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Newsletter Term 1 Week 7

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Families,

Early this morning we farewelled 90 very excited Year 6 students and their teachers and helpers as they departed for Ovens (near Bright) for the Year 6 Camp. WIth everything from abseiling, a low ropes course, hikes and climbs to the vertical challenge and free fall slides, this camp is action packed! While all the students set off with a positive mind set I did hear a few staff will have to face their fear of heights to make the most of all the camp offers! I look forward to hearing about their adventures at Valley Homestead Camp and following their moves on our school Facebook page.

The Welcome Picnic last Tuesday proved to be a great opportunity for families to mix informally, have a look in classrooms and around our school and enjoy some music by Tony Haley in the passive play area….not to mention the kids loved it! Sincere thanks to our wonderful staff - their combined efforts made the night such a success!

Lovely news on staff with the safe arrival of Daisy Irene Brown, a beautiful baby daughter for proud parents Codie and Shane and all the very best to Britney from our admin team, who has taken on the position as office manager in a local business. Brit’s last day with us is this Friday 17th, March, with Melissa O’Toole taking over the front desk on Fridays.

Open Day 1 - Wednesday 15th March 5pm

Have you heard the ads on 3SH or seen them in the Guardian or on our socials? This Wednesday afternoon marks the first of our School Open Days.

New and existing families are invited to join us to learn about St Mary’s at our first Open Day - Wednesday 15th March with tours starting at 5pm. This is the first of a series of Open days which allow prospective families to meet with the School Leadership Team and Foundation Teachers and familiarise themselves with our wonderful school programs and facilities.

Please call the office on 50332541 or fill in a registration form at:

https://smswanhill.catholic.edu.au/book-a-tour/

Parent/Teacher Interviews: Tuesday 21st March & Tuesday 28th March 2023

Only a week to go…. On Tuesday 21st March and the following Tuesday 28th March, we will conduct the first of Parent Teacher interviews for the year. These meetings are an opportunity to share and celebrate your child’s learning so far and to focus on their next learning goals.

Our Year 5-6 children take the reins in their Student Led conferences while our Year 1-4 levels run 3 Way Interviews where your child is asked to be present and involved in the interview.

Our school interviews website is open for you to log a time for your child’s Parent / Teacher Interviews. You can log on yourself and choose your preferred time or alternatively contact the office and we can do this for you. The allocated time is 10 mins per chat.

Parent / Teacher Interviews will be held at:

3. 35 pm – 7.20 pm on Tuesday 21st March 2023
3.35 pm – 6.05 pm on Tuesday 28th March 2023

The web address for booking is http://www.schoolinterviews.com.au and the new logon code is : 4hsg4

St Pats Races - March 19th

This Sunday March 19th, 2023 is the annual St Patrick's Cup Family race meeting in Swan Hill and a major fundraiser for our school. It is a terrific family day and with free activities organised by Kelly Sports to keep the kids,it makes for a very relaxing outing. 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. Please send raffle tickets and unsold entry tickets back to school by Friday. Look forward to seeing many of you there.

NAPLAN March 15th- 23rd

Students in Years Three and Five will complete four assessments - Writing (narrative or persuasive), Reading, Conventions of Language and Mathematics. Each online session will run between 40-50 minutes depending on the topic and year level. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in Literacy and Mathematics against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgment about student progress.

The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure them that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program and to advise them to do the best they can on the day. Ensure your child has had proper rest and has a healthy snack and lunch as usual. Students who are funded under Special Needs may be exempted from completing the NAPLAN tests. Parents/Guardians who do not want their child to sit the test, please contact the school for an Exemption form.

Junior Hub Update

It is exciting to see our building really taking shape with the installation of key steel framework last week. More framing arrives this week with the roof to follow next!

Sale of Parish Block

St Mary's has been fortunate to make use of the parish-owned block in Murlong St, using it as a car park for a number of years. The parish recently made the decision to sell the block. Plans are underway to construct a carpark for use by the school community on our grounds.

Construction will commence later this year, following the construction of a fence along our title boundary

The Resilience Project Parent Webinar Thursday March 23rd

At St Mary's we have been working with The Resilience Project since 2021. We are excited to offer parents the opportunity to hear Martin Heppell, a familiar face to any who have engaged with TRP before speaking on the topic of Authentic Connection. Martin is a very engaging speaker and will share his experiences and combine them with practical strategies that can be implemented every day to improve our overall wellbeing and to help support you a s parents and/or carers. To register to join the evening please follow this link;

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkfuipqD8qE9W3e5ySVSZgpLSwgmocjYTi

Upon registration, registrants will receive a link to attend the webinar, along with a reminder the day prior.

Assembly and SOW
Mr Dullard and the children from 2C made a lovely connection to the many things we celebrate and enjoy at St Mary’s when they led assembly prayer last Friday. Congratulations to all award recipients who are always so proud of their achievements. We look forward to 1B leading us at our assembly this Friday.

Kate

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

Key Dates

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 - 1B
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 - 1Y
Year 5/6 Summer Sports
Thursday April 5th
Holy Week Liturgy 9.15am
Thursday April 6th
End of Term 1

Wellbeing with Mr Prockter

“WHY MEANING MATTERS’

Thoughts, feelings and emotions are temperamental. Yet we often make emotionally-charged decisions based on what we think and how we feel in the moment, rather than in line with our deepest values when in a calmer state.

Meaning is about ‘what matters’ when we take a ‘long term view’ of what our life stands for and how it’s unfolding.

It is now more common for people in the modern, developed world to experience a lack of meaning in their lives, this can be more prevalent when using social media. In such cases, people say that their lives 'don't make sense’, or they ‘don’t matter’. When these feelings become intense and persist, burnout and sadness can result.

Being clear on what matters to us most, helps us to decide where to allocate precious mental energy, how to spend our time, what goals to pursue and what problems are worth solving first.

Challenges are inevitable! Dealing well with life’s challenges is a skill that can be a strong source of personal growth, pride and purpose, as well as a source of inspiration for others.

Have a great week! 👍

Mr Prockter

Curriculum with Mrs Hall

NAPLAN : Timetable

NAPLAN is being held this term in Week 7 & 8 for all primary and secondary schools.

Our students in Years Three and Five will complete four assessments - Writing (narrative or persuasive), Reading, Conventions of Language, and Mathematics. Each online session will run between 40-50 minutes depending on the topic and year level.

The timetable is as follows:

RE with Mrs Davies

The Season of Lent

As we journey through the season of Lent we remember that Lent is a time when we try to get closer to God. At school the children were encouraged to think of things they could do to achieve this eg have conversations with God, do good deeds and give to Project Compassion. As adults we understand these acts to be FASTING, PRAYER and ALMS GIVING.

FASTING: Fasting is an ancient action linked to Lent and is considered a sacred act. The goal of fasting is connected to prayer. The pangs of hunger remind us of our hunger for God and prayer and fasting brings us to what Lent is about – a deeper conversion and relationship with God.

PRAYER: Fasting and almsgiving are merely actions we do out of tradition, if not connected to prayer. Prayer is our conversation with God. In these conversations we find the strength to fast, to develop a closer and more intimate relationship with God. This relationship makes us grateful for our many blessings and motivates us to give to those less fortunate.

ALMSGIVING: This is simply a response by us to God, a response that we have come to through prayer and fasting. It expresses our gratitude for all we have been given. We come to a realization that we all make up the Body of Christ and with this realization there is a responsibility. That responsibility is to all who are part of the Body of Christ. This means that our acts of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the Christian way of life.

PE with Miss Clark

Sharon Denham Year 6 Basketball Visit
Sharon has completed her four sessions with each of the Year 6 classes finishing last week. St Mary’s is so lucky to have such a passionate and experienced coach able to run drills and modified games to help every student improve their Basketball skills. The sessions have focused on dribbling, passing, shooting, defending and ‘cutting’ (after passing the ball, running under the basket and then back out to create space). St Mary’s would like to thank Sharon very much for her time and helping each student improve their confidence in Basketball. The Year 6’s have certainly learnt a lot through Sharon, myself included and really appreciate her sessions.

Regional Swimming
Goodluck to the 17 students who are competing at Regional Swimming this week on Tuesday the 14th of March! It is such a great achievement for these students to be competing at this level and what a great experience for them to compete against the best swimmers from our region.

Sustainability with Mrs Ward

Sustainability tip of the Week
Walking or riding to school is a great way to stay fit. It saves fuel, resources, vehicle pollution and traffic jams at the school gate. Otherwise park a short distance from the school and walk with the kids and use it as an opportunity to teach road rules.

@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

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.

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.

If you are able to help in the canteen on any of the dates in yellow, please contact the office on 50332541 or email office@smswanhill.catholic.edu.au