Newsletter Term 2 Week 9

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Families,

There were plenty of dogs and dinosaurs drawn last week when Andrew Plant came to visit. A very entertaining speaker, Andrew ran a very engaging workshop on sharpening writing skills, as well as providing some excellent drawing tips. We look forward to seeing Andrew's writing pointers  transferred into our students' writing this week.

With only a nine week term, the time has flown and it is hard to believe we are now halfway through the school year. This week you will receive your child’s mid-year reports in the mail. They have been a real pleasure to read and I wish to acknowledge the efforts of our wonderful teaching team who put in so much effort writing detailed and descriptive reports about the students in their care. I am sure you will enjoy taking some time to reflect on and to acknowledge the great things your children have achieved this semester. This week we say goodbye to River Morris who is transferring to St  Mary’s Robinvale and to Ben and Bond Ho who are moving to Brisbane over the holidays. We will miss River, Ben and Bond and wish them all the very best in their new schools.

In some lovely staff news, we are excited to hear about the safe arrival of Sam, first baby for LSO  Jess Taylor and her partner Koby and congratulate Sarah, Marcus and big sisters Sadie and Reevie who recently welcomed Ardy into the Skinner family. 

Organisational Change
As shared with families earlier this term, as part of the new industrial agreement to improve staff workloads, teachers in both the government and Catholic sectors across Victoria have moved to a 38 hour working week . To meet this requirement the following organisational changes will come into place at the start of Term 3.

• A key change for families across our local area is the change to all country and town bus runs in the morning to ensure that students are not dropped to school before 8.30 (official start time). Local schools have been working with the bus operators and Lynda McKerrow (bus coordinator) this term, to ensure we can provide families with accurate morning pick up times for each stop. These new pick up times will start across the district from Day 1, Term 3 with a  detailed letter outlining new times and how this will work emailed to all families early this week. 
• For students who walk, ride or travel to school by car our school gates will open in the morning from 8.30am when the first buses arrive.
• Our teachers now have preserved class preparation time before school with classrooms opening at 8.40 (previously 8.30) for students and for any parents who may wish to call in before the start of the school day.
• Please note that from the start of Term 3, there will be no teacher on bus or yard duty before 8.30am and students should not be dropped at school prior to this time unless they are accessing before school care at our OSHC program. 
• The OSHC program is open from 7.00 am daily and government subsidies make this a very affordable childcare option. More information about this service is available from our school office.

These changes will take some getting used to for all of us, but schools are required to implement the new industrial agreement and we will keep communication lines open for any questions and support families to work through any potential issues our new start of day times may present.

Flying Start and 2024 Enrolments
With our ads on the radio and flyers on Facebook and in the local newspaper, we have had considerable interest in Flying Start and in families wishing to enrol in Foundation in 2024 which has been terrific. We know our parent community is one of our best  forms of advertising so please let your friends and family know about the great teaching and learning programs and wonderful pastoral support that exists at St Mary's, when they are considering 2024 school options for their children.

 Flying Start runs in Term 3 on Thursday and  Friday mornings from (1) 9:00 to 10:30 and (2) 11:30 – 1:00 for all interested families. Ring the office for more information and don't forget to watch our series of videos that showcase our school in action on the St Mary’s Facebook page.

Harry Potter
They know the story and have written a response about the movie…now it's time to see  their favourite characters come to life on stage! Excitement is high as our Year 6 students and staff prepare for their trip to Melbourne on Wednesday to witness the magic of JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which is running at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre.

St Vinnies Winter Appeal
Lots of donations of non-perishable food items have started to stockpile in classrooms with families being very generous in their support of the St Vinnies Winter Appeal. Items can be sent through all week with hamper bags being organised and distributed to those in need in our community on Friday. As a finale to the appeal, we are holding our ‘Winter Pyjamas’ casual dress day on Friday 23rd June (last day of term). Due to all the fantastic items already donated, we will not be having a gold coin donation for this day.

Early finish for last day of Term
A reminder that school finishes one hour earlier than normal for the last day of Term this Friday. 
Bell times:
2.15 - Town Bus travellers and students walking or riding home
2.20 - Country Bus travellers
2.25 - Students being picked up by family or friends

I hope you all enjoy the last few days of term and have a great week and enjoy a safe and happy holiday with your children.

Kate

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

Key Dates

Monday June 19th
Year 5 & 6 Personal Development Parent Information Meeting
Wednesday June 21st
Year 6 Melbourne Excursion
Friday June 23rd
Casual Dress Day
Assembly 12.25pm - 5G
End of Term 2
Monday July 10th
Start of Term 3
Thursday July 13th
State Cross Country
Friday July 14th
Assembly 12.25pm - 1X
Wednesday July 19th
Pupil Free Day - Staff PD

Wellbeing with Mr Prockter

Sustainability with Mrs Ward

Autumn Leaves Holiday Artwork 
With an abundance of dry, fallen leaves around our local area, they make for great holiday artwork activity!

With holidays beginning next week, keep the kids engaged by going out on a walk around the neighbourhood to collect interesting leaves.

Simply place the leaves under a sheet of paper and use coloured pencils to create beautiful images of the leaves, including the veins and outline, by colouring over them.

PE with Miss Clark

Division Winter Sports
The weather was spot on for the Year 5 and 6 Division Winter sports on Friday the 16th of June. The day was a success for all of our students who represented St Mary’s and they should all be proud of their sportsmanship and efforts on the day. 

We had some great results across the sports that St Mary’s competed in: 

Football:
Winners in Division 1 Boys 

Netball:
Winners in Division 1 Girls team A
Winners in Division 2 Girls team F
Runners Up Division 2 Girls team C
Runners Up Division 2 Girls team D

Soccer:
Winners in Division 1 Boys team A
Winners Division 1 Girls
Runners Up Div 2 Girls

The winning teams for Division 1 Netball, Football and Soccer will progress through to the Regional level later in the term. Soccer and Netball is on Tuesday the 8th of August and Football is Thursday the 3rd of August. Many thanks to the Year 5/6 teachers and the St Mary MacKillop students for their support on the day.

@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

CSEF Applications 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.

School Beanies
With the weather cooling down, now is a great time to purchase a school beanie! Available on CDF Pay for $15.00.

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 need your help to fill the Term 3 roster!!!

Birthday Wishes

Student of the Week

Andrew Plant Incursion

Community News