Dear Parents and Caregivers,
We are in the middle of a very busy period of the term. Classrooms are buzzing with new learning and assessment preparation. I encourage all parents to check in with boys over the next two weeks to ensure that they are on top of all commitments. Teachers are running master classes, providing feedback and they are willing to support the boys anyway they can.  As well as this teacher lead support, I remind you that the Year 12’s leading the Academic Committee this year have started tutoring and homework help for Primary boys every Wednesday afternoon from 3:15-4:15pm in 5 Silver/ White. Please encourage your son to take advantage of these support mechanisms to help him achieve his best.

Year 5 2024 Enrolment Period 

Enrolment interviews for Year Five, 2024 are nearly complete. If you know a family that is interested in joining Lauries in 2024 (Year Five), please check with them to ensure they have submitted their application. It is worth noting that the main reason prospective parents nominate Lauries as a school of choice, is the strength of our community. Many families describe the boys as being respectful, down to earth, caring and proud.  The parents in our community are observed as being very positive and welcoming, and our staff are well known for being highly professional and committed to supporting each individual boy.  All of this is true and makes our school appealing to our prospective families. Thanks to everyone for your contribution to our community. It certainly makes us very proud to hear these characteristics used to describe Lauries.

Sports Carnival
Last week, we gathered at Runcorn for the College House Sports Day.  It was amazing to see so many families out enjoying the day and supporting the boys.  Well done to boys in Hogan for winning the day this year and congratulations to all boys and parents who contributed to the positive community spirit last Wednesday.

QCMF
Congratulations to all our musicians and staff on the fantastic display at the QCMF last week at Villanova College. Many boys combined over the four days to play and sing.  The performances were excellent and a great reward for the hard work put in so far this year.

Year 6 Camp
This week,  Year 6 boys have enjoyed the first Primary camp for 2022. Camp Laurence is looking fantastic and the boys loved getting away for a few days with mates. The weather was cool, and the engagement was superb.  Well done boys on making the camp such a successful experience.  Thank you to the adults who supported the camp and gave the boys such a great experience.

Grandparents’ Morning
What a great morning our Year 5 boys and their Grandparents had on Tuesday.  For the first time in 3 years we were able to welcome Grandparents in to share the Lauries Journey with the boys.  The stories were great to here and the activities looked super fun… but the smiles, hugs, cuddles and proud looks were the highlight. Thanks to all those guests able to attend, we loved having you here and hope you enjoyed spending the morning with the boys.

Walkathon
Today we celebrated the Solidarity Mass and joined with the Secondary boys for the Walkathon.  It was again a magnificent event, it is so important to our school culture to do something for others.  Lauries boys are famous for caring for others and lending a hand, today was a perfect example of that spirit.  Well done to all boys on demonstrating their care and compassion for others by walking and collecting donations.  We will put in some details in the next newsletter about the amount donated.

Father’s Day

We are really looking forward to the Primary Father’s Day afternoon/evening celebration coming up on Wednesday, 31 August (Week 8).  As previously advertised, it will start with a sausage sizzle outside ERPAC at 5:00pm, at 5:45pm we will then move inside to “watch a Movie with dad”.  The movie will be “Shrek” and siblings are most welcome.  RSVP is absolutely essential to support catering orders.

Year 7 Orientation Day 2023
The Orientation for Year 7 2023 will be held on Friday, 2 September.  All current Year 6 Lauries boys are required to attend the day with all incoming students.  Year 6 families will be sent details from Enrolments or Pastoral Office in the coming weeks.

Important Notice for 2023
If your son is not returning to St Laurence’s College in 2023, please inform me in writing (cwigan@slc.qld.edu.au) by the last day of Term 3 (16 September) at the very latest. There are many families on the waiting list who are enquiring about positions available, and we would love to offer enrolment opportunities if there are spaces.

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

I hope you have a wonderful couple of weeks.

Kind Regards

Cameron Wigan
Dean of Primary

Lauries Primary Curriculum Update - Katie Jordan

Focused Learning Cycles in Primary

At St. Laurence’s College Primary, we adhere to the Australian Curriculum guidelines regarding the delivery of content and skills across Learning Areas. Additionally, the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) articulates recommended time allocations for each Learning Area as a starting point for decisions about timetabling.

English and Maths are both taught daily in Year Five and Six. However, in other Learning Areas, we condense learning experiences into shorter cycles across the term. This enables our boys to engage with content in richer, deeper and more meaningful ways.

These Focused Learning Cycles (FLCs) operate for approximately three weeks a term, in the Learning Areas of Science, Religion, and Humanities and Social Sciences. For example, if the current FLC is for Science, students would engage in English, Maths and Science lessons (along with their timetabled Specialist classes each day) only for that approximate three-week period.  If they were to then move into a HASS FLC, students would engage in English, Maths and HASS lessons for the next three-week period, and so forth.

Along with enabling our boys to engage in deeper conceptual understanding, we have found that the FLC approach better supports boys with time management, as they’re not juggling multiple assessment deadlines at the end of term. In saying that, in the spirit of best preparing our Year Six boys for an effective transition to Secondary School, we do remove FLCs in Term Four of Year Six. We follow a more traditional structure for timetabling subjects in Term Four of Year Six to enable them to practise their time management and organisational skills.

Primary Music - Ross Capern

Queensland Catholic Colleges Music Festival (QCMF) | 11 – 14 August

A huge congratulations to students and staff involved in the Queensland Catholic Colleges Music Festival last week. It was wonderful to be able to return to the live format and all ensembles did incredibly well. 8,000 students from across QLD & NSW participated in the festival.

Each ensemble was adjudicated against the criteria set for the category they entered and were awarded a bronze, silver, or gold award for their performance.

The results from this year are included below.

GOLD
Brotherhood
String Orchestra 1
Guitar Orchestra 1
Little Brotherhood
String Orchestra 2
Middlehood
'Reblehood
String Orchestra 3

SILVER
Concert Band 1
Concert Band 2
Guitar Orchestra 2
Treblehood

BRONZE
Concert Band 3 

Year 5 Music Ensemble Program (MEP)
The Year 5 Music Ensemble Program will conclude at the end of this term. It has been fantastic to see the progress the boys have made in such a short time, and we are looking forward to working further with those who elect to continue.

Students involved in the MEP program will continue their small group lessons and ensemble rehearsals until the end of term.

If students are continuing with their instrument, families will need to complete and return the relevant enrolment contract. If students are also hiring an instrument through the College, they can liaise with their instrumental teachers to see if the hire can be extended into Term 4.

Students may also decide to change instruments at the end of the term. To do so, they will also need to complete and return the relevant enrolment contract. These changes will of course be subject to teacher and instrument availability.

Finally, for students who do not wish to continue their musical journey, they will just need to ensure any College instruments are returned before the final day of Term. Students are of course welcome to return at any point. 

Meet & Greet Invitation | Tuesday 6 September
The Lauries Music Support Group (LMSG) would like to invite parents of Year 5, 6 & 7 students in the Music program to a Meet and Greet on Tuesday 6 September in ERPAC.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for those wanting to learn more about the happenings behind each of our concerts and larger events throughout the year and meet likeminded parents.

Any families interested in becoming more involved are encouraged to attend.

A formal invitation will be sent in coming days.

Term 3 Events

25 August – Strictly Strings Concert | ERPAC 6pm

Ensembles performing: Year 5 String Orchestra, String Orchestra 3, String Orchestra 2, String Orchestra 1, Symphony Orchestra, Fellowship of the String

26 August – Band Blast Concert | ERPAC

Ensembles performing: Year 5 Concert Band, Concert Band 3, Concert Band 2, Concert Band 1, Percussion Ensemble 3, Percussion Ensemble 2, Percussion Ensemble 1

30 August - Choral & Guitar Concert | St Ignatius Church Toowong

Ensembles performing: Treblehood, ‘Reblehood, Little Brotherhood, Middlehood, Brotherhood, Big Brotherhood, Guitar Orchestra 1

9 September – Finale Guitar Concert | McElligott Theatre

Ensembles performing: Year 5 Guitar Ensemble, Guitar Orchestra 2

Further information for each of these concerts along with the call for volunteers can be found on the Lauries App under the ‘Culture and Community’ tab.

Term 4 Events

7 October – Jazz on the Hill | Gair Field

Ensembles performing: Big Band 3, Big Band 2, Big Band 1

Strike up the Band

Mr. Ross Capern
Head of Instrumental Music

Primary Father's Day Invite- It is essential to RSVP to attend our Primary Father's Day Movie Night.

TO DO LIST FOR WEEK 7-8

To help with your busy schedules please see To Do List for Week 7-8

1. Accept Father's Day Movie Event    HERE
2. Send Father's Day Photo- primary@slc.qld.edu.au