Newsletter Term 2 Week 2
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Families,
We start our week with the lovely news of the safe arrival of Louie Halligan, a precious son for Olivia Scarce and her partner Jared. In other news, we welcome Felicity Miller and Lorren Bezuidenhout on staff and a new Foundation student, Rory Sam who has recently arrived from Vietnam.
The Great Race - Monday May 1st - Friday May 5th
The ever popular Great Race begins today as a lead up to the Senior and Junior Cross Country. It is a wonderful sight to see so many children involved in this activity and parents are very welcome to come and join us each day. Children are allowed to wear their runners and PE uniform to school each day of the Great Race week so that they can participate fully at lunchtime.
Our P&F efforts this year are focussed on fundraising for our new Ninja Playground and on Friday May 5th as a way to conclude the Great Race, we see the return of the extremely popular COLOUR RUN, a P & F fundraising initiative which will run from 12:00-1:00pm. It certainly is a fundraiser that provides a lot of fun as well as promoting the benefits of physical activity the Colour Slime station is also sure to be a hit!
This week please send your child along with an old white/light coloured shirt or T Shirt to protect their clothes in the fun run and a plastic bag to put it in afterwards. Friday is casual dress, send them in something old and comfy as despite our best efforts it may come home a different colour than it started!
Parents are very welcome to come and join us on Friday and join in all the fun!
Open Day - Wednesday May 3rd
On Wednesday May 3rd, we are holding the second of our Open Days for families with preschool aged children looking to enrol in Foundation in 2024. This is running from 4.45-5.45 and provides a great opportunity for prospective parents to look around our beautiful school, particularly our vibrant junior classrooms and to gather information about St. Mary's. If you know of anyone considering St Mary’s as their school of choice for 2024, please encourage them to ring the office and register to attend or register via the following link https://smswanhill.catholic.edu.au/book-a-tour/
Flying Bookworm Performance
A favourite incursion for the junior children, The Flying Bookworm are back this Thursday with performances at 10am (Foundation) and again at 11.30am (Year 1). The Flying Bookworm company requires a lot of participation from the audience so with everything from The Three Little Red Hen to Jack and the Beanstalk on the program, we are in for some fun as they recruit both staff and students to help out!
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.
Mothers & Special Friends Morning Tea - Monday May 8th
On Monday, all Mums and special friends are invited to school between 10.30am-11:30pm to visit their child's classroom, receive a special treat for morning tea and then have the opportunity to share recess with their loved ones. We hope lots of you can join us at that time to celebrate and acknowledge how special you are to your families!
Casual Dress Day - Friday 29th April
Thank you for supporting our Little free Library initiative. We raised over $400 and have a collection of beautiful preloved books donated to use in the library. We are currently working with local organisations to construct the library and hope to have it ready for installation before the end of the term.
School Uniform
The beginning of Term 2 is a transition period from Summer to Winter uniform. At the moment, students can wear either Summer or Winter uniforms based on the weather for that day. Further notice will be given in the newsletter when the full transition to Winter uniform is required. Hats or beanies are both acceptable as we transition into Winter uniforms. To avoid a phone call home or a uniform notice, please ensure your child is only wearing their sports uniform on the day they have PE with Miss Clarke or their level sports day.Thank you for your support in ensuring your child is in the correct uniform each day.
MacKillop College Transition Day 1
All St Mary’s Year 6 students are invited to attend the first Transition Day on Thursday, May 11th. Details about the St Mary Mackillop College transition program have been sent to all Year 6 families via PAM.
Enjoy this beautiful Autumn weather and hope to see many of you at The Great Race throughout the week.
Kate
"Never See a Need Without Doing Something About It"
Mary MacKillop - Sisters of St Joseph Foundress
Key Dates
Monday May 1st - Friday May 5th
Great Race Week - wear your PE unform all week!
Wednesday May 3rd
Open Day - tours at 4.45pm
Thursday May 4th
Flying Bookworm Performance
Year 5 Level Liturgy - 9.15am
Friday May 5th
Colour Run 12pm-1pm
Monday May 8th
Mother's Day Morning Tea
Tuesday May 9th
Senior Cross Country
Wednesday May 10th
GRIP Leadership Conference
Thursday May 11th
MacKillop College Transition Day
Friday May 12th
Year 2 Camp
Assembly 12.25pm - 6R
Wellbeing with Mr Prockter
What is Burnout?
At times, it's natural to feel overwhelmed and to doubt our ability to be resilient. However, when normal feeling or doubt and tiredness become chronic, a condition known as burnout can result. Burnout is when our work becomes the leading driver of overwhelm in our lives. It is often characterized by feelings of complete exhaustion, poor concentration, unusual physical alignments, and a sense of withdrawal from others or the work itself. Burnout often arises when we experience our workloads as unmanageable, we feel lack of control, or when we lose sight of the meaning and purpose in projects and daily responsibilities (AKA-KIDS!)
It’s difficult to find the balance of work, kids and social layers for everyone, some are better at it than others. The key is to find what is best for you and your family to prevent ‘burnouts’ occurring.
Have a great week :)
Mr Prockter
RE with Mrs Davies
Sacraments - Eucharist Enrolment Sessions
Over the weekend it was lovely to see a large number of our Year 4 children and their families preparing to celebrate their First Holy Communion (Eucharist) over the coming weeks. Enrolment sessions were held over the Saturday and Sunday Masses. There are two more Enrolment Sessions coming up this week - Tuesday 2nd and Thursday 4th May at 5.30pm. Please make contact with Fr James at the Parish if you are unable to attend these sessions or if you have any further queries.
PE with Miss Clark
State Swimming
Congratulations to the 4 students that represented St Mary’s on Friday the 28th of April at the State Swimming Championships held in Melbourne. Well done to Bohden B who came 9th in his individual Breaststroke event and Molly D, Indigo P, Noa Bella W and Bohden B who came 7th in the Medley team. Thank you to the families for taking the children to Melbourne for the competition. The school is very proud of your achievements!
The Great Race and Colour Run
The much anticipated Great Race begins this week from Monday May 1st- Thursday May 4th. Both staff and students are encouraged to participate at lunchtime by running or walking laps of our school oval to gain points for their house. Students can wear their sports uniform for the week. We will then celebrate the conclusion of the Great Race on Friday May 6th from 12-1pm by having a COLOUR RUN. This is a chance for the students to have some fun with their classmates and be proud of their efforts during the week.
Senior Cross Country
The Senior Cross Country will be held on Tuesday the 9th of May for the Year 3 – 6 students at Riverside Park. The top students for their age group qualify to represent the school at the Division Cross Country on 17th May. The 9 and 10 year olds will run 2km and the 11, 12 and 13 year olds will run 3km. The first race will be starting at 11:30am. Information regarding this event has been sent home via PAM. Family and friends are invited to come down and support the children.
The following is approximate times of each event;
10 year girls and boys starting at 11.30am (2km run)
8/9 year girls and boys starting at 11.50am (2km run)
11 year girls and boys starting at 12.10pm (3km run)
12/13 year girls and boys starting at 12.30pm (3km run)
PMP
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 small group station activities. This program will start this term in week 5 and will run for 4 weeks during their PE lesson time.
This program requires parental assistance to operate successfully. If there are any parents who can assist during the program, look out for information via sent home with your student if you would like to volunteer to help run station activities.
Sustainability with Mrs Ward
Sustainability tip of the Week from Harrison G in 2D
Make sure you clean bottles and cans before you recycle!
@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
How do I give permission for my child to attend a school excursion/activity on PAM
You will receive an email notification advising you have a new “school activity permission” available to view. There will be a link to access this through PAM.
Click on this link, this will take you to PAM, log in and in the top right hand corner on the “bell” will be a red dot with a number inside. These are your notifications. Click to view school activity permission details. Consent is given by scrolling to the bottom of the school activity details. The red numbered dot will disappear once the school activity permission has been opened.
You can view past Excursions & School Activity Permissions by clicking on the student, profile menu, “School Activities”. You can also use these steps to give consent if the notification has disappeared.
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
We are after more parents/grandparents/special friends to help fill out canteen roster. All you need is your VIC WWCC.
Birthday Wishes
