St Anthony's School - Newsletter No.11

A St Anthony Sports Day is about Community / Family fun. The activities provide all children the opportunity to participate at their level. The major part of the competition involved is in helping the children to work at doing things better, enjoy being in a team and learning to encourage and acknowledge the skills of themselves and others.

COVID Requirements - Please remember to sign in & observe physical distancing requirements adults 1.5m apart. Thankyou

Program - Reminder – No Before School Care

8:30am: Students begin to assemble on oval

REMINDER: Please leave time to find a park. No Parking on College Grounds

9:00 - 9.10am: Students assemble in their team tents

9:10am: Welcome, National Anthem and Prayer

9:15am: House Chants / Whole School Health Hustle / Warm up

9:30am: Students report to their classroom teacher for Roll

9:40am Start of Rotations (see next page)

10:40am: RECESS BREAK

11.00am: STUDENT LONG DISTANCE RACES

11.30am: STUDENT BATON RELAYS

12:00pm: STDUENT TUG OF WAR

12:20pm Announcements & Conclusion of Sports Day

12:30pm Dismissal from Class Teachers

Reminder – No After School Care on this day!

Dear Families and Friends of St Anthony’s School,

Who could believe we are near the end of another amazing term? 

This term we have journeyed through the L.L.L. Framework highlighting and exploring a different aspect each week through prayer, story, mentoring moments, super power capes and class activities. These learner qualities and the ultimate vision of thriving people, capable leaners and leaders for the world God desires are critical parts of the learning experiences of students.

Father’s Day Stall – Thanks to the P&F for facilitating the Father’s Day stall and allowing all the Dads to be spoilt!

Health & PE Day – On Wednesday 2nd Sept we celebrated this day through wearing our team colours, participating in a whole school health hustle and launching our engagement with Premier’s Be Active Challenge.

Excursions and rich learning experiences – Students have been involved in a variety of learning experiences over the last few weeks including R-2 Marine Discovery Centre, Yr. 3 visit to Mary Mackillop Centre and Yr. 4-6 Market and Cathedral visits.

Student Wellbeing – A couple of weeks ago students participated in our first Catholic Schools student check in. This online survey asked students to respond to a number of questions about learning, friendships and our school community. Next week staff will be looking at the data from these surveys to explore possible responses and celebrate  areas of strength. 

Festival Choir – Our Festival Choir students from Yr. 5 & 6  will be filming their performance next week. Sadly COVID has got in the way of the performance at Festival Theatre but certainly has not stopped their enthusiastic learning and singing. Thank you to Mr Young for his leadership of the choir. We look forward to them sharing a few of the songs at our end of year carols night.

Catholic Charities – This term a range of fundraising events have allowed us to raise awareness and money for these local charities. Thank you for your support of these fundraising experiences.

Visible Learning – We continue to engage with shared professional learning with McAuley and Nativity Schools called Visible Learning. Our new focus is exploring the important place of feedback. As a staff we are committing to Developing a shared understanding, consistent language and collaborative feedback practices across the school. We will know we have been successful in this when students can seek, understand, act upon and give feedback and articulate the next steps in their learning journey. Our ultimate desire is for St Anthony’s to be a place where feedback is sought, welcomed and a supportive part or our practice that leads to growth and improvement in learning.

We pass on our prayers and thoughts to Mrs Colagrossi at the sad news of the passing of her Father. May he rest in eternal peace.

May I express my thanks and appreciation to our students who have embraced their learning, the care for each other and lived out our important values of Lead, Love, Laugh, Listen and Learn. Thank you for the ongoing support of our amazing community. I am looking forward to an amazing Sports Day next week. Happy holidays and I hope they provide you with an opportunity to rest and charge the batteries for a HUGE term 4. 

Best wishes, from Stuart

The Season of Creation runs from the 1st September until 4th October, the feast of St Francis of Assisi. This is an ecumenical season dedicated to prayer for the protection of creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles. 

During this Season Of Creation, may we be attentive to the rhythms of creation. The world was made to communicate the glory of God, to help us to discover the Lord of all in its beauty. Pope Francis 

This term our fundraising focus has been for Catholic Charities. These events included - Wear & Show your colours, Friday Canteen sales &  Sausage Sizzle.

Charity is at the heart of living our faith.  Catholic Charities is the umbrella organisation that supports the following agencies working with the most vulnerable in South Australia.

Hutt St Centre • Catherine House • SA Catholic Deaf Association • Aboriginal Catholic Ministry • Our Lady of La Vang & St Patrick’s Special Schools • Centacare Catholic Family Services • Calvary Ain Karim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doCelLeChfk&feature=emb_logo

During this term we we are exploring  the Catholic Education – Live, Learn, Lead Framework. Each week we will focus on one element of the framework. Students will begin to explore the Key Capabilities Continua which expands on the 7 key capabilities allowing students to grow, reflect on and evidence their capabilities. More information can be located at - https://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/about/living-learning-leading

A new website has been launched to support students engagement with the Key Capabilities - https://kcc.cesa.catholic.edu.au/. 

Summary Reports and Information are now avalable on the SWD Website -  https://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/news/students-with-disability-review

• A Summary Report of the conversations the Review has held with 124 students with disability across metropolitan and country South Australia.

• Summary Reports of the Review Surveys results for the following groups:

• 343 parents/carers/guardians of students with disability
• 100 members of the community
• 98 principals of Catholic schools
• 822 staff of Catholic schools: teachers, positions of responsibility, deputy principals and support staff
• 56 staff in the Catholic Education Office.

For your information, the different Survey Summary Reports consist of three main components:

·         an overview synopsis of the responses in the respective survey prepared by Ms Gerry Gray, a Disability Specialist and Advocate from NSW, whom the Review has engaged to assist its independent approach

·         data reports for the survey questions inviting a quantitative response that have been prepared by Square Holes, the independent company the Review commissioned to undertake the surveys

·         a brief outline by Square Holes of the themes that emerged in the qualitative comments people provided in the surveys. 

The SWD Review is now entering the next phase of analysing the key issues and challenges and identifying the solutions and strategies that best address them. A Review paper outlining the issues and challenges and proposing ways forward will be released at the start of term 4.

In week 8 the R-2 community celebrated and learnt about their precious selves as part of our Made in the Image of God curriculum. On this day the students were engaged in many tasks to learn about their stories and their amazing bodies! 

Students have been exploring writing movie reviews as part of their study on review writing. Students made 3D popcorn  boxes to compare and reviews a movie and book with the same title.

The focus of this unit for our Year 5/6's is to integrate Geography & Mathematics lessons enabling students to understand travel factors and perspectives. Students create their own overseas vacation using a range of sources (websites, travel brochures etc.) and gain an understanding of the mathematical processes involved with travel. Students enhance Mathematical skills of calculating, designing, problem solving, estimating, creating budgets, sales & percentages, measurement of time and distance. Students will also draw on geographical skills in order to learn about the culture of their destination.

Enterprise Day will be held next Thursday September 24th. Our Year 4 to Year 6 students are busy planning and preparing for over 15 stalls. These will be selling products and treats from bookmarks to cookie decorating and much more. Parents are welcome to join us from 2.30pm following Covid rules of social distancing. Please send along some change with your children so they can buy some treats on the day. Prices range from 50c - $2.00

At our September meeting, the Board welcomed the announcement from Catholic Education South Australia that school fees will be reduced across all Diocesan primary schools in 2021. This is part of the ‘Making Catholic Education More Affordable’ initiative to provide a high-quality Catholic Education that is accessible and affordable for all. We look forward to learning more about what the fee reduction will look like for St Anthony’s families.

As we move towards the end of the year, the Board held discussions on class structures for 2021. Stuart discussed the expected student numbers for 2021, and we considered several ideas that would give all students optimum learning and wellbeing support. Stuart has also asked the wider school community to provide any comments or suggestions on 2021 class structures.

With learning a key Board focus, Stuart presented information on new literacy materials, particularly in the early years. We discussed the importance of evidence-based learning programs, which Stuart and his team have been implementing, including the introduction of Decodable Readers in the early years. At a recent parent workshop, Stuart spoke about the ‘Big 6’ reading focus areas of oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Parents had the opportunity to visit classrooms to see our teachers putting literacy learning into action. Teachers have received professional development around how to implement the ‘Big 6’, and the school is looking to introduce suitable programs for students who might need further literacy support.

The Board and Finance Committee continues to monitor the financial stability of our school. St Anthony’s continues to be in a sound position due to excellent financial management and administration in recent years.

Our wonderful P&F have been busy this year, quickly adapting to the challenges presented by COVID-19. We thank everyone involved in delivering the modified Father’s Day stall, second-hand uniform shop and the extra pizza days in Term 3. Keep an eye out for information on pizza days in Term 4, as well as a ‘Ladies’ Night’ early in the new term. A reminder that all members of the St Anthony’s community are welcome to come to P&F meetings.

The Board recognises many primary schools are moving to a more progressive uniform policy with the removal of formal uniforms in favour of a sports-style uniform throughout the year. The Board approved a motion to research the idea of a refreshed St Anthony’s sports uniform with a view to implementing a sports-only uniform policy in 2021. Such a move would offer cost-saving benefits to families, encourage more inclusive play-based learning, and allow for better gender equity across all grade levels. All while still providing a neat and consistent representation of our school. A transition period would allow parents to move from existing uniforms to any new style that might be introduced.

Who’s on the School Board?

The St Anthony’s School Board allows parents to have a say in the strategic direction of the school. As a group, we have a responsibility to ensure the overall wellbeing of St Anthony’s School through decision making, partnership and service. We represent the interests of all members of our school community.

Your Board members:

Father Phillip Alstin, Parish Priest, St Anthony of Padua Catholic Parish, Edwardstown (President)

Kellie Lumsden, parent of Aedan in Year 4 and Islay in Year 1 (Chairperson)

Stuart Baker, Principal, St Anthony’s School (Executive Officer)

Lee-Anne Hills, parent of Paige in Year 5 (Chairperson of the Finance Committee)

Angela Cordell, parent of Trinity in Year 5 and Maya in Year 1

Jane Ryan, parent of Gabrielle in Year 5

Joh Kohler, parent of Elroy in Year 1 and Zoe in Reception

Letitia Waite, parent of Cormac in Year 5 and Jarvis in Year 4

Mark Cowley, parent of Kate in Year 5

Mel Hoggins, parent of Nathan in Year 3, Xavier in Year 1 and Evie in Little Ants

Penny Harrison, parent of Klara in Year 6 and Keelan in Year 3

Sarah Sommers, parent of Harry in Year 3 and Charlie in Year 1

Tanya Andrews, parent of Jack and George in Year 3

The St Anthony’s School Board will meet again on 3 November. If you have any questions or want the Board to discuss an issue or idea you have for our school, please get in touch with one of our friendly members, or email: chair@stantedw.catholic.edu.au