Term 2 Week 8 2023
Principal's Message
Dear families and friends,
‘We do whatever it takes to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith, School Spirit, Sport & Community’
No Us & Them ... Just Us Week 10
This week encapsulates what we are all about here at SMP. No one is better than anyone else, no family is more important than any other family etc. If we look past our differences and celebrate our uniqueness, then we can only be one in Kinship with each other.
As part of our No Us & Them ... Just Us Week, Seamus Evans, a young man with Tourette's Syndrome will be talking to the kids and staff on the last Tuesday of our term, Tuesday 27 June. Parents are welcome to attend his last session before pick up at 2:10pm with our Year 5 and 6 students in the Relihan Centre. Seamus talks about the troubles he had at school and how he has turned his flaw into a great asset.
NAIDOC Ceremony & March Monday - 10.00am 3 July
I will be marching with our SMP kids, families and staff at 10.00am Monday 3 July at Graham Place where we meet for ANZAC day. This is the first Monday of our July holidays. I encourage kids and families to march with us to celebrate our Aboriginal & Torres Strait brothers and sisters. Our SMP kids can wear their school shirt, school jacket and any other clothing with this.
We will celebrate NAIDOC at school over the last week of the term, especially on our last day, Thursday 29 June. This will include stories, videos, art displays and learning on Elders.
School Review
Last week we had our three-year school review. This process took all aspects of our school into consideration, in particular the teaching and learning. I will be sharing the results with you soon, however, one area that came through from parents strongly was wanting us to be better communicators on what your child is doing and how your child is developing especially in their learning so as you can offer support to their learning too. We will definitely be addressing this and already have some good ideas.
Student Free Days
Reminder that the last Friday of Term 2, 30 June and first Monday of Term 3, 17 July are student free days. We will be looking at School Improvement and the new Syllabus on these days.
Take care
John O’Brien
Assistant Principal's News - Mission
Student Attendance
As a school we are mandated to monitor student attendance and communicate with parents when their child’s attendance reaches an overall certain percentage. Every fortnight or so we send out “Unexplained Absence - Parent Letters” via email to the parents of students who we have unexplained reasons for their absence. You can respond to this letter in a couple of ways:
- Print off the letter, fill out and return to the school office
- Email casp@lism.catholic.edu.au with an explanation of your child/ren’s absence (including appropriate dates)
Ideally, the best way to communicate your child’s absence is through the text message that is sent out when your child is sick.
Healthy Harold
Over the next week we will have our Kinder and Years 1, 2 & 3 students having their special visit with Healthy Harold. The incursion has been planned to complement the Personal Development and Health aspects of the PDHPE curriculum. The van will be on our school site and the classroom teachers will accompany the students for their visit.
Topics covered will be:
Years 3: bCyberwise: how to recognise, react and report unwanted contact, bullying or predatory behaviours, keeping personal information safe online, responsible and respectful behaviour when using communication technology, skills for building positive relationships with friends and exploring the role of bystanders.
Years 1 & 2: Safety Rules: recognising safe and unsafe environments, how to care for others, behaviours that maintain friendships, places and people who we can go to for help.
Kindergarten: Harold’s Friendship: how to build friendships and care for others, feelings and emotions, safe and unsafe situations and early warning signs, safe places and people who we can go to for help.
First Communion
Best of luck to our Catholic students who will celebrate the Sacrament of First Eucharist on Sunday 25 June at 9.00am. A massive thank you to Miss Mac who has done an enormous amount of work preparing our students for this special celebration.
Incitare - Year 6
On Thursday 22 June, all of our Year 6 students will participate in the Incitare (inch-a-tar-ee) student retreat day which will be held at the Casino RSM Club. Incitāre is a one-day retreat experience for Year 6 students to celebrate their faith. The retreat is a chance to bring our students together for small and large group activities, as well as celebrating a liturgy together. The experience allows attendees to build relationships and invites them to talk about and share their faith journey.
Our House
A number of our school staff will volunteer their time to support the Our House residents in Lismore next week by cooking a meal for them. A big thank you to Mrs Dowling, Mr Hannigan, Mrs Brooks, Miss Mac and Mrs Irvine for volunteering their time for this - “Doing Whatever it Takes to Lead the Way in Faith & Community”.
NAIDOC / Student of the Month
The NAIDOC / SOM Assembly will be held at the Relihan Centre at 10.00am on Thursday 22 June. All parents and family members are welcome to attend.
Leave
I will be away on scheduled leave for the last 2 weeks of the school term and will return after the holidays. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable break!
Sam Irvine
Assistant Principal - Mission
Assistant Principal's News Teaching & Learning
AGAT Testing (Abilities and General Achievement Testing)
AGAT testing is a tool used by many schools to identify high-performing students who may require an extension in particular learning areas. This year we will be trialing the AGAT testing for the first time at SMP to identify ways we can extend those students who are achieving above-expected levels in the areas of Maths and English.
Students in Yrs 2-6 who have already achieved in the 90th percentile and above in their bi-annual PAT testing have been identified as being eligible to take part in the AGAT testing and this will begin next week.
AGAT questions can not be answered by simple recall or rote application of a practiced skill. They require students to reason, make logical deductions, identify connections, and spot patterns. Students must demonstrate their ability to think critically and use their higher-order thinking skills.
If your child has been chosen to take part in the AGAT testing program, you will receive an email from their Stage Instructional Leader.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me felicity.wilde@lism.catholic.edu.au
Reminder ICAS Testing
Please see our last newsletter for information about the ICAS Assessments being offered to all SMP students in Yrs 3-6 this year.
To register your child for any of the ICAS assessments please go to
https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
and use our school code of EHT312
English, Maths, Spelling, and Science cost $19.25 each and the Writing Assessment costs $23.65
Writing Competition
Students from Stages 2 and 3 have been invited to submit writing samples for consideration for entry into the "Write On" Competition, which is held across Australia every year. We are only allowed to submit one entry from Stage 2 and one from Stage 3.
We have been blown away by the caliber of entries we have received and feel that, even though we can't submit them all, they need to be shared. I will therefore be sharing a couple of these in each newsletter so you can read the amazing work the authors of SMP have to offer.
This week we are blessed with the work of Nina Handran and Alex Handran. Amazing job!
Felicity Wilde
AP Teaching & Learning
The Magnificent Plan- Alex Handran
Catch That Camel!-Nina Handran
Leader of Faith
First Communion
Next Sunday 25 June at the 9.00am Sunday morning Mass, a number of our students will make their First Communion. This will be the final sacrament of initiation and a very special day for each of them. All members of our school community are invited to attend Mass next Sunday at 9am to join these students and their families.
Mini Vinnies Winter Lunchtime Fair - Next Friday 23 June
Next Friday during lunchtime, the members of Mini Vinnies will be running a winter wonderland fair. There will be an amazing array of games to play, simple face painting, raffles, guessing competitions, bracelets, cupcakes, ice cups, lucky dips and 1 on 1 footy comp. All of these activities will cost between 20c - 50c so we encourage our school community to bring a few coins and have some fun while we raise money for those less fortunate. Our goal is to raise money to support the SVDP Winter Blanket Appeal and to buy goods to make personal hygiene bags ( toothbrush, soap, comb, tissues etc) to give to SVDP /Casino Soup Kitchen for the homeless.
Karen McDonald
Leader of Faith
Leader of Love and Community
Year 4 have been working with Tara Freeburn this term to create canvas artworks. These artworks are based around the 2023 NAIDOC theme "For Our Elders" and the students have created artworks around a significant elder in their lives. A huge thank you to Tara for working with the students to create art that the children are very proud of! During our NAIDOC celebrations in Week 10, the rest of the school will have an opportunity to see these art pieces. We invite parents and families to come in and have a look at them on Thursday of Week 10, after our Student of the Month and NAIDOC Prayer celebration. Please see the flyer below for times and information.
Kristie Irvine
Leader of Love & Community
School Camps
Year 4 to Camp Goodenough on 17 + 18 August will need to be paid in full by Tuesday 1 August. The cost is $215.00 and will need to be paid through Compass event. Unfortunately, you can only make the one full payment of $215.00. When payment is made you automatically give consent.
Year 5 Tylagum Ridge Retreat on 1 - 3 November will need to be paid in full by 13 October. The cost is $315.00. For those parents who have not fully paid through Compass Event will now have to pay for the camp through your School Fees BPay. The camp has now been billed as a Fee not a Compass Event. You may have to make adjustments to BPay to accommodate the payment. You will still need to go to Compass Event and register your child as Attending, but no payment can be made.
Year 6 Brisbane Camp on 13 - 17 November will need to be paid in full by 20 October. The cost is $707.50. For those parents who have not fully paid through Compass Event will now have to pay for the camp through your School Fees BPay. The camp has now been billed as a Fee not a Compass Event. You may have to make adjustments to BPay to accommodate the payment. You will still need to go to Compass Event and register your child as Attending, but no payment can be made.
Partial payments can also be made at the office by cash or card for Year 5 + Year 6 camps. Year 4 Camp payments can be made at the office but will have to be the full amount.
Unfortunately, we realised that after posting the camps on Compass Event you can only make the one payment. We hope that by billing as a Fee you will be able to manage the expense by making a regular payment within your budget that works for you.
Birthdays
Happy birthday t0 
Eila Ford Harrison Rose Charlie Rose Mackenzie Ferguson Paige Holmes Hunter Ryan Mason Cross Faith Johnston Gracie Bahadori Bonnie Pearce Charlotte Bloomfield Saxton Purnell Myf Gray Zoe Formaggin Larni Clark Lawson Bennett Darcie Baker Charli Scherf Jack Francis and Ella McIntyre who have recently celebrated their birthday.