St. Mary's eNews

Term 2 Week 7


Principal's Message ~ 29th May 2020

Dear families,

It has been such a lovely week at St Mary’s.  Hearing the children’s chatter and laughter, and watching them engage in their learning and play with their friends, has reminded us all how much we have missed them over the past 6 weeks. 

I’m sure you must all be very proud of your children in the way they have handled returning to school.  It is terrific to see how confident they are in saying goodbye to mum or dad at the gate and happily heading off to join their teacher and classmates.  Congratulations to all of you too!  I know that some parents are still a bit anxious about sending their children to school but understand that it is what is best for them.  


We have been really pleased with how relatively smoothly dropoff and pickup has worked.  Despite a couple of hiccups on the first day, it seems that the designated exit gates are working well for families.  We really appreciate the way in which parents have followed the guidelines and are farewelling their children at the gates and then maintaining appropriate social distancing at pickup time.  Your actions also provide excellent modelling for the children.  Hopefully, things will continue to work as well when the whole school returns on June 9th. 


I’m certain that students in Prep and Years 1/2 would have spoken about the special visitor they had yesterday.  Sonia Riccardi came to St Mary’s for the day and spent time in each of the Junior classes.  She was certainly impressed with how the children were actively involved in their learning, the way they spoke with each other and their teachers, their independence and the range of learning activities provided. Sonia will be spending another day at St Mary’s when the Middle and Senior students return to visit them and see their classrooms in action.


Sonia has also met with all members of staff and attended a Leadership Team meeting, so certainly has a good understanding of the direction of the school and its priorities.  I know that she is really looking forward to being able to get to know everyone in the school community.  Connection with families is something she is very passionate about.  


My thanks to all those families who have already paid their school fees or are being so diligent in making their regular fee payments.  As I know you would understand, it is really important that families are contributing financially to the school so that we are able to meet our ongoing operating costs and provide appropriate educational programs and resources for all children.  If you have any overdue amounts we ask that you make payment as soon as possible.  Families who requested a deferment of their fees over this term will be contacted early next term to determine how fees will be paid.  We will be contacting families who have outstanding amounts carried over from last year to come in for a meeting with Father Michael and myself to organise an appropriate payment plan. 


As mentioned previously, all students will be returning to school on Tuesday, 9th June.  Our current arrangements regarding student dropoff between 8.30 am and 8.45 am will remain in place as arrival times tend to be staggered anyway. Students will be able to enter from McBain St, Sargood St or through the Church gate.  We request that students are onsite prior to 8.45 am as the gates are being manned by staff who will need to lock them.  If your child arrives at school after 8.45 am they will need to enter via the front door.   


Pickup times will be slightly more staggered than they currently are once all students return to ensure that not too many parents need to gather at one time.  


Arrangements for the children’s dismissal from June 9th will be as follows:

Prep L and Prep D:  Prep students and their siblings will be dismissed at 2.40 pm on Mondays and 3.00 pm Tuesday - Friday.  Prep L will continue to exit from the Church gate and Prep D from the Sargood St gate. 

Years 1/2:  Year 1/2 students and their siblings will be dismissed at 2.50 pm on Mondays and 3.10 pm Tuesday - Friday.  1/2B will continue to exit from the Church gate and 1/2S and 1/2G from the Sargood St gate. 

Years 3/4 & 5/6:  The remaining Year 3/4 and 5/6 students will be dismissed at 3.00 pm on Mondays and 3.20 pm Tuesday - Friday.  Students will be able to exit the school from whichever gate they would normally use, including the McBain St gate.  


To avoid congestion we request that parents do not come earlier than the child’s dismissal time.  This will mean there will be adequate space for parents in the pickup areas.  Whilst the weather is being so kind to us, perhaps consider walking or parking a few blocks away from school. The stroll home provides a great time for conversation about your child’s day at school.


I hope all families have a lovely weekend and I am certainly looking forward to all students being back onsite with us in the coming weeks.


Take care,

Kerin Thorneloe

Acting Principal



Education in Faith: RE in remote learning

Already this term in Religious Education so far, we have celebrated Grandparents Day linked to the Feast of Sts Anne and Joachim. The Prep & Yr 1/2 children spent time exploring how special these people are to them. Here are some examples of some of the work submitted by our Year 1/2 classes.

   

In the middle school, the Year 3/4 students have been exploring how important signs and symbols are as an expression of our Faith. Miss Barnes has provided them with some great activities linking art to Scripture and presenting a detailed Loom video so that all students saw a friendly face during remote learning.

   

Many of the classes have also been learning about St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, in the lead up to her Feast Day next weekend. The Preps did some wonderful work learning about Mary’s family and the Year 5/6 students went further to create a multigenerational family tree for Mary. Our senior students have also collected a wide array of information about the key dates and events in Mary’s life and used these to create timelines.

     

 

We are so very proud of all the work our teachers do to maintain our Faith links during this difficult time. We are also extremely appreciative of all the efforts of our students and families in sharing back many examples of the great work and beautiful experiences they have had as a part of their Education in Faith this term.

Yours in Faith

 

Matthew Taylor

Religious Education Leader



COMMUNITY NEWS

Click on the links to access a range of information & activities across our community, including news & information from the parish and local secondary schools as well as, this week, information about Creative Music and Workshops for parents re teens.
NEW this week...
Church Bulletin 21st October
Emmanuel College Update 21st October
Hobsons Bay Children's Week
Creative Music - Sign up for Term 4

Tuning in to Teens is heading into its Term 4 sessions so we’re getting the word out to parents who may want to join in. This 7-week program is designed to support parents in raising emotionally intelligent teens to improve relationships, communication skills and overall wellbeing.

Two Tuning in to Teens courses will be running in term 4:

  • Wednesday 6 to 8pm from 14th October to 25th November.
  • Wednesday 6.30 to 8.30pm from 28th October to 9th December.

Registrations essential. Learn more over on our webpagewww.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/teens

 
Archive...
Emmanuel College Update - 16th October
Camp Australia
Joseph's Corner newsletter
Camp Australia

UNIFORM SHOP - WINTER UNIFORM ORDERS

While the uniform shop will remain closed at this stage, orders can still be placed.
They can be emailed with payment details to Patrice at stmarysaltonauniforms@gmail.com or left at the school office.
 Patrice will contact you when orders are ready for pick up. 
Order forms have been updated. 

Uniform Order Form - Boys
Uniform Order Form - Girls

Our uniform is basically unisex. The only difference in order forms is that the girls form included the school dress (summer) and tunic (winter) on the girls order form.

Click here to access our Uniform Policy. Reading this should give you a clear picture of what our uniform looks like and how the children can wear it.


USUAL Opening times for 2020: (TBC once school resumes)
Tuesday 8.30am – 9.00am
Thursday 2.30pm to 3.00pm
Orders via email (found on uniform order form) can still be placed at any time.
Please remember the Uniform Shop is Cash or Direct Debit ONLY

PLEASE LABEL ALL CLOTHING CLEARLY ESPECIALLY ITEMS THAT MAY BE REMOVED e.g. hats and jumpers.