Newsletter, Week 8, Term 3, #4
Principal's Report
Dear Parents & Carers,
Welcome to this week’s newsletter.
I’m very pleased to be able to report that our building project is now complete. All the temporary fencing has been removed and we now have free access to all areas of the school again. This means we will be able to go back to using our usual entry and exit gates. We will continue to use our current system until the end of this term but from the start of term 4 the Parke Street gate will once again be closed and only used for vehicle access. Parents, students and visitors will be able to enter school through our main Watkin Street gate and will exit through the small Watkin Street gate at the end of the day. Bus entry and exit will return to our original bus shelter at the top end of Nicholls Street and parking will return to normal.
Last week we celebrated Book Week and what a wonderful celebration it was! It was wonderful to see so many of our students dressing up and enjoying the day. Make sure you keep an eye out for photos. Thank you to the Book Week organising committee who did an excellent job of running the parade and providing us with lots of great activities to promote reading and engage our students in the wonderful world of literature throughout the week.
We also had our Hot Dog Day last week to raise money for Mercy Missions. Thank you to Fiona Pike, her band of helpers and the Student Leadership Team for organising and preparing this special treat.
Another important event that has taken place recently is LSO Appreciation Week. We took this opportunity to celebrate and say thank you to our LSOs for the work that they do with a special morning tea. Our Learning Support Officers are an integral part of our school and without them we would not be able to offer the support and high levels of education that we can. In addition to providing classroom support, they complete a multitude of other tasks throughout the school on a daily basis that help keep our school ticking along. At St Mary’s, we are blessed with an amazing team of LSOs who are highly skilled and always willing to lend a hand. We want them to know that we truly appreciate all that they do and know that our school would not be the same without them!
On Wednesday many of our Year 7 & 8 students travelled to Ouyen to compete in the Secondary Division Athletics. From all accounts a great day was had by all. Thank you to Des Lowry for his organisation of the event and to Tehan Kelleher and Ashleigh Roper for supporting our students on the day. And, of course, thank you to the students who participated and represented our school so well.
This morning we held our annual Fathers Day Breakfast. It was a wonderful turn out and we hope everyone enjoyed their breakfast. A special thank you to the organising committee and all the staff who cooked, served and cleaned up, to Leon Johnson for helping out with the basketball and to Josh from AFL Primary Play for providing the football activity. The football theme was carried on past breakfast with Footy Colours Day and a hot pie lunch. The proceeds of the pie day will go into our fundraising account to put towards the purchase of a new Ninja Course playground for our students to enjoy. Thanks to all our dads and special friends for joining in today and we wish everyone a very happy Fathers Day on Sunday!
I’d like to end this report with a couple of staffing announcements. This week Chris Brouwers indicated that he will be leaving St Mary’s at the end of the 2023 school year. We wish Chris all the best as he moves on and will look forward to the opportunity to farewell him as a community as the year draws to a close.
I’m extremely pleased to inform you that Laura Spagnolo has accepted a position as a Junior Unit teacher at St Mary’s in 2024. Laura is moving to Robinvale after working at Irymple South Primary School for the last few years. Laura comes to us with glowing reviews from her previous school and we are very excited to welcome her into our community!
Kind regards,
Andrea Welsh
Religion
Social Justice
This year as part of our annual action plan St Mary’s has aimed to increase social justice opportunities for our students. We believe Catholic Social Justice teaches students that all people are made in the image of God. Because of this, each person has a right to dignity and all they need to live to their full potential, as intended by God.
Our year 8 students accompanied by Tehan Kelleher, our wellbeing leader, have been volunteering their time to assist with meals on wheels. Students have been enjoying delivering meals in the local area and talking with the recipients.
SWPBS
This week our SWPBS focus is to keep your hands and feet to yourself.
The SWPBS focus for next week is ‘no tackling!’
Primary
Foundation
Foundation students have been looking at the importance of their fathers this week. As they have created some beautiful gifts for their fathers there have been some very sweet comments shared, especially about how funny our Dads are. We asked Foundation students to share some Dad jokes that their Dads have shared or that they have heard.
Whenever I say a knock knock joke, he always says “come in!!” -Emily
How small is an orange? 20 metres! -Evie
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Chicken. Chicken who? Chicken cluck cluck! -Flynn
Why did the chicken cross the road? I don’t know! -Giaan
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Interrupting cow. Interrupting cow- MOOOOO! -Atlanta
Marco did a fart, and blew the house apart - Mateo
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Nunya. Nunya who? Nunya you! -Luca
I only know 25 letters of the alphabet. I don’t know y! -Miss M
Dad, you are my hero,
Because of all you do.
And on this Father's Day,
I want to say
I'm proud of you!
I love you so much, Dad,
And I want to be sure you know,
That every day, in every way,
I'll love you more as I grow.
-Kelly Roper
Year 1/2
What an incredible term we are having! Book Week was amazing and we are so grateful for everyones effort to celebrate this. We had a fantastic time with the parade. We have been concentrating on retelling a story in reading and we are continuing to look at the features of imaginary texts throughout Book Week. We also attended to the Parish Mass last week for our 1/2 Mass which was just lovely. We are looking forward to the Father’s Day Breakfast ths Friday as well as Footy Colours Day. We wish all our fathers, grandfathers, nonnos and special persons a very happy Fathers Day for Sunday.
Year 3/4
Thanks to all our families who helped the children prepare and dress up for Book Week. We understand how much effort goes in on the home front for this!
In writing we have been doing information pieces on a person we admire. This has translated into an assembly item and some fantastic presentations which are displayed in the classrooms. Currently we are researching information on animals.
This week we had our second hand stall to raise money for charity. Many thanks to those who organised for some simple items to be donated from home.
Just a reminder that it is still an expectation that children read at home every night. The children have a reading diary to be filled in at home. Reading is like any other skill that improves with practice.
Year 5/6
In Writing we have been creating realistic fictional characters, sketching and brainstorming about their lives. We’ve got fashion designers, property developers and YouTube gamers with some interesting and complex backstories! We’re hoping to develop these characters in our writing pieces next week.
Please remember that reading is important for our students. Reading helps them to develop their memory and reading stamina. This is especially helpful during assessment periods to help them engage and focus. Please make time to read together!
5-6LC will have their assembly next Friday (Week 9) . We hope to see our families there!
Secondary
Homeroom
As we dive into the excitement of Week 8, it's been a whirlwind of activities and achievements here at the Secondary end. Our Year 7 and 8 students have been showcasing their financial prowess in the ESSI Money Challenge, while also exhibiting their athletic talents at the Ouyen Regional Athletics event. Over the past two weeks, our Year 7 and 8 students have been participating in the ESSI Money Challenge with fervor and enthusiasm. This interactive competition has been an incredible opportunity for our young minds to explore the world of finance, learning essential money management skills in a fun and engaging manner. Congratulations to all participants for taking on this challenge and stepping up to improve their financial literacy!
We would like to give a special shoutout to those who have made their mark on the leaderboard during this competition.
Our students displayed their athletic prowess at the Regional Athletics event held in Ouyen on Wednesday, well done to all those students who participated.
The upcoming two weeks promise to be a whirlwind of activity as we gear up for the impending holidays. With the end of the term drawing near, there are still plenty of exciting events and learning opportunities to look forward to. From classroom projects to extracurricular activities, we encourage all students to embrace these last moments of the term with enthusiasm and dedication.
Parents, keep an eye on notes and communication channels for updates on these upcoming events. We appreciate your continuous support in ensuring that your child is engaged and motivated throughout these busy times. Whether it's managing finances or competing on the field, our students are proving time and again that they are capable of achieving remarkable things