ANZAC Day

A school commemoration for all those who have fought in wars will be held in the school hall at 11.20am this Friday, 2 May. Mr Derek Howard from the Wollongong RSL will be our special guest. Parents are welcome to attend.

Four members of the Student Council, along with Mr Thorne, will represent St Therese at the Schools ANZAC Commemoration at the Wollongong Cenotaph at 11am also on Friday, 2 May.

School Uniform

At this time of the year, weather conditions can vary considerably. Therefore, over the next few weeks, students can choose to wear their Summer or Winter uniform depending on the weather. Sports uniform days will remain the same.

Bee Hive

Mrs Sue McGoldrick applied for, and was successful in, an environmental grant to install a bee colony in our school. After much negotiation, the bee hive was delivered during the school holidays and is situated near the vegetable gardens and basketball tower. The hive consists of 10 000 sugarbag bees which are a native species of stingless bees. During visual arts this week, Mrs McGoldrick will be sharing a picture book with classes that will educate them on the sugarbag bees. These hives are very common in school settings and are a great asset to the natural environment.

Berry Street Education Model and Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework

On the 11th of April, St Therese staff joined St John’s staff to continue our professional learning with the Berry Street Education Model. This professional learning is linked to our School Improvement Plan, incorporating student wellbeing, agency and learning. The Berry Street Education Model is a training course that provides learning and strategies for teachers to increase learning engagement for students. Relationship, body, engagement, stamina and character are the five domains of the Berry Street Education Model, which correspond with child-development capacities that each student must build in order to be ready to learn.  Student wellbeing is of paramount importance and encompasses the physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of a student's life. Student wellbeing is a fundamental prerequisite for effective learning, personal development, and long-term success. The Berry Street Education Model offers a comprehensive framework for supporting the development of student wellbeing, leading to academic engagement.

The Catholic Education Office Diocese of Wollongong has  produced a Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework. The Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework supports the creation of communities of educational excellence where every student develops resilience, confidence, and self-efficacy. The Framework highlights evidence-based high-impact strategies. Berry Street Education Model focuses on evidenced-based high-impact strategies for student wellbeing and engagement and links with the Catholic Education Office Diocese of Wollongong Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework.

Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework

Mrs Dimitra Vezinias

Assistant Principal

Federal Election May 3

Before you cast your vote this Saturday, it’s important you know where the political parties stand when it comes to Catholic education. While both Labor and the Coalition support Catholic schools and our priorities, that’s not true of all candidates running in this election.

To help you understand the views of the major parties, the National Catholic Education Commission has prepared this helpful scorecard.

As Federal & State Government is a topic discussed predominantly in Year 6 but also Year 5, it is worth taking older students along to the polling booth so that they gather some understanding of the process and why voting in Australia is unique.

2025_Federal_Election_Score_Card_with_Greens_1_.pdf

2025_Federal_Election_Score_Card_with_Greens_1 pdf 171.37 KB

Edmund Rice VEX Robotics Program

VEX Robotics is an educational robotics program that will be introduced to selected Stage 3 students every fortnight this term. Students were nominated with a special interest, skill and knowledge with applying problem solving skills using robotics.

VEX solutions span all levels of both formal and informal education with accessible, scalable, and affordable solutions. Beyond science and engineering principles, VEX encourages creativity, teamwork, leadership, and problem solving among groups. It allows educators of all types to engage and inspire the STEM problem solvers of tomorrow!

Year 10 Edmund Rice boys will work with Stage 3 students in building a common Vex chassis and planning a series of lessons to introduce Vex.

- Students will connect the wheels/cabling to complete a chassis and run the Vex via remote control and run their Vex robotic - Vex Sumo - 2 (or more) groups attempt to put the other teams Vex out of a set area on the table - Design Challenge - how to protect your Vex's wheels so it cannot be pushed from the given parts  - Design Challenge - how to flip an opponent's Vex using a motor from the given parts - Vex Sumo class competition

Justice of the Peace

Ms Liz Pellizzari is a registered Justice of the Peace - for parents who require legal documents verified. Please contact the office if you would like to arrange a meeting with Liz.

Kindergarten Home Reading Information Sessions

As Term 2 begins, we warmly invite all Kindergarten parents and carers to join us for an information session on helping your child with their home readers. The sessions will be held in the Parish Centre. You can attend on either Monday, 5 May from 2:10 - 2:40pm or the repeat session on Tuesday, 6 May from 9:00 - 9:30am. If you are unable to make either of these time we will also share a recording of the information session that you can view at home at a time that suits you. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. South. 

Minor Head Injuries

Further updates in Compass now allow for minor injuries to the head of a student be relayed to parents via SMS. These injuries are assessed as usual in the office and if deemed ‘minor’, an SMS will be sent. As usual, if deemed more significant, a parent will be contacted via a phone call. This process will free up a lot of time for office staff having to look up phone numbers and individually call parents. By minor injuries, we are looking at a soft ball bouncing on their head or lightly bumping a head on another child’s shoulder. If there is a significant bump on concrete or other hard surface, or head clash with another student, parents will always be contacted via phone.

LIFE EDUCATION

The Illawarra Life Education Mobile Classroom will be visiting our school from

• Tuesday 29 April till Monday 5 May.

Life Education is a charitable organisation, which provides a positive approach to health and drug education. Life Education encourages respect for the uniqueness of each individual, and teaches the skills to assert confidently that uniqueness, especially in social settings with friends.

Life Education programs are based on the latest research, and provide high quality drug education featuring role-play; social skills training; correction of common myths; and varied, fast-moving and interactive activities. Life Education Australia believes prevention is better than cure!

The cost of the program is covered by the resource fee, which includes worksheets for follow-up work in the classroom. 

Reminder: Parents/carers can purchase Healthy Harold merchandise for their children through our online store. Simple select 'Parent/carer ordering for child', choose your desired items, add them to your cart, and complete the checkout process. Online orders close one day before your school visit starts. All items will be delivered by the Life Ed educator during your school's Healthy Harold visit. For more information, click here.

Click here to view parent flyers with your students’ families to reinforce key learning at home and support ongoing conversations about their health and wellbeing.

A Parent Information session will be held on Tuesday 29th April at 9.00am. If you are interested please email: info@stwwdow.catholic.edu.au

Dimitra Vezinias

Assistant Principal