Term 1 Week 8 2024

Principal's Message

‘We do whatever it takes to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith, School Spirit, Sport & Community’

Dear families and friends,

Cattle Truck
I'm really pleased another innovative design and creation I've thought and drawn up has come to reality for our kids. School should be a place of fun, creativity, innovation and imagination, thus, it's important that we set the example for this.

Belonging
I’m committed to doing the little extras by looking up and acknowledging all students on their birthday. You may have already noticed this year, but check out the digital sign and the TV screen at school on their special day.  These little extras make a huge difference.

Respect
I’m a huge Sam Kerr fan, as outlined at last year's World Cup. Her case will go before court, everyone deserves fairness, and I’m sure more details will come to light. I’m not getting into the debate about racism, but I wish to highlight the hypocrisy in the media regarding societal norms, expectations and respect. I watched a morning show in which they gave Sam a leave pass on this behaviour towards a police officer, said that the police officer should be tougher than that (I do agree that we are often over sensitive to words and differing opinions), but within a few minutes on a new segment, were saying youth crime was out of control and police are doing nothing about it.  On one hand, police and courts should be tougher on disrespectful kids, yet on the other hand, should toughen up and accept disrespect from those we admire.  We are living in some interesting times.

We work hard to get the balance of Love and Respect right here at SMP. You just have to jump on the Casino Crime Facebook page to see some of the challenges our community faces.  At SMP, we are working hard to help create the next generation of responsible, respectful, resilient and active community members that parents, our school and our community will be very proud of.  I am very pleased with how ‘Our Village’ is doing.

 Open and Celebration of Learning Night Wednesday 3rd April

• For Current families:  From 5:30pm - 7:00pm 

• For Interested Kinder & other grades in 2025:  From 5:00pm.

Student Led Conference
Monday and Tuesday 8th and 9th April 

Celebrating 20 Yrs of Fr Peter 
We had a great celebration recognising Father Peter being the priest of our schools and community for 20 years. These are the words of a sign I put together to honour him and all that have gone before him.  We had the best day celebrating this occasion and I’m sure our kids will never forget it.

Celebrating our Priests & Parish

We acknowledge our past priests like George Barry & Fr Relihan, who greatly led our parish & schools. Through their leadership and the great generosity of our parishioners, our school has been built and maintained.

Fr Peter has been the Parish Priest of Casino since 2004 and in 2024, we celebrate 20 years of his leadership.  He is a huge part of the success of Catholic Education in Casino.  Fr Peter deeply cares about the Casino community, our school, staff & kids & we thank him for his leadership, guidance & friendship. Our priests, religious orders & parishioners have ensured we have quality Catholic Education for the kids of Casino.

Student Free Day: Holy Thursday, Thursday 28 March

Term 1 school resumes on Tuesday 2 April until the end of term on Friday 12 April 

Take care
John O’Brien

Assistant Principal's News - Mission

Tell Them From Me Surveys - Students
As part of our focus on school effectiveness, SMP will be participating in an online survey for students – Tell Them From Me​® (TTFM®). The survey will provide us with valuable feedback on what our students think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. Schools in Australia and around the world have used the Tell Them From Me survey to help them improve.

 During Weeks 1 & 2 of Term 2, all students will be given the opportunity and time to participate in this survey during regular school hours. Students who complete the survey will be given a random username and password to access and complete the survey online. Students’ names cannot be linked to their responses which allows it to be completely anonymous. Results will show all student scores combined together – it is not possible to single out individual students in the results.

 The survey takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. The survey measures include such topics as emotional and social well-being, physical health, and behaviours and attitudes linked to student success. The survey also allows students to give their thoughts and feedback in open-ended question responses.

 Participation in the survey is entirely voluntary. Your child will not take part if either you or your child do not wish to. If, during the survey, your child is uncomfortable answering any question, he/she should leave it blank and move on to the next one. Your child can stop the survey at any time.

 If you do not want your child to take part in the survey, or if you would like further information about the survey, please contact Mr Irvine (sam.irvine@lism.catholic.edu.au).

Tell Them From Me Surveys - Parents
We will also be inviting all of our parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process.

 We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at SMP.

 The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Further information will come in Term 2 on how you can access this survey.

Stations of the Cross Artwork
Congratulations to these students who have had their indigenous-inspired Stations of the Cross artwork selected as a winner for their class/grade. Their artwork has now been professionally printed onto a corflute sign and will form our memorable Stations of the Cross display at the church which we will keep in place for Holy Week. Thank you so much to Aunty Sarah for all of the work you have put into organising this.

• Eva-Grace Boucher - Kinder
• Halle Barber - Year 1
• Nicholas Ewart - Year 2
• Alexa Holdsworth - Year 3
• Samantha Bernal - Year 3
• Laisa Vakararawa - Year 4
• Ashley Claydon - Year 4
• Sophie Armfield - Year 4
• Tyler McPherson - Year 5
• Abigail Drummond - Year 5
• Addison Stuart - Year 5
• Chase Anderson - Year 6
• Marley Botfield - Year 6
• Nina Handran - Year 6

Family Mass
A big thank you to all of the students, their family members and our staff for coming along to support our first ever combined SMP & SMCC Family Mass last Saturday. We will usually hold a Family Mass once per term on a Saturday evening. 

Reconciliation
A big thank you to Miss Mac and our Year 4 teachers for preparing our Year 4 Catholic students, plus a few from other grades, for the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Wednesday evening. Our school community is so blessed to have such a faith-filled and dedicated teacher like Miss Mac who goes above and beyond to make sure our students are fully supported on their spiritual journey.

Holy Week Celebrations in the Church

• Palm Sunday 24 March - 8:00am 
• Holy Thursday 28 March - Mass of the Lord’s Supper - 7:00pm
• Good Friday 29 March - Stations of the Cross - 10:00am
• Good Friday 29 March - Commemoration of the Passion - 3:00pm
• Holy Saturday 30 March - Morning Prayer - 9:00am
• Holy Saturday 30 March  - Easter Vigil - 7:pm
• Easter Sunday 31 March - 8:00am

Fr Peter’s Recovery
As a school community, we would like to say a special prayer for Father Peter as he has his much needed hip replacement next week. We pray everything goes well for him and he has a timely recovery. We very much can’t wait to have him back on deck when he has fully recovered.

Sam Irvine
AP Mission

Assistant Principal's News Teaching & Learning

Premiers Reading Challenge
Congratulations to those students who have already signed up for the Premiers Reading Challenge. Reading underpins everything we do as learners, so the more we can encourage our students to read the better they will do in all other areas of learning. Sometimes it takes a bit of digging to find something that interests our children in reading but once they find it, it's hard to stop them.

Remember that any type of reading is beneficial. Information Texts, Comics, Narrative, Magazines, E-Books, and even captions on a video. 

If your child hasn't yet signed up for the challenge (in years 3-6), please email me felicity.wilde@lism.catholic.edu.au and I will send you through everything they need to get started. Its not too late!

Student Led Conferences

Monday 8th April and Tuesday 9th April will be our Semester One Student Led Conferences. This is an opportunity for you to meet with your child's teacher, so your child can share their learning with you whilst showing you examples of what they are achieving in class and what the next step in their learning will be.
We will be taking bookings through Compass for these interviews and the instructions on how to do this are attached below. These bookings will open at 8:00 am Monday 1st April (Easter Monday) and close Friday 5th April at 3:00 pm
These meetings are very important to your child and their teacher and we encourage all parents to book. If you think you will require more than 10 minutes with the teacher, or you would like to meet without your child, please arrange an alternate time by emailing the teacher. 

Felicity Wilde
AP Teaching & Learning

K-2 Instructional Leader

Reading and Spelling in K-2

Over the past year, we have been dedicated to implementing the InitiaLit program across our Kindergarten to Year 2 classes. InitiaLit is a systematic synthetic phonics approach designed to empower children with essential reading, spelling, and comprehension skills through daily, evidence-based lessons. Through direct instruction, our students learn to read and write words, gradually building upon their understanding of the alphabetic code. They become familiar with terms like 'vowel', 'syllable', 'phoneme', 'grapheme', and 'digraph', ensuring a solid foundation for literacy success.

Ways You Can Help at Home

• Reading storybooks with your child, encouraging discussion about the story and introducing new vocabulary.
• Take time to listen to your child read when readers are sent home or access the eLibrary, offering support as they apply their knowledge of sounds and letters to the text.
• Explore nursery rhymes, songs, and poems together to enhance language development.

Access to MultiLit eLibrary
Our Kinder - Year 2 students will soon bring home a login to access the Decodable eLibrary, a valuable resource designed to support their reading journey. These decodable books can be read on desktop computers and mobile devices (including smartphones and tablets). Decodable texts are specially crafted for young students aimed at strengthening their decoding skills and enhancing reading fluency. Each book comes with clear instructions and before and after reading.

Karen Faber
K-2 Instructional Leader

Leader of Faith

Holy Week Presentation: Next Wednesday 27 March

A group of Year 6 students will present the story of Holy Week to our students next Wednesday at the following times. Please feel free to join us in the church as we lead up to the important celebration of Easter.   

• 12.10pm:  Kindy   Yr 2  & Yr 4            
• 12.45pm:    Yr 1    Yr 5              
• 1.15pm:     Yr 3   & Yr 6

Karen McDonald
Leader of Faith

Sport News

Sporting Achievements
Congratulations to Jack Crimmins, who competed in the QLD State Series Motocross at Hervey Bay. In extremely testing conditions, Jack was able to walk away 1st in his class. This is his first win at a State Series event.  Congratulations, Jack, on such a great achievement!

Congratulations to Chelsea Rose for successfully auditioning for RB Corp. 

Drew Ludlow participated in the Matt Fides Martial Arts Championship on the Gold Coast over the weekend. He placed 1st (Gold) in the 10-14 category.  Congratulations, Drew!

Dio Swimming Carnival
On Friday, 1 March, Thomas McCormack, Liam Sullivan, Lucy Hancock, Ashton Leadley, Lucas Myers, Campbell Hardwick, Harrison Myers, Finnan Martin, Rocco Jenkins, Kira Green, Ryder Birney, Harper Williams, Chelsea Rose and Bobbi Grisell attended the Diocesan Swimming Carnival in Macksville. Congratulations to all students who represented our school, truly leading the way in sport!

Special congratulations to Thomas McCormack for receiving age champion and Lucy Hancok,  Harrision Myers & Thomas McCormack who have successfully progressed to polding. 

2024 SMP Cross Country Carnival Results

Congratulations to all the participants of our SMP Cross Country Carnival. The day was filled with school pride and spirit and I was thoroughly impressed by the grit, determination and courage displayed by everyone.  It's evident that our students are leading the way in both sportsmanship and school spirit. A special acknowledgement goes out to all the parents who generously gave their time to assist with various tasks on the day and those who enthusiastically dressed up in their child's house colour and engaged in spirited War Cries. This collective effort creates a vibrant community atmosphere and contributes to a positive school culture.  Thank you to everyone involved for their contributions to making this event a success.

The Lismore Diocesan Winter Sports Trials took place on Friday, 8 March in Grafton. Congratulations to the following students for representing SMP in the various sports  listed below.

Rugby League U/12
Thomas McCormack
Chase Anderson
Eva Crompton
Isaac McInnes

U/11
Billy Stavenow
Rocco Jenkins
Chase Roberts
Reece Gay
Campbell Hardwick

Netball
Sophie Leadley

Soccer
Sonny McInnes

Congratulations to Thomas McCormack, Chase Roberts and Rocco Jenkins for being chosen to represent our Diocese at the Polding trials in Tamworth on Friday, May 3rd.  Great Achievement boys!

Nikki Hammond
Sports Co-ordinator

Leader of Love & Community

Acts of Mercy:

Every year, the Year 6 students head out into the community to complete Acts of Mercy. These are opportunities for the students to serve others and help care for the needs of our local Casino community.  The students visited the soup kitchen, did window washing at local businesses, cleaned headstones at the cemetery, helped at preschools, supported Mr White around our school, and even visited the Earth Centre with St. Mary’s College students. 

Students will head back out into the community for further Acts of Mercy in Week 10. Thank you to the staff that supported our students during Acts of Mercy.

Digital Technology User Agreement

The Digital Technologies Agreements form was recently sent out on Compass. This form is only for students and parents in Years 3 to 6.

If you have not yet filled out the Digital Technology User Agreement form, we kindly ask that you do so at your earliest convenience.

To access the form please click on the link below.

https://dlcsl.jotform.com/team/application-team/CASP-DTA2024 

Tuition Fees

Statements are issued at the end of each month.  No invoices are generated.  Year 6 parents who have been billed the Year 6 Brisbane Excursion have until the end of Term 3 to pay.  You can make payments that are suitable to you to pay for the excursion.

School Fee Payment Query

On the 12 March a Direct Credit was made to the school bank account for $202.39 by GBS Mobile Banking.

There was no supporting information supplied with the deposit.  If you think that this was your payment could you please contact the school office on 6662 2566. 

School Photo Day ~ Monday 8 April

Our School Photos will be held on Monday 8 April.  Sibling photos will be held on Thursday 11 April.

Every student should have received their own Order Envelope by now.  Sibling photo Order Envelopes are available at the school office.  You can return the completed envelopes to the office any time, but on the day, 8 April, you must hand the envelope to the photographer. 

Please ensure that students are wearing the correct school uniform as per the school's Uniform Policy. 

• No sport uniform on the day  
• Girls to wear check shorts + blouse or dress - navy socks - black leather shoes
• Boys to wear polo shirt + navy shorts - navy socks - black leather shoes
• Hair longer than shoulder length to be tied back - discreet navy or white hair ties
• Jewellery:
  plain silver or gold sleepers or studs in ears
  lightweight silver or gold chain with crucifix or medallion may be worn 
  

Same uniform requirements for the sibling photo day on Thursday 11 April.

Easter Colouring In Competition

Birthdays

Happy birthday t0 Harley Wills Dallas Clarke River Anderson Connor Adams Dustin Talbot Henry Leece Eli Jude Williams Alyvia Bennett Finnegan McDonald Elke Barton Jordan Mitchell Jude Winkler  Gretyl Bird Layla Gillett Alexis Beadman Jaxon Wills Liam Cross Lucy Hancock Lincoln Mills Tyler Hyde Marley Botfield Alina Clark Chase Roberts Skylah Wells and Kylah Sabino who have recently their birthday, and to Charlotte Bray who celebrates tomorrow.