Dear Parents and Carers,

Southern Region Principals’ Meeting 
This week, we have had the honour of hosting the Southern Region Principal meetings at St Mary’s. On several occasions each year, the principals of our Catholic Schools in Cooma, Bombala, Pambula, Bega, Batemans Bay, Broulee and Moruya come together with Catholic Education staff to discuss system and school priorities and plan upcoming events. 

Following an Acknowledgement of Country given in Dhurga and English by two of our Year 6 students, the Principals prayed a prayer acknowledging National Reconciliation Week. We then worked together with our Performance and Improvement Leaders, with a focus on leading teaching and learning in our schools. We had a guest speaker from NESA, Shane Chapman, who spoke about the changes occurring to the NSW Syllabus. Next term our staff will participate in professional learning lead by Mr Chapman on our common grade scale for reporting.

The Southern Region meetings provide the host school with the opportunity to showcase the learning that is happening in their schools. Our visitors were very impressed with the High Impact Teaching strategies being used effectively by our teachers. Prior to leaving on Friday, some of our guests were able to observe and join in on our early morning Investigations taking place in Kinder and Year 1.

Directors Visit
Next Wednesday Ross Fox, Director of Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn, will be visiting St Mary’s. He will be meeting the staff and visiting our classrooms. We are looking forward to sharing with Mr Fox the great learning that happens at St Mary’s.

Catholic School Parents Webinar - Helping Kids Thrive Online
The Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT have arranged a free webinar with the eSafety Commissioner for parents and carers of children aged 5-12 years. It is to be held online at 7:30 pm on Wednesday June 7. 

The title of this years’ seminar is: Helping Kids Thrive Online

The webinar offers tips on how to support young people to socialise, learn and have fun online in a safe manner. It explains how to access information, use technology safely and navigate new online platforms.

It will cover:

• how to talk to young people about online risks on different social media platforms and games
• how to help young people develop skills to protect themselves when they are online
• where to go for help if things go wrong and how to access mental health support and information through eSafety.

• Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/715182158220149006
  Who should attend? Suitable for parents and carers of children aged 5-12 years
  Date/Time: Wednesday 8 June at 7:30pm
  If you have any questions or require additional resources please contact
  Clare Dunstan clare.dunstan@ccsp.catholic.edu.au

Tell Them From Me Survey
In the coming weeks, we will be inviting students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process.

We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Mary’s.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below:

https://www.tellthemfromme.com/survey/splash/StMarys2022

Canteen Manger Position
We have an exciting opportunity for a Canteen Manager to join our team. The role of the Canteen Manager is to support the school in the provision of healthy and accessible canteen facilities, overseeing the coordination of operations and volunteers. The canteen would be open one day a week - Friday, starting Term 3. If you are interested in applying for this position, please follow the link below to apply through Catholic Education.

https://careers.cg.catholic.edu.au/en/job/498844/school-canteen-manager-st-marys-moruya

Noeleen O'Neill
Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week is a significant event for Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people of this Nation. To begin National Reconciliation Week some of our Aboriginal students and their friends joined members of the local community and participated in the Sorry Day Bridge Walk in Batemans Bay. The walk was followed by speeches, dancing, morning tea and a barbecue on the Clyde River Foreshore. We would like to thank the Eurobodalla Boys to Men group who organised the event and invited us to take part. 

Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians – as individuals, families, communities, organisations and importantly as a nation. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This week our students have focused on this year’s theme ‘Be Brave, Make Change’. In our classrooms we have explored the role we all play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories and cultures. Together each class has developed their own unique and meaningful group Acknowledgement of Country which they will use to begin each day.

At St Mary’s we acknowledge the Brinja Yuin people who are the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which our school is built. 

We pay respect to the Walbanga people on the northern side of the Moruya river and to Elders past, present and those of the future. 

We also extend that respect to other Aboriginals present in our school community.

We recognise their long history and culture and continue our commitment to the reconciliation process.

Personal Learning Pathway Meetings for Aboriginal Students
This week and next week, we are conducting PLP meetings for Aboriginal students in Years 1-6. In developing the PLP, specific goals are set and clear strategies put in place to support your child in meeting the agreed learning and cultural goals.

The meeting will focus on the strengths and challenges of your child and how the school can best support them to achieve their goals. If you have not booked a meeting time and would like to be part of the process, please contact Mr Hodgson or Mrs Heffernan.

Carroll Day
Today, students in Year 6 joined with their peers from St Bernard’s, Batemans Bay to attend Carroll Day celebrations. Carroll Day is the College's annual day that celebrates the College founder, Archbishop Francis Carroll. The Year 6 students participated in a range of fun activities organised by the Carroll College students, had a BBQ lunch and watched the Battle of the Bands.

Carroll College Variety Night
St Mary’s and St Bernard’s Primary Schools have been invited to attend and perform at a Performing Arts Variety Night at Carroll College on Wednesday 22 June (Week 9 Term 2). Our school choir led by Mrs Croese will be performing on the night. The Variety Concert will commence at 6.00pm with a light supper available for purchase from 5.15pm. There is no cost for entry. All families are invited to attend and be entertained by the students from our K-12 schools.

Resource to Help Families Support Their Child Transition to Primary/Secondary School
Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) have developed a range of resources to support families to be positively engaged in their child’s learning.

The resources are available at https://www.parentengagementcspa.edu.au/

The modules on Nurturing Your Child Through Transition -Primary and Nurturing Your Child Through Transition – Secondary have some useful information, ideas and resources that may be beneficial to families with children entering Kindergarten or Year 7 next year.

God bless and take care,  

Sue Heffernan
Assistant Principal  

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week was National Reconciliation Week. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme this year Be Brave Make Change is a challenge to us all to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for all. Many students coloured a heart and added their own prayer or significant words or phrases. These are displayed around the school tocreate a ‘sea of hearts’

This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and followers of Jesus. Pentecost is a very special celebration in the church calendar as it represents the beginning of the Christian Church. 

Sacrament of Confirmation
The Sacrament of Confirmation will be held on Sunday 24th July at 10:00am in the church. Following his Ordination later this month, Deacon Eden will celebrate this special Mass with the children. The 16 candidates are well underway with their preparations and are looking forward to receiving this sacrament early next term. Please keep these boys and girls in your prayers as they prepare to take this step in their faith journey.

Next Friday 10 June, Year 6 students from St Mary’s and St Bernard’s will be attending a Confirmation Formation Retreat at Carroll College. The day will be led by the Year 10 students and will be an opportunity for students to connect with their peers from St Bernard’s and foster their growing friendships, strengthening our K-12 Pathway. Lunch will be provided but students are reminded to pack fruit and a recess snack as well as a water bottle and hat. I am looking forward to attending the day along with the Year 6 teachers and Deacon Eden. 

Confirmation Commitment Mass
The weekend before last, many of the confirmation candidates attended a special Commitment Mass as part of their preparation for the sacrament. Students were called up to the altar where they said a prayer along with their families and the parishioners present. They were then given a special blessing by Father George Hogarty. 

Father Hogarty Visits
Last week we were very lucky to have Father George Hogarty in the parish for the week. Fr Hogarty is a Columban Missionary who has spent 15 years living in Chile. Fr. Hogarty visited the boys and girls in Years 5 and 6 and shared stories and photos of his experiences while living in South America. We thank Fr. Hogarty for his warmth and time spent with the children.

Welcoming Fr Rex Curry
Father Rex Curry will be in Moruya celebrating the Masses during the month of June. He would love to see as many children and families come along as possible and warmly welcomes all to attend one of the weekend Masses this Saturday at 6:00pm or Sunday at 10:00am.

Condolences
We send our heartfelt condolences to John Harnett following the passing of his mother recently. We send our love and prayers to John, Gail, Rachael, Chris, Brooke and families at this sad time. May God’s infinite love and healing be with them all during this 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

English
In Year 2 we are great authors. We have been busily writing stories for the Mayor’s Writing competition about Magic, and applying our knowledge of narratives to write some excellent adventures under the sea! We have been practising our reading skills during our mat time and rotations, applying a variety of reading strategies when reading tricky words. We are enjoying reading more challenging texts including Chapter Books and Information texts. 

Maths
In year 2 we love starting our maths lessons with a maths warm up game! We have been learning a few new games, and our firm favourite this term is Salute!  In Maths we have been investigating how to tell the time, how to create a calendar and schedule recognising that time is a form of measurement. We have made our own analogue clocks to assist us to read the time. We have enjoyed using hands on materials to recognise place value.

In Year 1/2  we have been warming up with our daily drills and card games to improve our recall of number patterns. While exploring the concept of length, we decided to conduct a real life investigation and measure the length of our feet using informal units of measurement. We then graphed the results. The children were very engaged in their learning and couldn’t wait to find out who had the biggest foot!

Religion
We have been investigating the Bible and how it shares stories about Jesus and also before Jesus was born. We have loved learning that some parts of the bible were written over 3000 years ago! We read from the Gospel of Matthew about Jesus sharing the word of God. We created our own boats recognising Jesus told stories on the banks of the Sea of Galilee and that he was a ‘Fisher of men’. We have brainstormed our knowledge of the Bible and shared our favourite stories with one another. 

Reconciliation Week 
This week we have learnt about Reconciliation Week as part of our Geography unit. We have created our own Acknowledgement of Country using the Dhurga language to use in our classrooms as part of our Christian meditation each morning. We talked about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people connect to place and this is often through art and storytelling. We listened to a beautiful story called ‘The lost girl’ and made our own wristbands with the words ‘sorry’, ‘unity’ and ‘respect’. 

Science
We have been investigating how properties of materials can change with temperature (both hot and cold). We have explored the changing textures of fruit using freezing and warming up. Not only was it an interesting experiment, but also a delicious one!