Dear families,

With one week officially left, we have so much to still look forward to before school ends for the year.

Last night’s Carols was a beautiful community celebration.

Our children sang so well and helped everyone get into the Christmas Spirit. Thanks to Angela for coordinating the event and liaising with teachers and David Evener to ensure our students were ready for the event.

2024

You will have read in previous newsletters that our end times for next year will be changing. We will now finish at 3:15pm every day. Due to this change assemblies will now take place at 2:45pm on Mondays. This gives classes time to pack up at the end of the day before heading to assembly. It also means that parents wishing to join us can still do so and be here for pick-up time as well.

We have finalised our 2024 Fee and Levy structure. Please see the summary here.  You will notice there are significant increases, particularly in Camp costs, due to the increased expenses in covering Time in Lieu for staff under the new Catholic Education Agreement (CEMEA). We understand this will impact many families and encourage Health Care Card holders to contact us early in the new year to ensure we can provide you with the concessional rates to which you are entitled. We also invite any family who may be significantly impacted by these increases to contact me to discuss how we can help you. 

Students will participate in Step Up Day on Tuesday. On this day the students will spend time with their new teachers and classmates. Understandably, this can be a challenging time for many of our students. Our encouraging words and excitement (however feigned, as this can be a nervous time for parents too) go a long way to helping our children manage change in their lives. I’m sure you can imagine how difficult this process is for schools, with the many needs, friends and abilities being factored into the decision-making process. All children will have one of their selected friends with them. 

I ask you to trust in this complex process and understand that no changes will be made to classes. 

Enjoy your weekend,

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

When: Sunday, December 10

Time: begins at 6pm

Where: Logan Reserve, Pier St, Altona 

Come along to this wonderful event to support our choir and to get into the spirit of Christmas!

As we enter into the final month of the school year, it’s time to think about avoiding the ‘Summer reading slide’. 

Like many skills we acquire in our lives, if we don’t use them on a regular basis, we lose them. This holds true with reading, including important skills in decoding, comprehension, visualisation, thinking and language ability. 

Over the summer, it’s important to keep up a reading routine with your children that 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 the information you’ve read 
• Model Reading: Set an example! During down time, pick up a book yourself and let your children see you reading books, newspapers, magazines, or digital content
• Let your children read what they want for enjoyment - tap into their interests, this could include cook books and graphic novels as well 
• Read signs and packaging in shops, in traffic, on hiking trails, in parks, etc
• Create a Summer scrapbook to red de cord events and fun outings (also helpful for those with ‘Holiday Recount Writer’s Block’ at the start of the school year)
• 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 - in print or online
• Make your own book about a family trip or event or daily life 
• Visit the library

You can also make use of the following programs:

• Reading Eggs: Reading Eggs is a literacy based app/website that focuses on reading curriculum phonics and sight words using skills and strategies essential for sustained reading success. There are lots of different reading games in the app and lots of books to read. All student’s at St Mary’s have an account this year, please contact your child’s teacher for their login information if you don’t have it already.
• SPELD Phonic book series: this complements the teaching of reading and writing using a structured synthetic phonics approach. There are online decodable readers able to be accessed online via the following link. 

https://www.speldsa.org.au/SPELD-SA-Phonic-Readers-New-Series

• Once again this year Hobsons Bay Libraries are running a BIG SUMMER READ Challenge. Children can sign up to track their reading over the Summer and are entered into a draw to win prizes! Find out more here: https://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Libraries/Children-Youth/Reading-Challenges 

Brenda Lycke

Literacy Leader

blycke@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Christmas can be a very stressful and tough time for many people who are experiencing poverty, loneliness and hardship. During Advent we are called to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. 

Students and families at St Mary’s School have always enthusiastically supported the Vinnies Christmas Appeal.  This year again as we reflect upon the wellbeing of our community, we are filled with a desire to enable all people in our community to celebrate and again take up the call to donate.  These donations will help many vulnerable people in our community to enjoy this special time of year. In our final week of school, our Social Justice Leaders will then collate all donations and organise to deliver them to St Vinnies.

Donations may be sent in with the children as each class has been allocated a basket to fill, or alternatively, donations may be dropped off at the office. The following items would all make good donations and maybe something you already have at home: 

• Coloured Pencils, Pens and Textas 
• Stationery including erasers, sharpeners etc. 
• Colouring books for different age groups, including mindfulness colouring 
• Puzzle Books (e.g. word finds, dot to dots etc.) Sticker sheets
• Gifts for school-aged children
• Non-perishable food items 
• Christmas decorations
• Gift cards such as Coles/Myer, Woolworths, etc. are extremely helpful and would go a long way to helping Vinnies help families this year

Your gift could change lives.  Through your support, many individuals and families will be able to have the Christmas they deserve, a Christmas of hope, love, peace and joy. Donations will be collected up until Thursday December 14. 

Thank you in anticipation for your generous support of people in need in our local community this Christmas.

Kind regards

Keira and Grace

Social Justice Leaders      

Yours in Faith
Matthew Taylor
Leader of Religious Education
mtaylor@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Reconciliations

These will be celebrated in Term 2 for baptised Roman Catholics in Years 3-6 who have yet to make their first Reconciliation over three dates during Weeks 4, 5 and 6.  During Term 1, a form will go out on Operoo and families will be able to book their children in at either the 11:30 am or 3:30 pm session on the following dates:

Eucharist

This will be offered over two dates in Term 3 for students in Years 4-6 who have made their first Reconciliation. During Term 2, a form will go out on Operoo and families will be able to book their children in ONE of the following dates:

Confirmation

This will be held in Term 3 for baptised Roman Catholic students in Year 6 who have already made their first Communion. During Term 2, a form will go out on Operoo and families will be able to book their children in at either the 11 am or 2 pm session on the following day:

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Sacraments or these dates, please feel free to reach out to me.

Yours in Faith
Matthew Taylor
Leader of Religious Education
mtaylor@smaltona.catholic.edu.au

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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


             

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage