Dear families,

Happy new year to you all.  I hope you have had a wonderful start to 2021. We are all looking forward to what will hopefully be a regular old school year this year!

Our first two days this week have centred around establishing student needs via various assessments. This is the first time St Mary’s has begun a school year in this way and we thank you for your patience as we tweak the processes around this. We felt it is important to maximise teacher time in the classroom at the start of the year.  This process will allow for teachers to need less time out of the classroom to complete assessments at a very crucial time of year for students.

Students will all commence the 2021 school year on Monday 1 February. 

With the easing of COVID restrictions, we are no longer required to stagger our dismissals, therefore, we will revert to having all students finish at the same time (3pm on Mondays and 3:20pm Tuesday-Friday). Parents will also be allowed to enter the school grounds before and after school. We will, however, continue our practice of having students enter the classrooms without their parents. We have found this practice most beneficial for students. It promotes independence and teachers all reported that students settled in so much faster into morning routines. That said, we will be making an exception for the first few days of school for students who may be anxious about coming back to school in  new classrooms with new teachers and new classmates. There will be many staff present on the yard at the start of the year, and we will be helping any children needing extra support during this new transition.

After our short assembly on Monday morning, a lovely morning tea will be served in the hall. This is a great opportunity for parents to catch up and also for our new parents to meet. We welcome everyone along. 

If you have any questions regarding the next few days, please feel free to contact the school.

Can’t wait to see you all very soon!

Sonia

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The February Action for Happiness calendar is ready to go! It's all about being friendly, which is something that we need lots of especially during difficult times. Let's focus on doing our best to be a good friend to all. An act of kindness and connection ripples out and impacts on so many more people than we realise, and it also boosts our own happy hormones! In times of stress people can react more quickly than they would normally, so let's show compassion and kindness and try to keep calm.

Please take a look...there may be some ideas that you can use with your family.

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As our summer school holidays come to a close, it's time for parents to start preparing yourself and your child for a smooth transition into the new school year.  It's hard to let go of the summer and all it brings in the way of relaxation of routines. But the time must come. In her recent blog post, Psychologist Therese Sheedy has some great tips for how you can make the return to school and return to routine a little less stressful.  Read more in her article Start the school year with less stress

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We are pleased to announce out staff for 2021. Prep HT: Carol Hicks & Rowena Talbot
Prep S: Kathleen Smith
Year 1/2B: Melanie Bubevich
Year 1/2G: Caitlyn Gallagher
Year 1/2N: Niamh (Neve) Bannon (New)
Year 3/4A: Randa Assaad
Year 3/4B: Nicole Barnes
Year 3/4S & Maths Leader: Lisa Said
Year 4/5L & Literacy Leader: Brenda Lycke
Year 5/6C: Tim Creak (New)
Year 5/6F: Tony Freeman (New)
Year 5/6KC: Olive Chodowski & Corina Kapusta
Education in Faith and Learning & Teaching Leader: Matt Taylor
Digital Technology Leader: Veronica Tucker
Visual Arts: Anthea Zimmerman
Performing Arts: Angela Hamilton
Physical Education: Alessandra Sottile (New)
Italian: Signor John
Release Teacher: Loretta Balfoort
Learning Support Officers: Maree Ryan, Nicole Singleton, Jane Sammut, Marg Jones, Milly Siebring, Frances Fazio, Stella Solarino and Adriana Everett (New)
Learning Diversity Leader: Cathy Sims
Intervention: Corina Kapusta
Deputy Principal And Wellbeing Leader: Marg Masseni
Principal: Sonia Riccardi

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