2025 St Mary's Primary School Newsletter Term 2 Week 8

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,

I hope you all had a relaxing long weekend and if you ventured out I’m sure you were all rugged up and enjoyed the long awaited rain. 

Last week we had the privilege of hosting two Work Experience students from WSC. Thank you Oscar Allot and Max Lewis for the mature way you conducted yourselves for the whole week. We value the help you both gave in the classrooms and our children will remember the fun and kindness you showed, particularly in the playground. 

This week students from Years 3- 6 will be representing St Mary’s in netball and football. They will be leaving St Mary at 9:00 am to arrive in Nhill for the Lightning Premiership. This is an exciting sporting event and we thank Meg Werner for her organisation. We look forward to seeing some fine skills and great sportsmanship. Thanks also (in advance) former students Eedie Rowe and Tom Penny for offering their assistance in the day. 

A very big thank you to the Parent's Club for once again organising another very successful Wood Raffle and Pie Drive. The year Wood Raffle raised $1629.40 and we are grateful for the generous donations from Kristy & Corey Gove, Samantha & Shane Shulz and Aaron & Jess Boyd.The lucky winners were: David Holland, Sully Magee and Kylee Grace Mata. The Pie Drive raised an incredible $2977 and will be delivered to St Mary’s 23rd June. 

Congratulations to our Wellbeing Leader, Kelly Woods for receiving the Highly Commended Award for poetry under thirty two lines in the Victorian CWA State Literary Competition. Kelly attended the State Conference held in Shepparton in May. 

Our dedicated staff are continually busy keeping and leading the way with additional changes and school events. They are in the process of organising activities/events, a Learning Walk for kindergarten children, along with, end of term Mass for the Needy, parent conversation times, assessments and preparing for the changes to the Mathematics Curriculum for reports (read below).

On the last day of term, students will attend a Mass for the Needy (Previously known as the Poor Man’s Mass). The Year 5/ 6 class will be organising this over the next few weeks. We ask families, if they are able to, donate $5 per family in an envelope will be sent home later in the week Families may also like to donate toiletries such as deodorant, shampoo etc. Monsignor Glynn Murphy will lead us in Mass at 10:00 am in the St Mary’s Church. Members from St Vinnies will be in attendance and we invite families to join us if possible. Following this St Vinnies will be providing a free BBQ lunch for our children and staff.

Please  read below our special article our Catholic Education Week and Reconciliation Week activities

Julie

Key Dates

School Promotional Video

After two busy days of filming, the school promotional video is now live. You can find the link below.

Bikes and Scooters Donated

Last week St Mary's recieved a visit from Rural Northwest Health

Tif Devasia (Promotion Coordinator), Bernie O'Connor (Project Officer)  and Jenni Masters (CEO). Rural Northwest Health donated bicycles and scooters to St Mary's Catholic Primary School as part of an Active Travel Program Grant.

Health Promotion Coordinator Tif Devasia said the program was co-designed to provide local school communities with ownership over physical activity initiatives. Excited to receive the bike and scooters, St Mary's students look forward to using them during their Bike Education Lessons later on in the year with Meg Werner

Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Week was celebrated in style with St Patrick's Nhill and St Mary's students joining OLHC Murtoa students for the day. We arrived around 10am at OLHC in Murtoa and immediately went off for a play in their school yard. Nhill arrived shortly after, joining in for a short play. 
After a well received snack, everyone went in to the hall to celebrate Mass with Mons. Glynn. Students from all schools participated in readings and bringing goods to the altar.
Following a BBQ lunch and another play, all the students went into mixed groups to complete an activity about what brings them joy and gratitude.
We really enjoyed having a day out and seeing the Murtoa school. We arrived back at school in the afternoon just in time to go home.

Reconciliation Week 2025

During Reconciliation Week, our whole school came together in the Canola Room to learn about why this week is so important. Mrs. Letts talked to us about the meaning of Reconciliation Week and how it helps bring people together. She asked us to think of words that match this year’s theme, Bridging Now to Next. We thought of some great words like sorry, unity, community, forgiveness, recognition, listening, respect and sharing.

After that, Mrs. Letts read us a book called Walk With Us by Adam Goodes. It was a really interesting story that helped us understand more about reconciliation. Then we all went back to our classrooms and decorated little T-shirts with our own designs to show what reconciliation means to us. It was lots of fun working with our friends and being with the whole school. We had a great time!

Written by Lentils & Canola Rooms

Changes to Mathematics Curriculum – Maths 2.0

As part of the ongoing updates to the Victorian Curriculum, schools have now transitioned to the new Mathematics 2.0 curriculum. One of the key changes is the removal of separate areas of learning (such as Number, Measurement, and Statistics). Instead, Mathematics will now be reported against a single progression point, reflecting a more holistic understanding of each student’s development in mathematics.

Along with this shift, the "I Can" statements previously used to break down skills into specific areas have also been streamlined. These will now appear under a single heading, rather than being divided into multiple strands.

This change supports a more integrated approach to teaching and learning mathematics, encouraging students to make connections across different mathematical concepts. If you have any questions about your child’s progress or how these changes may impact reporting, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher.

SchoolTV: Body Image

“Children today are exposed to more discussion about body image than children of previous generations. Parents should not obsess about their own weight issues in front of their children.”

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg

Overview of this edition

A child can form an opinion of their own body at a very young age. Research suggests that children as young as three years old can have body image issues, and there are many things that influence them. Parents play a critical role in helping children develop a positive body image.

Today’s media can negatively influence our young people on what is the “ideal” body shape and size. The problem is, a “perfect” body doesn’t really exist. Although body image issues are mostly associated with girls, boys are also affected. A negative body image can trigger eating disorders in some children and parents need to be aware of the signs. Their child’s eating habits and language around appearance can be an indicator. Parents and teachers need to help kids understand that appearance does not equate to an individual’s health or success.

This exclusive, one-off event is fast approaching and we’d love to see your families benefit from the insights of two of Australia’s leading experts, Susan McLean and Dr Michael Carr-Gregg.

They will share invaluable insights on how to empower young people to navigate the online world safely and responsibly.

WEBINAR: Digital Media Literacy & Safety (Part II)
DATE: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
TIME: 7:30 pm

Topics in this webinar include:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Misinformation & Algorithms
• Sexting and Sextortion
• Online Grooming

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. 

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, 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