Newsletter, week 4, term 3, no 1

Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers, 

It was great to see our students settle back into school after yet another lockdown. Little did we know how short lived our return to onsite learning would be! 

Despite this, although we needed to make some adjustments to our calendar, we had some great learning experiences in classrooms over the past week. It was certainly wonderful to see our students in person and be able to talk, play and learn face to face.

Last weekend, another group of students celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation in our Parish. Thank you to the families, Fr Anthony and the Sacramental Team for their ongoing flexibility and their ability to complete the program in very difficult circumstances. Congratulations to our confirmation candidates. 

Unfortunately, as you know, all of Victoria has now entered a seven day snap lockdown and St Mary’s students are required to learn from home during this time. 

Please remember that throughout the lockdown, the school will be open and conducting it’s usual business, even though learning and teaching is happening in a virtual space. Teachers will be available for direct support during school hours throughout the entire lockdown and the office will remain open. Members of the leadership team will be at school each day and we are only too happy to help you in any way we can.

Please remember ALL students need to be on Google Meet at 9am, Monday 9th August, for online learning with their teachers. 

Children of essential workers and vulnerable children are able to attend school. These students will be supervised by staff while following the same program as the students learning from home. If your children are eligible to come to school please email me awelsh@smrobinvale.catholic.edu.au ASAP.

We have emailed you a list of essential workers and a table of current restrictions for your information.

During the lockdown we will keep in touch with you either directly, through teachers or via email and our Facebook page. Please keep an eye out on these forms of communication for up to date  information from us.

The news we received yesterday was not what any of us wanted to hear and, yet again, we find ourselves thanking you sincerely for your ongoing support and flexibility. Stay safe and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. 

We look forward to returning to onsite learning and resuming our usual school activities soon.

Kind regards,

Andrea

Religious Education

Next week our students will observe the Feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  

The feast is for Mary's Assumption into heaven. It is one of three feasts of Mary that are Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven has long been held as an important Catholic belief. This shows that Mary, who was without sin, was taken, body and soul, into the glory of heaven.  Mary's faith enabled her to recognize the work of God in her people's history and in her own life. Her openness to God allowed God to work through her so that salvation might come to all. Mary is a model and symbol of the Church. May we be like Mary, open and cooperative in God's plan of salvation. (Referenced from Lolya press)

Father in heaven,

all creation rightly gives you praise,

for all life and all holiness come from you.

In the plan of your wisdom

she who bore the Christ in her womb

was raised body and soul in glory to be with him in heaven.

May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness

and join in her hymn of endless love and praise.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Wellbeing

SWPBS

This week our SWPBS focus is ‘following teacher instructions’ (We are Respectful). It is important to follow instructions to enhance learning and ensure our safety and the safety of others.

Primary School

Prep

It was fantastic to see the Foundation students smiling faces each day during our last Online Learning and their willingness to complete all learning tasks. In English, we have learned a new word ‘digraph’, this is where two letters make one sound. The digraphs we know now are ‘ck’, ‘ll’, ‘ss’, ‘ff’, which are all at the end of a word. The students are building their confidence to use their knowledge of letter sounds to write a sentence to match a picture. In Maths, we have loved singing different songs to help us learn the order of the days of the week. We are also learning the value of the Australian coins and notes. 

Year 1/2

It has been an interesting return to school for the Year 1/2 unit. In writing we have been looking at Imaginative Texts, and creating characters, settings, problems and solutions. We are putting these together to make up our imaginative text.

Both year levels are looking at 2D shapes in maths. If you are able to help your child identify basic shapes like squares, circles, rectangles and triangles in their environment that would be great! Ask the year 2 children what extra shapes they know.

This week the Year 1/2 students were lucky enough to chat to Tarren Otte who represented Australia in artistic swimming in the London and Beijing Olympics. 

The students asked Tarren some great questions and found out lots of great information about how she got into it, the training that she had to do to prepare for the Olympic Games and how she felt competing at the Olympic Games. It was very inspiring!

Year 3/4

The Year 3/4 students have all appeared to have settled back to onsite learning quickly. They have been busy learning about Australia’s natural geographical features and the types of vegetation zones from around the world. In Science we are starting to explore the different properties of soil - that there are various layers and what soil type is located within these. All classes are perfecting the structure of writing a procedure, that includes a title, purpose, materials needed, steps and a concluding statement. Please remind your child to bring in their reader diary to school each day and read at home daily.

Art

The art room has been buzzing with new learning and art making from Year 1 to Year 6. Already there is some amazing exploration and imaginative art work being made.

Yr 1/2 are looking at the art work of George Rodrigue and his painting of Blue Dog. The 1/2 students have followed drawing instructions to draw a dog similar to George adding their own ideas for colour and background design. They will be using acrylic paint for their final artwork.

Yr 3/4 have begun looking at traditional and cultural masks to inspire them to design and then make their own masks. They had a fun drawing lesson last week where they had to draw the portrait of another student without looking at the paper or lifting their pencil. There was plenty of laughter and enjoyment throughout these lessons.

Yr 5/6 students have been exploring the technique of mosaics. They have used paper to help them understand the procedure of placing the tiles close together, leaving a small gap. This week they have begun to use the same technique using their chrome books and the platform Google Draw. There are some amazing looking mosaic basketballs  being created.

Year 5/6

The Year 5/6 students have settled in well after our recent lockdown and are getting back into the swing of things! In reading and writing, 5/6 students are learning a new text type and are now looking at discussion texts. They are looking at the purpose, structure and language features of these texts and they are looking forward to planning and writing their own. On Friday, we will celebrate NAIDOC week and each student will get the opportunity to participate in a range of activities that celebrate the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

PE

It is hard to believe it is week 4 of term 3 already, this year is flying by! In PE we have been working hard on practising events for our athletics day that is fast approaching. It is so good to see all the students having a go and wanting to improve on their skills. Keep it up, and don’t forget to wear your PE uniform on your PE day!

Secondary School

Year 7/8

A reminder that all students need to read 10 to 15mins each night at home. They then need to enter what they have read into their diaries and bring it to school every day.

Maths

This term students are focusing on measurement in maths. We will be looking at converting units of length, perimeter, area and volume of a range of shapes.

English

Year 8 have been learning new techniques to use for persuasive writing and speeches. Year 7 have been analysing images, identifying the different colours, fonts and characters that are used to try and persuade our thoughts or way of thinking.

Religion

In Religion, We have been researching a variety of rituals different communities do from around the world and learning about why these rituals/traditions take place and information about what is involved.

PE

In Physical Education students have been learning and practicing the skills needed for different Athletics events, such as High Jump, 100M Sprint, Hurdles, Relay and more over the coming weeks. 

Health

In Health, students have been looking at “Fit for Life” and the benefits of being fit and healthy. They can explain what fitness looks like and also explain how different types of people can be fit in many different ways. There have been plenty of great discussions about this topic.

Humanities

In Humanities, we have been focussing on the Geography unit and students have been exploring different landforms and landscapes. They are beginning to learn about the difference between freshwater and groundwater. 

Technology

This term students will be studying food technology. Last week students made some delicious rum balls and this week they made scones. We hope these made it home for families to enjoy.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Due to current restrictions we have had to make some changes with the Annual Athletics Carnival for this year. At this stage our plans are as outline below. However, as with everything this will depend on restrictions. 

• Athletics Carnival will take place at St Mary's instead of the Robinvale College
• Carnival will be held over 2 days
• Year 5 - 8 Thursday 19th of August
• Prep - Year 4 Friday 20th August
• Some events have had to be left of the program or modified due to the restricted area of our School oval                                                                                                                                   

Unfortunatley, it is unlikely spectators or parent helpers will be permitted on site for the event but we feel that is important for our students that the event goes ahead. 

SCHOOL CROSSING

School Crossings are designed to get our students safely to school each day.

Please ensure that your child/ren are using the school crossing to cross the road. Parents are encouraged to walk their children to the crossing.

Please be aware of the signs, flags and the white lines when parking for school drop off and pick up.

If you are found not using the School Crossing correctly a fine may apply.

Using the crossing correctly is important for everyone's safety.

AUSTRALIA DENTAL HEALTH

Australian Dental Health Victoria is visiting our School from Monday 25th to Friday 29th October.

All students have been given the following form and it needs to be returned to School by Monday 6th September.

More forms are available at the office, if needed.

Students will be seen in their school environment, allowing them to feel safe and comfortable.