The School photos have been confirmed for Wednesday 1^st March!

Class, individual and family photos will be taken as well as Student Leader and JSC photos.

All students are to come to school in their academic uniform.
 If students have Phys Ed/Sport on the day, they can bring their runners to change into before their class if they wish.  No PE/Sport polos and shorts are to be worn on this day.  

We understand that some people may be concerned about the mixing of the old and new uniforms in the class photos.  We will put this in the hands of our very experienced photographers to ensure the photos are as balanced as possible.  All students will be required to remove their 'jumpers/outwear' for the photos.

Please read...
School Photos Ordering Information
All ordering is done online.

If you have any questions about the ordering system, please contact the school office or email me (mmasseni@smaltona.catholic.edu.au)

Regards
Marg Masseni
Deputy Principal

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Our first Walk/Ride to School Day for 2023 will be held on Monday 27th February. We encourage all students and their families to come to school in an active way, even if it's just part of the way.  Get out your bikes, scooters and walking shoes!
Our House Captains will be waiting for you on the netball court to register the names of all the students who participate.  Ten house points will be given to each student who registers.  Teachers will also collect data on the 'modes of transport' on the day so that we can determine our Most Active Class who will be awarded a trophy to keep in their classroom for the month. 

We hope you are able to join us in this initiative which has been running for many years now.

Regards
Marg Masseni (Wellbeing Leader) and House Captains, Eva & Adam, Silas & Charlie, MihnPhi & Michael and Thomas & Krystal.

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The Parents & Friends committee are once again hosting their annual Easter Raffle and are kindly asking for donations such as Easter eggs/chocolate or themed items that can be included in the Easter baskets to raffle.

 You can deliver Easter donations to your child's classroom or to the office. 

Raffle tickets will be distributed to students on the 14th March.
They are $1 per ticket or $10 for a book. 

Additional raffle books will be available at the School Office. 

The raffle will be drawn on Friday 31st March at 2.45pm.  Family members are welcome to attend. 

PLEASE return all ticket stubs, money & unsold tickets in an envelope to the school office by Wednesday, 29th March. Please write your name, class & mobile on each ticket stub. 

Funds raised go towards school upgrades.

Thank you, 
Parents & Friends Committee

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Enrolments are now open for Prep 2024.  School Tours began this week and will continue in the coming weeks. Our next tour date is Tuesday 22nd March at 5.30pm.

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We often take photos of the children engaged in activities and use them on our website and Facebook page.  If you would like to make changes to or you are unsure of the permissions you have given in the past  please send us an email... Marg Masseni - mmasseni@smaltona.catholic.edu.au or
Fiona Sorrell fsorrell@smaltona.catholic.edu.au
...and we will update our records.

Regards
Marg Masseni
Deputy Principal

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Now that we are settled into the routines at school and most children are bringing books home to read, it’s a good time to establish a home reading routine to support your children’s reading success. 

Junior students from Prep to Year 2 have level appropriate books which they will bring home in their Reader Bags. All students from P-6 also have the opportunity to visit the school library and are expected to borrow books of their choice/interest as well.  

It is important to continue to practise reading skills, such as decoding, comprehension, visualisation, thinking and language ability regularly. 

When you see take home readers come home from school, remember, these are deliberately set at an easy level so that your child can be independent, practice fluency and so that reading is enjoyable for all. Your child’s teacher will work with them at their instructional level and help them to take the next step in their reading development during school time.

Before reading take home books with your child, take a moment to discuss what they have been learning during their reading sessions. Are there any sounds or blends that they are focusing on? Is there a particular goal that they are working on in their focused teaching group? Check the inside of the back cover of the book - many books, especially our Little Learners Love Literacy texts have tips, tricks, reading prompts, speed words, etc.

Reading these books with your child and listening to them read to you, helps to reinforce what is being taught in the classroom. Students often enjoy rereading the same books and this is great! This should be supported as it builds fluency and the automatic recognition of words. Fluent reading sounds like the reader is talking or having a conversation rather than sounding stilted, monotone or robotically slow. When reading fluently, children should also be able to retell/summarise what the text is about and make connections to their own lives, the world around them or other texts as they are not concentrating all their effort into word breaking so they can take in meaning and enjoy the process and content more..

Keeping a reading routine with your children works best if it is easy to manage and enjoyable. Here are some tips to instil the love of reading and literature into your family routines:

• Read together and discuss what you read 
• Set an example - pick up a book yourself and let them see you reading
• Let your children read what they want for enjoyment - tap into their interests, this could even include cook books and graphic novels 
• Read signs and packaging everywhere: in shops, in traffic, even signs posted on hiking trails, etc
• Create a scrapbook to record events and fun outings
• Celebrate finishing a book - draw the character, make cookies or treats around the theme of the book, act out a favourite scene or create it with Lego
• Write letters - have your child write letters to family or friends
• Schedule a daily reading time
• Subscribe to magazines 
• Make your own book about a family trip or event or daily life 
• Visit the local library

Thank you for all of your support at home, happy reading and don’t forget to reach out if you want more tips and tricks!

Brenda Lycke

Literacy Leader

blycke@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

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Hello families,

My name is Rachel Trovarelli and I am excited to join the St Mary’s community as one of the Junior teachers, 1/2T. I have previously taught Grade ½’s and Foundation (Prep) at Corpus Christi in Werribee, the Early Years are a passion for me.

This year I embark on my Graduate Certificate at ACU in conjunction with classroom teaching and look forward to learning and developing my skill set to assist our learners. 

A few tidbits about myself; 

• I have 3 children (2 high schoolers and 1 Uni student)
• I love the colour green
• My favourite food is ….. Everything! But I definitely love a good bowl of Pho on a cold day or as a bit of food for the soul. 

Finally, I love to travel and am looking forward to heading off to cold and warm destinations throughout the year.

I look forward to meeting you all,

Rachel

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Check out in this week's Community News. We have Emmanuel College Open Day infomation, lots of new sports teams to sign up for, as well as free dance lessons!


Tutor Wanted

Camp Australia Soccer Clinic Wednesday 1st March

Free Dance Lessons!

Emmanuel College News

Emmanuel College Meet The Principal

Future Stars Netball 

Girls Rugby

Altona Lacrosse Club

Altona Junior Football Club

Williamstown February Community Newsletter

Parish Bulletin

Music Lessons

We would also like to thank Mancini Real Estate for their continuous support to St Mary's Altona


             

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On Wednesday we celebrated together as a whole school the beginning of the Lenten season when we gathered in the church for Ash Wednesday. As  catholics, we are called to pray, give and fast over the Lenten season in preparation for the resurrection of Christ at Easter.

















On Monday at assembly, our Social Justice Leaders will be giving out Project Compassion boxes to each class. This is our way as a school that we collectively "give" to Caritas to work with communities at home and abroad to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

Yours in Faith

Matthew Taylor

Religious Education Leader

mtaylor@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

 

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