St. Mary's eNews

Term 4 Week 1


Principal's Message ~ 9th October

Dear families,

I trust you had a lovely holiday break, despite it probably not being as different to any other weeks, given the restrictions in place these days.  At least the kids got to take a break from online learning for a while.

It was such welcome news when the announcement was made that all Primary school children would return on the 12th. I’m sure most of you would have shared in this joy!

We prepared a video tribute to our amazing kids. We have shared it via seesaw and you can find it on our facebook page.


We have been working hard preparing for everyone’s return and I am so very excited to finally get to be in  a fully-functioning school once again. As was in place during Term 2’s return, the school has very strict guidelines around hygiene and sanitising.  Unlike last time, we have plenty of supplies!  Parents will, unfortunately, be unable to be onsite and I ask that the procedures sent out last week are adhered to for everyone’s safety.


I attended an online conference during the holidays and a speaker said it would be a great shame if 2021 looks like 2019. I have been thinking a lot about that statement.  This year has been so difficult for so many reasons, but as a result, there have also been some great things we have managed to achieve. Let’s not put these lessons to waste.  Let us take into 2021 what were always the greatest aspects of St Mary’s, but add to these some of the great things we have been able to achieve this year.

I invite you to fill out this form to share some of your ideas with me.


Onto other news, over the holidays, Cathy Sims, our Learning Diversity Leader was asked to sit on a panel discussion with Professor Pamela Snow, researcher and educational psychologist, for a Speech Pathology conference.  It is always great to see colleagues being acknowledged for their expertise and we are thrilled that Cathy has been recognised for her work.

Next there will be no canteen. Students should bring along their brain food, snacks and lunch and please don't forget drink bottles as our drinking taps are still not in use.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing all of your faces very soon.

Regards
Sonia



A message from the staff....

We are so proud of the effort eveyone has put in during the period of remote learning and we are definitely looking forward to having everyone back onsite next week.

See you soon!

  Here's a special message for you all....click here!

Learning Diversity: Dyslexia

In my previous article in e-News I wrote about the course that we were undertaking at St Mary’s on Dyslexia. From our course we discovered some of the difficulties that people with dyslexia have. These include:
  • Poor phonological awareness
  • Struggles with reading, spelling and writing
  • Poor working memory
  • Slow rapid naming speed

It is clear that Dyslexia is a lifelong condition but there are strategies and approaches that can be taken to support people with dyslexia.

You might be surprised to discover that some of the most successful people in the world have dyslexia..  Steve Jobs, Keira Knightley, Jamie Oliver, Richard Branson.


As part of our course, staff are now completing a case study targeting individual students by using some of the interventions recommended to help some of these issues.

You could try some of these things at home with your children. These strategies are great for children with all abilities:

AREAWHY IS IT IMPORTANT?WHAT INTERVENTIONS CAN YOU DO TO HELP YOUR CHILD?

PHONOLOGICAL  
AWARENESS

Good phonemic awareness skills are a good predictor of future success in reading.


It is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words, and the understanding that spoken words and syllables are made up of sequences of speech sounds.

Practise doing these things orally (no writing or letters)

  • Play rhyming games
  • Break words into syllables e.g pa/per
  • Count the number of words in a sentence
  • Identify the sound (not letter) at the beginning of the word, end of the word
  • Play guess what word I am saying by using sounds only e.g. b-a-t    f-r-o-g
WORKING MEMORY

Working memory is our ability to recall and use the information stored.

We need to be able to transfer our knowledge to our long term memory.

  • Create mnemonics to help remember the spelling of tricky words e.g. piece of pie
  • Provide a checklist which includes the steps in order to complete a task e.g 
    • Have breakfast
    • Clean teeth
    • Get dressed
    • Pack school bag
    • Get in the car
  • Provide information in a small chunks
  • If reading a book relate the new information to an experience or something they may already know e.g a book about storms- remind them about a time we experienced a storm (thunder, flashing lightning, howling wind etc) Use vocab used in the book

 

Cathy Sims
Learning Diversity Leader

 



Book Week 2020 

Book Week is from the 19th - 23rd October.

The theme for this year is Curious Creatures, Wild Minds!

To celebrate Book Week:

 We will be having a Dress Up day on Thursday. You can come dressed as a book character or a footy player in  preparation for the Grand Final on Saturday. 

 

Due to Covid restrictions we will only be able to parade in class levels and unfortunately parents will be unable to attend.

Students will be involved in class activities that will explore the many books nominated for awards during Book Week.

Virtual performance will be shown at school for all students. This has come out of the excursion budget and is $3 per child. Please see below for an outline of the show!

THE GREATEST DISCOVERY…(Virtual Show)

What’s in the box?  That’s the question on everybody’s lips when students bring to school something they’ve uncovered that has been put in a storage box – in a cupboard, in the shed, at the back of an old second hand store… 

Both Claire and Jonno believe they have found something that is sure to be the winner of ‘Greatest Discovery’ on the day.  Is it Jonno whose imagination has run wild or Claire, who has an incredible story to tell, who will win the day?  Get ready to cheer, sing, dance and get involved as these two lovable characters go head to head and everyone rushes along with them towards the moment we hear the announcement of who has made The Greatest Discovery!

  



BEBRAS - Computational Thinking Challenge

During a week in September, 19 year 5/6 students took up the challenge to compete in the Nationwide Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge.
Three of our students have achieved a High Distinction for the challenge.
Congratulations to Dhriti Amin, Aidan Krishna and Lachlan Moore!


We also had Daniel Ciavarella awarded with a Distinction in the Challenge. Congratulations Daniel.


Congratulations to the other children who competed in the challenge: Lila Boyd, Trinity Edwards, Jordan Fenton, Aidan Long, Charlotte Le-Faucheur, Jamison Lehrer, Sam Pelns, Maggie London, Jade McGill, Finian Mercer, Alison Misquitta, Gabby Luppino, Ruby Ramsay, Zara Reis and Keely Williams. 

 



Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop

On Saturday 17th October, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of St. Mary MacKillop’s canonisation.  Even though our school isn’t governed by the Sisters of St. Joseph anymore, we still hold St.Mary of the Cross MacKillop very dear to us.  


Her statue greets you as you enter the foyer and she looks over each classroom from their prayer tables. Importantly we uphold her values and ethos in our mission statement which reads “….. In the spirit of St Mary MacKillop".

One of Mary’s famous sayings “Never see a need without doing something about it” shows how she lived her life and encouraged everyone to do the same.  She treated everyone with compassion and friendship without bias of their standing in the community.

“Walking amidst life’s difficulties, she had the capacity to lift people's spirit as she encouraged them to find meaning and purpose in their lives.” (Sr.Monica Cavanagh rsj)

Her 10 key values that live on today are joy, empowering love, trust, confidence, strength, leadership, compassion, patience, faithfulness and hope.

We ask God’s blessings on Sr Marea and Sr Clare (our two Altona resident sisters) and all the Josephite Sisters on this special occasion.

    



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 Orders

A reminder that the uniform shop will not be open for onsite visits. Orders will be filled each week, but this will be happening around the work schedules of our Uniform shop volunteers. Once orders have been completed you will receive a call telling you when it can be picked up from the office.

 

Order forms can be downloaded from the school website (News/Notes & Forms) and are also accessible via the school Updat-ed app.

Please ensure payment that is made when emailing the order through.

We understand that children will have grown during their time at home and uniform may not fit as well as it did earlier in the year and also that uniform may be hard to come by.  At this stage, we will not be heavily enforcing the wearing of correct school uniform.  

In line with usual practice, if you are unable to get an item of uniform for your child in the coming weeks, please simply send an email or note to your child’s class teacher explaining the situation. 



WOW

Marvellous 

Adjective  - If something is marvellous, it is extraordinary, amazing and causes great wonder. 
Synonyms
: amazing, astounding, breathtaking. 
Using the word:
He did a marvellous job in the school concert and we were really proud of him. These marvellous toys are really fun to play with.

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. 



Nude Food

In an effort to reduce rubbish at school and maintain our good hygiene practices, our Nude Food initiative will remain in place. 

Families are encouraged to send food to school in re-useable containers and students are required to take home any wrappings that they bring to school. Fruit peelings may be put into classroom general rubbish bins. 

Students are asked to eat food they purchase from the tuck shop on the grass steps outside the hall.  All children should be seated when eating.  Can you please reinforce this rule with your children.

Although students are given ample time to eat their food in the classroom, and are encouraged to eat what is given to them, there may be times when children are just not hungry and are unable to finish their food.

Please do not put pressure on your child / children to eat everything in their lunchbox every day. What we are finding is that some children are hiding food in corridors and around classrooms so that they don't have to take it home for fear of getting into trouble. As you will appreciate, neither of these scenarios are ideal.

We thank families for their support of this new way of working at St Mary's.