Term 1 Week 6 - 28th February 2024

Principal - Ms Katrina Dunne

Welcome to our Week 6 newsletter! As we stride further into the academic year, it's essential to highlight two critical aspects of our school community: attendance and parent engagement.

1. Attendance Matters:

Regular school attendance is vital for a child's academic success. When students attend school consistently, they're more likely to keep up with their studies, feel connected to the school community, and develop important social skills. Every day in the classroom counts towards their learning journey.

Missing school, even if it's just a few days, can significantly impact a student's progress. They may struggle to catch up on missed lessons, fall behind in their unit work, and find it challenging to grasp new concepts. Consistent attendance lays the foundation for academic achievement and sets a positive tone for future success.

2. Parent Engagement:

Parent engagement plays a pivotal role in a child's education. When parents are actively involved in their child's schooling, whether it's attending parent-teacher meetings, volunteering in the classroom, or simply discussing school activities at home, students tend to perform better academically and have higher self-esteem.

Parents are a child's first and most influential teachers. By showing an interest in their child's education, asking about their day, and offering support with homework and projects, parents can foster a love for learning that extends beyond the classroom. Your involvement sends a powerful message to your child: education is essential, and you're committed to their success.

How You Can Help:

• Ensure your child attends school regularly and arrives on time.
• Schedule appointments outside of school hours whenever possible.
• Communicate with teachers if your child is facing challenges or needs additional support.
• Stay informed about school events, activities, and academic expectations.
• Take an active interest in your child's learning journey and encourage them to strive for excellence.

Let's Work Together:

At St Mary’s School, we believe that a strong partnership between school and home is fundamental to our students' growth and development. By prioritising school attendance and fostering parent engagement, we can create a supportive environment where every child has the opportunity to thrive.

Thank you for your continued support, and let's make this academic year a memorable and successful one for all our students!

What’s happening this term…

Swimming

Class swimming continues this week. Please help us encourage your child to attend as many swimming lessons as possible for the remaining three weeks. If you are available to help as a spotter or in the pool with students, please contact the school office.

Movie Night | Friday 15^th March

Due to a clash in social events and the recent confirmation of the race day from the Charleville Race Committee, we will need to move our movie night date. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this date change. The cost for the movie night is $10. All funds raised from this night will support the school musical production in Term 4 this year.

Charleville Races | St Mary’s Family Race Day | Saturday 2^nd March

The St Mary’s Family Race Day is back! It is with much excitement and hard work that we bring this family day to our local community. If you would like to help on the day, please contact the school office to nominate yourself as a volunteer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who have already supported the planning in the past three weeks and the businesses that have donated toward our prizes for the day. We look forward to seeing you all at the races this Saturday.

School Photo Day | Wednesday 13^th March

The School Photo Day flyer was shared on the Parent Portal app last week. A hard copy of the order form will be sent home with each child this week. Please ensure that all photo order forms are returned to school prior to school photo day. Payment must be made via EFT or cash on the day to the photographer only.

Dates to highlight on your calendar:

NOTE: please see the calendar on the Parent Portal app for up-to-date events throughout the term.

Have a great two weeks,

Katrina Dunne

APRE - Mrs Kirsty Lines

Sacramental Program

Thank you to all parents who have indicated they would like their child to be part of the 2024 Sacramental Program.  Students received their sacramental workbooks on Tuesday.  Reconciliation is Wednesday, March 20 at 9:30am in the church for candidates and their immediate families.

Staff Blessing and Children’s Parish Mass

We’d love to see as many St Mary’s families as possible at our annual Staff blessing and Children's Mass on Saturday 16 March @ 6pm in the church.  All are welcome – you don’t have to be Catholic to attend.  This is a fantastic time for our Year 6 leaders and upcoming Year 5 leaders to role model for younger students by helping Fr Peter to lead the mass.  We thank Fr Peter, Sr Elizabeth and the parish for allowing us to use readings from the children’s bible and helping to maintain our link with the Parish.

It's been lovely to see students continue to think about their Lenten promises during the season of Lent!

Wishing you all a blessed fortnight,

Kirsty Lines

APRE

Curriculum - Mrs Vanessa Alexander

Dear Families,

Welcome to a new year!

I apologise for my late entry into 2024 however with the passing of my much-loved Nan, followed up with covid, and a quick get away to Brisbane, life has really got on top of me. It was lovely to simply relax at home and catch up on the little things this past weekend. How do you manage when sometimes it all feels a bit too much?

On the school front, with curriculum, you may or may not have heard that the Australian Curriculum has recently been revised. This year at St Mary’s we are teaching with the revised curriculum, AC9, in Mathematics, English, HPE, The Arts, and Languages (Mandarin). At the end of last year, our staff engaged in professional development around the changes in these areas and we continue to grow our knowledge and understanding in this space.

https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

In line with AC9 English, and our Diocesan Approach to Reading, our school has also begun the journey with implementing a new reading and spelling program, PLD (Promoting Literacy Development). This is a structured systematic synthetic phonics approach for all students in Prep to Year 6. At its heart, it supports teachers to teach all students the sounds of spoken English and the corresponding letter combinations, and how to use the sounds and letters to segment and blend words when reading and spelling. All teachers have engaged in professional development and together we continue to build our collective efficacy to best support our students, your children.

https://pld-literacy.org/

In the coming weeks our Year 3 and Year 5 students will take part in the country’s NAPLAN testing. If you have a child in either of these grades, please be alert to Sentral notices that will be sent out with information regarding the upcoming testing. If you have any questions, please call our office to book an appointment to discuss.

Wishing you all a fabulous fortnight!

Vanessa Alexander

Middle Leader: Curriculum

Library - Mrs Michelle Sheehan

Students in Years 4 – 6 have recently completed a Library Survey about reading and resourcing preferences, Accessit Web App usage, and suggestions for improving the library space. Below are the results from across the cohorts for genres students enjoy reading. Of course, suggestions for improving the library space consistently utilised the word ‘more’ – more books, more card games, and more Lego. A number of students also suggested a quiet area for reading. During library lessons last week the survey results were discussed, and it was highlighted to students that this is their space and that the data will be used to make informed decisions. Plans are already underway for our quiet area.

Borrowing completed and time for a read post lesson.

Many thanks to parents and students for their commitment to returning and borrowing every week. Each term we celebrate the best borrowing class. This class not only receives a trophy but are rewarded with free time in the library and who would not want that!!!!

Results so far…

Wood off cuts required. As you can see students love creating with wood.

HPE - Mr Pete Lambourne

What’s happening this term in PE…

Swimming

Class swimming commenced in week 4, which has been fantastic with the warm weather hanging around. This term in swimming we are focusing on stroke development and water safety. All classes have been extremely engaged as I am very fortunate to have Mr Winton working with each class each Thursday or Friday. The improvement and rising ability levels of our students is a result of the high-quality program that we offer. I do encourage all students to attend as many swimming lessons as possible for the remaining three weeks. I’m also grateful for all the parents who have helped be a spotter or in the pool with students. If you can help, please contact the school office.

Also, this term I have been running a soccer clinic for all students on Monday/Tuesday from 8am. By working together, we can keep fostering an atmosphere where each student feels appreciated, encouraged, and equipped to reach their greatest potential.

May peace be with you.

Pete Lambourne

PE Teacher

Sport

The Arts and Health - Mrs Leilani Thomas

So far this term we have been looking at unpacking design elements of visual and media arts. Check out these fun projects unpacking colour theory, tone, and line technique!

February Birthdays

Tuckshop - Mrs Alice Short

Please see dates below for Tuckshop for the rest of Term 1. Note that there is NO TUCKSHOP on Friday 8th March.

Outside School Hours Care - Mrs Betty Couch

Flyers