St Mary's Primary School Newsletter Term 1 Week 6

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 6   

Each week during Lent, Caritas Australia asks us to think about a special story. The story focuses on someone who has benefitted from your generosity through Project Compassion. This week, we hear about 16-year-old Laxmi who lives in a remote part of Nepal. Your help has enabled her to overcome family hardship to pursue her education. She was tempted to give up on school. But
Project Compassion enabled her to follow a more positive direction and to realise what she could achieve for her community by becoming an engineer. Thank you families for your generosity throughout the Season of Lent.

Today Barley led our fortnightly assembly. Below is their reading containing a beautiful prayer and reflection for Lent. 

This Term in Religion we have been learning about growing in God’s likeness and the season of Lent.

Dear Lord,

As we come to the start of the season of Lent, we ask Jesus for His help over the next forty days. May He help us to do good work in preparation for Easter. Lord hear us.

As we settled back into school, we ask Jesus to help us do our very best. Lent is a time of forgiving and healing. Please Jesus help us to always forgive and make peace with our friends.

During Lent we have ask Jesus to show us how to be brave when things don’t go our own way. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

Travel safely with God's blessings,

Nerrida

Family and staff news

We welcome Liam and his mum Sandrine into our St Mary's community. Liam and his mum are originally from Kenya, and have moved recently to Warracknabeal from Queensland. Liam has joined the Chickpeas class as a Grade 1 student. It is always very exciting to have new families join us. 

Congratulations to the McPhee family - Victoria, Sean and Everly on the birth of Elsie. We wish your family every happiness and look forward to Victoria returning to St Mary's in the future. 

On a sadder note, we send our condolences to Paula and Shorty on the passing of Ruth Winsall. May Ruth rest eternally at peace with the love of God. Paula also has experienced another loss in her family, and will be on leave until early next week. Please keep Paula and her families in your thoughts and prayers. 

And finally, Peter Jess has informed me of his retirement at the end of Term 2 this year. Peter is looking forward to a well-deserved break including spending time at his van at Ocean Grove. We are extremely grateful and appreciative of the amazing work Peter has taken to maintain St Mary's. We are always receiving complements of how fanatastic our grounds look and how well the surroundings are kept.  We have been very blessed to have Peter work for our school with such care - you will be very much missed Peter! Advertising for a new groundsperson will occur shortly. 

Our Swimming Champions!

What a terrific day we had last Friday for our swimming sports. The change of the program to run earlier in the morning went smoothly with enthusiastic participation from all the students. There was fierce competition between Red, Blue and Gold houses, with the Gold house emerging as the clear winner. The Gold house displayed fabulous teamwork and individual skill, earning them the Swimming trophy for 2023.

Five talented swimmers were selected to represent the school at the next level of swimming. Congratulations to Pippa, Heidi, Miki, Charlie and Isaac for qualifying for the Little Desert and Black Ranges Division Primary School Swimming Carnival. Isaac was successful in making it through to the Regional level, gaining a second place in 50 m Breaststroke and a third place in 50 m Freestyle in the Little Desert Division. 

Another huge thank you to Bec Lewis, Jess Boyd, and to all the parents and staff who generously gave their time and energy to make the school swimming sports so successful. St Mary's is truly grateful for your contributions and it is through your efforts that we are able to provide these meaningful experiences for our students.

The Age Champions were awarded to 

9yrs   Girl Miki       Boy  Lachie

10yrs  Girl Heidi     Boy Braxton

11yrs  Girl Pippa      Boy  Isaac

12yrs  Girl Olivia      Boy  Colby

Barley Assembly

Thanks to the Barley students, who presented fantastic work at assembly this week! Their posters about being a safe, respectful and responsible learner showed their understanding and commitment to ensuring St. Mary's has a great learning environment.  When you come in for a visit be sure to keep an eye out for them. 

In Art this term the Barley students created work that reflects their understanding of tints, shades,  warm and cool colours. The poems the students wrote about themselves were a nice way of finding out about each student's likes, dislikes, fears and what they love. 

Check out our assembly on the Family Facebook page

Clare Letts, Barley Teacher. 

More Swimming Sports photos- thank you Sam Schulz! 

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Grade 6 jumpers have arrived

The Grade 6 jumpers have now arrived. Thank you to Geoffrey's for the quick turn around in having these ready early in the year. These jumpers would not be as affordable without the generosity of the Parent Club in subsidising the jumpers. Thankyou Parent Club for making this possible for the Grade 6's.  The cost of the jumper of $30 to families is as per last year.  If $30 could please be paid either by direct debit or by cash/EFTPOS as from Monday 6th March.  Jumpers will be distributed after Tuesday 7th March after the photo day. 

School photos 7th March

 A reminder students will have school photos on 7th March.  There will also be an additional photo taken with the Grade 6's wearing their jumpers.

School Advisory Council - Wed 8th March 6pm

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 next Wednesday 8th March at 6:00pm  Please contact Nerrida or one of our current SAC members if you are interested. 

Child Safe Standards - in child friendly language

On February 20th, our School Captains travelled with Ms Holland to Horsham to Ss Michael and John's Primary school to meet with other students of the Diocese to become more aware of the standards and further develop the child language version for St Mary's students. Bianca, Evan, Mia and Blake revisited our current child friendly draft and worked together to vreate stemaents they felt were more meaningful for the students. These will be reviewed by students across the school throughout the term, so a range of student voice is included in the development of the standards for St Mary's. In forthcoming newsletters, further examples of the standards created by the students will be shared with you.

School TV - Physical Activity and Exercise

In the last decade, children’s participation in physical activity and exercise has been in decline. In this digital age, children are using computers and mobile devices, not only for learning, but for relaxation and recreation purposes. This sedentary lifestyle is having a detrimental effect on today’s youth. The key is finding the balance.

Research shows, that regular physical activity and exercise leads to changes in the brain. It improves cognitive function, elevates mood, enhances learning and improves academic outcomes. Playing sport helps kids develop fundamental movement skills impacting positively on their confidence, self-esteem and ability to develop social skills. Parents play an important role in helping children establish positive habits that will benefit their children in the long-term.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will discover practical advice relating to the benefits of regular physical activity and exercise, as well as tips on how to get their kids motivated and moving more.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Physical Activity & Exercise edition of SchoolTV
https://smwarracknabeal.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/physical-activity-exercise

Municipal Early Years Plan

Rachael Williams has been engaged by Yarriambiack Shire to research and develop their Municipal Early Years Plan. Rachael is currently seeking feedback to inform the development of the plan. This plan will work to ensure the ongoing support of, service delivery to, and infrastructure, advocacy and planning for children aged 0-8 years across our Shire (and their families). Please see the image below which has a link to a survey. The Municipal Early Years Plan is a 5 year Plan for the Yarriambiack Shire communities and your support is appreciated to guide this process. The survey is still open for a while.

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