Term 4 Week 6 2023
Prayer
Message From The Principal
Dear families and friends of St Anthony’s,
In what is a constant theme, and something of which I am extremely proud; I want you to know just how great your children are!!
Tonight I will attend the St Patrick’s Band and Strings concert and I am looking forward to hearing our St Anthony’s students perform. Yesterday, they attended the rehearsal day and the feedback that we received was extremely positive. For a small school, we have the largest contingent participating in the Band and Strings program and they do so enthusiastically. Their behaviour is always impeccable and they represent St Anthony’s with pride.
Tomorrow we will have students participating in the All Schools Triathlon in Devonport and recently we have had teams participate in the 5/6 and 3/4 Basketball Tournaments and our Gala Day for 5/6. Every time we participate in events with other schools, I receive positive feedback about how welcoming our students are or how helpful or (my favourite) how caring they are. While we value academic results and we always encourage our students to do their best and to be their best, as a parent myself, hearing that your child is ‘a really nice person’ always trumps academic results.
That being said, we are doing really well in that area too! Recently, we facilitated PAT (Progressive Achievement Tests) across all grades and our results were superb! We were hoping to see an improvement in Reading and Spelling in particular, because of our focus on those areas through Insight and Literate Learners for Life, and our results have shown that. We have also continued our improvement in Mathematics across the school. More generally, we have improved across all areas and that’s another source of pride for us and recognition of the hard work of our staff, the students and yourselves.
Keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Jason Perry
Principal
Basketball Tasmania
Congratulations to our awesome Grade 3/4 students who participated in the Basketball Tasmania Northern Regional Tournament this weekend. They played so well and represented our school beautifully with their determination and sportsmanship. The smiles on our faces said it all! A special thank you to our volunteer coaches and team managers for their organisation and guidance for our students, some who haven't played before! Thank you also to the staff and parents for their attendance and support.
5/6 Gala Day
Gala Days are a day where students choose one of the offered sports or movement activities and play against students from the other Catholic schools in Launceston. The purpose of these days are to enable students to:
- participate in a variety of physical activities that enhance health and wellbeing
- apply different skills and strategies in a range of movement situations that support fair play and inclusive participation
- mix and network with students from other local Catholic Schools
This term our students participated in either: Speedball, Touch Football, Cricket and Tabloid.
Thank you to all students who participated and represented our school so well both on and off the field. Thank you also to the staff and parent volunteers who attended and enable these opportunities to occur.
Water Safety Awareness
Over the past fortnight, students in Grades 1 - 3 have participated in a Water Safety Program at the Riverside Aquatic Centre. Students were instructed by qualified Austswim instructors and grouped according to their swim abilities and confidence in the water as we continue to develop and nurture independent and resilient children. Each day students got their steps up by walking with their class to and from the pool.
As we enter summer, we encourage families to ensure their children are capable swimmers and have the necessary water safety skills. You can find further information here.
Grade 1/2 Excursion: Wallaby Walkabout
On Friday, the 10th of November, Grades 1 and 2 went on an excursion to The Gorge to participate in the Wallaby Walkabout Tour. The excursion focused on the importance of the Gorge to our First Nations People.
The students experienced many activities throughout the day, including a cultural walk/talk discovering bush tucker, art, small hut making, a treasure hunt, memory wreath making and fire making.
All the students and staff had a fabulous time!
Holy Communion
Congratulations to our amazing students who have completed their Sacrament of Holy Communion and congratulations to those who will complete their sacrament in the coming weeks. These students have taken an important step in their faith, and this milestone serves as a reminder of the love and grace that surrounds us all. As you continue to grow in your faith, may you always remember the significance of this occasion and the blessings that come with it. Thank you to everyone who came together to make this opportunity possible.
Grade 3/4 Excursion to QVMAG Royal Park & Brickendon
Last week, on Thursday November 2nd, both Grade 3/4 classes travelled to the Museum (QVMAG Royal Park) and Brickendon Estate (Longford) for an excursion. Luckily we were treated to beautiful, warm spring weather, as we headed off for a busy day of activities.
Our first stop was the museum. As part of our ongoing History unit on the causes and impact of British colonisation, we visited the ‘First Tasmanians’ exhibit at the QVMAG Royal Park. This experience gave students an insight into what life was like for Tasmanian Aboriginals before European contact. Working with a buddy, students were given an activity sheet to find answers about how Tasmanian Aboriginal people lived their lives in clans, utilised resources, hunted and gathered, built shelters, studied the night skies, and communicated. A popular attraction of the exhibit was the interactive timeline screen showing students how Tasmania separated from mainland Australia thousands of years ago.
Our next stop was the Longford Park for a bite to eat and play in the sunshine. The teachers sure loved their coffee/tea and bakery treat!
Finally, we arrived at Brickendon Estate Longford. There, we met our guides Louise and Eliza Archer who showed us around some of the convict built farm where they were assigned to work for free settler and farmer Will Archer, nearly 200 years ago (199 to be exact). Students learnt about some of the convicts who worked there and the crimes they committed in England. From there, we split into two groups. With Louise, students toured the working farm, met some of the farm animals, visited William Archer’s old cottage, inspected the old Pillar Granary, learnt about old farming tools and methods and scanned the shearing sheds. With Eliza, students walked down and visited the old Dairy, Cookhouse and Blacksmiths shed. In the Dairy, students learnt about how some of the convicts came to Australia, how they were assigned and what their jobs were on the farm. They also learnt about some of the punishments given to them if they tried to escape or did anything wrong! Lastly, students chose a convict (from the list of convicts at Brickendon) to write down for a fact file. Some of the details about each convict included their name, crime, sentence, age and ship they were transported on to Australia.
At the end of the day, we were greeted by Mr M’s Dad, who kindly brought us Icy Poles to have as a special treat! Thank you to Mrs Barber for coming along to help and Mr M for your support in helping the day run smoothly.
Piano / keyboard lessons 2024
After school lessons are available locally at Mrs Helen Antel's studio or your own home. Beginners especially welcome with the first lesson free.For further information or enrolments please contact Mrs Antel Ph. 63 273304 or 0406 550 492 or by email : hjantel50@gmail.com