Week 3 Term 1 2023
Acknowledgement of Country
We would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land the Birri-Gubba Juru people and pay our respects to the elders past, present and future for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Indigenous Australia.
Principal & Teaching and Learning Update
The weeks are already rushing away ! Week 3 already. It has been a very productive and happy start to the year.
It was wonderful to see so many volunteers at our Water Awareness lesson last Thursday. These lessons are so beneficial for our children especially in light of the recent holiday sadness of so many drownings. Thank you to Mrs Jasmine Vass, our wonderful new Sports Coordinator for organising these lessons. We will have two more sessions and then commence our Hockey Clinics with Hockey Townsville. These clinics are able to happen due to gaining a Sporting School Grant.
A few changes will happen this term. The new windows in Year 1/2 and the Arts/Italian room will commence the week of 20th February. This should cause minimal disruption with the class moving out for one day only (hopefully).
Our Infants new playground is designed, all WHS documents are ready we are just waiting for the start date. I have been promised it will be this term. Below are some diagrams of the playground.
Unfortunately we will also have to replace the playground under the Tamarind tree nearest the back fence. The Townsville Catholic Education office will support St Colman’s to replace this playground. Designs and plans will commence after the infants playground is completed.
The old soccer posts (as they were unsafe) have also been removed. We are presently applying for a sporting grant to replace these with a post that is a combined soccer and football goal post.
Over the holidays some new chrome books were also purchased to ensure that our 1 to 1 ratio is maintained as we are growing steadily.
Writing Focus
Last Monday and Tuesday Miss Samara Fox and I participated in a two day program about the Writing project which we are participating in to help staff teach the most up-to-date modern methods on how to teach writing. Each newsletter I will try and introduced some of the strategies.
Minilit and Macqlit
At St Colman’s School we have two very special programs. MiniLit and Macqlit. All students in Year 1 - Year 6 are tested to see if they are eligible for the programs. If your child is eligible you will receive a note home. Macqlit commenced last week. MiniLit will start next week. These programs have proven to be very successful in helping students become more confident and capable readers. Below is a small outline of the programs. We thank Mrs Pont - Macqlit and Miss Bernie - Miniilit for completing all the extra training and helping the students achieve their goals.
MiniLit targets and is specifically aimed at Year 1 readers, and some struggling Year 2 students. It is a small group program (up to five students per group).
MiniLit is an integrated and balanced program of 80 carefully structured lessons, divided into two levels of forty lessons each:
- Level 1: Teaching the basics of letter/sound knowledge and decoding skills for Consonant/ Vowel/Consonant words
- Level 2: Extending word attack knowledge by teaching commonly used digraphs and longer words
MacqLit is an explicit and systematic reading intervention program for small groups of students from Year 3 and older who have been identified as at risk readers. Readers need to develop rapid, automatic and efficient word recognition strategies. That means the primary focus of MacqLit is on phonics, or word identification, supported by connected text reading to ensure skills are generalised to authentic reading experiences.
Our New Playground
Volunteer Site Induction
We are very lucky to have so many volunteers working throughout our school and are an integral part of the day to day life of our school. In order to be a volunteer you need to complete the Volunteer Induction which can be found on our school website as well as attend a school site induction. We will be holding two inductions this term, Thursday 16th February at 8:00am and 5:30pm. Students are welcome to play in the playground whilst their parents attend this meeting
The link to the Induction which can be done at home is below:
Yr 6 Leaders and Opening Mass
Congratulations to our Year 6 leaders who received their leadership badge last week at Mass. We wish them the best for their last year of primary school and we know that they will strive to lead the school to the best of their ability.
Below is the leadership pledge that the students took. The pledge is based on our school behaviour motto of RISE - Respect, Inspire, Safe , Effort.
Leadership Pledge 2023
As a 2023 leader of St. Colman’s school, I promise to be the best leader I can be.
I will RISE to be responsible, inspire, be safe and continue to display effort in all my leadership roles.
I promise to be a true leader to every student at St Colman's school and inspire them to reach their full potential. As senior leaders of St Colman’s we promise to be respectful, compassionate and patient to staff and guests within our school community.
Year 6 Leadership Mass
Religious Education News
Tuesday 21st February is Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday and is when St Colman's School traditionally shares pancakes.
What does this day mean ?
Shrove is the past tense of the English verb “Shrive” which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of confession and by doing penance. Dating back to 1000 AD, over the years Shrove Tuesday not only became a day for Confession but a time for Catholics to feast on eggs, sugar and dairy which are traditionally restricted during the Lenten fast.
Not only was Shrove Tuesday a last chance to gorge on such foods but it was also a way to use them up before the fast began.
We are asking for volunteers to cook pancakes for our students to share at lunch time from 10.00am.
We are also seeking families to donate batter or bottles of the pre-made mix before the day.
Sports Update
Library Corner
Every month St Colman's School buys Lamont Standing Order books. A collection of books from Picture Stories, Primary Fiction, Primary Non-fiction and Primary Graphic Novels. Each newsletter we will now introduce some of the new books that are arriving on our shelves. Students are very welcome to borrow these books!
Check out one of our new books..... Hedgehog the WonderDog
The ‘extraordinary’ anything-but-ordinary Hedgehog may look curious to outsiders, but her owner, Jo, and child narrator, Sam, understand she is a ‘Wonder Dog’. While Hedgehog engages in daily adventures at the cafe, dog park, beach and in the garden, in a parallel yet contrasting world, Sam counts down the days of the week with hospital routines until it’s ‘superpower’ time with the fun-loving pooch. Hedgehog is illuminated with a magical, rainbow glow, while her surroundings and the hospital are etched with soft pencil lines and shading in deep crimson and navy paints mixed with digital art. Colourful, happy child-like pen drawings line the walls, signifying Sam’s uplifting moments. Hedgehog the Wonder Dog offers love, hope and reassurance to readers from age five and is a wonderful resource for educators, parents and medical staff, exemplifying the ‘extraordinary’ benefits of therapy dogs.
Below our some of our new Non Fiction books....
Tuckshop News
Community News
