St Mary's eNews

Week 11 Term 4


Principal's Message: 15 December 2023

Dear families,


As the 2023 school year comes to a close, I want to thank you for the way you have worked with us to ensure we are providing the best education for your children.

 


I am already looking forward to the new school year and all the exciting things planned. Before I list some of the things happening in the new year, I’d like to acknowledge the staff who are moving on in 2024.


Mr Taylor will be moving to St Matthew’s Fawkner, as their new Deputy Principal. I do not doubt that the school will flourish under his leadership and strong curriculum content knowledge. I thank Matt for his leadership and collegiality and know he is destined for great things. 


Ms Cloud is looking forward to returning as a replacement teacher in the new year. The children will very much look forward to having her return.


Mrs Ibrahim has been a wonderful tutor for our students requiring extra support through the Government’s Tutor initiative. We hope we will see her again soon.


Taylah Brennan joined us late in the year as a learning support staff member. She has been a wonderful addition to our staff in the short time she has been with us and will definitely leave her mark. We wish her the best at St Augustine’s.


Mrs Pelar will also return as a replacement teacher in 2024. She did an amazing role substituting for Mrs Richards while she was on parental leave and has also provided great support and extension opportunities for our students.


We acknowledge the students and families who are leaving St Mary’s. As well our our Year 6s, we wish the Wrights, ALexanders, Robins and Bell families all the best for their moves to new schools, suburbs and even states. 


For those who couldn’t make it to our end of year Mass, you may read my speech here.


As promised, next year holds some great things for our school. I’ve already highlighted a few projects that will take place around the school, but as well as some physical changes, we are looking forward to partnering with Real Schools for some great work around school culture and a new bent on restorative practices. 


We will also be working closely with Royal Children’s Hospital CASEA team (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Schools Early Action Program). You can read more about this incredible work in a separate article in this week’s eNews.  More information will follow early in the new year.


Our school will be involved in exploring the Science of Learning through MACS. This program will see us implementing some great evidence-based practices across all classrooms. I look forward to sharing this great new learning with you.  



Finally, I wish you all the best for a safe and happy Christmas. May the peace of the new-born Lord bless you and your family over the break and throughout the new year.





Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

 



Deputy Principal News

Dear families,

As I complete my final days as the Deputy Principal of St. Mary's I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the support and kindness you have shown me over the years. When I took on the role it was for 12 months, and here I am 8 years later, having grown so much both professionally and personally as a result of my many interactions with you.  

I am very much looking forward to my new role in 2024 as Mental Health Leader. In that role I will work closely with Cathy Sims, our Learning Diversity Leader and Steph Murdoch, who is taking over my current Wellbeing Leader role. We will work together as a Wellbeing team to endeavour to meet the social and emotional needs of our students and their families. 

I will be working three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday) which will enable me to spend more time with family and friends, and enjoy a great work/life balance. 

Sonia asked me if there was anything I would like to take from my current role into my new role and my reply was Fun and Fitness!  So...Fun and Fitness will still run in 2024 on Wednesday mornings from 8 - 8.30am. I'd love to see our regulars and new families joining in the fun!

I would like to wish everyone in our community a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year.  I hope you find peace and joy in your lives over the Christmas break and into the new year.

Take care,
Marg Masseni
Deputy Principal / Wellbeing Leader

2024 CASEA Program

Our school has invited the CAMHS and Schools: Early Action Program (CASEA) to be part of the school community for 2024.  

All Prep to Grade 3 parents will receive information and surveys from the Royal Children’s Hospital regarding the CASEA program at the beginning of Term 1, 2024. 

This program will run at St Mary’s Primary School in Terms 1 and 2, 2024, and its aim is to promote: prosocial behaviour, positive self-esteem, social skills, problem-solving skills and assertiveness. During Term 2, teachers will conduct classroom activities that focus on teaching students interpersonal, problem-solving and conflict resolution skills. The CASEA Activities will be fun, practical, hands-on and child-focused. The children are taught in constructive and engaging ways to improve their capacity to regulate their behaviours and act appropriately, improve social relationships with others and develop their social problem-solving skills.


The CASEA Team will also conduct small parent and child groups on a Tuesday in Term 2 for students and families who would benefit from some extra assistance and social strategies.


This program will be run by Bec Sobell and Bo Nixon (Psychologists), along with a Provisional Psychologist, all from the Royal Children’s Hospital. Two staff members from St. Mary’s will co-facilitate these sessions.  


We will send more information at the beginning of Term 1 in 2024.

Regards,

Sonia Riccardi (Principal)


Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage



P&F 2023 Treasurer Report

Treasurers Report for 2023 Treasurers Report 2023

Run for the Kids

The annual Run for the Kids is happening on Sunday the 17th of March 2024. The Run for the Kids supports the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

 

We know that the Good Friday Appeal unites many and holds a special place in the hearts of many people in our community. We are reaching out to any families who may wish to join some of the St Mary’s staff to participate in the event.

There are multiple events that you and your family can be a part of, ranging from walking to running two distances of 4.8km or 14.4km. There is even an option to volunteer! We have a number of staff joining in both of the courses.

If you are interested in joining us, you can sign up using this link to join our team. Please note that you can only join the St Mary’s team by using the link below: 

https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?E=50163&G=188974

 

You can also help us reach our fundraising goal by donating to the appeal via this link:

https://runforthekids.gofundraise.com.au/page/STMARYSALTONA

 

Money raised will continue to support projects in the following areas of the Royal Children’s Hospital:

  • state-of-the-art equipment and technology
  • patient and family centered care programs
  • ground-breaking research
  • fostering staff excellence through education programs, scholarships and fellowships

If you have any questions or would like some more information, you can contact Miss Sottile asottile@smaltona.catholic.edu.au or visit the Run for the Kids website https://www.runforthekids.com.au/ 



Literacy: Summer Reading

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


Brenda Lycke

Literacy Leader

blycke@smaltona.catholic.edu.au



Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage



Action for Happiness: Do Good December

Kindness is contagious, and helping others has been proven to make us feel better too!  Starting today, let's try to focus on being generous with our time and attention rather than money - it's free and better for everyone, as well as our planet!
Click here to download the latest calendar and find out more about the Action for Happiness teams endeavour to make the world a better place.

Their new mindful moment can help you cultivate warm feelings of appreciation and send those to others around you. 

Happy December!

Regards
Marg - Wellbeing Leader



Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage



Community News

Bayside Netball Club are still looking for some new 9 years and under players and we have information included about a new holiday program.  You can sign up for Creative Music lessons in Term 3 and also read our Parish Bulletin.

Mount St Josephs and Emmanuel College have Open Days and Information mornings coming up. 

Click the links below to find out more. 

Westgate July Vacation Care: Holiday Program
$10 per day with CCS Rebate

Church Bulletin

Bayside Netball Club

School Holiday Special Interest Groups

OSHC Newsletter

Emmanuel College News

MSJ Open Morning

Basketball Camp

Music Lessons
Creative Music will run lessons in Term 3 - sign up now.


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


             




Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage