Dear Parents and Carers,

This last week of term has been a real highlight for us all at St Mary’s. After a very long and busy 9 weeks of school, we have had some very special occasions in recent days. The K-2 Eggstravaganza and yesterday’s Sunflower Day brought out the very best in our students and have made us exceptionally proud to be their teachers.

Sunflowers for Ukraine 
I told the students this morning that in my time here as Principal, I haven't seen them be as perfect as they were during the Sunflowers for Ukraine liturgy in the hall. Despite the rain outside, the students’ behaviour was exemplary and their reverence and respect for the importance of the occasion was impressive. A very special thank you to Mrs Afflick, Year 5 and Year 1 for their efforts with the prayer service and to our wonderful Year 6 students and their families for bringing in so many cakes to sell. The face painting was also a big success. All money raised today will go directly to the CARITAS Ukraine appeal.

K-2 Eggstravaganza
What a big day we had! Our amazing Kinder to Year 2 teachers planned a fun day of Egg based activities for all students at St Mary’s and their families to enjoy. It was lovely to see so many young children with us in the morning session. Thank you to those parents who were able to find the time to be here and support us during the day. I imagine everyone, especially the staff, slept well that night!

Pupil Free Day
Tuesday April 26 is a Pupil Free day to enable the staff to travel to Canberra for Professional Learning. Together with staff from other schools, our teachers will be learning more about Catholic Education’s CATALYST program and High Impact Teaching Practices (HITP).

Term 2 Dates
Please keep an eye on our COMPASS Parent calendar for important Term 2 dates. All students return to school on Wednesday April 27. Week 2 is NSW Catholic Schools Week which is always a very busy and exciting one for us. During that week we will be having an Open Morning and School Tours, Kindergarten Teddy Bears Picnic, Year 6 Leadership Day, Totally Terrific Thursday (to make special gifts for mums) and finally our Mothers’ Day Breakfast and liturgy on Friday May 6. 

School Photos 
Our School Photo Day will be held earlier this year on Wednesday April 27, to capture students in their summer school uniforms. Please remember to send your children in their full summer school uniform on their first day back. Siblings photo forms have also been sent home for those parents wishing to order them. If you haven't already, please send back the forms back on the day.

Special School Assembly -  2021 Awards
On Monday May 16, we will be hosting a Special Whole School Assembly at 12:45 pm in the  Performing Arts Centre (PAC). We are finally able to gather together as a community and announce our Class Award recipients from last year. Normally we host an Awards Ceremony at the end of the school year but unfortunately COVID got in the way in 2021.

Please join us if you can to share in this special occasion. Parents are welcome to stay on and have another family picnic on the front lawns. Hopefully the wet weather will have passed by then because it's very soggy out there at present!

Community Council
On Friday, students will be coming home with raffle tickets for our School Community Council Mothers’ Day Raffle. Last year's fundraising went towards the school swimming program, significantly reducing costs to our families. Please support the Community Council by selling tickets to family and friends over the break. More raffle books are available from the front office if needed. 

Palm Sunday and Holy Week
In Religious Education lessons during Lent, the students have been learning about the significance of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. To support the learning that is happening in school, we encourage families to take their children to at least one of the Holy Week services at the Church. Thank you to those children who have volunteered to be involved in celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass.

And finally, thank you for an incredible first term of 2022. It has flown by so quickly and I am sure the staff and your children will need a decent rest. Wishing you a blessed and Happy Easter and please stay safe.

God’s blessings on you and your families.

Dear Parents and Carers,

First Reconciliation
Last Wednesday, 11 students from Year 3 celebrated the sacrament of First Reconciliation.  It was a lovely evening of prayer and it was a privilege to journey with these children and their families in their preparations for this special occasion. I thank Mr Harpley for his work with these students and for preparing them so well in the lead up to Wednesday. We send our blessings and congratulations to Ollie A, Abbie H, Sam H, Tessa H, Mackenzie H, Anthony M, Madelyn M, Lily M, Gabby S, Sam W and Matilda W. 

Sunflower Day
Yesterday we celebrated Sunflower Day. The sunflower is a symbol of peace and has been used to show solidarity to the people of Ukraine during these times of conflict and trauma. We began with a very special prayer service with some Year 6 students sharing prayers they had written, class members bringing forward giant sunflower prayers and finally Year 1 and Year 5 joined together beautifully to sing Sunflowers by Timothy Hart. It was a truly heartwarming prayer. Following this, students were able to purchase baked treats or have their faces painted for a gold coin donation. All the money raised will be sent to the Caritas Ukraine Appeal. 

Stations of the Cross
Today, students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will pray the Stations of the Cross. This is a reflective prayer, traditionally prayed during Lent to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection at this important time in the Church’s calendar.

Dear Parents, Carers, Boys & Girls,

Teachers Learn Too!
What type of learning counts and what doesn’t? What does it mean to truly grow and evolve over a lifetime? By making lifelong learning part and parcel of who we are as educators we can provide better educational opportunities and support for our young people.

As part of our school improvement, our K-2 teachers and the leadership team took part this week in professional learning, observations and demonstration lessons, with Jordan O’Sullivan to further our knowledge on the ‘Science of Reading’.

Jordan is one of the directors of Shaping Minds, and is an experienced leader and curriculum expert who also provides high quality professional development to schools on effective literacy and numeracy instruction. He has been successful in leading instructional and school-based curriculum change initiatives that have resulted in significant improvements in student outcomes. He now works with schools and teachers to share this experience and support them on their own journey.

On the first day of next term, our staff will join other educators from the Canberra/Goulburn Diocese and participate in professional learning focusing on Explicit Instruction, Daily Review and Engagement Norms with Dr Lorraine Hammond. Dr Hammond, is an Associate Professor at the school of Education at Edith Cowan University. She is a specialist in teacher-led instruction, early literacy development, literacy-based learning difficulties and classroom coaching. 

We are fortunate to have such exceptional educators/coaches as Dr Hammond and the Shaping Minds team working with all the St Mary’s staff this year. We look forward to working with our coaches to further improve our teaching and learning programs across the school to uphold the high expectations we have for the students that attend our school.

Explicit Instruction
When considering best practice in terms of how children are taught in schools, it is important to start with the question, “What do students most need from their time in school?”

The short answer is that students need to be literate and numerate to be able to actively and successfully participate in the world. By explicitly teaching literacy and numeracy skills students will have the tools at their disposal to help them learn how to conduct inquiry, to be problem solvers and finders.

Children need to be able to communicate their learning and learn with and from others. They also need to be able to critically evaluate information and ideas. To support children in this journey they need to be taught how to do these things. They need to be guided through the process. They need to see how experts approach these processes. They need opportunities to practise these skills with appropriate levels of support and scaffolding. They need to be given tools to use and be shown how and when to use them.

In order to equip students with the above mentioned tools, skills and to develop life-long learning dispositions, at St Mary’s we use the High Impact Teaching Practice known as Explicit Instruction. 

Explicit instruction is instruction that is concrete and visible. The teacher explains new concepts and strategies in clear and concise language. Explicit instruction involves the teacher modelling and explaining concepts and skills using many examples. Teachers provide a high level of support as students practice and apply newly learned concepts.

Explicit instruction involves breaking down what students need to learn into smaller learning outcomes and modelling each step so that students can see what is expected of them. Providing explicit instruction limits the mental effort for students allowing them to process new information more effectively.

The I Do – We Do – You Do model involves a series of steps starting with the teacher leading instruction and finishing with students working independently. 

There are 3 main stages

I Do
The teacher tells the students what they need to know and shows them how to do the things that they need to be able to do. It involves teaching strategies such as informing, explaining, modelling and providing examples. We use a lot of visual supports to support our students’ comprehension of tasks.

We Do
This stage involves doing tasks together. It is at this stage that we start to gradually release responsibility to our students. The teacher will often have a work sample on the board for students to help complete the missing steps.

You Do
The You Do phase of a lesson involves students practising and applying what they have learnt. This helps them become fluent with what they need to know and be able to do. We give clear and direct feedback which adds further improvements to their learning.

 When used well, the I Do – We Do – You Do model:

• Helps all students to master what they need to learn
• Suits novice learners (which most students are)
• Nurtures self-efficacy
• Reduces task anxiety

Students feel less anxious due to the clear modelling and the scaffolded opportunities to practice. These same factors help students to experience independent success, which in turn builds their self-efficacy. 

End of Term 1
When I look back over the term, it is amazing to see just how much we have all accomplished. We have so much to be grateful for considering we are still dealing with COVID-19 and extreme weather conditions. This term has been filled with rich learning opportunities as well as many exciting events to build our community.

My sincere thanks to all our families for your continued support throughout this term. Without you working in partnership with your child and their teachers through their educational and spiritual life we would not have achieved the many exciting opportunities this term. When parents and carers are engaged and support positive attitudes towards learning, this builds our student’s motivation, enjoyment and confidence and transforms them into lifelong learners. 

All of our students need to be congratulated for their hard work, for never giving up on the learning they are constantly challenged with and always looking out and caring for others. 

I wish our St Mary’s community a very happy and blessed Easter in the coming weeks. I hope over the school holiday break everyone has a chance to relax and enjoy special times with their families.

May our Easter break bring our community peace and rest, knowing God has a plan for everyone. It is our faith in the resurrection that will support us in living out God’s plan.

God bless and take care,  

Sue Heffernan
Assistant Principal  

School Photos Term 2

School photos will take place Term 2, Wednesday 27 April. This will be the first day back of term for all students. We ask that students wear their summer uniform for the photos this year. Envelopes for ordering and online payment information has been sent home with students. Please return these to your child’s classroom teacher.

Teddy Bears Picnic
As part of our 3 local Catholic schools K-12 Pathways, Kindergarten students will have the opportunity to mix and engage with Kindergarten students from St Bernard's Primary during Catholic Schools Week. With the assistance of students from Carroll College they will participate in a range of games and activities, craft and of course a teddy bears picnic lunch. More information will be available via Compass in the coming weeks.

Totally Terrific Thursday

St Mary’s staff are excited to be holding a range of craft making activities on Thursday 5 May, to work with all of the students to help create a wonderful gift for Mother’s Day this year. Staff are currently planning and preparing their ideas to make this a special time in preparation for such a beautiful day.  

 

Wishing you all a wonderful and enjoyable Easter period with your families.

Justin Bateman
Coordinator

EGGSTRA SPECIAL EGGSTRAVAGANZA ISSUE!

The K-2 Eggstravaganza promised to be a fun-filled day of sport, music, art and craft - and it certainly delivered! It was wonderful to welcome so many of our families and preschool friends into the school once more.

Following is a summary of the eggcellent activities we participated in. After such an action-packed day we are sure there were some very tired little bunnies (and big bunnies!) last night.  

Musical Storytelling
Our Year 6 leaders brought the story “We’re Going on a Bunny Hunt” to life. The students loved participating in this interactive story and song. During the bunny hunt the students tried to “catch a big one” in a multi-sensory experience.

Click here to listen to children singing "Going on a Bunny Hunt"

"I loved the bunny hunt becasue when we were in the snowstorm, there were bubbles everywhere!" Emerson D

"My favourite thing was with the cookies." Jimmy D

"I loved making easter eggs and baskets because it was really fun and now I have an easter egg basket." Evie M

"I loved the cookie making because we got to eat them." Bernadette S

"I liked the egg hunt best because we got to eat chocolate eggs!" Milton W

Egg-themed STEM Challenges
Exploding eggs, rubber eggs, and balloon rockets! This activity was interesting, messy and a whole lot of fun!

Easter Craft
It wouldn’t be an Easter celebration without basket and hat-making! The students enjoyed making these items, ready to parade and hunt for eggs in the afternoon. They were very proud of their creations!

Easter Sports & Games
We were so pleased that the rain held off so that we could have some fun outdoors. The students bounced eggs (plastic, thankfully) on a parachute, raced each other in an egg-and-spoon and played pin the tail on the bunny. We think the adults were having just as much fun as the kids!

"Pin the tail on the bunny was SO much fun. We got to wear a blindfold and see if we could put the fluffy tail on it." Natasha S

"The sport activities were my favourite. The parachute was great fun. We got to run underneath it and hide the easter eggs." Maya C

Biscuit Decorating
The students created Easter-themed delicacies and were excited to take them home at the end of the day. It was lovely to hear many of them say they were planning to share their creations later with siblings. We have such special students at St Mary’s.

"My favourite activity was biscuit decorating. I love cooking at home and I felt like a Masterchef." Aria T

"I loved the biscuit decorating as I got to put lots of toppings on, and it was very YUM!" Oliver B

Hat Parade
The Hat Parade kick-started our final session for the day. The students wore the hats they had made earlier in the day and took turns dancing their paws off on stage. I think Hop Hippity Hop by Justine Clarke may still be ringing in many adult ears today!

Egg Hunt with Special Guest!
Would it even be a St Mary’s celebration if Mrs Croese didn’t make an appearance in a cute costume? At the end of the day she hopped into the hall as the Easter Bunny. After belting out a few tunes she led the charge out into the garden, with K-2 students following her through a very special Year 6 tunnel to the much-anticipated egg hunt! A special mention must go here to our Year 6 students (and their teachers), thank you for being amazing leaders and making our day so memorable.

K-2 would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make the Eggstravaganza such a success: our beautiful St Mary’s families, Year 6 leaders and school staff. You are all wonderful! What a spectacular way to end the term.  

Mrs Durnan, Mrs Devonald, Mrs Stephen & Mrs Schofield
K-2 Teachers

Netball - Lily VW, Bella’Rose I and Chloe C

Rugby League
11 years: Axel S, Cooper H, Quade Mc, Jake P, Frank D, Jaxon E, Oscar G
Opens: Kobi P, Lincoln S, Zac W, Kordel H, Kai W and Sonny C

All students displayed a high level of skill and made the selectors job a very difficult one! 

Lily VW made it through to the possible/probable team game for netball after playing extremely well as part of the South Coast (St Mary’s and St Bernard’s combined team). Well done Lily!

Cooper H, Axel S, Oscar G and all the Opens boys made it through to the possible and probable teams for the two rugby league teams with Axel, Oscar and Sonny all being selected for the Archdiocesan team. Again, the selectors found it very hard to decide on teams as the skill level was so high. Congratulations boys, we are sure you will have lots of fun and play your very best at the MacKillop event in Canberra on May 6. 

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 have been collected and we will be entering one Year 3 team, one Year 5 team and one mixed Year 6 team. We will need the assistance of parents to act as coaches, managers and also umpires. If you are interested in assisting with the teams please contact me via email at: megan.grant@cg.catholic.edu.au

Information notes will be sent home this Friday and are required back at school in week 1, term 2.

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

Thank you to our parents/families who have taken our students to representative events this term. We appreciate your commitment and support. These events are such a highlight for our students and are a wonderful way to not only bring regions together, our students have the opportunity to learn new skills and make new friends. 

I wish everyone a safe and happy Easter holiday. Enjoy the slower pace that holidays bring. 

Megan Grant
Sports Coordinator

Our fantastic guitar group meets every Tuesday at break time. It is great to see the older students helping the beginners to learn their chords and simple songs.
We look forward to learning and playing more next term. Keep up the practice everyone. Thanks for all your hard work. Happy Easter.  
Mrs Croese