Newsletter Term 1 Week 5
Principal's Message
Dear Parents & Families,
Last week was certainly action packed with the students enjoying hands-on sessions presented by the History Box, the regional swimming carnival, pancakes on Tuesday, celebrating the start of Lent with a service led by Fr James and casual dress on Friday! The week also brought about some exciting news with St Mary’s students being recognised by ACARA, as ‘batting above their weight’ when compared to schools in our NAPLAN results. This is a great testimony to the wonderful partnership we have with families and the commitment and attention given to explicitly teaching the Victorian curriculum, while differentiating work at the point of need for all children. It certainly is something to celebrate as an educational community!
Follow this link to read all about this fabulous news!
Today staff focussed on their own faith formation as well as deepened their understanding of the New Religious Education curriculum developed by the Diocesan RE team. We thank Jim and Kim from the Catholic Education Office for facilitating such a thought provoking, professional development day.
Lastly a very warm welcome to Charlotte Shannon and Isabel Ledwidge who both joined our school last week and farewell and all the very best to Helen Sinosh and her family who are heading to Bendigo to live on Friday.
ACU Regional HUB Expo
In 2022, St Mary’s became part of a pilot program known as “Teach Swan Hill”, a joint initiative with the Catholic Education Office and ACU (Australian Catholic University) to encourage teaching graduates to apply for positions in a rural location such as Swan Hill. Last year we hosted students teachers from ACU under this new initiative and a very positive experience was had by all. With the program set to expand, Michelle Haeusler (principal of St. Mary Mackillop College) and I travelled to Melbourne on Thursday to speak to students at ACU about the pilot program and promote the benefits of country life, in the hope we may attract some interest in living and working here as a graduate teacher!
Welcome picnic- Tuesday March 7th
Join in fun activities and meet up with new and old friends! Families are warmly invited to bring the picnic rug, a picnic tea and enjoy time at school from 5.30pm-7.00pm, mixing informally, having a look around our school and enjoying some music by Tony Haley in the passive play area.
Classrooms are open from 5.30-6.15, it's a great chance to reconnect and there are loads of games and activities for the kids to enjoy! Look forward to seeing you there!
Parents & Friends - Shout out for new members!
We would love you to consider joining our Parents & Friends. Parents & Friends are a very important part of our school community. They provide an opportunity to take an active part in school activities. These activities are predominately social and fundraising, but there are also opportunities for information, making suggestions and contributing to the maintenance of the school. The money raised by Parents and Friends enables the school to purchase equipment that makes our school a better place for learning and play. Parents and Friends meet regularly, with dates advertised in the school newsletter. Our Parents & Friends generally have four major fundraisers each year. It would be fantastic if you would consider helping out with one or more of these events. For more information about our wonderful P & F please message or call Renee on 0439322862 or contact our office and ask to speak to Ebony.
Casual Dress Day
Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to wear casual clothes with the $543.00 raised, going to the local food hub, to support local families in need. This was a wonderful effort and a practical application of living out the gospel message.
Open Day 1 - Wednesday 15th March 5pm
We are happiest when prospective families pay us a visit to see for themselves what makes us different. New and existing families are warmly invited to join us to learn about St Mary’s at our first Open Day on Wednesday 15th March with tours starting at 5pm. We will have further Open Days on weekends in May and the opportunity to see our school in action throughout the day during Term 2. Current familie are our best form of advertising so please be sure to let family and friends know We have Open Days coming up
Please call the office on 50332541 or fill in a registration form at;
https://smswanhill.catholic.edu.au/book-a-tour/
St. Pat’s Family Fun Day Race Event
Save the date as this is seriously a fun filled family event! ! Sunday March 19th is the annual St Patrick's Cup Family race meeting in Swan Hill and a major fundraiser for our school. With free children's activities there is everything from face painting, foot races, kick the footy in the ute, the jumping castle and pony rides, not to mention the actual races - the St Pat’s Day races. All this makes it a terrific family day out. Last year , our oldest area, fondly known as the Ninja Playground was removed as some equipment was deemed no longer meeting standards. It was a very popular part of our playground so 100% of proceeds from the entrance to the races and raffle sales go towards the purchasing outdoor playground equipment to create a NEW Ninja Playground area.
Parent Survey
Parent feedback is something we value and with this in mind, I would ask you to take 1 minute out of your day to fill in this very short survey which seeks your opinion about paper versus electronic based school reports. Your feedback will help shape a decision about which format is preferable going forward. https://forms.gle/iUeZEpp2Jo1A5ZxY9
Homework
Over the past week, homework has commenced, with all year levels across the school starting to send some home based tasks to be completed during the week. A detailed explanation of homework for each year level at St Mary’s has been sent to each family via PAM.
Kate
"Never See a Need Without Doing Something About It"
Mary MacKillop - Sisters of St Joseph Foundress
Key Dates
Monday February 27th
Pupil Free Day - Staff PD Day
Friday March 3rd
Assemby 12.25pm - 4K
Tuesday March 7th
Welcome Picnic - 5.30pm-7pm
Friday March 10th
Assembly 12.25pm - 2C
Monday March 13th
Public Holiday
Tuesday March 14th - Friday March 17th
Year 6 Camp
Tuesday March 14th
Regional Swimming
Wednesday March 15th
NAPLAN Testing Period commences
Open Day (tours at 5pm)
Friday March 17th
Assembly 12.25pm - 1Y
Sunday March 19th
St Pat's Cup Family Day
Tuesday March 21st
Parent Teacher Interviews
Friday March 24th
Assembly 12.25pm - 4N
Monday March 27th & Tuesday March 28th
Year 4 Reconciliation
Tuesday March 28th
Parent Teacher Interviews
Wednesday March 29th
Italian Day
Friday March 31st
Assembly 12.25pm - 1B
Year 5/6 Summer Sports
Thursday April 5th
Holy Week Liturgy 9.15am
Thursday April 6th
End of Term 1
Wellbeing with Mr Prockter
RE with Mrs Davies
Shrove Tuesday/Ash Wednesday
It was a lovely week of celebrations last week with us entering into the beginning of our Lenten Season for 2023. All classrooms really enjoy making pancakes for Shrove Tuesday and learning about the importance of this special day. On Wednesday morning we gathered as a whole school community to mark the beginning of Lent with our Ash Wednesday Liturgy. Thank you to Fr James and the Year 6 students who led us in prayer and reflection about the meaning of Lent.
PE with Miss Clark
Division Swimming
Well it was certainly a hot one last Monday the 20th of February for the Division Swimming Championships at the Swan Hill town pool. St Mary’s had 27 students representing our school with all of them swimming their very best and doing the school proud. Thank you to any parents who were able to watch, help out and support our students at this event. We have 18 students that came first in either individual events or relays. These students will progress to the Regional Swimming Championships again at Swan Hill town pool on Thursday the 14th of March. We wish these students the best of luck at this next level of competition.
Sustainability with Mrs Ward
As a way of celebrating Mac’s transition to working at school, a colouring competition was held. These beautiful pictures are proudly displayed in the entrance of our Library.
Congratulations to our following winners who each won a Slushie voucher to use at the canteen:
Jude T- Foundation Green, Hattie M- 1X, Joseph K- 2D, Margie T- 4N, Marley B- 5G
@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
Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)
Applications for CSEF close on 23rd June 2023
If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. The annual CSEF amount per student is $125 for primary school students.
HOW TO APPLY:
New applicants should contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download from the CSEF website www.vic.gov.au/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund
If you applied for the CSEF at your child’s school in 2022, you do not need to complete an application form in 2023 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:
- new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools in 2023 or you did not apply in 2022
- changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2023.
If you are unsure please contact the school office on 50332541.
If you are eligible for CSEF you are also eligible for the Family Fee Assistance Scheme. The FFAS amount for 2023 is $850.00. This amount is credited against your school fee account once your CSEF application has been validated.
PAM - Connect Fields
We kindly ask that all families log in to their PAM accounts, view the "Incomplete Connect Fields" that will appear on your homescreen and action the Digital Tech Agreement & Photo/Video Permission for 2023. If you still require assistance with your PAM account, please contact the office.
Breakfast Club
Our Breakfast Club program is in need of vegemite, honey and jam. Donations can be left at the office. We are also looking for a parent helper every Tuesday from 8.25am-9am. Please contact the office if you would like to assist.
Rapid Antigen Tests
We have excess supply of Rapid Antigen Tests available for families. You can collect test kits from the office between 8.30am and 4pm.
News from the Canteen
Ordering from our canteen for recess or lunch is online via CDF Pay
www.swswanhill.cdfpay.org.au
Orders are to be placed by 9.30am. We recommend ordering the night before.
Thank-you to those families who have volunteered their time in the canteen already this term. We still need more helpers, so if you have your VIC WWCC and would like to help out, please contact the office on 50332541 or email office@smswanhill.catholic.edu.au
Student of the Week
Birthday Wishes
Highlights from The History Box
Community News
