Dear Parents and Carers,

Despite the current high levels of absenteeism of staff and students due to COVID, we are travelling quite well as we come to the end of the term. Using each day's attendance, we decide on classes and organise supervision to ensure students are safe and are learning. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated team of teachers and support staff who continually go above and beyond what is expected of them. Thank you parents for being so supportive in keeping sick children at home and isolating them for the required period. 

Unless advised by your doctor, do not retest your child for 28 days after their positive result as a second positive result requires a further 7 day self isolation period for them and their siblings. Only siblings who have already tested positive may return to school after a 7 day period. 

Kindergarten Parent Meeting and Morning Tea
Unfortunately I was off work sick when the Kinder Parent Welcome and morning tea occurred. It was pleasing to know that most parents were able to make it and from all accounts enjoyed learning more about what life is like at school in Kindergarten. I hope you found the information helpful. Thank you for coming along!

Thanks to Mrs Heffernan, Mrs Afflick and Ms Stephen and support staff for helping prepare for the morning. 

Whole School Awards
On Monday, we were able to host a special Whole school Assembly for all of our students and their families. It was wonderful to see so many parents join us for the assembly and picnic on the front lawns. Congratulations to our new School Leaders, House Leaders and all of all Year 6 Leaders. Watching our Year 6 and Kinder buddies was a special highlight and one that children will remember for a long time. It is so good to be able to mix students across grades now and be able to have buddy activities at school. 

Community Council - New school jumper 
Over the past two years there has been a lot of conversation about updating our school jumper. It is a very old style and the students do not like wearing them. A parent survey was held and most respondents wanted a new navy jumper. The Community Council investiagted different styles and colours and have decided to go with a good quality bomber style jumper for all students. We believe that the chosen style will look very smart, go well with the girls' dresses and suit the students’ desire to have something that can be worn as a relaxed jacket.

Over the next two years, the current jumper will be slowly phased out. We have decided that the current maroon nylon jacket will remain but not as a jumper to be worn indoors. Parents are not expected to buy the new style this year. 

K-2 Eggstravaganza Day
We are all looking forward to this wonderful day for students in Kinder - Year 2. Our fabulous K-2 teachers are planning lots of activities for the children and their families. We have also invited our preschool aged children to join us until 11.00am. If you know of young children who would like to come along with their parents, please pass on this information.

K-12 Combined Schools Mass postponed
With the increase of COVID cases in the community, a decision has been made to postpone our K-12 Mass with St Bernard’s and Carroll College planned for Week 10. Putting over 1000 students and staff from 3 different schools together indoors is not considered safe at present.   

Sunflowers for Ukraine Day
In the last week of school, Thursday 7 April, we will be hosting a very special ‘Sunflowers for Ukraine Day’ to raise much needed funds for the CARITAS Ukraine appeal. Our students will be involved in creative and educational activities about sunflowers during the day. Parents are welcome to join us at any time. More information will be coming home shortly.  

A Prayer for Ukraine

Loving God,

for all those suffering or afraid,

that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for world leaders,

for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world

that in this moment of crisis,

we may reach out in solidarity

to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways

so that peace and justice

become a reality for the people of Ukraine

and for all the world.

Amen

God Bless
Noeleen O'Neill

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been a joy to be able, once again, to welcome our families back on site here at school and be able to share in our learning and celebrate special occasions together.  

Year 3 Reconciliation Retreat
Last Friday, Mr Harpley and myself travelled to Carroll College with all of the Year 3 students, along with Year 3 students from St Bernard’s for a Reconciliation Retreat Day. There was much excitement on the bus ride out to Broulee. The boys and girls were very happy have the opportunity to say hello to many of their friends, older siblings and even their old Year 6 Buddies at the College once we arrived. 

The events of the day were very capably led by the Year 9 Youth Ministry class. These students were exceptional in their leadership and the way they worked with the younger students throughout the day. There were many fun games played, as well as activities looking at scripture and how we can be more forgiving in our own lives. 

Students enjoyed a hotdog and ice block for lunch and we finished the day with Fr George sharing a special prayer and blessing for the First Reconciliation candidates. We thank Carroll College for hosting a wonderful day out for our students.

Sacrament of First Reconciliation
This coming Wednesday 30 March, twelve of our Year 3 students will be receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. The celebration will take place in the Church at 5:30pm. We keep these students in our prayers over the coming week as they continue to prepare for this very special celebration. 

Condolences 
We send our sympathies to Callum T (Year 4), Leanne, Michael and Jess following the passing of Leanne’s mum Carol. We keep them in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. 

Prayer for Peace

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

Lord, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

Mrs Jess Afflick
Religious Education Coordinator

Dear Parents, Carers, Boys & Girls,

What a St Patrick's Day!
We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our families last week as we turned St Mary’s green for St Patrick’s Day. A huge thank you to the Year 4 and Year 5 families who baked the most delicious treats for us. The boys and girls across the school (and staff) had such a great time buying….and eating them! Due to your generosity we were able to raise an incredible $776 which will be donated to those affected by the floods in Lismore.

Gurubangamba Mentoring and Transition Program
The first session of the Carroll College Gurubangamba Mentoring and Transition Program for Indigenous students in Year 5 and Year 6 will be held next Friday,1  April. This program is delivered over four sessions, during the school year. The purpose of this program is for students to develop a connection to the College and form relationships with staff and other ATSI students. These important connections can provide guidance and support to help students as they transition from Primary school to Secondary school.

Students participate in a variety of activities that focus on the following themes:

• Building Relationships
• Fostering Resilience
• Respecting Yourself & Others 

These days not only help prepare students for the high school environment, they provide opportunities for students to make friends through positive social activities and join a community of students to share Aboriginal culture. 

Personalised Plans (PPs)
If your child has a Personalised Plan (PP), a note went home this week inviting you to attend a meeting with your child’s class teacher and members of the Learning Support Team in Week 9. At this meeting we will discuss your child’s learning goals and the current Personalised Plan we have in place for your child. Confirmation of the time for your meeting next week was sent home with your child today. If you haven’t made an appointment and would like to, please call the school office.

Personalised Learning Pathways (PLP)
The meetings to develop the Personalised Learning Pathways for our Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students have been postponed and will now be held early in Term 2. If your child also has a Personalised Plan, their PLP will be part of that plan and will be developed at those PP meetings scheduled for next week.

NAPLAN News 
This year students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 will participate in NAPLAN online. Year 3 complete Reading, Conventions of Language and Mathematics online. Year 3 complete writing with pen and paper. Year 5 complete Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Mathematics online. All students use headphones during the conventions of language test, the numeracy test and the Year 5 writing test so they can hear audio instructions. 

NAPLAN tests are in Term 2, and occur between the 10 May - 20 May.

NAPLAN FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

What will be tested? 

• NAPLAN tests the important skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. The content of each test is informed by the Australian Curriculum. 
• The Literacy tests are based on content in the English learning area, and the numeracy tests draw content from the mathematics learning area. 

For more information on the types of skills and understandings that students are generally expected to demonstrate at their particular year of schooling, refer to the information provided for each domain in the NAPLAN Section.

What types of questions are in the tests? 

• Questions are multiple choice, technology-enhanced (such as drag and drop), or require a short written response for all tests except the writing test. In the writing test, students are expected to write a continuous text.

For more information about the writing test, see the relevant FAQs at

The links below take you to demonstration tests for conventions of language (grammar, punctuation, and spelling), numeracy, reading and writing for each NAPLAN test year level: 3, 5, 7 and 9. As all Year 3 students will complete the writing test on paper, there is no Year 3 demonstration test for writing. 

K-12 Catholic Schools Pathway hitting the Radio Waves
Last week our school leaders Taylah and Lincon joined the school leaders from St Bernards and Carroll College to record a radio advertisement for our K-12 schools. It was such a great opportunity to visit the 2EC Office in Batemans Bay and be part of the process of recording an advertisement for radio. We learnt that speaking clearly and pronouncing words correctly is important…and it's not easy to get it right first go! Be sure to tune into Power FM to hear our latest radio ad!

Sue Heffernan
Assistant Principal  

Justin Bateman
Coordinator

Year 6 have hit the ground running in 2022, demonstrating outstanding leadership in the playground with their younger peers, and also in the classroom as they display independent, focused work habits. The students have all set achievable learning and personal goals for the term. We have collaboratively recorded our goals in our learning space as a consistent reminder that we are a team of learners who support each other to achieve. 

Exploring leadership in Religion
The Year 6 students have been exploring the concept of leadership in Religion. We have been looking at inspirational leaders, their qualities and personality traits. The children have responded and related to these individuals, making connections to their personal leadership values. As the student leaders of St Mary’s the children have been learning the importance of leadership being an action, not a position. The students have worked closely with the Year 5 children to share their knowledge and understanding of leading by example at St Mary’s. 

This week we have formally commissioned our Year 6 leaders in a wonderful whole school celebration which brought our school community together. The students collaboratively read a pledge, acknowledging their responsibility to live out our school motto “In all things may God be glorified”. To conclude the ceremony the school community raised their right hand and blessed the student leadership team of 2022. The Year 6 children are looking forward to the year ahead, supporting the students and staff of our school. 

English
The students have been thoroughly engaged in writing narratives, using the Seven Steps to Writing Success program. Recently, our focus was to improve the beginning of our stories. By developing a ‘sizzling start’, the writer hooks the reader's attention and makes them want to read on. Take a look at our sizzling starts, which story would you like to continue?

Maths
Year 6 have continued to make big improvements using the Maths Pathways program. We have been using the program to consolidate the learning taking place in the classroom each day, and we are so pleased to see the students challenging themselves to complete tricky modules. Students have access to this at home as well, which is included as part of our weekly homework. Year 6 are very keen to get a rocket or a plane, which indicates an amazing level of progress during the previous fortnight. Recently, Year 6 have been working on square and cubed numbers as well as BODMAS algorithms. It is wonderful to see their confidence grow each week!

Year 6 are getting Scientific
Seismograph, epicentre, tectonic plates and the Richter scale are just some examples of the vocabulary that can be heard during our weekly science sessions as we are embarking on our learning journey about the causes and effects of earthquakes. The students have been inquiring into the reasons why certain countries have more earthquake activity than others in relation to the location of the tectonic plates. The students have made clay models of the impacts of tectonic plates and created their own seismograph in the classroom to measure the movement of a makeshift earthquake. 

Art
A self portrait can be created in many different ways using various mediums. The students in Year 6 have been exploring their personal facial expressions and features. They have created a variety of self portraits focusing on colour, line and tone. We have been looking at the work of Pablo Picasso as an inspirational artist. The children have created some very lifelike representations. Can you recognise some of the Year 6 children? 

PE/Sport
In amongst all the wet weather, the intensive swimming program has been a huge success and is almost coming to an end with just one more session to go in week 10 (Monday 4 April). The increase in skills and confidence in and around water had been incredible, not to mention the increased fitness of the students. Lorraine, Sally, Stephanie and Jess have all been such wonderful instructors and the students have enjoyed our weekly sessions. The students were able to show off their diving skills last week and also their ‘funniest’ attempt at a dive. 

Welcome to Week 8! We have had a busy few weeks with many students back on the sporting fields and training again. 

NSWCPS Swimming Championships
On Tuesday, I had the privilege of attending the NSWCPS Swimming Championships at Sydney Olympic Centre Homebush. It was a fantastic day and despite a few nerves, St Mary’s team of swimmers showed amazing determination and sportsmanship. 

Junior Breaststroke, 200IM Junior Relay - Ky N 

11 Years Breastroke - Darcy F

Junior Relay - Leo S, Cooper C, Spencer S

Congratulations on reaching this level of swimming achievement at such a young age. What made it even more special was that the classmates of the swimmers could watch the events live streamed in their classrooms. There were lots of pats on the back and congratulations for the boys on their return to school. It is always a little nerve wracking at such big events with so many people, from as far away as Bourke and Northern NSW, but the boys handled the pressure like professionals. Well done!

St Mary’s Cross Country
Due to the poor weather and high absences across the school, we have decided to postpone the Cross Country for today. The current back up date is next Wednesday, 30 March. Gundary fields have been closed since the heavy rains for a few weeks, so we have decided to use the cycle path as our running track this year. Students can wear a coloured T-Shirt in their house colour (or tutu's if they wish) to celebrate the cross-country carnival. The first six in each age group (8-12 years) will be selected to move on to the Southern Region Cross Country at Wolumla on Friday 29 April (please note: this is much earlier than in previous years). Results and photos from the day will be in the next newsletter.

Presentation of Age Champions
At Monday's whole school assembly, I was able to present the certificates and age champions medals from our school swimming carnival. It was also a pleasure to announce the age champions from the recent Southern Region swimming carnival held in February. Congratulations!

Junior Girl Southern Region Age Champion - Felicity P

Junior Boy Southern Region Age Champion - Ky N

11 Year Boy Southern Region Age Champion - Darcy F

Canberra Goulburn Archdiocesan Football (Soccer) Trials
Congratulations to the following students who travelled to Canberra last Monday to trial for a spot in the Archdiocesan Football team:
Alex H, Xavier H, Ashton G, Archer S, Darcy F

After some intense drills and games, we congratulate Archer S (pictured) on his selection into the Archdiocesan team and we wish him all the very best with his training for the MacKillop trials in Goulburn on May 27.

Canberra Goulburn Rugby League and Netball Trials
Next Friday, we have a group of students travelling to Canberra to trial for the Archdiocesan Rugby League and Netball teams. We wish the following students lots of luck at the trials and I look forward to sharing the results with the school community in the next newsletter.
Rugby League: Axel S, Quade Mc, Oscar G, Cooper H, Jaxon E, Xavier H, Lincon S, Zac W, Kordel H,
Kai W, Koby P
Netball: Lily VW, Bella’Rose I and Chloe C

Eurobodalla Netball Cup
On Tuesday 3 May, students from Years 3-6 have been invited to attend the Eurobodalla Netball Cup at Captain Oldrey Courts, Broulee. Expressions of interest for teams in the following categories will be placed on the wall outside the Year 6 rooms next week. Any interested students (boys and girls) are welcome to place their names on the list and teams will be formulated. We will need the assistance of parents to act as coaches, managers and umpires. If you are interested in assisting with the teams, please contact me via email at: megan.grant@cg.catholic.edu.au

In previous years, this gala day has been a big success and the students have a great day.

K-2 AFL Skills Day
Next Thursday 31 March, students in K-2 will be participating in an AFL Skills session on the school oval. There is no charge, nor permission notes required for this activity. A flyer for an optional purchase of an AFL football will be sent home this week. I am sure the students will have a wonderful morning. All students in K-2 are asked to wear their sports clothes for this day.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Megan Grant
Sports Coordinator