Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 3. Today the sun is shining and the students are having a fabulous time playing outside. I can't promise that the students, especially the youngest, won't come home a bit muddy again, but after so much wet weather and limited time on the oval, we had to let them out!

We welcome four new students and their families to St Mary’s. We were excited to see Leroy, Lucinda and Shonquay return to us as well as welcome little Ashantay into Kindergarten. May your time with us be happy and successful.

Term 3 Update COVID and Restrictions 
Last week, a letter was sent home to parents from Mr Ross Fox, Director of Catholic Education. He indicated that his absolute priority this term is to keep teachers onsite, teaching the students in their classes. At the end of Term 2, several system schools and/or grades had to be closed due to staff absences. Projected numbers of COVID cases and other illnesses are likely to affect staff attendance at work this term. I have been directed to make some decisions to ensure staff workload is not excessive this term and that the focus remains on classroom teaching. 

With this in mind, we have decided to continue with Peter Pan rehearsals during class time but postpone the actual performance until Week 6 of Term 4. The additional time for preparation has taken a lot of pressure off our teachers and especially the Production Team. 

Unfortunately for now, parents are not able to be onsite other than dropping off and picking up their children. You may come into the office for short periods. Unless considered critical, meetings should be done remotely or over the phone. Please feel free to email your child’s teacher or me if you are concerned about anything. I understand that this is disappointing, but please know it is only for a short time. The Director is asking for everyone in the school community to do what they can, to keep the students and staff well and our school/classes open for face to face learning.

Sick Children/Household Contacts
Thank you parents for keeping your children at home when they are sick. There is a lot of illness in the community and everyday, many children present to the Front Office feeling unwell. Today each student will come home with more RATs. Please test your child if they display any cold or flu symptoms. Nausea and headaches seem to be common in our students. I suggest that you test your child for COVID if it has been more than a month since their last infection.

If your child tests positive, it is a requirement that you inform NSW Health and the school. Information will be confidential. Following seven days of isolation, your child may return to school if they are well.

When a parent or sibling has COVID, other children should, if at all possible, learn from home during this time. Children who are Household Contacts need to be tested before coming to school and then retested every 48 hours until the isolation period finishes.  

All children at home should be learning if they are feeling well enough to do so. Please refer to the NSW Digital Learning Packs for your child’s grade level learning. The website has been updated to include Term 3 learning.

Canteen
Some great news! Our canteen will be open from this Friday. Mrs Hayley Van Weerdenburg has been appointed to staff as our Canteen Manager. Mrs Van Weerdenburg has begun planning an exciting menu and is currently setting up a QKR lunch ordering system. You will receive information in the very near future. Cash may be used for Over The Counter food and drinks. Thank you in advance to those parents who will hopefully volunteer their time in helping out. Our wonderful Year 6 students will also be volunteering to assist Mrs Van Weerdenberg. 

Sacrament of Confirmation
Last Sunday, our Year 6 students celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation in the presence of their sponsors, parents, teachers and parishioners. It was a beautiful ceremony and I thank Father Eden for making it so meaningful and special for the students. A special thank you to Mrs Jess Afflick, Mrs Megan Grant, Mrs Jessie White and Mrs Marg Croese for their work in preparing the students for this important stage of their faith journey.  

NAIDOC Week Awards
During NAIDOC Week each year, Catholic Education awards members of its community for their exceptional contributions to Aboriginal education in whatever area they work or learn. Nominations from school principals and teachers are considered by the Aboriginal Education team at Catholic Education. This year we are proud to announce that of the twenty NAIDOC Award recipients throughout the Archdiocese, three have come from St Mary’s. Congratulations to Morgan D and Emily F in Year 6 for receiving the Culture and Identity Awards and to Harper L in Year 5 for the Sports Award. Well done girls, you are a credit to your families and community and wonderful role models for your peers. 

Book Week/Book Swap
It's time to clear out the bookshelves at home and then get ready to fill them back up again! As part of our Book Week Celebrations on Wednesday August 10, we will be having a good old fashioned Book Swap. Between now and then, we ask that the students bring in their preloved books so we can get ready for the day. Please only send in books that are in a reasonable/good condition. Keep an eye on class memos for more information. 

New School Jumper
A special thank you to our Community Council parents for organising our new school jumper. Following a survey of parents, it was decided to replace the maroon V neck one with a much smarter looking navy button up jacket style. They look fabulous with the girls’ dresses as well as with pants and the kids love them!!   

The new jumper is NOT compulsory in 2022. We are transitioning over to it in the next two years and allowing both the maroon jumper and maroon jacket to be worn indoors. From 2023 however, the maroon jacket is to only be worn outdoors. It was originally intended to be an outdoor jacket but slowly crept in because the students didn't like the old jumper. The new jumpers are available to purchase/order from Aussie Embroidery & Workwear 02 44740037.

Wishing you God's blessings on your families.
Noeleen O'Neill
Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back to Term 3. It has been wonderful to see your children return enthusiastically and settled ready for a new term. Last Sunday, as children from Year 6 celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation, it was also the 2nd World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. I noticed on Sunday many grandparents sitting with our Confirmation students and reflected on how my grandparents would always make the 4 hour trip from Harden to Bemboka to share each sacrament with me and my siblings. Grandparents share a special place in our lives and so I would like to share with you a beautiful Prayer for Grandparents from Pope Benedict XVI that you may like to share with your family.

Staff Professional Learning
On Monday 18 July, the St Mary’s teaching staff attended a Catalyst professional learning day in Canberra with several Catholic schools from our diocese. The focus of the day was Reading and Spelling Daily Review to improve student outcomes and was conducted by Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond AM, PhD, CF from Edith Cowan University, WA. Staff came away with a clearer understanding of Why do we use Daily Review? and What to put in a Daily Review. This was a wonderful opportunity for the staff to engage in high-quality professional learning to further develop the quality of learning offered to our students. 

On Thursday last week,  Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond observed and provided high quality feedback to our teaching staff in Years K-2. Staff then had the opportunity to work alongside Lorraine planning and reviewing Daily Review lessons. 

On Monday this week, Jordan O’Sullivan from Shaping Minds returned to St Mary’s and worked in our Year 3-6 classrooms, observing and providing high quality feedback to staff who demonstrated their own Daily Review lesson. This strategy will become an important part of our daily routine to address reducing cognitive load and supporting the retention of knowledge.

ICAS Assessments 2022
A reminder the ICAS assessments competition is now open to register your child. Registrations close Monday 1 August 2022. ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

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: (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas) 
2.   read the terms and conditions here: (https://www.icasassessments.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Finalised-Parents-Ts-and-Cs-2022v03-1.pdf)
3.   go to Parent Portal here: (https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps) 
4.   enter our school’s access code – NVY122
5.   enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.

If you have any other queries, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Book Week
Book Week celebrations will take place on Wednesday 10 August Week 4. Children are encouraged to come to school dressed as their favourite book character. This year's theme is ‘Dreaming with Eyes Open’. This is always a fun celebration for the students and teachers alike! Behind the scenes, teachers are also preparing for the Book Quiz, a fun way for all the students to come together to celebrate their love of books and reading.

This year as part of our book week celebrations, St Mary's will be hosting a book swap.This is a great opportunity to clean out those bookshelves and send in any preloved and unwanted books. Students will have the opportunity to choose some new (recycled) books to continue their love of reading. Please send in any books to your child's classroom teacher.

Justin Bateman
Assistant Principal (Acting)  

I hope you all were able to enjoy some quality family time together with your children over the break, whether that was restful and quiet time at home or adventuring and travelling. It is lovely to be back with the children again and to see their smiling faces as they entered school on Tuesday morning. Term 3 is always such a wonderful time for seeing growth in the students as they take on the second half of the year.

NAIDOC Week
During the holidays NAIDOC Week was celebrated across the country. This is an incredibly important observance in the history of our nation, that provides an opportunity for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to build positive and respectful relationships, and to celebrate our shared cultures, traditions and histories. 

The theme of NAIDOC Week 2022 was Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! It is an open invitation for us to engage in the richness of Indigenous cultures by respecting and acknowledging the past, healing in the present and creating a harmonious future together.

We all play a pivotal role in the celebration of NAIDOC Week each year and continuing to pave the road towards the healing of our cultures and strengthening the bond amongst all Australians.

A Prayer for NAIDOC Week

God of all wonder, 
We pause in the busyness of our days to listen deeply to the wisdom 
of this land and those who belong to it. 
May our minds be open to dialogue, 
May our hearts be open to transformation and 
May our hands do the work of reconciliation. 
We ask that the Spirit accompany us on our journey of healing 
on these lands, seas and waterways; 
We also ask the Spirit of peace be with all those who are living a life of fear, 
dispossession and distress. 
We make this prayer in the name of Jesus our brother and friend. 
Amen

Confirmation
Last Sunday 24 July, thirteen St Mary’s students received the Sacrament of Confirmation at a lovely Mass. The students have spent time during Term 2 preparing for the sacrament and Sunday was a beautiful and memorable celebration for these children and their families. We thank Father Eden for preparing with the students and for the lovely Mass. He really engaged the children and made them feel very at ease. The children celebrated after Mass with a lovely Morning Tea in the presbytery gardens. 

First Eucharist
The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated this term with our Year 4 students. In lieu of a Parent Enrollment Evening, which was set to be held next Wednesday, information regarding the sacrament of Eucharist will be sent out to families via email. Some key dates to note in relation to the sacrament of Eucharist are listed below:

First Eucharist Commitment Masses	Saturday 13 or Sunday 14 August
First Eucharist Retreat Day	Tuesday 6 September
Sacrament of First Eucharist Mass	Sunday 18 September

Parish Mass - Change of Time
Please note that there has been a change to Saturday Mass time. During the winter months, Saturday Mass will be celebrated at 5:00pm each week.  

Mrs Jess Afflick
Religious Education Coordinator

Let’s escape to Neverland! 
A warm welcome to Term 3 as we prepare for our school production, “Peter Pan the Musical”. The school is a hype of activity as backdrops are being painted, acting workshops are occurring and the students are busy learning the choreography for their class dance items. 

The school production of Peter Pan will now take place in Week 6 of Term 4, which gives us additional weeks to create a truly magical Neverland experience for the school and wider community to enjoy!  

Please place the revised dates in your calendar: Tuesday 15 November and Wednesday 16 November. Tickets for the production will go on sale at the school office later this term.  

On behalf of the production team I would like to personally thank the parents, grandparents and family members who are very busy working behind the scenes on costume design, backdrop painting and building outstanding props. Putting on a school production is a community effort and we are very grateful for the ongoing support and assistance you all provide. If you wish to assist in any way please make contact via email: jessica.white@cg.catholic.edu.au 

It is wonderful to see Neverland coming to life at St Mary’s as the students are bringing in their creative costumes. We have fairies, pirates and mermaids making their way around the playground, spreading the magical message of Peter Pan: “I want to be a child forever and never grow up!”

Mrs Jessie White
Coordinator (Acting)

Year 1 Blue have begun Term 3 with their usual enthusiasm! We love to begin each day with investigations. This term, our dramatic play zone has been transformed into a police station and courthouse. The students play the roles of police, judge and criminals. Sometimes, undercover detectives collect and give evidence to the judge. Some of the cases are making for some very interesting moral discussion. Last week, a criminal was arrested for stealing food. When the judge asked why he did it, he said he was stealing to feed his son. We may only be 6 and 7 years old, but we have some very rich conversation in Year 1.

In other investigation news, our construction team have been set the challenge of designing and making a miniature golf course on our verandah, that the class can play at the end of the term. So far, they have designed a starting point and Obstacle 1, which involves hitting the ball into a snake’s mouth!

Our Spiny Leaf Insects are still going strong. We are amazed that the little nymphs that arrived in the post at the beginning of the year are now adults. Based on our observations and the experience of others, we are quite sure our female will be laying her own eggs soon. However, as we know only too well in 1 Blue, the eggs can take anywhere from two weeks to two years to hatch! Every day we check the eggs Mrs. Stephen gave us at the beginning of the year, but still no action. Spiny Leaf Insect breeding is certainly a waiting game! 

Religious Education

At the moment Year 1 are especially praying for Ash’s grandmother Mackie who is very sick.

English
We have now reached the halfway point of Year 1, and last week took a moment to reflect on how much progress we have made in English. The students are feeling very proud of their growth and are motivated to continue to do their best. We were introduced to a new character called Decoding Dragon, who keeps the Guessing Monster away. At the moment we are focussing on our first split digraph ‘bossy e’, who makes the vowel sound long. 

We practice writing short pieces, often. Our focus for Semester 1 was on writing Super Sentences in neat, legible handwriting. We will now begin to learn about writing a paragraph. Go Year 1!

Mathematics
In Mathematics we are learning all about 2D shapes. We have been identifying and counting sides and corners. We noticed that closed shapes have the same number of sides as corners, and the special name for the point that sides meet is the vertex. We are also exploring horizontal, vertical and parallel lines.

Science
This term, we are learning all about observable changes that occur in the sky and landscape with Mrs. Wolfe. We examined a photo of the office building from 1921, when it was a convent, comparing it to our office building today.

Geography
This term we are exploring features of places, with a special focus on Indonesia. Included is a photo of Milton’s’ writing, who, as the focus student had to find out some facts about Indonesia to share with the class.

Art
In Art we have continued to explore line and shape, and enjoyed creating 3D paper sculptures. The simple colour blocking looks very effective. 

Well done Year 1! Semester 2, here we come!

Mrs Genevieve Schofield
Year 1 Teacher