Newsletter 24th July 2024 - Term 3 Week 1

Principal's Message

Dear Parent/Carer,

Welcome back to an exciting term ahead.  I hope you and your children had an enjoyable holiday and are ready for a wonderful term ahead.

Back Field Closure
We have received advice from Landscape Solutions, who maintains the back field that the heavy rain towards the end of Term 2 has resulted in the back field being quite waterlogged.  There is a concern that the soil will become impacted if the children use this area before it completely dries out.  They have asked for the field not to be used for the first two weeks in Term 3.

It Takes a Village Art Trail
We will hold an Art Trail this year as a community, to celebrate the creativity of our students.  I thank Odette T and Zoe M, for creating this amazing opportunity and organising the artworks that all children in K-6 will complete.  The date for the Art Trail is Friday 6 September from 5-7pm.  All parents, carers, family and friends are invited to attend.  There will be live music and some food available on the night.  More details will be sent over the next few weeks.

St Therese’s Ball
A fundraising ball is being held Saturday 21st September. More details are in the School Community News section of the newsletter. With 60% of the tickets already sold, our first ball is shaping up to be an amazing night.  Organise a table of 10, and book through Flexischools, to secure your tickets.  Thank you so much to the organising committee, especially Kim C, for everything you are doing to organise this very special evening.  All money raised will go towards shade sails for the school.

Interrelate
St Therese’s, in conjunction with Interrelate, is providing a Family Evening Program for our students in Years 4-6 to explore a range of pre-adolescent and adolescent issues; including sexuality and relationship education, designed specifically for this important time in your child’s life.  A Compass push was sent last term, with all the information for this evening.  The program will be facilitated by Interrelate, who have over 90 years experience in the education of students around relationships and sexuality. The program is delivered in a professional and supportive manner, teaching students and parents to communicate with each other around fundamental emotional and social development issues.

The Family Evening Program is on Wednesday 14 August 2024 and will be presented online following feedback from parents. There will be two sessions on this evening:
• Session 1: 6:00pm “Where Did I Come From?” for Years 4-6
• Session 2: 7:15pm “Preparing for Puberty” for Years 5-6
The age groups suggested are a guide from Interrelate, however some students go through puberty earlier or later than others. If you are unsure of which session to attend, speak to your child’s teacher or myself. If you feel your child is not ready to attend either session, that is fine also. The Interrelate Family Evening Program is organised every year,  so you may choose to wait another year.  At least one parent/guardian MUST attend the online session/s with their child and remain with them throughout the session.  If you would like to attend, please follow the registration information below, and see the advice from Interrelate.
https://events.humanitix.com/st-therese-s-ps-tricky-talks-14-08-2024

Sport Days Term 3
Please see below, information regarding sport days for the term.  The job-share classes, swap sport days through the term.  Children are to wear their sport uniform on sport day only, and the formal uniform the other four days of the week.

Kindergarten  Wednesday
Year 1  -  Tuesday
2N  -  Tuesday        2W  -  Wednesday    2L  -  Thursday
Yr3  -  Thursday weeks 1 - 6,  then Tuesday weeks 7 - 10
Yr4  -  Tuesday weeks 1 - 6,  then Thursday weeks 7 - 10
Yr 5  -  Wednesday weeks 1 - 6,  then Thursday weeks 7 - 10
Yr 6  -  Thursday  weeks 1 - 6,  then Wednesday weeks 7 - 10

NAIDOC Week
Unfortunately due to staff issues our planned NAIDOC Week celebrations have had to be put on hold.  We will advise when these celebrations are going to be held at school.

Kaylene Maretich
Acting Principal

Assistant Principal's Message

Welcome back to Term 3. Term 3 is always a busy term with lots of activities happening at the school. It was great to see the children working hard in the classrooms and enjoying playing with their friends in the playground.

NAPLAN
For Parents and caregivers in Year 3 and Year 5, please keep an eye out for a hardcopy of your child’s results which will be sent home in the coming days. Within the letter there is lots of information that will help you to understand the grading system that NAPLAN uses.

Aspire - Disconnected
Students in Year 5 and Year 6 will attend a performance of Disconnected, the Aspire production for this year. The students will attend the show next Wednesday (31/7) at the Civic Theatre. It should be a wonderful performance that highlights the talent that we have in our diocese.

Mark Konik
Acting Assistant Principal

School Community News

St Therese's Ball
We're holding a fundraising ball on Saturday 21st September. A flyer is attached below. Tickets are selling quickly. There are a few tables that have 2-3 spots available if you are keen to come and don’t have a table, please email the Fundraising Committee - st.theresesball@gmail.com

• Make sure you follow along on the Facebook group for updates - https://www.facebook.com/share/F6f39LcoyNux8BrH/?mibextid=K35XfP. 
• If you’re interested in making a donation for a raffle prize or bottle of wine for the wine cage raffle please reach out by sending an email the Committee
• Thank you to those that made donation suggestions via the survey- those responses were anonymous so if you haven’t been contacted, please email the Committee to arrange a donation.

ICAS
ICAS Assessments are scheduled for August for students Year 3 - Year 6.  If you want your child  to do any of these assessments it's time to register. School access code is BPK274. Parent applications close on the 29th July 2024. (That means parents cannot register their child to do an ICAS Assessment after the 29th July 2024). These assessments are external to the school, while Therese Jackman provides supervision for these tests on the school premises on specific dates. The school does not have anything to do with the purchasing or registering of students for the assessments.
The 6 ICAS assessments include: Digital Technology, Writing, English, Science, Spelling Bee and Mathematics.
If a child is registered for an assessment and cannot attend it please contact Therese Jackman asap so a make-up sitting can be arranged in that week otherwise the student will not be able to sit the assessment.

Volunteering
Throughout the year, we welcome all parents/carers to volunteer at the school. To volunteer, you must complete the volunteer's induction. This process can take up to 6 weeks, so you are encouraged to complete this early.

School Fees
Thank you to those families that have been making payments towards their fees. Our preferred payment methods are BPay, direct debit or credit card. If you choose to use CompassPay, please double check the amount before you submit the payment. Refunds can no longer be given for incorrect amounts paid unless your account is in credit.

Book Week - Wednesday 14^th August  (Morning)
This year we will again be celebrating literature and the magic of books with a storytelling day.  On this day teachers will be taking their 'storytelling' chair into the playground and children will have an opportunity to hear teachers read aloud. We are encouraging students and staff to come to school dressed as their favourite character and will hold a parade at the end of the storytelling so that we have an opportunity to see all of the wonderful costumes. The storytelling will commence at 9.45am and we anticipate that the parade will be at approximately 10.30am. Families are welcome to join us for the morning.

Book Fair - Thursday 15^th August 2024
As in previous years, our Book Fair will be a pop-up book store. Children are encouraged to purchase a book with a percentage of sales being given back to the school as books for our library. This year our supplier is Betty Loves Books. The store is owned by two young women, Emily and Katie, and is situated in the old Newcastle Train Station. You can read more about them here About Us | Betty Loves Books.
We are excited to be supporting local business and encourage you to drop into their store when you have a chance. More information will be shared in the next Newsletter.

Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC)
Congratulations to the students that have already completed the PRC
Year 3:  Levi H and Mary W
Year 4: Vanessa C, Ava H, Jennifer J, Tabitha M, Slade M, Alex P
The challenge closes on 23 August 2024. Please see Mrs Barker in the library if you need help logging your booklist.

Poetry Club- Term 3
We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Poetry Club in Term 3 at 8am in the library on the following days:
Week 1- Wednesday 24^th July
Week 3- Wednesday 7^th August
Week 5- Wednesday 21^st August
Week 7- Wednesday 4^th September
Week 9- Wednesday 18^th September

Wellbeing

The Resilience Project Feedback Survey

Welcome back to Term 3.
As a school. we are seeking feedback from parents and families regarding 'The Resilience Project' program at our school.
Your input is invaluable to us, so if you could please take 5 minutes of your time to complete the survey, it would be greatly appreciated. The more feedback we gather, the better we can tailor our efforts.

Click the following link to complete the form: https://forms.office.com/r/wBAZKqRkrT

Thank you for your continued support in promoting wellbeing and for the positive impact you have on the students' lives. Your insights and experiences with TRP are incredibly valuable to us.

Danika Graham and Melissa Pyers

GEM in Action - Year 2 Showcase at Assembly

During Last Term's Assembly, Year 2 demonstrated their engagement with The Resilience Project. Through weekly lessons, they have deepened their grasp of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness, and Emotional Literacy. Each lesson incorporates interactive activities such as idea sharing, individual tasks, and physical/Hands on activities to enhance learning.

100 Days of Kindergarten
Last term, Kindergarten celebrated 100 Days of School! 
Our Kinder 'Seniors' enjoyed a delightful morning filled with activities centered on the number 100. 
Everyone looked fantastic in their outfits, and there were plenty of smiles all around! 

Year 1 Science Day
Last Term, Year 1 had a science day! A great day of creativity and fun.
Check out their rocket designs!

Canteen

Important Dates

24Jul - Rugby Union Gala 
29Jul - Water Safety 12pm to 2pm
          - School Assembly 2:30pm
29Jul-02Aug - Newcastle Permanent Maths Comp
31Jul - Aspire (Yrs 5 & 6)
7Aug - Dio Athletics
14Aug - Book Week Living Library Reading & Dress Ups
            - Interrelate 6pm
15Aug - Book Fair
16Aug - Pupil Free Day
20Aug - Tennis (Yrs 3 & 4)
22Aug - PEG 2:30pm & 6pm
26Aug - School Assembly 2:30pm
30Aug - Father's Day Breakfast from 7:30am
           - School Disco 6pm