Newsletter, W9, T1, 2024

Principal's Report

Dear Parents & Carers,

As we come to the end of a very busy and productive start to the year, I can't help but marvel at the amazing amount of work and learning that we’ve managed to pack into the term. The achievements and growth that we’ve seen in our students is quite astounding and, of course, this would not happen without our brilliant children, dedicated, incredibly hardworking staff and our wonderfully supportive families. Thank you to each and every one of you for your commitment, energy and time. I’d like to make special mention of all the new staff and families who have joined us this year. They have already made a significant contribution to our school and to the education of our children. We consider ourselves lucky that they chose to come to St Mary’s and thank them sincerely for all the work they’ve done. As I’ve often said, we are truly blessed to be a part of such an amazing community.

Last week we were treated to a very special day of music and dancing from many parts of the world, led by the Nikki Vasaj Dancers. We held the day in honour of Harmony Day and came together to celebrate the richly diverse and inclusive community that we have in Australia, but in particular here in Robinvale. At least 16 cultures and 20 religions are represented as either first or second generations in our school with over 30 percent of our population speaking a language other than English at home. This is indeed something that is very special and unique to us. We are privileged to be a part of such a vibrant and multicultural community where we can all learn from each other while developing tolerance and respect for all people. The finale of the day certainly showcased the richness of our society while providing our students with a fun filled and memorable occasion. Thank you to Maryanne Leslie for organising this for us and we look forward to making Harmony Day a special celebration here at St Mary’s for many years to come. 

Looking towards the start of Term 2 we have many special events and celebrations coming up. On Wednesday of Week 1 (17th April) Fr Shaiji will host a meeting for parents of children who will be celebrating their First Eucharist later in the term. This is an important meeting as we move to ensure our children are well prepared for this fundamental step in their faith development. If you have a child who will be celebrating the Sacrament of First Eucharist this year please make sure you set this evening aside.

Week 2 will be a particularly important week as we will officially open our new and refurbished buildings and learning areas. Please pencil 22nd April at 10am into your diaries as we would love to have our community come and join us to celebrate this special occasion. Also in that week we have ANZAC Day followed by the whole school Cross Country on Friday 26th April. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at these important community events.

As we move into the holidays I’d like to offer a friendly reminder to parents to monitor what their children are posting on social media, particularly if it is associated with the school, such using the school emblem or posting information and/or pictures of staff and students without their knowledge and consent. We are very aware of cyber safety and students learn about how to be safe online from Prep through to Year 8, however, we have no control over personal accounts or devices which is why we need to rely on parent’s support in monitoring and managing this. Your help in this respect would be greatly appreciated.

As we finish the term I’d like to inform you all that Jacky Chhun will be leaving St Mary’s at the end of term 2 this year as she has decided to return to full time study. Jacky is a much respected and valued teacher and while we will be sorry to see her go, we cannot fault her reasons and wish her the best of luck as she continues her education journey. On a positive note I am pleased to tell you that Will Lowry has accepted a position with us and will take over Jacky’s Year 5/6 classroom when she leaves. Will is a vibrant, dedicated and experienced young teacher who has worked in Melbourne and is currently teaching overseas. Will is looking forward to relocating to Robinvale with his partner and we are very excited to have him join us. We expect the transition from one teacher to the other will be smooth and, in the meantime, we will continue to enjoy Jacky’s company until the end of semester 2.

As usual we’ll end this term with a special Easter Liturgy to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and this very significant time in our liturgical year. This will be followed by our annual Easter Raffle which is always a lot of fun and a great way to finish our term. Thank you to Jess Baldock for preparing the liturgy, to Lisa Zappia, Fiona Shawcross, Kara Curran and Emma Smith for preparing the much anticipated raffle prizes and to everyone who generously donated Easter eggs for the raffle. Particular mention to Elder’s Insurance, Robinvale who kindly donated the fabulous first prize!

Finally, I’d like to wish everyone a safe, happy, holy and restful Easter break and school holiday period and I’ll look forward to seeing you all next term.

Kind regards, 

Andrea Welsh

SWPBS

Primary

Foundation

We are not too sure how we can be at the end of our first term at school, but we are! So far we have learned 8 sounds and letters, using these to read and write some simple words. All students are well adjusted to school and their independence has been increasing every single day! We thank the parents and carers who attended the InitiaLit information sessions, it is great to see so many of you who want to know more about the program we are using to learn to read and write. 

Some parents and carers have been asking about the actions and characters for our letters. Please see an overview below.

M - Maggie Mouse munches - rubbing belly

S - Sammy Seal surfs - making a wave motion with our hand

T - Tommy Tiger taps - tapping nose

A - Andy Ant eats apples - pretending to hold an apple and reach to our mouth

P - Poppy Princess puffs - holding one finger like a candle and puffing it out

I - Iggy Insect itches - using one hand to itch the other arm

F - Fifi Flamingo flaps - flapping arms like a bird

R - Rosie Rabbit runs - making a running motion on the spot

We want to thank all the parents who attended the Parent Teacher interviews this week. It is great to see so many parents and talk about your children with you! It is such a valuable experience for all of us that are involved in your childs learning.

Congratulations to all the Foundation students on their Harmony Day experience, we explored lots of different cultures and enjoyed our dancing. Well done to Mrs A, Mrs Brigante and Miss M on joining the teachers dance!

We wish you all a splendid Easter break, we hope you enjoy time as a family and have a restful break before beginning Term 2.

Year 1/2

What an exciting term it has been! It has flown by tremendously quickly.  The teachers are very proud of the achievements of our students this term.  They have applied themselves to their learning extremely well, and we expect we will see this as a continued trend in the coming terms. 

The recent Harmony Day event was incredible. We are very impressed by how the students learned and performed their dance with joy and confidence. 

We would like to wish everyone a wonderful Easter break. We are looking forward to hearing about the family time, adventures and gatherings with friends and family you will enjoy during this time when we return to school.

Year 3/4

Term 1 has come to an end and it sure has been a very engaging and entertaining term. Harmony Day was a huge success with the 3/4 students proudly representing an Indigenous dance. Students showed a lot of enthusiasm while preparing and performing for the Harmony Day Performnace. In class students have have been learning about Easter and Harmony Day through stories and comprehension. 

Students are preparing eagerly and are looking forward to the Easter Liturgy and Easter Raffle to be held on the last day of this term.

Term 2 looks exciting again with various interesting events and learning topics which will be covered during the term.

We wish all the families a very HAPPY EASTER. Enjoy the break with family and friends, we look forward to being back in Term 2.

Year 5/6

Congratulations to all year 5’s on completing their NAPLAN assessments for this year. All students should be proud of their efforts.

It was wonderful to see everyone involved in our Harmony Day celebrations on Friday. Our students enjoyed their dance and it was great to see their confidence shine through. 

We would like to wish all our families a happy and safe holiday break and we look forward to another busy term, with a focus on Australia's Immigration over the centuries, the Solar System and how we can continue to develop our health and wellbeing to name just a few upcoming learning topics.

SZapp

Welcome to St Mary's School Schoolzine App.  SZapp is a mobile communication App, it is a great way to keep update with  all our latest news and information. 

We are currently using SZapp for student absences and newsletter.  As we move forward, we will keep you updated with any changes.