Newsletter Term 4 Week 8
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Families,
We really enjoyed reacquainting ourselves with the 2025 Foundation students when they joined us last week for 'Fly into Foundation' and it's been lovely listening to our students busy practising carols for our annual carols night at Riverside Park held next week on Monday, 2nd December.
On Monday we welcome a new family to our school - a big welcome to Aiden Bibin (6K), Dominic Bibin (2R) & Antony Bibin (F Orange).
Foundation 2025 Information Evening & Fly into Foundation Program
We are really looking forward to the second week of Fly into Foundation, our Term 4 transition program for preschoolers who have enrolled at St Mary’s, happening again on Thursday & Friday. This program gives our newest students the chance to become familiar with the learning spaces at St Mary’s, the routine of coming to school and the development of connections and relationships with some of the teachers at our school before starting here next year. This Tuesday 26th November, we are holding our Foundation Information evening for the parents of our 2025 Foundation children. The meeting will take place via Zoom at 7pm and we look forward to seeing everyone online and sharing important information about the start of the school year. All relevant information and links have been sent to families
Class Structures for 2025
St Mary’s numbers have remained very stable and we will run 27 straight classes again in 2025. We are finalising our staffing needs and hope to share our classroom teacher placement for the next school year on the newsletter next week.
Casual Dress - Friday, 29th November
This Friday 29th November, is our next casual dress day with gold coin donations going towards the SRC purchasing presents for local families in need this Christmas. These gifts are purchased and wrapped by the SRC students and placed under the parish Christmas tree at the end of the year. The theme for this month is Christmas themed outfits or colours.
St Mary’s Got Talent!
Back by popular demand St Mary’s Got Talent is coming soon! Auditions are coming up with 3 days of amazing talent on display during lunchtimes in Week 10! We all love this very popular Term 4 event and are always amazed at the talent we have amongst our student body.
Make a Scene Nativity Display
We are hosting ‘Making a Scene’ at Christmas this week. ‘Making a Scene’ is a spectacular collection of beautiful Nativity Scenes from all around the world, along with some impressive historical pieces tied to the Christmas story (last time we got to smell real Frankincense!). All year levels will spend time viewing the exhibition with their teachers throughout the week. Parents and family members are warmly invited to call in and see this beautiful display. It is well worth a visit.
It has been wonderful to see items coming through the office baskets with families donating a small item for our Christmas hamper raffle. These will be collated on Monday, December 2nd in preparation for the raffle draws which take place throughout the carols evening.
Kate
"Never See a Need Without Doing Something About It"
Mary MacKillop - Sisters of St Joseph Foundress
Key Dates
Tuesday November 26th - Friday November 29th
Making a Scene at Christmas - Incursion
Thursday November 28th & Friday November 29th
Fly into Foundation Session 2
Thursday November 28th
Year 1 Swimming commences
Friday November 29th
Advent Liturgy - 9.15am
Casual Dress Day
No Assembly
Monday December 2nd
Carols Night - Riverside Park
Friday December 6th
Assembly 12.25pm - Foundation Green
Monday December 9th
Pupil Free Day
Tuesday December 10th
Orientation Day
Dates to Note
Wellbeing with Mr Prockter
Child Safe Standard 4: Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
Australia's largest survey of children's happiness finds that sleep is a key indicator of wellbeing – but traditional things like reading and pets still make kids smile
What are kids telling us about what's important to their wellbeing?
Pets are high on the list, but perhaps more surprisingly for parents accustomed to their children complaining at bed time, Australia's largest survey of children's wellbeing has found that kids are happiest when they are getting a good night's sleep.
And many kids themselves recognise that their beloved electronic gadgets are getting in the way of sleep.
The ABC's 'Behind the News' kids program's latest 'Happiness Survey' of almost 47,000 children, has found that having a good night's sleep is a key indicator of a child's wellbeing. Children who regularly have the recommended hours of sleep each night reported significantly higher levels of both happiness and feelings of safety.
And many kids are upfront that their electronic devices can get in the way of sleep. Some 29 per cent report that on at least some nights of the week their device stops them from getting enough sleep. The issue is more common for older children (aged 12-18) with 37 per cent blaming their devices compared with 27 per cent among younger kids (aged 6-11). About 47 per cent reported that they regularly slept within reach of their device.
"We all know that sleep is important but we didn't realise just how significant it is as an indicator of a child's wellbeing," says Professor Lisa Gibbs, Chair of the University of Melbourne's Children's Lives Initiative that is the research partner on what is only the second iteration of the survey.
"The data doesn't give us a cause and effect, but it reveals a very strong association that suggests if kids aren't getting the right amount of sleep, something isn't right." Originally planned by Behind The News as a one-off online survey to engage its child viewers in mental health issues, the 2015 Happiness Survey proved spectacularly popular, attracting almost 20,000 responses and now more than double that. It was enough to attract the attention of academics at the University of Melbourne who immediately recognised its potential as a serious research tool. "Behind the News have established an amazing online platform which enables them to collect data from a large number of children very efficiently," says Professor Gibbs.
"We were blown away by the number of responses we got from kids right around Australia," says Behind The News producer and host Nathan Bazley. "With the help of the University of Melbourne, the results from this survey will help increase awareness about some of the biggest challenges kids today face."
Areas Of Concern
The latest survey paints a generally positive picture of the wellbeing of Australian children with 62 per cent reporting they felt happy lots of the time, but there are some red flags. Professor Gibbs says she was shocked that 10 percent of children reported not feeling safe at home, and that 26 per cent reported that they didn't have anyone they felt they could talk to about their worries. Those that open up about their worries, such as to parents, friends or teachers, were three times more likely to report being happy most of the time.
"At 10 per cent, the number of kids saying they don't feel safe at home is very concerning and enough to say that we need to be taking a closer look at this," says Professor Gibbs.
"Having supportive family and school environments, and having friends, are important factors in children building resilience. But if a child's starting point is that they don't feel safe at home then their capacity to thrive will be significantly undermined," she warns.
Children who reported not feeling safe, whether it is in their home, school (15 percent) or neighbourhood (25 percent), were four times more likely to not be sleeping right. And the 62 per cent of children who reported being happy lots of the time were twice as likely to be getting the right amount of sleep.
How Much Sleep Is Too Much?
Professor Gibbs says sleeping too much can be just as problematic as not sleeping enough. If kids are sleeping much more than the recommended amount it may be a sign that they are physically or mentally drained, perhaps from stress or anxiety.
Australia's Sleep Health Foundation recommends that children aged 6-13 years-old have 9-11 hours sleep a night, and those aged 14-17 years-old have 8-10 hours. But it also recommends against getting less than 7 hours or more than 11-12 hours a night. On average children in the survey reported they were getting 9.5 hours sleep a night. Some 4 per cent reported getting less than 7 hours a night.
Professor Gibbs says the preparedness of kids to report that their devices sometimes stopped them from getting enough sleep is a sign that kids are aware of the problem. "It means there is clearly scope for parents to have conversations with their kids about how to manage the use of devices when it comes to sleep."
While the majority of children reported feeling happy lots of the time, some 6 per cent reported hardly ever feeling happy. Most (75 per cent) reported being scared or worried at least some of the time, with about 16 per cent reporting being scared or worried lots of the time. Bullying or arguments was something that 19 percent of kids said they worried about a lot and around 67 per cent reported experiencing bullying. Some 25 per cent said they worry a lot about their bodies and 38 per cent reported worrying a lot about their friendships.
"It is important for children to know that they aren't the only ones who have worries. What is important is that the majority report having someone to talk to," says Professor Gibbs.
When asked what were the things that made them most happy, friends (64 per cent) and family (60 percent) came out on top. Also popular were sport, playing/listening to music, watching TV, and being outside in nature. Reading (39 per cent) came in narrowly ahead of computer games (38 per cent), but it was heavily influenced by gender, with boys much more likely to say computer games make them happy (52 per cent) and girls more likely to say reading made them happy (45 per cent).
But the big surprise was what the survey hadn't included on its list of things that make children most happy. In the "other" section many kids wrote about animals and pets. "It is a very strong response given that we hadn't included animals or pets in the survey, and it is a reminder of the importance of pets in terms of the positive experiences they can bring to children. "And while childhood is changing, there are some traditional things that are still important, like sleep, talking, reading and maybe pets."
By: Andrew Trounson
University of Melbourne
RE with Mrs Davies
Advent
This Sunday 1st December marks the beginning of the Advent season for 2024. Advent is a very special time being the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas. Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world.
Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas. It is a very special time of waiting in anticipation for the coming of Jesus Christ.
Here is a link to a fantastic video explaining to children the meaning of Advent - A time Waiting for Jesus that you might like to watch with your children at home - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AySe5pZnwig
This Friday we will be holding our whole school Advent Liturgy at 9.15am in the Gym. The Year 1 students will be leading the liturgy with Fr James. Families are most welcome to attend.
Make a Scene Nativity Display
This week we are looking forward to Fiona and Kay visiting us from the Ballarat Diocese with their Make a Scene Nativity Display. This display includes collections of Nativities that highlight the various elements of the Gospel stories, which highlight cultural variations, that have artistic merit or have a “special” story about them, are put on display in public venues. There is an education program built around the collection is developed for primary school children. This involves telling the story of Jesus’ birth, age appropriate input on parts of the Nativity story, a look at the display and an opportunity to learn the meaning of many different nativities.
Fiona and Kay will be working with all classes from Foundation-Year 6 over Tuesday-Friday this week. This links in nicely with our Christmas Units we are learning about in class.
On Tuesday 26th November from 3.45-4.30pm Fiona and Kay will be holding an open session for our families and parish community to visit the display here at school.
PE with Miss Clark
State Basketball
On Monday 18th of November we had 8 boys compete in the State Basketball competition in Melbourne. If you have ever watched any of these boys play or train they are very talented basketballers and played some amazing basketball on the day.
Unfortunately, the three games didn't go their way but they can be very proud of their efforts getting to a State level competition. They were there not only representing our school but the entire Loddon Mallee Region. What a fantastic experience for the boys.
A big thank you to Teagan Lawry and Ash Roberts who helped coach the boys on the day and to all the parents who travelled down.
Well done to Dayne P, Hamish L, Archie O, Henry O, Vann N, Deacon R, Will O and Ryder W
St Mary’s tops
Well that’s a wrap for all the sporting events this year! Thank you to those students that have returned their St Mary’s top they borrowed for a sporting event. Any students that still have a top at home particularly from Regional or State events to please return it to the front office or PE office.
House Captains
House Captain interviews were held last week. It is always a very popular role and always very hard to choose. Mrs Quin and myself were very impressed with how the students conducted themselves in the group interview and it was great to see so many of our current year 5's wanting a leadership position for next year.
Congratulations to the following students;
DINGOES Elouise M, Madison D, Brodey C, Aarav B
BUNYIPS Isabel F, Scarlett F, Mattaeus C, Otto P
BANDICOOTS Eliza M, Charlotte M, Patrick K, Levi C
WOMBATS Rubi K, Indi P, Will P, Charles M
@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
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
Country Bus Travel
Country Buses are to be used for registered travellers only. If Country Bus travel is required in an emergency, please contact the office so that the appropriate paperwork can be completed.
Coming in 2025 - Changes to CDFpay
Information will be provided to families prior to the end of the year in regards to changes to CDFpay.
News from the Canteen
Volunteers Needed:
We are always on the lookout for volunteers in our school canteen. You just need your VIC WWCC. Volunteer hours at 11.30am-1.30pm. Please email office@smswanhill.catholic.edu.au if you are able assist
Ordering from the canteen:
Recess and lunch orders are placed online only via CDF Pay. The orders close at 9.30am each day, so it is recommended you place your order the night before. Our canteen is a very busy, so late orders will be offered limited options. Please contact the office if you need help with CDF Pay.
https://smswanhill.cdfpay.org.au
Canteen Roster
Just a reminder to sign in at the office when you are on canteen duty
Student of the Week
Happy Birthday!
