February 29th 2024

Principal's Reflection

Dear Families,

Among the many foci at the beginning of the school year, there are three in particular that I would like to focus on today; establishing relationships with students, teaching and implementing structures and routines and collecting learning data. The collection of learning data is vital in the learning journey of our students. With accurate data, our staff then have a starting point of where students are at and can then plan and implement effective teaching practices that focuses on improving student learning outcomes. Walking around classrooms, our students have settled in well to the structures and routines implemented by school staff and this is in part due to the postive rapport that has been established. 

The partnership between school and home is vital and one that we truly value at SBW. With this in mind we are hosting parent goal setting meetings next week. This is a great opportunity for all parents to share with teachers the strengths and areas of future focus.  Please book a time through the Compass app for an appointment before Monday.

As communicated last Thursday, we did have a partial lockdown. This was due to a member of the public being onsite, who upon observation of this individual’s behaviour, staff made the decision to call a partial lockdown (all external doors locked and staff/ students contained in classrooms). The safety and wellbeing of our staff and students is our number one priority. Thank you to staff for the manner in that they conducted the lockdown and to students for their responsiveness to staff instructions. 

As we continue on our journey in Lent, I leave you with the following prayer: 

Dear God, during this Lenten season, open my heart to the needs of others. May I reflect your love and compassion in my actions, serving those who are suffering or in need.

In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Nic

Religious Education

This week we have started our Caritas Walk for Kms to raise awareness about those less fortunate than ourselves and walk kilometres to fetch fresh water. One of our Board members, Mr Myles Britza, gave up some of his time to join us at 1st Lunch for this just cause! 

Some of the societies who have no choice but to walk for water, are not that far from home, and as a Catholic school, social justice and service is how we can be Catholic. By participating in this awareness appeal, our students are able to deepen their understanding of the challenges people face around the world and how they are in a position to help. 

We will continue towards achieving 10,000 steps by the end of next week. We ask you to support our students in helping raise awareness and funds for this important cause. You can donate using the QR code below and which can also be found on the Project Compassion website on our St Brigid's Catholic School Wynyard campaign.

Come on St Brigid's, let's show huge support and be active Lent participants in Almsgiving!

Andrea Jaffray Morf

Deputy Principal

Caritas Kms

Teaching and Learning

Insight

At our staff meeting on Tuesday, teaching staff met and discussed the implementation of new Mathematical resources as part of the Insight project. These new resources align with best-practice teaching and learning research and provide students with explicit teaching and daily reviews on a daily basis throughout the week. The use of explicit instruction, as well as consistent review of material, has been researched to have a significant impact on learning and the transfer of knowledge from short to long-term memory. By utilising best practice teaching and learning strategies we are providing students with the best opportunities to achieve positive learning outcomes.

Early Years

Families who have expressed interest in enrolling their child at St Brigid’s in 2025 have been sent a letter of acknowledgement.  The enrolment application window closes on the 30th of June  2024, after which families will be contacted for an interview with the Principal, Mr Nic Saltmarsh. Families will receive an enrolment package outlining key dates, such as the Kindergarten Information evening.

Literate Learners for Life

All teaching staff and Educational Assistants participated in recent professional learning about best practices in Literacy, particularly reading.

Recent research recommends moving practices away from traditional guided reading groups to other strategies that engage learners according to need. In the past, teachers would use small group instruction to move students through a series of levelled texts.  Our focus now is on what students need using data and observations, using skills-based assessments such as MultiLit and Dibels/mCLASS to inform instruction.

Staff now utilise various strategies to improve reading, such as:

• Partner reading
• Fluency Pairs
• Teacher ‘read aloud’ for comprehension - using various text types and challenging texts.
• Writing about what we read
• Student discussion about aspects of books - characters, etc
• Choral reading
• Echo reading
• Peer-assisted reading - Partners but with a strategy. Reader A reads a section and stops to discuss text features and meaning. Reader B ….
• Silent reading with focus in mind - discuss after reading
• Shared and modelled reading - teacher reads, and students follow along in their own text copy
• Timed fluency reads

We know that linking reading and writing is highly effective for student learning. We aspire to be writing in nearly every lesson and we know that not all writing should be formal.  Students can take, make lists, and use whiteboards and brain dumps.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

St Brigid’s Catholic School is responsible for preparing an Annual Plan which outlines how we aim to satisfy several outcomes:

Culture & Identity
Literacy & Numeracy
School & Child readiness
Partnerships
Leadership, Quality Teaching and Workforce development
Attendance & Engagement
Transition Points and Pathways to Post-School Options

Our plan is formulated based on input from school leadership, staff and students as well as community partners, such as members of our Reconciliation Action Group and The Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation. 

Wellbeing

Well-being and learning complement each other. When children feel connected to their family, peers, and teachers, they feel confident and secure in the knowledge that they will receive support throughout their learning journey. Safe and nurturing relationships create a positive learning environment where well-being can flourish. The Australian Student Wellbeing Framework supports parents and guardians collaborating with schools to enhance their child's wellbeing and learning.

If you're looking for a reliable source of information that can help you as a parent, The Student Wellbeing Hub is packed with helpful resources. You won't believe how much valuable information is available there. It's worth checking out! The Student Wellbeing Hub can provide you with advice on topics such as peer relationships, online safety, communication and more. They aim to assist you in ensuring your child's learning journey is both safe and positive, covering an array of topics in primary and secondary education.

Link - https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au

Erin McCormick Robotham
Student Support Co-Ordinator St Brigid's

SRC Term 1 & 2

We congratulate the following students on becoming Student Representative Council members.

We look forward to helping our new student leaders grow in their roles throughout the year and wish them all the best in their respective roles.

School Leaders  - 2024

School Captains:
Franklin and Grace 

House Captains:
Patrick: Halle and Jax 
Brigid: Indygo and Claire
Joseph: Rahni and Romeo

Class Captains for Terms One and Two:

Prep: Lewis and Maisy 
Grade 1: Rohan and Erin 
Grade 2: Evan and Tilly 
Grade 3: Lochie and Daisy 
Grade 4: Julian and Maggie
Grade 5: Hurley and Maya

My New Gallery

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Easter Raffle

We will be holding an Easter Raffle for 2024.  We will be accepting Donations from tomorrow.  Please bring your donations to the office in the mornings.

The Raffle Books will go home with your child on Monday.  Please speak to the front office if you require more books or have further questions.

As this is a major Fundraiser for our school, we appreciate your support!

Capital Works

We have been in consistent communication with Catholic Education in regards to the commencement of playground works. We have been given permission to start planning the implementation of new playground equipment on the oval in alignment with the school master plan. The planning for this has been informed by the feedback received by students and the wider community in 2023. A key part of the initial playground works will involve the installation of play equipment and the removal of the pump track in alignment with our master planning. We look forward to sharing updates over the coming period of time. 

NAPLAN

Authorised Absences

Attached is a document that explains why we are seeking absentee information, along with a copy of the request for student absence form. The new form is to be used for known upcoming absences, e.g. the family is going away on a known holiday, or the student has been selected in a State team that is travelling. These absences are for five or more days. The forms (located on our website or copies available at the school office) must be signed and submitted to the Principal before the planned leave of absence. The signed form will then be kept on the student's file.

Policy-Adult Behaviour

The adult behaviour policy attached is a policy introduced by the Tasmanian Catholic Education Commission. The purpose of the policy is to set clear standards for the behaviour of adults within a CET workplace and for all persons who attend a CET workplace/ site.  This policy provides an expectation that the rights and dignity of all will be respected. 

Online Safety - Screen Time

Finding a healthy balance for children between online and offline can be difficult for parents. Technology is more heavily prevalent in day-to-day life, however, monitoring and managing screen time is important. Here is what the e-Saftey Commission has to say: 

“How much is too much?

There is no magic figure. The right amount of screen time can depend on a range of factors like your child’s age and maturity, the kind of content they are consuming, their learning needs and your family routine. 

It can be easy to focus only on the clock, but the quality and nature of what they are doing online, and your involvement, are just as important.

Consider your child’s screen use in the context of their overall health and wellbeing. For example, is online time getting in the way of their sleep and exercise? Is it impacting on their face-to-face connections with family and friends? The answers to these questions will guide you and help strike the right balance of online and offline activities for your child.

Signs that your child’s online activity may be having a negative impact on them or on your family include: 

• less interest in social activities like meeting friends or playing sport
• not doing so well at school
• tiredness, sleep disturbance, headaches, eye strain 
• changes in eating patterns
• reduced personal hygiene
• obsession with particular websites or games
• extreme anger when being asked to take a break from online activity
• appearing anxious or irritable when away from the computer
• becoming withdrawn from friends and family”

Please see the attached flyer from the e-Safety Commissioner “Screen time for your child – 7 tips” 

Information Sourced From: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/screen-time

Marist Transitions

Uniform ordering-Half zip jumpers have now arrived!

We want to thank you for your cooperation with our changeover to ordering Uniforms from Midford.

 Please be aware:

ALL uniform orders will be delivered free of charge to the school office on Thursday afternoons.  They will be allocated either Thursday afternoon or Friday, time permitting.

You can choose to have your uniform sent to your home for a delivery fee or if you wish to pick it up from the Marist uniform shop. You must specify that in the notes section, otherwise all uniforms will be sent to St Brigid's office.

Please try to only complete one order per week for your family.  It is confusing for the Midford staff having multiple orders for the same family.

This system is new to us and also new to Midford.  With anything new, there will always be teething problems that arise which are beyond anyone's control.  

We appreciate your kindness and patience with Midford.

Communication

Parent-Teacher 

Bookings are live in your compass portal for Tuesday, 5th and Wednesday, 6th March; bookings will close on Monday, 4th March.

To book your parent-teacher session, go to the Compass app
Select more | Conference | 2024 T1 Parent - Teacher | Student | Date and Time.

Should you require any further assistance with booking, please get in touch with the office, or if you can't attend over the two days but wish to speak to your child's class teacher, please email via firstname.lastname@catholic.tas.edu.au

Child Safety

Catholic Education Tasmania have updated several Child Safety policies. These policies along with other CET policies can be accessed at https://catholic.tas.edu.au/policies

Complaints Procedure

Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) acknowledges that all students, families, staff, volunteers and members of the broader community have the right to raise a complaint (including matters of concern or a grievance) with CET. Please see the flowcharts below that outline the complaints procedure. The full complaints policy and procedures can be accessed at https://catholic.tas.edu.au/policies

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