All Saints Catholic Primary School

From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of All Saints,

It has been lovely to be able to go out and enjoy the beautiful winter sun these last weeks. And so exciting that the children can once again participate in sport activities outside of school. Being active is so important for their (and our) mental health and wellbeing.

Another area of importance for us is the children’s ability to learn to read. Learning to read helps a child’s health and wellbeing as well.

Reading is one of the most important skills we can teach our children. It is a predictor of future success, and outcomes for living are increased by learning to read fluently. It is not a natural skill like talking – it is a skill that needs to be learnt and practised in order to become fluent. Reading can be used for relaxation and pleasure, travelling to other worlds and places, information seeking and research, and it’s a skill that is required in everyday life and underpins learning.

The acquisition of reading skills is similar to learning to play football or learning to swim or to drive a car. Whilst we can be taught the fundamental skills, unless we practise regularly, the reading does not become fluent and embedded.

That’s why learning to read is a partnership between families and teachers in order to develop the skills together. Without frequent practise, some children are at risk of not being able to read with fluency and understanding.

At school, we work on a number of different strategies to begin learning to read. The first key area is oral language – talking, listening, repeating, rhyming, singing and playing with words. We also use a sequential way of explicitly teaching letters and sounds. We use decodable texts as the children’s first books to provide successful attempts at reading with known sounds and letters. We share stories both through reading and orally. We introduce more words and discuss these books and we have the children write letters, then words and then sentences and stories. However, we need the children to be practising these skills frequently and that requires work at home.

Helping students at home

Some strategies include:

set aside some uninterrupted time to read aloud with your child
read to your child in your first language - research shows that using your first language will help your child when he or she learns to read English
listen to your child read every day, even if only for a short time
talk about books together - make reading a shared, enjoyable activity
discuss the meanings of stories and words
ensure there is a range of reading material for your child at home, both fiction and nonfiction
give books as treats and presents
join your local library - borrow books for yourself as well as your child.

Here are some tips to encourage reading in older children:

It is recommended that you continue to read together in the later primary years, even if your child is reading independently.
Take your child to the local library often so they can choose, borrow and renew books. Taking your child to the library at the beginning of school holidays encourages weeks of independent reading.
Encourage your child to borrow from their school library as well.
If your child likes an author, find another book or a series of books by the same author.
Encourage your child to read about their favourite author or illustrator at their website.
Introduce your child to read different genres such as fantasy, science-fiction, action and adventure.
Introduce your child to reading different types of texts, such as poems, music lyrics, and short plays.
Encourage your child to read non-fiction. The newspaper or an online encyclopedia might be a good start, but your child might also be interested in history books or autobiographies of their favourite sportsperson or celebrity.
Encourage your child to use a dictionary to look up words they might not understand.
Allow your child to play age-appropriate video games that require reading.

At school, the teachers do many of these things as well because they know modelling these skills is as important as teaching them. At home, children need to see that reading is important to you – just as important as football or netball or swimming or learning to ride a bike or drive.

I wonder where reading has taken you? This week I’ve been in Ireland!

With every best wish,

Liz Keogh & Staff

Read 20 Minutes A Day!

What a difference reading 20 minutes a day can make for your child's future!

From the Director of Wellbeing

We would like to welcome Deana Byrne to All Saints. Deana is a student counsellor who has joined our staff on a temporary basis for Term 3. Deana also works at St Columba College and has experience working in other primary and secondary schools.

School counsellors play an important role in supporting children with their social and emotional wellbeing, in addition to academic support. If you feel your child would benefit from accessing support from Deana this term, please speak with your child’s classroom teacher or give me a call to discuss your concerns. Parents of children under the age of 10 years old will be contacted to obtain consent prior to seeing Deana. Children over the age of 10 years old can independently request to see Deana. Families will then be contacted following these sessions.

Deana will be working here every Wednesday. She likes to greet the children when they arrive at 8:30am and would be happy for you to introduce yourselves if you see her in the courtyard.

Please contact me if you would like to discuss accessing the counsellor or would like any further information.

Kind regards,
Megan Lovering

Welcome to our New Receptions

We held a special Welcome Assembly last week to formally introduce the new Reception children and their families who recently joined the All Saints Community. We are so happy to see the children are settling in nicely and making lots of new friends.

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Ms Keogh's All Saints Stars

At All Saints we believe in recognising positive behaviour. Regularly Ms Keogh invites learners who have continually gone over and above, to share a drink and a chat together.

Lost Property

Over the past two terms there has been an excessive amount of lost property at school that has remained unclaimed and unnamed.

Please can you ensure that all your children's clothing, hats, bags, lunch boxes and drink bottles are clearly named. This enables us to return your child's misplaced items promptly.

Any items that are not named and remain unclaimed at the end of term will be donated to the SEM Op Shop.

Enrol Now !

Enrolments are now open for 2021. Please contact Leisa Macey, Registrar for further information through the Front Office or lmacey@allsaints.catholic.edu.au.

From the APRIM

As the mess of this year continues, it is important that we somehow focus on what is good. Our first day back as staff focussed on that as we began our day.

The following reflection clearly highlights what it means to focus on that which is true, honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). This story comes from a Marist Brother, from just a few weeks ago.

The other day, I was sitting on a train as it came to a stop at Town Hall Station in Sydney. Behind me was a mini commotion. Into the carriage piled this woman of about 55 carrying half-a-dozen plastic bags full of shopping. It was a very hot day and she was really puffing. She almost fell into the seat.

But there were two people. In the rush and rumble from door to seat, this woman, with the shopping in one hand, had her other arm entwined around a man. This man was about 30 and he was severely handicapped: his legs went in all directions and his head twitched and rolled around on his shoulders while his face was quite distorted.

Well, somehow they piled onto the seat opposite me and she proceeded to disentangle herself from the man and drop her shopping bags. Then this red-faced woman looked up at us with a big smile and said, with her arm around this man, holding him erect: “This is my son – isn’t he lovely!”

I (and, I’m sure, my seat companions) saw mess, distortion, suffering – How does she cope? She saw (while living in the pain of it all) beauty, pride, dignity in her son – a reason for gratitude.

She is Mary at the foot of the Cross. She is a woman of the Resurrection. She has the heart of a mother.

How can we embrace this to find hope in all the mess of this year?

God bless,
Tamara Smith

Whatever is true ...

Philippians 4.8

Focus on Year 1 Yeates

Welcome to Year 1 Yeates.

In Maths we have been focusing on measurement. We have been exploring why, when and where we need to use measurement in our world.

We learnt that there are three different things we can work out the size of and we use different “measurable attributes” to work out their size.

“I’ll need to use “linear” attribute to know if a new car will fit in our garage” - Josh
“I use the attribute of “time” to work out how long our lesson lasts” - Tristan
“I used the attribute of “mass” when I made a cake” - Connor

We loved reading the “Actual Size” book and comparing ourselves to real life animals.

“My head’s the same size as a baby Protoceratops” – Charlie
“My whole hand is as big as the fingernail of a Baryonyx” – Scarlett
“My finger’s the same size as a tiger’s tooth” – Felix
“My hand’s the same size as this flying cockroach…yuck!” – Corbin

And we explored the different types of equipment that we use for working out the size of things.

“The scales tell you how much you weigh and how much you eat” – Bo
“You use a tape measure to see how big or long something is” - Sophie

School Closure Day

We remind you that Monday, 31 August 2020 is a School Closure Day.

Welcome To All Saints

Lindy Burford joins us in Term 3, as Playgroup Coordinator of our Little Saints Playgroup.

Lindy previously worked at the Burnside Library, having commenced her career as a Children’s Librarian.

Lindy is married with 3 children and keeps very busy with her 4 grandsons, one of whom attends All Saints.

Lindy is very creative and has an interest in interior styling and event planning. She has visited many different parts of the world, but believes there is no place like home, where she loves spending time with her family.

Being a part of the All Saints team is special to Lindy as she has always felt the warmth and love that emanates from the All Saints Community. Lindy loves her new role and in particular the look of excitement on a child’s face when they run into the room and discover all the toys and activities here at Playgroup.

Little Saints Playgroup

The Little Saints Playgroup is back. We invite you to come along and meet our new Playgroup Coordinator, Lindy Burford. Playgroup is held on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays in the transportable unit adjacent to the hall from 9:00-10:45am.

Please bring along a hat, drink and healthy snack for your child.

School Calendar

We have all of our events and important dates detailed on our calendar.

School Hats in Term 3

We remind you to pack the All Saints hat, as in Term 3 the "Sun Smart" Policy and "no hat, no play" rule is followed. Hats, along with all other uniform items,are available for purchase from Lowes, Colonnades, Noarlunga Centre or can be purchased online.

Lowes Uniform Sale

Advanced notice of a 20% off sale on uniforms at Lowes next week, 6-7 August, 2020. To receive the discount you will need to have a Lowes Zero Card or Lowes Rewards Card. If you do not already have a loyalty card, you can apply for one online or instore.