Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

Welcome to the final phase of Semester One. We now only have one week before the boys get a well-earned break to refresh and recharge after two very busy terms.

Semester 1 Report Cards

Report cards will be posted to Parent Lounge after the pupil free week. They provide a detailed report of academic and social progress. The reports will also display the distribution of grades for each subject.  We hope this additional information assists parents in better understanding how their son is progressing in each subject, relative to other boys in the year level. The comment section has also been designed to provide focussed feedback on strengths and areas for growth/development in relation to the Cognitive Verbs (thinking skills) that are assessed.

To access the reports, please follow these basic steps.

1. Parent Lounge  

2. Student Details

3. Academic Reports

4. Click on Report link (latest report will be at the top)

Parent Teacher Interviews

Early next term, (Week 2, 18 July) a second opportunity will be available to parents to reflect on and discuss student achievement. This round of Parent Teacher Interviews will take the form of Student Led Conferences. These conferences will be detailed in a separate communication to parents next week. The communication will explain the time, format and process.  Please read the details next week in preparation for those conversations.

Parent Education Workshops

Earlier this term, we hosted the first “Parent Education Workshop” for 2022. The focus was on explaining the use of technology and digital platforms in the classrooms. It was very well attended, and the feedback was extremely positive. I am pleased to announce that a date for our second workshop will be on Tuesday, 11 July (Term 3, Week 1) 5:30-6:30pm. The topic will focus on all things “Reading” and supporting the boys to be better readers.  Please save the date and come along if you can.  The last time this session was delivered, parents were thrilled with the content and felt better prepared to support their children (boys and girls) with their reading. 

Mini Vinnies

Yesterday and today, the Mini Vinnies boys, along with Ms Flanagan, successfully ran the “Lauries Book Swap” to raise much needed money to support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation www.indigenousliteracyfoundati...  The initiative is a fantastic way for our boys to get high quality books for a gold coin donation and also support ILF to improve reading and literacy in indigenous communities. I thank and congratulate all those involved in organising or supporting the event.

Uniform and Timetable Change

Tuesday afternoon Sport/Activities ended this week.  All boys are reminded to wear full College uniform to school each day until the end of the year.  Also, parents should note that all boys will finish school on Tuesdays at 2:55pm and be dismissed from the classrooms.

End of Term Reward Raffles

Next week, we will conduct our usual monster raffle from the hundreds of raffle tickets in the box that have been awarded this term. If you are able to assist with prize donations (big or small) the boys will really appreciate it, as we can have more winners.

In this Edition of the Primary Newsletter, you can also read about Curriculum Updates, Music, Date Claimers -Upcoming Events, Lauries Journey Awards and Sports.

As we approach the end of the term, I encourage all parents to check in with boys to assist them with time management and task completion to prevent any added pressure or stress in the last week.

Thanks for all the support you give to the staff and boys and enjoy the final week of school.

Kind Regards

Cameron Wigan

Dean of Primary

Lauries Primary Curriculum Update - Katie Jordan

Developing a Culture of Inquiry Learning at St. Laurence’s College Primary

The General Capabilities element of the Australian Curriculum plays a significant role in equipping young Australians to live and work successfully in the 21st century.

Students develop capability in critical and creative thinking as they learn to generate and evaluate knowledge, clarify concepts and ideas, seek possibilities, consider alternatives and solve problems. They develop personal and social capability as they learn to understand themselves and others, and manage their relationships, lives, work and learning more effectively. Personal and social capability involves students in a range of practices including establishing and building positive relationships, making responsible decisions, working effectively in teams and developing leadership skills.

What are the Inquiry Skills we Seek to Develop in our Learners?

Being Thinkers – We want our learners to be able to think logically, creatively and reflectively. We explicitly teach the boys about how we use our thinking and that we have different strategies for making our thinking visible to others. We encourage the boys to think in an open-minded way, knowing that our thinking changes as we learn.

Being Collaborators – We encourage our boys to develop the skills associated with working with others on shared goals, questions and challenges. To be successful collaborators, boys know how to be a constructive part of a team, how to adopt different roles for different tasks, and how to actively listen to and respect other people’s views.

Being Self-Directed Learners – This involves providing opportunities for boys to develop their ability to learn independently, and to make wise decisions about their learning and behaviour. We teach boys to be reflective learners, which means they understand themselves as learners, and can set and work towards personal goals.

Being Researchers – We develop capacity in our students to locate and use a wide range of sources, and use techniques to investigate problems, issues and questions. Boys are taught to think critically about the information they gather.

Sources:

Murdoch, K. (2015). The power of inquiry. Melbourne, Vic: Seastar Education.

Readers Cup Challenge

Five Primary students were selected to participate in the 2022 Children’s Book Council of Australia “Readers Cup” competition. This is a state-wide competition. Students are required to read four novels and compete with other school teams to answer quiz questions from the books. The boys have worked very hard to read the set books and engage in practice quizzes with each other.  The boys proudly represented the College at the competition! Well done boys.

                                

PRIMARY MUSIC- Ross Capern     

Cabaret Concert Hits of Stage and Screen

Congratulations to members of Treblehood who joined our senior ensembles for the Hits of Stage and Screen Cabaret Concert last Friday.

This was the first time in over decade we have been able to run this event and it’s return was a huge success. Teachers and parents embraced the theme with some fantastic costumes on the night.

The Music department would also like to thank John McGeachin from the Film & TV department and Stewart Williams (Audio & Lighting) for their assistance with the event.

Primary Music Leaders

On behalf of the Music Department, we would like to thank Jack Johnson and Ethan Littlefield for their hard work as Primary Music Leaders for Semester 1.

 Term 3 Music Events

Term 3 will certainly be busy for students involved in co-curricular Music, with several performances before our End of Year concerts.

Jazzin’ Up the Mall (Concert Band 3 & Big Band 3) | Wednesday 20 July

Year 5 Music Night (All Year 5 Ensembles) | Wednesday 3 August

Queensland Catholic Colleges Music Festival | 11-14 August

End of Year Faculty Concerts

Strictly Strings Concert | Thursday 25 August

Band Blast Concert | Friday 26 August

Choral & Guitar Concert | Tuesday 30 August

For any further information on the above, please contact the Music Department on 07 3010 1138 or via email (music@slc.qld.edu.au). 

Strike up the Band!

Ross Capern
Head of Instrumental Music

Mini Vinnies -Kate Flanagan

Last Saturday, these awesome Mini Vinnies students assisted the Emmanuel City Mission by selling soft drinks and sweets to our Rugby parents and students. The boys were so efficient at their job, we sold out in one circuit! Thank you to Ethan Lucas, Adam Peter, George Bellas and Eli Dorney (not pictured) were wonderful ambassadors for the Primary and clearly great salesmen. 

Photos Week 7-8

Please see brochure below:-

TO DO LIST FOR WEEK 5-6

To help with your busy schedules please see To Do List for Week 5&6

1. Please accept for your son to attend the Year 5 Excursion to the Synagogue, if you have not already done so though Parent Lounge.
2. Year 6 Camp- Please fill in and return medical forms asap.
3. Return walkathon donation forms.