WEARING BLUE FOR DIABETES

Next Friday 27th November

Two of our senior students, Lucy Randall and Sienna Neumann

(both diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes - T1D) have worked together to promote a day to build awareness around Type 1 Diabetes.

They have included a PowerPoint with a short video to educate peers and our community around Diabetes 1 and their personal experience with this condition.

We sincerely thank Lucy and Sienna for their interest in educating others and particularly, for taking the initiative to tell their story.

FAMDANCE

We have a couple more famlies, who have coordinated their creative potential to choreograph their contribution to ‘Famdance – a 15 Second Hit Wonder.’

We thank the Evans and Anderson families for sharing with us their video snippets of their cool routines. 

The Evans FamDance - 15 Second Hit Wonder

The Anderson FamDance - 15 Second Hit Wonder

Enjoy the next instalment of our Staff FAMDANCE!

KINDER ‘21 TRANSITION

The Kindergarten teaching team for 2021:

The Kinder Team have been industrious organising transitional support, particularly to assist families who have their first child enrolled at St Peters’s in 2021.

The team have continued visiting all preschools this week to say 'hello' to our 2021 kinders and find out all about them from their preschool teachers.

The preliminary transition supports, through video or other communication on Kinder 2021 Facebook page will lead into the main transitional day on Monday, December 7.

The Orientation Day will be split into two repeated sessions this year so we can look after everyone with social spacing. Parents will be invited to the hall for an Information Session while our new friends have some time to explore the Kinder space and get to know the teachers. Unfortunately Due to COVID 19 we are only able to offer one whole grade Orientation Day this year.

We look very forward to welcoming our little Kinder people for 2021 and we know that current families will find a way to welcome new families to our school.

It may be something as simple as a smile or a warm ‘hello’ – doesn’t matter if it is a misplaced call, a thoughtful and genuine acknowledgement can lift anyone’s day. 

NO PUSHBACK IN PUSH UP CHALLENGE

Our Minister of Sport – Mr Jeff Arkinstall has organised a health kick each morning for those early school arrivals. Complementing the parish Spring into Summer initiative, where November has been set aside to promote fitness, Mr A has put the call out for any children, who arrive at school early, to join him in a barrage of push-ups. 

It is the Parish month of push-ups and Mr Arkinstall hit 20 today with the students – aligning the number of push-ups with today’s date. The final target on November 30, will be 30 completed push-ups.

The total is not so important, however – it is more about children engaging in physical activity and seeing the benefits of being active. Thanks Jeff!

LEADERSHIP TEAM CONFIRMED FOR 2021

The Leadership Team for 2021 has recently been confirmed and I congratulate staff who have accepted one year appointments in a leadership role.

Continuing Leadership positions:

Geoff Leary  Principal	Karen Robson Assistant Principal Learning	Rebecca Cameron Assistant Principal Mission
Michael Gallery Leader of Pedagogy	Phoebe Morris Leader of Catechesis	Leanne Kalchbauer Leader of Evangelisation

Leadership positions for 2021:

Kristy Robb  Additional Needs Teacher	Jeff Arkinstall  Leader of Sport
Cathy Stevenson  Leader of Learning	Natalie McKenzie  Leader of Learning

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank a very committed and industrious Leadership team. I would also like to acknowledge and express our appreciation to the St Peter’s staff, who so often embrace leadership capacity and work with leadership in identifying and supporting our students’ needs.

You know you are in a good team, when people can take the lead when need becomes apparent and when they hold a distinct and genuine investment in how the team is achieving its goal – building success for our children in learning and life.

MISSION

Christ the King Feast Day this Sunday

The last Sunday of the Catholic liturgical year is The Solemnity Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly known as Christ the King Sunday. Christ the King is a significant feast day for the Catholic Church, and this Sunday's Gospel, Mathew 25: 31-46, speaks of the mercy of God and the importance this holds for us as Christians today. When we refer to Christ the King, we are talking about Jesus as he sits at the right hand of his Father, calling to mind his infinite love and mercy, and how he leads us to live our faith in action.

Part of the Gospel reads:

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Jesus wants our lives to overflow with love, compassion and mercy, the marks of the Kingdom of God. A famous quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi is “The true measure of any society may be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”

Jesus is calling us to treat all those around us as we would him. Would we turn Jesus away? 

As we approach the end of the liturgical year and get ready for Advent, let us ponder how we might live our faith this festive season.

Lord, help me to be open to your word,

And that I take steps each day of my life,

To live a faith in action.

Bring us to know the joys of his kingdom.

Amen.

St Agnes' Christmas Hamper Appeal

We are so grateful for all of the donations coming into school for the St Agnes' Christmas Hamper Appeal! Our classrooms are overflowing with festive foods ready to distribute to families in need. This is a true example of our St Peter’s community living their faith in action!

Donations close on Monday 23rd, as we have a busy week ahead assembling the hampers ready for Parish. We are very mindful of the difficult circumstances many of our families have found themselves in this year and are very grateful for the support this appeal has been given. 

CHANGE OF DATE - Go Blue for Diabetes Day

Due to an unforeseen clash in our school calendar, Go Blue for Diabetes Day has been changed to next Friday 27th November. Students are invited to add something blue to their school uniform and bring in a gold coin donation towards the St Agnes' Parish Christmas Appeal.

LEARNING

Challenging Our High Achieving Mathematicians 

A select group of St Peter’s Year 5 students have been expanding their skills and knowledge in a series of Maths and Science challenges with Mr Gallery. The group has been learning about the geometry of circles and were challenged to create a set of concentric circles with specific circumferences. This was not as easy as it sounded at first! The images below show some engaged Mathematicians working their way through the tasks. Next week they will be learning how to apply formulae to calculate speed, distance and time before the final task of making a Bullroarer and calculating its maximum speed! More to come…..

PAT TESTS

Over the past few weeks Primary students have completed their ACER PAT Mathematics and Reading tests.  ACER’s Progressive Achievement approach is used in thousands of schools in Australia and around the world. The approach focuses on assessing and monitoring student growth over time and is underpinned by an understanding that students of the same age and in the same year of school can be at very different points in their learning and development.

These tests are designed to provide objective, norm-referenced information to teachers about their students’ skills and understandings in a range of key areas.  The Mathematics test assesses students’ skill and understanding in the six strands of Number, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Statistics and Probability.  The Reading test assesses students’ reading comprehension skills, vocabulary knowledge and spelling.

Why do schools use PAT tests?

• They provide a measure of student achievement in each learning area.
• There is a common achievement scale for all tests within a learning area.
• They are mapped to the Australian Curriculum.
• They provide overall descriptions of the types of skills mastered and those still to be developed based on test performance.
• They can be used to inform teaching and learning and to assist in planning effective and targeted learning programs.

A healthy education system has multiple assessments (large-scale and small), each designed to suit the purpose at hand. Standardised tests are an imperfect measure by nature, and cannot be expected to measure children’s learning as competently as the teacher who spends hours with them every day.

On the other hand, individual teachers’ judgements cannot map learning across the entire education system. We may be experts on the progress of our students, but we cannot compare that progress with students in the school down the road, let alone a school in another state or territory. Standardised assessment provides the best birds-eye view of where the system is working, and where additional attention is required.

Toilets: Being Safe, Being Learners and Being Respectful

Toilets Toilets Toilets!

Over the next 2 weeks at St Peter’s, our PBS focus is being safe, a learner and respectful in the toilet areas. It is a friendly reminder on what behaviours are expected in these areas. 

Did you know that in our school we have four toilets for adults and visitors to use when they visit our awesome school? We have one outside the hall, one near the Year 4 classrooms, one next to the canteen and one around the corner from Kindergarten!

Here are the behaviours that we will be looking for over the next two weeks and what it means at school to be safe, a learner and respectful. 

Michelle Baird

PBS Coordinator

Bookpacks 2021

Bookpacks for 2021 will be sent home with children on Friday 4th December.  They will contain all the books necessary for next year. The pack will also include a list of 'extras' that parents may need to purchase. Parents are asked to cover and label all books over the holidays and return them to school with children when they come in for their Maths Assesment Interview in 2021.

This year our Bookpacks will be packaged in boxes. For any parents who may have concerns about their child/ren bringing Bookpacks home on the bus (they can be a bit bulky!) you may wish to make arrangements for the Bookpack to be collected from school.  Please let your child's teacher know if this is the case. 

St Peter's School Account Invoice will be sent home early 2021

The invoice will include:

• Bookpacks
• Dance Program
• ICT Levy 

In order to facilitate the assembling of these hampers, each class has been allocated a specific item to donate:

PBS - VIVO Rewards

Congratulations to the children who received a Bronze or Silver certificate as part of their PBS Vivo rewards. These children enjoyed an icy pole and some extra play time this week!! There were lots of happy smiles!  

MAI booking information will be sent home to families in Week 10.

Staff Development Day

Pupil Free Days

Important Dates 2021

MAI booking information will be sent home to families in Week 10.

2021 Roster

Volunteers for 2021 wanted!!

If your family is new to the school, or if you have not volunteered before or even if you are an 'old hand' at helping in the canteen, volunteering is a great way to connect with other parents, whilst also providing a service for our children.

Assisting in the Canteen will only require 2 hours per month!!
Pick the day that suits you best and complete the form below!
Thank you for your support! I look forward to working with you in 2021.

Add your name here to volunteer for 2021 in the Canteen! 

Pete's Eats Open for Lunch 1 and Lunch 2

MILKSHAKES !!!

Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate

50 cents

LUNCH 1 ONLY 

Term 4 Trial...  Chocolate and Rainbow flavoured Paddle Pops $2.00 (3.5 Health Star Rating!)

or place your order as normal on a lunch bag!

Canteen Roster 

Debbie Robins - Canteen Manager

 

Book Club

The final issue of Book Club is on sale now.

Orders will be closing on Thursday 26th November.

Library Borrowing Timetable

Fran Cullen - Librarian

Getting Ready for Christmas with Father Rob

If you know your child won’t be returning to St Peter's next year, or if any of your details have changed (address, contact number, emergency contacts etc) could you please advise our school office.  Thank you.

For families who may be planning a holiday - a reminder to please complete the following Form A4 Notification Extended Leave Travel.

Any absences due to family travel or holidays are generally recorded as an absence code A (Unjustified Leave).

This form must be completed for any leave over 3 cumulative days.

Form A4