PRINCIPAL - PAULA MACKENZIE

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Hopefully everyone is well rested after our long weekend. It certainly has been a busy term with many great events along the way. The school disco was a highlight for the school and our amazing P & F hosted their first disco and what a wonderful success it was. I do believe our school was glowing. A big thankyou to all our parent helpers along with staff and amazing students from touching hearts. Each group complimented each other and made the night one to remember.

                                  

 

                      

 

LIFE LINK

On Wednesday I was delighted to escort along with Mr Sibbald our four student leaders to the Life Link day. It was an amazing presentation and we heard from our Arch Bishop Tim Costello and our Bishop Don Sproxton just to mention a few. Our students represented us well and the day was one to remember. We were informed that children in catholic Schools have donated more than 2 million dollars over the past 20 years and this is an amazing achievement. Life Link works through many different agencies to help support those less fortunate, it is a very worthwhile cause.

NEW LAWN MOWER

Mr Constable is very happy with his new lawn mower, our old lawn mower was old and was being held together with some wonderful welding. We are very happy to have leased a new mower to ensure our grounds look fantastic and can be completed in half the time. The nifty sun roof will protect Mr Constable and keep him safe.

 

CALISTHENICS

We are fortunate to have so many talented students at our school. I have been informed that Madeleine Shaw has been selected in the Calisthenics Association of Western Australia State Team, and she will be competing in the Australia Callisthenic Federation’s 31^st National Championships which will be held at Kingsway Christian College Auditorium in July this year. This is a wonderful achievement as being a State team representative is something many strive for but only a few our chosen. Congratulations Madeleine we wish you well.

 

TALKING TO YOUR CHILD ABOUT SCHOOL

“What happened at school?” “Nothing!” Does this sound familiar? You know that your child has had a full and engaging day at school; involved in many activities, experiences and social interactions. Often children feel that their school experiences are not important or interesting. Parents, on the other hand, do genuinely want to know how their school day was. This can result in a sort of cat-and-mouse game; the parent probes, the child evades, the parent asks again, the child evades again, and so on. Usually, it is the parent who gives up first.

Most children can be exhausted after a long day at school and discussing their day is the last thing on their mind. When they get home, they generally need a healthy snack and some "tune out" time before they are ready to share some of their day with you.

Listed below are some of the strategies that families use when asking the “What happened at school?” Create a family ritual in which everyone shares something about their day at dinner. Start by talking about your day. Make sure that everyone has a chance to talk, but also has the option of "passing" if they don't feel like contributing. Rather than posing a general question, ask about a specific event or class. For example, "How was the big assembly?" or "What did your class do in sports today?". Try to phrase your questions to invite answers that are longer than "yes", "no" or "OK".

Questions that begin with "What did you do in ...?" are often better for this purpose than ones that start "How was ...?" or "Did you ...?". When your child does respond, give them your full attention. Let them know that you're listening by asking clarifying questions, such as "Do you mean that….?" or "Let me make sure I understand…".

Keep open channels of communication with your child's teacher. Teachers who know that you are interested and friendly are usually glad to keep you abreast of what's going on. You can also grease the wheels of communication by offering to help out in the classroom or on excursions from time to time.

Respect your child's privacy, but let them know that you are open whenever they feel like sharing their thoughts. When children don’t feel they are being continually "forced" to talk about their whole day, they will often willingly recall special parts of their day.

 

God Bless

                                               

Paula MacKenzie
PRINCIPAL

 

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - MIKE SIBBALD                               

FIRST EUCHARIST PARENT MEETING

Our Parent Sacramental Meeting on Tuesday evening at St Brigid’s Church was very well attended and where important information relating to First Eucharist, was presented. Our guest presenter, Fr Greg Donovan, provided interesting insights into our spiritual and religious traditions, and ways in which we can address the challenges we all face in our daily lives. I would like to thank Fr Benny for inviting Fr Greg to be a part of our sacramental preparation as well as Deacon Liam for hosting the evening. Thank you also to all families who brought their child’s Sacramental Passbook.

LIFELINK

The Archbishop’s LifeLink Campaign is held in June each year. This project supports various social welfare agencies. Our Student Leaders, Luke Firns, Xeline Dequina, Thomas Lupica, Mikylla along with Mrs MacKenzie and myself, represented our school at the LifeLink Launch on Wednesday, 5 June, at Newman College. There was a fantastic turn out from other Catholic Primary Schools with 76 out of 90 being represented! St Brigid’s contributes to this annual appeal later, through a ‘Gold Coin’ donation at our Annual Founders Day (Mission Fete) which will be held on Thursday 8 August.

 

 

                                

                

 

FAMILY MASS AT ST BRIGID’S PARISH

Our Year Five Classes will be hosting this term’s weekend mass at St Brigid’s Parish, Midland, on Sunday 16 June at 9.30am. All families are invited to attend and support our children with this Parish-School initiative.                                                                                                                                                                  

FIRST EUCHARIST PREPARATION

A few key dates to keep in mind for those families preparing for First Eucharist.

• Year Four Retreat Day 12 June (at School with Karl Brown)
• First Eucharist Mass 23 June 11.00am

Fr Benny has asked that you attend the required number of masses before making your sacrament on June 23.

 

SACRAMENTAL DATES 2019

Year 4 FIRST EUCHARIST – Sunday 23 June 2019 (11.00am)

Year 6 CONFIRMATION – Sunday 8 September 2019 (11.00am)

 

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - LUKE SHAW

REPORTING

This term I will be updating you with information regarding semester one reporting. Teachers use a variety of methods, tools and resources when allocating grades and forming judgments about your child’s progress. They do this to support them to assess student achievement. At St Brigid’s Primary School this includes anecdotal records, running records, checklists, observation notes, test results, reflection sheets, journals, rubrics and sample assessment items just to name a few. This is to enable your child’s teacher make an informed judgment on their academic progress.

Teachers exercise their professional judgment when monitoring their students’ progress and determining grades for reporting. This is all part of the Planning, Teaching, Learning and Assessment Cycle. The teacher will begin with student needs, looking at what they already know and what they need to know. They will then design learning opportunities and assessment strategies to monitor progress. The teacher will implement learning and teaching opportunities in the classroom and gather information during the term.

Once the information has been gathered, the teacher will make a professional judgment after interpreting and analysing the information and will determine your child’s academic achievement in the upcoming report.

Semester One reports will be accessible online on Tuesday 2 July. More information regarding Semester One reports will feature in coming newsletters.

PRE-PRIMARY REPORTING WORKSHOP

Our Pre-Primary reports will look a little different this year, to fall in line with Catholic Education Western Australia reporting requirements. We will be presenting a short workshop in the library on Thursday 20 June at 9am. This workshop will unpack the reporting process and provide you with a greater understanding of the reporting template used here at St Brigid’s Primary School. Please come along if you would like any extra information regarding Pre-Primary reporting.

 

READING AT HOME

Over the next few weeks, I will continue to include some tips that may support you with home reading. Nightly reading forms an important part of homework here at St Brigid’s and research strongly supports fostering a love of reading at home. It is important that children are listened to when reading and also read to by an adult or more capable reader.

Make books special

Turn reading into something special. Take your kids to the library, help them get their own library card, read with them, and buy them books as gifts. Have a favorite place for books in your home or, even better, put books everywhere.

Get them to read another one

Find ways to encourage your child to pick up another book. Introduce him or her to a series like The Boxcar Children or Harry Potter or to a second book by a favorite author, or ask the librarian for additional suggestions.

Crack open the dictionary

Let your child see you use a dictionary. Say, "Hmm, I'm not sure what that word means... I think I'll look it up."

Talk about what you see and do

Talk about everyday activities to build your child's background knowledge, which is crucial to listening and reading comprehension. Keep up a running patter, for example, while cooking together, visiting somewhere new, or after watching a TV show.

First drafts are rough

Encourage your child when writing. Remind him or her that writing involves several steps. No one does it perfectly the first time.

Different strokes for different folks

Read different types of books to expose your child to different types of writing. Some kids, especially boys, prefer nonfiction books.

Teach your child some "mind tricks"

Show your child how to summarize a story in a few sentences or how to make predictions about what might happen next. Both strategies help a child comprehend and remember.

"Are we there yet?"

Use the time spent in the car or bus for wordplay. Talk about how jam means something you put on toast as well as cars stuck in traffic. How many other homonyms can your child think of? When kids are highly familiar with the meaning of a word, they have less difficulty reading it.

SCHOOL NEWS

 

ST VINCENT DE PAUL WINTER APPEAL

Over the next five weeks, we are asking the children to bring in non-perishable food items that can be donated to the St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal. In the past, St Brigid’s School Community has responded to this need very well indeed. Every class will have their own basket where donations can be placed. Thank you for your support.

 

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PLAYGROUP

Just a reminder Playgroup has started and it is every Friday 9am – 11:30am. Breakfast is offered in the morning. We are operating in the Early Childhood Room (next to Kindy). We have had a lot of kiddies join us in the past two weeks and that is lovely to see. So if you are a parent, grandparent, aunty or uncle of a child aged 0-4 yrs please come and join us.

Remember to bring a water bottle, a piece of fruit and a hat!

 

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CANTEEN ROSTER

Monday 10th June         S THOMAS

Tuesday 11th June         H VRANJES

Wednesday 12th June   S WILLIAMS

Thursday 13th June      L SARICH

Friday 14th June             C KIRBY

 

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR CANTEEN MENU                                                

 

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ST BRIGID'S SWIM SQUAD Come along and join the St Brigid's Swim Squad.  Training takes place every Thursday morning at Swan Active, Morrison Road, Midvale, commencing at 7am.  Entry is $3.30 (no spectator fee for parents).   Swim Squad is for students in Yrs 2 to Yr 6 whom are at swimming level 5 or above.  Students can then take advantage of Breakfast Club at school which commences at 8.15am in the MacKillop Hall.  If you have any queries, please contact Deanna (DJ) on 0419 943 901.  

 

SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

PETER'S NEW MOWER

 

YEAR 3 CIRCUS INCURSION

 

 

 

 

   

 

P & F NEWS

St Brigid’s Parents and Friends Association

 

Just a reminder as well on some easy ways to help raise funds for our school that require nothing more than doing your usual shopping.

GILBERTS FRESH – CNR MORRISON RD AND KEANE STREET

Gilbert’s Support Our Schools (SOS) Program donates 1% of the money spent by you to your nominated school every time you shop with us at Gilbert’s Fresh Market Midland, Hilton or Willetton Store.

There are no conditions on how your school spends the money – no stickers to collect or count, it is free and available to all of our customers. So, don’t let your school miss out on some easy extra funds – sign up in-store today. Together, we can help make a difference for our local school children.”

MIDLAND SUPA IGA – 295 GREAT EASTERN HIGHWAY, MIDLAND

WOOLWORTHS EARN & LEARN 

The Woolworths Earn & Learn program gives schools and Early Learning Centres around Australia the chance to earn amazing school equipment.

Between 1 May and 25 June 2019, collect as many stickers as you can from your Woolies shop, stick them on the sticker sheets and give them to your school or drop them into a collection box in store.

 

THE ATHLETES FOOT, MIDLAND GATE

Every time you but a pair of shoes from The Athletes Foot in Midland Gate tell them you are from St Brigids Primary school and they will donate $5 to our School. 

NEXT PARENTS AND FRIENDS MEETINGS

The next P&F meeting will be held on Tuesday June 2019 at 9am. If you are able to attend or have anything you would like to share or suggest it would be wonderful to see you there. Young children are very welcome to come along if that makes it easier to attend.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Cross Country Coffee & Cake Stall: 26 June 2019

• Bunnings Sausage Sizzle: 19 October 2019

  

P & F CONTACT INFORMATION

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Karryn - 0409 293 198

Joanne - 0418 954 821

 

SCHOOL COMMUNITY NEWS

HELPING HANDS

 BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE 

  

UNABLE TO MAKE IT IN TIME TO PICK UP YOUR CHILDREN? 

BOSS ASKED YOU TO STAY LATE OR COME IN EARLY? 

NEED TO HAVE SOME TIME FOR YOURSELF? 

Parents, we are here to support you and your children in before and after school hours! We offer a secure, safe and exciting environment for your children to thrive and be a part of a socialized group while you are busy. 

Please note an enrolment form and 1 days' notice is to be given to make your casual bookings for your children. 

We are here to help! Enrolment forms are available from the Education Support Room.  During out of school hours and weekdays. 

Vacancies Available Now!

P: 0484302073

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

COMMUNITY NEW

 CAN YOU PLEASE HELP?

Dear Parents/Carers,

We have a student in the Stratton area requiring a lift to school in the morning.  If you can help please contact the school office.

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Mercedes College is proud to present its 2019 Production of Wicked. Featuring a cast of over 70, this musical is coming to the Regal Theatre in Subiaco for 4 performances only, from Friday 2 August. Tickets are available at http://www.ticketek.com.au. If you would like to know about Mercedes College, follow us on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

Choir Camp! An exciting opportunity for any student who loves to sing!

This camp, in association with the Royal School of Church Music, has been running for 45 years, and we’d love to invite participants between 8 and 18 to join us for a week of singing in Geraldton, in the first week of the July school holidays! We’ll sing at 3 different churches during the week, to share our love of music with anyone who would like to come along.

We can get you to and from Perth, on a bus full of other campers and staff.

The staff include professional musicians, teachers and past participants! We all love it so much we keep coming back each year!

Remember, you don’t have to be part of a choir to join us, you just need to love to sing.

The cost for the week is $490 which includes 5 nights accommodation, all meals, sheet music, transport to and around Geraldton as well as rehearsals run by professional musicians.

For further information find us at rscamaustralia.org.au or Facebook @RSCMWA, or visit trybooking.com/BAVJI to secure a place.

Hurry as bookings close soon!