Term 2, Week 2 - 26th April, 2024

From the Principal

Dear parents and carers,

Welcome back to Term 2 and the first newsletter of the term. I encourage you to engage with our school newsletter each fortnight to keep up to date with key information and school events.

School Photos 

School photos will be held on Wednesday the 8th of May. Students are to wear a clean formal uniform (school shorts or a skort, and the formal shirt), black shoes, and navy socks or navy tights/stockings. We will be taking jumpers and track suits pants off for the photo. Students are then welcome to pop these back on afterwards.

ANZAC Day

We are very proud of how our students represented our school yesterday at the Inglewood Community ANZAC Day march and service. I applaud Madeline, Samantha, and Isabelle for their wonderful public speaking. 

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Diocesan Approach to Reading - Our Term 2 Focus

This term all classrooms at St Maria Goretti are focusing on developing the Tier 2 vocabulary in all our students.

Vocabulary plays a key role in the reading process and is critical to reading comprehension. Children learn the meanings of most words indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written language. Other words are learned through carefully designed instruction. We are doing this through explicit instruction.

Key elements in our vocabulary instruction include:

1. Teaching Tier 2 words that students encounter in quality literature (Tier 2 words = high frequency words that occur across a wide range of contexts, with mature language e.g. accomplish, unique, rapid, whimper) 

2. Analysing parts of the words (the graphemes, phonemes, syllables, and morphology)

3. Providing a student friendly definition

4. Giving examples of the word in a sentence (providing both examples and non-examples)

5. Allowing students to generate their own sentence verbally, then sharing with a partner, then writing the sentence

6. Giving students many opportunties to review and practice the word

Please see a press release from Toowoomba Catholic Schools, which explains our new systematic approach to teaching reading (The Diocesan Approach to Reading).

Upcoming Dates

6th May - Labour Day Public Holiday

8th May - School Photos

10th May - Mother's Day Liturgy at 2:30pm, Do it For Dolly Day (Wear Blue)

Best of luck to the students who are competing at the Mac Zone Cross Country trials in Texas today.

I will be on professional leave from the 30th of April, to the 3rd of May. During my absence, Olivia Osborne and Darcy Barnes will be deputising. 

Yours in education,

Casey Robinson

Principal

Library News

What a great week we had in the library for the start of Term 2! Fresh books went home in library bags, students read free choice books independently, we read together, we shared a beautiful WWII story told in a picture book format and we used ClickView videos to recall some important facts about ANZAC Day!

Year 2-6 are looking forward to an online visit with Renee Treml, author and illustrator  as part of the "Step into Stories" celebration. We will be reading Renee's books together over the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading together at home and for reminding your students to bring their books and bags each Thursday.

Anne Anderson

Teacher Librarian

Week 1 Term 2 - Engaged Readers and Learners

Term 2 Tuition Fees

School Photos - Wednesday 8th May

Pertussis (Whooping cough)

(From Darling Downs Public Health)

The Darling Downs has seen an increase in pertussis notifications. These cases are predominately in children less than 18 years old. Pertussis (whooping cough) is a respiratory illness caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis can cause sudden episodes of violent coughing, often resulting in difficulty breathing, strained inspiration (whoop) and vomiting due to the strength of the cough. Early diagnosis and treatment can significantly reduce the spread of this disease. It is important that educators are vigilant to reduce the spread of disease in the community. 

Pertussis in Schools

 • The Darling Downs Public Health Unit is currently managing several school-based pertussis outbreaks in the region.
• We are recommending the exclusion of students with a new cough from school attendance until testing
results and treatment are completed. Parents should be advised to present to their primary care physicians (GP) for assessment. 
• The Public Health Unit is working with GPs to promote the prompt testing and treatment of pertussis cases. 

Exclusion advice

• To help prevent the spread of illness, people who have been diagnosed with pertussis should NOT attend
school until they have completed the first five days of the recommended antibiotics.
• If antibiotics cannot be taken, the patient must be excluded for 21 days after the onset of any cough or 14  days after the onset of a paroxysmal (whoop) cough, whichever is earlier. 

Vaccination

• Parents should be reminded to ensure all children are up to date with their immunisations. Pertussis vaccine is part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule in Queensland and a booster dose available at Year 7.
• Pregnant women are recommended to have a pertussis-containing vaccine from 20 weeks in every  pregnancy.
• Pertussis vaccination is recommended every 10 years for early childhood educators and people in close 
contact with infants (does incur a cost). Please speak to your GP to discuss vaccination. 

High-Risk groups

• Women in the late stages of pregnancy (36+ weeks) will need antibiotic treatment if they identify as a close contact with a case of Pertussis. Please provide information to staff in case they are pregnant so they can seek medical care if they are contacts of a known case. 
• Children under 6 months are at increased risk of severe disease, and need to seek medical care if they are a close contact of a confirmed case. Although these children are unlikely to be in your schools, please share  this information with any play groups or kindergartens associated with your campus.

Students of the Week - Week 1

Sight Word Awards

Happy Birthday!

Parent Engagement Network (PEN)

Strategic Plan 2023-2026

Notices

We are currently looking for relief teachers to fill vital roles at our wonderful school. Relief teaching offers you the flexibility to take on work to match your lifestyle and the opportunity to continue to make a difference in the lives of our students and staff.

Please apply here: https://bit.ly/3HlXcIX or contact our office directly.