Newsletter, Week 4, Term 3, #2

Principal's Report

Dear Parents & Carers,

As usual, we have had a very busy couple of weeks since our last newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading all about what we have been up to!

Last Thursday our Foundation students celebrated 100 days of school. Everyone dressed up as if they were 100 years old and completed a variety of activities around the number one hundred. Students explored what they would buy with $100, what 100 items looked like and created an artwork of the number 100, along with lots of discussion around what they would do if they were 100 years old. Congratulations to our Foundation students for reaching this important milestone in their education journey and thanks to Mikayla & Ellen for the wonderful work they did putting the day together. Much fun was had by all!

This week our Year 5/6  students are in Melbourne on Camp and, by all accounts, everyone is having a wonderful time. A quick look at our Facebook page will show you what they have been getting up to. Thanks to the Year 5/6 team, Nicole and Des for putting the camp together. We’re looking forward to welcoming the campers home on Friday afternoon and hearing all about their adventures! We will update parents of the group’s ETA on Friday.

I’m excited to say that our building project is nearing completion and over the next few weeks the builders will finalise the work being carried out in the newly renovated junior wing. At this stage, although we will use the classrooms and outdoor area for a variety of purposes, we won’t be relocating completely until the end of the year. This will give us plenty of time to put the finishing touches on things, furnish and set up the new learning spaces ensuring they are the best they can be. We will have a grand opening in term 4 and hope that many of you will be able to join us to celebrate the end of a big project and  improvements to our school.

There have been a couple of minor changes in our staffing recently. Last week, Molly Heeps finished her time with us as an LSO. Her position has been filled internally and we wish Molly all the very best as she embarks on the next exciting chapter of her life, parenthood. We look forward to meeting the new addition to Molly’s family in the coming weeks. Caitlin Chirchiglia will be taking parental leave towards the end of Term 4. We offer our congratulations to Caitlin and Gasper as they prepare for the arrival of their first child. We'll have an opportunity to farewell Caitlin a bit closer to the date. 

Recently, I asked staff to provide me with their 2024 intentions. With this information I've been able to start the process of planning to staff our school for 2024. Below is a summary of the changes to date.

Ellen Bock is resigning her position at St Mary's to seek to widen her teaching experience, possibly overseas.

Sarah McMonnies is resigning her part time position to concentrate on her young family.

Kirstyn Pepping is taking 12 months leave to enjoy time for herself and do some travelling. She intends to return to St Mary's in 2025.  

Cathy Lewis is retiring and is looking forward to spending more time with her partner and her family.

I've begun the process of filling vacant positions for next year and will keep you all updated as things progress.

Kind regards, 

Andrea Welsh

Religion

We welcome Fr Shaijui back from his recent trip home to see his family. We hope he had a lovely time. Class Parish Masses will resume on Thursday August 24th and we will be celebrating the Feast of the Assumption in the church on Tuesday August 15th.

Scarament of Confirmation

Parents of Children (Year 3 and above) are invited to register their child for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Parent and child are required to attend a 6pm Mass on any Saturday before Preparation Day, Sunday 13th August where a commitment form is filled in before Mass and given to Father during the Mass.

There are not many Saturday Masses left for this to happen. If you have a family member or know of anyone who might be interested, please pass on these details.

Social Justice

This term our Social Justice Captain and SRC will be promoting and supporting "It’s in a bag" fundraiser. "It’s in the Bag" encourages everyday Australians to donate bags in good condition or essential items such as shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, and maybe some everyday luxuries, to donate to someone in need. We will be accepting donations of these goods for the remainder of Term 3. Your donations can be left in the library.

SWPBS

The SWPBS focus for next week is focus and reteach the core documents.

Primary

Foundation

The Foundation students enjoyed celebrating their 100 days of school last week! It was a great time looking at how much we have learned in the last 100 days and doing lots of activities about the number 100. This Term is also flying by and we are beginning to see the students begin to really blossom in their learning. To support your child the best you can, please ensure students are reading their Tricky Words and reading regularly at home.

Year 1/2

The Year 1/2's have been working very hard on their athletics skills in preparation for our Athletics Day next week. Students have been enjoying practising their high jump skills and jumping over the bar.

Year 3/4

In Year 3/4 students have been continuing to work on their proofreading and editing skills to ensure their writing is correct. We are also starting to work on information writing. We are beginning by doing a piece on someone in the spotlight that they admire. It would be helpful if parents have a chat with their children about who this might be and why they admire them. We are continuing to work on our athletics skills in preparation for next week.

Secondary

Homeroom

The Year 7 & 8 students have been really busy with a number of mini  projects on the go and some great learning happening in all subject areas. A reminder to students that they should be bringing all required equipment to class ready for their learning. Unfortunately, is really disappointing to see the level of damage and lack of respect  that is occurring to student resources and school furniture. We'd like to offer a reminder to all our Year 7 & 8s that respect for their own and school property is a non negotiable expectation at St Mary's and they will be required to replace anything that is deliberately damaged.

English

In Year 7 & 8 students have written a response to the prompt "What I would do if I won the Lottery?"

Maths

Year 7 students are busy working on their final assessment for measurement. Students have been working in pairs to design a fictional new playground. This has involved working our area’s perimeters, drawing diagrams using a range of different scales and finally making a mini version of the playground. 

In Year 8 Math this term we have completed our topic on Measurement and will have their test on Wednesday 9th of August. Our next topic is Linear Equations. A reminder that Maths Mates are due every Wednesday.

Science

Year 7 & 8 students are busy  investigating and preparing their Science Fair projects. Our Science Fair will be held on Wednesday August 15th, more information to follow in the coming weeks.

Religion

Year 8 students are exploring the Kingdom of God. We have been viewing personal stories. Year 7 students are learning about humanity and what it means to be human.

PE

Students are focusing on developing their skills in shot put, discus, long jump, triple jump, high jump and javelin in preparation for our upcoming Athletics Day.

Health

Year 7 students are developing their knowledge and understanding of the effects of drugs and alcohol and focusing on good decision making and harm minimisation approaches.

Year 8 students are learning about different types of communication and how these can be used to develop positive relationships with others.

Careers

Year 7 are learning about careers this semester which will involve learning about themselves and starting to explore the different pathways open to them.

Food Technology

Year 8 students have been cooking a range of different recipes using different types of chocolate. They are looking forward to making their own recipes next week.

Languages

Students in Year 7 & 8 have been researching and planning a 21 day tour of Italy including developing a list of Italian words they would need to refer to when travelling in Italy.

Humanities

In Humanities Year 8 students have been researching a world famous natural landscape. 

In Year 7 Humanities students have been reading and exploring what criteria is used to rate the 'World's Most Livable Cities'. 

The Arts

In Year 7 & 8 Art students have been creating their Pop Art to add to their Art Folio.