Term 1 Week 11 Newsletter 2022

Project Compassion

Our school captains have worked hard this term to promote our understanding bout the work of Caritas Australia and their Project Compassion campaign during Lent. We held three main fundraising events this year with over $550 raised through the Colour for Compassion, Fly to the Future and Dress Casual for Compassion events. Thank you also to those families who were able to contribute through the home collection boxes which have also raised some much needed money for this cause.  

Easter Celebrations at St Catherine's School 

We were pleased to be able to celebrate Palm Sunday as a wider community this week. Our service was taken outside to allow for us to gather as a whole school and with our parents and friends. Student presented the events of Palm Sunday with Fr Fred before year 1/2J shared their liturgy. The celebration was a beautiful occasion and reminds us of the significance of the Lenten period as we enter Holy Week. 

The students in years 3 to 6 also worked on presentations of the events of Holy Week and the Stations of the Cross. There were reflective pieces that brought to life an enactment of  this important part of our faith story.  These were shared the students across the school and a celebration of the way in which our students can participate with great thought when reflecting upon scripture. 

2022 School Captains 

Congratulations to Milly, Saxon, Isla and Lochie on being elected our 2022 School Captains!  

Year 5 Beach Safety Day 

On Friday of Week 5, our Year 5 students participated in a beach safety program run by the Surf Life Saving Association at Glenelg Beach. Students were engaged in practical activities including survival strokes, beach running, board paddling / riding, and beach rescues. The instructors shared their knowledge with the children and the theory sessions were very informative, and included how to identify dangers and hazards at the beach such as recognising a rip and what to do if caught in one, and how to read signage relating to beach safety. Despite the weather being a little gloomy, the children were enthusiastic and to say they enjoyed themselves would be an understatement!  

Year 6 Aquatics Day 

On Thursday of Week 5, our Senior students in 6CD had perfect weather for their Aquatics Excursion to West Lakes! They participated in four water activities throughout the day which included Kayaking, Canoeing, Surfing and Sailing. A wonderful time was had by all and they were also educated throughout the day about how to keep themselves safe in and around water.  

Year 5/6 visit from the Carly Ryan Foundation  

A couple of weeks ago our Year 5/6 cohort took part in an Internet positive one-hour online safety discussion delivered by the Carly Ryan Foundation. A huge thank you to Zac, our presenter, for delivering such an important topic in such a highly engaging and relational way for our students. This is an annual presentation for our 5/6 cohort and it never fails to leave an impact.

Cyber Safety Times! 
The work of the Carly Ryan Foundation 
By Lucas and Clara in 5K 

The Carly Ryan Foundation shared with us a very upsetting and disastrous story of Carly Ryan’s passing. It all began when Carly met this very cool 18-year-old rock star online. She was later going to a friend’s house for a sleepover. But instead, Garry Francis Newman convinced Carly to meet him at the beach at Port Elliot, there he bashed her, shoved her face in the sand, suffocated her, and threw her into the ocean to drown. They found her body on the beach of Horseshoe Bay. Jasper shared in response to hearing this that, “It was harsh and she didn’t deserve it. She was very young to be killed it such a bad way. No one should trust strangers they don’t personally know. If you are going to meet up with someone you have never met, you should talk to a trusted adult, try to search their browser for anything suspicious. Always be safe on the internet. Trust your instincts if something feels sketchy.” 

 Carly Ryan’s mother called the mother of the child who she thought Carly had gone to see, because she had not come back when she was meant to. The mother hadn’t contacted Carly even though she hadn’t come over as planned. Carly Ryan’s mother then called the police who had found the body of Carly in the ocean of Horseshoe Bay. Carly’s mother knew it was her because she recognised the painted finger nails she painted the day before. 

The things we learnt about cyber safety were extremely interesting. We learnt very different things to what we already knew from the past cyber safety lessons. Sienna reported “It was extremely good. I learnt that if someone commits child abuse online, they get thrown into prison for at least ten years.” 

The Carly Ryan foundation taught us a lot of things we did not already know. It was unbelievable how much they could teach us in the span of an hour or two. Multiple things turned into unimaginable resourceful information. Cash reflected by saying, “I realized that the Carly Ryan story was very emotional in lots of different ways. It is very important to be cyber safe or you will end up feeling bad or something worse could have happened.” 

SAPSASA – Courier Cup – Mt Barker Pool

Congratulations to the 12 students that competed in Courier Cup on Tuesday 22^nd March at Mountain Pool Mt Barker. The carnival was a culmination of several training sessions at Woodside Pool to help form a team for both The Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival and the Courier Cup Carnival. Students participated in either a freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly events as well as some relay events.

Special thanks to Mrs Pat Wheeler for her expert help at both training sessions, and on the Carnival day and to Mrs Jane McCaffrey, Mrs Rachel Hutton and Mrs Alex Adkins for giving up their time to help officiate on the day.

Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival – SA Aquatics Centre Marion

Congratulations to the 13 children that competed at the Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival on Wednesday 23^rd March at SA Aquatics Centre Marion. All competitors competed in year level races at this particular carnival with some excellent results on the day.

Special mention to Mackenzie in Year 6 who competed in three 50m events, a 25m butterfly and two relay events on the day receiving a ribbon in all the events he competed in.

Some commendable results included:

Kiyan Yr 3 – 3rd freestyle
Alex Yr 3 – 3rd backstroke, 3rd breastroke
Eliza Yr 4 – 4th freestyle, 4th breastroke
Sylvie Yr 4 – 4th Year 4 freestyle relay
Leo Yr 4 – 4th freestyle, 4th Year 4 relay freestyle
Cooper Yr 4 – 1st - 50m freestyle, 2nd backstroke, 1st Year 6 freestyle relay
Nathan Yr 5 – 1st -freestyle,
Ellie Yr 5 – 4th Year 5 freestyle relay, 2nd Medley relay
Cash Yr 5 – 2nd backstroke, 3rd freestyle,  4th Year 5 freestyle relay,
Poppy Yr 5 – 3rd backstroke, 4th Year 5 freestyle relay
Hamish Yr 6 – 2nd freestyle, 1st Year 6 freestle relay, 2nd Medley relay
Lochie Yr 6 – 1st Year 6 freestyle relay, 2nd Medley relay,
Mackenzie Yr 6 – 1st 50m freestyle, 3rd 50m backstroke, 2nd 50m backstroke, 2nd butterfly, 2nd Medley, 1st Year 6 freestyle relay

A big thank you to Mrs Oana Maftei and Mrs Jane McCaffrey for giving up their time to help officiate on the day.

Mr De Giovanniello (Physical Education Teacher/Sports Coordinator)

On the weekend of 26th & 27th March Elle, Year 5, represented Eastern Hills Hornets at the Basketball Junior Country Championships in U12 Div1. They went through undefeated and took home the championship. They played teams such as Whyalla, Riverland, Millicent and Port Augusta. 

Elle's borther and old Scholar Ethan, was selected in U16 SA Country State team and will be head to Perth in July to compete nationally in the Australian Junior Championships. Huge achievement considering he is bottoms age. To be selected started back last year with over 100 kids in U15’s and 16’s eventually was cut down to 36 then 17 kids and from a final try out on 19th March was selected in the final 10. 

Dear Families,

St Catherine’s School have once again registered to be a part of the Premiers Reading Challenge in 2022.

Students are challenged to read 12 age-appropriate books between now and early September. 

Reception to Year 2 students will complete their challenge at school. Teachers will fill out and record all the details for the students.

Year 3-6 students will receive their Student Reading Record soon to participate in the challenge at home. Parent’s please complete your child’s details and sign to verify that your child has read the books they list.

What is the Challenge?

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is a literacy engagement program that was introduced by the Premier in 2004 to:

• Encourage students to read more books and enjoy reading
• Improve literacy levels.

The Challenge requires students to read 12 books between the beginning of the school year and early September.

How to complete the Challenge?

• Every student will need a Student Reading Record. This is available from the school’s Premier’s Reading Challenge coordinator or can be downloaded here.
• Read 12 books. Eligible books include e-books, audio books, class/shared reading, prescribed books for school, non-fiction books, books read as research for assignments or books in another language. Reception to Year 6 students must read 8 books from the Premier’s Reading Challenge booklist and 4 personal choice books.
• Complete the Student Reading Record with the title and author for each book. A parent, caregiver, teacher or librarian must sign off on each book to verify it has been read.
• Pass on the completed Student Reading Record to the school’s Premier’s Reading Challenge coordinator Mrs Cathy Fischle by the designated due date.
• Receive an award in late November.

There are over 7,000 titles on the Premier’s Reading Challenge booklist to help you find 12 books that you will enjoy reading. You can search for titles according to year level (R-2, 3-5 or 6-9) or you can browse the list. More information can be found at https://premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au/

If you have any questions, please ask Mrs Cathy Fischle or Mrs Narelle Brine.

Good Luck and Happy Reading!

Narelle Brine

nbrine@stcaths.catholic.edu.au

Action for Happiness Calendar - Active April  

New month, new calendar! When life feels a little challenging, staying active really helps. There is a lot we can't control, but when we choose to get moving and take care of our bodies, we can boost our energy and cope better with life's ups and downs. Please join me and the other staff at St Catherine's in spreading some happiness and looking after ourselves. Please feel free to send me an email at any point to let me know what activities your family have enjoyed together from this months calendar. I would love to hear from you!  

Classroom Pulse Check In 

We have now completed our Term 1 collection of our Pulse Data. It is wonderful to see that we have many very happy children at St Catherine's School with 86.3% of our overall responses in that magic 'green - most of the time' category. Teachers are using, and will continue to use this data to connect on a deeper level with the students in their class and they will also be using this data to inform their Wellbeing Intervention times which each neighbourhood are provided with weekly. As a parent, you are entitled to ask your child's classroom teacher about their Pulse data at any stage. Rest assured though, if teachers were concerned for any reason, they would raise it with you.  

Some General Information about Personalised Plans for Learning 

Over the past few weeks, teachers have made contact with families where their child has been identified as requiring a Personalised Plan for Learning (PPL) in 2022. Realising that some of our families may be new to a PPL for their child this year, I wanted to provide some general information to the community about what personalised learning is and why it's so very important.  

What is Personalised Learning?  

Personalised learning recognises that all learners are diverse. Every student has their own aspirations, learning needs, strengths and interests and it is the responsibility of all schools to respond to every student and their unique characteristics with high expectations for achievement. Providing personalised learning and targeted support is one way to achieve this. We want for all students to engage in all areas of the curriculum and progress their learning.  

What is a Personalised Plan for Learning?  

The Personalised Plan for Learning is a tool that documents and supports teachers' response to the unique characteristics of the learner. Any adjustments that teachers make for their students to access the curriculum on the same basis as all other students (including those adjustments for intervention programs such as MiniLit and MacqLit) are documented within the PPL. The PPL is a working document that can be updated as many times as necessary throughout the year. It documents the ongoing adjustments that teachers make to support student learning and achievement.  

Who needs a Personalised Plan for Learning?  

The Personalised Plan for Learning is for children and young people in care and also for learners who identify as Aboriginal. PPL's are also used to document the learning for:  

• Learners with a disability 
• Learners requiring intensive behaviour support 
• Newly arrived learners whom English is an additional language or dialect requiring specialised language and literacy support 
• Learners identified as gifted 
• Learners with imputed learning difficulties who require monitoring (including those children accessing MiniLit and MacqLit at St Catherine's).  
• A little more about Imputed Disability (Learning Difficulties) 

It is a requirement that we keep records of the accommodations that we make for students. The platform for this is ‘The National Consistent Collection of Data.’ or the NCCD. Early in a child's schooling journey, it is often unknown why the student may be a little behind in some aspects for their year level but as we know, all children develop at different rates. If the reason for slower progress is unclear, it will be recorded on the student's PPL and in this collection as an imputed disability. This does not necessarily mean that a child has an underlying concern, but rather that you can be assured that we will be monitoring their progress closely and would let you know if we suspected they might have any underlying concerns. 

I hope that particularly our new families find the above information helpful. Please don't hesitate to contact your class teacher or myself should you have any further questions about Personalised Plans for Learning.  

Warm Wishes 

Wishing you all a very Blessed Easter and a safe and happy holiday break with your loved ones. May this time be a chance to connect with those you care about, relax and refill your cup with gratitude ready for another busy and exciting Term ahead!  

Warm Regards,  

Kerry Cornelius 
Leader of Learning (R-6) – Wellbeing and Inclusion  

kcornelius@stcaths.catholic.edu.au