TWCS Newsletter Term 2 Week 2 2023

Welcome to Term 2. My name is Katrina Kreis and I will be the Acting Assistant Principal: Religious Identity and Mission (APRIM) for the rest of 2023. I have been warmly welcomed by the community which I am grateful for.

As a Church we are still in the season of Easter until Pentecost Sunday on May 28^th. The Easter season in the Catholic Church is a time for renewal to our faith and commitment to our spiritual lives. After Jesus died, the disciples were challenged to go out and to spread the message of Christ as the first Christian Communities were established. This term at school we will be thinking of ways to spread the message of Jesus through outreach and a call to action. Reconciliation Week, the Vinnies Winter Appeal and the Wonder Recycling Program will be ways in which we as a community can spread Jesus’ message of love and inclusion. As Jesus said in John 15: 12 ‘This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.’

May is the month of Mary in the Catholic Church. Mary was the first disciple, the first to say yes and hence we look to her as our Mother for guidance also. At school this term classes will be learning the Ave Maria in Italian with Signora Larritt and will also be using this prayer with their classroom teachers. I encourage you to ask your children about the prayer and maybe teach it to you! The annual Marian procession is the main way that South Australian Catholics show their devotion to Mary. This year it will be held in the city on Sunday May 21. Information can be found at https://thesoutherncross.org.au/news/2023/03/29/marian-procession-coming-to-cbd/

I spoke with the Year 2 students about Mary the Mother of God this week and we listened to the Hail Mary before praying it together. They then drew their own pictures of Mary.

I also visited the Reception classes and we spoke about Mary as a mother and what made her special. We then related that to our own Mothers and the students reflected on their own mums.

Some of the pictures and reflections from both year levels have been included below.

I wish all the mothers and special mother figures in our community a special day on Sunday. May your day be filled with the joy of the important people in your lives.

I look forward to meeting you as the year goes on.

Katrina Kreis

Acting APRIM

At TWCS we are extremely fortunate to have dedicated Staff. During the school holidays Leticia and Kelly completed a 3 day course with Bill Hansberry on Teaching Students with Dyslexia (TSD1).  The course provided content and methodology for intervention sessions focusing on structured phonetic-instruction and the importance of repetition. In order to help children employ language rules to direct their reading and spelling, it also looked at the use of a multisensory approach and the significance of understanding.

Congratulations Leticia and Kelly on completing the TSD1 training and for all your hard work.

As winter's chill sets in term 2, during lunchtimes we are providing a variety of activities for students to partake in. The Beehive is open every day with lots of different activities including on a Thursday Mr Molloy is offering a Chess club and on Friday, I am hosting a Lego club. On a Tuesday Kelly is offering Yoga sessions with the year 3-6 students. For those students that like the cold and to be running around on a Wednesday, Mitch is hosting soccer clinic that will end with a soccer tournament. Lots of activities and fun to support students building connections with their peers at lunchtime.

On Wednesday 24^th May our whole school will participate in National Simultaneous Storytime. National Simultaneous Storytime is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously around the country. The aim is to promote the value of reading and literacy, using Australian children’s books. This year’s book is The Speedy Sloth by Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie. This book contains a beautiful message about persistence. We can’t wait to join in the fun.

The students in 4/5 Purple have well and truly settled back into their learning after the term break and have warmly welcomed Mr Martino as their new teacher on Thursdays and Fridays.
 
In the latest Grow Your Mind wellbeing sessions, we have been exploring different breathing techniques, choosing personal affirmations and discussing resilience. Our Child Protection unit has complimented this work as we revisited our Trust Trees, unpacked how power can used or abused and how our actions can affect others.
 
In Religion, we continue to explore prayer and sacraments. We are also about to dive into moral decision making with a particular focus on Pope Francis' letter to the world, Laudato si'. 
 
In Literacy, we will continue to work through our PLD program, develop our reading comprehension skills, learn how to expand sentences and create some engaging narratives!
 
In Mathematics, we are focussing on developing our speed and accuracy when working with all four processes. We are also solving more complex problems involving regrouping and applying a range of strategies for multi-step problems. Alongside our number work, students continue to strengthen their understanding of measurement concepts.
 
We have covered a number of Science and Media Arts curriculum areas through our project with ABC. Last term Kim Martin provided our class with the opportunity to collaborate with ABC to help produce resources for an awesome wildlife show that is yet to be released. The students worked independently or in pairs to create audio content for the well-known broadcasting company. The students are bursting with excitement to share their creations with the school community and hope their voices are shared with kids all across Australia. This unique experience allowed students to demonstrate leadership, teamwork, creativity and perseverance
 
Students have also been engaged in a number of other activities this term such as Aerobics, Cross Country, Leadership Days, yoga, Peter Pan auditions and Sofcrosse clinics. A very busy term ahead for the 4/5 Purple crew!

Heather Docherty

The last of term 1 was our annual Sports Day and it was a beauty!! We couldn’t have asked for better weather and the fabulous atmosphere created by the community. After a morning of preparation with the class teachers the students meet with their house teams and march onto the arena. The house captains led their teams with gusto as they chanted and health hustled to create a fabulous opening ceremony.  

The students rotated through a range of activities throughout the day with Sprints and hurdles being some of the student's favourite events. The students watched the parents fight it out in an epic tug of war battle. The house relays were a highlight, and it was heart-warming watching the students cheer their hearts out, supporting their school mates and giving everything a go.  

We saw the wonderful sportsmanship displayed by all the teams and resilience too. The time came to collate the points and reveal who were the spirit cup winners. The cup is awarded to the team who has been showing amazing teamwork, sportsmanship and embracing the words In all things love in their approach to the day.  

Congratulations to Aloysius for winning the spirit cup in 2023.  

In a very close race for the 2023 Shield, MacKillop came out as the winners!!! A fantastic day and another sports day to remember. A big thank you to all of the staff for supporting their students to make the day so enjoyable for our students especially to Di and Peta for working hard on the tabulation table.

Shield Results
Mackillop 1600
Aloysius 1580
Penola 1560
Tenison 1450

Spirit Cup Results
Aloysius 1240
Mackillop 1120
Tenison 1110
Penola 940

We had some families take photos of their adventures.