Guardian Angels' Newsletter Term 3 Week 5 2024

Coming Up

Week 6 | Term 3

Monday 12 August
Uniform Shop Open, 7.30am - 10.30am

Tuesday 13 August
Tuckshop Open (make up day for public holiday on Wednesday, order must be in by 7.30am)
Run Club, 8.05am
Principal Tour, 9.00am

Wednesday 14 August
Brisbane Ekka Public Holiday

Thursday 15 August
Free Dress Day
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Whole School Mass - Feast of the Assumption 9.00am
Uniform Shop Open, 1.00pm - 4.00pm

Friday 16 August
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Year 3-6 Dance
Bully! No Way! Day

Week 7 | Term 3

Monday 19 August
Uniform Shop Open, 7.30am - 10.30am

Tuesday 20 August
Run Club, 8.05am
Author Visit Philip Cox Year 3-6

Wednesday 21 August
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Auskick Prep - Year 3, 7.30am
Book Week Character Parade, 9.00am
Assembly, 1.50pm

Thursday 22 August
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Uniform Shop Open, 1.00pm - 4.00pm
Author Visit Jonathan Bently Prep - Year 2

Friday 23 August
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Year 3-6 Dance

Sunday 25th August
Angels on the Oval, 11.00am - 300pm

Week 8 | Term 3

Monday 26 August
Uniform Shop Open, 7.30am - 10.30am

Tuesday 27 August
Run Club, 8.05am
Confirmation, 5.00pm

Wednesday 28 August
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Auskick Prep - Year 3, 7.30am

Thursday 29 August
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Uniform Shop Open, 1.00p - 4.00pm

Friday 30 August
Pupil Free Day

From the Principal

Guardian Angels’ School Partnership Review (23rd August 2024)

Recently, I shared with you that we have the opportunity to welcome an expert review team to our school to facilitate our School Partnership Review.  This review is part of our Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) system priorities and is guided by the School Improvement Tool (NSIT).  This tool enables reflection and review on our efforts to continuously improve learning and teaching, wellbeing and engagement, in our school.   During this review process, we will be able to reflect on ‘what is working well’ and share in our school’s achievements and successes.  Additionally, we will be able to consider the areas that we want to build on and those that we are still working towards and identify some considerations for future planning. 

As we move towards our School Partnership Review, I had the opportunity to meet with our staff to consider the many aspects of our school’s Explicit Improvement Agenda (EIA). 

The 2024 EIA, has been intentional in narrowing the focus for the school’s learning and teaching agenda.  Together, we have worked to ‘Aim High and Fly’ and ‘plan for impact through targeted instruction by engaging in Design, Deliver, Determine ways of working; to work towards the target of 10% growth in student achievement levels from expected to above expected from Prep – Year 6 in English.

At the ‘Expo’ earlier in the year, we were able to share in EIA, with recent conversations with staff enabling reflection on each EIA phase below:

• Phase 1:  Clarity of curriculum planning processes and documentation to engage students in learning.
• Phase 2A: Design assessment tasks and learning sequences for writing that cater for many levels of achievement (for, as & of learning).
• Phase 2B: Engage in moderation phases aligning evidence of student learning to the AC achievement standard, to inform responsive teaching practices (differentiation) and to make judgements

These conversations aligned to our achievements in relation to the goals and targets that we established at the start of the 2024 school year, and that contribute to our Annual Improvement Plan. 

During the review, staff, students, and a representation of our parent community will engage in brief 25-minute conversations with one of the panel members.  The discussions will relate to the effectiveness of the implementation of School Improvement Tool Domains that are being reviewed.

Our School's Partnership Review will have a specific focus on:

• Domain 1: Driving an Explicit Improvement Agenda
• Domain 6: (EIA Focus) Leading Systemic Curriculum Implementation
• Domain 2: Analysing and discussing data

Our school and BCE look forward to talking to our parents and the wider school community to ensure that the opportunities for improvement directly benefit our students and sustain the long-term success of our school.   We are committed to supporting students in their learning journey and joining with parents to enable students to achieve the best possible learning outcomes.

I look forward to sharing further updates with you in the coming weeks.

Kind regards
Veronica Tomerini-Smith
Principal

From the Assistant Principal Administration

Good afternoon lovely families,

Thank you all so much for the beautiful welcomes I have received this week. Returning from Long Service Leave on Monday, it was so special to see your beautiful children again.

FREE DRESS DAY NEXT THURSDAY 15 AUGUST

On Sunday 25 August, our beautiful school community will celebrate ANGELS ON THE OVAL; a great event organised and hosted by our fabulous P&F. 

The SUPER FUN CHOCOLATE TOSS features at Angels on the Oval. This always proves very popular with our beautiful angels.

To help boost our chocolate supply, we are having FREE DRESS DAY NEXT THURSDAY 15 AUGUST. 

Students can wear free dress to school, and we ask that they bring along some chocolate that will be used at the Chocolate Toss.

Students can bring:

• chocolate bars
• blocks of chocolate
• bags of individual chocolates eg Kit Kat, Mars etc

It will be a wonderfully colourful day here at school on Thursday 15 August if all students wore free dress and brought along the chocolates to help support Angels on the Oval. 

Please remember that free dress days at school include:

1. sensible, closed in shoes (their school sports shoes are perfect for days such as this)
2. sun safe clothing ie shirts must have sleeves and full coverage (ie no midriff tops)
3. SCHOOL HATS must still be worn

STUDENT FREE DAY

Every year in Term Three, schools throughout the Brisbane Catholic Education diocese have a Professional Development Day which is a STUDENT FREE DAY.  We use this as a valuable professional opportunity to work together to strengthen teaching and learning practices throughout our school.

This student free day generally falls on the Friday of Week 8 in Term Three each year.

This year, the STUDENT FREE DAY is FRIDAY 30 AUGUST  (Week 8).

Schools will not be open for students on this day so please ensure arrangements have been made to support your family. Those families associated with OSHC and who may require student care for Friday 30 August, please contact OSHC directly to make those arrangements.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS – TERM THREE

In the second last week of this term (Week 9), we will again be offering formal Parent Teacher Interview opportunities. These interviews are wonderful opportunities for parents to catch up with their child/ren’s teacher/s and celebrate the students’ successes and achievements. It is also allows for important discussion regarding ways that we, as a team, can support our students in areas of strength, challenge and with relationships with others. I always recognise how busy your lives are and it can sometimes be difficult to schedule opportunities to meet with the teachers, so I will flag these dates with you now. Monday 2 – Friday 6 September will be the week where Parent Teacher Interviews will be offered to our parents.

Parent Teacher Interviews are easily booked through the PTO (Parent Teacher Online) link in the Parent Portal. I will open these interview times to parents on Monday 19 August. You will have until Wednesday 28 August to book an interview time.

DANCE CONCERT YEARS 3-6

Friday 6 September (Week 9), our older angels (students in Years 3-6) will showcase their groovy dance moves in the Superstars Dance Concert.

Our students in Years 3, 4 and 5/6 have been grooving and dancing with our friends from SUPERSTARS every Friday throughout Term Three. They are ready to show you their amazing talents in one of the most joyous and fun-filled school events of the whole year. Our families and friends are invited to join with us on Friday afternoon (6 September)  to share in this great celebration of their learning. Please find the details below:

When:   Friday 6 September 2024

Where: MC Shed

Time:    2:15pm

School Entry: Pine Street gate (closest to the tuckshop)

What to bring: chairs/seating  The green tiered seating (running sideways down the shed) is also available for your convenience. 

Dear parents, please take a moment to read and be familiar with the following important information in preparation for our wonderful dance concert in Week 9:

1. Every family has its own story/ways of working. At times, part of this story is reflected in the choices our parents make as advocates for their beloved children. This is particularly relevant in the choices our parents make regarding privacy and consent. Please do not video or photograph the performances. While I understand this is very difficult; especially when not all family members are able to be present, it is of utmost importance that we all respect every parents' right to make choices they deem appropriate and important for their child/ren. I would be most grateful if you could inform all family members who attend the concert of this very important requirement. 

1. All students will return to their classrooms at the conclusion of the dance concert to finish their school day with end-of-day processes/procedures. I have tried to time the concert appropriately (start time 2:15pm) so that it should finish quite close to 3:00pm. This should allow time for our students to return to their classrooms, engage in the end-of-day procedures, collect their bags and make their way to their collection points eg Pick Up Zone, Shed area etc. We respectfully ask that, without valid reason, parents do not seek to have their child/ren signed out through the office/s at the conclusion of the concert. This can cause undue chaos as appropriate safety protocols are always followed as per our responsibility to your child.  I am hopeful that, by adjusting the start time slightly, the concert should finish close to 3:00pm, ensuring our dear parents will not have too long to wait for their child/ren to finish the school day. Ultimately this will also ensure that each one of our students is safely and soundly accounted for at all times. 

Be sure to pencil the Years 3-6 Dance Extravaganza into your diary and come along if you can. Friday 6 September at 2:15pm in the MC Shed. This one is not to be missed!

SCHOOL PHOTOS

The school photos have been delivered to school and I will work to disperse them tomorrow (Friday).

Blessings to you all for the coming weeks

Nicole Waller

From the Assistant Principal Religious Education

Illustrating Integrity: Art competition for Year 5 and 6 students

Our Year 5 and 6 students were invited to show us what integrity means to them.  To inspire students in their thinking, the student Integrity Video was shared with students, which has some wonderful insights from BCE students and makes connections to BCE value of Integrity.

All competition entries will be valued and showcased in some way. Up to three finalists will be selected based on creativity, design, and originality. The designs of finalists will feature on printed affirmation cards, as part of the BCE-wide staff recognition program and the winning entry will receive a party for their classmates.

We are very excited to share that Olivia Jones one our Year 6 students has been named a finalist for her artwork.  We can’t wait to hear if she has created the winning entry!  Well done Olivia!

Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

“Never see a need without doing something about it”

Tomorrow, we celebrated the feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia’s first saint. Mary MacKillop is credited, together with Fr Julian Tenison Woods, as the founder of the Sisters of St Joseph. Together they provided education for children from poor families, who otherwise would not have been able to attend school. Mary MacKillop fought many hardships in her life, including the deaths of her siblings and mother, and being ex communicated at one stage. She was a truly amazing woman and a pioneer in education and faith in Australia. In 2010 she was officially granted the title of Saint, becoming known as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Please feel free to visit the Sisters of St Joseph’s website to read more about this remarkable woman.

https://www.sosj.org.au/

Feast of The Assumption

Next Thursday, we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption, this is a Holy Day of Obligation.  On this day we acknowledge when Mary, the mother of Jesus was assumed into Heaven and crowned. We take this time to remember the amazing sacrifice that Mary made and the confidence that she had in our God, when she accepted her role to be the mother of Jesus Christ.

To acknowledge this day you may wish to pray with an icon of Mary.  Lectio Divina is a popular prayer. Simply follow these easy steps.

1. Find a place where you can be quiet, comfortable and attentive
2. Ready – still comfortably and focus on your breathing
3. Read – take time to look at the icon, see “more”
4. Read and reflect – what is the icon calling you to be? What do you hear?
5. Read and respond – journal your thoughts, write your prayer
6. Read and rest – let the icon rest in your heart
7. Be – be with your thoughts. Give time for this to happen

Confirmation

Over the next couple of weekends some of our students will complete a worship in preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.  We keep these students in our prayers and we look forward to celebrating with them as they receive their sacrament.

Class Mass Timetable – Term 3

This term we are excited to continue our class masses.  We will be combining our class masses with sacred singing and over the remainder of the year all classes will have a chance to host Mass in our beautiful church.

Below are the dates, time of mass and hosting classes, we hope to see you there.

God bless and take care,
Rhiannon

From the Primary Learning Leader

Teaching and Learning at Guardian Angels’

As part of the school’s EIA (Explicit Improvement Agenda) our teachers plan with the end in mind. They Design assessment tasks and learning sequences for writing that cater for many levels of achievement. They Deliver the Australian Curriculum through engaging learning sequences, using the Third Teacher to support the learning. Students are aware of what they are learning and the next steps they need to take to move their learning forward. To Determine where the students are at with their learning, our teachers participate in the moderation process.

This week we have have commenced the second phase of the moderation process – the during phase. Within this phase our teachers come together to:

• Work collaboratively to review their planning
• Ensure they have a thorough understanding of the targeted aspect of the achievement standard being assessed
• Share student work samples representing evidence at each level of achievement.

Our teachers then come together as a year level team during MMAs (Measure Monitor Act) to establish a teaching response to move students’ learning forward.

In week eight our teachers will come together for the final phase of the moderation process – the after phase where our teachers make judgements about the evidence of learning (writing samples) based on agreed criteria that aligns with the achievement standard.

Our Moderation process is thorough and involves our teachers engaging in professional conversations about their learners. This process not only allows teachers to reflect on the teaching and learning that occurs, but also ensure consistency across our year levels.

ICAS – The window for purchasing ICAS tests is now closed. Please note that although schools can continue purchasing assessments, this is not relevant to our school.

BOOKWEEK Week 7 – READING IS MAGIC

Our annual Book Week parade will be held on Wednesday 21^st August at 9am in the shed. This year’s theme is Reading is Magic. We are looking forward to this exciting event and seeing lots of fun and creative costumes!!

As part of our Book Week celebrations, we have two presenters visiting our school.

On Tuesday 20th August we have Poet Philip Wilcox visiting our Year Three – Year Six students.

Philip Wilcox is an awarded and published full-time poet, touring nationally and internationally. He is an Australian Poetry Slam champion and two-time New South Wales Poetry Slam champion who has performed everywhere from the Tedx stage, the Sydney Opera House and writing festivals all over the world.

Philip delivers a performance of kids’ poems from his forthcoming book Secret Notes on an Alien Planet. The show is packed with audience participation, jokes, and even some illustrations from the book. The arc of the performance tells the story of the alien landing, finding a family, learning about the world and then returning home. The poems are silly and fun, and maybe sometimes a little poignant.

On Thursday 22nd August we have Author/ Illustrator Jonathan Bentley visiting our Prep – Year Two students.

Jonathan has illustrated over fifty books for authors including Shaun Micallef, Margaret Wild, Patrick Guest, Andrew Daddo, Lian Tanner, Glenda Millard, P. Crumble, and Jo Kasch. He has also written and illustrated eleven books of his own. His books have been translated into many foreign languages and are enjoyed by children around the world.

Jonathan has been shortlisted for several awards including CBCA awards, the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, and the ABIA awards. The picture book Ella and the Ocean, written by Lian Tanner won The NSW Premier’s Literary Award in 2020 and the Tasmanian Premier’s Literary Award in 2022.

Jonathan’s artwork is in the collection at the National Museum, Canberra, and at the Mazza Museum at the University of Findlay, Ohio.

Bullying No Way: National Week Of Action 12th – 16th August, 2024.

The National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence has a new name – Bullying No Way: National Week of Action. Purple is the new hero colour representing Bullying No Way: National Week of Action and our commitment to standing against bullying.

Bullying No Way Week occurs between the 12^th - 16^th August 2024. It is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative and connects schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying.

The theme for Bullying No Way Week in 2024 is ‘Everyone Belongs.’ Belonging means we all have a role in preventing bullying. We’re encouraged to speak up and create a safe place where everyone feels supported and respected, and our voices are heard and valued. It’s about embracing who we are, respecting everyone’s differences and standing up together against unkindness.

At Guardian Angels’, ‘LIVING the GA Way’ reminds us about the choices that we make in our relationships with others, including how we treat others and how we show and encourage respect. This approach means working together to solve problems in a way that enables a sense of strong community connections.

The Bullying. No Way! website provides wonderful resources for schools and parents. This website has produced a range of fact sheets for families and students which you can find below:

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/resources/fact-sheets

Renae Haggitt
Guidance Counsellor (Mon-Wed)

Student Awards

Congratulations to the following students, who received a LIVE the GA Way Award at assembly.

These students demonstrate the LIVE the GA Way in all they do and say:

Xavier B, Hannah S, Anouk W, Isabella P, Corben W, Harrison S, Sophie B, Zoe B, Jessie P, David D, Siena K, Mason K, Emerald C, Hayden B, Samuel W, Hannah F, Louise I, Nicholas M, Jack J, Laura P, Lockie N, Emilia M, Ellie M, Ellie B, Cohen M, Arianna S, Kai T, Arabella Q, Alfie B, Madison V, Julius W, Christian C, Bella B, Sophie P, Ash G, Isabel H, Archer O, Ivy H, Jasmine C, Cruz M, Delilah G, Freddie Z, Lyla S, Remy S, Harrison L, Savannah T, Charlotte B. 

School Fees Reminder

This is a courtesy reminder that Term 3 school fees were due for payment by Friday 2 August. Thank you to those families who have already made payments or who have arrangements in place.

If you have not paid your school fees, we ask that you do so as soon as possible or contact the Finance Office to make payment arrangements.

If you have not received a copy of your statement, please check your junk/spam email folder. If you require another copy of your statement, please request by emailing pwynfinance@bne.catholic.edu.au.

Please always feel free to contact the Finance Office should you ever have any questions.

Kind regards
Amy Hardisty – Finance Officer

Angels on the Oval

Volunteer information is coming soon!

Second-Hand Uniform Pop Up

Second-hand uniforms will be available to purchase on: 

Monday 12th August 7.45am - 8.15am

Each item is $5 cash sales only.
Please visit the Uniform Shop at Guardian Angels Campus.  

Need items outside of shop times? 
Please email pwynnum@bne.catholic.edu.au with what you need &
one of our amazing parent volunteers will order this for you.  

From the Community