Dear Families and Caregivers,

At St Brendan’s, we believe that good attendance is an essential prerequisite to learning. As a community, we will encourage and assist all students to achieve excellent levels of attendance and punctuality and to be at school on time. We expect ALL students to arrive from 8:30 am and before 8:45 am and finish the day at 3:15 pm. This will enable ALL students to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them.

At the start of the morning, children are given their schedule for the day's learning. A focus on learning begins at 8:45 a.m. and builds over the course of the morning.

A child who arrives late, misses out on vital introductions and information that sets them up for a successful day's learning. Late arrival leads to:

• unnecessary anxiety through missing information, leading to a less productive and engaged learner.
• disruption to the class, which impacts on the learning of the other students.

Students arriving late to school need to be signed in at Administration and are required to record a reason for their late arrival.

A second school closure has been organised to support the learning and teaching of our staff in Religious Education. Led by Beth Walsh, MACS Learning Consultant in Religious Education, our staff will explore knowledge and understandings of Christianity in the light of Jesus and the Gospel. The major foci will include spirituality, religious identity and fostering the skills of:

• discerning
• interpreting
• thinking critically
• seeking truth
• making meaning in today’s world.

The school closure day will be held in the first week back in Term 3, Friday 14 July.

The first school closure day for the year was a great success. These days are extremely valuable as they allow ALL staff to be together and explore the same experience, develop skills and create whole school understandings and practice. In this case, it was Big Write and VCOP.

Without the interruption of daily school life, staff entered into the professional learning with enthusiasm and excitement developing deeper understandings of:

• handwriting

• spelling

• grammar

• punctuation.

Led by Sonya, the inspirational workshops provide the opportunity, ALL TOGETHER, to learn new material, challenge thinking and have fun.

Best wishes,

Peter

With the cold weather arriving so to has the need for playing indoors. Parents are always looking for ways to engage their children on wet days at home. One very simple way to entertain kids is with card games. A pack or a deck of cards is easily affordable and can be used for a variety of games which can be played individually, with a partner or with a group of family members. Playing card games improves hand eye co-ordination, increases understanding of mathematical concepts and develops problem solving skills.

Your children have learnt different games at school they may wish to teach family members.

This website will provide simple family favourite games to play with your children at home.

https://brisbanekids.com.au/6-easy-card-games-kids/

One of my favourite card games to play is UNO. I have spent many hours of fun playing this game with my boys over the years. It can be purchased from some supermarkets or stores such as K Mart. Kids at St Brendan’s love playing UNO with their friends and I am sure many enjoy playing it with their families also. This is an ideal game for number and colour recognition. It is great for teaching the rules of taking turns in a game. It also reinforces concepts of forwards, backwards etc.

So stay out of the cold and rain. Good luck and have fun!

Best wishes

Michelle Hewitt

Mathematics Leader

The arrival of the Dental Van saw many bright smiles with teeth proudly on display. For those a little more reluctant, the anxious moments were soon brushed away.

24 check-ups took place with families and carers provided with their child’s dental report. The service was well received and ran smoothly.

Schools must now complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) every year. It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments or “help” at school because of a disability. The NCCD helps governments plan for the needs of students with disability.

Visit the NCCD Information button below for further information

2023

Term 2

Week 5

Thursday 25

Breast Cancer Pink Bun Day

- Gold Coin Donation

Dental Van Visit

Friday 26 May

District Cross Country

- School Squad

Dental Van Visit

Prayer Assembly

Platypuses

2:20 pm in the Gym

Week 6

Monday 29 May

Visual Arts

Physical Education

Performing Arts

Tennis

Tuesday 30 May

Early Years

Wednesday 31 May

Bluearth

Friday 2 June

Prayer Assembly

Koalas

2:20 pm in the Gym

Week 7

Monday 5 June

Visual Arts

Physical Education

Performing Arts

Tennis

Tuesday 6 June

Early Years

School Advisory Council

7:00 pm

Wednesday 7 June

Bluearth

Thursday 8 June

Reconcilation 10:30 am

Friday 9 June

Prayer Assembly

School Captains

2:20 pm in the Gym

Help me to journey beyond the familiar

and into the unknown.

Give me the faith to leave old ways

and break fresh ground with You.

Christ of the mysteries, I trust You

to be stronger than each storm within me.

I will trust in the darkness and know

that my times, even now, are in Your hand.

Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,

and somehow, make my obedience count for You.

AMEN.’