St Mary's Primary School Newsletter Term 1 Week 4

Acknowledgement of Country

St Mary’s Primary School respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the
Wotjobaluk Nation, the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk
peoples, and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Nation Peoples of the Wimmera Mallee area. 

As partners in Catholic Education and open to God’s presence, we pursue the fullness of life for all.  St Mary's Catholic Primary School  is committed to the safety and well-being of all students.

Key Dates

Principal's Report

Welcome to Term 1 Week 4    

On Friday 10th February we held our opening liturgy and formally inducted our House Leaders and School Captains. It was lovely to have parents and relatives present on site.  The students led prayers and reflections to begin our new year, and were then awarded their certificates and badges.

Throughout this week we have had our Water Familiarisation program. Grateful thanks to Jess Boyd and Bec Lewis for the incredible amount of work they put in to make this program so valuable for the students. Jess and Bec have also put tremendous work in place for the upcoming swimming sports on Friday 24th February (more details further in the newsletter). Thank you also to the staff and volunteers who have been actively involved in running the sessions.  This is such an important program to build the valuable life skill of water safety for our students. 

Next week is another busy week. On Monday, I will be taking our School Captains to Horsham for the Student Child Safety Forum, where they will work with students from across Catholic schools in the Parish to gain an understanding of the new standards and re-design the standards in child friendly language. Our senior students looked at this towards the end of last year and our current draft is attached to the newsletter.

We are now heading towards our Lenten season, which in the Christian church spans across 6 weeks of the year. Lent is a season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving (giving to the poor) which begins with Ash Wednesday and concludes at sundown on Holy Thursday.  At this point, the Easter season begins and Catholics and other Christians enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s Passion before Easter.

On the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, we will have Pancake Day. Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent, which is the 40 days leading up to Easter – was traditionally a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday, people would clean out their pantries of all the fat, all the butter, eggs, milk, sugar etc in preparation for the Lenten fast - so pancakes were made. 

At our Ash Wednesday liturgy next week, we will launch Project Compassion, which brings thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world.  Attached is a Lenten Calendar you may wish to follow with your children and families through Lent.

Finally, St. Mary's Catholic Primary School has nominated to be a beneficiary of the Ritchies Loyalty Card Program. Please see the flyer at the end of the newsletter to see how you can allocate your reward points to our school

Travel safely with God's blessings,

Nerrida

Opening Liturgy and Student Leaders' Induction

Our student leaders are called to represent St Mary’s Primary school and school community with pride and respect. They are asked to commit themselves to promote the core values of our school, to try their best to be role models to all in the school as a safe, respectful and responsible learner. We ask our school leaders to dedicate themselves to helping others and give back to the school by providing students with a voice, and put into action the initiatives they have proposed through their leadership speeches.  

Our School Captains have been elected by their peers, to be ambassadors for the school in the local and wider community. Through their speeches at the end of last year, they showed a passion for improving St Marys and offered ways to promote how all students can feel more strongly connected to St Mary’s.

Congratulations to our four School Captains for 2023.  

                                     Bianca      Evan     Mia      Blake

2023 Red House Captains:   Arielle,  Campbell,  Bianca

2023 Gold House Captains: Colby, Blake, Evan, Olivia, Zoe

2023 Blue House Captains: Jesse, Mia, Kendra, Fergie

To all our leaders, we look forward to your leadership and active school involvement throughout 2023. 

Please click on the photos below to see them more clearly.

House Captains 2023

Monday morning student gatherings

Each Monday morning, students gather at the front of the classroom building, to be welcomed and hear messages of the week ahead. As another student leadership opportunity, each Monday, with staff support, two school leaders will lead the gathering. Parents are welcome to be present at the Monday gathering, which only lasts for a few minutes before the students move into classes. 

Lentils assembly and student awards

Thank you Mr Malcolm and Lentils for your assembly this week.  Below are our most recent award winners. Congratulations everyone!

School Advisory Council

Parents are sought to be members of our School Advisory Council. Parent input and participation into the life of the school is highly valued. Our current members are Narelle Drage, Ali Perris, Jess Boyd and Dale Stephan, however, we are still seeking a couple more members. The School  Advisory Council is asked to:
- assist with stewardship of the Catholic vision, ethos and culture of the school 
- provide strategic advice and support to the Principal on matters relating to school operations and ongoing improvement
- fairly represent the views and needs of the school community
- assist with promoting the school and Catholic education generally in the local  community
-  have what is best for the students at the heart of all advice it offers 
School Advisory Council members are in the privileged position of being about to formulate and offer informed advice to the Principal.

The commitment to SAC is not onerous.  We will have 4-5 meetings throughout the year, which includes the AGM, which is held in late October before harvest.  

Our first meeting this year will be held on Wednesday 8th March (usually about 6 or 6:30pm, for about 60-90 mins depending on the agenda, time to be confirmed, dependant on members' availability).  Please contact Nerrida or one of our current SAC members if you are interested. 

School photos 7th March

Students will have school photos on 7th March. Please return your forms as soon as possible. Forms for family photos are available at the office. 

PAM and SIMON Everywhere

Thank you families for updating your details for PAM on the SIMON Everywhere App. Most families now are accessing PAM for interview bookings and adding student absences. PAM is also the area where you access your child's academic reports.  We are moving from Operoo later in the year, and PAM will become the point of contact to inform you when a student has had an injury at school.  If you are still not connected to PAM, or are having difficulties, please contact Nerrida. 

Please check on PAM you have given consent for your child to attend the Swimming Sports on Friday 24th February.

Swimming Carnival Friday 24th Feb

Thank you to all who have volunteered to assist on the day.  Helpers are always needed and appreciated and if you can assist on the day please contact Nerrida or Jess. The outline of the day is as below. Volunteers please be at the pool to set up from 10:10am, spectators can arrive from 10:20am. 

Grade 3-6 students leave school at 10am and walk to the pool

Swimming Sports to commence at 10.30 am with the Iron Person events

Senior school events for 9-12yr olds from 10.40am - lunchtime

Chickpea and Wheat students will be at school through the morning and will walk to the pool to have lunch

Lunch 12.45 - 1.15 (approx)

Junior school events 5-8yr olds (with the help of the Yr 6s) will all be held after lunch

It is anticipated the sports will finish at 2:00pm

When the sports have finished if parents wish to take their child home directly from the pool, they must speak with their child's teacher  (not just any staff member) so our class rolls are accurate and for our duty of care.  Students will then be walked back to school for the remainder of the school day and dismissal at normal school time.

Student Absence from School - Every Day Counts

It is a legal requirement for parents to explain absences from school. Please remember to log on to PAM and state if the absence is due to sickness, doctor’s appointment or family reasons. Alternatively you can email or phone the school prior to 9:30 am on the day of absence, otherwise an absence SMS will be generated. If there is a scheduled absence please advise us in advance. 

Every Day Counts

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education.
Students learn new things at school every day– missing school puts them behind. Of course we do not want children to come to school if they are ill, and their health is priority. But please consider if the reason for your child to miss a day of learning is important. If your child's school report shows less than 90% attendance for the semester, that represents at least 1 week absent a term or two weeks absence over a semester  -  at least 10% of learning opportunities missed. 

Family holidays - if there are planned holidays during school term time, parents are to notify Nerrida at principal@smwarracknabeal.catholic.edu.au.  For known absences of 3 days or more, parents are to contact with the Principal, and complete an Extended Absence Family Leave form for the period of absence.  These forms are to be obtained from the Principal.

Child Safe Standards - in child friendly language

Please have a look at the Child Safe standards designed by our school leaders at the end of 2022.  On Feb 20th, our 2023 School Captains will travel with Ms Holland to Horsham to St Michael and John's Primary school to meet with other students of the Diocese to revisit the standards and further develop the child language version for St Mary's students.

School TV - The Wellbeing Barometer 2023

Because parenting doesn’t come with instructions, SchoolTV is a wellbeing resource implemented at our school to help support you in the challenges of modern-day parenting. Parenting is a learning journey and it’s easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed when faced with raising happy, well and resilient young people today.

Every family has experienced some sort of difficulty or adversity in recent times, some more than others. As mental health concerns continue to rise, there have been some alarming statistics reported in relation to the mental health and wellbeing of young people. Unfortunately, the blueprint for parenting is often based on our own experiences, but this is no longer fit for purpose in raising children as citizens of tomorrow. Parents and caregivers play a vital role in providing the guidance needed to support children and adolescents as they reframe their worries and focus more on the things they can control in their life.

In this Special Report, we are seeking parent participation through a short survey. The survey is designed to provide a barometer to help gauge the state of student wellbeing within our community. We encourage you to take a few moments to complete the survey as this will help our school know the nature and extent of your concerns and determine how best we can support families in the months ahead. Responses remain anonymous and will only be reported on an aggregated basis. You are asked to base your responses on observations made in the last 12 months.

By working together we can continue to build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers as we navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for all students. Please reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you or your child, please reach out to the school or seek professional medical advice.

Here is the link to your special report https://smwarracknabeal.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-wellbeing-barometer-2023-au

School Sport

Reminder for Victorian State Teams

Nominations for Vic state teams close the end of February. If you have a talented child in AFL, cricket, netball, basketball or soccer wishing to trial for one or more of these sports, please go to the school sport Victoria website for more information and online entry.  It is up to parents to complete these forms and bring in to school for students to trial for state teams.

https://ssv-cms.eduweb.vic.gov.au/Pages/SSV-Home.aspx

Uniform reminders

The Parent Handbook was emailed to all families and is available on the school website under Our School- Parent Portal.  A reminder that hair ties/ scrunchies/bands must be navy blue or made from school uniform material, blue socks to be worn with school dresses and shorts, white socks with sports uniform and earrings should be plain studs, preferably gold/silver/navy- no dangle/drop earrings or variety of colours. 

Code Red Day - Now Catastrophic

Catastrophic Fire Rating Days
In September 2022, Australia introduced a new fire danger forecasting system, the Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS). A nationally consistent system will more accurately predict fire danger and produce clear, simple messages for communities. Victoria has been using a 6‐tier system for fire danger ratings, from ‘Low’ or ‘Moderate’ to ‘Code Red’. The AFDRS will replace the
Victorian system this year and uses 4 tiers of fire danger, from ‘Moderate’ to ‘Catastrophic’
In response to the updated state Victorian Fire Risk register, St Mary’s is rated CAT 4. This means that our school must close on days forecast as ‘Catastrophic’, by the Bureau of Meteorology within our designated fire district. The decision to close will be confirmed by the Emergency Management Commissioner no later than 1.00 pm the day prior to the closure. Once we have received confirmation of the closure we will contact you through SMS, our Facebook page and email before the end of the school day to confirm this. 

School Fees and CSEF

Thank you to all the families who have paid their student levy. If you are a current Health Care Card holder would you please make sure you come into the office and complete a Camps and Excursions Form along with a Family Fee Assistance Form to be able to have your fees reduced. Fee statements have been emailed on Thursday 9th February. If you have any concerns regarding fees please make the time to contact the Principal.

Community News

St. Mary's Catholic Primary School has nominated to be a beneficiary of the Ritchies Loyalty Card Program. Family and friends can now allocate their reward points to the school. #RitchiesCard #RitchiesSupermarkets

Horsham Regional Art Gallery