St Mary's Primary School Newsletter Term 1 Week 10

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 10  

Dear Families and Friends, Staff and Students of St Mary's,

Farewell Peter Jess

A heartfelt thank you and best wishes to Peter Jess on his retirement at the end of this term, who has been with St Mary's for over 7 years. 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 compliments  how fantastic our grounds look and how well the surroundings are kept.  We have been so blessed to have Peter work for our school with such care - you will be very much missed Peter! 

As we approach Holy Week, the most sacred time of the year in the Catholic Church, it is important to reflect on the significance of this time and how we can participate in it more fully.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We recall how the crowds welcomed Jesus, waving palm branches and laying them at his feet. It is a time for us to examine our own hearts and consider how we welcome Jesus into our lives.

On Holy Thursday, we remember the Last Supper, when Jesus shared the bread and wine with his disciples, saying, "This is my body... this is my blood." This was the institution of the Eucharist, which remains the central sacrament of our faith. It is a time for us to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and to give thanks for his presence in our lives.

Good Friday is the most solemn day of the year, when we remember Jesus' crucifixion and death on the cross. It is a time for us to contemplate the depth of God's love for us and to consider how we can respond to that love by living lives of service and sacrifice.

Holy Saturday is a time of waiting and preparation, as we anticipate the joy of Easter Sunday. We remember how Jesus' body was laid in the tomb and we look forward to the resurrection.

Finally, on Easter Sunday, we celebrate the joyous news that Jesus is risen! We sing Alleluia and give thanks for the gift of new life that he has given us. It is a time for us to renew our faith and to share the good news of the Gospel with others.

As we journey through Holy Week, let us take time to pray, to reflect, and to participate in the liturgies of the Church. Let us open our hearts to Jesus and allow him to transform us, so that we may become more fully the people God created us to be. May this Holy Week be a time of deepening faith and renewed commitment to Christ.

Catholic Easter Prayer
Lord, the resurrection of Your Son has given us new life and renewed hope. Help us to live as new
people in pursuit of the Christian ideal. Grant us wisdom to know what we must do, the will to want
to do it, the courage to undertake it, the perseverance to continue to do it, and the strength to
complete it. Amen 

As we lead into the first term holidays, I would like to thank staff and families for your contributions, which have all helped to make a wonderful term. Thank you to our volunteers who help with reading in the classrooms (we would love some more!), and also to Parent Club for subsidising the Grade 6 jumpers, organising the bake sale and providing special lunches for the students. 

As this is our last newsletter for the term, I wish you all a safe and Holy Easter and school holiday break. 

Travel safely with God's blessings,

Nerrida

Easter Liturgy and events

We will celebrate our Easter Liturgy on Tuesday April 4 at St Mary's Church at 9:15 am.  All families and parishioners are welcome. Then on Thursday April 6 Chickpeas will have their assembly at 9:00am.  This will be followed by the Easter Hat Parade at approx 9:20am when all the students will gather on the basketball court to display their wonderful creations!

ACRATH: Take the bitterness out of chocolate.

Easter chocolate is already on the supermarket shelves, so let’s recommit to using our chocolate dollars to buy slavery-free chocolate this year. It’s also the right time to tell our families, friends and communities about the exploitation of children in chocolate production. Encourage them to start buying slavery-free chocolate now – and to keep going after Easter.

You can find the Be Slavery Free Chocolate Scorecard here. The scorecard published in 2022 and updated before Easter, features most of your favourite brands and explains how they rate in several key areas including child labour, payment of a living income and the impact on climate. 

Sacramental Program

It is wonderful to again have our Parish sacramental program available for our Catholic families. Some of our students with their families will soon be starting to prepare for the sacrament of Reconciliation. Reconciliation is one of seven sacraments recognised by the Catholic Church, and the second sacrament after Baptism. In this sense, it is an important event. Do you have significant events that you honour in your family? Sometimes these events are linked to particular things like a wedding anniversary, birthday, name day etc. In the Catholic Church the sacraments recognise graces that are bestowed on an individual when they engage in particular activities.

In Baptism the young child is named and becomes a member of the faith community. Through the sacrament of Reconciliation the child learns that we can seek forgiveness and will be forgiven. At Confirmation the child receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit and through First Eucharist we are welcomed to participate as full members of the faith community. Then as adults we can receive the sacrament of Marriage or Holy Orders, and finally the Last Rights as we prepare to die. Hopefully that one will be a long way away! We wish our students and their families all the best as they begin their preparation journey through this important faith milestone. 

Visit by Executive Director, Mr. Tom Sexton

On Tuesday 28th March, our DOBCEL Executive Director, Tom Sexton, paid our school a visit to meet with our students.  Our School Captains, Bianca, Evan, Mia and Blake took Tom for a tour to show him where our Athletics Carnival will be held later that day and then shared with Tom their child friendly Child Safe standards which they worked on together earlier this term. Then, along with Mrs. Fiona Holland, Meika, Aleah, Matilda, Charlie and Isaac showed Tom the school garden and outlined their plans for rejuvenating the area .  

Fizzics Education excursion Monday April 3

Our Term 1 Country Education Partnership supported live show is a science perfomance called Fizzics Education, which will be on Monday 3^rd April.  Our session is from 11.00am - 12pm and will be held in the assembly hall at the Warracknabeal Secondary College. Students will now travel by bus to and from the College.  Updated permission forms have been sent through PAM - please ensure you have updated all necessary information on PAM, including medical and please contact the office if you have any difficulties accessing PAM. 

Staff News

Congratulations to Jess Boyd, who has received a grant as part of the NF-JLEP (The Nippon Foundation Fund for Japanese Language Education Program). This grant is to support Japanese language education in Australia in both teaching and research. As a recipient of the grant, Jess will be given a lifetime membership of NF-JLEP Fellows. Jess intends to use this opportunity to travel to Japan later in the year to complete a project to enhance her professional development and her teaching of the Japanese language. Well done Jess! We look forward to the exciting opportunities our students will be able to benefit from this experience.

Best wishes to Louise Kemp as she embarks on the Graduate Certificate in Teaching Religious Education. This intensive course will allow Louise to enhance her knowledge and skills and build understanding of the contemporary approaches to the learning and teaching of religious education.

Thank you to Fiona Holland for her work on coordinating NAPLAN for our students. Fiona's passion for understanding how student assesment informs teaching and learning has led her to undergoing training as a NAPLAN assessor. We know Fiona will gain a rich, rewarding experience from reading and evaluating a wide range of student writing.

And finally, I am excited to announce I will be attending the World EduLead Conference in Singapore over the first term holidays. What do future schools look like? What must schools do to stay ahead and equip our learners to face the challenges of the future? I will join other Principals in the Diocese at this event to hear from world-class thought leaders who will share their insights that will shape tomorrow’s schools and learning organisations. It will be amazing to exchange ideas and collaborate with delegates from all around the world and learn how we should be addressing the most important issues facing education today.

I am very much looking forward on my return to share with you all the knowledge and skills gained and shaping the future of education to improve learning outcomes for our St Mary's students!

NAPLAN

Well done to our Grade 3 and 5 students for their completion of NAPLAN through Weeks 8 and 9. A big thank you to Fiona Holland for overeeing the student's completion of these assessments. The process was seamless and the students should be very proud of how they conducted themselves throughout the testing times. 

NAPLAN is one of many assessments which provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learnt in the areas of literacy and numeracy. NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process, and do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. Your child’s teacher will have the best insight into your child’s educational progress. Along with other school assessment reports, NAPLAN reports can be used to discuss your child’s strengths and areas for improvement with their teacher.  We are expecting results to be released sometime in Term 2.

Catholic Education - a point of difference.

Many families will now start to pursue the secondary educational pathways for their upper primary children for 2023 and beyond. As families who have already chosen a Catholic faith-based education for your child's primary years, I invite you to consider the opportunity for your child to continue their education in a Catholic setting. 

As a Catholic Diocesan School, St Mary's belong to the Parish of St Paul VI. As part of our Parish, St Brigid's College in Horsham is our nearest Catholic secondary provider. Please see the information following as to the opportunities St Brigid's can offer your child and call St Brigid's College on 5382 3545 to discuss transport options from Warracknabeal.  Transport can also be arranged for the Open day on Monday May 1 2023. 

St Brigid's Scholarship and Bursary Opportunities.

At St Brigid’s College there is a range of Scholarship opportunities available for students from Year 7 through to Year 12.

Scholarships at St Brigid’s College reflect our core values which celebrate succeeding together, respecting, inspiring, valuing and empowering our students – because at the heart of what we do is offer an education for life.

We believe in the pursuit of academic excellence, but we also admire a student whose pure motive is to participate in all that is on offer at St Brigid’s College. Our goal is to create courageous, lifelong learners that add to the abundance of our collective being. St Brigid’s College is an inclusive school and we hold the belief that a student desiring a Catholic Education should not be denied.

A range of scholarships are on offer including Bursaries. The Bursary Fund enables the College to establish places for worthy students from a wide range of backgrounds who may otherwise not be able to attend St Brigid’s College. These are awarded at the discretion of the Principal or Business Manager and assessed on the information provided by the applicant. The nature of a bursary is determined by the Principal.

For further information, please call the College on 5382 3545  regarding scholarships and bursaries or please visit the website 

https://www.stbc.vic.edu.au/learning-teaching/scholarships/

Please call St Brigid's on 5382 3545 to discuss transport options from Warracknabeal for the Open day on Monday May 1 2023. 

Athletic Days Field events 28th and Track Events 29th March.

Thankfully the rain held off and we had two very successful days of sports on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. There was a great amount of work by staff behind the scenes to prepare for these days, and in particular a very big thankyou to Andy Malcolm and also Rebecca Lewis who put in a lot of work in developing, coordinating and running the program over the two days. Thank you also to the parent helpers for assisting with both the field and track events, and packing up at the end of the track events.  And a special thank you to Eli Gomez who continues to be an active supporter and friend of St Mary's since her granchildren have moved back to Argentina. We had a terrific turn out of parents this year. Every student should be very proud of themselves in how they actively involved themselves in each event and tried their best. Congratulations to Gold house for taking out the Athletics Trophy for 2023. Congratulations to our Age champions - 9yo Boy's Ryan, 9yo Girl's Miki, 10yo Boy's Hudson, 10yo Girl's Harlow, 11yo Boy's Isaac, 11yo Girl's Pippa,  12yo Boy's Evan and 12yo Girl's Arielle  - top effort from all involved!

Field and Track Events

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ANZAC DAY 25th April ( first Tuesday back next term

Anzac Day will be on Tuesday 25th April - this is the first Tuesday back next term after the school holidays.  The school captains and Ms Holland will be at ANZAC park for the ceremony from 10:30 am.  All students, families and staff are welcome to attend - students attending please wear full summer uniform (or winter uniform if it is a cold day). Grade 6 students can wear their Grade 6 jumpers. Whilst we would like to see many St Mary's students and families at the ceremony, we do understand there may those involved with other community groups or perhaps in other regional areas, on this day.

Student Wellbeing

Friendships are an important part of childhood, but social skills don’t come easily to all children. Some childrenstruggle to take turns, play make believe games, share, control their anger or let others have their say. Others may be hesitant to join in, feel socially awkward, hover at the margins of groups or are naturally more introverted- and that's okay because we are all different!
As parents we can’t make friends for our child, but we can help them to develop and practice key social skills. This is where some coaching at home can help. Focus on positive behaviours you want to reinforce. Catch your child during family playtime and praise them as this makes them more likely to repeat the desired behaviour (“That was really kind how you took turns playing with the doll, you are being a good friend to your brother”)
Supervised play dates might provide you with ways to help your child practice socialising in a warm, supportive environment- you could talk about being a good host, what games they might like to play, checking if their friend is still enjoying the activity and negotiating what to do next.
Joining a team or club are also a good way to make friends as they provide a shared area of interest and built-in structures to help minimise anxiety- you might like to role play what they could say when they arrive or how to introduce themselves.

As a parent you are modelling good social behaviour in all your interactions. You can use these natural opportunities to highlight kind and respectful ways to behave in the conversations you have with family, friends, online, to your wait staff, shop assistants and customer service representatives- little eyes are always watching and learning from us!
Please see below further strategies to assist you in supporting your child to be a good friend.

Harmony Day - Tuesday 21st March

Thank you families and students for embracing  the orange theme for Harmony day and bringing in a donation for Caritas. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

Community News

Thank you in anticipation to Parent Club and everyone who will contribute for the Bake Sale held tomorrow outside the post office. You better get in quick as all products fly off the tressle tables promptly - last year everything sold out by close to 10:00am! Thank you everyone for your contributions, knowing the funds raised go directly to supporting your child at St Mary’s. Thank you again to all involved.

Colouring Competition

Children have been given these sheets already.