The School photos have been confirmed for Wednesday 6th 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.  

All students will be required to remove their 'jumpers/outwear' for the photos.

Click the link to read the 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 (jhein@smaltona.catholic.edu.au)

Regards

John Hein

Deputy Principal

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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

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.  

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

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

In light of recent events, we are reminded of the importance of spending time in the moment with our loved ones. Vanessa King from the Action of Happiness group has shared some ways we can be fully present. 

Here is a link to the Mindful March calendar.  You might like to share it with others.

Regards

Stephanie Murdoch

Wellbeing Leader

Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage