Dear families,

Last night our Prep and Year 6 students and families met for the first Buddy night since 2019.  It was a great turn out and was so great to see so many blossoming friendships that we know will span many years to come. 

 

Many Year 6 parents commented on how quickly time seemed to pass since they attended their own Prep child’s buddy night. 

Buddy night has been a great St Mary’s tradition and last night, it was easy to see why. Speaking to many parents over the last 3 years, Buddy Night has been one of the events parents missed most since COVID hit. It was great to be able to bring it back. For those interested, we have a gallery of photos from the night here.

School tours for prospective families commence next week. If you know of a family interested in enrolling at St Mary’s, please encourage them to book a tour on our website. 

As mentioned previously, this year we will be embarking on establishing our own school list of learner dispositions or characteristics. This list will be devised through consulting with staff, students and parents so it reflects our unique community of learners.

Once established, we will begin teaching about these dispositions and exploring how we can use and build them to become better learners.

I invite you to share your opinions with us. What characteristics/traits do you feel are important to teach our students throughout their time at St Mary’s?

For those interested in some reading that may spark you to think more deeply about your responses to this request, you may like to access further reading on the subject here.

Once you’re ready, please use this form to submit your list of dispositions.

We’re looking forward to exploring these lists with stakeholders and establishing a list that is uniquely ours.


News Corp has launched its ‘Australia’s Best Teachers’ campaign and MelbourneArchdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) is a major partner.
Australia’s Best Teachers aims to recognise the wonderful work of those in the profession by celebrating our most inspirational and innovative educators.
The campaign calls on Australians to nominate the great teachers who have, and have had, an incredible impact on our students and all of our lives. A panel of expert judges will then select and announce the top 50 teachers on Saturday 6 May 2023.
We have some great teachers at St Mary's and I would like to encourage the entire school community to contribute nominations via the following link:
this link.

 

Wishing you a restful weekend.
It looks like the weather will be cooperative!

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

 

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Introducing...Scholastic Books Plus!

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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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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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Congratulations to our February Aussie of the Month award winners Scarlett, Olivia and Grace.  Click here to see their smiling faces and to find out why they are so wonderful.

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At St Mary’s we use the VCOP program to support Writing sessions in our classrooms. This program focuses on four main aspects of the writing process (VCOP). VCOP stands for Vocabulary, Connectors, Openers, and Punctuation. As a part of this program, children do Big Writes and Cold Writes.

Big Write sessions happen throughout units of work in each year level, providing students with the opportunity to write a full start to finish writing piece with the support of teachers and VCOP resources.

Cold Write sessions happen once per term in which students are not given the opportunity to talk about the topic before writing and the learning aides are removed. This is an opportunity for students to display what they know without the assistance from external resources.

I have put together a full explanation of the program with information about how you can help at home here.

Thanks for your support,

Brenda Lycke 

Literacy Leader

blycke@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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Have a peek at this week's Community News. We have Basketball Camp info, the Hobsons Bay Community Newsletter, and music lessons here on site at St. Mary's

Camp Australia event THIS WEDNESDAY

Tutor Wanted

Emmanuel College News

Emmanuel College Meet The Principal

Basketball Camp

Future Stars Netball 

Altona Lacrosse Club

Altona Junior Football Club

Williamstown 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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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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Do you have lots going on in your life at the moment? Life is busy every day, often we are pulled in many directions and it's hard to stay calm and think rationally.  Learning to take a pause and live mindfully helps us get more out of life - and cope better in difficult times.
Action for Happiness have put together lots of ideas that may help in one easy to refer to calendar. 

Vanessa King, Head of Physchology in Workplaces for Action for Happiness has some further great tips in this short video. 

In the words of Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher) "The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment." 

I hope you have a peaceful weekend
Regards
Marg Masseni
Wellbeing Leader

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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Each week, we will introduce you to the teams in our school so that you can get to know them a little better.  This week the spotlight is on the Prep team.  Click here to read more about our teachers, Mel & Randa and our Learning Support Officers, Nicole & Stella.  They make a mighty team!

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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The Get Active Kids Voucher Program is now open!

We’re excited to announce that applications for Round 6 of the Get Active Kids Voucher Program are now open!

If your family or child has a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, you may be eligible for up to $200 to put towards the cost of your child’s participation in sport and active recreation activities.

Important Dates:

21 February to 10 May 2023: Round open for parents, carers or guardians to apply for a Voucher or Reimbursement

28 November 2022 to 10 May 2023: Period families can seek a reimbursement for eligible expenditure

21 May 2023: Last day for vouchers to be presented to activity providers

21 February – 7 June 2023: Portal open for activity providers to redeem vouchers.

The Get Active Kids Voucher Program helps eligible families get their kids involved in organised sport and active recreation activities by providing financial support for the cost of membership and registration fees. Eligible children may be able to receive up to $200 each.

Special consideration also applies for children residing in care services, as well as temporary or provisional visa holders, undocumented migrants, or international students.

To find out if you are eligible, how to apply, what costs are covered and more, visit www.getactive.vic.gov.au/vouchers

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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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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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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