Dear St Anne's Community,

We have had a great couple of weeks, with plenty of engaging events across the school. Students are settled and back into the routine of school. Our K-2 students have started their Initialit journey and we look forward to sharing their progress in the months to come. Year 7 have also started well and they have been busy learning their timetable and enjoying the new routine of moving classrooms and having a range of teachers. School uniform standards across the school have been very pleasing and I congratulate the students on taking pride in their uniform. 

Welcome BBQ

Thank you to everyone that attended our Welcome BBQ and open classrooms last week. It was great having you all in the school. If you missed the night and need to know anything specific, please do not hesitate to contact your child's classroom teacher. 

Swimming Carnival

Thank you to Mr Tait and Mr Hughes for their work in organising our school swimming carnival. It was an enjoyable day, with great spirit and participation on display. Congratulations to all students. The Staff v Students race was won by the students this year and well done to them. Staff will have to up their preparation for next year.

Congratulations to our students that have made it onto the next level of swimming.

Mass

We had a nice opening school Mass last week and a reverent Ash Wednesday Mass this week. I was proud of the students and how they conducted themselves during both Masses. Thank you to Mrs Collins for her work with organising these.

Community Council

We are looking for some new members to join our School Community Council. I encourage you to give me a call or an email if you would like some more information about the role. Our next meeting is on Tuesday 9th March and this will also be our AGM. The Council meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month (except for school holidays), at 7pm in the schools front office and they provide advice and leadership in the areas of Catholic Identity and Faith, Leadership, Enrolment and Growth, Financial, Physical Resource and Academic Programs. The Council has responsibility to take decisions in the following areas:

*supporting the development of the Catholic ethos of the school;

*supporting the pastoral care strategies;

*promoting the school in the local community;

*approving and monitoring of the school-based budget including the fees collection and remission policy;

*developing and monitoring of school enterprises;

*developing capital and maintenance programs;

*developing local strategic plans (finances, buildings, resources) and contributing to archdiocesan educational strategic planning;

*approving school uniform items decided at school level.

Please contact the office if you are interested.

School Registration

Every 5 years, school’s go through a process of re-registration. We will be visited from 23rd to 25th March by an external panel consisting of people from around our Diocesan schools and Head Office. They examine the school closely to see how we are progressing with our 3 year strategic plan and areas of improvement. The panel also looks at our policies, procedures and at teacher planning, as well as visits to classrooms and facilities. They will interview staff, parents and students about the school. It is a comprehensive process and we are looking forward to sharing our story of improving student achievement, increasing student engagement and strengthening our Catholic Identity. I will share with the school community the commendations and recommendations after the registration visit.

Attendance

Your child’s daily attendance is recorded by way of marking a class roll every day. It is a legal requirement for all schools. You may email the school, send a note in or use the school app to notify the school of your child’s absence. If you need to collect your child during school hours a note to their teacher explaining the reason for leaving is required. The parent/carer/guardian is also required to sign the child out at the front office and sign them back in if they return that day. Thank you for your support. 

School Counsellor

Our new School Counsellor has started work at St Anne's. Samantha will be at our school every Monday and Tuesday. For Samantha to see any child under 14, she will ask for a permission form to be filled in by parents. Please contact the school if you would like for your child to be seen by Samantha. 

Thursday 4th March - School Photos

Friday 5th March - Kinder Welcome Night, Bowling Club, 6.00pm

Monday 15th March - Yr 3- 6, School Cross Country, Nixon Park 

Wednesday 17th March - Yr 3-6, Paul Kelly Cup, Wagga

Friday 19th March - Open boys and girls cricket in Gundagai

Saturday 27th March - St Anne's Long Lunch 12.00noon

Monday 29th March - Winter trials for Open netball and under 11's and under 12's rugby league in Canberra

Tuesday 30th March - Year 8 Retreat Day (School Hall)

Tuesday 30th March - Western Region Cross Country (Boorowa)

Wednesday 31st March - Year 9 Retreat Day (School Hall)

Thursday 1st April - Last Day Term 1

Thursday 1st April - Easter Hat Parade 9.00am 

Thursday 1st April - Yr 5-6, Stephen Bleyer Cup

Thursday 1st April - Easter Pageant 2.00pm

Monday 19th April - K-10, School Resumes Term 2

Last Tuesday we inducted our 2021 leaders at our Opening School Mass. We congratulate them all and look forward to working with them.

Teachers at St Anne’s are committed to providing students of our school with the best possible learning outcomes.  Our students have differing needs, abilities and interests. Learning happens when teaching responds to these individual qualities.   As teachers, we make adjustments to enable every student to participate in learning.  

Adjustments support student learning and are developed by the teacher, in consultation with parents and carers.  Teachers make adjustments all the time.  Adjustments include things like modifying class work or assessment tasks, providing a student with visuals, giving a student a reduced number of tasks or extra time to do a task, withdrawing students from class for a reading program, additional demonstration/explanation 1:1 or in a small group, and additional supervision in the playground.

Any student, who receives any form of adjustment in the classroom and/or on the playground requires a Personalised Plan (PP).  A PP is a document which outlines the adjustments being made.  It is a record of the adjustments.  The PP also documents any goals that the teacher and student set.  The PP is revisited throughout the year - recording any changes to the adjustments  being made, and setting new goals.

Teachers are currently working on their students’ PP’s for  2021.  Although teachers are able to share information with other teachers, from year to year, it is necessary for teachers to spend some time with their new students, in their new classrooms, in order to determine suitable adjustments for their students. Soon your child’s teacher may contact you and ask you to come to school to meet with them to go through your child’s PP.  This gives parents an opportunity to discuss any adjustments and goals with teachers, and to share any relevant information regarding their child’s needs and their learning.

If you have questions regarding this please don’t hesitate to contact Lou Gaynor, Grant Haigh, or your child's Classroom Teacher.

Every year the ABC helps to celebrate the lives of everyday rural youth through their Heywire competition. For the past 8 years, our Year 10 students have entered this competition and in 2020 Jake Schulz was announced as one of the winners. Jake was a part of the St Anne's community as a student for 11 years and we are proud to call him one of our own. Well done Jake!

Last Monday we held the annual swimming carnival where Years 3-10 competed for points for their houses and for personal achievement. The event was well attended with all students competing in a race or one of the novelty events that were offered. The first race of the day offered a glimpse of the success to come with a record being broken. The records continued to fall and the house points continued to be racked up for participation and placegetters. St Joseph’s showed their strength and dominance again in the pool, and managed to convincingly win the Champion House competition. Well done to house captains Matt Durham and Carus Gray. It was also a big achievement for the Year 10 students, who were able to beat the teachers for the first time in quite a while in the relay race.

Primary swimmers who qualified for Western Region selection at West Wyalong on the 15th February were: Hayley Kite, Livvy Blackwell, Lenny, Zephanie and Matthias Lancaster, Judd Oliver, Adelaide Gaynor, Lana King, Will Maxwell, Lani and Grace McCrone, Addie Warren, Annabelle, Brodie and Carus Gray, Lani Summerfield, Darcy Reardon, George Morton, Ava Derick, Harry Swanston and Annabelle Palmer. Well done to these swimmers.

Iron Person medals were awarded to the following students who competed in all of the events

Records

8 Years 50m Freestyle - Annabelle Gray 50.32

(previously held by Evie West  2016 54.43)

8 Years 50m Backstroke - Annabelle Gray 1:03.57

(previously held by Sarah Reardon 1997 1:16.03)

8 Years Butterfly Annabelle Gray: 1:30.10

(previously held by Josie Gaynor 2010 1:49.20)

11 Years 50m Freestyle - Will Maxwell 36.30

(previously held by Matt Harmon 1990 36.77)

11 Years 50m Freestyle Lani Summerfield 37.73

(previously held by Kristy Reardon 1995 40.63)

Champions

House points

On Monday twenty one St Anne’s swimmers travelled to West Wyalong to compete for Western region swimming selection. In beautiful conditions all swimmers did their school and themselves proud, competing and supporting each other wonderfully.

Four swimmers were successful in gaining selection; Lani Summerfield 50 free, 50 back and 50 fly, Will Maxwell in the 50 free, 50 back, 50 breast and 50 fly, and our two little 8 year old “pocket rockets” Zephanie Lancaster and Annabelle Gray made it away in the 50 free - a great effort rewarded with a trip to Narooma on the 1^st March!

Thanks to all of the parents and grandparents who took children and assisted with timekeeping and cheering on the day-well done.

Canberra-Goulburn AFL selection success 2021

Three students travelled to Wollongong last week to trial for selection in the Canberra-Goulburn open primary AFL  team, they were Archer Gaynor, George Morton and Jonte Reid.

In very trying conditions for AFL selection the boys were put through a rigorous skills session before playing a game in the rain and wind. George and Jonte were successful in gaining selection, bad luck to Archer, who will get another chance next year. The boys travel to Wagga on the 26^th March to participate against other diocese for MacKillop selection- we wish them the best of luck.

Primary representative sport dates coming up:

29th March-Winter trials for Open netball and under 11's and under 12's rugby league in Canberra

19th March-Open boys  and girls cricket in Gundagai

Building Works

The renovations are progressing really well and we expect to be finished them by the end of this term. The Food Technology space will be finished by the end of this month and the Wood/Metal workshop is close to being finished also. The Electricity upgrade will occur in the next lot of school holidays. 

Maintenance

The Years 1,2,7,8 & 9 classrooms will be receiving a makeover very soon. They will be fitted out with new pinboard material (Autex) on the front and back walls and we will be looking at painting them also. This will freshen them up and make them more inviting for students and staff.

Monday 22nd Feb - Team 2 - Mai Pham, Kirsty Oliver, Kerin O'Connor

Monday 1st March - Team 3 - Lisa van Egmond, Kara Clydesdale, Danielle Haigh

Monday 8th March - Team 4 - Angela Gilchrist, Amber Crawford, Kerissa Reardon, Rochelle Caldwell

Monday 15th March - NO CANTEEN

Monday 22nd March - Sally Cassidy, Marna Crawford, El Warren

Monday 29th March - Atalie Perry, Carly Bickham, Andrea Cartwright

PLEASE NOTE: The canteen will be closed Monday 15^th March.

We will be accepting cash in the canteen again. Online payment is preferred however cash will be accepted for snacks and ice blocks for recess and lunch Monday and just lunch on Fridays.

There have been several price rises in canteen this year due to supplier price increases, if you are sending your children with cash to buy snacks you can check prices QKR if needed.