St Jerome's Newsletter
Week 8 - Term 3 (Thursday 12 September 2019)
Dear Parents and members of our school community
Hold On, My Friend
In your worst moments when all that is good
and right in the world seems so far away
and hope is no more than a distant dream,
remember these things, my friend:
The stars remain steadfast in their spaces
and the moon still guides the tides in their paces
and the planets are still lined up in their places
and you're loved as you are...
because that is what grace is.
Please hold tight. Don't let go.
Try to breathe through the pain.
Like the sun every morning,
hope will rise once again.
Hold on, my friend,.
Hold on.
L R Knost
So many wonderful things are happening every day at St Jerome's. Today I saw the busy Kindy Red students creating their own dinosaur eggs. Like genuine archaeologists, they'll chip away at the egg and discover their toy dinosaur deep inside. So much learning occurs through these types of rich play experiences. I've included a link to the instructions for making dinosaur eggs.
On Monday 16 September the Catholic Performing Arts Final Concert takes place at the Perth Concert Hall. We are very proud to announce that Lauren B (Yr 6G) has been awarded the Sandra Gorringe Award for Solo Speech and Drama (Primary). Lauren will perform her award winning piece plus be presented with her trophy on Monday evening.
2020 Class Placements
Around about this time each year decisions are made regarding class placements for the following year. Factors which are taken into account when balancing classes include academic ability, gender, social and emotional needs and religious affiliation. In addition, children with behavioural problems and those with special needs are also accommodated.
Parental requests become an additional factor and I would like to make clear our policy on this issue. Letters to or lobbying of class teachers will not be considered. Because of the many other factors involved in balancing classes, parental requests can only be met in exceptional circumstances. If you believe that such circumstances apply to your child, a request must be made in writing by Friday 20 September. No requests can be met after this date. Please do not ask your child for their preferred teacher as this does not constitute an exceptional circumstance. Neither is the placement of a child in a class without their current best friend. When writing your request, please indicate the reason for the request. This is your opportunity to explain in writing your exceptional circumstance. Unsubstantiated requests will be ignored.
Please note my secretary will ring you to confirm receipt of your letter, however, I will not be conducting interviews with parents regarding class placement, nor will I be replying to letters of request.
Meeting new and different people is a fact of life and it is our role as parents and teachers to support them through change rather than protect them from it. I am confident that the teachers put a great deal of thought into the new class lists and I ask you to trust that the environment your child is going to next year is one in which they will thrive.
Principal
Please read on through the articles to discover great results from Mathletics.
Parents and children riding Scooters and bicycles to and from school.
I wanted to remind parents of our school safety rules regarding the use of bikes and scooters and ask parents to support us by setting a positive example, talking to their children about the rules and why it is important that everyone follow them.
· Children scooting or riding their bikes to school must wear helmets
· Children and parents are not permitted to ride on school or parish land on school days. They must dismount their scooters and bikes and walk from Troode St (across the front of the church )or from Rockingham road.
· Children are not permitted to ride or walk down the lane behind the church leading to Troode St.
Drive Through in the afternoon
· Drive Through opens between 3:10pm and 3:15pm. The exact time is determined by when the Pre Primary children arrive with their teachers from their classrooms.
· Parents and families are asked not to park or stand in front of the chain, regardless of the time, as this causes a backlog of cars onto Rockingham road. If the chain is in place, drivers are asked to park or do a loop of the carpark. Our staff should not have to listen to angry parents taking out their grievances on them because they are stressed or running late! Please show some restraint and respect for our staff, especially in front of children, as the staff only have your child’s safety at heart. We have one of the largest carparks in the city, we have been advised on the layout of the Carpark by experts and we are doing our best to ensure that your children are delivered to you quickly and safely so please support us.
· We encourage parents to come after 3:15 as this then allows them to drive through with less of a delay. We are on duty until 3:25pm so the closer you leave pickup to that time, the fewer cars you will encounter.
· Please do not park on any kerbing or double park while waiting for your child.
· We ask parents not to cross the Drive Through on foot to get to or from your car, but to use the crosswalks at either end of the Drive Through. Your children know that this is not allowed. It is a safety matter. Please support us with this rule and set a positive example for your children.
Safety concern: Families are discouraged from using the back lane behind the church to get to Troode St as this is the access to the staff carpark and there is no proper walk way there for pedestrians.
Thank you for your support and keeping all our children safe.
Carol Hoare
Children's Mass
Children’s mass this weekend 10am Sunday
This weekend we have a children’s mass on Sunday at 10am led by our Year Six students. All families are warmly invited to attend and bring along an item of non-perishable food to support the St Vincent De Paul group in the parish.
Assembly this Friday 13th September
This week we will again start our assembly early at 2 pm our CRUNCH ometer (don’t forget to send some carrot or crunchy apple with your child tomorrow for this) followed by Merit certificates, presentation of our TOM medals and Cross Country medals. This will be followed by the 6 Blue item and then 6 Red presenting the Choral Speech item they did for the Performing Arts Festival this year.
We also have Fr Chris De Sousa showing us pictures of his mission school in Mozambique that we are intending to link to St Jerome's
There is so much on this week! We look forward to welcoming you to the assembly on Friday at 2pm.
Plastic Bottle Tops Collection
Envision Hands – Collection of Plastic Bottle Tops
Thank you for the many bottle tops dropped into the school for Envision Hands.
To assist in the Envision Hands Project please help by ensuring only clean bottle tops from soft drink, water and milk bottles are the only tops recycled. The plastic ring can be recycled too! Although Envision does try to recycle any plastic it receives, at present their operations can’t fully process these other items.
This is an ongoing project and your tops are happily accepted by dropping them into the box in the front office.
Thank you!
Vinnies Pantry Collection
Dear Families,
For the next two weeks St Jerome's are collecting food items to support the St Vinnies pantry at our Parish.
We welcome donations of a variety of food items (please see the list below).
We really appreciate donations of these pantry items and children can place them in the boxes in their classrooms.
Thank you for your support.
I have attached the list of suggested pantry items.
Mel Black
Kindy Blue Teacher
tinned soup and vegetables
long life milk
a small jar of coffee or a small packet of teabags
a jar of strawberry jam
a packet of spaghetti
packet pasta meals
Parent Interviews
Parent Teacher Interviews for Pre-Primary to Year 6 are continuing next week.
Bookings for parent interviews can be made the following ways:
· Via the online website: https://bookings.parentteacheronline.com.au?school=hnzja
· You can also search the App Store or Google Play for “Parent Teacher Online”. When using the app you will need to add our school code: hnzja
· A link to the website is also available on the St Jerome’s website through the portal on the right hand side of the screen. Please ensure that you can see the St Jerome's logo when you enter the site.
When you enter the website you will see a grey box on the right hand side of the screen. There, you will see an option to 'Obtain PIN/Password'. Please click on this and enter your e-mail address in the box provided. Please ensure that you put in the SAME e-mail address that you provided to the school.
You will receive a return e-mail with your username (which is usually your surname) as well as a four or five digit pin.
Please note that interviews for Pre-Primary to Year 3 are between the parent / guardian and the teacher. Interviews in Year 4 to Year 6 also involve the student.
Should you have any questions, please contact the front office.
Kind regards
Stuart McClorey
Year 6 Teacher/Cluster Leader
Mathletics
This year saw the re-introduction of Mathletics as a way to support students in their maths learning. The results have been amazing, and there are many students who have committed to making gains in their learning through this program. Here are some 'fast facts' about our Mathletics use so far this year:
- As a school we have completed almost 18,000 activities
- Collectively, we have earned over 3.5 million participation points
- We have earned over 900 certificates (6 gold)
- 34% of all activities have been completed at home which shows great commitment to learning
- Students improve on average by 14% after their first attempt in activities.
A special congratulations must go to Mr Jones and the class of 4 Green who continue to lead the school in total participation points! They have set a very high standard, though there are other classes chasing them down so they will need to keep working hard! Unsurprisingly, the top 3 mathletes in the school are all from 4 Green!
- Josie C
- Cooper S
- Luca F
Well done to these students on their fine efforts!
Mr McClorey
Mathletics Coordinator
The Great Vegie Crunch
St Jerome's will be participating in the Great Vegie Crunch at assembly on Friday September 13.
Parents, could you make sure on this day that each child brings a hard piece of fruit or vegie (must make a crunch noise when bitten into) to bring to assembly so that we can participate as a whole school.
The Great Vegie Crunch
When: FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13 at 2.15pm
Please ensure your child brings: some fresh, washed vegetables to crunch on. Maybe a carrot or sugar snap peas, or curt up some capsicum, broccoli, cucumber or celery?
Parents are very welcome to join in!
More information is available on the Crunch&Sip website.
Inter School Cross Country Wrap Up 2019
Tuesday September 10 was the CPSSA annual Inter school Cross Country carnival.
We had absolutely fantastic weather and we were very grateful that the carnival was not the day before when the temperature peaked at 33 degrees.
The children were all in a wonderful mindset and they were all excited, some a little nervous (especially our year three students who have not been to Inter School Cross Country before) about the pending events.
Everyone was ready to do their best and have fun. Our strength and positivity sure did pay off for us, as we ended up winning the Year 4 Group Points Award for both boys and girls divisions.
We had two runner up winners. Oliver P, in year 4 and Christian L in Year 5. Great Running Boys.
Last but not least, I am delighted to announce that St Jerome’s finished the carnival in third place overall.
We have been training hard for today, trying lots of different exercises and games to build our strength and stamina. I think all the children would agree that the end result is fantastic and one they should all be proud of. They all worked so hard to achieve this ranking.
I know that Miss Hartley, Miss Klessens and I are super proud, and it was truly magical to see all the smiling faces at the end of today. Thank you to Miss Hartley and Miss Klessens for your help and assistance on the day and with training. Thank you also to all to our parent helpers and supporters.
Well done St Jerome’s Cross Country Team you are all superstars.
Mrs Mel Crosby
Physical Education Teacher
School Busy Bee
7am till 12 noon.
Creating fresh natural spaces for our students. Wooden tee-pees, log seats, soft fill spreading and green planting.
Netball Halloween Disco - 25th October
Kids Nature Club - Little Grubs
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