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Ms Angela Gilbert / Mrs Sarah Jackman
Mr Garry Birch / Mr Chris Golightly
Dear Parents
Now that the excitement of the beginning of a new school year has worn off, some of the routines of school life start to become a little mundane for some at this time of term. Usually, one of the first things that begin to fade at this time of term is students and parents attitudes towards homework. Parents need to dig deep and keep an optimistic outlook. For most classes, there are only about 3 more weeks of homework left, but for some, this may seem like an eternity. However, by concentrating on encouraging students to keep going and setting a goal, the reward at the end is two weeks holiday.
Homework always has and always will be a source of frustration in many households around the country if not the world...so you’re not alone on this one! However, why is it so that some families struggle with homework more than others? The answer to that question is simple…. set a clear and consistent expectation and routine right from the start and place a high value on completing homework activities on time.
Homework is a common expectation for most primary school children. The nature of the activities will vary between different schools and for different ages, so it is best to discuss expectations with your child’s teacher. This would have been covered in the recent parent information PowerPoints that were forwarded home a few weeks ago.
Homework causes more headaches for parents than it does for children. Some parents worry because their children don’t seem to do enough while others are concerned because they are given too much. Others are concerned that their child will get into big trouble if it is not done, and a minority (gladly) don’t feel homework is important and provide excuses for their children. My advice…do this at your own peril. Kids who are in routine and who make a commitment to their learning have a far greater chance of success when they enter secondary school. You will make a rod for your own back if you allow your kids to avoid such commitments.
Homework is very much a part of secondary education however primary schools vary in their approach. As a general rule, little formal work is given to children in the first couple of years of schooling. But as they progress, the amount of homework increases. Here at Lourdes, we have a clearly defined homework policy and set tasks should be an extension of work covered in class or revision. In other words, unless a student has been absent from school, the excuse of “I don’t know what to do”, is not completely accurate. Completion of projects in older year levels is never given at the last moment. The students are always provided with criteria sheets with more than enough class and home time for their completion.
As your children progress through the grades, parents need to become a little redundant when it comes to assisting with homework. Most kids in Grades 5 & 6 are more than capable of completing homework tasks own their own. They can access online activities which cater to individual learning styles, and I know for a fact that their teachers make themselves available during lunch hours or before school to assist anyone student who may require assistance. Also, in most year levels, students have seven days to complete the set tasks.
Talking with students last week in Year 5, they all agreed that they can easily complete all their homework over one or two afternoons if they put their mind to it…. not a huge commitment by any means. As I said to the Year 5 cohort recently, your teachers have put in the effort, it is only right to repay the favour and put the effort in yourself to get it done.
There has been considerable debate over the last decade about the value of homework for primary-aged children. Most educators agree that reading and repetition of learning basics are the most valuable homework that a child can do and should become a daily habit for children. "Repetition is the mother of memory." Other benefits include reinforcement of topics covered at school, an opportunity for parents to gain an idea of what is being taught in class, and help establish a regular study routine in preparation for secondary school study expectations.
If you have concerns about how much homework your child is set or the level of difficulty, please contact your child’s teacher and arrange a time to discuss your worries. Such discussion is the basis of a true partnership between you and your child’s teacher.
Late for School:
I wish to stress the importance of arriving at school on time. Being consistently late for school has a similar negative effect on a student’s progress to that of absenteeism, as they miss initial instruction and spend less time improving their skills, especially as most classes commence reading groups shortly after the bell. Late arrivals disrupt lessons, other students, and routine. As I mentioned before, being punctual for school, appointments, sports training etc. is part of common courtesy and showing respect for others. Being regularly late indicates that you do not place importance on the event that you are attending. Regular late comers give the impression that they do not value the time and effort put in by the teacher, coach etc. in preparing lessons for the class or team.
As with absenteeism, there will be times when being late is unavoidable. However, these instances should only occur on the rare occasion.
With this in mind, I certainly urge all parents to continue the great work that occurs in households each morning to ensure your children are fully prepared for the day ahead and arrive at school on time. This will provide them with a definite advantage to achieving ongoing success in the years to come.
School Fees:
Families should have received their first school fee invoices for the year. Invoices will be forwarded home electronically each term, instead of hard copy every month. Please double check your emails and if you haven’t received one, contact the office asap. We have several options for families to pay these fees. Please don’t hesitate to contact the office to arrange internet banking, direct debit, repayment plans etc. It is vital that all families meet their financial commitment to the school. Not only is the regular payment of fees a condition of enrolment, school fees are the school’s major source of income. Consequently, our ability to continually provide the best possible staffing levels and student resources rely heavily on your timely payment of school fees and levies.
Why do school fees exist?
They exist because non-government schools which include Catholic schools, only receive approx. 75% of the funding per student from the Federal Government of the total cost associated with per-student funding in Government schools. School fees and levies exist to bridge the funding shortfall. Ed. Qld schools are fully funded by the State Government. The majority of funding for Catholic Schools is sourced from the Federal Government.
Where do school fees & levies go?
As mentioned before, the fees and levies you pay are our major source of income and are directed towards additional teacher and support staff wages, classroom resourcing, IT upgrades, building & grounds maintenance, library and curriculum resourcing, and of course general operating and administrative expenses such as insurance, rates, electricity etc.
Families also need to keep in mind that the school has always strived to keep fees and levies to an absolute minimum. When you consider the resourcing levels and amount of free of charge opportunities available for students here at OLOL, the level of fees is extremely reasonable. Of course, we do understand that from time to time, families fall into financial hardship. Our fees and levies are not designed to be a burden on any family. All we ask is that you contact the office and make an appointment to come in and discuss alternative payment options or concessions.
Parking:
Another plea for parents to be conscious of where you park within the school precinct. This week a local resident who is a doctor was unable to make it to the hospital on time due to a car blocking the driveway. Oher vehicles have been spotted parking on footpaths where children and parents walk. This is highly dangerous. Please utilize the stop, drop and go zone if you cannot find a park when dropping your children at school. This is by far the safest option. The police have been informed and will be conducting random checks of the school precinct over the next few weeks.
New Families:
Due to the COVID regulations, we had to postpone several of our traditional beginning of the year events including the annual welcoming BBQ and disco. This popular event will now be held at the beginning of Term 2 on Friday 6th May. In the meantime, all our new families will receive an invite this week to come along to a social meet and greet at the school on Friday 11th March, 5.30pm to 7.00pm.
I hope you can come along as it will be a great opportunity to meet staff, P&F reps and other new faces.
Leadership Assembly:
Our first formal gathering of the term will be our annual Leadership Assembly which will be held Thursday 10th March in the Church at 2:00 p.m. Due to the existing restrictions of numbers inside the Church, only Year 5 and 6 students and staff will attend. The Year Six students can bring along two family members for this special occasion. The Year Six students will head off on their Leadership Day on Friday 11th to Mt. Tambourine.
Cross Country Training:
Just a reminder about cross country/ fitness training for all interested students in Grades 3-6 at Newtown Park, weather permitting each Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings commencing at 7:30 a.m. This is a great opportunity for kids to increase their fitness and prepare for the upcoming cross-country carnival in the last week of term. It also greatly assists with traffic congestion during the normal drop-off time at the school.
Thanks for reading...
Chris
Mr Chris Golightly
Principal
Prep 2023 Enrolments
Any current families who have siblings looking to enter Prep in 2023 (children born 01 July 2017 to 30 June 2018), would you please complete and submit your enrolment form as soon as possible. This will greatly assist us with our number allocations of new families looking at joining our school family and community next year.
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.
Paying School Fees
School Fees for Term 1 2022 were emailed out to all families on Thursday 17th February. If you have not received your copy, please check your junk/spam folders to ensure your statement has not ended up there before contacting the school office for assistance.
Fees can be paid either via BPay, Internet Banking, Credit Card, Eftpos or Cash payments.
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 Biller Code: 310417 and your family account reference will be noted underneath (as noted in the following 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. How to find these details is highlighted in the below example.
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, please contact Hazel or Carla in Admin on 4591 1200 or email accounts@ololtwb.catholic.edu.au
With thanks
The Admin Team
Hazel & Carla
Writing Improvement
In the last newsletter, I wrote about our shift in focus to writing improvement. We are deliberately making connections to the reading improvement strategy and our numeracy project which we have focused on in recent years. This ensures consistency and transfer of learning. For example, our work during the numeracy project on developing mathematical mindsets and persisting through the learning pit, is transferrable to building writing mindsets and a love of writing.
With a focus on writing, we have subscribed to the Write that Essay program. This program provides students the opportunity to enhance their writing skills with an interactive online tool. Students learn and practice implementing different writing skills and sentence types to engage their reader.
Along with interactive modules and activities that teachers can use with their whole class, the Writer’s Toolbox is a classroom coach, with artificial intelligence assessing writing quality and providing instant feedback on individual student writing. The instant feedback guides students to enhance the quality of their writing with prompts to include different sentence lengths and vary the sentence types. So far, the students and teachers are enjoying using the interactive tool and we can see students making an effort to improve their communication skills with writing.
Family Writing Challenge!
How did you go with the family writing challenge? This week, try another six sentence story about being a Lourdes Learner in the new school building.
A sample scaffold could be:
- The first sentence begins with a sizzling start about the main character or subject.
- The second sentence describes the character or subject.
- The third sentence adds another character or subject description.
- The fourth sentence describes a problem.
- The fifth sentence explains how the character felt or develops the problem further.
- The final sentence details how the problem was solved.
Give it a go! Writing is meant to be fun and a great way to communicate. See how well you can entertain a reader with a six-sentence story. Please send stories to me and if you’re happy, we can put it on display or share in the newsletter.
Have a great week.
Miranda
Miranda Murray
Assistant Principal
miranda.murray@twb.catholic.edu.au
Faith & Religious Education News
Last Wednesday afternoon the families involved with Confirmation and First Eucharist Preparation for 2022, gathered for the first Parent Information meeting. Family groups have been formed and will be starting their preparation. If you have any questions or queries, please call the Parish office on 07 4634 1453 or call in between 9:00am -1:00pm weekdays. The Parish can be emailed using olol.parish@bigpond.com
Yesterday we celebrated Shrove Tuesday by having a Pancake morning and wasn’t it a fabulous morning. A big thank you to the families who donated pancake mix, syrup, plates and serviettes so we could run our pancake morning, also thank you to our Year 6 leaders and OLOL staff who ably cooked and sold pancakes for all who came along – all money raised starts our 2022 Caritas Lenten donation. Please enjoy the photos we took of our morning below.
Today we had our Ash Wednesday prayer in our individual classrooms. Pope Francis has asked us to remember, in our prayers, those who suffer from poverty and war.
It would be great if families could spare 50c each Friday for Lent for “50c Friday”. It would be wonderful if we can send a sizable donation to help the Caritas organisation so they can continue helping others in need. Each class has a Caritas collection box on their prayer table.
Next Thursday, 10th March 2022, the Year 6 leaders will be formally presented with their Leadership Badges at a special assembly in the OLOL church starting at 2:00pm. Year 5 will be joining the Year 6’s during this assembly and the Year 6 leaders will be allowed to invite 2 guests to attend this special assembly.
St Patrick’s Green Coloured Clothes Day is on Thursday 17th March – remember to wear your wackiest sun safe Green outfit and bring a Gold coin donation. We will be supporting Caritas and St Vincent De Paul on this day. Year 2D will presenting the assembly attended by Years 1-4.
There will be no assembly in Week 9 due to it being swimming week.
Date for your Diary – Our End of Term 1 Mass for Years 3 - 6 is on Friday 1st April at 12 noon in OLOL Church.
Prayer for Lent from Pope Francis:
Janice
Janice Moore
Assistant Principal Religious Education (APRE)
Last week we started applying the Response to Intervention Model. This model was explained in our previous newsletter. We worked in some classrooms (Tier 1) and took some Tier 2 and 3 groups. This intervention will continue to the end of this term. The program will then be re-evaluated in readiness for Term 2.
Another aspect of Tier 1 intervention is working with classroom teachers. We have been working with classroom teachers on their Planning for Personalised Learning (PfPLs). Please see below parent information explaining what this means for your child.
Dyslexia - how you can help
(5 - 11 YEARS)
Lots of kids have trouble with reading and spelling, but some kids continue to struggle even though they are bright and able to learn. This can be a sign that they have dyslexia or a learning difficulty. Find out more about dyslexia and what you can do to help if your child has dyslexia or a learning difficulty.
What is dyslexia?
The word ‘dyslexia’ comes from the Greek language and means difficulty with words. Dyslexia is a learning disorder that makes it difficult for people to match letters with sounds when reading and spelling, despite having the ability to learn.
Kids with dyslexia may see some letters backwards or upside down, see the text jumping on the page, or have difficulty seeing the difference between letter shapes. But having dyslexia doesn’t mean that they cannot learn – kids with dyslexia just learn in a different way. Individuals with dyslexia can be very intelligent and creative. Some famous people with dyslexia who went on to accomplish outstanding things as adults include the author Lewis Carroll, film director Steven Spielberg, astronomer Galileo Galilei, and entrepreneur Richard Branson.
What are the signs?
Children that have dyslexia or a learning difficulty will often:
- have difficulty learning letter sounds
- read slowly and make lots of mistakes
- have poor spelling
- be reluctant to read.
If you notice some of these behaviours in your child, it could be an indication that they may have dyslexia or a learning difficulty.
What can you do?
If you think your child might have dyslexia or a learning difficulty, here are some things you can do to help:
Talk to their teacher
If you’re worried that your child is having trouble with reading and spelling, talk to their teacher. They will be able to tell you if they have noticed the same issues with your child’s learning and can make sure your child is getting the support they need at school. The school may do an assessment with your child to identify any learning difficulties and provide some extra support in the classroom. If your child would benefit from support or adjustments in the classroom, this is something that could also be arranged in consultation with your school.
Talk to your doctor
Sometimes learning difficulties can be caused by underlying hearing or vision problems. Arrange for a check-up with your GP to test your child’s sight and hearing. They may also be able to refer you to a specialist for a learning difficulty assessment if it is not able to be done through the school (although there will likely be a cost involved for a private assessment).
Engage their senses!
For kids with reading difficulties like dyslexia, the use of sight, hearing, movement and touch can be helpful for learning. Try this activity using sight, touch and sound to help your child connect letters and their sounds – encourage your child to use their finger to write a letter or word in sand or shaving cream, saying the sound each letter makes as they write. Then encourage them to blend those sounds together and read the whole word aloud.
Use their strengths
Just because your child may have troubles with their reading and spelling doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of other things they can do really well! Try to use your child’s strengths and interests to help with their literacy learning. If your child loves to draw, perhaps you could read a story aloud to them and ask them to draw a picture of the main character. Or if they love drama, you could try role playing a different ending together.
Celebrate the wins!
Remember to praise your child for their successes and their efforts. If they have managed to read a word correctly, tell them they’ve done a great job! If they tried really hard but were not able read a word, tell them you’re proud of their efforts and help them to sound it out correctly. Letting your child know that you support them will help boost their confidence and encourage them to keep trying their best.
If you would like some more information on dyslexia and what you can do to help, check out:
- The Australian Federation of Specific Learning Difficulties (AUSPELD) website. AUSPELD have a range of resources to help families better understand dyslexia and other learning difficulties, as well as state-based organisations which provide support to people with learning difficulties and disabilities.
- The Raising Children Network website has a range of resources on learning disabilities.
(Taken from www.learningpotential.gov.au)
Until next time…
Allyson and Maria
Mrs Kehoe and Mrs Jessen
Learning Support Teachers
‘Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Prep
Well done everyone - we have settled in nicely to our Prep routine and our rotations and work groups are working well. We now know what a classroom looks like, feels like and sounds like which will assist in our learning behaviours.
Homework is going well - now is a good time to start a homework routine and please always remember reading the bedtime story is very important. It’s fun to find our sight words or the letters we know in our story.
We begin the season of Lent this week. Lent is our preparation time leading up to Easter. We follow the story, Have you filled a bucket? Each class will send home a note explaining how we build our bucket tree.
Our class pets arrived last week - two axolotls and some guinea pigs. We care for them for two weeks and then get two different ones. This is part of our science unit, Staying Alive.
At the end of this term, we will meet for a formal interview - notes will go home shortly with date and time.
Please make sure all jumpers and jackets are named.
Thank you,
Melita, Tab and Liz
Year 1
Welcome to week 6 everybody. We are really pleased with how Grade 1 are becoming Lourdes Learners by acting, thinking, and participating in the learning. They are understanding their routines and demonstrating great listening skills.
Our snail habitats have been made and the rain has seen an increase in the number of snails being observed and brought in to stay in the grade one classrooms. This week the children will sketch a snail and then they will take a closer look at the features using magnifying glasses. Work on their habitats commenced in STEM this week, students appeared very engaged on the task.
At home, continue the school learning by practicing skip counting by 10’s forwards and backwards from 0 to 100.
Jen and Ange
Year 2
Welcome to Week 6! After a very rainy week we are enjoying our playtime outside in the lovely sunshine. Our Science unit is well underway, and we are exploring our wonderful earth and finding out about natural resources. We are learning about the water cycle, our precious minerals and the importance of using our resources wisely.
In Maths we continue to brush up on our addition and subtraction number facts, place value and something that we all love, counting money. Allowing your child to experience using money, will help consolidate their skills. We have been working hard on our addition strategies such as using friendly numbers to help make addition easier.
In English over the next few weeks, we will begin to focus on the features of information reports. We will begin our research of an Australian animal.
In Hass we are journeying around Australia and in art we are creating Aboriginal artworks. We have made our Lenten promises for Religion and hopefully we are remembering to try hard to keep those promises, in preparation for Easter.
There is an important update regarding PE days and when to wear the sports uniform in Year 2. As of Week 7 (next week) and moving forward, the children will be required to wear their sports uniform on WEDNESDAY, not Tuesday, due to a change in our PE time.
Let us know if you have any queries or concerns.
Dennielle, Sarah, Aleisha
Year 3
This week, we have marked the beginning of Lent with our Shrove Tuesday pancake morning and a year-level liturgy for Ash Wednesday today. Each day during Lent, we will look at ways we can serve others and be the best people we can be.
In Maths this week, we are continuing to look at addition, subtraction and number patterns. In English, we are exploring persuasive language and are beginning to apply our knowledge to persuasive paragraphs. In Science, we are finishing our exploration of the states of matter and various ways we can heat and cool materials and we are exploring various celebrations around the world in HASS.
From next week, our PE lesson day will change – students are to wear their sports uniforms now on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Have a great week!
Ange, Demi, Sarah and Janice
Year 4
Here we are in Week 6! We hope that everyone is safe and recovered from the enormous amount of rain we received last weekend. What an unbelievable start to the year and yet we are already in the second half of this Term. We hope that cross country training will continue next week, and the rain holds off.
Thank you to all students that have been working hard on their homework. We would like to encourage all students to learn their spelling and tables every night. We are focusing on tables and their related division facts that were taught in Year 3. It is expected that students should be familiar with these answers and able to recall them quickly – 2, 3, 5, 10 times tables. If anyone doesn’t confidently know these number facts, these should be being continually learnt at home.
If you are wanting to undertake the Sacrament of Confirmation and First Eucharist, please ensure that you have returned all the necessary paperwork. Many thanks to all those families that donated for our Shrove Tuesday pancake morning. It looked like a wonderful time was had by all. Lent starts today, Ash Wednesday, and we would encourage all students to donate 50c each week to the Caritas Mission box that are in our classrooms. During Lent, we take the time to donate money to help other people throughout the world that are in need.
Towards the end of the Term, students will be required to build a landscape out of alfoil. Students will need to supply their own roll of alfoil. We are happy to store this alfoil in our classrooms till it is needed.
Suzanne, Toni and Garry
Year 5
2022 appears to be making a name for itself. The rain event has reminded us that we are living in a world of constant change and that preparedness, adaptability and perseverance are key to progressing forward. Our thoughts are we families that have been affected by flooding, our thoughts and prayers are with you all during this time.
PE Change
Currently, students have PE on a Wednesday. As of next week, Year 5 students will have PE on a Monday. Students will need to wear their sports uniform on a Monday and a Friday, not on a Wednesday.
Cross Country Training
Held at Newtown Park every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (weather permitting). Students can wear sports uniform on the Wednesday if attending cross country training.
Religion
This week marks the beginning of our journey through Lent. On Tuesday, students enjoyed pancakes cooked by our Year 6 leaders, with money raised going to the Caritas foundation. Wednesday afternoon, Year 5 students gathered in our classrooms to commemorate Ash Wednesday through a liturgy. During Lent, we will continually reflect on how we can be of service to others and reflect on reducing the waste that we create.
Maths
Last week we completed our first impact cycle. Through pre and post testing, students can see their progress, identify areas of achievement, and set goals for areas of continued improvement. For some, factors, rounding and estimation are areas of continued focus.
Our next cycle focuses on operations, with particular focus on multiplication and division. We will revise regrouping for addition and subtraction that have been taught in years 2-4. Through our think mentals book we continually look at strategies throughout the year. Canvas has anchor charts students can access to assist them.
Within Maths Online, there are games that assist with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division number facts. We strongly suggest that students are practising number facts daily (5-10mins), as these should be becoming automatic.
English
So far, we have been going over the foundations for successful descriptive writing. We have revised the purpose of nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and prepositions; and have now been exploring language features such as metaphors, onomatopoeia, personification and simile. Students are developing their understanding of why we include these language features in our writing; as they add an extra level of detail and emotion, ultimately making our writing more entertaining to read. Over the coming weeks we will be investigating the texts of Jackie French and how she uses these in her own writing. We will then use her texts as inspiration to create our own descriptive writing. Students will also be applying MOPS (Metaphor, Onomatopoeia, Personification, Simile) whilst writing and during their editing process.
Homework
- Maths online - revision set task, as well as all tasks assigned for that week. These tasks relate to content we are teaching (this may be revision of concepts taught in Year 3 or 4)
- Spelling - in the Teams app
- ReadingEggs - 1 task - fully complete to a passing standard
- Highly recommended - 20 mins reading 5 nights per week.
Emu Gully
This year, as in previous years, our Year 5 cohort are partaking in the Emu Gully – The Challenge experience. The Challenge is an exceptional leadership and team building program based on the character values of Courage, Mate ship, Sacrifice and Perseverance. The core activities are based on historical events and theatres of conflict including WW1, WW2 and Vietnam; these activities provide both context and purpose with the opportunity for exceptional outcomes. The core activities for the day include the Siege of Tobruk, Bridge over the River Kwai, Tunnel Rats of Vietnam and The Kokoda Track. Some of these activities include water elements and students will become very dirty, so, it is highly recommended they wear old clothes.
Further details can be found in the forms link. If you have not completed this link previously, could you please complete at your earliest opportunity.
LINK: https://forms.office.com/r/nYvMEdeYGs
Important Dates
- 1st March – Shrove Tuesday
- 2nd March – Ash Wednesday
- 17th March – St Patricks Day (free dress & gold coin donation)
- 18th March – Emu Gully
- 21st – 24th March – Swimming week (sport uniform worn all week)
- 25th March – Show Holiday
- 28th March – Cross Country Carnival
- 1st April – Last Day of Term 1
Tim, Jess and Emily
Year 6
Date Claimers
Monday 7 March: Sports uniform every Monday from now on for PE
Thursday 10 March: Leadership Assembly 2pm, OLOL Church. Year Six and Year Five students will be attending this assembly. Year Six students are welcome to invite two guests. This will ensure seating room for all.
Friday 11 March: Treetops Leadership Excursion. Please complete link for permission. Details of date, times and what to bring are also included in this link. https://forms.office.com/r/XqYEyWaCst
Thursday 17 March: St Patrick’s Day Free Dress. Gold coin donation for Lenten Mission Appeal.
Monday 21- Thursday 24 March: Swimming Week (sport uniform worn all week)
Friday 25 March: Toowoomba Show Holiday
Monday 28 March: Cross Country Carnival
Friday 1 April: Last Day of Term
Thank you
Thank you, Year 6 leaders, for mixing and serving pancakes on Shrove Tuesday morning. Your assistance helped our school community contribute generously to the Caritas Lenten Appeal.
Teaching and Learning
PE lesson days have changed for Year 6 to allow smoother transitions between STEM, Music and Drama on a Wednesday. Therefore, sports uniform for Year Six will now be worn on Monday and Friday, beginning next Monday 7 March.
Science – Last week, the Year 6 students had a fun time playing in the dirt and constructing earthquake simulators using two cloths (tectonic plates), sand (Earth's crust), blocks and models (buildings, vehicles) and plants (vegetation). They simulated converging, diverging, and transforming tectonic plate movement.
STEM
“We had to plan a natural disaster and make a model that is an example, such as an avalanche, a flood or an earthquake. After they are built, we will test our designs.” Emily Dwan
Larry, Kylie and Shauna
Upcoming Dates
Week |
Date |
Event |
Venue |
Who |
6 |
02/03/2022 |
DD Swimming |
Gatton |
West Zone Swim Team |
9 |
21-24/03/2022 |
1-6 Swimming Lessons |
Glennie |
Grades 1-6 |
10 |
28/03/2022 |
OLOL Cross Country |
Newtown Park |
P-6 |
10 |
29/03/2022 |
T Ball GALA Day |
Kearney’s Spring |
Grade 4 |
Grade 1 – 6 Swimming Lessons
Who: Grade 1 - 6 Students
When: Week 9, Term 1 - 21st - 24th March (25/03/22 Public Holiday)
Where: Glennie Aquatic Centre
Travel: Bus to and from the venue.
Cost: $36 - This will be charged to your next school fees.
What to Bring: Togs (girls - 1-piece swimmers), Towel, Goggles & Thongs or sandals. A bathing cap will be provided. Students are discouraged from wearing rash/sun shirts. These restrict the swimmer’s movement and weigh them down in the water.
What to Wear: Students are to wear their sports uniform each day this week, with their normal joggers. They will change into their sandals or thongs at school.
Spectators: Due to Covid-19 Restrictions, spectators are not permitted to attend school swimming lessons. We appreciate your support with this.
Lesson Times:
9:00 - Year 6
9:30 - Year 5
10:00 - Break
10:30 - Year 4
11:00 - Year 3
11:30 - Year 2
12:00 - Year 1B
12:30 - Year 1M
Just as with any other classes, swimming is part of the curriculum and children are expected to participate unless a note of explanation is provided. Participation in this program is highly recommended for the students in Grades 5 & 6, as many of the activities on camp are water-based.
A massive thank you to the P&F for their generous donation helping to keep swimming lessons affordable for all.
It is a mandatory requirement that permission be sought from parents and guardians prior to the commencement of lessons. Please click on this link to complete the online form:
2022 Term 1 Swimming Lessons Consent Form
Please complete a separate form for each child.
PLEASE RESPOND BY FRIDAY 18th MARCH 2022
Cross Country Training
The Our Lady of Lourdes Cross Country Carnival will be held on Monday 28th of March at Newtown Park. In preparation for this event, we will be running a cross country training program, as below:
Who: |
Children in grade 3-6 ONLY Due to teacher/student ratios, children in grades P-2 are not permitted to attend. |
When: |
Monday, Wednesday & Friday Mornings – Starting Monday 21st February and concluding on Wednesday 23rd March 2022 |
Time: |
7:30am Sharp |
Where: |
Rose Garden – Newtown Park |
What to Bring: |
Water Bottle, Hat & Asthma Puffers if required. Students can wear their sports uniform for the entire day. |
PLEASE NOTE – STUDENTS ARE TO BE DROPPED OFF AT THE PARK AT 7:30AM.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU WALK YOUR CHILDREN TO THE MEETING PLACE AND CHECK THEM IN WITH THE STAFF MEMBER PRESENT.
FOLLOWING TRAINING WE WILL WALK BACK TO SCHOOL AS A GROUP.
IMPORTANT: As part of the risk assessment process for Cross Country Running, all students that run the competitive track must participate in a training program. Students can complete this at our school training sessions or individually outside of school. ALL STUDENTS wishing to run the competitive track must also have a SIGNED CONSENT form. These will be sent home with interested students.
OLOL Cross Country Carnival
Monday 28th March 2022 – 8:30-1:00pm – Newtown Park
Prep- Grade 2 Fun Run
- Approximate run time 9:00 – 10:00am
- Students will walk to Newtown Park in Class Groups.
- Prep, Grade 1 and 2 students will run an extended lap of the oval (approximately 600m).
- The following ribbons and house points will be presented to students in Prep – Grade 2:
1st Place |
Blue Ribbon |
20 House Points |
2nd Place |
Red Ribbon |
12 House Points |
3rd Place |
Green Ribbon |
8 House Points |
4th Place |
Yellow Ribbon |
4 House Points |
5th Place onwards |
Navy Participation Ribbon |
1 House Point |
- Race Order: Grade 2 boys, Grade 2 Girls, Grade 1 Boys, Grade 1 Girls, Prep Boys & Prep Girls.
- After these races, the P-2 students will return to school.
Grade 3-6 Competitive Cross-Country Event
- Approximate starting time – 10:00am
- Students will walk to Newtown Park in class groups.
- Following the P-2 Fun Run, grade 3-6 students will participate in a competitive cross-country race.
- Students will need to nominate for this event. Only students that have completed the consent form will be allowed to run the full track. This will be emailed to all families. The link below will also direct you to the consent form.
2022 CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL CONSENT FORM
Starting Time |
Age |
Year Born |
Distance |
10:00am |
8/9 Years boys |
2013/2014 |
1km |
10:15am |
8/9 Years girls |
2013/2014 |
2km |
10: 30am |
10 Years boys |
2012 |
2km |
10:45am |
10 Years girls |
2012 |
3km |
11:00am |
11 Years boys |
2011 |
3km |
11:15am |
11 Years girls |
2011 |
3km |
11:30am |
12 Years boys |
2010 |
3km |
11:45am |
12 Years girls |
2010 |
3km |
These are only approximate and subject to change.
The following ribbons/medallions and house/individual points will be presented to students in 9-12 years:
1st Place |
Blue Ribbon & Medallion |
20 House & Individual Points |
2nd Place |
Red Ribbon & Medallion |
12 House & Individual Points |
3rd Place |
Green Ribbon & Medallion |
8 House & Individual Points |
4th Place |
Yellow Ribbon |
4 House & Individual Points |
5th Place onwards |
|
4 House & Individual Points |
- As with Athletics and swimming, all students in grade 3 who are born in 2014 (8 years), have attended training and wish to run the competitive event, will participate in the 2013 or 9 year’s category. However, as they are not of appropriate age, they will not be eligible for age championship points, nor will they be eligible to continue on to the West Zone Carnival. These students will be awarded a place ribbon and 4 participation points, regardless of finishing place. Please see me if you require further clarification on this.
- The first 6 place getters, in the 10, 11 & 12 Years age categories, will be offered the opportunity to represent the school at the West Zone Cross Country Carnival. There are qualification times in place for this event which students must run to be eligible. These times will be adhered to regardless of whether students finished in the top 6 at our school carnival.
9-year-olds are not eligible to compete at West Zone.
- The course will be marked with markers and marshals will be stationed around the course.
- After the races, we will have presentations and return to school by 1:00pm. This is subject to change.
Grade 3-6 Fun Run
- This event is open to ALL grade 3-6 students, regardless of whether they have already run the Competitive Cross-Country Race.
- The event will be 1 lap around the competitive cross-country course.
- All students will be encouraged to at least walk the track.
- All students who participate will receive one (1) point for their house.
In the Morning before coming to School
- Please apply sunscreen before coming to school and remind the children to apply more throughout the morning.
- Students are also required to bring their morning tea and lunch with them. Depending on time, we will eat morning tea and possibly lunch at the park.
- It is crucial that the children drink lots of water, so please make sure they have a water bottle.
- PUFFERS and EPI-PENS – please make sure your child has their own with them if required.
- Please make sure students have been to the toilet prior to arriving at school. While there are toilets available at the park, we would rather avoid using them where possible.
- Students will walk to Newtown Park in Class Groups.
Spectators
Spectators are welcome to attend.
Volunteers
If you are able to help set up in the morning, we will be down at the park from 7:30am. Grade 6 students in the Sports Leadership Group are also asked to arrive at 7:30 to assist with setting up.
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. 2022
Congratulations to the following students that have been selected into representative school sport teams:
West Zone Touch Football Team: Hayden (Grade 6), Bowie (Grade 6), Jack (Grade 6), Madison (Grade 6), Bonnie (Grade 6) & Isabel (Grade 5)
West Zone Swimming Team: Frank (Grade 6), Hayden (Grade 6), Jack (Grade 6), Bowie (Grade 6), Skye (Grade 5), Olivia (Grade 5) & Isla (Grade 6).
Queensland Aquathlon Team: Congratulations to Addison (Grade 7) for making the Queensland Aquathlon Team. Addi has moved on to high school this year, but we are super proud of her efforts. Well Done Addi!
Rachel.Wigan@twb.catholic.edu.au
Library Learning
We are off to a great start in the Library with many children selecting and focussing on their term 1 reading goals. Over the next few weeks we will be working on improving our independent reading by selecting “Good Fit Books”.
How to choose a Good Fit Book
- Choose a book of INTEREST to you. This means it has a topic or theme that you like.
- Open the book at any page and begin to read.
- Each time you come across a word you DO NOT KNOW count it.
- A good fit book will have 2 – 3 words you don’t understand.
- One word is TOO easy (get this book for enjoyment!)
- Five words is TOO HARD.
- Four words you may need an adult to read this one with you
- If you get to 5 words STOP reading. Put the book back and choose another title.
Bookmark the Library AccessIt Page
Please take a moment to click the link and bookmark our Library Webpage. To use Britannica and Click View your child will need to logon with their olousername@twb.catholic.edu.au and password.
Library & Information Service (accessit.online)
Tech Lessons with PREP
Each week Mrs Leathart works with our PREP students. This term they are learning to use the tracking pad and keyboard on a Laptop. Students are really enjoying these lessons each week.
School Subscriptions Reminder
At Lourdes we offer a range of user subscriptions to support teaching and learning. All of these are available at home. Please logon as often as you like to support your child/rens learning.
- Reading Eggs. Students have individual logon details for this subscription. For any issues with RE please contact your child’s teacher.
- Sunshine Online. Username : Lourdes2 Password : Lourdes123. Class teachers may provide students with individual logon details for this subscription. All books are available to all users via the generic logon above. All issues or concerns to Leathart@twb.catholic.edu.au
- Typing Tournament. Students have individual logon details for this subscription. For any issues with TT please contact Leathart@twb.catholic.edu.au
Overdue Book Procedures
Overdue letters will be sent out throughout the year. It is important to keep on top of outstanding loans to avoid fees. Books that remain OVERDUE at the end of any Term will be charged to school fees. Overdue books will be charged to families at replacement cost. Once books have been charged to accounts we are unable to reverse the charges. We spend a large amount of time chasing up overdue books with letters, verbal reminders, checking the Library multiple times and administration time writing books off. Our Administration ladies then have to go into individual accounts to set charges. As you can imagine this consumes a large amount of time. If your child has an overdue book that you are still searching for please let us know so we can halt the process and extend the search time.
Borrowing Days
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
6L 6M 6C |
3S 2T / 2D / 2V 5P / 5F / 5M |
1M / 1B 3G 4B / 4G |
Prep LJW Prep H 3GM |
4L |
Please ensure Library bags are sent in on your child/rens borrowing day each week.
Senior Fiction Permission
Senior Fiction books are restricted to students in Year 5s and 6s. There are a number of students who do not yet have permission. Please fill in this Form. It was due on Wednesday February 23. A record of your response will be kept on the library database.
Should you wish for any further information please direct questions to Mrs Leathart (Danielle.Leathart@twb.catholic.edu.au).
https://forms.office.com/r/H6rribVKUW
CHESS Lessons
Each Tuesday morning from 7:45am our Chess students meet in the Library with Mr Lord to learn how to be successful Chess players. Classes are full this term but watch this space for Term 2 Enrolment details – coming soon!
Book Club
Book Club ISSUE TWO catalogues have been delivered and orders are due Wednesday March 9th 2022. We expect delivery approximately one week after the order has been placed. Please place all orders via LOOP. For issues or concerns with Book Club please contact Mrs Leathart (Danielle.Leathart@twb.catholice.du.au).
Enjoy your books,
Mrs Leathart & Mrs Monte
Our new STEM program has commenced this year and we have hit the ground running. Many students were asking, “what is STEM?” We have learnt that although it stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, it is much more than this. It is a hands-on, inquiry-based approach to learning that encourages collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and resilience.
Preps, 1’s and 2’s have begun learning about the design process steps of planning, creating, testing and evaluating through studying various topics from building spiders and houses, to animal habitats and farms where our food and fiber comes from. Year 3’s have been learning about computers and peripheral devices through building their own models. In year 4 we have been collecting data and creating visual representations for analysis. Year 5’s have been developing their coding skills in order to start work on some bigger projects later in the year and the 6’s have commenced their first collaborative project on reducing the impact of natural disasters.
Everyone seems to be enjoying their learning and we are looking forward to seeing the finished products!
Laura
Laura Byrnes
Hello, my name is Loretta Simmons, and I am very excited to be teaching Visual Arts this year at Our Lady of Lourdes. This term I am working with Prep to Year 4. So far this term…
Preps have been enjoying creating artworks to correspond to their letter of the week. They have collaged a snake, printed apples, created a tiger face and painted an invisible drawing with ice!
Year 1’s have been inspired by the picture book ‘Possum Magic” by Mem Fox and constructed a magical possum art work, using painting and collage techniques. They then looked at Aboriginal artwork of Australian animals and used these ideas to created a dot painting of a possum.
Year 2’s have used oil pastels and paint wash to draw a love bug for Valentine’s Day. They then explored landscapes as depicted in Aboriginal art and used oil pastels and dot painting to represent Uluru.
Year 3’s have looked at the colour wheel and identified primary and secondary colours. They then used the colour wheel to compose a picture of an umbrella on a rainy day. Next, they identified warm and cool colours and with this knowledge they traced and coloured a picture of their hand. The warm colours (red, orange, and yellow) advance and the cool colours (blue, green, and violet) recede, creating an interesting optical illusion.
Year 4’s have been inspired by their HaSS studies on African and South American landscapes. They have created an African sunset picture, using techniques of collage, shadow drawing and painting. They have now begun work on a South American Toucan drawing, using coloured pencils and water colours.
Loretta
Loretta Simmons
TCKC - Outside School Hours Care
Welcome to OSHC
We are so excited to have begun the new school year, welcoming many new families to join our Outside School Hours Care family. We run both before and after school care each and every day with a dedicated team, ready to care for all children. Our team has Miss Alannah the Coordinator of the service, Miss Mackenzie and welcoming this year Miss Emily. If you see us around the school don't be afraid to say hello, we are ready and happy to help with any questions you have. If you are looking at enrolling please get in touch with Miss Alannah at OLOCare@tckc.qld.edu.au we can't wait to meet more families in the OLOL community!
Before School Care
Our before school care group is run from 6:30am every morning. We have so much fun at before school care with a variety of free play, cooking, craft and so much more to enjoy! Each day breakfast is provided to all children in attendance, beginning from week 7 there will be a big breakfast once a week (this will change each week to what day we do this on), which will be based of the childrens suggestions, for example pancakes, scrambled eggs and breakfast wraps.
After School Care
The after school care group is run from 3:00pm until 6:00pm daily. We have a different theme each week, our activities change weekly to match our theme. The activities selected are based from interest shown by the children. There is a "choice sheet" available each week for any ideas the children would like to see…. this term we have seen plenty of food items suggested! Each afternoon we provide afternoon tea with fruit and vegetable platters to accompany our ‘something else’ platters which is different every day with a variety of scrolls, wraps, sandwiches, savoury platters! If you are interested and would like to see what takes place at TCKC, please do not hesitate to pop in have a chat with an educator.
Vacation Care
Keep an eye out over the next week or so for our vacation care program! I know what you are all thinking….vacation care already? Yes, we know but we like to be organised to give you plenty of time to secure a spot (it is cheaper to book early). So if you have any questions or queries about our vacation care program, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
We look forward to meeting more of the OLOL community,
Miss Alannah, Miss Mackenzie and Miss Emily
Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Kindergartens and Care
Little Miracles Community Kindergarten
Little Miracles has gotten off to a flying start for 2022 (all be it 2 weeks late). As always, the children have taken part in suggesting and voting on the names of our Kindy groups and we are pleased to announce the following groups and their staff.
Kindy Apples – Nicole Edmondson (Teacher), Nadine Southee (Assistant), Dani Temple (Assistant)
Kindy Orcas – Raquel Bootes (Teacher), Susanne Creeks (Assistant), Kobi Welsh/Nadine Southee (Assistant)
Junior Kindy Kangaroos – Kelly Lanagan (Teacher), Kobi Welsh (Assistant), Susanne Creeks (Assistant)
Director – Nicole Edmondson
Educational Leader – Raquel Bootes
Admin – Kristi Scofield
This year we have made some changes to our operations hours, offering After Kindy Care until 3.30pm in response to the needs of the community. Our two 4 year old groups are already at capacity with 22 children in each, and our Junior Kindy group will be full by Term 2. We are now looking at our options of opening a 4th group. If you are interested in enrolling for 2022 and beyond please contact us for further information little.miracles@bigpond.com.
Rett Syndrome GALA / Multi Draw
Please find attached a link providing information regarding the upcoming GALA on 26th March.
Tickets are available to purchase via phone or text, or at the Wilsonton Amcal Pharmacy.