Newsletter Term 2 Week 5
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Families,
This week is Catholic Education Week. We have a range of exciting activities organised to celebrate this special occasion on our school calendar. The Theme is, ‘Let the words you speak always be full of grace’ – Colossians 4:6. Grace is the gift of God’s presence in our lives. How we engage, speak and dialogue with others can bring God’s presence into being. Our finale for the week is our annual CESH (Catholic Education in Swan Hill) Mass which will be celebrated at MacKillop College on Friday 26 May at 12pm. Parents are warmly invited to attend.
SRC Casual Dress Day - this Wednesday
We usually have our casual dress day on the last Friday of the month but as we have the CESH Mass on that day, the SRC have moved the casual dress day to this Wednesday 24th May. The theme is wear red with all money raised going to support MS. To get into the spirit of things and support the Multiple Sclerosis Fundraiser, The May 50K designed to encourage people to clock up 50kms over the month, staff and students will be walking laps from 12.30pm-1 pm.
Junior Cross Country -Thursday 25th May
The St. Mary’s Junior Cross Country (Foundation to Year 2) will be held this Thursday, May 25th on the St. Mary’s School oval between 2.00pm and 3.00pm. Family and friends are very welcome to come along and cheer the kids on.
Please let the office know if you plan to take your child/ren at the end of the day, prior to the event.
Open Day
This Sunday 28th May is the next of our scheduled Open Days. These have been very successful with many new families taking the opportunity to look through our school, meet staff and ask questions about aspects of school life at St Mary’s andabout our preschool transition program we run in Term 3 - Flying Start.
2024 Enrolments
There is nothing like an endorsement from an existing family to promote our wonderful school. Please consider doing the following;
- Sharing our promotional video
- Promoting Flying Start
- Sharing information about our School in Action Tours and Open Days. All families will have received some flyers, please pass them on
- Directing people to our school website, Facebook & Instagram
- https://smswanhill.catholic.edu.au
- St Mary's Primary School Swan Hill
- https://instagram.com/stmarysswanhill
- Liking and sharing our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram
Help us to spread the word. Existing families are always very welcome to attend. New parents always appreciate hearing about the experience of those that are already a part of our school community.
Radio Awareness for Kids
This week our Year 5 students are working with John Broughton from Radio Awareness for Kids developing their own radio segments. We look forward to hearing these broadcasts over the PA later in the week.
School Facebook Page
Would you like to keep up to date with school events and see photos of our staff and students in action? Then make sure you follow our St. Mary’s Facebook page. Search for our school on Facebook or use the link below.
St Mary's Primary School Swan Hill
Kate
"Never See a Need Without Doing Something About It"
Mary MacKillop - Sisters of St Joseph Foundress
Key Dates
Tuesday May 23rd - Friday May 26th
School in Action Tours (9.30am-10.30am)
Wednesday May 24th & Thursday May 25th
Year 5 Radio Awareness for Kids incursion
Wednesday May 24th
Casual Dress Day
Thursday May 25th
Junior Cross Country
Swan Hill College Transition Day
(Information shas been sent to Year 6 families via PAM and hard copy. Spaces are limited to 50 students)
Friday May 26th
CESH Mass
Sunday May 28th
Open Day (Tours at 10am & 11am)
Monday May 29th - Wednesday May 31st
Year 4 Camp
Wednesday May 31st
Gen Bryant Concert
Friday June 2nd
Assembly 12.25pm - 1A
Wellbeing with Mr Prockter
In accordance with Child Safe Standard 9: Physical and online environments
We all can fall into the trap of technology. It is the way of the world…but we can control its impact on our children and us! We have to think about how phones can be best used and at what age do they actually need them? I found this quote by Adam Grant is really interesting. Adam is an organizational psychologist.
Curriculum with Mrs Hall
National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is an annual event that aims to engage children of all ages to enjoy books by creating a sense of excitement around reading. Now in its 23nd successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy. On this special day (Wednesday 24th May) students and teachers all read the same book. This year, we’re excited to be reading ‘The Speedy Sloth’ by Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie.
The Speedy Sloth
It was finally time for the event of the year, Spike couldn’t believe it—THE GREAT RACE was here! The other sloths said it couldn’t be done, but Spike didn’t care, she was ready to run!
From award-winning creators Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie, comes this inspiring story to celebrate all winners ... especially those who don’t come first.
PAT: Progressive Achievement Tests
“More than two-thirds of all Australian schools use PAT to improve learning outcomes for every student” Progressive Achievement Tests, commonly known as PATs, are one of the main sets of tests schools use. PATs are multiple-choice tests designed to help teachers determine achievement levels of students in Mathematics, Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary, and Listening Comprehension. During the month of May our Year 1-6 students complete PAT Reading, Maths, and Year 3-6 also complete the PAT Grammar and Punctuation test. These tests are completed online using Chromebooks and iPads. Data gathered will inform teachers of students’ current strengths and areas for improvement which can be used for planning teaching and learning, and monitoring progress over time with PAT testing also conducted again in October
Sunshine Online/Classic, Reading Eggs and Phonics Hero
At St. Mary’s we are very fortunate to have many subscriptions to support our students in the area of Literacy and Numeracy which are great engaging resources to utilize out of school hours. Sunshine Online which is a wonderful website containing hundreds of levelled texts. Children can log in and read along to stories and then complete associated interactive games and activities. Students enjoy using this website and it is a fun and motivational way to keep the “reading miles”.
Username : smswanhill Password : smswanhill
We also have a subscription to Sunshine Classics which is another digital literacy program with over 300 E- books and 1000 interactive language activities to enjoy
Username : murlong Password : murlong
Our Year 1 children have individualised log in codes for Reading Eggs. Designed by literacy experts, Reading Eggs makes learning essential literacy skills easy and fun for younger children. Foundations are supported by the Phonics Hero subscription with the focus on phonics, reading and spelling online interactive games.
Mathletics and Mathseeds
In the area of Mathematics, the Year 2-6 students have individualised logs in for Mathletics. Mathletics provides learners with the chance to put their mathematics skills to use through activities and challenges. Students have access to relevant content set by their teachers that will reinforce their learning and challenge them to go to the next level.
Year 1’s have access to Mathseeds. Mathseeds teaches kids aged 3-9 core maths and problem solving skills with fun online maths games and activities.
RE with Mrs Davies
CESH Mass - Friday May 26th
Our Catholic Education Week Celebrations for 2023 will be held on Friday, 26th May with a Mass at 12.00pm. This will be held in the St Mary Mackillop College Jubilee Centre. It is a highlight of the school year to come together as a Catholic Education community.
The theme for our Mass this year is “Let the Words you Speak always be full of Grace”.
Catholic Education in Swan Hill (CESH) is an initiative of St Mary’s Swan Hill and St Mary MacKillop College to demonstrate our commitment and excellence to Catholic Education.
After the Mass, the three school communities will be involved in a shared lunch together in the St Mary Mackillop College school grounds. There will be other options provided for children with dietary requirements. Please note that the children will not be able to have lunch orders on this day. Students will travel to and from St Mary Mackillop College by bus.
All family and friends are more than welcome to join our schools in celebrating Catholic Education in Swan Hill at our Mass.
PE with Miss Clark
Division Cross Country
On Tuesday 16th of May, the Division Cross Country was held down at Riverside Park. It was chilly but great conditions for the event. Congratulations to the following students who have qualified for Regional Cross Country; Wilhem F, Mattaeus C, Charles M, Archie O, Jax S, Tyler M, Oliver S, Leo K, Zavier F, Ryder W, Jack B, Lucas O, Mia H, Ivy P, Asha N, Indigo P, Lily N, Daisy M, Arie W, Charli W, Sienna C, Evie K and Prue O.
Regionals will be held in St Arnaud on the 6th of June. Well done to all of our students that competed and thank you to all the parents, family and friends who came down to show your support.
Junior Cross Country
The St. Mary’s Junior Cross Country (Foundation to Year 2) is this week on Thursday the 25th of May on the St. Mary’s School oval between 2:00pm and 3:00pm. All family and friends are welcome to attend to support their child/ren. All children are encouraged to participate with the aim of having fun and trying your best. The following are approximate times of the events;
2.10pm - Foundation Girls
2.15pm - Foundation Boys
2.20pm - Year 1 Girls
2.25pm - Year 1 Boys
2.30pm - Year 2 Girls
2.40pm - Year 2 Boys
@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
School Beanies
With the weather cooling down, now is a great time to purchase a school beanie! Available on CDF Pay for $15.00.
How to make your bus changes on PAM
We encourage you to make bus changes via your PAM account. This includes bus passes, not on bus, change of bus etc.
- Log in to your PAM account.
- From the hamburger menu in the top right hand corner, select “Transport Passes”.
- Ensure the date is correct, displayed above the student schedule table.
- Click on the “Edit” button of the child you wish to add/remove from a bus.
- “Select New Route” will allow you to add your child to a bus, add your child to a different bus or select “No transport needed” if your child is not to travel on the bus on that particular day.
Scheduled Transport - this is for children who are on a regular bus schedule. It is the bus that your child would usually catch on that day.
Actual Transport - the bus that your child is catching on that particular day eg. if a change has been made.
Bus changes via PAM must be made by 2.30pm. For last minute changes, contact the office on 50332541. You can action bus changes up to 7 days in advance. If your child requires a permanent schedule change, please contact the office. Need assistance? Please contact the office 50332541
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
