Dear families,

I hope the children enjoyed the extra long weekend and trust you are managing to find ways to keep warm. The cold has certainly descended upon us!

Today, we welcomed Kristen from Knowledge Society for classroom observations. The focus of today’s visit was to receive feedback on how we are tracking with explicit instruction and how we can continue to support students who either require more support or extension. We will continue to keep families informed on the progress we are making in our classroom instruction.

MACS has released its 2024 Annual Report. It can be accessed here.

There are also a limited number of hard copies available at the school. Should you wish to borrow one, please contact Kristy at the office.

P&F events

Our P&F are busy preparing for our annual disco to be held next Friday evening. Our children look forward to this event every year and this promises to be as exciting as its predecessors. 

A very big thank you to the parents of our P&F who have prepared for the evening and to the parents and staff who have offered to supervise.

For reasons of student safety, only parents who have responded to the request for supervision will be able to stay. These parents have had their Working with Children status checked. All other parents will be asked to drop off their children and pick them up at the conclusion of their session.

Another thank you to our P&F for organising the Subway lunch today. It was a resounding success and we will look into having more of these in the future.

We have also launched our Trivia night ticket sales. Our last event was certainly one to remember and this year is shaping up to be just as grand.

Architect survey

Our architects have requested parent feedback about our facilities in an effort to determine priorities for our master plan. 

This survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete.

You can access the parent survey here. Responses will be accepted until July 3rd.

Our students and staff will also have the opportunity to contribute their thoughts and ideas.

Oval access after school

We have reviewed our after-school supervision protocols in light of recent feedback. 

Students, under the direct supervision of their parents or carers, can now play on the oval or sensory garden after school. 

Please note that children are the responsibility of their parents after 3:15 when their parents are onsite. We ask that if your child has your permission to play on the oval, gaga pit or sensory garden after 3:15, that you are near them to ensure they are being adequately supervised and playing safely.

Staff news

We congratulate Ms Buykx and Mrs Richards on the announcement that they are both expecting later this year.

Ms Buykx will continue to work until the end of Term 3 and Mrs Richards will commence parental leave partway during Term 4.

We share in their excitement and wish them and their respective husbands all the best.

We cannot wait to meet their little ones!

Have a great weekend,

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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Church Bulletin 

Tutoring - Looking for a Tutor for Literacacy or Numeracy?

Bayside Netball- For ages 9 and under - playing Saturday mornings.

Key Assets Foster Care- a not-for-profit foster care agency supporting children in care .

School readiness and tutoring- Now we're talking speech pathology has a School Holiday Program for the upcoming School Holidays.

Sweeneys swim school -  If you were interested in swim lessons for your child, Sweeneys is a local swim school.

Special Interest groups - Now we're talking speech Pathology is running  special interest groups during the July School Holidays

Local Gymnastics - dedicated to helping children build confidence, strength, and coordination in a fun and supportive environment.

One Tree Altona Gate Kindergarten Open Day- Saturday 21st June 12.00pm-1.00pm

One Tree Altona Gate Kindergarten Market  - Saturday 21st June 9.00am -1.30pm

 

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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Is Your Primary Schooler Feeling Anxious? You're Not Alone.

More and more kids are dealing with anxiety these days—but the good news is, there’s help out there. If your child is showing signs of anxiety, there are simple, everyday things you can do to support them—and look after yourself, too. A little guidance can go a long way for both of you.

Before we get onto the resources!

Early in Term 3 Elaine O'Connor will run another Parent Workshop. Some of the topics to be covered will be:

• a short recap on the previous workshop which focussed on childhood anxiety
• emotion regulation
• gentle parenting - what's it all about?
• and more...

Once the date is confirmed we will send out more information but keep it in mind.  It will be in the first four weeks of term.

Now check out these resources:

1. Clinicians at Swinburne University have developed a program to help parents manage childhood anxiety in children aged 6-11 years. The One Step at a Time Program involves: 

• an assessment of your child's anxiety
• online counselling 
• parent-child sessions
• access to resources

Take a look at this flyer for further details and information.

2. Coping Skills for Kids
USA based Mental Health Counsellor Janine O'Halloran offers free tips via her podcasts which are available on Spotify and You Tube.  Her most recent and upcoming will explore various coping styles, including Deep Breathing, Relaxation, Distraction, Sensory, Movement, and Processing.

Her first is a short (less than 3min and yes, it sells her other products but you don't have to buy) Deep Breathing technique called 'Smell the Cocoa, Cool the Cocoa'.
It's a good one to get started with and there will be more in the series. You can sign up to receive her emails (also no obligation to buy anything). 

3. My Brain is a Home book Series

We have purchased a set of these books (the link is in the title) for school use however if you would like to take a look please email me. 

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At St Mary’s Primary School, we’re committed to using evidence based strategies to help our students thrive. One such approach we’re excited to share is interleaved practice, a proven method to boost memory, deepen understanding, and improve long-term learning.

While block learning focuses on one topic at a time, it can be effectively supported with interleaved practice, which mixes different types of topics and questions within a single practice session. Research shows that this method strengthens students’ ability to recall information and apply their knowledge in new contexts. It also helps counter the “forgetting curve,” making learning stick over time, for example, learning to tell the time for three weeks and not revisiting the topic again until later in the year.

Interleaved practice involves mixing different types of problems or topics within a unit of work for instance, incorporating a variety of topics into the daily review, which are revisited throughout the year.

As part of our ongoing professional learning through Flourishing Learners West with Knowledge Society, our staff have been exploring how to effectively implement interleaved practice in classrooms. While some children may think or say that it’s "boring" because they’ve “done this before,” we are beginning to teach them how this type of learning works and why it's important. Teachers will be actively engaging students in understanding how this technique supports their learning journey.

This approach is another step forward in our mission to foster confident, capable learners who can think critically and retain what they’ve learned. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this will have on our students’ learning across all year levels.

 

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

 

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Exciting News – Ninja Playground Equipment Coming to St Mary’s!

St Mary’s Primary School is thrilled to announce the exciting addition of Ninja Playground equipment to our school grounds! 

This new initiative will see a variety of equipment introduced over the year, and we’ll be fundraising throughout to help make it possible.

Each class’s Junior School Council representatives were recently shown several equipment options, and after careful consideration, they’ve chosen the vertical wall obstacle as the first item to be installed. This challenging and fun piece of equipment will help build strength, coordination, and confidence in our students.

To support this project, we’re holding a Casual Clothes Day on 30 June. Students are encouraged to come dressed in their favourite casual outfit and bring a gold coin donation to help kickstart the fundraising effort.

We’re excited to see the Ninja Playground take shape and thank our school community for supporting this fun and active addition to our playground.

 

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

 

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An Operoo will be sent out with more details regarding parent help before and during the event. Your support makes these events possible and brings our community together.

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

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• Monday 30th  June from 1.30 – 8.00 pm with Classroom teachers

• Tuesday 1st July from 3.45 – 5.30 pm with Classroom teachers

 

Please note that students will be dismissed at 1pm on Monday 30th June and at the regular time of 3.15pm on Tuesday.

 

To book an interview please go to https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code and use the code 8stn4. 

 

For further information please refer to the Operoo note sent on May 21st.

 

If you require assistance with the booking process please contact the school office.

Regards

John Hein

 

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Respect • Responsibility • Resilience • Courage

 

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