St. Mary's eNews
Term 4 Week 5
CyberSafety Project Partnership
Principal's Message: 4th November 2022
Dear families,
This last week has been a big week of firsts for me, both professionally and personally.
I have just come back from the athletics track. What a great time the children are having! The weather could not be more perfect.
It’s astounding that even after nearly two and a half years at St Mary’s, I am still experiencing so many firsts, as are our Year 2s!
Yesterday we ran our first GAGS (Get a Good Start) session for our incoming Preps. Another first for me (and them!)
Miss B and Mrs Sims led the children in some singing, dancing and storytelling. It was a lovely introduction for the children and parents to one another and to our school. It was wonderful to see everyone getting to know each other as the children explored the junior playground after our session in the library. It was also a little sobering for our existing Prep parents to watch on as they reminisced of being in their shoes not so long ago.
We are truly blessed to belong to such a beautiful community. One of the things that makes St Mary’s the special place that it is is the long-standing connection with families, across many generations.
I was sent this photo yesterday, shared with permission, of Sharon Jensen (now known as Sharon Kennedy) who started at St Mary’s in 1965. Sharon, all her siblings and her uncle attended St Mary’s and next year her grandson will join us! I'm sure there are many similar stories that exist within our community. Thanks for allowing us to share this, Sharon. If we hadn’t already selected our new uniform, I’d be voting for the return of the beret!
While I write of uniforms, we are weeks away from unveiling our new uniform. Noone’s will soon be dropping off dressed mannequins so we can get tour first peek. Sales are expected to start in December.
Remember that time is running out to purchase existing pieces from our uniform shop at half price.
Over the weekend, in a personal first for my family, my son, 14, attended his first high school party. I know there are countless among us who have endured this first, but there are also many of us who haven’t yet had to encounter this milestone.
There were many mixed feelings as my son has struggled over 2 years of lockdowns to make meaningful connections with his high school peers. We also had to struggle with the realisation that as parents, we need to let go and loosen our hold on our (6 ft) little one. Gone are the days when you organise playdates with people who are well-known to you. We drove him to a house that was unknown to us and left him with children and parents we have never met before.
It has really made me think about the journey our children take towards independence. This is not unlike our own philosophy as teachers. When we plan for learning, we create experiences and tasks that begin with greater teacher input, lots of scaffolding and many chances to learn and experience the task in different forms. As students have greater exposure, we let go a little, offer less support and encourage students to give things a go on their own. Our journey as parents is no different. We prepare our children for the world they are likely to encounter (but who really knows what it will hold for them) and send them off with apprehensive but joyful hearts.
I had a long chat with Ryan about what things will begin to look like for him as he ventures out of the loving cocoon we have created for him. We talked about our values as a family and about what’s important to us. We talked about how others he will encounter in his life may not share our values, but that his values should guide his decisions, and not those of others.
We talked about responsibility for his actions and that while he cannot be responsible for the decisions of others, he can certainly look out for his friends, as we hope they will for him.
Parenting and teaching is not an easy gig, and we don’t always get it right. We can just do our best to work together to help foster our shared values and contribute meaningfully (while we can) to the lives of our children.
I read once that it is our job as parents to make ourselves obsolete. I truly believe this to be accurate. I have spoken to many people about this, with mixed responses. I know many grapple with the concept. I like to explain it this way: We want our children to want us around when they’re old enough, but they shouldn’t need us. If they need us, have we really succeeded in our job as parents?
I also acknowledge, however, that things are not as clear-cut as this, and that there are families in which this scenario is not possible for many reasons, including some families with children who are neurodivergent and may require specialised care or those with physical disabilities.
Ultimately, though, I think we can all agree on the importance of letting our children do for themselves, the things of which they are capable.
Thanks for listening!
Enjoy the weekend and the beautiful weather that’s to come (finally!)
Sonia
Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage
St Mary’s School Disco – Save the date!
Got the moves?….Prove it, put your boogie shoes on and bop ‘til you drop!
Follow the call of the Disco ball…..
The school Disco will be held on:
Thursday 17 th November.
Prep- Grade 2: 5pm to 6.45pm
Grade 3-6: 7pm to 8.45pm
*Grade 3’s* have the option to attend either the 5pm or 7pm session
Tickets are $10 each and includes a glow stick.
Available for purchase at: www.trybooking.com/CDSDM
Extra glow sticks are available for purchase on the night.
Funds from the event will go towards funding the new Sensory Garden.
This event is proudly brought to you by the P&F (Parents and Friends Committee).
To help the event run smoothly we will be putting a call out for volunteers on Operoo.
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Wellbeing: Taking care of emotions
If you have concerns about your child in this area, please don't hesitate to contact Marg (Wellbeing Leader) or Cathy (Learning Diversity Leader - csims@smaltona.catholic.edu.au)
We hope you find the information useful.
Marg Masseni
Wellbeing Leader
mmasseni@smaltona.catholic.edu.au
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Maths at St Mary’s - Parent Evening
Tuesday 8th November 7pm An Information Evening on how we are implementing our strategic plan to improve student learning in Maths, how this informs our learning systems including reporting to parents, examples of what happens in the classroom and opportunity for parent questions.
Child supervision available.
Please reply in this form if you are intending to attend. Also, please indicate if you need child supervision.
Tony Freeman
Maths Leader
tfreeman@smaltona.catholic.edu.au
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Walkathon
Come and walk with us on Thursday 24th November and raise funds for the new Sensory Garden for the school. Of all monies raised via the Walkathon, some will be set aside as a cash donation to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, whose primary aim is to raise awareness of child safety, fundraise, and walk Daniel home.
The Walkathon will be held at the school between 11.30 –1.30 pm. The 400 meter course is set up around the school and the children walk for an hour- some of our students even opt to run the
course!! The younger years typically manage between 5-10 laps which fills them with tremendous pride.
Parents are welcome to join in and offer their children support to keep going. You don’t have to walk for the whole hour, just when you want.
All walkers will also receive Super Dooper Icy poles during the walkathon (max. 2) and a mini Chuppa Chup at the end.
Your child will receive a sponsorship booklet for them to obtain sponsors for their laps – this can be a set amount per lap or a flat donation. There is also a Prize Draw that will be held a few weeks after the Walkathon that children can enter – for every $20 raised, your child can enter a ticket to win.
Sponsorship booklets and Prize Draw tickets will be handed out in class on 11 November so please check their bags for these. If you don’t see these booklets come home or it goes missing, please just visit the office to get one.
We have some amazing prizes this year as part of the raffle we hold – we will begin announcing these prizes over the coming weeks, so keep a lookout.
We welcome all parents to attend as it is so great to see the whole school walking around the course – an impressive sight.
Thank you in anticipation of your support
The Parents & Friends Committee
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Introducing ~
The Parents and Friends Committee would like to introduce Jennifer Natale who has taken on the role of President.
Jennifer has one child at St Mary’s
Gianluca (5/6 L)
We had some get to know you questions for Jennifer and this was what she shared with us.
What keeps you busy (work, stay at home parent etc)?
Life is always a little hectic on our home front. We have a catering business and I have a passion for Mental Health which is my next business venture. Training Mental Health First Aid and reducing the stigma in our community. Of course there is soccer training, Karate lessons and focusing on my own health that keeps me ‘busy’ too.
What are the things you love to do?
There really is nothing I love more than laughing with my family and friends. We are extremely fortunate and very grateful that we get to do that again. There really isn’t too much that beats sitting around a table enjoying great food and telling stories with the people who mean the most to me in this world.
What’s your connection to Altona?
I grew up in Altona. I have been here since I was three and my dad still lives in our family home in Purnell St. I have seen so many changes and seen Altona grow and develop from the time we used to ride horses down the esplanade to this great town and its developing infrastructure. The best part of it all is that Altona still feels like a country town with its incredible community spirit.
Why did you join the P&F?
I joined P&F because I love being a part of things, especially something that makes a real difference to the students and the school as a whole.
What have you enjoyed about being on the P&F?
This is my 6th year on the committee, and I have enjoyed working alongside old members and getting to know new members each year, the laughs we have at every meeting and the great opportunities I’ve had to organise things like the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day stalls (yes that was me along with other members of the committee, that chose the 6 back scratchers and mugs you have received in the last 6 years!) Most of all, the committee lends itself to being its own friendship group and I know that I have made some lifelong friends here.
Why did you choose St Mary’s as your children’s school?
We believed that the values of a catholic education is what we wanted for our son and we have found it here at St Mary’s. I attended this school and there was something beautiful about carrying on a tradition.
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Introducing ~
The Parents and Friends Committee would like to introduce Vee Grech, who has taken on the role of Vice President.
Vee has two children at St Mary’s
Isaac (1/2LS) and Levi (Prep B).
We had some get to know you questions for Vee and this was what she shared with us.
What keeps you busy (work, stay at home parent etc)?
When I am not doing school drop off and pickup, I work as a HR Manager for State Government Victoria.
What are the things you love to do?
I love a great cup of coffee and travelling to places like Maldives and Singapore. We have been travelling locally during Covid, so we are really looking forward to New Zealand next year and hopefully Japan for the year after.
In my spare time I like reading, spending time with my family/friends and gaming.
What’s your connection to Altona?
My Hubby Troy grew up in Altona and also attended St Mary's when he was a young boy. Troy loved growing up in the area and we wanted the same upbringing for our kids!
Why did you join the P&F?
I joined P&F because I wanted to be involved with school activities.
What have you enjoyed about being on the P&F?
I have really enjoyed meeting other mums and the new friendships. It's also nice being part of the committee that contributes to the school.
Why did you choose St Mary’s as your children’s school?Initially Troy decided that the kids should go to the same primary school he did, after we did the school tour it just felt like the perfect fit. It intuitively felt right. Then, Marg was the cherry on top with her passion for wellbeing.
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Community News
National Recycling Week event THIS SATURDAY
There will be two hands-on sessions:
Emmanuel College News
Church Bulletin
United vs. Adelaide this Sunday - bring the kids for free!
tickets here
Family Fun day at Gosch's Paddock
Williamstown Community News
Emmanuel College Open Day (Notre Dame Campus)
Emmanuel College Open Day (St. Pauls Campus)
Music Lessons
We would also like to thank Mancini Real Estate for their continuous support to St Mary's Altona
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Professional Learning: Visible Learning and LISC
the factors that affect student learning and achievement. In his frirst book, Hattie ranked 138 effects that influence learning outcomes. (That list has since grown beyond 256.) While nearly any change in education will have a positive effect, Hattie notes, why not put energy and emphasis on those that have the greatest effect?
Our presenter Kerie Adamson from Corwin Publishing, took us through what consitutes good Learning Intentions and Success Criteria (LISC). Staff were familiarised with the research on just how effective on student learning outcomes, teacher and student clarity about what do we intend to learn and what will it look like if I am successful is. Teacher clarity is near the top of the list of effective factors on student learning, with an effect size of 0.75 — far and away more influential on learning than such factors as multi-age classes (0.04), reducing class sizes (0.21), religious schools (0.24), teacher-student relationships (0.52) or spelling programs (0.58). Therefore we want to put lots of energy and emphasis on getting these right!
“Learning intentions,” declares Hattie, “are what we intend students to learn.” Whether it be skills, knowledge, attitudes or values within a given lesson or unit. A learning intention won’t include specific detail beyond a general statement, such as “learn to use a formula to solve a math problem” or “learn to write an opinion piece.” The details appear in the success criteria.
As Hattie clarifies, success criteria are intended to help students “understand what the teacher is using as the criteria for judging their work.”
To give you an idea, the LISC for the day were presented for staff as follows:
LEARNING INTENTIONS
- We are learning to understand what research shows about the importance of
- teacher clarity
- Write effective learning intentions and success criteria
You will be successful when you can...
- Describe why clarity is important for teachers and learners
- Articulate the characteristics of effective learning intentions and success criteria
- Develop effective learning intentions and success criteria
- Critique learning intentions and success criteria
- Apply the learning from today to your own context by planning ways of making learning intentions and success criteria visible to learners
Yours in Education
Matthew Taylor
Leader of Learning & Teaching