Newsletter, W8, T4, 24

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome to this week’s newsletter. The end of the year is fast approaching and we are looking forward to the next few weeks where we celebrate another successful year and say farewell to those who are leaving us.

I’d like to start this report by saying what a wonderful celebration of colour, fun and camaraderie we had last week through our annual Colour Run. The sheer delight on student (and staff) faces was wonderful to see. Thank you to Tehan Kelleher for organising the day and to the Year 8 students who manned the stations making sure that the course was filled with colour and laughter. Keep an eye out later in this newsletter for some great photos of the day.

Over the past week or so we have been working through the process of selecting our 2025 Student Leadership Team (SLT) and I must say that this year’s applications have been exceptional! Although not every student will be lucky enough to have a place in the SLT next year, everyone who applied for a position should be extremely proud of themselves. Thank you to Maryanne Leslie for organising the applications but also for all the work she’s put in to support our students to become the best leaders that they can be through the year.

As you may be aware, our secondary cohort has been steadily growing over the past few years and I’m happy to say that next year will have two year 7 classes. The additional secondary class will be taught by existing staff, however, as we are adding another class to the school we needed to employ another teacher. I’m thrilled to announce Josylyn Palma will be joining us in 2025. Josylyn comes to us with many years teaching experience in the Philippines. She is currently living, working and studying in Melbourne and is very excited about the opportunity to move to Robinvale and join St Mary’s staff. We are all looking forward to welcoming Josylyn and her family into our school and the wider Robinvale community. In addition to Josylyn, we are currently in the process of employing another LSO. The position is being advertised this week and we hope to be able to share the name of the successful applicant either at the end of this year or at the start of 2025.

Next Tuesday, 3rd December, we will have our annual whole school transition day. This is a day when students get to spend the day in their 2025 unit with the teachers who are working in that area. Please be aware that while students will be in class groups on the day these groupings are not finalised and changes to classes and /or teachers may occur before the end of the year. We hope to have classes finalised by the end of the year and these will be sent home with Semester 2 reports on Monday 16th December.

As mentioned above, teachers are in the process of writing Semester 2 student reports. Teachers spend a considerable amount of time and effort writing individual reports that are reflective of your child’s achievements throughout the semester. We hope you enjoy reading them when they are delivered. All reports will be sent to the postal address we have on file on Monday 16th December. If you have changed your address or would like the report sent elsewhere please notify us asap so we can update our records and make sure your child’s report is sent to the correct address.

There are many events to look forward to as we prepare to wind up the 2024 school year. Today, Friday, 29th November we celebrated our End of Year Mass and hold our annual Awards Ceremony. The following Friday, 6th December we will farewell our Year 8 students with a Graduation Ceremony and their much anticipated final assembly. This will be the final day of school for all Year 7 & 8  students. On Wednesday 18th December we will celebrate our Year 6 Graduation and the final day for our primary students. In between these important community celebrations each unit will enjoy a ‘fun day’ together on an excursion either here in Robinvale or in Mildura. Please keep an eye out for notes or on our Facebook page for details, times etc. of each of these events.

Kind regards, 

Andrea Welsh

The SWPBS focus for this week is to engage in learning and stay on task.

 Reconciliation Information

Parent Meeting ~ 19th February 2025
Reconciliation ~ 1st & 2nd April 2025

First Eucharist Information
First Eucharist ~ 21st June 2025 
Practices ~ 10th & 17th June 2025 

Foundation

This week, the Foundation students participated in the Library walk hosted by the Robinvale Library. We walked to the Library at Robinvale College in the morning and participated in many exciting activities. A library walk is where you walk to different locations to find the next page of the story that you are reading. The event's focus was to learn how people can have many different jobs despite their gender. 

We met local ambulance officer Cara and police officer Dani, along with librarian Heiata. Many other children from local schools and kindergartens and even some families with young children attended! We started by moving and grooving to some of our favourite children's songs, then listened as Dani read us a story about a young girl who learned she could be anything she wanted when she grew up.

After Dani read us a book, we asked some questions about working as police and ambulance officers. We then went into small groups to complete the library walk around the oval near the library. After that, they gave us some cups of fresh fruit to share! Dani and Cara let us look in the ambulance and police car. We even got to sit in both! 

A huge thank you to the Robinvale Library for inviting us along to such an enjoyable experience!

Next week we will have swimming lessons Monday and Wednesday, please ensure all clothing items (including the ones your child wears to school) are labelled to allow us to keep track of all clothing items.

The Foundation Fun Day note will be sent home early next week, please keep an eye out for this.

Year 1/2

As we enter the final few weeks before the holiday break, we have plenty of exciting activities lined up for our Grade 1/2 students. Here's a quick update on what’s coming up in the next few weeks!

Swimming Lessons - Next Week!
A reminder that our swimming lessons will begin next week! Please make sure your child brings all the necessary equipment, including:

Towel
Bathers
Goggles
We’re looking forward to some fun and active lessons in the pool!

Amazing Reading Habits
A huge congratulations to all the students for their continued commitment to reading at home! Your effort is truly paying off, and it's wonderful to see the growth in reading skills across the class. Please continue to support your child with their reading at home – it makes a world of difference!

End of Year Fun & Learning
In the coming weeks, we'll be wrapping up our learning for the term with some exciting activities and reflections. The students have been working hard on their procedural texts, grammar, and religious education, and we can’t wait to share their achievements with you at the end of the term.

Thank you for your continued support throughout the term. We are looking forward to the final weeks of learning and fun before the holiday break!

Year 3/4

It’s hard to believe we have just two and a half weeks left! The children have been working hard, especially this week as we focus on engaging in our learning and staying on task. 

We have been busy refreshing our persuasive writing skills, learning how to strengthen our understanding of the texts we read through comparing and contrasting, creating artworks representing some famous Australian landmarks and even conducted an investigation as to how ants help with seed dispersal. 

Thank you to those families who have returned their swimming notes - next week we will be heading to the pool on Monday and Wednesday. Please ensure all items of clothing are labelled. 

We have lots of exciting activities planned for the coming weeks, please make sure to check Class Dojo for any messages that may be going out.

Year 5/6

Thank you to all the families who have returned their swimming notes. Swimming lessons will commence next Monday December 2nd and continue on Wednesday December 4th, Monday December 9th, Tuesday December 10th and Wednesday December 11th. Please ensure your child brings their swimming clothes and that all clothing items are clearly labeled.

As we approach the end of the school year, please keep an eye out for the Year 5/6 Fun Day note, which will be sent home early next week.

Our Year 6 students will soon begin practising for their graduation liturgy on Wednesday December 18th. Further details will be provided as the date approaches.

In class, students have been working hard on developing their short stories, which they are now transforming into picture books. The next step in the process will involve rewriting their stories digitally.

Finally, this week marks the end of homework for the year. A big thank you to the students who consistently completed their homework and to the families who supported them in this important part of their learning journey.

Year 7/8 Homeroom

Year 7 & 8 Final Report for 2024

As we wrap up the year, we reflect on a fantastic term filled with excitement, teamwork, and milestones for our Year 7 & 8 students.

The annual Year 8 vs Staff Netball Match brought out plenty of competitive spirit on Tuesday afternoon. With only three goals separating the teams, the staff managed to secure the win once again, with the final score of 16 to 13. Age and experience prevailed, but next year’s Year 8 students are already strategizing their tactics for a rematch!

Our Buddies for 2025 have been spending time with the new Preps, sharing lunch and making them feel welcome. It’s been heartwarming to see the connections forming, and the Preps are brimming with excitement for the year ahead.

A huge congratulations to all students who applied for Leadership Positions for 2025. Each applicant did an outstanding job addressing the criteria, and we’re thrilled to work with such an enthusiastic group of leaders next year.

Looking ahead:

• Monday 2nd December: We have our Secondary Fun Day, which promises to be a great way to celebrate the end of the year together. 

• Tuesday 3rd December: The annual Transition Day will see all students move into their year levels for 2025.

• Thursday 5th December: It’s Casual Clothes Day with a Christmas theme! Don’t forget to bring a gold coin donation.

• Friday, 6th December: Our Year 8 Liturgy will take place at 9:30 am in the gym, followed by a farewell lunch to celebrate their time at St Mary’s.

Finally, a big thank you to all the students, parents, and community members who supported our Recycling Campaign this term. Together, we raised over $150! We’re excited to continue our recycling efforts next year.

Thank you for a wonderful year, and we wish all our students and families a safe and happy holiday season.

English

Year 7: Reading and analysing the story of Sherlock Holmes: ‘The Speckled Band’. Students have been making predictions and writing their own understanding about meticulous things.

Maths

Year 7’s have finished their topic on Algebra and Formulas. We are ending the term with an introduction to the Language of Probability.

Humanities

The Year 7’s have finished reviewing the Natural Disasters unit and have started examining Factors that dictate where we live in Australia.

The Year 8’s have studied Mountain Ranges worldwide and in Australia. They are finishing the year by studying Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis.

Languages

Both the Year 7s and Year 8s finished their first semester by studying French Landmarks, Cuisine, and some Christmas traditions and vocabulary.

STEM

Year 7’s and Year 8s have finished their REF Program with LaTrobe Bendigo Technical College, producing some exciting prototypes designed to help the local community of Robinvale. Over 3 weeks, they worked in groups developing and creating their product, and in the last lesson pitched their ideas to the class in a group presentation.

Grade 3/4 students have been using collage to create some tasty hamburgers after being inspired by Claes Oldenburg a Swedish born American who is famous for sculpting everyday objects including a giant hamburger.These delicious creations have been making everybody hunger in the art room!

Hamburgers

Grade 5/6 have been looking into the works of Wassily Kandinsky. Students have found it interesting that Kandinsky suffered from synthesia where he saw colour and shapes when he heard music and heard music when he saw colour. We created our own pieces while listening to classical music using different elements of line, colour and shape.

Kandinsky