From the Principal
Felicity Broughton
Do all that you do with love ~
Dear Parents and Friends of St Therese's Primary School,
School Leaders
It was a great pleasure to present all of our Grade 6 students with their leadership badges in assembly this week. All Grade 6 students are considered leaders at St Therese's, they have an important role to play in supporting their buddies, the Foundation students, as well as being positive role models for the rest of our school.
I also announced the more formal student leadership teams as well.
Community Spirit Leaders - Louis, Isha, Ryan, Jaden, Neha and Grace.
Environmental Leaders - Saumya, Christine, Sophis and Jovanna.
Social Justice Leaders - Methuki, Roby, Charlie, Fabian, Adrian and Deepen.
Mercy House Leaders - Jonathan and Alexis
Lisieux House Leaders - Noah and Aniola
MacKillop House Leaders - Joanne and Chase.
This year the Social Justice Leaders, also known as Mini Vinnies will work closely with Michelle Hinds. Our Environmental Leaders, who are also members of the i sea i care project, will work with Caitlin Hall - they have a lot of exciting work to do in their time as leaders. The Community Spirit leaders will work alongside me in preparing and presenting assemblies as well as assisting with school tours. I am a firm believer that nobody sells a school better than the students who attend and they are already excited about this prospect.
DiGii@School
This year, St Therese's has purchased DiGii@School, a digital-lifetraining platform and curriculum for the whole school. This learning opportunity has been chosen to support your child, to yourself and to our school as we want every child to be safe and protected in their digital life.
You might not know that 80% of Australian 12-year-olds have 2 or more social media accounts. This includes messaging platforms (like Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp), apps (like TikTok and YouTube) and gaming platforms with a chat function (like Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite). This may or may not include your child, but the absolute truth is that one day, it will. Whether it’s now, during the teen years or at work, at some point your child will end up online. The digital world can be full of exploration and joy, but for many children, one that’s equally full of dangers and content well beyond their young years. Knowing how to manage that and the big problem of cyberbullying is an essential skill for all our children.
Please take some time to read the letter attached from Claire Orange, the founder and CEO of DiGii@School, as this will explain a little more about our choice to purchase this subscription.
If you would like to receive a copy of the Parent Handbook that accompanies this subscription, please email me and I will share it with you.
School Review 2023
This year, St Therese's is under school review. This falls within a four year cycle and is an opportunity for us, as a community, to reflect on our strengths in working towards our strategic intent and our challenges. As a staff, we will be working on our self-reflection piece for the remainder of term one and preparing to share this with our review team. In May, the review team will spend two and a half days onsite with us. The aim of this is to hear as many voices from within the school community as possible. All staff will be interviewed as will groups of children and a group of parents will also be asked to meet with the review team.
As part of the review process, we are required to look at a number of data sets. In order to assist us with this I am asking that you please complete the short survey here: School Review Parent Survey Please read the letter attached below for more information.
School TV
SPECIAL REPORT: The Wellbeing Barometer - 2023
It is important for parents and caregivers continue to build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers as they navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people.
Therefore, to assist your school, we are seeking your participation in a short survey. It is intended to act as a barometer to help gauge the state of student wellbeing within the community. The information gathered will enable your school to focus on some of the key issues and highlight where further assistance may be required.
Uniform Reminder
Children are expected to wear CORRECT school uniform. Any non-uniform items must be temporary and explained by a note from parents. Jewellery needs to be modest, plain studs or sleepers and religious medals may be worn. Long hair must be tied back. Hair ties need to be in school colours. Dyed hair should be in natural colours.
We are only part way through term one and yet we have a number of students not adhering to the school uniform requirements. The uniform is as listed below.
Summer:
Royal/Grey/Maroon/White check dress with maroon piping, dark maroon windcheater or bomber jacket, navy short socks, black shoes
or
Navy shorts or long navy trousers, white and maroon polo shirt, dark maroon windcheater or bomber jacket, navy socks and black shoes.
Black runners may be worn in place of black shoes but these must be plain black, leather runners that can be polished. No mesh runners or runners with other colours to be worn. Please ensure your child is wearing the correct school shoes.
Photograph and Recording Permissions
Could I please ask that you check your emails / PAM messages. We sent out a Google Form earlier in the term asking that you complete whether you give permission for your child to have their photograph, recording or name used for a range of purposes. We still have some families who haven't completed this yet and we are keen to start using more photos in newsletter, on our Facebook page and in general communication. If you can't find the message you can always click the link here - Photograph and Recording Permissions Google Form
Have a great week!
Felicity Broughton
Principal