St Mary's Primary School Newsletter Term 2 Week 7
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Acknowledgement of Country
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Key Dates
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Principal's Report
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End of Semester Reports
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Proud of our regional Cross Country representatives!
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2023 WWSSA Cross Country Champions!
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Wheat Assembly
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St Mary's Student Council
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Teacher Professional Development - Data Analysis
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Lightning Premierships in Nhill Thursday 15th June
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Pie Drive
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Friday 23rd June St Vincent de Paul's Poor Man's Liturgy and $5 Fundraiser including BBQ lunch ( and Free Style Ministry Dance)
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Wellbeing
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Community News
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Parent Club Fundraiser- Wonder White Recycling Program
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.
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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.
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Key Dates
2023 |
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Term 2 Week 8 | Monday 12 June King's Birthday Public Holiday Tuesday 13 June 6:00pm SAC meeting Wednesday 15 June Chickpea Assembly 9:00am Library Thursday 15 June: Lightning Premierships in Nhill -sport uniform, bring snack/lunch/waterbottle. NO CANTEEN - please check emails and PAM notification and click consent | ||||||
Week 9 | Wednesday 21 June School reports released through PAM 3:30pm Parent Club Meeting Friday 23 June End of Term 2 2:15pm finish Freestyle Ministry of Dance - all students sport uniform SVDP Poor Man's Liturgy, BBQ lunch and Fundraiser $5 per family | ||||||
Term 3 Week 1 | Monday 10 July School Closure Learner Agency Tuesday 11 July Students return for Term 2 | ||||||
Week 2 | Tuesday 18 July and Thursday 20 July Parent Teacher Interviews Bookings to made through PAM or contact your child's teacher | ||||||
Week 3 | Thursday 27 July Lentils assembly | ||||||
Week 4 | Tuesday 1 August AFL clinic all students wear sports uniform | ||||||
Week 5 | Tuesday 8 August AFL clinic all students wear sports uniform Thursday 10 August Barley Assembly | ||||||
Week 6 | Tuesday 15 August AFL clinic all students wear sports uniform Wednesday 16 August Golf Clinic Barley and Lentils wear Sports uniform Thursday 17 August West Wimmera Athletics - ANZAC Park Friday 18 August Cinderella performance Horsham Town Hall | ||||||
Week 7 | Tuesday 22 August St Mary Feast day - Our Lady, Mother and Queen all students wear sports uniform Wednesday 23 August Golf Clinic Barley and Lentils wear Sports uniform Thursday 24 August Wheat Assembly | ||||||
Week 8 | Friday 1 September Father's Day Breakfast | ||||||
Week 9 | Thursday 7 September Chickpea Assembly Athletics Track and Field - Stawell | ||||||
Week 10 | Tuesday 12 September Primary School Golf Tournament Thursday September 14 Last Day for students 3:15 finish Friday September 15 School Closure Family Engagement in Learning |
Principal's Report
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Welcome to Term 2 Week 7
Dear Families and Friends, Staff and Students of St Mary's,
The last two weeks have been significant events in the Catholic Church. Sunday 28th May we celebrated the feast of Pentecost. This marks the time when the Disciples gained the courage to move beyond their existing communities and spread the good news of Christianity to all nations. The feast of Pentecost is sometimes referred to as the birth of the modern church and reminds us to act with courage. Just like the early disciples we are called to live our lives according to a set of values that we call Christianity.
Last Sunday June 4 we celebrated Holy Trinity Sunday, a Holy Day in the Christian calendar. It is also known as the Feast of the Holy Trinity. It is a joyous celebration where Christians come together to honour the Holy Trinity. The set of beliefs of the Holy Trinity in Christianity is that there is One God who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Christians believe God is named the Father as he is the creator of all things and watches over us, guiding us and loving us unconditionally. The Son is Jesus Christ, who is the form God chose when He came to Earth. Even though Jesus Christ is known as the ‘Son of God’, He is the incarnation of God. The Holy Spirit refers to the active force of God, His power and His love. Trinity Sunday is a day to celebrate and give thanks to the Holy Trinity.
The concept of Trinity is mysterious. In the Gospel of John the disciples were deeply troubled at Jesus’ words about leaving them, thinking it would bring a devastating break in their relationship with God. But Jesus spoke tenderly to them, giving them guidance for continuing their walk with God after his departure. In giving this instruction, Jesus spoke about God’s Trinitarian nature. This passage of Scripture teaches that knowing God as three in one should be at the center of our daily relationship with him.
Last week, 27th May-3rd June was Reconciliation Week. Reconciliation is about creating equity and equality, closing this gap. Reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians experience vast differences in health, education, employment, and standards of living compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts.
So in the the weeks ahead, may we all act courageously according to our beliefs. If there are those we know requiring seeking assistance, may we be the person to assist. For those treated unfairly, may we speak up for them. If something is wrong in our life, may we have the courage to seek the help we need. With God at the center of our relationships, let us take on the message of the early disciples and be brave, courageous and determined to make our world a better place for all.
A Prayer for Reconciliation
God of all creation, as we journey together in this Great Southern Land, we pray for healing, forgiveness and unity, creating a path of good will, with justice and compassion.
Jesus, through the power of your love, you have given us the courage, wisdom and strength to share our gifts and talents in humility. In peace and understanding we reconcile with each other.
Creator Spirit, we come together in prayer and thanksgiving for the many blessings we have received. Allow your Spirit to wash over us and give us strength to walk together as one.
Travel safely with God's blessings,
Nerrida
End of Semester Reports
Currently teachers are working hard to moderate your children’s work to ensure that their reports
are accurate and up to date with where their learning is positioned. I thank them for the energy,
thoroughness, sincerity, and professionalism that they bring to their report writing.
As communicated to families, we have re-designed the report to be in a format that is more contemporary for today’s educational needs. The report will clearly show your child’s achievement against the Victorian Curriculum Standards and provide a holistic view of your child’s performance across each of their subjects. St. Mary's continues its firm commitment to working in partnership with parents to enable our children to achieve their best. Our end of Semester One reports will be available on PAM from Wednesday 21st June. Parent teacher interviews will be held in Week 2 of Term 3 on Tuesday July 10 and Thursday July 20 from 3:30-5:30 pm. Please see the email sent to families, bookings for these will be through PAM and available towards the end of the term.
Proud of our regional Cross Country representatives!
Congratulations to Evan and Miki for their recent participation in the regional cross country in Warrnambool. Your efforts were amazing and we are very proud of you! Thank you parents for taking your children to this event to allow them to have this experience.
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2023 WWSSA Cross Country Champions!
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We finally received our banner, ribbons and medals from WWSSA and were able to present these to the students last Monday. Well done to our Cross Country team of 15 runners - Evan, Issac, Campbell, Colby, Olivia, Mia, Arielle, Bianca, Miki, Harlow, Heidi, Chloe, Ryan, Charlie and Pippa! A terrific effort from all of you. Your combined efforts and point aggregates means collectively you have brought the banner home two years in a row!
Ribbons were awarded to 11 Girls Pippa 2nd; 11 Boys Isaac 2nd, 11 Boys Charlie 3rd; 12-13 Girls Bianca 2nd and medals to 9-10 Girls Miki 1st; and 12-13 Boys Evan 1st.
We have now collated this year's House Cross Country points and from 2023 onwards will now present a perpetual House Cross Country trophy with ribbons for first, second and third place getters.
At the first assembly next term, (Lentils Week 3, Thursday July 27) we will present the Cross Country trophy and ribbons to the place getters for each House, and also celebrate Gold House perpetual trophy wins for Athletics and and Swimming.
Wheat Assembly
Thank you all for attending the Wheat Assembly. This term, the Wheat class have been working hard on their narrative writing. We have been working at including tension to make our stories exciting, adjectives to add ‘colour’ to descriptions and direct speech showing characters talking to each other. We have become vegetable ‘farmers’! We are growing snow peas which are wonderful to look at but VERY smelly when they are wet! Yesterday, we went outside after all the rain and planted the snow pea seedlings into the school garden beds. Next we need to put up some support stakes and some netting because peas just LOVE to climb! It was so much fun planting the seedlings. Questions parents can ask the children about the seedlings could be:
- How did you take care of the seedlings each day?
- What did the seedlings need to grow successfully?
- What tools or equipment do you use to care for the seedlings?
- What did you need to plant the seedlings in the garden bed?
- Do you think growing seedlings at school made you more interested in plants or gardening?
- Would you like to grow some seedlings at home?
The next assembly is Chickpeas on Wednesday 14th June (as many children will be at Nhill for the Lightning Premierships on Thursday June 15)
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St Mary's Student Council
There has been an incredible response from the Barley and Lentil students willing to be a part of the St Mary's Student School Council. Their enthusiasm to be part of a group to listen the the needs of others and be a voice for students is remarkable. Thank you, Lentils, for your fabulous posters and presenting them to the school to encourage students to be involved. With over 20 students showing their interest, we will rotate membership throughout the year so all interested can have an opportunity to attend meetings. There will also be other sub-committees that all children from across the school, F-6 can be involved with all year round, including the Gardening Group and Social Justice.
On Tuesday, 13th June on return from the Long Weekend, we will have a short student gathering to announce the first group of students for Student Council for 2023 and during the week we will hold our first meeting.
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Teacher Professional Development - Data Analysis
On Thursday June 1, teachers spent the day reviewing and analysing student learning data to gain a deeper understanding of each student's strengths, weaknesses, and learning needs. Regular data analysis allows teachers to monitor student progress over time and this information helps teachers adjust their instruction, provide timely feedback, and set appropriate learning goals for students. Each school closure day for staff professional development is a valuable investment in our own continuous growth and development, so thank you families for your organisation around work, arranging of childcare and other responsibilities for the school closure day.
Our next school closure day for professional development is the first day of Term 3 Monday July 10 Learner Agency.
Please note, there is a change to our final school closure date. Previously this was set for Wednesday 30th August. This date is now cancelled and our last school closure for teacher professional development will be Friday 15th September, which is the last day of Term 3. The focus on this day will be Parent Engagement in Learning. Therefore the first day (July 10) and last day (Sep 15) of Term 3 are now school closure days. Hopefully these closure days resting either side of school holiday times will make it easier for family arrangements.
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Teachers working collaboratively evaluating the form and purpose of assessments undertaken at St. Mary's.
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Lightning Premierships in Nhill Thursday 15th June
Barley and Lentil students are involved in the Lightning Premierships to be held in Nhill next week on Thursday 15th June. Students will be participating in TeeBall, Netball and Football and have been practicing these in Sport. Please ensure your Barley and Lentil child is wearing their sports uniform each Monday. A PAM permission form has been sent - please note there will be no canteen on the day, so children need to bring snacks, lunch and drinkbottle.
Thank you to Sarah Spicer and Emma Mansfield who will assist with Netball and Football. All parents are welcome to come along, and if there is room on the bus you are welcome to travel with the students. Please note all students are to travel together as a team on the bus. Please email Nerrida if you would like to come on the bus with us. Football players will wear their school sport shorts and a football jumper (provided) and it is highly recommended to have a mouthguard. Netball and Tee Ball players will wear their own sports shorts and St Mary's representative top (provided). We will be leaving as close to 8:45am as possible, meaning as soon as the last bus and all students are here. If your child will be absent on the day - please notify the school by 8:15 am through PAM or phonecall to the school.
Pie Drive
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This term’s fundraiser which is a pie drive! Forms have been sent home in the children's diary. Please note the order forms and money are due back on Wednesday June 21st, which is in the the last week of term. Delivery of the pies will be on Friday, 21st July. We would love for you to sell, as many pies as possible, don’t forget to ask your next door, neighbour, your families, and any friends or acquaintances you can think of ! Who doesn’t love a delicious flaky pie on a cold winter day!
Please note apricot pies are not available as first stated, instead blueberry pies are on offer. An updated order form was sent home in your child's diary. Please also see Facebook posts.
Thank you from Parent Club
Friday 23rd June St Vincent de Paul's Poor Man's Liturgy and $5 Fundraiser including BBQ lunch ( and Free Style Ministry Dance)
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St. Vincent de Paul (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660) was a French Roman Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. He was concerned about all people, from children to the elderly. The St Vincent de Paul Society is founded in his name and is committed to actively and passionately speaking out against the causes of poverty and inequality on behalf of the people they serve.
On Friday 23rd June we will have a fundraising day and hold a short liturgy (at 9:00am) to reflect on the works of St Vincent de Paul in our community. To fundraise for the works of SVDP in our community, each family is asked to donate $5. Students will be provided a BBQ lunch, courtesy of St Vincent De Paul, Warracknabeal.
Also on this day (last day of Term 2), Freestyle Ministry of Dance will be here where children will be involved in hip hop dance routines. They really enjoyed this last year. It looks like it will be a fun day to end the term! (especially as we finish early at 2:15pm!)
Wellbeing
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In a world where you can be anything, be kind! What a beautiful statement. Kindness needs to be a conscious act and we need to create opportunities for our children to engage in acts of kindness. We also need them to know what it feels like to have someone treat them kindly (so they know what behaviours to copy, and why kindness is important). It might mean us as parents modelling kindness- giving genuine compliments, letting someone with fewer items go ahead in the supermarket line (time permitting) or helping someone carry something when you see they are struggling. It might mean encouraging your child to invite the whole class to their birthday party, instead of excluding one or two children. In the attached Parenting Ideas, Rachel Tomlison explores why encouraging kids to be kind is essential in helping them avoid seeking instant gratification, egocentric solutions, or being cruel. Genuine kindness is one of the most important virtues in developing good character in our children.
Child Safety
Whilst our St Mary's students have designed their own child safety statements, below is a child friendly version of the standards as created by the Commision for Children and Yound People. This will also be displayed throughout the school.
Community News
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Seussical the Musical Art Display
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The Horsham Regional Art Gallery are excited to be showcasing a range of set and costume pieces from Horsham Arts Council’s recent hit production of Seussical the Musical!
Our local artist’s extraordinary talent will be on display from Saturday 27 May through to Sunday 25 June, open daily from 10am to 4pm. Students will be able to see how the creative journey began, and take a close look at the detail in the costumes and set pieces that took hundreds of hours to create… including one of the GIANT books! For more information, go to https://www.horshamtownhall.com.au/hthevent/seussical-the-musical-community-gallery-exhibition/
Parent Club Fundraiser- Wonder White Recycling Program
Recycle, earn and play. A fun, easy way to fundraise. White, wholemeal, low GI, wraps all of the above. Collect Wonder white bread bags and send them into the school in the specially marked box. The more bread bags we can collect, the more reward points we can earn, therefore the more sports equipment we can collect for the school. (Emma Mansfield)
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