As we begin a new term, we give thanks to God for our wonderful St Anthony’s School community.

Heavenly Father, we are grateful to be returning to this place of learning and growth. We thank You for Your unending love, for Your protection during the past holidays, and for the gift of this new school term.

We ask for Your blessings upon all the students, teachers, support staff, and families. May Your wisdom guide us in our pursuits of knowledge. Open our minds to understand new concepts, and our hearts to receive Your love and truth. May our actions reflect Your teachings of kindness, respect, and integrity.

We remember those who are disadvantaged, and those struggling with various challenges. May Your mercy be their comfort. Inspire us to reach out in compassion, to make our school community a place where everyone feels valued and loved.

In the midst of our teaching and learning, help us not to forget the important lessons of the gospel - lessons of love, generosity, humility, and service.

In every success, let us remember to give glory to You. In every difficulty, let us find strength in You. May our journey this term draw us closer to You, and to each other.

We entrust this school term to Your divine guidance, praying that all we do will bear fruit for Your glory.

Amen.

Welcome back to our school year!

How lovely it has been to see the children all so settled and rested.

Well done to all our Parents and Carers for preparing your children so well for their first week back at school. Congratulations to our wonderful students who have returned to school with such wonderful attitudes and plenty of enthusiasm.  Our students have had a very settled start to the year and I am very proud of the way each student has responded to the structure and routines of the school day at St Anthony’s.

This year, our school theme is Come Holy Spirit.

I am very grateful to our dedicated staff for the enormous work and preparation that has gone into ensuring that the term has begun as smoothly as possible for our students. Last week our Staff participated in bringing to life our school theme by delving deeper into the true meaning of the Holy Spirit, led by our REC, Joe McGrath and our Faith formation team from Catholic Education. Whilst I appreciate for families this later start to the year can be tricky with work commitments, I sincerely thank you for your support in our staff being able to spend this time developing their skills and building knowledge of our curriculum, pedagogy and how we can best support our students in 2024

This professional learning included our CECG Catalyst system day. Catalyst is a significant system-led implementation of the Science of Reading and Science of Learning. It brings together cognitive science and education, theory and practice, to refine an approach to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. I can assure you that not a moment was wasted during this professional learning time for staff.

I am very pleased to advise that St Anthony’s Parish Primary school has been successful in the grant application requested under Round 6 of the ACT Government’s Better Schools for Our Kids Program (BSK) through ACT Block Grant Authority Inc. (ACTBGA). This grant application will go towards the much-needed upgrade of our school hall. I am very much looking forward to sharing with the community the plan for this valuable project for our school.

This fortnights newsletter is a little longer than usual.  I am hoping that the information included provides helpful details and reminders for the beginning of our school year.

Our system Catalyst two bold goals:

• every student becomes a competent reader.
• high impact teaching practice is visible in every classroom.

Annual Improvement Plan

This year our Annual improvement Plan includes the following key improvement goals:

Goal 1- Living out the school mission and values in all that we do at St Anthony's. 

Goal 2- V9 curriculum visible across all learning areas and HITP practices used to drive and support teaching and learning 

Goal 3- Rigorous data analysis and moderation processes to inform teaching, learning and feedback. .

We look forward to sharing strategies to achieve these goals across the year.

Staffing

Congratulations Joe McGrath who has been appointed as Religious Education Coordinator at St Anthony’s. As announced late last year, Beth Lehmensich has begun her new appointment as Director of St Joseph’s ELC.

We welcome Jorgy Eglinton who will work alongside Joe McGrath in Year 6 Lisbon. Jorgy brings to St Anthony’s lots of knowledge, energy, and enthusiasm.

Next Friday we farewell Joshua McGrath who will be leaving STA. May I take this opportunity to thank Josh for all his hard work in leading Sports classes across the school as well as coordinating Gala days and the many sporting carnivals.

We welcome Simon Van Meurs to the Sport Coordinator role and look forward to introducing our new Digital Design and Technology teacher in our next newsletter in week 4.

A comprehensive list of our 2024 staffing can be found at the end of the newsletter.

Baby News

Congratulations to Monika Richards and her husband Sean and children Alicia and Josef on the safe arrival of their beautiful boy Kristian Richards. Monika is doing well and thanks the community for your prayers and well wishes.

Parent Information Sessions

Tonight, we welcome our parents and carers to our information sessions:

Session One:

4.00-4.30pm

Session Two:

4.30pm-5.00pm

Our Learning Support Coordinator Bernadette Whitfield, our specialist staff and myself will also be on hand to answer any questions or queries.

Please note that students are to be supervised by families during these sessions. The playground will be closed.

Unfortunately, due to inclement weather the welcome picnic has been cancelled.

Whole school Liturgy

On Friday, we celebrate our first whole school Liturgy in the St Anthony’s Church from 10.00am. This will also be an opportunity to present our Year 6 leadership badges. All are warmly welcome. Students will be transported by bus to and from the church. Please ensure you have accepted the permission form on Compass for your child to attend.

National Student Wellbeing Program (NSWP)

The safety and wellbeing of our students at St Anthony’s continues to be paramount. Our school has successfully received support for student wellbeing. Staff will be involved in the National student well being program and support students across the school. This program will identify key groups and support for students at St Anthony’s. We look forward to sharing more information with you as these groups are established over the term.

Building Resilience

Help your child to deal with the realities of the playground and provide them with good suggestions for dealing with issues that may arise. Having a positive attitude, yourself impacts on your child’s ability to bounce back from difficulties they face. Try and model resilient behaviour. Your child will become familiar with our school rules – ‘Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be a Learner’, when they begin school.

Communication

We understand that your child is very precious to you and we try to make their time at school affirming, enjoyable and successful. If, at any time, you have concerns over your child’s progress please contact the class teacher. Teachers can be contacted via email using firstname.surname@cg.catholic.edu.au. Alternatively, via COMPASS, phoning the school office to leave a message or write a note to your child’s teacher. Please do not expect to be able to talk to the classroom teacher at morning assembly, during class time or during the school day, as this may impact their duty of care.

Newsletters and Announcements

The school newsletter is published fortnightly and is the main form of communication with our school community. The newsletter is distributed to parents via COMPASS and is also available on our school website. We encourage all families to join our Facebook page. Updates and information will be regularly published via Compass for event notices, notifications about sports events and excursions, etc. as this information becomes available to us. A brief “What’s On” is published every Friday afternoon via Facebook and Compass.

Compass

The Compass Parent Portal is an online portal that lets you access information about St Anthony’s. The portal is accessible via the web and the Compass School Manager App via the App store on your device.

With Compass will you be able to:

• Receive relevant messaging through the app or desktop
• Submit absence notes
• Give consent for events/excursions
• Communicate directly with teachers (desktop only)
• Book parent-teacher conferences
• Access your child’s academic reporting
• View attendance records
• Update basic contact information knowing your data will remain secure
• Get quick access to the school website

Signing in and out

For legal reasons, when students arrive late, are picked up early or leave school for any reason during the day, we require a parent/carer to sign the student in/out at the school office. This covers trips to the doctor, dentist, late arrivals and early leavers. This procedure applies for all students arriving after 9am and/or leaving earlier than the 3:05pm finish. All visitors to the school must sign in and out at the front office.

School Kitchen Garden

St Anthony’s has received funding from the ACT Community Gardens Grant Program to create an outdoor learning space and kitchen garden to promote social inclusion, and healthy living. Key to receiving this grant was our schools commitment to principals of the circular economy (e.g. reusing, recycling, repurposing) and zero emissions (electric alternatives to fossil fuel powered tools and equipment) or carbon sequestration (e.g. composting, planting of trees and shrubs). 

An enormous thanks to our wonderful parent community, particularly Brian, Jarrod, Sharon and our School Kitchen garden working group who have worked tirelessly on Saturday to create a wonderful foundation for our STA Kitchen Garden to begin. The kitchen garden can be found just behind OOSCA near the oval. We look forward to the next working bee and involving the wider community to be a part of this wonderful project. Keep an eye out for further details over the coming weeks.

Healthy Lunch box ideas

There has been considerable research around the impact of food on student wellbeing and behaviour. The Root Cause is an organisation committed to supporting children's health and wellbeing.

The flyer has been written by Bel Smith, founder, Author of The Lunchbox Effect and one of Australia's leading independent advocates for Children's Health.

How Food Affects The Brain: Unlocking the Potential
We all know that the food we eat can influence our overall health, but did you know it plays a crucial role in brain function, especially for learning and memory?

Deakin University's Food & Mood Centre has conducted groundbreaking research revealing the profound impact of food quality on the hippocampus—the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory retention.

Professor Felice Jacka, the world's foremost researcher on food and mood, emphasises, "What you eat has a really important influence on your hippocampal volume and function, which could affect your learning, your memory, mental health, appetite regulation."

CARPARK- reminder 

NO RIGHT turn into the school driveway between 8:15am -9:30am.  Please go down to the roundabout instead. This is for the safety of all our students. Thank you.

Afternoon Pick up

At the end of each school day, students will have the option to be picked up via the oval adjacent to the school or at the front of the school drive through/walkers.

Students can also attend Out of Hours School Care Activities (OOSCA) of an afternoon.

Oval- Students will be walked across the top oval adjacent to the school by a teacher on duty and you will need to get out of the car to collect your child. No children will be allowed to cross the carpark road. Oval pick up closes at 3.15pm and students will be walked to the front of school with teacher to be picked up from front of school.

Front of school- Students will be picked up from drive through at the front of the school. Parents/Carers must stay in their car and your child will be escorted to their car. If you wish to collect your child by foot, please park your car in the school carpark and walk with them back down. This aids with traffic flow during peak pick up time.

Walkers- Students will meet a teacher on duty at the front of the school and be accompanied as they walk across the crossings from school. Teachers do not walk any further with the students. It is not encouraged for the kindergartens to walk by themselves home.

Wet Weather

On days where there is a light sprinkle of rain, students will continue be outside for the morning supervision and shelter as needed around the assembly area.

On days where there is heavy rain, students will move straight to their classrooms for the beginning of the day. Mr Wigg and I will be at the front of school to notify students of arrangements as they come into school.

On days where it is heavy rain in the afternoon, a notice will go out on COMPASS to let families know it will be wet weather arrangements for pick up.

All families come through front of school drive through in wet weather. The Top oval drive through pick up is closed on these days. Please stay in your cars at front of school drive through and students will be ushered with teachers safely to your car as you come up to drive through pick up.

It is very helpful to have your surname clearly and largely written on an A4 piece of paper and displayed on your dashboard during drive through. This process creates a smooth and prompt opportunity for all students to move safely to cars.

Our 2024 STA Staff

St Anthony’s Early Learning Centre

Dates and events for your calendar:

9^th February - Whole-school liturgy at 10am at St Anthony’s Church Wanniassa

10^th February- Clothing Pool Open 9.30am-11.00am

28^th February - Canteen Tuck Day

29^th February - Meninga/Daley Legends Day for Years 3&4, 5&6 mixed

6^th to 8^th March - Year 6 camp to Berry

13^th March - NAPLAN begins for year 3 and 5 students

18^th March - STA swimming carnival

22^nd March - Ride to school day

All school events can be viewed on the Compass calendar and the school website calendar.

Have a wonderful week.

Kind regards,

Erin

Reducing Anxiety at the Start of a School Year

Going back to school after a long break can be an anxious time for a child. New classes, teachers, and students all have potential to pile up and create fear of the unknown. Here are some strategies that may help you and your child work through the start of the new school year and lead to a more positive experience.

Validate Their Anxiety

Letting your child know that you appreciate and understand that they may be anxious about the return to school is important validation for your child and helps them feel safe and secure.

Help Them Prepare

Discuss what to expect with your child and help them understand school procedures and safety measures. Ask them what they are looking forward to and check in regularly in the first weeks.

Focus on the Positives

Talk about the friends and teachers that your child will be seeing again after the long break and reassure your child that they will soon feel comfortable in their new routines.

Limit Expressing Your Expectations

You may need to limit conversations about your expectations for the year – especially academic ones. It may only add to your child’s anxiety now and you will have plenty of time to discuss these during the year.

Don’t Add to the Pressure

Remember that working through the change takes up a lot of energy, so your child may become tired, and a bit more grumpy than usual. Make sure they have plenty of free time to relax and play after school while they settle into the year.

Look After Yourself

The long break has taken a toll on parents as well. You need to ensure that you have a break and care for your own well being if you are going to be the calm positive carer your child needs. Flexibility is going to be a necessity in the coming months, and you will need to ensure that you maintain your resilience as you care for your child and your family.

Dear St Anthony’s parents,

Welcome back to school, hope you and the kids all had a great summer holiday?

Just a quick reminder to not forget to fill in the referral form should your child need to access school counselling.

Here is the link again Counsellor Referral Form

Please don’t hesitate to give me a call should you have any questions.

Hope you all have a great school year.

Kind regards,

Patience Way

School Counsellor