Newsletter W3 T2 2025

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome to our first newsletter for term 2.

I’d like to start by saying thank you to everyone for all their efforts in term 1. It was a busy term with lots going on! The term concluded with our usual Easter celebrations including a very insightful liturgy prepared and led by Jess Baldock and our Student Leadership Team. The day ended with our annual Easter Egg Raffle which is always a fun and exciting way to end the term. Particular thanks and appreciation to Lisa Zappia for her organisation of the raffle and to Fiona Shawcross, Meagan Costantino, Kara Curran and Camille Lazarra who generously donated their time and effort to prepare the prizes. Thanks also to all our school families who donated eggs and purchased raffle tickets and by doing so helped make the event a success.

Although we’re only a few weeks into the term we’ve already had much to celebrate. The term began with our school community coming together on our first day back at school to honour our ANZACs and other service men and women who have served our country in war and in peacekeeping operations. Once again, thanks to Jess Baldock for putting together a moving ceremony. A special mention to Siua Taumoefolau and Kaili Hafoka who joined us to play the Last Post on the bugle. Their support certainly lifted the ceremony to a higher level and was greatly appreciated. The previous Friday our School Captains, Jimmy Healy and Maya Brigante, with the support of Maryanne Leslie attended the community service and represented our school admirably. Being a part of such events and maintaining St Mary’s commitment to contribute to our local community is very important to our school and we thank Maryanne, Maya and Jimmy for taking the time out of their day to represent us.

Last week we held our annual school Cross Country. As usual it was a day filled with fun, activity and some friendly competition. The winners of each age group are listed further down in this newsletter and congratulations to Patrician (Green) House who came out overall winners on the day. Thanks to Des Lowry for his organisation of the event, to all the parents who came to support us, to Jess Baldock for cooking our BBQ and especially to all our students who participated on the day. Well done to each and every one of you!

On Tuesday our Year 5/6 qualifiers travelled to Mildura to compete in the Sunraysia South Division Cross Country. Congratulations to 9/10 yr old girls Kasia Zappia (1st), Frankie Gareffa (2nd), 9/10 yr old boys AJ Costantino (1st), Archer Brigante (2nd), Samuel Costantino (3rd), 11 yr old girls Valen Costantino (2nd), Macy Aikman (3rd) and 12 yr old boy Blake Downie (1st) who placed in their divisions and will now represent St Mary’s at Regional Division competion in St Arnaud. In addition to these individual achievements we claimed 4 Champion School trophies in 9/10 yr old girls & boys, 11 yr old girls and 12 yr old boys. What a great day! Well done to all who competed, we are very proud of your efforts. 

Recently your children would have brought home two documents for you to sign. These are the DOBCEL Parent/Carer/Guardian Code of Conduct and Enrolment Policy & Procedures. As explained in the letter accompanying them, these are policies that all parents/carers/ guardians in all DOBCEL schools are required to agree to and sign. Thank you to those families who have already returned theirs and if you haven’t could you attend to this asap. Also, please remember that I am happy to clarify anything or discuss any concerns you may have about these policies.

Earlier this week we conducted a random check for student mobile phones, smart watches and other internet enabled devices. Unfortunately, despite numerous reminders many students were found to have these devices in their possession. As most of you will know the Victorian Government banned the use of phones and other personal devices in schools some time ago. This was predominantly to reduce distractions from learning but also to reduce the risk of cyber bullying and encourage face to face social interaction during the day. I’ve included in this newsletter our policy in response to this legislation for you to review with your child. Your ongoing support in this matter would be greatly appreciated. 

At the end of this week our students who are preparing to receive the sacrament of First Eucharist will enter the final stages of their preparation with practices at the church. We wish our candidates the best of luck and look forward to supporting them and celebrating this important event in their faith journey at the 6pm Mass on 21st June. 

Kind regards, 

Andrea Welsh

Parents of children in Year 3 and above are invited to register their child for the sacrament of Confirmation. Registration Forms are now available on the table as you enter our church. Please complete the form and present it, with your child before the Offertory hymn, to Father Bill. Registrations need to be finalized before the 7pm Parent Information meeting Tuesday 20th May.  Confirmation will be celebrated Friday 1st August @ 6pm Mass.

Our Diocesan Community Magazine, sharing good news stories of our schools, parishes across the diocese.

https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ODC-March-2025-web.pdf.

Foundation

In InitiaLit, we have been learning new letter sounds: p, f, and r. Students are now beginning to read short words and are showing their understanding through engaging activities. These include reading and drawing the word, building the word with letters, and practising correct letter formation through handwriting.

In Maths, our lessons continue to focus on numbers to 10. Students are being encouraged to count forwards and backwards from different starting points within 10, as well as practise writing numbers from 0 to 10.

We would like to wish all our mothers, carers and special friends a very happy day on Sunday!

Year 1/2

Welcome back to Term 2. We hope that everyone had a restful and wonderful 3 week break.

This term we will continue on the InitiaLit Program for our reading, spelling and writing lessons. In Maths for the first two weeks, we will be focusing on Place Value and Addition. In Science, we will be learning about the changes that occur in food. In Religion, we will be learning about the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. For Health and Social-Emotional Learning, we will focus on what belonging looks like.

We also had a commemorative liturgy for ANZAC Day and a fabulous Cross Country event. Students have also been busily creating some lovely Mother’s Day items. 

Please remember students should be reading at home for 10 minutes each week night (Monday to Friday) and bring their diaries to school regularly for teachers to sign.

Year 3/4

The school is buzzing with excitement with happy students who are excited to be back at school.

There are lots of exciting events and activities in the pipeline for Term 2, including the Mother’s Day Celebration on Friday the 9th of May and a local excursion on the 28th of May to the Robinvale Community Arts Centre to watch The Dr Hubble’s Bubbles show (more details will be sent home soon).

Students have been learning about procedure texts in reading and writing and were very excited to bake ANZAC biscuits in line with this work and ANZAC Day celebrations.  The focus in Science is on the different types of objects, how they move and their features. This term we will focus on the concept of ‘Identity’ in Religion. Students will learn about The First Fleet of Australia in Humanities.

Please remember students should be reading at home for 10 minutes each week night (Monday to Friday) and bring their diaries to school regularly for teachers to sign.

Year 5/6

Welcome back for Term 2! It has been great to have the Year 5/6 students back at school after their three week holiday and everyone has enjoyed the first couple of weeks back. 

Last week was filled with excitement as the students got to put all of their cross country training into practice with our school event on Friday. Well done to all who participated. A big congratulations to the students who represented St Mary’s at the Sunraysia South Division cross country on Wednesday where some fantastic results were achieved! 

In the classroom, students have been reading and writing a variety of procedure texts. This has been fun and many students have enjoyed the hands-on aspect of building and making. In Maths, we are beginning the term by focussing on multiplication. This provides a great opportunity for some times table practice. Wherever possible, it would be great to encourage your child to practice their recall of these facts up to 12x12. It will help them massively in the classroom!

Finally, our Religion unit for this term will focus on ‘Gratitude’. To help with this, we ask that, if possible, your child brings a plain, empty jar into their classroom. We are hoping to make Gratitude Jars that we can add to throughout the term. Your help with this is greatly appreciated. 

As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

Year 7/8

Welcome back to Term 2! We hope all families enjoyed a restful break. It’s already shaping up to be a busy and exciting term in the Year 7 & 8 Unit at St Mary’s.

We kicked things off last week with the annual Cross Country, where students showed great determination and sportsmanship. Congratulations to all participants, and best of luck to those who have qualified to compete at the next level next week.

We’re also looking forward to attending the Mildura Field Day on Friday 16th May, an enriching opportunity for students to explore agricultural innovation and local industry. This is always a highlight on our Term 2 calendar!

Our Science room renovation is nearly complete, and we’re just waiting on the final touches before we can officially move in. Thank you to everyone for your patience and cooperation during this process—we can’t wait to make use of the new space.

In the classroom:

Year 7 students are learning about information reports, understanding their purpose and structure as they begin to develop their own.

Year 8 students are exploring the lives of children during the Victorian Era, focusing on their living conditions and working roles.

In PE, students are learning how to communicate effectively and support their teammates in gameplay.

In Science, students have begun planning their Science Fair projects, which will take place in Term 3.

Our Student Leadership Team has been hard at work leading our recycling initiative. They’ve collected and counted a huge number of cans and bottles, with funds raised contributing to our Project Compassion campaign. We’re proud to share that our Term 1 Coin Challenge raised an impressive $387—thank you to all students and families for your generosity and support. 

We’re looking forward to a term full of learning, growth, and meaningful experiences!