins to add to the donation tins in your classrooms. We are planning to make a giant 20 with the coins, so the more we can collect, the bigger the 20 will be.  All money raised will go towards our new nature play space.

School Holiday Family Photo Sessions

Deb Smith Photography in Blackwood has kindly offered a limited number of family photography sessions, and will donate the $50 session fee directly to the school, for up to 40 families - a potential total of $2000 for our school!  She is also including a 5" x 7" print and $100 gift voucher towards more prints, if you choose to order them.  30 minute sessions will be held at the school on Wednesday 9 and Friday 11 October between 9.00am-5.30pm.  Please see the flyer below for payment and booking information.

School Disco

The school disco will be held in Week 2, Term 4 on Friday 25 October from 6.00-7.00pm for Reception-Year 3 and 7.00-8.30pm for Years 4-7.  Tickets will be $5pp, including a snack, drink and access to the photo booth.  We will need lots of volunteers to help the disco run smoothly, including set up and pack up crews, disco supervisors, coffee and supper, and kids drinks and snacks.  Please see the attached letter for your ticket order form and link to the online volunteer signup roster.  We would love suggestions from students of songs they would like to dance to at the disco.  Please post suggestions to our FB page or email them to stpeterslutheranpandf@gmail.com.  Make sure you include which class your child is in, so we know when to play their favourites! 

Get to know your Class Support Coordinators

Remember those P&F committee member profiles we sent out a few weeks ago?  This time, it's the class support coordinators' turn!  In the attached profiles, you will find out a bit more about why they volunteered to be Class Support Coordinators in the first place, put faces to names, and get to know them a bit better.  We will be sharing more volunteer profiles next term.

Make sure you stay up to date with all our happenings on Facebook at www.facebook.com/stpeterslutheranpandf and Instagram @stpeterslutheranpandf

Thank you for your support.

Heather Stevens

Chairperson, St Peters Lutheran P&F

For important dates and information regarding upcoming events, please go to the Events page of our Skoolbag app.