Newsletter, W9, T2, 2024

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome to this week’s newsletter. 

At last the event we’ve all been waiting for is finally here! This week our first whole school concert ‘NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM’ is set to take to the stage. There will be two performances, the first on Wednesday (19th June) at 11am and the second on Thursday (20th June) at 11am. Both performances are at the Robinvale Community Arts Centre. Tickets are $10 each and are available at the school office. Every child in the school has in some way contributed to the performance and we are very excited to be able to present it to you. We hope to see everyone there and please feel free to tell all your family and friends to join us. Everyone is welcome!

On 28th May, we sent a group of 21 students from Years 3-8 to St Arnaud for the Regional Cross Country. Every student who participated did a wonderful job and represented St Mary’s exceptionally well. I’m thrilled to let you know that one student in particular excelled. Javon Costantino placed 2nd in the 13 year-old boys event which means that he has qualified to compete at the Victorian titles in Melbourne on the 18th July. What a great achievement, well done Javon! Thank you to Des Lowry for his support and organisation of this and all our other sporting events, and to the many parents who went along on the day to assist and cheer on our students.

Over the past weeks, teachers have been busy preparing Semester 1 reports. Significant time and effort goes into reports to individualise them and to ensure they provide parents with a clear picture of how their children are progressing at school. Reports will be sent home in the mail to each family on the final day of the term, Friday 28th June. We hope you enjoy reading reports and take the time to celebrate your child’s successes. Should you have any questions or concerns about your child’s report, or their learning in general, you are most welcome to make an appointment to meet with their teacher or call them when school resumes.

There have been a couple of incidents at our school crossing lately that have prompted me to offer a few friendly reminders about its use. Please be aware that the crossing supervisors are there to keep our children safe and as such, should be treated with respect and courtesy at all times and their instructions followed. It’s important to be mindful of parking signage around the crossing area and to only park, or drop off students, where and when it is permitted. The crossing is managed by Swan Hill Council, not the school. Council inspectors are often present and they may issue fines to people who are illegally parked. Finally, please make sure your children understand that they must wait for the crossing supervisor to indicate its safe before they cross the road or, if the crossing isn’t manned, then they should ensure they look both ways and only cross if it is safe to do so. The last thing any of us wants is to see an accident happen because a child has run onto the road before looking! The school crossing is in place to keep everyone safe as they enter and exit the school, and your cooperation in using it properly would be greatly appreciated.

Last weekend many of our students and other members of the Parish community celebrated the Sacrament of First Eucharist. Congratulations to these students and their families as they take this very special step forward in their faith journey. We wish them all the best and keep them in our thoughts and prayers at this very special time.

In staffing news, Reema Madhur will be taking leave next term in order to spend time with her family overseas. Jess Baldock will teach Reema’s class while she is away while Nicole Zappia takes the class they currently share full time. As mentioned previously, we will farewell Jacky Chhun at the end of this term, as she leaves St Mary’s to study full time, and we look forward to welcoming Will Lowry to St Mary's as he takes Jacky's place.

Kind regards, 

Andrea Welsh

The SWPBS focus is to participate in all activities respectfully. 

Foundation

As we near the end of Term 2, we are revising all the learning we have done so far this year. We have learned 20 letters and sounds, and 5 sets of Tricky Words! It has been a very busy term and we thank our students and their parents/carers for their hard work. 

We are excitedly preparing for the School Concert. A reminder, if you have not already done so, to please send in your child's clothes to go with their costumes. We have been making the parts of our costumes to match our dances and can’t wait to dance on the big stage in them!

A reminder that we strongly encourage students to review their reading skills at home by sharing a book each night with a grown up. We work extremely hard in class with our learning, but continual revision is important to help students remember all the things we learn! 

Over the last few weeks we have been looking at why we need to learn to write. Students enjoyed looking at what an author does, and from this we explored how we could write our own books! Students designed a character, then drafted a story about what their character can do by using simple sentences. Students discovered the skills of editing and reviewing writing to make a good copy before illustrating their books. We look forward to sending these home this week!

Year 1/2

We are heading towards the end of the term, can you believe it? Our students have completed narratives in writing and have now started learning about persuasive writing. We have the same focus in our reading lessons also. We expect to complete some fascinating experiments related to our Science topic about materials. Our students have been practising for the upcoming concert with great anticipation. Don’t forget to buy your tickets! 

Year 3/4

The Year 3/4 students are excited and working hard towards organising themselves for the upcoming school concert. 

A friendly reminder to please send the costume your child needs for the concert by tomorrow. If you have any queries regarding this, kindly get in touch with the class teacher or Mrs Sutton (Performing Arts Teacher) through class dojo or school phone. 

The Year 3/4 students have  been learning about various non-fiction text features. They are enjoying the process of researching the different countries which are Australia’s neighbours and working towards creating an engaging slide presentation.

In Religion, students are learning about the importance of the Holy Spirit to help Christians become people of unity and peace.

Our Year 3/4 students look forward to seeing you all at the school concert so they can share their dance and drama skills with you all.

Year 5/6

As we approach the end of Semester 1, our students are busy wrapping up this term's work. We’re looking forward to presenting our efforts to our families and friends, especially in the upcoming school concert. Ms Jacky’s class also have an assembly performance in Week 9 as well!

Students are busy finalising their performances with Mrs Sutton for the school concert. Please let your teacher know by tomorrow if you are having difficulty sourcing any clothing that may be needed for the dance.

In Science, students have begun to work on their miniature solar system models. They have used their research from earlier in the Term to decorate their planets, and are placing them in their correct order. These models will look fantastic when completed!

To review our English lessons on Through the Decades, students are beginning to type their summaries for their final poster. Once completed, they will publish their work. There have been many laughs at the crazy 1980’s fashion, and the teachers displaying their old mobile phones and iPods!

With so many projects ongoing, we’ve been working hard in our classes. Please remember that homework must be completed by Friday, and reading at home each night expected.

Visual Arts

Art Display at the Concert

Each class has been working hard on completing a collaborative artwork that will be available to purchase via a silent auction at the school concert. Proceeds from the auction will go towards updating out arts equipment throughout the school. There will also be an art display in the foyer from 11.30am each concert day. We look forward to sharing our artistic talents with you all.

Performing Arts

The Countdown is on! It’s nearly concert time!  

All students have been working really hard rehearsing their dance items for the school concert. I have been extremely proud of every single student and their dedication and willingness to learn, practise and perform their item. Everyone has been doing a wonderful job during whole school practices this week.

We have talked a lot about how we might feel a little nervous before performing, ways we can help overcome those feelings and how we will feel after the concert. 

Concert week will be a big week. Please remember to pack some extra healthy snacks. We will be having our lunch at the Community Centre each day. 

Thank you for your support in sending costume items to school. Also don't forget to purchase your tickets from the school office.

There will be an art display, silent auction on art work and canteen items to purchase in the foyer from 11.30am on the concert days.

It has been lovely to see how excited the children are about the concert. They can’t wait to share what we have been working on and we are all looking forward to showcasing the wonderful Performing and Visual Arts talent we have at St Mary’s School.