Mathletics Certificate

Highlights from the Library in 2023

STATISTICS FROM THE LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - AccessIT 

• 4,335 items were circulated from the library 
• $10, 152.39 worth of school resources were added to AccessIT 
• 198 new items were added to our student book collections 

LIFE and LEARNING in the LIBRARY 

• Weekly borrowing sessions for free choice reading material  
• Regular sharing of fabulous stories as read-alouds with follow up discussion 
• Independent searching of AccessIT to locate and select titles for free choice reading  
• Student book talks and reviews which demonstrated book knowledge and informed future readers  
• Student use of online resources, Clickview and Britannica to gather information. 
• Celebrations of Australian libraries and literature during: 

             - Queensland Schools Library Week 

             - National Simultaneous Story-time  

            - Book Week, when we looked closely at the short-listed books and the theme “Read Grow Inspire” 

• Engaging displays created by Mrs Smith to promote new books, special calendar events and Australian authors 

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT/IMPROVEMENTS 

• Another very successful Book Fair 
• Student collection was refreshed and reorganised during the annual stock-take 
• New digital screen 
• New student tables and stools 

We have much to celebrate and to be grateful for across this year of life and learning in the library.  

Special thanks to the PEN for your continued financial support of the library service, the power of access to quality books cannot be denied. 

HOLIDAY READING

Students received at least one new book and one withdrawn fiction book last week to keep. We hope they will enjoy reading them with you over the long holiday ahead. Please keep up your reading for fun at home as this is an effective way to improve your student's reading ability. 

Students can access the following school subscriptions for stories and information over the break. Access is via the online resource dashboard in AccessIT https://au.accessit.online/STM33/#!dashboard 

• E-Platform - E-books and audio books can be borrowed from the Diocese of Toowoomba Resource Centre Wheelers platform using student’s school login details  
  
• Story Box Library – Great Australian stories read aloud while the text displays on the screen 

https://storyboxlibrary.com.au 

Log in with; 

Username – smg 

Password - stories 

•  Storyline Online 

https://www.storylineonline.net/ 

Professional actors read the books, includes close-ups of the book pages and displayed text 

• Kidlit TV

https://kidlit.tv 

A tv show about story makers that includes “Read Out Loud” story time and children’s literature podcasts for kids 

Read great information and get answers to those curious questions at:  

Britannica School - https://school.eb.com.au/ 

Login with – mariagoretti, inglewood 

ClickView - https://online.clickview.com.au/ 

Login with – school email (ingusername@twb.catholic.edu.au) 

ABC Education - https://www.abc.net.au/education#!/home 

OVERDUE LOANS

Students with overdue loans have been given a list today. Please ensure these items are returned as soon as possible via the red returns trolley outside the library, thank you.

Week 6 and 7

Fun in the Library During Lunchtime

Christmas blessings from the library staff!

Enjoy this special time of the year and happy holiday to everyone!

Strategic Plan 2023-2026

Students of the Week - Term 4, Week 8

Sight Word Certificates

Parent Engagement Network

Happy Birthday!

Notices

Our Lady of the Southern Cross Parish - Mass Times

Sunday 26th November - 9am Mass

Sunday 3rd December - 9am Liturgy

Saturday 9th December - 5:30pm Mass

Sunday 17th December - 9am Liturgy

From the Principal

Dear families,

I am looking forward to celebrating our students on Monday evening at Awards Night. Awards Night is an annual showcase that celebrates a year of hard work in Academic, Community, Cultural and Sporting arenas. A large proportion of the evening is dedicated to Academic Awards, that are given to students across the school for their dedication to learning. Our senior instrumental students will be performing at the opening of Awards Night, and our whole school choir will close Awards Night with a song in German. Students are to meet at the Catholic Church next Monday the 27th at 5:15pm for a prompt 5:30pm start. Our Parent Engagement Network are generously providing a meal under the school for everyone after the awards are presented. Please bring your own beverages. 

I have mixed emotions of pride, and sadness as we are saying farewell to our Year 6 leaders - Angus, Collette, Riley and Daniel. Our leadership initiative is an integral part of our student welfare program. At St Maria Goretti, all Year 6 students are inducted as school leaders at the Leadership Commissioning Mass in Term 1. Our School Leaders have many responsibilities which enable them to develop leadership and communication skills that they carry through to their future life. The leaders conduct all assemblies, represent the school at community functions, attend leadership development days, assist at fundraising events, and much more. Please join us at 9:30am next Wednesday the 29th at the Catholic Church for the Year 6 Graduation Mass. This will be followed by the cutting of the graduation cake under the school.

MacKillop Way Awards Term 4 

Congratulations to Mason Cutler, Samantha Story and Daniel Mead for receiving the MacKillop Way award for Term 4. The focus for the term was “Work with constancy and courage.” (Mary MacKillop, 1876)

School Grounds

I would like to extend an enormous thank you to Mike and Mandy Price for their many years of volunteer work at our school, in particular tending to the maintenance of our school grounds. The school grounds have been beautifully cared for over many years by the Price family and the amount of time they have put into the grounds work is to be highly commended.

Moving forward, Melissa and Ted Callaghan will be taking on the position of 'Groundspeople' at St Maria Goretti. 

Playground Build

Our playground build is beginning on Monday the 4th of December and will be approximately a 2 week project. I am very excited to see the playground in its completion. Thank you to our Parent Engagement Network for the contribution they made to this project.

Playground 'before'... (stay tuned for the after!)

Upcoming Dates

24th November - Small Schools swimming carnival in Goondiwindi

27th November - Awards Night (please arrive at 5:15pm), and Year 6 transition day at I.S.S

28th November - Christmas Dress Up Day, and Christmas Liturgy (2:30pm)

29th November - Year 6 Graduation Mass (9:30am), and last day of school!

23rd January 2024 - 1st day of Term 1! Welcome back!

Our staff will return to work on Wednesday the 17th of January. School begins for students on Tuesday the 23rd of January. I wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas holiday. I am looking forward to catching up with you in the new year.

Yours in education,

Casey Robinson

Principal

School Dental Van - forms due Friday 17th November

Library News

Browse and Borrow Sessions 

Students enjoyed their last borrowing session for the year today. Please support your student/s to return all their loans next week. The last operating day for the library will be Thursday 23rd November (Week 8). 

We will be sending some older fiction books, which have been withdrawn from the library, home for students to keep. We hope they will enjoy reading them over the summer holiday. 

Students can access the following school subscriptions for stories and information over the break. Access is via the online resource dashboard in AccessIT https://au.accessit.online/STM33/#!dashboard 

*E-Platform - E-books and audio books can be borrowed from the Diocese of Toowoomba Resource Centre Wheelers platform using student’s school login details  

*Story Box Library – Great Australian stories read aloud while the text displays on the screen 

https://storyboxlibrary.com.au 

Log in with; 

Username – smg 

Password - stories 

 *Storyline Online 

https://www.storylineonline.net/ 

Professional actors read the books, includes close-ups of the book pages and displayed text 

*Kidlit TV

https://kidlit.tv 

A tv show about story makers that includes “Read Out Loud” story time and children’s literature podcasts for kids 

Read great information and get answers to those curious questions at:  

Britannica School - https://school.eb.com.au/ 

Login with – mariagoretti, inglewood 

ClickView - https://online.clickview.com.au/ 

Login with – school email (ingusername@twb.catholic.edu.au) 

ABC Education - https://www.abc.net.au/education#!/home 

 Library Learning  

*Year 2-4 are learning to search for book details and facts in the library database AccessIT and in Britannica, our online encyclopaedia. 

*Year 5-6 are learning to select the most valuable websites for their research question. Evaluating information found online is a critical skill and one that must be practised. Please remind your students to use these questions when they are searching the web for reliable information: 

Can I read and understand this? 

Can I trust this source to give accurate, relevant and balanced information? 

Do I have enough detail, or do I need to search again with different search terms? 

What questions do I still have? 

Thanks for all you do to support your student’s development as readers and information seekers! 

Anne Anderson 

Teacher Librarian 

Students of the Week - Term 4, Week 5

Sight Word Certificates

Parent Engagement Network

Happy Birthday!

Notices

Our Lady of the Southern Cross Parish - Mass Times

Saturday 11th November - 5:30pm Mass

Sunday 19th November - 9am Liturgy

Sunday 26th November - 9am Mass

Sunday 3rd December - 9am Liturgy

Saturday 9th December - 5:30pm Mass

Sunday 17th December - 9am Liturgy

From the Principal

Dear families,

Week 6 is coming to an end and that means there is only just over 2 weeks to go until we are on Christmas holidays! Despite the end of year excitement, teaching and learning are our ongoing priorities at St Maria Goretti. This past week students have been completing reading testing with their teachers, and they are currently working diligently on end of term assessment tasks. 

Strategic Plan 2023-2026

I am very excited to share with you our published Strategic Plan for the 2023-2026 period. Following our quadrennial school review that took place in late 2022, our team identified key priority areas from the report to prioritise over the following four years. These priority areas came from findings identified through staff, parent and student voice, as well as other data sources.

Strategic planning is essential to maintaining the provision of long term, high quality educational 
experiences for all students. The collaborative process of defining the future vision for a school and prioritising actions and resources to achieve this vision, challenges the school community to think deeply about its aspirations and expectations for students and builds a collective responsibility for the school’s ongoing success.

This four-year strategic plan is reviewed every year and updated to maintain currency and alignment with the TCS Strategic Plan and emerging school priorities. The review and update of the four-year  strategic plan involves consultation with the community, reflection on data sets and reviewing of the way in which the school renewal and improvement cycle is being implemented.

I thank you for your contribution to the creation of our Strategic Plan and I look forward to what St Maria Goretti will achieve in the coming years.

School Camp

I want to express my sincerest gratitude to our fantastic staff - Miss Barnes, Miss Spencer and Mrs Mead for accompanying the school on camp last week. Thanks also goes to our parent helpers - Renee, Ann-Maree, Michelle and Amelia. Thank you for giving up your time to spend time with our students as they enjoyed their school camp on the Gold Coast. We are very lucky to experience a whole school camp (P-6) every year. This camp comes at no cost to our families and is a way for our students to build confidence, independence, resilience and friendships. There have been many wonderful moments from school camp shared on our Facebook page.

Important - Social Media

Please pay attention to what our young people and vulnerable persons are watching and accessing online. Be aware that social media algorithms mean that once they start watching, reacting and commenting to posts pertaining to violence, the system will feed them more and more of these violent posts.  

There are unexpected consequences for our youth who may be:

• watching images and video of a sensitive/violent nature
• taking social media posts at face value about current world conflicts  
• “taking sides” without knowledge nor understanding of the often complex history behind said conflicts, and
• bringing this same rhetoric and significant threats to school

Please contact support services or police if you become aware of someone that needs help or may be vulnerable to this susceptibility. (Catherine English, Senior Constable 22769, Cross Cultural Liaison Officer, Darling Downs District)

Semester 2 Report Cards

Report cards for Semester 2 will be released on the Sentral Parent Portal in the last week of term. Please contact the school office if you would prefer a paper copy of your child's report card.

Playground build

Our new playground build has been locked in! Building will commence on Monday the 4th of December.

Upcoming Dates

13th November - Audiology testing

14th November - Casey's summative review

15th November - PEN meeting at the Inglewood Bowls Club

20th November - Pathway 2 Prep Transition Day (8:30-1:00pm)

21st November - Drama performances

24th November - Small Schools swimming carnival in Goondiwindi

Yours in education,

Casey Robinson

Principal

A Prayer for Palestine & Israel

Let us pray for the many people whose lives have been torn apart by conflict in Gaza and Israel.

We remember especially those who have died, those who are grieving, the injured and those now without food, shelter or medical supplies.

We pray also for those who have the power to bring peace. May they be touched by a spirit of compassion and kindness.

Lord hear us.

APRE Reflection- World Teachers' Day! 27th October

Context of World Teachers Day

World Teachers Day is a day to acknowledge the work that teachers do in our schools in helping to form the minds and hearts of our young people. This day recognises that teaching is so much more than a job. It is a vocation that requires skill, passion, dedication, and flexibility to adapt to an ever-changing world. Whenever we reflect on how and why we think in a particular way, it is often a special teacher who comes to mind, reminding us of how a lasting impression was made, or why we view the world through a particular lens. Teachers in Catholic Schools have the added privilege and responsibility of inviting our young people to encounter the Catholic World View and to enter dialogue with learners from all faith backgrounds and traditions, providing a safe space to inquire and experience their spiritual self.

Scripture – Gospel reading

Jesus Heals the Man with Dropsy [Luke 14:1-6]

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?’ But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?’ And they could not reply to this.

Reflection

Perhaps the first thing you notice when you read this Scripture is the word Dropsy. You may have heard of this term before, or you may have needed to google the meaning. The medical dictionary explains it as a swelling of soft tissue due to excess fluid and linked to heart disease. In modern times we may say the person was suffering from edema. Whatever the case was, Jesus noticed the need for the person to be treated as an individual and to be helped in a way that would enrich his life and take away some of the barriers he lived with daily. Jesus had to take several steps to help this person. Firstly, he had to look and notice the human being. Secondly, he had to decide to take action, it may have been easier just to eat his meal, and not upset the balance of power that was held by the Pharisees. Thirdly, he had to defend this action before challenging others to reflect on what they would do if their own child or beloved, or working animal was suffering. This is the work of teachers every day. They notice. They see the learners in their space as human beings who need care and individual attention. After this they take action. They may try different classroom strategies, seek the help from leadership and specialists, meet with parents, make adjustments and listen to the child to ensure they have the best possibility to grow and flourish. Teachers also do not work to set time schedules. Teachers often live the famous quote from Mary MacKillop, “Never see a need without doing something about it” which sometimes requires work and advocacy outside regular hours of schooling.

At St Maria Goretti all members or our education community endeavour to ensure that the best services and expertise needed for every learner is provided.

Prayer

Giver of all wisdom and greatest of all teachers, look upon our teachers with love.

Grant them the resolve to nurture our eager minds and to never give up on us who fall behind.

Bless their hearts for they rejoice when we succeed and encourage us when we fail.

Bless them with gentle patience for the path of learning is never easy.

Kindle a spirit and passion in them it is the flame that ignites the love of learning in us.

Help them see the potential in each student as their belief in us means much.

Instil in them a commitment to keep on learning as it shows us to not fear new knowledge.

Inspire them to touch the future as they influence how big we dream for ourselves.

Bless our teachers who have come before for their work endures to this day.

Let the light of your example shine upon all teachers to build up with their words, to love with their mind and to share with their heart.

Amen