2025 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
Wimmera Mallee area, the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk
peoples, and pays respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Peoples.

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.

Principal's News

Dear families,

We have reached the halfway mark of Term 1 and the school is buzzing. 

Last Friday, the whole school participated in our Beginning of Year and Commitment Mass at St Mary’s Church. It was great to be amongst such proud and vibrant children celebrating such a special school event. Many parishioners attended and their encouraging comments regarding our children’s behaviour and enthusiasm was heartfelt. 

There are a number of school events and activities still to come this term. Please check the FB page for last minute pop ups and reminders. 

Each newsletter, some of our children will be adding their reflections and comments throughout the year. Please read these special edition highlights further down in the newsletter.

Swimming Sports Day: Thank you to all the staff and parent helpers for your support in organising such a fantastic swimming carnival for our whole school. Congratulations to Teddy, Harlow, Edi, Heidi, Miki, Charlie, Elli, Oakley and Caleb who went on to the next level and competed in the Little Desert Swimming Carnival held last Wednesday in Horsham.

Yesterday as part of our Japanese curriculum learning, the girls wore casual clothes to celebrate Hinamatsuri. Boys will have their day in May. 

NAPLAN Information for students in Year 3 and Year 5 is to be sent home this week. Please check with your children if you do not receive it and if you have any questions please please contact your teacher or myself. NAPLAN testing schedule begins Wednesday 12th March (after the long weekend) till Monday 24th March.

Project Compassion boxes have also been sent home as the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. This a time of religious observance in the liturgical year commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, a time for prayer, Fasting and almsgiving.

Today is Shrove Tuesday and classes throughout the school will be making pancakes and tomorrow we will have an Ash Wednesday Liturgy at school. 

St Mary's Parents Club have organised a ‘Meet and Greet’ event to be held at the Local Cafe on Friday 14th March. Please refer to the flyer below.

Please read: Report from Executive Director: Lifelong benefits of attending a Catholic School- See article below

Thank you for entrusting us with the education and well-being of your children. 

Our St Mary’s newsletter will be published on Tuesday each fortnight.

Key Dates

Lenten Prayer

God of our journey

We are all pilgrims of hope

brought together by your love and your wish that we may all be one.

We pray that in this Year of Jubilee, when we are called to greater justice

and care for our common home, that we may Unite Against Poverty.

May we work in unity for the freedom of the oppressed and the renewal of creation.

May our compassionate minds and generous hearts help bring about a world where all can live in peace.

May our Lenten pilgrimage of fasting, almsgiving and prayer bring us closer to your loving heart.

We ask this in the name of Jesus

Amen

                                                   Preparing for Project Compassion

 As we enter the Season of Lent, we take time to reflect on how we can show kindness, generosity and compassion to those in need. Each year, our school supports Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion, a fundraising initiative that helps vulnerable communities around the world by providing essential resources such as food, education and healthcare. Our Project Compassion fundraising boxes are ready to go home with families at the beginning of Lent. These small boxes represent a big opportunity to make a difference, reminding us that even the smallest acts of kindness can bring hope to others. 

                                  Together, let’s open our hearts and embrace the spirit of giving as we prepare for the Lenten season.

St Mary's Swimming Sports Day

Friday the 21st of February was St Mary’s Swimming Sports Day. Everyone had so much fun in the pool, dressing in their house colour and cheering for their teammates. Everyone tried their best and did a great job. The house points were very close, Red won by 3 points and Gold and Blue tied for second place. The Year Six students and Mrs Holland did a triathlon, Kirby and Mrs Holland ran from the middle of the oval  to the deep end of the pool. Then Caleb and Hudson boogie boarded to the shallow end and Harlow and Heidi swam back to the deep end. 

Everyone had a great day!

Heidi & Harlow

My New Gallery

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Little Desert Swimming Carnival

The school Sports Day was superb. After that day, Teddy, Harlow, Heidi, Miki, Charlie, Elli, Oaklee and myself made it to the Little Desert Sports Carnival. Charlie and Teddy are really good swimmers and they made it to Regionals. 

I got there at around 10:40 am but other people were already there because they had more than one race. When I got there I went and got changed then I helped Oaklee and Edi to get ready for their race to start. Mum told me I was in the same race as Edi but in a different heat.

I had a fantastic day and I’m very proud of my swimming ability.

Caleb

Little Desert Swimming Carnival

Beginning of Year and Commitment Mass

Last Friday, the entire school went to the St Mary’s Catholic Church for the Beginning of Year & Commitment Mass. The Year Six students, Kirby, Hudson, Caleb, Harlow and Heidi were presented with their School Sports Captain Badges. Caleb and Heidi were also presented with their School Captain Badges.

The Year Six students walked in a procession, from the back of the church to the altar presenting our St Mary’s School Flag, Posters, a Bible, Candle and The Holy Cross.

Lachie greeted at the start and later on all the Year Six students made a commitment to the school in which we were very proud in saying  “As leaders in our school community, we know that we have special responsibilities to make our school the very best school it can be. We commit ourselves to treating all other members of our community with the respect, friendship and dignity which we would like for ourselves”.

Kirby

Mass

Lifelong benefits of attending a Catholic School

From the Executive Director

I'm pleased to share new research based on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, which reveals that individuals who attended Catholic schools are likely to experience lifelong benefits in employment, general health, and overall life satisfaction.

The study highlights that Catholic schooling offers both personal and community advantages. On average, Catholic school alumni are more likely to be employed and earn higher wages compared to those who attended government schools, with wage differences ranging from 4% to 11%. Additionally, former Catholic school students are more inclined to work in public-serving industries and sectors, and they are more likely to donate to charity. The research also shows that Catholic school attendance positively influences personal health and life satisfaction scores.

A copy of the full report is available on the links below 

What's Happening around our school

Dental Van Visit - Thursday 6th March 

For those families who have returned their child's dental form the Dental Van will be here this Thursday the 6th March. Please note that the form return has closed so no late forms will be accepted. 

Friday 7th of March is the World Day Of Prayer. On this day people get together to pray for a country. This year the Cook Islands have been chosen. St Mary’s are doing a casual clothes day on Thursday 6th March to raise money. Students can bring a gold coin donation to contribute to the donation going to the Cook Islands.

The Year Five and Six class will attend the mass service at St Mary's church and take the money the school raises from their Casual Clothes Day as a donation.

Heidi Year 6 

SchoolTV: Confidence & Motivation

"Confidence and motivation are two critical ingredients for young people's success. Supporting your child to help nurture these qualities allows them to believe in their abilities and navigate life's challenges with resilience and a positive outlook."

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. 

We are a BARR school (Bushfire at Risk)

Pleae read the communication below. As a Bushfire at Risk school, on days there is a Catastrophic fire danger forcasted in our district, the school will close. Other educational providers in our area will also close, and there will be no school byses running. We need to receive notification from the Department if Education and also DOBCEL in order to close. The school will always endeavour to notify families as soon as practical. We did have two Catastrophic school closure days earlier this year. 

Please ensure you have downloaded the SIMON everywhere app to receive the first notification of a sudden school closure through PAM, as this is the official school emergency notification platform.

Then emails will be sent to families, followed by a Facebook update. 

We are  SunSmart

Children must leave their hats at school at the end of each day. If hats are not brought to school, children will be required to play in the shade.  Please ensure HATS CLEARLY LABELLED.

When it comes to using sun protection, temperature isn't a good guide. You can’t see or feel UV but UV is the part of the sun that can damage skin and eyes and lead to skin cancer. SunSmart advises that Victoria’s UV levels start to rise from mid-August. 

Please remind your child to wear their hat, clearly labelled with their name.

 For SunSmart information visit

 https://www.sunsmart.com.au/advice-for/schools-early-childhood

DOBCEL Strategy 2035

Please find below a letter from Catholic Education Ballarat Executive Director, Tom Sexton and DOBCEL Board Chair Terry Harney regarding the DOBCEL Strategy 2035.

This letter introduces the new strategy that all DOBCEL schools will be working through over the next ten years.

Child Safety at St Mary's

St Mary's is committed to zero tolerance of child abuse, committed to listening to and empowering children and young people and keeping children and young people safe. We are committed to being proactive in the care, wellbeing and protection of children and young people. Child Safe Standard 11 as below highlights what we as an organisation must do. regarding documentation. If you ever have any concerns, regarding the safety and wellbeing of your child please contact the Principal. Your information makes us more aware of what needs to be addressed and how we can improve. 

For more information please visit this link Child Safe Standards 

Thunderstorm Asthma

Community News

Issue Two of Book Club was sent home last week and is due on Friday 21st March.

Owning your own books is something special! I hope that you will encourage your child to order books this year. Each order helps earn free books and teaching materials for our classroom, however there is never any obligation to order. I know of no better way to encourage reading than to allow children to choose the books they want to read.

The Shed Project - Expressions of Interest

The Shed Project has been operational for 6 years, and is excited that our purpose built shed is almost ready for habitation. Reverend James - the shed co-ordinator - is seeking an expressions of interest from families who would their children to participate in 2025.