Newsletter Term 2 Week 11

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Families,

It was lovely to see the growth in confidence from the children attending Flying Start last week. It's incredible, after only 2 sessions how comfortable they were at school! Everyone seemed right at home in the school surroundings and loved everything on offer. A special shout out to our amazing Flying Start team and the School Captains who do such a terrific job with our transition program.

Although it's been a longer term, the time has flown, and it is hard to believe we are now halfway through the school year. This week, you will receive your child’s mid-year reports in the mail. They have been a real pleasure to read,and I wish to acknowledge the efforts of our wonderful teaching team who put in so much effort in writing detailed and descriptive reports about the students in their care. I am sure you will enjoy taking some time to reflect on and acknowledge the great things your children have achieved this semester. 

A warm welcome to Brooke Mann, who joins our LSO team next term and all the best to Anthony, who will be away on placement throughout Term 3. Malia will cover most aspects of Anthony's role in Wellbeing until he returns. This week, we also say farewell to the one and only Melinda. Melinda has been an LSO on staff for 12 years, and over that time has supported hundreds of children and been a partner and backstop to many teachers in the junior area. Melinda has decided it's time to dust off her teaching degree and has taken a position at Swan Hill Primary School. We sincerely thank Melinda for all she has done to shape the lives of so many children in her care and wish her all the best with the career move. We will miss you, Mel!

Years 5 & 6 Cyber Safety Workshop
Today, we are fortunate to have Leading Senior Constable Tania Peters presenting an information session for our Year 5 & 6 students outlining the legalities around Internet Use and Cyber Safety. These workshops are a regular on our school calendar, and this term we have asked Tania to speak to the students in response to parental concerns about their children’s use of social media and devices outside school hours. For parents wanting to learn more about TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to help their child stay safe online, there is a wealth  of information on the eSafety Commissioners site.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

St  Vinnies Winter Appeal
PJ day was a big success, and we all enjoyed the chance to wear the PJs or dressing gown on the day. We had a great response to the Winter Appeal with over 200 bags of groceries and nonperishable items distributed between The Food Hub and St Vinnies to support those in need in our local community. Thank you all very much for your generosity.

Catholic Social Teachings
This week, 1U will visit Hope Aged Care to spend time with the residents, showing kindness and compassion, just as Jesus taught us. In doing this, the children are living out the Gospel and Catholic Social Teachings by showing respect for the dignity of every person and bringing care and friendship to those who might be feeling lonely.

McDonald's Positive Behaviour Award
This award aims to recognise students who consistently demonstrate kindness, respect, responsibility, and other core values and fits in very well with The St Mary’s Way. 

Congratulations to Janessa Joby and Jace Arentz, who were the first recipients of this award. They were presented with their certificates and voucher at the assembly on Friday.

Early finish for the last day of Term
A reminder that school finishes one hour earlier than normal for the last day of Term this Friday. 

Bell times:
2.15 - Town Bus travellers and students walking or riding home
2.20 - Country Bus travellers
2.25 - Students being picked up by family or friends

I hope you all enjoy the last few days of term. Have a great week, and enjoy a safe and happy holiday with your children.

Kate

"Never See a Need Without Doing Something About It"
Mary MacKillop - Sisters of St Joseph Foundress

Key Dates

Friday July 4th
End of Term 2 - 2.15pm finish time
Monday July 21st
First Day of Term 3
Thursday July 24th & Friday July 25th
Flying Start - session 3
Thursday July 24th
State Cross Country
Friday July 25th
Assembly 12.25pm - 1X
Monday July 28th - Wednesday July 30th
History Box Incursion
Wednesday July 30th
MacKillop College Transition Day 2
Thursday July 31st & Friday August 1st
Flying Start - session 4

Wellbeing with Mr Doran

Child Safety Standard 4 - Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing

Wellbeing support for students during the school holidays
Actions that support positive mental health over the school holidays

Encourage your young person to:

• Exercise boosts mood and mental health – make it fun!
• Nourish your brain by eating healthily – it will also improve your mood
• Prioritise sleep to support mental and emotional wellbeing
• Explore relaxation techniques and coping strategies
• Stay in touch and catch up with friends and loved ones
• Make time to do things you enjoy
• Practice positive self-talk – and remember you are not alone

Feeling it: mindfulness resources and activities for students.

 Smiling Mind gives you tips on looking after yourself, understanding and managing emotions, being mindful, being kind to yourself, navigating uncertainty and preparing for change - https://www.smilingmind.com.au/

RE with Mrs Davies

St Vinnie’s Winter Appeal 2025
For the past two weeks, St Mary’s has proudly supported the St Vinnies Winter Appeal, reaching out to help those in need within our local community, just as Jesus taught us to do through His example of love and compassion. Inspired by Gospel values such as kindness, generosity, and service, our school community has come together with open hearts. Students have generously donated non-perishable food items, showing a deep understanding of the importance of helping others and living out our faith in action. This initiative reminds us that small acts of giving can bring warmth and hope to those who are struggling during the colder months. Donations will be going to the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Swan Hill Food Hub. 

This year we raised an outstanding 1786 items that made up almost 200 bags for families in need. This is an amazing effort from our school community!!

PE with Miss Clark

AFL Footy Clinic
On Wednesday the 25th the PE classes had Maddy Pieper from AFL Victoria deliver a footy clinic. The students practiced their hand ball and kicking skills through fun modified games. If students are interested they can sign up for a footy clinic in the school holidays on Wednesday the 9th of July on the Swan Hill Football oval. Please see the attached flyer in the Newsletter if your child is interested.

Division Winter Sports
The Year 5 and 6 students had a great day on Friday the 27th of June for their Division Winter Sports. Thank you to all staff for helping out on this really big day. Also a big thank you to the Mackillop Sport and Rec students for coaching our teams.

AFL- School Sport Victoria were trialling a new format this year to have 12 on the field for Div 1. Our boys played really well but unfortunately Kerang were too strong this year.

Teeball- Both girls and boys teams came away with a Runners Up flag each which is a fantastic effort!

Netball- We had 6 teams entered and 3 of them managed to receive a flag at the end of the day. Well done to Team 'E' who were winners in Div 3 and Team 'D' who came runners up. Congratulations to our Div 1 Team 'A' who also won the grand final.

Soccer- Well done to our only girls team who played in Div 1 and came Runners Up for the day, amazing job! 

Our boys Div 1 Team 1 made it to the grand final and played a very intense match. The score was 1-0 and we were down with 10 seconds to go. Conor M took a corner and goaled it and then the siren went. The score was now 1-1 and went into extra time 'golden goal'. Julian P kicked a goal in the extra time so we won against Kerang! 

To quote Mr Smith "It was honestly the best goal I've ever seen live in Soccer" (Conor's goal)

Congratulations to the following teams that have made it through to REGIONALS next term;

NETBALL- Div 1 A Team:

Heidi H, Ivy P, Scarlett F, Eliza M, Rubi K, Mia H, Arlee Parsons, Maeve M and Isabel F

SOCCER- Div 1 Team 1:

Charlie H, Farhan H, Toby G, Skylah M, Conor M, Luca B, Julian P, Sohiel H, Otto P, Hugo B and Hunter S

@2 Murlong Before & After School Care

The Out of School Hours Care program, @ 2 Murlong, is operating out of the gym hub and provides before and after school care for school age children in the Swan Hill area. Please express your interest via the following link;

https://prodadmin.myxplor.com/enrollment/index/dHdBOThsSW9JeHUxYTEwaHNxZlMrdz0

News from the Office

School Beanies
With the weather cooling down, now is the perfect time to purchase a school beanie. Available on CDF Pay, under "Shop" for $20.00. Remember to put your child's name on them.

Labelling your school items
Just a reminder to clearly label any items your child brings to school, in particular jumpers. We collect a huge amount of jumpers every week, some of them brand new and they can't be returned unless they are named.

Working with Children Check
A reminder to bring your Working with Children Check with you if you are coming on to the school grounds for volunteer purposes. If you would like to apply for a Working with Children's Check, please follow the link below;

https://service.vic.gov.au/find-services/work-and-volunteering/working-with-children-check

PAM - Adding a student absence
PAM is our preferred notification method for absences. Absences must be entered prior to 9.25am on the day your child will be absent. Absences can also be entered in advance.

On PAM, you can add an absence if:

• Your child is going to be absent for the day (All Day)
• Your child is going to be late to school (Arriving Late)
• Your child is going to be leaving early from school (Leaving Early)
• Your child will be leaving school and returning eg. for an appointment (Partial)
• Your child is going to be absent for more than one day (Multi-day max of 7 days)

To add an absence:

• Log in to your PAM account
• Select “Parent Notified Absences” listed under “Students”. This can also be accessed by selecting the 3 line menu bar on the top right hand corner of the screen and selecting “Parent Notified Absence”.
• Select “Add Absence”
• Select the child who will be absent
• Select the reason for your child’s absence
• Select the appropriate absence period
• Select the absence date
• Notes can be added if required
• You can edit or delete current and future absences, by clicking on your child and amending it if required

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