Newsletter Term 1 - 22nd February 2024

Dear parents and carers,

At the end of every school year there is a tradition at St Mary's for the Year 6 families to give a combined gift to the school.  Last year we received some beautiful gifts, one of which was this lovely bird bath for the Mary garden.  So it was joyous to look out of the office window this week to see these two Rosellas having the time of their lives in the bird bath.  

If you, like me, enjoy Psychology, one contemporary theme that emerges is that rather than seek a never ending quest to 'be happy', that we simply look for moments of happiness and joy in the every day.  The thinking is that it is in the linking of all of these little moments of joy that we nurture our sense of wellbeing and happiness.  That seems achieveable to me.

There have been many moments of joy over the past two weeks at St Mary's.  We have received some beautiful emails to express parent gratitude to us, our work and our community;  watching the Kindergarten/ Year 6 buddy program launch last week was just beautiful; being in the veggie garden with our infants on Tuesday as they took in earnest to the weeds that had taken a stranglehold over the holidays (some parents may have found the odd turnip, corn cob or bunch of mint in their child's school bag); watching some of our new Kindergarten students going from not being able to hold a pencil in Week One to now writing their names and drawing imaginative pictures.  Sometimes it feels as though there is magic in the air.

I want to especially commend the Primary students this week, who were really having some difficulty sharing the playground and being courteous to each other on the soccer field.  It was decided, after talking with the students, that we will roster the oval and soccer field and on their days off these games, we will provide alternative playground games such as handball, basketball, cricket (in the nets), the sand pit, skipping ropes and hula hoops. 

I have been impressed by the way the students have taken to this new arrangement.  It was so joyous to watch them make use of all the equipment and share the space fairly.  We are encouraging them to save the competitive edge for weekend sport (where they play with protective equipment and have referees and coaches to manage them) and see playtime at school as an opportunity for exercise and fun.   

We are so fortunate to have a number of lunch time clubs operating on any given day, providing yet more opportunities for the students to pursue their interests.  These clubs are announced daily at 1pm, so the students have a constant reminder of what is on offer.  I am grateful to the generosity of our staff in the facilitation of these clubs.

Please enjoy throughout today's newsletter some of the photos of the things I have written about.  I hope you find the joy in them that I experienced.

Kindest regards,

Gayle Stratton

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Student Personalised Learning Plan (PLP)

Over the course of Thursday 14th & Friday 15th March parents/carers of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will be invited to be part of a relaxed and collaborate conversation with their child, class teacher and Mr Benton to help create academic, cultural and social goals for 2024. These will be recorded on a proforma and tracked by Mr Ben, parents and the class teacher. Students have a voice in the way they like to learn and how they would like to celebrate their goals.

In the past some students have chosen to create some fabulous Aboriginal art activities with Mr Benton, or learn more about their culture. These Personalised Learning Plans are also a requirement from the Catholic Education Diocese, Bathurst. Invitations to the meeting will be emailed to parents next week. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting and working together to help your child achieve their goals.

Mrs Rachel Cranney

Welcome to Week 4, it certainly has been a busy few weeks in our liturgical calendar. As we embark on another week of spiritual growth and exploration as we enter the second week of Lent. 

Ash Wednesday 

Last Wednesday, we celebrated the beginning of Lent with a combined mass at St Joseph’s Church with students from Catherine McAuley. Our infants' students also took part in their own school-based liturgy. 

Lenten Reflection

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of preparation for the Easter season when Christians are called to deepen their spiritual lives through the practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. The belief is that our consistent participation in these practices, like exercise we do for our physical health, improves our spiritual well-being by stripping away all that is unnecessary and becoming more mindful of how God is working in our lives. Challenge yourself this year to go beyond the usual practice of giving up something.  Now is a great time to take stock of your spiritual life and to grow in it.

Project Compassion 2024 

Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Millions of Australians come together in unity for the world's poor to help ease poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. 

Project Compassion boxes have been sent home with students. Donations collected from these boxes need to be returned to your child’s teacher in Week 11 of this term. 

Grade Parish Masses 

On Tuesday we celebrated our first grade Mass at St Mary’s Church with Year 3 attending. Parish Masses occur at 9:30am each Tuesday. The parish Masses for this term are as follows: 

-Tuesday 27/2/24- Year 6

-Tuesday 5/3/24- Year 5

-Tuesday 12/3/24- Year 4 

Altar Servers

Fr Greg recently visited our school and spoke to our Year 5 and 6 students in regard to altar serving. Interested students have received a registration form. Students who wish to altar serve this year can collect a form from myself. 

Altar serving training sessions: 

-First Session: 1:30pm to 3:00pm Sunday 25th February at St Mary’s Church 

-Second Session: 1:30pm to 3:00pm Sunday 3rd March at St Mary’s Church

-Third Session: 1:30pm to 3:00pm Sunday 10th March at St Mary’s Church

-Commissioning and Robing Mass: 10:00am Sunday 17th March at St Mary’s Church 

Yours in faith 

Joshua Meyers 

Acting Religious Education Coordinator 

                Ameya Bajracharya 

                     Abigail Logan

                      Heidi Barrett

                    Paityn Splithof

                                                                              Scarlett Purvis

Jack Wilson

Henley Morris

Tully Trembath

Max Raso

Eli Nobes

Hunter Jones

Pippa Frecklington

      In recognition of   "  Positive View of Life"

Frankie Bunworth

Braxton Robinson 

 Jack Flitcroft 

 In recognition of "Community & Common Good "

NAPLAN 2024

On Wednesday 13th March students in Year 3 and Year 5 will participate in the NAPLAN assessment. Please make sure your child is well prepared for NAPLAN by having the following equipment:

• a fully charged chromebook and charging cord to school each day for the assessment 
• working earbuds or headphones  to use during NAPLAN sessions

St Mary's NAPLAN schedule

• Wednesday 13th March- Yr 3 & 5 Writing
• Thursday 14th March-Yr 3 & 5 Reading
• Friday 15th March - Yr 3 & 5 Conventions of Language
• Monday 18th March - Yr 3 & 5 Numeracy

Wellbeing Week at St Mary’s  - Week 5 

Monday 26th February   - Friday 1st March

St Mary’s values the mental and physical health and wellbeing of all our students and staff. It is also a healthy reminder to check in with ourselves and others around us to see if our friends and family are ‘ok’. Next week we focus on activities that make us feel good and show kindness to ourselves and others.

Mindful Monday - noticing what is going on in our bodies and minds is an important skill for staying mentally healthy. Time for being mindful and thinking about our feelings and actions. Enjoy calm, quiet activities that energize us!

Talk to God Tuesday - students calm their minds and nourish their faith by spending time with God and  participating in Christian Meditation

Wellness Wednesday  - we spend time in Health lessons focusing on the benefits of nutrition, drinking plenty of water, exercise and sleep. In class we discuss why it is important to build these consistent habits into our lives.

Thoughtful Thursday - evidence suggests that helping others is actually beneficial for your own mental health and happiness too! Do something nice for someone else without expecting anything in return. 

Friendship Friday - enjoy time playing with friends and participating in  fun sporting games (tabloid sports in own classes or as a grade) 

It is also a no homework week, instead students are encouraged to connect with family by playing a board games together, reading a book, going for a walk, a bike ride or simply enjoying time outside in  the sun.

Rachel Cranney 

Assistant Principal

ICAS

What is ICAS?  

ICAS is an online academic competition, run by the University of Sydney, that gives students the opportunity to challenge their  higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science and Digital Technologies. It is a great opportunity for students to be academically challenged and extended.

 How to participate in ICAS  

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:  

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (icasassessments.com/products-icas/)  
   
2. Go to the Parent Portal to sign up to chosen subject areas here: (shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps)  
3. Enter our school’s access code – WBE353  
4. Enter your child’s details, select the subject areas your child would like to participate in, then proceed to payment.  

After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records.  

ICAS results and certificates
All assessments will be conducted online, at school. We will notify you of the dates that we will run ICAS assessments, and when your child’s ICAS results are ready. Your child’s ICAS certificates will be delivered to school. Once we have received them, we will present them to your child to bring home. The back of the certificate will show your child’s ICAS results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”. - Use these to enter the Results Portal orti.icasassessments.com/ortiStudent. 

Approximate Dates

Digital Technologies 5-9 August

English 12-16 August

Science 19-23 August

Mathematics 26-30 August

https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

Mathematics

Our students have begun their first Mathematics unit. They have completed some pre-assessments to help identify their strengths and areas for improvement. This helps to guide the teacher to focus on the content and skills required to best help the students move foreward with their learning. One of the resources our students and teachers use is Essential Assessment. It is an online tool which can be used for pre and post assessment and for checkins along the way. The students enjoy the challenge of receiving trophies in My Numeracy and playing the games such as Sunset Maths and Jetpack Algebra to practise number facts and maths problems.

Over the next two newsletter publications, we will included the parent and carer guide to supporting your child in Mathematics. Last newsletter was for Kindergarten. This week it is for Year 1 & 2 (see below) and the next publication will feature information for 3-6.

Sally Curran

Primary Coordinator

Bathurst Diocesan Community Sport

Dear Parents,

Keep up to date with sporting events and achievements across the Bathurst Diocese. Search CEBD community sport or use the following link. 

https://sites.google.com/bth.catholic.edu.au/cedbsportcommunity/

St Marys is a Nut and Egg Free school 

Please do not put these in your child's lunch box as we have children at our school with severe reactions to these items.

 Children with Communication devices such as Phones and Watches must be handed to the school office in the Morning before class and collected at the end of the day.

Please support your child to meet this school requirement.

If you need to contact your child during school hours please call the school office.

St Mary's CaFE Fundraising with bulbs

Go online to place your order at:

https://www.bulbfundraiser.com.au/STMORANGE

Campaign end date :11/04/2024

Products available to order until this date unless sold out prior

St Mary's Uniform Shop

is run by  Parent Volunteers and is open Friday Mornings from 9:00 am until 10:00 am. If you have put your order through Flexi schools it will be packed the following Friday and sent home with your child.