National Science Week is running from 15th - 23rd August. There are some great DIY Science activities that you could try as a family at home on the website. From Backyard Science to Backyard Astronomy and even some Coding.  Why don’t you check some out and have a go. Please email some pictures to Mrs Tucker (vtucker@smaltona.catholic.edu.au) to include in one of our upcoming online assemblies.

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Tomorrow marks the Feast of the Assumption in our Church calendar, a chance for Christians to celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary. It's a Holy Day of Obligation-a day when Christian denominations are obliged to attend a church service, so therefore, many attend mass specifically for this feast day.

Some communities usually celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary with festivals filled with music, dance, food and often culminating in a parade. In fact, in the Orthodox church, they start the event with a fourteen day fast before the big celebration on August 15.

As this year the Assumption falls on a Saturday and we cannot gather as we usually would, we at St Mary’s, prepared a digital liturgy and shared it with all levels of the school either in person for those that attended today or via Seesaw or one of our digital platforms for all others.

August is a crazy month not just in the Church with one feast day following another but also in Italy.  For Italians, it is often the best month of the year – a time for vacation, family, friends and the beach. But it is also the height of the tourist season, and hotel prices soar to 3 or even 4 times their usual rates while restaurants are reserved months in advance.

The reason for all this excitement centers around one particular day – August 15 or Ferragosto, when almost everyone in Italy takes a holiday. Second only to Christmas, Ferragosto is a day away from work, surrounded by food and loved ones. Besides the singular day, the week around Ferragosto is usually celebrated as well, with concerts, outdoor festivals and tons of food.

So as well as observing the Feast of the Assumption tomorrow we should surround ourselves with food and loved ones and wish Signor John and all of our Italian community "Buon Ferragosto".

 

Yours in Faith

Matthew Taylor

Religious Education Leader
 
           

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Lockdown is hard. It hurts our kids and it’s a drain on parents.

The first time was tricky. There were challenges. For some, it was horrible. But most of us managed ok and got through it.

This time it’s different. The pressure is higher. The demands are greater. The children are more oppositional.

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It’s intense and surreal (and sometimes claustrophobic). There are so many new expectations on parents at the moment. Many of us are working from home, managing our own stresses in a new environment with more or less technical difficulties.  How can we deal with all that is coming at us?
Dr. Justin Coulson writes a great article suggesting that we do less rather than more. 
Read more in his latest Happy Families blog post "It's okay to do less"

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

Registrations essential. Learn more over on our webpage: www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/teens

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

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Immediate - something that happens straight away, without delay.

 Adjective

 Synonyms: instant, instantaneous

I took immediate action by wiping the red cordial off the carpet before it stained.

We could see the bruise immediately.

What are WOWs?

WOWS, or Words of the Week, are words that will appear every week both in the newsletter and in the display cabinets around the Prep/1 building as a way to help the students at St Mary’s Primary School build their vocabulary.

What we know from research about the importance of a large vocabulary is as follows:

1. Having a large vocabulary helps children think and learn about the world around them.

 

2. Vocabulary implications for literacy, in particular comprehension of written word essential for being able to answer questions about and successfully predict things from text.

 

3. A child’s vocabulary growth is directly linked to his or her overall school achievement.

 

What can we do with the Word of the Week?

It is important to talk about the words of the week with your child. Initially, discuss what the word means and put it in a sentence. Use the word frequently throughout the week – at set times like in the car after school or at the dinner table but also incidentally throughout general conversation where appropriate. When the child has a solid understanding of the word, you can think about other ways to build upon this knowledge and further increase vocabulary by thinking about other words that mean the same thing (synonyms) and words that mean the opposite (antonyms) to the WOW. 

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