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Ms Angela Gilbert / Mrs Sarah Jackman
Mr Garry Birch / Mr Chris Golightly
Dear Parents
Welcome to the last term of the 2022 school year. One of the many events or significant occasions occurring this term is the annual World Teachers Day. This year’s theme, “Teaching through every moment” is a particularly poignant one. As I am writing this article, I’m on my 35th school camp…there is a reason why my hair is grey!
Life on camp is one of the various ways teaching occurs through moments. Reflecting on the last 24hrs, the list of teachable moments is endless. After witnessing the removal of a large carpet snake from outside their tents prior to going to bed, the boys learnt that they really don’t need to leave their tent during the night and no, the snake was not strategically placed! They have taught each other the importance of teamwork whilst navigating the narrow and challenging cave systems. The students have gained knowledge of the fragile ecosystem and geology. They know the importance of listening and being organised and the disadvantages of not being so attentive to detail. Some over the course of two dinners have even learnt to sit at a table to eat and discovered how a knife and fork can be used effectively.
When I look back over my career and schooling, it is those teachers who make the most of each moment who leave the best impression. They too are the ones who also stop and take time to really get to know kids and not just the ones in their class.
I would like say my personal thank you to the teachers who give of their time and who make the most of teachable moments. Thank you for trying another angle to explain how something works. Thank you for volunteering to take a small group who may find a particular concept challenging. Thank you answering the thousands of questions. Thank you for extending the classroom beyond the four walls of the classroom. Thank you to all staff and volunteers. I have witnessed many of you teach…you may not have been intentional but through the giving of your time and genuine desire to see students succeed, you too have made a difference.
World Teachers Day is on the 28th October. A while off yet, but in the busyness of life we sometimes let occasions such as this slip by without saying anything. In the lead up to the day, I hope our teachers feel the greatness of teaching and receive the due recognition they deserve. A simple thank you is such a powerful gift.
Building Project Update:
It was an exciting time for our Year 4’s and 5 classes at the end of last term as they moved into their new classroom spaces.
The overall project is basically spread across three stages – Stage 1. Merici Building refurbishment and two new classrooms, Stage 2. New administration, staff facilities and multipurpose room and Stage 3. Refurbishment of the Giabal building and construction of a new double storey classroom and junior toilet block.
We are looking forward to moving into the new admin building at the end of the month which means Stage 2 is almost complete. This of course will provide us with a great deal more space and having all leadership and administration staff in one place will allow for greater accessibility and functionality.
This leaves Stage 3 to go. Most of the major demolition occurred over the recent holiday period. Thank you for noticing that entrance into the Early years area from Holberton Street is closed and will remain closed during the construction phase of Stage 3.
I continue to thank everyone for your ongoing patience and co-operation during the building project. I know it is not always easy, especially with congestion at the stop, drop and go zone on certain days, temporary changes to school routine, students needing to adjust to different eating and play areas, front office, library and IT staff sharing the Library space, classes moving into temporary learning spaces, staff putting up with a makeshift staffroom and toilet facilities and not to mention having to deal with noise, power outages and at times no water. All of which of course will come to an end upon the completion of the project sometime in Term 1, 2023.
Wet weather, access to qualified trades, sourcing materials and design changes have and will continue to play a part in determining completion dates. While our continued understanding and patience is required, we really do appreciate the beautiful new learning spaces and functional staff facilities that have been created.
Our special appreciation is extended to the Parish for their generosity and support in providing office space and use of the church for assemblies and music/drama lessons. Sharing space is always challenging but when all involved are sharing a common understanding, support one another, a successful solution is always guaranteed.
School Fees:
Please keep an eye out for this term’s school fee invoices which are emailed to all families each quarter. As term 4 is shorter, it is vital that all outstanding accounts are rectified. Some families will be receiving a follow up phone call this week to double check current situation or change of circumstances. Chasing up overdue fees is a very time consuming task. Your prompt payment allows us to successfully pay for class resources and extra-curricula activities. It also enables us to confidently enter into the new year in a good financial position to continue to offer quality teaching and learning experience, state of the art facilities and desired staffing levels.
Your continued financial commitment to the school is an investment in your child’s education and future.
Parking:
Since returning from the recent September holidays, I have received some reports of parents parking across driveways or neighbouring houses as well as at the school. As you can imagine this can have serious consequences by restricting access or departure of emergency vehicles or residents trying to get to work. Please remain ever conscious on where you park within the school precinct.
School Camps:
As I mentioned earlier our Year 6’s are currently enjoying their time up at the Capricorn Coast and will most likely be snorkelling on the reef at Great Keppel Is at the time the newsletter is sent to families. Our Year 5 cohort will be heading off on their annual trip to Tallebudgera next Monday for a three-day camp. These experiences would not become reality without the willingness and dedication of the teaching staff who attend the camps. Whilst they are located in beautiful locations, supervising and caring for 60+ children is a very challenging and constant task. I would also like to thank the school’s P&F Association for their continued financial support of Year 5/6 families with covering bus expenses for both camps.
Southwest Touch Competition:
Our Lady of Lourdes is once again competing in this annual event. A senior mixed team from Year 5&6 will play a series of games this Sunday in Dalby. We certainly wish them all the best and I especially appreciate the expertise and assistance from Miss Packer and Kris Lobwein. Good luck to you all.
P&F Meeting:
A reminder that our next meeting of the P&F Association will be on Tuesday 18th October at 6:30 pm. in the hall. All are most welcome to attend. Agenda items at this stage include:
- Lourdes on the Lawn review
- World Teachers Day
- P&F and School Board end of year function
- Volunteers morning tea (15th November)
- End of year events – disco & swimming carnival
Thanks for reading….. Chris
Mr Chris Golightly
Principal
School Fees and Payment Options
School Fees for Term 4 2022 should be out by the end of next week and we will advise when they have been distributed via the Parent Portal as well as the OLOL Facebook Memos Page. Please be sure to check your junk/spam folders to ensure your statement has not ended up there.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
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
Alternately, you may prefer to pay your fees via Internet Banking (EFT Transfer). 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.
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.
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, and/or are facing financial difficulties please contact Hazel on 4591 1200 or via email accounts@ololtwb.catholic.edu.au to discuss options in confidence.
Thank you.
Hazel & Carla
The Admin Team
Dental Van
Dental Van 42A is at Newtown State School and we have issued registration forms to every student at Our Lady of Lourdes. We are currently contacting parents that have returned their child/children’s registration form by Phone or Text messages to receive a dental check-up at Newtown State School. If you wish to contact us about a Dental Check-up appointment, please phone 0408 767 779.
If you haven’t returned the registration form and would like a dental check-up for your child /children, please contact us and we can arrange an appointment.
Parents will also need to sign in at the Newtown school office before attending the Dental Van. (Please bring your Medicare card to this appointment).
The Dental Van is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8.30am until 4.00pm and are closed Thursday and Friday.
Our Phone number is 0708 767 779.
In an emergency, please contact 1300 082 662 at 8am Monday to Friday
Thank you.
Karen and Sandra
The Dental Staff
Welcome back to Term 4
Unbelievably, Term 4 is upon us! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are comfortably back into the routine of school term life. No doubt, it will be another exciting term of great progress and achievement for all our Lourdes Learners.
Naplan Results 2022
Individual student reports for parents of Year 3 and Year 5 students were sent home at the end of last term. These reports provide information on how individuals performed on each of the NAPLAN tests that took place in May. Although the state and national mean scores are not available yet; all our students are either at or above the National Minimum Standard and teachers and students should be proud of their efforts.
In 2023 NAPLAN has been moved to March rather than the traditional May test period. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum. Keyboard skills are critical for NAPLAN online assessment. I encourage families to allow students time to type up stories/work on the computer to develop proficiency. Typing Tournament and Writer’s Toolbox (Years 4- 6) are two subscriptions your child can use at home to practise typing. Importantly, Classroom teachers and our Teacher Librarian work on developing digital literacy knowledge and skills with our students which assist in their preparation for NAPLAN.
Writing Improvement Strategy
As part of our journey to improve writing this year, we sought resources and professional learning from Writer’s Toolbox. All teachers have access to modules and Years 4 -6 students each have a login to an online tool, which not only gives students access to learning modules to improve writing, it also analyses each piece of writing.
At the end of last term, I had a positive meeting with the Australian Director of Writer's Toolbox (formally Write that Essay) about our writing data. She was very impressed with how we are doing. Two areas we are particularly doing well in is students acting on feedback to improve their writing as well as being more precise when writing. Precision is gained from facts, figures, places, dates, times, names –which helps to give the reader a clearer picture in their mind when reading. For example, instead of writing, The boy was eating an ice cream on a hot day. Try adding precision - John Henry, who was 10 years old, sat under the shade of a Birch Tree on a 38-degree squelching hot day.
Improving our writing helps us be better communicators; an important Lourdes Learner trait within our CALLed to Think motto for teaching and learning.
This week I would like to share a sample of writing from Michael in 1B. All classes are challenged to write daily, often with a picture prompt and for only a short time. Michael was able to tell me he used an adverb start to make his writing more interesting. The topic was, ‘Should this be our new uniform.’ I thought he had a convincing argument!
It is always exciting to hear of student success and the teacher’s sense of pride when talking about their learners and their growth. Well done to all teachers and support staff for creating great enthusiasm for writing, reading, and numeracy along with all other learning areas. Also, a big thank you to parents for supporting our teachers and encouraging their child(ren) each day to do their best. Developing the traits of a Lourdes Learner has benefited student achievement and school culture. It is really noticeable and is making a difference. Have a great term.
Miranda
Miranda Murray
Assistant Principal
Faith & Religious Education News
Welcome back to Term 4. I hope everyone had a restful spring holiday and are ready for the next 8 weeks of fun filled OLOL action.
Congratulations to the OLOL P&F and the OLOL Parish for two great family events on the weekend. We were blessed with wonderful spring weather for both occasions. Lourdes on the Lawn was well attended and enjoyed by all on Saturday. Thank you to all the wonderful workers behind the scenes for their set up, manning BBQ’s, ride supervision, lolly, snow cone, soft drink and bar stalls. Finally, the many workers who stayed to clean up. I heard some very excited winners at the Chocolate toss and saw some wonderful dancers at the disco! The Parish Family Mass was also beautiful. It was great to see the three Mass congregations gathering for Mass and morning tea on Sunday. Weren’t those painted faces delightful!
The month of October is, regarded as the month of the Rosary so sharing a Hail Mary each day with your family is an enjoyable way to remember Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
October is also World Mission Month – Catholic Mission asks us to donate to support their work in troubled areas of our world. We had our Crazy Sock Day last term and the money we collected will go towards Catholic Mission. The Grade 6’s took a great photo of their crazy socks!
We also donated new socks to the Base Soup Kitchen and they were super impressed with our boxes of donations – Thank to our community for supporting this giving initiative.
In Week 3 and 4, it is Family and Health and Well-being Week. Each class will focus on the appropriate Personal Development programme for their year level. All families will receive a Sentral email outlining the topics of discussion. Please complete the acknowledgement of your email using the parent portal, so our teachers know you are aware the personal development programme is occurring. If you have any questions or queries about the topics your child’s class will explore, please contact your class teacher by Friday 14th October.
On Friday, 28th October it is our “Wear Red for Daniel” Day – A day when we remember the special messages, reminders, and advice of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Foundation. We explore ways to keep ourselves safe. Wear something that is “sun safe red” and bring a gold coin so we can support the Daniel Morcombe Foundation to continue in their quest to keep all children safe.
We have planned a "Red” walk to Newtown Park with our Little Miracles buddies.
The plan for the morning is:
- a talk from our Police family
- complete a walk around our Newtown Block
- then return to school for morning tea together.
Our Lourdes family is lucky to have some special police officers who will be coming along to encourage us all to Recognise, React and Report, if we feel we are in danger. Parent and Carers are welcome to join us - we leave the school at 9 am.
This term we are collecting non-perishable grocery, toiletry and Christmas items to make up hampers for our local St Vincent De Paul Chapter. If you wish to donate a gift card – that is also an option. The members of St Vincent De Paul have always been very grateful for the generosity of the community of OLOL. This is a way for us to support those less fortunate than ourselves, to enjoy a special Christmas. We plan to give these donations to members of our St Vincent De Paul Chapter at our 12 noon End of Year Mass on Friday 2nd December. Please send in your donations to your class teacher and thank you for supporting St Vincent De Paul in this way.
Please remember our Thursday Assemblies start at 1.50pm.
We have an assembly in Week 2 and 3 this term.
RE Dates for your diary
Friday 28th October – “Wear Red for Daniel Day” – gold coin donation
Tuesday 1st November – All Saints Day Mass at 10.00am - Years 3-6 in the OLOL Church
Friday 11th November – Remembrance Day 11.00am – School hall – lead by Year 6 Leadership groups
Wednesday 16th November - Year 3-5 Christmas Concert 11.00am - School hall (N.B. Note change of date and time)
Monday 21st November – Prep -2 Christmas Concert – 12.00 noon - School hall
Thursday 24th November – Year 6 Final Assembly - 12.00 noon – School hall
Tuesday 29th November – Year 6 Graduation – 6:30pm – OLOL Church
Friday 2nd December – End of Year Mass –12.00 noon – School Hall
Have a great week.
Janice
Janice Moore
Assistant Principal Religious Education (APRE)
We hope everyone had a restful break. There is so much to look forward to in Term 4.
Each year, at the beginning of Term 4 students complete PAT testing. PAT stands for Progressive Achievement Test. At Our Lady of Lourdes students complete three PAT tests in the areas of reading comprehension, spelling and Mathematics. PATs are designed to help teachers determine the progress a student is making from year to year.
Students complete multiple choice reading and Mathematics tests online. Spelling is completed online or on paper, depending on the year level. The content of the tests reflects the content of the curriculum. Test times range from 25 to 45 minutes according to the particular test. The tests are completed in the familiar environment of the classroom with technology students are familiar with. Ample time is provided to explain what to do and support students during testing.
Once completed, teachers, learning support and the middle leader will look at how students have progressed over the previous twelve months. PAT tests are just one source of information that will build a picture of your child for the teacher. This information, combined with other assessment and observations, is used to inform the appropriate support or extension during Term 4 and at the beginning of the new year.
Have a great fortnight, From Allyson and Maria in ‘The Hub’.
Allyson Jessen & Maria Kehoe
Learning Support Teachers
Prep
Welcome to Term 4 in Prep! It’s always a great term when we work at putting everything that we have learned into practice. Our Fairy Tale unit is lots of fun and finishes in Week 5 with a Fairy Tale Banquet.
Lots of events are coming up – please keep an eye on our classroom whiteboards and your child’s satchel. Both classes sent home newsletters last week with some important dates.
Weeks 3 and 4 are our Personal Development and Health and Well Being weeks. A note will go home outlining our program which culminates with our walk for Daniel on Friday 28th October. All parents welcome to join us.
Week 2 will see Prep LJW lead the school assembly in prayer on Thursday and Prep H will have their turn in week 3.
Keep on smiling,
Melita, Tabitha and Liz
Year 1
Last week, the year ones started the term by completing standardised tests in English, Maths and Spelling. All the children approached the testing with positive mindsets and coped well with the test conditions.
The date has been set for our Science Day. On Thursday, 27th October the year one children can come dressed as Scientists. Throughout this day, the children will be engaged in activities to investigate light and sound.
In weeks three and four of this term, the children will participate in Personal Development and Health and Well-being Weeks. A letter was emailed to parents outlining the content to be covered over the two weeks. Please read this and let your child’s teacher know if you would prefer that they not participate in the program.
Homework started this week. This term, our year one children have made a commitment to take ownership and responsibility for completing homework themselves and handing it in on time. Please take the time to check that homework has been completed.
Remember to keep reading at home. A reminder that our Library borrowing day is every Wednesday.
Have a lovely week.
Ange and Jenny
Jen and Ange
Year 2
Welcome to Week 2! It is hard to believe we are in our final term of the year. We have plenty of enjoyable learning experiences planned for the coming weeks. In Religion we are learning about unconditional love and of how forgiveness plays such an important role in any loving relationship. We read stories from the bible that tell us about how God loves us so much, that he forgives us when we are sorry.
In English we are learning how to write persuasively using strong arguments and high modality words. In Science we are studying life cycles and enjoying observing our meal worms and silk-worms, as they develop and transform their body shape over the coming weeks. In Hass we are studying the life and works of Angela Merici, who has a special connection to Our Lady of Lourdes. Angela started the organisation of the Ursuline nuns, whose work within our school for many years influenced our Catholic ethos. Angela’s story is based in Italy. She had an adventurous and fulfilling life helping those in need, and her legacy continues today as we strive to continue the spirit of Serviam in our school culture.
This term we will be venturing to The Darling Downs Zoo to enhance our Science unit on life cycles. More information will follow shortly. Wonderful Parent helpers will be once again called upon. We do appreciate your assistance and enjoy your company. Any queries don’t hesitate to ask. Enjoy the rest of the week!
Dennielle, Sarah, Aleisha
Year 3
What a great time we had at Cobb & Co on Monday, learning about so many different aspects of Science and it was great to have the chance for the students to explore and experiment.
This afternoon, we had a great dance liturgy – a huge thank you to Mrs Fisher who came this term and last term to teach us. The students showed great persistence and improvement over the semester and had a lot of fun.
A note has been emailed home regarding the Personal Development lessons that will begin next week – please contact your child’s teacher if you did not receive this information.
This term in English, we are exploring procedural texts and the students are practising following various styles of procedures. They will be writing their own procedures later in the term. In Maths, we have been exploring angles and symmetry and have been continuing to practise number facts. In Religion we have been exploring various prayers and have started to learn about heat energy in Science. Students have been enjoying some great Science lessons with Mr K.
Have a great week,
Angela, Sarah, Demi and Janice
Year 4
Welcome back to the busyness of Term 4! Week 1 started with a battery of standardised testing; many, many children have shown wonderful improvements over the year. This term in English, we will study persuasive text and in Science/HASS we study sustainability and properties of materials. Forming an opinion on how we care for our environment both here, at home and in our world in general will be a focus for discussion. As Lourdes Learners we are called to be Global Citizens and as Christians we are called to care for our common home.
Homework has been sent home as a booklet this term. It is to be returned on the same day as last Term – 4L and 4G on Wednesday and 4B on Fridays. Most children are finding that by doing a little each night, it is easily managed. Please complete the online form for Bicycle Safety – this note is due by Thursday this week. Year 4G will be going to Bike Safety on Monday and Friday next week, 4L will be attending on Tuesday and Thursday and 4B will go on Wednesday next week and the Monday of the following week. If you have any questions, please feel free to email your child’s teacher. Personal Development awareness note has also been sent out this week. If you have any concerns about this recommended part of the health curriculum, please contact your class teacher. Please remember we have a special “Wear Red for Daniel” Day on Friday 28th October – we ask you to bring a gold coin donation for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.
Here’s to a fast moving and productive term!
Year 4 Teachers.
Suzanne, Toni and Garry
Year 5
It is a little hard to believe that there are only 9 weeks of school left this year. They will go fast, and we will have a lot happening over the term. Below is an overview with key information.
Dates to be aware of:
- 17th - 19th October - Camp
- 28th October - Day of Daniel - Students to wear red
- 3rd November - Book Fair
- 11th November - Remembrance Day Assembly 11am
- 16th November - Yrs 3-5 Christmas Concert
- 17th November - Leadership Speeches
- 25th November - End of Year Disco
- 30th November - Swimming Carnival
- 2nd December - End of Year Mass @ 12pm
Curriculum Areas
Religion - students will focus on the inquiry question ‘How can prayer guide me in my life?’. How can prayer guide me in my life? During this unit students will analyse information from a variety of texts, including features of the Gospel texts to show how the Gospel writers shaped their Gospels for communities. Using the psalms, meditations, and prayers of the rosary the students would develop a sense of personal and communal prayer and worship. Students were given gifts of rosary beads as we learn about the rosary. These will go home with students at the end of term. Students will also look at other forms of prayer.
English - we will be completing reviews, with focus on the authors point of view using the metalanguage in the text. We will be looking at perspectives, including that of other cultures, religions, and world events.
Maths - students will complete short impact cycles impact:
- Impact 1 - 3D objects and 2D Nets
- Impact 2 - unknown quantities
- Impact 3- patterns with fractions, decimals, whole numbers
- Impact 4 - Volume & Capacity - units of measurements
Science – Matter Matters, students investigate the behaviour of gases and relate it to the properties of gases. They plan and perform an experiment to compare the viscosity of liquids, considering and controlling variables to ensure the experiment is a fair test. Finally, students investigate the effect of heating and cooling matter, using their practical observations of gases to make inferences for liquids and solids.
HASS - students focus on developing an understanding of why decisions need to be made when allocating resources for society's needs and wants. They study the various factors that influence them when making decisions and examine methods that can help with consumer decision making.
Math/Art/Technologies - Symmetry is all around us. Students will discover symmetry through real world examples that reflect symmetry in our everyday environment using art and technologies.
Camp - Week 3
Departure: Monday 17th October arrive at 6.30am and meet at undercover eating area near classrooms.
Bus will depart promptly at 7.00am.
- All medication to be handed to Mrs McKay
- medication to be in a clear zip lock bag, medication to be labelled with students name and dosage. Do not remove medication from packaging.
- Mrs McKay will be set up inside Mrs Coren's Classroom.
- Students will require Morning Tea - please pack a nutritious and substantial Morning Tea (they always seem to be hungry)
- We suggest students have a small backpack to take on the bus that has a water bottle, morning tea, reading book, small pencil case and small notepad (for writing/drawing). This can be utilised in quiet times while on camp also
- Reminder that there is no electronics (eg. phones, tablets, FitBits etc. ) and no watches (even if they are waterproof) - they will be confiscated
- No lollies!
Arrival back to OLOL: Wednesday 19th October - 4.30pm - if a change in schedule occurs we will provide updated arrival times via Sentral.
Personal Development Lesson - Week 3/4
A letter was sent home Monday this week regarding Personal Development and Sexuality Education lessons. These lessons will be presented during Week 3 and 4 of Term 4. They form a part of a larger unit of work and are part of the curriculum of this school and all schools across this diocese. They form part of the Personal Development and Health strands of the Health and Physical Education Australian Curriculum and follow the Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Toowoomba, Guidelines for Teaching Sexual Health.
School and Sports Captain Speeches - Week 7 - Thursday 17th November
This term is the final term before our Year 5 students are the leaders of the school. As you would be aware, these are discussions we have been having since the beginning of the year, with our first excursion to Emu Gully, demonstrating the importance of listening, collaborating and persistence in the face of challenge; being a member of the team and not being all about me. Consistently we have discussed these messages, and the importance of being a future role model.
Typically, speeches are held in Week 7. If your child wishes to go for both a school captain and sports captain position, they will need to prepare two speeches. For school captain positions, students must also prepare a student leadership letter for Mr Golightly, outlining why they believe they would be suited to this position. Encourage your child to think about their role as a Lourdes Learner, their involvement in the school community, and their commitment to fulfilling these positions.
Speeches must adhere to a 2-minute time limit for School Captain and 1 - 1.30 minute speech for House Captains. We encourage students to practice their speech and ensure that these time limits are met. If students require access to laptops to write their speeches, they are able to do so in their classroom in the morning. Teachers do not help students to write their speech but can offer advice.
Tim, Jess and Emily
Year 6
… and just like that, we’re coming down the home straight.
Camp: At the time of print, the Year 6s, Mrs Wigan, Mrs Coren, Ms Murray and Mr Golightly were living the good life up in Yeppoon. We’ll catch up with all their fun times in the next edition.
Qld Track and Field Championships: Maddy, Evie, Hayden and Jack have been representing the Darling Downs at the Qld Track and Field Championships in Brisbane. We’re looking forward to finding out about their individual performances.
Curriculum News:
- Re: How Do We Make Sense of the Jesus of Faith?
- English: Making Meaning of The Highwayman; SLAM Poetry
- Maths: Coordinates; Transformations; Capacity and Volume/ Metric Conversions
- HASS: Global Connections and Citizenship
- Science: Change
- Health: Transitioning
Important Dates:
- 28th October – Red Day for Daniel - students to wear red
- 1st November - All Saints Day Mass – 10.00am start
- 11th November - Remembrance Day Assembly 11.00am
- 16th November - Yrs 3-5 Christmas Concert
- 17th November - Leadership Speeches
- 24th November – Y6 Final Assembly – Midday start
- 25th November - End of Year Disco
- 29th November – Y6 Graduation – 6:30pm start
- 30th November - Swimming Carnival
- 2nd December - End of Year Mass at 12.00pm
Homework: Slight change to weekly homework – no reading log – students to continue reading each night.
Prep/Year 1 Photo: Final call for a Prep or Year 1 photo. Please email to your class teacher asap.
Larry, Kylie and Shauna
Italian - Year 5 and 6
Benvenuti in Italiano! (Welcome to Italian) This term year 5 and 6 will participate in an introduction to Italian by learning common greetings and phrases. I look forward to working with the students this term and introducing them to the wonderful Italian culture and language.
Signora Simmons
STEM
It’s hard to believe Term 4 is here already! We have settled into our new STEM space and commenced work on our final units for the year.
Preps have been reading the story “Rosie Revere, Engineer” by Andrea Beaty and learning to think like inventors and engineers by coming up with new ideas and ways to solve problems. We are building resilience along the way, by realising its ok if something doesn’t work or go to plan, as long as we keep trying!
In year 1, we are exploring light energy. We have been asking some inquiry questions like “What is light?”, “Where does it come from?” and “How does it travel?”. In the coming weeks, we will be conducting some research and scientific investigations to discover the answers!
The year 2’s are learning about our material world this term. They were challenged with a material sorting game to explore the characteristics and properties of a variety of materials. We will continue to investigate why different materials are used for different purposes, and finish off with a design challenge.
In year 3, students were excited to conduct experiments to investigate what would cause ice to melt faster or slower. We will apply this knowledge to design and build a device to keep things cool or stop them from melting.
The year 4’s enjoyed their first introduction to the microbits. They are keen to extend their coding skills in order to discover what fun activities and experiments they can do with them.
In Year 5, we will be making solar ovens and using the heat generated to change the state of matter. We will be experimenting by melting and cooking different things and measuring temperatures. Groups will be asked to bring in either a large cereal box or clean pizza box by Monday 24th October to make their ovens.
The year 6’s will use the greenhouses they built last term to conduct some vegetable growing experiments. They will code the microbits to collect data on sunlight levels, temperature and soil moisture within the greenhouses compared with outside.
Thankyou so much to all the families who sent in materials and cooking ingredients last term. We really appreciate all the support we receive from the OLOL community.
Laura
Laura Byrnes
Art
This term, Prep to year 2 will continue with art specialist lessons. The students are always eager to participate in activities and are producing some wonderful pieces of art.
Prep: Last week we explored several painting techniques to create a spring tree. This week in keeping with their fairy tale theme we will be collaging the infamous Big Bad Wolf!
Years 1: We have begun the term with the theme of Spring. Year one students have viewed art work by Kandinsky and inspired by his techniques have been working on a spring flower picture
Year 2: Year 2’s first piece is also based on the theme of spring. They are working with oil pastels to draw a beautiful sunflower inspired by Vincent Van Gogh.
Mrs Loretta Simmons
Drama
Congratulations to the following Year 5 and 6 students on their fabulous achievement in being selected to showcase their speaking pieces this term. It was a very close competition with so many students performing their Monologue (Year 6) and Duologue (Year 5) to a very high standard. Well done to all the students who prepared for this in our drama lessons last term, Mrs Holzheimer is very proud of you! Parents of the selected students will have been notified by classroom teachers about their upcoming performance at assembly. We hope you are able to join us at assembly to enjoy watching some of our budding performers on stage!
YEAR 5 – WEEK 2
5F
Sarah Dias & Layla Kelly – A Suitably Happy Ending
Harry Ryan & Flynn Burge - A Suitably Happy Ending
5M
Henry Simpson & Cody Humphrys – The Big Lie
Imogen Francisco & Mikayla Brasher – The Exam
YEAR 6 – WEEK 3
6M
Jay Cook – Californian Leprechaun
Majella Ford – Californian Leprechaun
6C
Madison Faranda - My Missing Skittles
Archer Thum - Timmy
6L
Bowie Ingram – My Missing Skittles
Amanda
Amanda Holzheimer
Term 4 Independent Stamina Reading
This term in borrowing we will be focusing on increasing our independent reading stamina. This means we are working on being focused on independent reading for growing.
Independent Readers
Congratulations to these Year 2 Readers who are now reading independently. Well Done!
Online Safety
Throughout the year there are times when we need to talk to children about the expectations in certain places. One of those places is the online world. Online Gaming, Social Media sites, chat rooms and messenger apps are places where children are communicating with others. Sites to help you navigate acceptable use at home include:
Parents | eSafety Commissioner
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
Common Sense Media: Age-Based Media Reviews for Families | Common Sense Media - Common sense media offer parents reviews of movies, games, books Apps and TV programs so you can be sure that what your child is doing is age appropriate.
At school we expect students to adhere to the Responsible Use of ICT expectations that were signed at enrolment or throughout the year. If you would like to review these documents for upper or lower primary, please get in contact with the office or email: Danielle.Leathart@twb.catholic.edu.au
Long-term Overdue Letters
Overdue letters were sent last term. Reimbursement costs for all items that were still outstanding on 6/10/2022 will be charged to Term Fees. If you have any issues you would like to discuss with Mrs Leathart please Email: Danielle.Leathart@twb.catholic.edu.au
Book Club
Issue 7 Catalogues have been handed out and orders are due by COB Wednesday 19th October 2022. There are some AMAZING Christmas Books. Stock up now! Don’t want your child/ren to know? Choose GIFT ORDER and we will notify you to collect rather than handing them out to your child/ren.
Check out the catalogue HERE Scholastic Book Club Issue 7 2022 by Scholastic Australia - Issuu
Enjoy your books,
Mrs Leathart & Mrs Monte
Upcoming Dates
Week |
Date |
Event |
Who |
1 |
7/10/2022 |
Friday Sport Commences |
Grades 5/6 |
2 |
14/10/2022 |
NO Friday Afternoon Sport |
Grades 5/6 |
4 |
28/10/2022 |
DD Aquathon |
|
7 |
18/11/2022 |
Last Week of Friday Sport |
Grades 5/6 |
8 |
25/11/2022 |
Grade 4 Soccer Gala Day (TBC) |
Grade 4 |
9 |
30/11/2022 |
OLOL Swimming Carnival |
Grades 3 to 6 |
Friday Night Basketball
Last Friday, a team of Year 5 and 6 Lourdes students participated in the interschool Friday night basketball competition, held at the Glennie School. The team played two games of 8-minute halves and came away with two wins, defeating St Mary’s 11-2 and Toowoomba Christian College 16-0. An excellent result for a team with no training or preparation. Thank you to the students and parents who were able to fill this team on such short notice.
I'm sure you are all aware by now that OLOL had the enormous honour of taking out first prize in the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers competition again this year, for best school garden. More importantly though, our boys in Garden Club won 'Best Student's Garden' very exciting, especially for the grade 6 boys, being their final year.
We were very fortunate this year to receive gift vouchers from Sungrown Nursery, True Blue Garden Centre, Highfields Garden Centre, Coroneos Nursery, McKinley Nursery, The Springs Garden Centre, Toowoomba Landscape Supplies, Garden City Landscape Centre and Toowoomba Mower Centre, just for entering the Carnival of Flowers. A very generous total value of $430.
We are currently over stocked with our little plants that the boys propagate, so are selling them all for 50c to $2. If you are interested, please see me or Sarah Kelly. Thank you to those of you who purchased plants during Lourdes on the Lawn on Saturday.
Jo
Pictured below: Rusell Campbell, the school garden judge with the boys. Rusell told me that he was very impressed with the boys' enthusiasm.