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Ms Angela Gilbert / Mrs Sarah Jackman
Mr Garry Birch / Mr Chris Golightly
Dear Parents
Welcome to the beginning of a new school term. So good to see everyone back safe and sound from the Easter holiday and trust that you all enjoyed the time with family and friends. A very special welcome to Jack Leeson (Yr.4) and his family back to the school community.
The term ahead, is traditionally a very busy and demanding period of the school year. With plenty of school work and assessment tasks to be done, it is paramount that children are present and engaged in the learning process. Regular absence from school only compounds problems associated with students completing all required tasks. If they are at school, students receive the necessary information and specialized assistance, and this, in turn, reduces stress levels for the student and in the home.
In addition to their day-to-day schoolwork, other significant school related activities that occur this term include: ANZAC Day commemorations, Athletics training and carnivals, Mothers’ Day celebrations, NAPLAN (Yrs. 3 & 5), School Photos, disco, assemblies, and Ballgames carnival. Please check your school calendar and newsletters for the dates of all upcoming events.
With the colder weather approaching parents need to be mindful of the onset of the cold and flu season which can take its toll on students, staff and parents. In this regard, I would certainly urge all parents to take the time to instill proper hygiene practices to help reduce the spread of such illnesses. I would also encourage parents to strongly consider influenza vaccinations for all family members.
When you think about it there is an enormous amount to learn when you are a kid. There are, of course, the foundational skills of literacy and numeracy, fine and gross motor skills, spatial awareness, knowledge of their place in the world, understanding of others in the world, local & national identity, maybe learning another language or a musical instrument, skill acquisition for various sports, etc. In addition to these are the social and emotional skills required to happily co-exist with their peers, siblings, and important adults in their lives. It certainly is a lot to take on for anyone, let alone a primary school aged child. So, it is important to keep all this in mind as your child progresses through the year.
There will be times where they will have trouble in one or two of these areas, this is called growing up. We all know that kids develop at different rates and to expect every child to be an expert in all areas at the same time is impossible.
We hope that throughout the year, our school will be a place where staff, students and families have opportunities to experience success and enjoyment. Within our school, we can all try to model respect for those around us and strive to be a community where all members are valued, affirmed, and empowered. For this sentiment to continue throughout the year, it will require our collective wisdom and generosity of spirit to be at the forefront of all our communications.
Education today is a complex engagement because of the intensity and variety of external influences, particularly through various forms of media and electronic communications. Our school has a special role in assisting every parent with the education of their children so that all children will develop a sense of personal responsibility and learn the correct use of freedom. Throughout the term, our school will once again provide various experiences of liturgy and prayer, academic studies, cultural pursuits, sporting events, and personal development enhancement to assist the intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual maturity of all our students.
The success of these experiences depends highly on the continual positive relationship between the child and their teacher and the ongoing parental support of the teacher. Our role as the most important adults in children’s lives is a collective one and the power of unity should never be underestimated.
2023 Prep Interviews
One sign of a great school is the ongoing annual demand for enrolment into the school prep program. I am currently interviewing new families who are seeking a place in Prep next year and just about every family so far have told me that they know about Lourdes from word of mouth and the positive image in the community. This occurrence is really two signs of a great school, one being the high level of interest and the other is those within the community are very happy and proud to speak positively about life here at Our Lady of Lourdes. For this, I sincerely thank you as word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool any organization would dearly love to have.
Just a reminder that existing families with children of prep age for 2023 do not require an interview, unless requested. It is vitally important however that you have lodged an enrolment application as enrolments will be finalized over the next couple of weeks.
School Crossings
Yesterday there was a near miss on Goodwood St. The incident occurred just before 3:00 p.m. and it involved an adult crossing the street during peak congestion with two young students outside the supervised crossing zone. I cannot stress enough that for the sake of walking a few meters to the crossing, it is not worth the possible tragic consequences. Please do not cross Goodwood Street from any exit gate. This is not only extremely dangerous but sets a poor example to young children. Since 1984 when the crossing supervisor scheme began in Queensland, not one person has been killed or seriously injured on supervised crossings. They work and they are there for everyone’s safety and wellbeing. Please use them and teach your kids to be safe.
Stop, Drop & Go
With only one stop, drop and go zone available, we need your co-operation for this pick up zone to work efficiently. Can I please ask once again for those who collect their child at 3:00 p.m. to delay your arrival time at school to after 3:05 p.m. This practice reduces traffic congestion and gives children time to get to the pick-up zone and be ready to go. The stop, drop and go zone is supervised until 3:30 p.m.
Assembly
Our Year 4-6 classes will gather for our first official school assembly for the term this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in the Church. Our Yr. 4B class will be hosting the assembly and all are welcome to come along.
Winter Uniform
We officially move into the winter uniform next week. With the early onset of cool weather this week, several kids have opted for the winter uniform early, which is fine. Today and tomorrow, the P&F will open the clothing pool in the hall from 8:00 – 8:45 a.m. for anyone seeking second-hand winter uniform items.
Mothers’ Day Mass
Our annual Mothers’ Day Mass will be held next Wednesday 4th May at 10:00 a.m. in the hall. This will be followed by a morning tea for all our Mums, so hope you can stay for a while and feel free to join with your kids and enjoy the moment. This celebration is always one of the most special occasions on the school calendar.
New Families Meet & Greet
A reminder to all our new families about the upcoming Meet and Greet on Friday 6th May from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. I am very much looking forward to catching up with as many of our new families as possible and hopefully provide an opportunity to establish positive connections between parents who are new to OLOL.
School Disco & BBQ
Our first whole school disco and BBQ will be held on Friday 20th May from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A bar will also be operating and plenty of food and refreshments will be available. All children need to be accompanied by an adult for the disco. The P&F would also appreciate any help you can offer in setting up on the Friday afternoon, serving food or packing up after the event. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Have a great term and I look forward to the many exciting events and milestones which lay ahead in the coming months.
Thanks for reading…. Chris
Mr Chris Golightly
Principal
SIBLING ENROLMENTS
PREP 2023
Enrolment Forms Due NOW
It is that time of year again where we urgently request for any existing family who may have a child eligible for Prep in 2023 to ensure their enrolment application paperwork has been submitted to the school. Children who are born between 01 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, are eligible for entry into the 2023 Prep program.
It is vitally important that we have secured a place for children of existing families prior to offering places to new families and as such, request our current families to please complete and submit enrolment forms no later than the end of this week.
The enrolment forms can now be found under the 'For Parents' tab via our website Our Lady of Lourdes Primary (ololtwb.catholic.edu.au)
If you have trouble accessing this form, please see us at the office for further assistance and thank you to those families who have already submitted their paperwork.
Sponsorship of OLOL Gotcha Awards
The Gotcha Award is presented to students who demonstrate the traits of a Lourdes Learner. These acts are witnessed by staff who nominate the student, then at our assembly, two names are drawn at random to receive the 'Gotcha'.
We have been privileged over the past few years to have this award sponsored by a previous family of the school who owned Hello Harry's Burger Bar at The Walton Stores. The recipients of the award were provided with a certificate from our sponsor along with a voucher to receive a free burger.
We are now in the process of seeking another sponsor for this award and are reaching out to the OLOL community to see if anyone would be interested. If you would like further information and/or are in a position to assist, would you please contact Hazel at the office via email accounts@ololtwb.catholic.edu.au or via phone on 4591 1200.
Volunteering at OLOL
Volunteers and visiting services providers are an essential part of our community here at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School.
Working together, we aim to create and maintain safe environments for our students, staff and families. We require all volunteers and visiting service providers to read, understand and follow the relevant code of conduct and student protection information.
Catholic Schools have developed an online induction module for volunteers and services providers that sets out our expectations and commitment to student safety.
We ask that before you begin work or volunteering you take the time to read the relevant material below and view the induction module (please note it uses audio), then complete the applicable declaration form. This is required to be completed annually.
Please review the following materials online, complete and return the relevant forms to Admin or your class teacher prior to the next time you volunteer.
- Volunteers
-
Induction Video
Hard copies of the Code of Conduct, Student Protection Information, Declaration Form and Declaration of Interests form are available in the Prep and Year One classrooms as well as the Admin office.
Flexischools
Would Parents please ensure their child's class details are updated on their Flexischools accounts. To update class details, log onto your Flexischools Account:
- Select - Profile
- Select your Students Name
- Update your child's class details
How to Sign-Up for Flexischools
Facebook – OLOL Memos
If you have access to Facebook, we recommend you join our Facebook Page – OLOL Memos. Here we provide general information about upcoming school events as well as last minute updates for activities. You can access via the following link: OLOL FB Memos Page
School Fees and Payment Options
Term two school fees should be emailed out to families by the end of week 4. Once they have been distributed, a notification will be placed on the OLOL Facebook Memos Page. Please check your junk/spam folders (especially if you have a Hotmail address).
Fees can be paid either via BPay or Internet Banking, alternately you can come to the school office and pay via Credit Card, Eftpos or Cash.
Paying by BPay
Payment of school fees via BPay is our preferred method of payment.
If choosing to use BPay, you will find the relevant details located on the bottom right hand of your statement.
The school’s BPay Biller Code is 310417 and your family account reference will be noted underneath (as per example).
When making your payment via BPay you will also have the option to set ongoing recurring payments weekly, fortnightly or monthly if you so choose.
Paying via Internet Banking
Please use your OLOXXX Family code when referencing your payments via Internet Banking and note the reference begins with 'OLO' (as in "Our Lady Of") and not 'OLzero'. In the past we have had many families who, when referencing payment of school fees, have used either their surname, first name, maiden name, family trust account details, business name or their childs first name, which can easily cause complications when receipting respective payments as these payments can be inadvertently coded to the incorrect family due to the number of families we now have at OLOL with same names. Therefore, to streamline the process of payments and to help ensure your payment goes directly to your account (and not that of another family), we would appreciate if you would please use your family account number along with the surname of the person making the payment as your reference.
Should you choose this method, you will find the school’s banking details located on the bottom left of your statement and your family/household reference number located on the top left of your statement.
As with BPay, when making your payment via EFT Transfer you will also have the option to set ongoing recurring payments of weekly, fortnightly or monthly if you so choose.
If you have any questions in relation to payment of your school fees, please contact us on 4591 1200 or email accounts@ololtwb.catholic.edu.au
Parent Portal
The Sentral Parent Portal is now available at Our Lady of Lourdes. This will be useful for reporting your child's absence, viewing academic reports, and setting up parent-teacher interviews.
All families should have received an email with their unique family or student access key. For students with shared households, separate access keys have been provided.
How to register
- Register via https://sis-trn.twb.catholic.edu.au/auth/portal?action=register
- Create an account with your details, an email address and your own password
- Enter the Family Access Key or Student Key emailed to you (it is case sensitive so copy exactly as it appears)
- Download the app and login for easy access to notify the school of your child’s absence
Can't find your Family Access Key email?
Search your inbox or junk mail folders for an email from lourdes@twb.catholic.edu.au with the subject line Parent Portal Access Key Registration.
Already have Sentral for Parents with another school?
No problems. For those who already have an account with another school, logon to your existing Parent Portal via the website rather than the app and on the left-hand side:
- select ‘My Access’
- select ‘Add School’
- From the drop-down menu, select ‘Our Lady of Lourdes’
For more information click on the following links.
Need help with the Sentral Parent Portal?
Read the Sentral for Parents App User Guide
As we progress this initiative, we are sure the Parent Portal will become more and more significant in your day-to-day management of your child's enrolment at our school. Should you experience difficulties please do not hesitate to contact the office for assistance.
Admin Office Hours
Office Hours for Admin are Monday to Friday 8:00am to 3:30pm. If you need to reach our team outside of this time you can email us at Lourdes@twb.catholic.edu.au or phone: 4591 1200.
With thanks
Hazel & Carla
The Admin Team
Naplan 2022
NAPLAN, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy, is upon us once again. Assessing literacy and numeracy skills of students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9, NAPLAN provides parents or carers an opportunity to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time.
The results of the tests, used by the Australian Government, QLD education authorities, the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office, and our school, shows how students are progressing with learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy. For classroom teachers, it provides additional information to support their professional judgement about student progress and helps to inform future teaching and learning.
NAPLAN will be held in Week 4 this term for our students in Year 3 and 5, commencing Tuesday 10 May. If a student is absent one day, there will be a window of opportunity to catch up and complete a test.
All tests will take place online, except for Year 3 writing which will be a paper test. Year 3 students will use class iPads and Year 5 will use class laptops. Students should ensure their own headphones are working and are at school for these tests. The online tests consist of branching to ensure students experience success. More information can be found here https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/research-and-development/tailored-tests
Last week, students participated in the national practice tests which provided teachers and students experience with the testing platform. Teachers have been preparing students, but if parents would like additional opportunities for their child to practice at home, students can visit https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site to have a go at the sample questions.
While we would like every student who is participating in NAPLAN to do their best and give maximum effort, it is not necessary to feel stressed about it being a major assessment that forms part of their success at school. Your support in ensuring your child arrives to school on time, is well rested, and has had a healthy breakfast will be beneficial on testing days.
If you would like more information, please contact me or your child's teacher.
Kind regards,
Miranda
Miranda Murray
Assistant Principal
miranda.murray@twb.catholic.edu.au
Faith & Religious Education News
Welcome back to Term 2.
I hope everyone had a lovely Easter Break.
Last Friday we commemorated Anzac Day, remembering the Anzac legacy of mateship, ingenuity and persistence which has inspired our Australian Spirit for future generations. We thank the Year 5s and their teachers for their prayerful and thoughtful assembly. A special thank you goes to Mrs Sarah O’Neil and Mrs Jo Broderick for their floral wreath and flower arrangement contributions.
This Wednesday afternoon candidates for Confirmation and First Eucharist will meet in the church, for an information afternoon. If you haven’t sent in your child’s sponsors name, confirmation name, and First Eucharist Date– could you please do so and email the information to the OLOL Parish office asap.
Calling for photos of Mothers and their Children for our Mother’s Day Mass in week 3 – Send in One photo per family. Email to Janice.Moore@twb.catholic.edu.au - Please ensure photos are at school no later than this Friday 29th April.
Diary Dates
Wednesday 4th May – OLOL Mother’s Day Mass 10 am - a special morning tea has been organised after mass for our OLOL Mums and Grandmothers – please stay and share some morning tea with your children. We are not having a Mothers Day stall this year due to space constraints.
Have a blessed week!
Janice
Janice Moore
Assistant Principal Religious Education (APRE)
Prep
Welcome to Term 2 – we hope Easter and the holidays were very enjoyable.
It was great to catch up for a chat at our Parent interviews last Term – please see your child’s teacher if you couldn’t make it.
Class newsletters have been sent out with lots of information about what’s happening this term. An explanation of home readers and word families was also included – it’s very important to now be back in school routine and revising what your child is learning each day. Our Prep motto is the more we practise the better we get!
Cross country went very well -the children loved the walk down and we (teachers included!) all completed the run. Thank you to Mr Wigan for organising the carnival.
ANZAC Day was celebrated at Prep by making biscuits, colouring a poppy and reading stories.
Please make sure satchels are sent in every day – also a school jumper/jacket is required this term. It can get very chilly in our playground.
Library borrowing commences this week – every Thursday.
Many thanks,
Melita, Tabitha and Liz
Year 1
Welcome to week 2! It was wonderful to see our Grade 1 cohort ready for learning after the Easter break. Our fingers are crossed for a healthy and covid free term!!
A reminder that the winter uniform changeover is next Tuesday May 3rd. Please make sure that jumpers and jackets are named clearly please.
In Maths this week, we will be learning about counting strategies to help us solve simple addition and subtraction. We'll learn about doubles, count-on and count back, and rainbow facts.
In English, we are reading the text, “There’s a Sea in My Bedroom” by Margaret Wild. The children will describe the character, David by using the words and pictures in the story. They will discuss the setting of the story using images from the text.
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!
Jen and Ange
Year 2
Welcome to Week 2! Another short week is upon us and consequently we are working extra hard in each of our learning areas. Last week we learnt so much from our Anzac Day guest speaker Major Hanssens. Following this we had a beautiful Liturgy where we prayed and sang together rejoicing in God’s love.
In Maths this week we are identifying and drawing 2D shapes. We will also be working on identifying number patterns that count in 2s, 5s and 10s extending to more complex patterns.
In English we will be studying characters in narratives, focusing closely on their physical and non-physical traits and identifying stereotypes. We will be describing characters in detail and learning to write an alternative character description.
Our learning in Hass this term focuses on the geographic divisions in our world. We will be learning to identify continents, countries, hemispheres and the equator.
Homework is underway this week. Please keep up the reading each night. It is extra important to keep on top of our reading as it is easy to fall behind.
Don’t forget to schedule some time to read to your child. Listening to reading is very valuable, potentially improving language skills, imagination and creativity as well as fostering a love of reading. Listening to reading can improve grammar and punctuation skills producing creative writers and avid readers.
A reminder that P.E is now on a Monday. There is a show and tell list in your child’s satchel which commences in Week 4. We have also included some information about reading, in case you might try some of the strategies that we use at school.
Dennielle, Sarah, Aleisha
Year 3
Welcome back to Term 2! We look forward to another busy and exciting term.
Well done to the students who participated so well in the cross country last week – it was great to see so much enthusiasm and effort on the day. This Friday, we go to the Empire Theatre to see a performance of ‘The 13-Storey Treehouse’. We will be leaving school at 8:50 am, so please ensure that children are at school on time. Students are to wear their neat sports uniform on this day. If you have not yet completed the online permission form for your child, could you please do this as soon as possible: https://forms.office.com/r/u21xcvEXUR
In Week 4, the Year 3 and 5 classes will complete the NAPLAN tests. If you would like to see an example of the format and sample questions, the Public Demonstration Site https://nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site is available. Students have also been using this site at school to become familiar with the test. If you have any questions about the NAPLAN testing, please contact your child’s teacher.
It is important for parents, and students, to be aware that branching now occurs with the online NAPLAN test. More information about this can be found at https://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-online-branching-messages.pdf .
We also need to make sure that all children have headphones in working order ready for the Naplan tests in Week 4. Please check with your children that this is the case.
This term in Science, we will be looking at the relationship between the Sun, Earth and Moon, as well as how the Sun and Moon affect us here on Earth. In HASS, we will be exploring how our local communities have changed over time and in Religion, we will be looking at how people are welcomed in our Church community and will focus on the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Have a great week!
Angela, Sarah, Demi and Janice
Year 4
Welcome to Term 2! A fantastic first week with our Cross Country being held with beautiful weather and enthusiastic students. Well done to all those people who participated last Thursday. Congratulations to those students who performed very well and were chosen to compete in the West Zone Carnival this Friday. We are proud of Peter, Billy, Kooper, Abbey, Indee-Rose and Zara on their selection to represent our school.
Last week, we attended our first Wednesday mass as a year level. We will continue to attend mass each Wednesday to prepare students who are making their sacraments for this year. We are looking for to our excursion this Friday at the Empire Theatre to see the 13th Story Treehouse production. After enjoying the show, we will be using our knowledge of fact and opinion and utilise theatre vocabulary, to write a review of the stage show in the coming weeks. In English, writing will continue to be our focus this Term as we develop our understanding of different sentence types, use of appropriate vocabulary and improve our editing skills.
In Science we will be investigating and observing plant growth while in Religion we will be looking at various prayers and the Sacraments of Healing. History teaching will focus on the lives of Indigenous people prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Reading of clocks and calculating elapsed time is being investigated in maths at the beginning of this Term. STEM, Drama and Music lessons for Year 4 are being taught on a Wednesday this Term, with PE being on a Monday. Therefore, PE uniforms are to be worn on Mondays and Fridays. Later in the Term, Athletics practise will take place on Fridays, to enhance the students’ skills in preparation for our Athletics Carnivals, later this Term.
We look forward to 4B leading the prayer Assembly tomorrow and 4G and 4L will be leading the prayer at Assembly later in the Term. Homework has started and we ask that you check with your class teacher to see if the homework due date has changed. Homework will include several activities to be completed on Maths Online. Students that aren’t able to complete the online work at home, are reminded that the library is open most lunch hours which allows computer work to be undertaken.
With Mother’s Day not far away, we would like to remind you that there WILL NOT be a Mother’s Day Stall held at school this year, due to lack of space.
As per Mr Golighty’s letter last week, the short weeks and number of Carnivals on this Term reduces the available teaching time, therefore attendance at school is vital for all students to achieve their best learning. Finally, we would like to extend a warm welcome to Jack and his family as he has joined 4L this Term. We hope that you enjoy our school as much as we do!
Suzanne, Toni and Garry
Year 5
Key Dates
- Friday 29th April – Zone Cross Country
- Monday 2nd May – Labour Day Holiday
- Tuesday 3rd May – Winter Uniform change over
- Wednesday 4th May – Mothers' Day Mass & morning tea
- Friday 6th May – New families meet and greet @ 5pm
- Week 4 – 9th – 13th May – NAPLAN week
- Friday 20th May – Welcome BBQ @ 5pm
- Thursday 26th May – School Photos
- Saturday 28th May – Trivia Night @ 5.30pm (Adults only)
- Tuesday 31st May – Athletics Carnival Day 1
- Thursday 2nd June – Athletics Carnival Day 2
- Friday 3rd June - Track & Field Presentation @1.45pm
- Thursday 16th June – Sports Team Dress Up Day – Catholic Mission Gold Coin donation
- Thursday 23rd June – Ballgames carnival
- Friday 24th June – NAIDOC Assembly @ 12pm – Final Day of term
Term 2 started off with a bang with a short three day week, Cross Country, and our ANZAC day ceremony. We would like to commend the Year 5’s on their reverence and respect for service men and women during this commemoration. We have received many reports from members of the community about the wonderful job they all did. So well done boys and girls! A huge congratulations to all that participated in the cross country last Thursday. Beetson reigned supreme again! A special mention to Nate S, Charlotte, Mikayla, Olivia and Isabelle for their amazing efforts and placing in their respective age groups. We also congratulate Skye P, Henry, Flynn, Arohamae, Isaiah, and Layla for being selected in the cross country team that will compete at the West Zone Cross Country carnival with the above-mentioned students. Also, a big congratulations to Harry and Layla for receiving the Spirit awards, we are all about spirit and sportsmanship in Year 5, so bravo!
Term 2 curriculum focus
Religion: Students will develop their understanding of the Holy Spirit and how it applies to their lives. They will analyse and interpret Scriptural passages that refer to the Holy Spirit and the words, symbols and actions of the Catholic Rite of Confirmation.
English: Term 2 brings revision and new rounds of learning. We will spend time revising Persuasive writing and its associated language features in week 1-4 and will move into Historical Narrative writing from week 5. Our Historical Narrative will be set in the Austrlian goldfields in the 1800’s, drawing on our knowledge gained from HASS. Students will be focusing on presenting a perspective from a person in that time. During our unit we will explore different sentence types, how to develop ideas in paragraphs and revise the skills of descriptive vocabulary and figurative language explored in term 1.
Maths: During this term students will engage in three impact cycles.:
- Cycle 1: interpreting data in different data sets.
- Cycle 2: revisit knowledge of place value, with focus on decimal place value, comparing decimals and placing them on number lines.
- Cycle 3: comparison of fractions and adding/subtracting fractions with same denominators.
HASS: Students investigate colonial Australia in the 1800’s. Students look at the founding of the British colonies and the development of a colony. Students explore what life was like for different groups in this colonial period. They examine significant events and people, political and economic developments, social structures, and settlement patterns. This unit is broken down into three parts:
- Part 1 - How did Australian Colonies develop over time and why?
- Part 2 - What factors of colonial or convict presence influenced patterns of development and aspects of daily life for inhabitants?
- Part 3 - What were the significant events and who were the significant people that shaped Australian colonies?
Science: In Term 2, students will be exploring light, light sources and how it travels. Students will have fun conducting research projects, including a bioluminescent creature, and share their information to inform their peers. Throughout the term, numerous investigations and experiments will be conducted to assist the students with their understanding of light and how light rays travel. Opaque, translucent, and transparent materials will also be explored in relation to how it can impact light travelling.
CANVAS
This term students will continue to use CANVAS to access content for the above curriculum areas. We have been using this resource since the beginning of the year and the students are well versed in knowing that they can access this content at any time—revision, online learning from home. Parents, if you're interested, get your child to take you on a tour so you can see what is going on.
NAPLAN
For year 3 and 5 students, NAPLAN will be taking place in week 4. Over the coming weeks we will be assisting students in preparing for these standardised tests by utilising the NAPLAN demonstration site https://nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site . This will allow students to feel comfortable and reassured about the process, as this will be the first NAPLAN year 5 students participate in. In class, we will be perfecting our quick planning, writing, and editing skills.
It is important for parents, and students, to be aware that branching now occurs with the online test. More information about this can be found at https://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-online-branching-messages.pdf
Homework
Due to the first three short weeks of term and NAPLAN in week 4, homework will be reduced in weeks 2 and 3, and cancelled for week 4 during NAPLAN. Homework will be hardcopy and consist of Naplan style questions for language and grammar, reading and maths.
Headphones
Students must have a set of working headphones at school as these are used daily. Please check in with your child and ensure they have a working set at school.
Tim, Jess and Emily
Year 6
Date Claimers
Tuesday 3rd May – Winter Uniform change over
Wednesday 4th May – Mothers' Day Mass & morning tea
Friday 20th May – Welcome BBQ @ 5pm
Thursday 26th May – School Photos
Tuesday 31st May – Athletics Carnival Day 1
Thursday 2nd June – Athletics Carnival Day 2
Friday 3rd June - Track and Field Presentation @1.45pm
Thursday 16th June – Sports Team Dress Up Day – Catholic Mission Gold Coin donation
Thursday 23rd June – Ballgames carnival
Friday 24th June – NAIDOC Assembly @ 12pm – Final Day of term
New learning spaces: All classes are enjoying our new spaces. Very exciting to have large class screens, storage space and a warm room in time for winter!
Cross Country congratulations: Super effort by Hayden Lobwein to break a longstanding Lourdes record last Thursday. Congratulations to the following place getters who will represent our school at the West Zone Cross Country carnival this Friday: Leila Hardy, Hayden Lobwein, Jack Glasby, Jack Reimers, Bowie Ingram, Rocco Feurer, Jay Cook, Madison Burchardt, William Schwerin, Frank Jones, Anisha Balderson and Emily Harch
Sports uniform: All Year Six wear sports uniform on Wednesday and Friday.
Assessment Planners: Please check in with your child about important due dates for tasks this term. All students have access to this planner to build executive functioning skills of time management, planning and organisation.
English Daily Writes: Did you know that a sentence five words or less is sure to capture your reader’s attention?
“Eat my dust!” – Zane Ozog
“Rump steak is trumps!” – Jack Reimers
“A mouthful of chocolate chips...” Lexie King
Precision about names of people, places, events, dates, times, and distances all help to make our writing clear and concise.
“Tensions are higher than ever as they zig zag through turns 18 and 19 along the rugged, dry, terrain to see that there are two laps to go. The gap is shrinking second by second. By turn 8, it’s on!” Archer Thurn
Darling Downs Maths Challenge: We wish our two teams of keen mathematicians the very best of luck as they head to St Ursula’s College on Tuesday 3rd May to compete against other schools. Go Lourdes Go!
Larry, Kylie and Shauna
STEM
This Term in STEM we will be working in the hall, giving us the space we need to carry out some really exciting projects.
Preps will be observing and investigating the environment using our 5 senses. We will explore how we can take care of the Earth and even test ways to clean up an oil spill.
The year 1’s will be discovering the force of wind. We will predict and test what objects blow in the wind and build anemometers to measure wind speed and collect data. In year 2 we will be learning about Newton’s laws of force and motion to make a push-pull toy and a marionette puppet. The year 3’s will apply their knowledge of forces and properties of materials to build and test catapults and design playground equipment. In year 4 we will be learning about simple machines and applying this knowledge to design a working diorama and build a game.
The year 5’s and 6’s will be learning how to code the new microbits and use them to sense motion, direction, sound and temperature.
Please keep collecting cardboard cylinders for us to use this term.
Laura
Welcome to the beginning of Term 2 from The Hive.
Schools are busy places and there is always so many wonderful things happening. Our school has many changes occurring with the building project, moving classes as stages of the construction are completed, using the hall and Church for all sorts of activities, and using various places to play, eat and even get picked up after school.
Chris Golightly describes Lourdes kids as tough kids and stresses the need to be resilient during the ongoing changes to school routines. Below is an article that was published in the school newsletter last year. It is worth revisiting, to help parents respond to and build their children's resilience.
Building Resilience in Children
What is resilience?
You may have heard the term before, but what exactly is resilience? People often describe it as the ability to ‘bounce back’ from negative experiences. This means when your children make a mistake or experience a set-back they are able to brush it off relatively easily.
Some children naturally develop resilience, but others may struggle to deal with challenges in life.
It’s important to learn how to be resilient because life is tough, and we need to know how to cope when difficult situations crop up! The good news is that resilience can be learnt!
Why is resilience important?
Building resilience helps your child to deal with the challenges they have when they’re young. It also provides a foundation for dealing with hardships they may face as teenagers and adults.
Children with higher resilience are more likely to:
- Manage stress and difficult emotions
- Thrive at school and at work later in life
- Have good psychological health
- See mistakes as an opportunity to learn
- Have well developed coping skills
- Have healthy relationships with others
Keys to resilience
These are some key areas in which you can help your child develop so they can become more resilient:
Feeling connected to something like a school or youth group
Having a sense of independence and responsibility
Confidence
Problem solving skills
Positive self-esteem
Having a positive outlook on life
Identifying, expressing and coping with feelings
Having good friendships with people who accept them for who they are
Having positive role models within the family, school or community
Experiencing love and acceptance from a parent/carer
Some children are naturally resilient. They’re able to easily manage disappointments and struggles. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for every child.
Here are some ways to help you build resilience in your children:
- Don’t get over involved - Many parents try to help their children with everything. Begin by letting them do things for themselves. Help less often with tasks but still check in and offer guidance. Provide your child with opportunities to make decisions about their environment, such as, which shoes they want to wear today.
- Be a great role model – Over-anxious parents can lead to over-anxious children. If you know yourself to be anxious, find ways to manage this, for example: take a break and relax, exercise regularly, eat balanced meals and get plenty of sleep. Keep in mind that children learn by observing.
- Talk about it - Let your child know that difficult times are a part of life and things will usually get better. Talk to them about how you or people you know have overcome challenges in life. Read and reflect on books that have storylines showing characters overcoming problems.
- Help your child manage big feelings - Let your child experience their emotions. Acknowledge how they feel and help your child learn to ‘self sooth’, for example: teach them a relaxation strategy, positive self-talk or to hug their favourite toy. Art and games of pretending are also good outlets for your child to work through fears and worries.
- Make time for yourself - Remember to put yourself first sometimes! This helps children build independence and understand they may need to find things to do other than play with you all day. It’s not selfish, it’s healthy for everyone.
- Learn to say ‘no’ - It’s okay to say no and put boundaries in place. Children who are taught boundaries early on will learn to manage expectations and accept that things don’t always go their way.
- Let them experience life - Instead of getting too involved, step back and let them resolve things themselves. They’ll find ways to negotiate and accept things in their own way.
The information above is from the parentline.com.au website. If you would like more information about resilience, try the following website;
https://www.parentingideas.com.au/search/resilience
Have a fantastic week, Allyson and Maria
Allyson & Maria
Allyson Jessen & Maria Kehoe
Learning Support Teachers
Upcoming Dates
Week |
Date |
Event |
Venue |
Who |
2 |
29/4/2022 |
Toowoomba Zone Cross Country |
Kearney’s Spring |
OLOL School Team 10-12 Years |
5 |
17/05/2022 |
DD Cross Country |
|
West Zone Team |
7 |
31/05/2022 |
OLOL Track & Field |
O’Quinn Street |
Grades P-6 |
7 |
02/06/2022 |
OLOL Track & Field |
O’Quinn Street |
9-12 Year Olds |
OLOL CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS
Congratulations to BEETSON on their Cross Country win!
Prep |
Ori, William, Owen & Archer |
Harper, Sunny, Vanessa & Layla |
Grade 1 |
Nate, Ryan, Logan & Joe |
Georgia, Rubie, Indianna & Evee-Raine |
Grade 2 |
Drew, Isaac, Linoln & Ashton |
Mikaha, Olivia, Frankie & Evelyn |
8 Years |
Hudson, Matthew & Dallas |
Charlotte, Hayley & Bethany |
9 Years |
Nate, Nate & Slater |
Millicent, Mia & Liliana |
10 Years |
Peter, Nate & Billy |
Charlotte, Abbey & Mikayla |
11 Years |
Hayden, Jack & Jack |
Leila, Isobel & Olivia |
12 Years |
Rocco, William & Frank |
Emily, Madison & Anisha |
Congratulations also to Harry & Layla (Grade 6) on being awarded the OLOL Living Spirit Award, and to Hayden (Grade 6) on breaking the ten year old 11 years boys record.
Representative School Sport—Toowoomba & Darling Downs Teams
Throughout the course of the year Toowoomba Primary School Sport and Darling Downs School Sport offer trials to eligible students for a variety of team and individual sports. To be eligible for selection, students need to be born in 2012, 2011 or 2010. Strict nomination requirements apply, and it is at the sole discretion of the school to decide whether to nominate individual students.
In order to gain interest levels and an idea of previous experience, an electronic representative Sport Nomination Form has been sent out. This form outlines all relevant information regarding the trials for the whole of 2022. Please thoroughly read all information. If your child is of a high standard in their chosen sport/s and would like to be considered for nomination, please complete the nomination form. No student will be nominated for a trial without a completed medical form and online expression of interest. Here is the LINK for the form.
Congratulations to the following students that have been selected into representative school sport teams:
Toowoomba Softball Team: Emily (Grade 6), Maddox (Grade 6) & Riley (Grade 5).
Darling Downs Touch Football: Hayden (Grade 6), Bowie (Grade 6), Madison (Grade 6) & Isobel (Grade 5)
Toowoomba Netball: Chloe (Grade 6) & Bonnie (Grade 6)
Darling Downs AFL: Skye (Grade 5)
Rachel.Wigan@twb.catholic.edu.au
Easter Colouring Competition Winners
Congratulations to our Easter Colouring Winners: William (Prep H), Arlia (1M), Benjamin (2D), Summer (3S),Tom (5M) and Hallie (4L).
Prizes were delivered to winners at the end of last term. Thank you to all those children who entered the competition. There were so many fabulous entries.
Reading Tip
As our children develop their reading ability and move to more independent reading it is important to remember the power of reading aloud. It assists with fluency, understanding and provides much needed speaking practice. Have your child/ren spend 10 minutes a day reading aloud… no matter their age.
ANZAC Day Display
Library Returns
Please ensure that all OVERDUE Library loans are returned as soon as possible to avoid any charges. If an item has been lost please send and email to Danielle.Leathart@twb.catholic.edu.au or drop by the office and see us.
IntegratedSTEM
We are pleased to be offering IntegratedSTEM sessions again this term. Please follow the QR Code to register. Limited places remaining so get in QUICK. Sessions start on May 5th at 3:15pm. Collection from the hall promptly at 4:15pm please.
Chess
Lessons have commenced and run each Tuesday between Week 2 and 9 each term. Please complete the online form to register.
https://forms.office.com/r/ny99ncxqv1
Book Club
Issue 3 Flyers have been sent home. All orders to be placed via LOOP please.
Orders Due: May 5th
Enjoy your books.
Mrs Leathart & Mrs Monte
Wow, what an eventful end to first term our Garden Crew had. The boys entered school flowers in the Toowoomba Royal Show and were thrilled to learn that they won first place in best junior rose, and first and second place for natives.
The plant stall at the end of last term was also very successful, especially considering so many students were away. Your support in this exciting venture is invaluable, and we appreciate it enormously. Due to a lot of excess stock, we were delighted to have True Blue Garden Centre swap some bags of potting mix for some plants the boys had grown that are not readily available in nurseries. Another big thrill!!!
As the weeks get cooler we will still have Lunchtime Garden Club on Tuesday's and Wednesday lunchtimes, second half, but on Wednesday's instead of gardening we will have 'Wacky Plant Wednesday, where the kids can learn about a weird and wonderful plant, not seen in the every day garden.
If you are looking for plants for yourself, or perhaps as a Mother's Day gift, at super cheap prices and feel like supporting the Garden Crew, we are happy to sell plants at any time. Just find me, or the delightful Mrs Kelly. Plants are only $2-$4.
Jo