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Newsletter Term 1 Week 9

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Families,

This morning we were delighted to have Mr Tom Sexton, Director of Catholic Education, Ballarat pay us a visit. Tom is on a tour of the schools in the north of the diocese and spent some time looking around the school, chatting to students and staff and visiting classrooms.

Excitement is building for Italian Day this Wednesday! We can’t wait to see all the creative Italian themed costumes the children wear. The parade will take place on the hardcourts near the gym after morning assembly - you are more than welcome to attend.

Many of our Year 4 students have been preparing for their First Reconciliation which will take place on Monday and Tuesday evening of this week. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers

Parent/Teacher Interviews: Tuesday 28th March 2023
It was terrific to see such a great rollup at our first week of Parent Teacher Interviews. These continue tomorrow afternoon. These meetings are an opportunity to share and celebrate your child’s learning so far and to focus on the goals ahead and we strongly encourage all families to book in and take up this opportunity. Our Year 5-6 children take the reins conducting 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.

If you have any difficulties logging in or making an appointment, please contact the office.

The web address for booking is http://www.schoolinterviews.com.au
Log in code is - 4hsg4
Time 3.35pm – 6.00pm

Italian Day - Wednesday, 29th March
It only happens every second year - this highly anticipated event is back this Wednesday, 29th March!
The day will begin with a whole school parade at 9am in the outside assembly area. All families are welcome to come along and see all the wonderful costumes and the sea of green, white and red. Gelati and cannoli will be available at recess and lunch for $1 each and there is Italian food available for lunch through CDF Pay. You are most welcome to join us at any time during the day. A big thank you to Sonia, Megan & Melita for all the work they have put in to prepare for this day!.

Casual Dress Day - Friday March 31st
This Friday, the SRC are holding a Casual Dress Day to raise money for The Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal. The theme is "Easter" and students are asked to bring a gold coin donation. This will be for Foundation to Year 4 students only as our Year 5 & 6 students have Summer Sports on this day and will be required to wear their PE uniform.

‘St Mary’s Way’- Positive Behaviour Support Program
‘St Mary's Way’ is a whole school behaviour management program and its purpose is to provide a framework to teach children to manage and regulate their behaviour so that everyone can learn in a safe and secure environment. It enables us to build a positive classroom and school culture. Our ‘St Mary’s Way’ rules promote the norms of Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful and Be Your Best. The children have been working with their teachers on how this looks in their classrooms and in the playground and our Student of the Week awards are all aligned with our norms to further reinforce their importance at school.

Junior Hub Update
Walls are going up and roof is on the way! It has been a hive of activity onsite over the past week and the students have enjoyed watching the builders in action. It is exciting to get a sense of the size scale of this new building and to start to count the weeks down until occupancy!

Enrolments for 2024
Enrolments are now open for children who start Foundation in 2024. Interviews for new and existing families will take place later in Term 2 and continue in Term 3. Parents of existing families who have a child to start in 2024, please ring the office so an enrolment form can be forwarded to you.

P & F Easter Raffle
Today your child will bring home a flyer for the Easter raffle. Tickets are $1 and the prizes are hampers of delicious Easter goodies! Always a favourite with the kids (and big kids too!). Proceeds from this raffle and the St Pat’s Races are going towards the rebuilding of the Ninja playground.

We look forward to 1Y leading us in Assembly Prayer this week. Have a great week everyone!

Kate

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

Key Dates

Monday March 27th & Tuesday March 28th
Year 4 Reconciliation
Tuesday March 28th
Parent Teacher Interviews
Wednesday March 29th
Italian Day
Friday March 31st
Casual Dress Day - Easter Theme/Gold Coin donation
Assembly 12.25pm - 1Y
Year 5/6 Summer Sports
Thursday April 5th
Holy Week Liturgy 9.15am
Thursday April 6th
End of Term 1
Monday April 24th
Start of Term 2
Tuesday April 25th
Public Holiday - ANZAC Day

Wellbeing with Mr Prockter

Conquer Negative Thinking By Tara Parker-Pope
All humans have a tendency to be a bit more like Eeyore than Tigger, to ruminate more on bad experiences than positive ones. It’s an evolutionary adaptation — over-learning from the dangerous or hurtful situations we encounter through life (bullying, trauma, betrayal) helps us avoid them in the future and react quickly in a crisis.

But that means you have to work a little harder to train your brain to conquer negative thoughts. Here’s how:

Don’t try to stop negative thoughts. Telling yourself “I have to stop thinking about this,” only makes you think about it more. Instead, own your worries. When you are in a negative cycle, acknowledge it. “I’m worrying about money.” “I’m obsessing about problems at work.”

Treat yourself like a friend. When you are feeling negative about yourself, ask yourself what advice would you give a friend who was down on herself/himself. Now try to apply that advice to you.

Challenge your negative thoughts. Socratic questioning is the process of challenging and changing irrational thoughts. Studies show that this method can reduce depression symptoms. The goal is to get you from a negative mindset (“I’m a failure.”) to a more positive one (“I’ve had a lot of success in my career. This is just one setback that doesn’t reflect on me. I can learn from it and be better.”) Here are some examples of questions you can ask yourself to challenge negative thinking.

First, write down your negative thoughts, such as “I’m having problems at work and am questioning my abilities.”

Then ask yourself: “What is the evidence for this thought?”
“Am I basing this on facts? Or feelings?”
“Could I be misinterpreting the situation?”
“How might other people view the situation differently?
“How might I view this situation if it happened to someone else?”

The bottom line: Negative thinking happens to all of us, but if we recognize it and challenge that thinking, we are taking a big step toward a happier life.

Have a great week everyone!
Mr Prockter 🙂

Curriculum with Mrs Hall

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open. The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. The Challenge encourages children and students to read a set number of books over the year and record their efforts online. Since the Challenge first began in 2005, more than 4 million students have read over 57 million books. All students who complete the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge

RE with Mrs Davies

Sacrament of Reconciliation Celebrations
Over the past few weeks some of our Year 4 children have been preparing for their Sacrament of Reconciliation. We are really looking forward to celebrating this special sacrament on Monday 27th & Tuesday 28th March. Timeslots will be held at 5pm and 6.30pm - a shared document has been shared with families via the Parish to choose a time that suits your family. Please contact the parish office if you have any questions or queries.

PE with Miss Clark

Hockey Victoria visit
Last week on Thursday the 23rd, we had a special visit from Sam and Chelsea from Hockey Victoria visit St Mary’s to run a lesson on Hockey. The classes that participated in this experience during their PE time were 6O, 6P, 4M and 4N and focused on how to hold a Hockey stick and also dribbling. If your child is interested in Hockey, further information on hockey clinics is attached to the back of this Newsletter.

Tennis Trials
On Friday the 24th of March we had Cooper G, Hugh A, Oliver S and Rueben C representing our school in the tennis tryouts. THe boys played 4 games each and the scores at the end were very close! Congratulations to Oliver S and Hugh A who have qualified for Regional Tennis on Monday the 3rd of April.

Summer Sports
Goodluck to all the Year 5 and 6 students participating in Summer Sports this Friday the 31st of March. It is a great opportunity to showcase the 5 weeks of coaching from the Mackillop students in a friendly competitive environment against other primary schools in our local area. Go St Mary’s!

PMP for Foundation and Year 1 students
As part of the PE curriculum, our Foundation and Year One students will participate in a PMP program (Perceptual Motor Program) to help promote fundamental motor skills in fun station activities. This program will start in Term 2 week 5 and will run for 5 weeks during their PE lesson time. Students will participate in station activities in small groups to work their motor skills in such as balance, throwing, catching, jumping, dodging, leaping and kicking.
This program requires parental assistance to operate successfully.

If there are any parents who can assist during the program, look out for information via PAM if you would like to volunteer to help run station activities.

Sustainability with Mrs Ward

Sustainability Tip of the Week:
Don't let the tap run when you are brushing your teeth - Ivy Q (2E)

@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

ANZAC Day
We have ANZAC Day merchandise available to purchase in the office. Prices range from $1-$5.

How can I notify the school of my child’s absence via PAM?
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

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
https://smswanhill.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