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Newsletter Term 1 Week 3

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Families,

Welcome to week three! There has been plenty to keep us busy at St Mary's since last Monday’s newsletter. We had a large crowd along this morning for the Year 6 Student Leaders badge presentation, lots of happy smiles on school photo day, a great turn out for our Opening School Mass and beautiful sunny day for the swimming trials on Thursday. The children really enjoyed the Backflips against Bullying workshop Friday and in classrooms, our 'Learning to Learn’ units have continued, providing the Foundation for teachers and children to establish their routines and expectations.

Backflips Against Bullying
On Friday Luca and Charlie from Backflips Against Bullying, flipped, jumped, and did tricks, all while teaching students a very valuable lesson – Bullying doesn’t make you tough!

The presenters role-played different scenarios which allowed the students to reflect about what is expected and what is unacceptable and showed the students some appropriate ways to deal with situations. They spoke about what it spread rumours, the downside of spending too much time on technology and strategies to stand up to someone who is being mean or bullying others.

There was such high energy in the gym as the hour-long incursions took place, and the students thoroughly enjoyed learning an important message in a fun and exciting way!

Please take a few minutes to ask about the show and discuss these important messages with your own children this week.

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday
All classes will be celebrating Shrove Tuesday by making and eating pancakes and will participate in activities related to the beginning of Lent. The Year 6 level will be leading the Ash Wednesday liturgy on Wednesday at 9:15. All families are very welcome to attend.

Whole School Assembly
We look forward to gathering in the Gymnasium at 12:25 for our first whole school assembly this Friday. 4I will be leading our assembly prayer and we will then celebrate the Students of the Week. Parents and families are very welcome to attend assembly and stay on for lunch with their children in the Passive Play area. Just a reminder that if you are on the school grounds over lunchtime you are required to sign in at the table set up outside the gym.

Foundation Superstars
Our Foundation students have settled into life beautifully at St Mary's and are enjoying learning many new things. They are learning many new skills and routines, including packing their own bag which was beautifully modelled by Eirene from Year 1.

PALS
Our Foundation and Year 6 students got together last week for another PAL session and had an absolute blast! Check out these special friendship moments.

Save the Date - Welcome Picnic
On Tuesday February 20th, we are holding our annual welcome picnic and chance for all families from the Foundation -Year 6 area to meet each other. Families are warmly invited to bring the picnic rug, a picnic tea and enjoy time at school from 5.30pm-7.00pm, mixing informally, having a look around our school and enjoying some music by Tony Haley in the passive play area.

Family Fee Assistance Scheme
In all Ballarat Diocesan Catholic Primary Schools, tuition fee discounts are available to families eligible for a means tested Centrelink or Veteran Affairs concession card. The scheme offers tuition fee discounts to both Catholic and non-Catholic families, to new and current students. If you are eligible for the above concession card and require further information regarding this scheme, please contact the school office for more information.

Camps Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)
Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. $125 per year is paid for eligible primary school students. Payments are made directly to the school and are tied to the student. More details are in the “News from the Office” section of the newsletter

Have a lovely week and hope to see many of you as you drop off or pick up from school,

Kate
"We have much for which to be thankful"
St Mary MacKillop 1875

Key Dates

Monday February 12th
Year 5 & Year 6 Personal Development Parent Meeting (Zoom)
Tuesday February 13th
Shrove Tuesday
Wednesday February 14th
Foundation Rest Day
Ash Wednesday Liturgy 9.10am
Friday February 16th
Assembly 12.25pm - 41
Monday February 19th
Division Swimming
Emergency Services visit to Foundation students
Tuesday February 20th
Welcome Picnic
Wednesday February 21st
Foundation Rest Day
Friday February 23rd
Assembly 12.25pm - 4J
Monday February 26th
Pupil Free Day

Wellbeing with Mr Prockter

Standard 3: Child and student empowerment – Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

The 7 Habits of Highly Happy People

Highly happy people all share happy habits. It’s as simple as that. The happiest people I know share 7 very obvious habits. If you’re looking to expand your general happiness you may consider adopting these habits in your own life.

1. Be a Part of Something You Believe In
This could be anything. People may take an active role in their local city council, find refuge in religious faith, join a social club supporting causes they believe in, or find passion in their careers. In each case the physiological outcome is the same. They engage themselves in something they strongly believe in. This engagement brings happiness and meaning into their lives.

2. Share Time with Friends and Family
A happy life is a life shared with friends and family. The stronger the personal relationships are and the higher the frequency of interaction, the happier a person will be.

3. Reflect on the Good
Quite often people concentrate too much of their attention on negative outcomes and leave no time to positively reflect on their successes. It’s natural for a person to want to correct undesirable circumstances and focus closely on doing so, but there must be a healthy balance in the allocation of personal awareness. It is important to mindfully reflect on the good while striving diligently to correct the bad. A continuous general awareness of your daily successes can have a noticeably positive affect on your overall emotional happiness.

4. Exploit the Resources You DO Have Access To
The average person is usually astonished when they see a physically handicap person show intense signs of emotional happiness. How could someone in such a restricted physical state be so happy? The answer rests in how they use the resources they do have. Stevie Wonder couldn’t see, so he exploited his sense of hearing into a passion for music, and he now has 25 Grammy Awards to prove it.

5. Create Happy Endings Whenever Possible
The power of endings is quite remarkable. The end of any experience has a profound impact on a person’s overall perception of the experience as a whole. Think about reading a fairly well written, thought provoking novel. Now imagine the ending totally sucks. Even if the story was captivating up until the ending, would you still be happy recommending the novel to a friend? People always remember the ending. If the ending is happy, the experience creates happiness. Always tie loose ends, leave things on a good note, and create happy endings in your life whenever possible.

6. Use Personal Strengths to Get Things Done
Everyone possesses unique personal strengths. We all have different talents and skill sets. Emotional happiness comes naturally to those who use their strengths to get things done. The state of completion always creates a sense of achievement. If this achievement is based exclusively on your own personal ability to get the job done, the physiological rewards are priceless.

7. Savor the Natural Joy of Simple Pleasures
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best things in life are free. They come in the form of simple pleasures and they appear right in front of you at various locations and arbitrary times. They are governed by Mother Nature and situational circumstance and captured by mindful awareness. It’s all about taking a moment to notice the orange and pink sunset reflecting off the pond water as you hold hands with someone you love. Noticing these moments and taking part in them regularly will bring unpredictable bursts of happiness into your life.

By Marc Chernoff 

Article from Marc & Angel Hacklife, 2008
www.marcandangel.com/2008/06/05/the-7-habits-of-highly-happy-people/

Have a good week everyone! :)
Mr Prockter

Curriculum with Mrs Hall

Supporting Reading At Home
At St. Mary’s we strongly value your partnership and support with home reading.

RE with Mrs Davies

Shrove Tuesday
On Tuesday 13th February we celebrate the much loved Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Day as most kids know it!)Shrove Tuesday is celebrated by Christians around the world. Traditionally it is seen as the last chance to eat rich foods before Lent, and a chance to use up all the luxury food items that may exist in one’s home which may go off during lent. As a result of this, Shrove Tuesday is associated with eating pancakes. Here at St Mary’s each classroom will be making and eating pancakes together.

If your child has any allergies to pancakes, please make contact with your child’s teacher to organise other arrangements.

Ash Wednesday
On Wednesday 14th February we celebrate our Liturgy with Father James for Ash Wednesday, which is the commencement of the Lenten Season (the six weeks in the lead up to Easter) and culminates in the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. Lent is about the preparation for Easter, which includes prayers, fasting and penance over forty days. It is a time for personal reflection as we struggle with our bad habits and find new opportunities to turn back to God.

Lent is a wonderful opportunity to spring clean our lives and start anew. Many of us will connect Lent with Project Compassion and donate money to help with projects around the world which impact greatly on the lives of others. We also connect Lent with giving up something we enjoy, like chocolate. Making sacrifices is also an important part of Lent, we are called to come from a place of selfishness towards caring about and appreciating others and hopefully our lives will take on a meaning that is more about others than ourselves.

Project Compassion boxes will be coming home this week as a part of the Lenten Program. If you have any spare coins laying around, you may wish to have your children place these in the Project Compassion box for Caritas Australia. You are also able to visit the Caritas website to see some of the stories behind the project. https://lent.caritas.org.au Thank you for your on-going support for the wellbeing of others. You make a difference!

All families are welcome to attend our Ash Wednesday Liturgy to be held in the outside assembly area beginning at 9.15am.

PE with Miss Clark

Swimming Trials
On Thursday 8th of Feb, 58 St Mary’s students participated in our school swim trials at the Swan Hill Outdoor Pool.
It was a great afternoon and all students involved should all be proud of their efforts. A huge thank you to the parents who volunteered their time to help with the running of the trials. Students who qualified will go to the Division Swimming held on Monday 20th of February.

Division Swimming
The Division Swimming competition is not too far away on Monday the 20th of Feb. Students that have qualified for this level will be notified and will compete against other local schools in our area. There are individual events as well as Freestyle relays and medleys. Parents and friends of students that have qualified are welcome to come and support them at the Swan Hill Outdoor pool. Goodluck to all St Mary’s swimmers!

@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

Book Fair
The Book Fair commences next week, Tuesday 20th February to Friday 23rd February. We will have a large range of books displayed, which the children will view during their library class time. The children make a “Wish List” which they bring home with an order form. If purchasing any books the order form must be sent back to the office no later than Monday March 4th.

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)
Applications for CSEF close on 28th June 2024

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 $150 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 2023, you do not need to complete an application form in 2024 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 2024 or you did not apply in 2023
* Changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2024.
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 2024 is $860.00. This amount is credited against your school fee account once your CSEF application has been validated.

Making 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. Please note that students can only travel on Country Buses that they are registered for.

*Log in to your PAM account.
*From the three line 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.

Book Club - Issue 1 orders close Thursday February 15th
Scholastic Book Club Issue 1 has been sent home. We will not be accepting cash payments for orders. Please order online following the instructions below. This is the link for LOOP, which will allow you to make an online order and payment;
https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx If you are not registered for LOOP, click on the link above and create a new account. You will need to enter your details, add children and select our school (typed as is here); St. Mary's SWAN HILL
If you have any questions or are having trouble with the LOOP ordering system, please contact the office via email office@smswanhill.catholic.edu.au

News from the Canteen

We are looking for volunteers to help in our school canteen during 2024. Volunteer hours at 11.30am - 1.30pm. If you have a Victorian WWCC and would like to assist, please contact the office on 50332541.

Orderding from the canteen:
Recess and lunch orders are placed online only via CDF Pay. The orders close at 9.30am each day, so it is recommended you place your order the night before. Our canteen is a very busy, so late orders will be offered limited options. Please contact the office if you need help with CDF Pay.

https://smswanhill.cdfpay.org.au