St Jerome's Newsletter
Week 3, Term 4 (Friday 26 October 2018)
Dear Parents and members of our school community,
A Prayer for our Reconciliation Candidates
Loving God help us to teach our children that you love us totally and unconditionally.
Help us to encourage our children to grow in love and to learn how to say sorry, knowing that you always forgive.
Give us the courage to pray with our children and to share our faith with them as we journey together.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
The Power of a Good Book
It doesn’t matter what age you are, there’s nothing quite like losing yourself in a good book. But, did you know that reading for enjoyment is also associated with higher academic achievement?
A recent large scale study concluded reading for pleasure has ‘a powerful influence on children’s learning’, particularly in developing vocabulary, but also on spelling and maths skills.
‘Reading for pleasure made a substantial difference [on intellectual progress] – the difference made was around four times greater than the difference made by having a parent with a degree’ (Sullivan, 2014).
Analysis of PISA results has shown a ‘crucial difference’ between children who perform well in the reading assessment and those who perform poorly is not how much time they spend reading, but whether they read daily for enjoyment.
‘On average, students who read daily for enjoyment score the equivalent of one-and-a-half years of schooling better than those who do not,’ (OECD, 2011).
Yet, in most countries, enjoyment of reading among school students is on a downward trend.
According to Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) analysis of PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) data, 45 per cent of Year 4 students in Australia say they only read if they have to.
So, how can educators and parents encourage children to read for fun in school and at home?
A survey of more than 2500 parents and children, provides some interesting insights.
The research found 51 per cent of children (aged six to 17) were currently reading a book for fun and 20 per cent had just finished one.
The survey found that school plays a particularly important part in reading for pleasure for students. One third of children aged six to 17 said there was a designated time during the school day to read a book they had chosen independently (not textbooks), but only 17 per cent do it every or almost every school day. When asked to describe when they read a book of their choice independently at school (in class, in free time, or as a school), 30 per cent of six - to eight-year-olds said ‘I don’t do this at all’ – and that figure increased to 61 per cent among 15- to 17-year-olds.
So, simply making time available during day for free reading will help.
An even stronger message to come from the survey is that, when it comes to picking out books students want to read for fun, they want to do the choosing.
As an adult, you probably like getting recommendations from friends and colleagues on what to read, but if every time you went to the library one of the staff picked out your books, it’s a fair bet you may start to lose interest.
When you think of it like that, it’s not hard to see why 91 per cent of children in the survey said their favourite books were the ones that they’d picked out for themselves, and 90 per cent said they were more likely to finish reading a book that they had chosen independently.
Data showing downward trends in reading for enjoyment relates to 15-year-olds. The survey suggests, things start off well enough in lower primary: 62 per cent of six- to eight-year-olds said they love reading books for fun or like it a lot.
However, the percentages decrease as children get older – to 49 per cent in the 12 to 14 age group and just 46 per cent among nine- to 11-year-olds and 15- to 17-year-olds.
The practice of reading aloud is an interesting one to ponder. As an adult, when was the last time someone read aloud to you? Did you enjoy it? Was it because you didn’t have the necessary skills to read the book yourself?
The study looks at this issue in a home context. ‘More than half of children aged 0-5 (54 per cent) are read aloud to at home five to seven days a week. This declines to only one in three kids ages 6-8 (34 per cent) and one in six kids ages 9–11 (17 per cent). When it comes to being read aloud to at home … [83 per cent of children across the age groups] say they love/d or like/d it a lot.’
The survey found 91 per cent of parents started reading books aloud at home before their child turned six. Of those, 80 per cent said they did it because they wanted their child to enjoy books.
Twenty-three per cent of parents said they stopped reading books aloud to their children before the age of nine, the reasons being: ‘My child was old enough to read on his/her own’ (75 per cent); ‘My child wanted to read independently’ (58 per cent); and ‘I wanted to promote independent reading’ (49 per cent).
Looking at things from the child’s perspective offers a different story. Four out of 10 children aged six to 11 didn’t want their parents to stop reading aloud to them. The main reason was because it’s special time with their parent (78 per cent), but 65 per cent also said reading together was fun, 48 per cent said they got to listen to books that might have been too hard for them, 36 per cent said they simply liked the fact they didn’t have to do the reading by themselves, and 35 per cent said they liked to hear the different voices or talk about the books with the person doing the reading.
So, if you want to foster a love of reading with your children then setting aside some time to read aloud (just for the fun of it) could be a good place to start.
Reports
Dear Parents and Guardians,
All Pre-Primary to Year 6 Reports and Kindergarten Developmental Profiles are delivered electronically via SEQTA Engage.
New Families / Accounts
If you have not previously created a SEQTA Engage account, you will receive an email over the next couple of days that must be actioned within 7 days. This email includes a link that is specific to your family. More information on how to create your new account can be found at http://www.stjeromes.wa.edu.au/seqta-engage/
and then clicking on “Registering”.
Current / Previous Accounts
It is important that you check your login for SEQTA Engage as early as possible so that you will be able to access your child’s report at the end of this term.
Please go to the following site http://www.stjeromes.wa.edu.au/seqta-engage/
and click on “SEQTA Engage” to check your login details. A link to this site can also be found on the school website at www.stjeromes.wa.edu.au, click on the “Portal” tab on the green menu bar and click on “SEQTA Engage”.
If you have remembered your username but have forgotten your password, please go to the following site http://www.stjeromes.wa.edu.au/seqta-engage/ and click on “Forgot Password’.
If you have forgotten your username you will need to email seqta.help@stjeromes.wa.edu.au and provide your name, your child’s name and your child’s class.
Other Information
Reports will be available for viewing on Wednesday 5 December after 2.00pm. If you are unable to print your child’s report a copy can be obtained from the school office at a cost of $5.00.
Please be aware that some emails can end up in junk mail, so please ensure that you check your inbox as well as your junk mail.
If you have any specific issues or general questions please email seqta.help@stjeromes.wa.edu.au outlining your query and provide your name, your child’s name and your child’s class.
Angie Letizia
Assistant Principal
Greetings from Helen who is in Canada
Next Friday, 2 November we will be holding our Grandparent's Morning at St Jerome's and are very much looking forward to welcoming grandparents into the school to visit their grandchildren in their classrooms. The school gates will open at 9:30am and there will be Student Councillors and the school Leadership Team available to assist with directing grandparents to the various classes, where there will be a variety of activities taking place. For those grandparents who are dropping off their grandchildren at 8:30am and then waiting around the school till 9:30am, there will be coffee and tea available in the hall for you.
Recess will begin at 10:30am and go through to 11am. Children can take their grandparents onto the oval for a picnic,( please bring along a picnic rug), to the Undercover Area or to the Circus Tent area where tables and chairs will be set up and complimentary tea ,coffee and biscuits will be available. This year we will also have tea and coffee facilities in the Circus Tent area as well to help reduce congestion in the Undercover Area. We encourage children to bring along something special to eat for recess to share with their grandparents however, the canteen will be selling plates of cakes in both the Undercover Area and the Circus Tent.
The 11am 'end of recess' bell will signal the end of our Grandparent's morning and the return to class for the children. We look forward to next week and seeing as many grandparents as possible, sharing time in class and morning tea with their grandchildren and their friends.
Please could you email me on carol.hoare@cewa.edu.au by Tuesday 30th October, indicating the number of grandparents from your family who will be attending so we can ensure we have catered adequately.
Carol Hoare
APRE
World Teachers' Day
A huge thank you to our P&F who provided our staff with a delicious morning tea on Wednesday to celebrate World Teachers' Day. This was in appreciation of all the hard work and care our staff provide for the children of our community.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - 7 PM, WEDNESDAY 28 NOVEMBER (SAVE THE DATE!)
We will have two vacant positions on the Board for 2019.
Please consider nominating for a position on the School Board as this is a great opportunity to give back to the community and be involved in the school at a high level.
The P&F are also calling upon nominations for a new committee next year.
Please consider nominating yourself for a position in the executive or general committee. This hands on committee provides you with the opportunity to be involved in organising community events and raising funds for resources for our children.
Parents or community members who wish to nominate themselves are asked to fill out the forms below and return them to the office by Friday 23 November.
REMINDER
2018 Student Residential Address and Other Information collection notice
Please go to the embedded link and read the attached notice from the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.
As the school is responsible for providing the requested details to the department, can you please ensure that we have the requested information by the end of this month, only if we do not have your correct information :
i . Current student/s residential address
ii. Names and current residential addresses of the the student's parents(s) and/or guardian(s).
INTERSCHOOL SPELLING BEE 2018
A huge congratulations to the following students who represented our school at the Southern Schools’ Interschool Spelling Bee.
Year Four – Ben G, Madison T, Alex S
Year Five - Monika T, Perth O, Vrindha Y
Year Six – Flynn BS, Jacob R, John T
The students competed in such good spirit; encouraging all competitors, including children from opposing schools. A special mention goes to John in Year Six for taking out Spelling Bee champion and to Vrindha for coming third in the Year Five competition.
Reconciliation Day
Community News
WAAPA Summer School 2018/2019
This Summer WAAPA at ECU, Mt Lawley is offering an exciting performing arts program for students from Years 1 to 12. The Summer School includes classes in RAP, Acting, Dance, Drama, Screen Performance, Music Theatre and of course, how to perform Shakespeare. For information about the fantastic courses on offer please visit WAAPA Summer School or contact Gabrielle Metcalf at g.metcalf@ecu.edu.au
Contact Details
Email: admin@stjeromes.wa.edu.au
Website: www.stjeromes.wa.edu.au
Location: 38 Troode Street, Munster WA, Australia
Phone: 08 9499 9500