St Mary's eNews

Week 5 Term 1


Opening School Mass

Yesterday we celebrated our Opening School Mass. It was lovely to gather together and celebrate the Eucharist as a school. Our school leaders were awarded their badges at the conclusion of mass and took their leadership plegde. You can watch here.

Year 1/2 Camp Program

Thursday 4th March, 2021, is the Year 1/2 Camp (extended school day).

The afternoon will begin at 3:20pm with afternoon tea.

At 4:30pm Proactivity will be running a range of fun activities, including Giant Earth Ball Games, Tug of War and Frisbee Target Games.


 After the activities the children will enjoy pizzas from Numero Uno, yum! whilst watching a movie across the three 1/2 classrooms. The night will conclude at 7pm, with likely tired students and teachers.



Literacy: SMART Spelling

On Wednesday our new teachers (Tim Creak, Tony Freeman, Randa Asaad, Niamh Bannon) attended a SMART Spelling professional learning session to learn how to implement our spelling program.


At St Marys we have been using this program for several years. Created by Michelle Hutcheson, it is a systematic approach to spelling using letter and sound patterns. Students from years 1 to 6 choose their words each week, taking their practice sheet home to complete each night to consolidate their learning.
Brenda Lycke
Literacy Leader


Introducing....Lisa Said (Yr 3/4S & Maths Leader)

I have been very fortunate to have been working at St Mary’s for 20 years now. Yes, that is a long time, but when you work with beautiful people and teach amazing students, you want to stay. 

 

 I grew up in the north and I am happy to say that a lot of us here now come from the north. I count 7 staff members so far!

I am the youngest of 3 and have a brother and a sister who still look out for me even at my age! My 2 boys keep me very busy. Xavier is year 11 and Zachary in year 9. They are taller than me but that doesn’t take much! This leads me to my love of shoes and heels particularly. I wouldn’t say it’s a hobby of mine to buy shoes but they are definitely one of my favourite things. Plus chocolate. 

Things I love to do are listen to music, read a good book, when I get the time and swim. If there is water, I’m usually in it. 

I have been our Maths leader at St Mary's for a number of years.  What I like about being a lead teacher in the maths area is that I have learnt so much about how children learn maths. Teachers are, and should be, always learning. I’ve enjoyed exploring the many ways that maths can be taught and bringing these ideas back to our staff. I am also very lucky to work in a very supportive curriculum team who share a wonderful vision of where our school is heading and it’s nice to be part of that journey.



Book Fair 2021

Our 2021 Book Fair will take place on Monday 1st March - Wednesday 3rd March. Come on over to the hall from 3pm to 4pm each day and check out a great range of books. Every purchase you make earns learning and literacy resources for our school.

Walk/Ride to School Day ~ Monday 1st March

Our first Walk/Ride to School day will be held on Monday 1st March. Come along in an active way and earn house team points.  See the house captains on the netball court when you arrive and they will put your name on the house team chart. We are looking for the most active house team! Go red! Go green! Go blue! Go yellow!
Who will it be?

School Photos 2021

School photos will be taken on Wed 3rd March by Elite School Photography. 

 Students should wear their full school uniform. If they have Physical Ed, they should bring their runners to change into for their lesson.  House Captains should bring their coloured tshirt for their leaders photo.

    
All orders are to be competed online
, via the Elite School Photography website, PRIOR TO THE DAY.

 You can order your child's school photos using the login code ESP202515 and follow the easy steps to order.  Please ensure all relevant details are filled out correctly.

Family Discount - If you have more than two children attending this school, please list all their First Names and all their classes and select 2 as the quantity, for the Deluxe and Standard packs.
Your third and subsequent Child will receive their pack free of charge, but you must list all your children's names to enable this.
The family discount only applies to the Delxue and Standard Packs.

If you have any queries regarding School Photos, please contact the friendly staff at ESP directly on 9570 9311.

Community News ~ 26th February

Click on the links below to access news from around our community for this week........ Church Bulletin 28th February
Emmanuel College News 26th February

Kelly Sports Dance Program

Due to lack of bookings Kelly Sports Dance will not go ahead this term.  The program will be offered again in Term 2.  Flyers listing more information will be sent home towards the end of term.

Social & Emotional Learning Groups

In the coming weeks, Liv (Speech Pathologist) and Rishika (School Counsellor) will begin some small group sessions which will focus on Social Skills and Loss & Change.

If you feel your child would benefit from being part of these groups, please contact Cathy Sims or Marg Masseni.
Sessions will focus on:

Social skills 

  • Taking turns
  • Winning and loosing
  • Initating, mantaining and ending conversations appropirately
  • Saying excuse me/ interrupting / manners
  • Thinking about others
  • Flexible thinking
  • Eye contact
  • Asking for help/ requesting
  • Social cues
  • Context appropriate volume

Emotional awareness

  • What are they- what do they feel like, look like, sound like?
  • Recognising them in others and yourself
  • Problem solving and coping skills
Loss and Change
  • relationship changes
  • the death of a loved one
  • removal from family members
  • traumatic events at home or within the community
  • disability
  • family breakdown.