THANK YOU

DISASTER APPEAL DONATIONS

The SRC’s out-of-uniform day on Tuesday to support those affected by the recent cyclone raised $700 for the St Vincent de Paul NSW Disaster Appeal! Thank you to our St Peter’s community for your generous donations and our SRC for organising the initiative.

"God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them" Hebrews 6:10

CONGRATULATIONS RECONCILIATION CANDIDATES

This week was a busy one for our Mission Team and Parish. With three evenings for our Parish to gather for the Sacrament of Reconciliation for our children, we are grateful for all of our school staff preparing and supporting our students. We are very proud of how our students prepared and participated in the ceremonies. Congratulations to all students and their families.

CHOIR

It was so lovely to see so many of our choir students attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation night on Tuesday night to support with music. The girls sang so beautifully and were very reverent during the reflection time. We have some very dedicated choir members and families who also made the effort of coming for more than one ceremony, and several of our Year 5 students sang solo parts of our final hymn. We look forward to seeing you at our Parish Mass on Sunday 6th April at 5.00pm, where we will lead all of the ministries. All are welcome!

YEAR 5/6 DISCO FUNDRAISER FOR CAMPS

+ PARENT COMMUNITY GROUP

A Compass Event has been sent to families to acknowledge,

If you would like Pre Pay $6.00 and consent.

FOR THE PARENTS:

The first Parent Community Group will be held at the same time as the student disco on Wednesday 2nd April. Parents can drop their children off to the disco and stay onsite in the staffroom to:

• enjoy a drink and nibbles
• provide feedback on some topics the school is seeking parent voice on (topics tbc on the night)
• hear a talk from MacKillop Principal, Cath Eichman about ‘Healthy Tech Use before Highschool’. Cath daily witnesses, the impact technology has on teens and strongly advocates that the Primary school years are the time to set up healthy tech use boundaries for our children. This talk will be repeated during both disco sessions and is not to be missed! 

STAGE 1 - RECONCILIATION OF THE WORD

Today, Stage 1 came together with our family and friends for our first Celebration of the Word for 2025. We listened to Father Alejo talk about why belonging is important, and how we not only belong to our own families and our school family but that we are all invited to be part of God’s family. Thank you to our visitors who were able to join us in worship and to Fr Alejo for leading us in celebration. 

YEAR 3 CELEBRATION OF THE WORD

FRIDAY 4TH APRIL

Parents and friends of students in Year 3 are invited to join us next Friday for our Year 3 Celebration of the Word, in the shared chapel at 10.00am. 

RECONCILIATION

All of Year 4 joined with MacKillop College’s Year 9 CSYMA class on Monday in retreat, helping prepare our candidates for their Sacrament of First Reconciliation this week. We prayed, played some games, listened to Fr Paul reflect on the story of the Prodigal Son, and rotated around four activities, learning about forgiveness and God’s love. Thank you, Mrs Morris, the Year 9 CSYMA students and the Year 4 teachers for making this day so meaningful. 

ST PETER'S MINISTRY AT MASS

SAVE THE DATE - SUNDAY 6TH APRIL

St Peter’s staff and students are ministering at 5.00pm mass on Sunday 6th April. All families are invited to come along to St Agnes' Church to join us in worship. Our choir will be singing, and our teachers and learning assistants will be helping with welcoming, reading and Children’s Liturgy of the Word. We hope to see you there!

COLOURS FOR CARITAS

DONATIONS NEEDED !!

The Year 6 mission fundraiser ‘Colours for Caritas’ is seeking donations of the following items:

• Bags of wrapped lollies
• Colourful hair spray
• Pre-loved books in good condition, suitable for ages 5-12.
• Nail polishes
• Hand-made jewellery (eg. loom bracelets, beaded necklaces) or beads/loom bands for our jewellery girls to make things out of
• Recycled material to make scrunchies

Donations to be placed in classroom boxes by 4th April. 

LEARNING

UNLOCKING THE POWER OF READING

The ability to read proficiently is fundamental to a student’s success at school and in later life. At St Peters, we are committed to ensuring that every child develops strong reading skills, equipping them with the tools they need for lifelong learning.

The Science of Reading

The science of reading is based on a body of research which has helped us understand how children learn to read, the challenges they may face and the best instructional strategies to support their development (Castles et al., 2018; Ehri, 2005, 2014; Moats, 2020).

The ‘Big 5’ (or 6!) of Reading

Decades of research highlight five essential sub-skills necessary for reading success, often referred to as the ‘5 Big Ideas’ or ‘5 Keys to Reading’ (Five from Five, 2020):

• Phonemic Awareness – The ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in words.
• Phonics – Understanding the relationships between letters and sounds and using them to decode words.
• Fluency – Reading accurately, quickly, and with expression to support comprehension.
• Vocabulary – Knowing the meanings of words and how to use them in context.
• Comprehension – Extracting and constructing meaning from text.

Recent research also highlights oral language (the ability to understand, use vocabulary, and construct sentences) as a foundational skill for reading, making it the ‘Big 6’.

Fluency in Focus - Our 2025 Reading Goal

At St Peters, our long-term goal is to have 90% of our students reading at a proficient level or above. For 2025, we are focusing on developing students’ reading fluency. Fluency is essential because it allows students to shift their focus from decoding words to understanding the text’s meaning.

As part of this initiative, our staff has been closely tracking students’ progress by mapping their 2024 DIBELS data against their recent 2025 assessment. Throughout the year, teachers will continue monitoring progress and recording it on our physical data wall. It has been startling to see the number of students whose reading results have declined over the holiday break, highlighting the importance of reading regularly.

How You Can Help at Home

Reading fluency improves with modelled instruction and practice! We encourage you to read with your children at home, focusing not on speed but on expression and engagement. Encourage them to read as if they have an audience, bringing stories to life, through using expression and tone.

Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter, where we’ll share practical reading tips to support your child’s learning journey.