Dear families,

This week, I ask you to keep in your prayers Fr Michael and his family, whose mother passed away last Sunday. The funeral will be held on Monday at St Mary’s Williamstown at 11am.

This Monday we celebrate our Feast of St Mary Help of Christians. We will gather in the church in the morning from 9:15 for a liturgy, followed by an ice cream van and concert for the children. Parents are welcome to come and join us for prayer, but must sign in to the church’s  QR code system.

I mentioned in last week’s message that I am currently considering options for outsourcing our Uniform Shop. I am so grateful for the parents who have run the Uniform Shop onsite for many years, most recently, Patrice and Katrina. As you can understand, family life is getting more and more busy and complex and it is getting  increasingly difficult to find parents who can devote the time required to run the shop onsite. I would be interested to hear from any parents who have experience or knowledge of any uniform providers that we may be able to consider. If you can provide any information around suppliers or suggestions, please do so here.  If you are able to volunteer some time into operating the Uniform shop, please let me know via the same form. Once we engage with a particular provider, I am hoping to obtain input around our existing uniform to determine if it is time to review our uniform items, materials, options etc. 

As was announced at assembly, Junior students (Prep - 2) must be actively supervised on the playground by a parent/guardian in both the morning and afternoon. Please also communicate with your child that they are not to go onto the playground unless you or a carer are there actively supervising. We will continue to monitor this decision to ensure the safety of the children.

Enjoy your weekend,

Sonia

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Hi I am Katrina Chavarria

I started working at St Mary’s in 2019 as your Bursar, previously I was the Office Manager at Robina Scott Kindergarten for 7 years.    So very happy to have moved onto a wonderful welcoming school community.

I grew up in Turners Beach on the North West Coast of Tasmania and moved over when I was 26.

My family consists of Cisco, Kyle (19) and Keely (15) plus Tobey our Kelpie cross.

I love to socialise with friends & family, love to have a chat (I think most of you who have gotten to know me know this) plus you will always get a smile...

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Congratulations to our Principals Award's winners for Week Five, Term Two.  They are:-

PREP HT:

Evie Carter for trying her hardest with her writing and creating beautiful art work.

YEAR 1/2B:

Owen Collinson for being a kind student by always using fantastic manners.

YEAR 1/2G:

Iris Callegria for approaching all tasks with a positive attitude and smile. 

YEAR 1/2N:

Mila Zuvela for her hard work during Writing, Reading and Maths.

YEAR 3/4A:

Ashton Ramsay for having a positive attitude and displaying consistent effort during NAPLAN.

YEAR 3/4S:

Chloe Matina  for always being a happy and kind member of our class.

YEAR 4/5L:

Grace Tucker for her excellent use of vocabulary in her snapshot recount writing. 

YEAR 5/6C:

Xavier Rietveld for your effort and excellent attitude to your work.

YEAR 5/6F:

Mia Jesaulenko for writing an expressive snapshot about camp.

YEAR 5/6KC:

Thomas Hicks for his excellent responsible attitude to all his learning.

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Families from St Mary's are invited to attend the Western United FC v Melbourne Victory game on Friday 28^th May and AAMI Park, Melbourne at 7:10pm. 

Thanks to Ben from Melbourne United who has extended this invitation to us.

Get behind Western United.
Simply click this link and enter the password Schoolsout to access your FREE tickets.

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Click on the links below to find out more about news from around our community.
Church Bulletin 23rd May 
Emmanuel College News: 21st May

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Over the months of May and June our Year 3 and 4 students are celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Sacrament of Reconciliation, formally known as the Sacrament of Penance, is a sacrament of Healing and is traditionally offered in Year 3 in preparation for First Holy Communion in Year 4. In preparation for this Sacrament, we have worked with the students to understand that Reconciliation is characterised by four stages:

Admit: When you tell someone what you did.

Say sorry: Let them know that you felt badly about it.

Be forgiven: When you feel that the person is now all right.

Make up: When you know everything is all right between you.

This links beautifully with our policy of Relational Practices here at St Mary's where we, when necessary, resolve conflict by acknowledging when our behaviour causes a breakdown in relationships, seeking to understand how all in the situation were/are affected and agreeing on a course of action to resolve the conflict and restore the relationship.

Once the students have celebrated their Sacrament either on a Saturday morning or evening following one of our parish masses, we will distribute certificates to acknowledge this important moment at our next school assembly.

We are very grateful to Fr. Michael for making the time to meet with each student individually and providing a familiar face and lending a caring ear in what can be a big moment in the lives of our children.

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On Monday 24th May we will celebrate our school and parish feast day.

  We will begin the day with a liturgy at 9.15am in the church which family members are welcome to attend.  After recess the children will be entertained by David Enever.
David composes Christian music and is also a Grade 6 teacher! 

You can read his bio at https://davidenever.com/bio   

In preparation for the concert, he has requested that the students are familiar with his music. So, you might want to make the time as a family to check out his music.  https://davidenever.com/lyric-videos 
He has recommended focusing on the top three videos particularly: Be the Light, Let Your Hearts Take Comfort and Come Join the Dance.

The children will receive an ice cream on the day as a special treat.

We will also still have our usual afternoon assembly from 2.20pm in the hall. This assembly will be hosted by 1/2N.

Family members are welcome to attend.

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On Tuesday Year 3 & 4 students had a visit from WILD ACTION. We enjoyed meeting our visitors and learning about them and how we can help to save some of these endangered species.  It was amazing to touch and hold them and I’m sure they loved us as much as we loved them.

     

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St Mary’s, like other Victorian Catholic schools, receives additional funding from the government for students’ who require additional support so they can participate in schooling in a similar way to their peers.

 

This funding is obtained through the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on students with a disability.

Please read this article which gives more details about the NCCD.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

 

Cathy Sims

Learning Diversity Leader

csims@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

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How can we find a greater sense of purpose and meaning? Being part of something bigger than ourselves - and focusing on the things we value - is vital for our wellbeing.   So let's take time to reflect on what we care about this month and prioritise the things that matter.
Start the month by making a list of what matters most to you and why.  

Click here to download a copy of the Action for Happiness: Meaningful May calendar.
You can also get reminders about how you can make your life more meaningful by downloading the Action for Happiness App.

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