Dear Parents and Carers,

As you know, this week has been a combination of very cold days and some warmer ones. Please make sure that your children come to school dressed for the cold and that their clothing is named on the inside. Many students are now wearing the new school jumper but it is definitely not compulsory this year. Some students are wearing their maroon one underneath on very cold mornings. There is an increased level of pride and the students say they are very warm. And perhaps best of all…. so far we have not had any of the new school jumpers ‘dumped’ on the playground. 

Canteen and Working With Children Checks
Thank you to Hayley Van Weerdenburg for taking on the massive job of reopening the school canteen. The students and staff were delighted! Last Friday 176 lunch orders were put through QKR and despite a few minor hiccups, it all went to plan. I understand there has been a bit of confusion with some prices and Hayley is working with QKR to sort it. Some students have been provided with credit from last week. 

Hayley will need help each Friday. I encourage any parents or grandparents who can find the time to volunteer to help out even if it's once a term. You will need to have a Volunteer Working With Children (WWC) prior to commencing though. You can apply online and they do not cost anything for Volunteers.

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-working-children-check

Please contact the Front office or email Hayley on hayley.vanweerdenbur@cg.catholic.edu.au for more information. The WWCs need to be kept on file in the Front Office. We would be very grateful for your support. 

Early Years’ Learning - K-2 Investigations 
Every morning, the students in Kinder- Year 2 participate in a variety of stimulating learning activities that are creative and developmentally appropriate. The Investigations are planned so that students of all abilities are learning; challenged to solve problems, work with others and communicate effectively. Developing good oral language skills is key to reading and writing in the early years.   

If you get a chance, take a look at our short video of Early Years’ Learning at St Mary’s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38lf3Zay6Jc

We are thrilled to be offering a unique program that the students absolutely love. 

Last term, Mrs Schofield piloted a Focus Family Week in her classroom. Each student's family members came into the classroom throughout the week to teach the students about their family. Parents and grandparents have shared and taught the children about their family traditions, aspects of their jobs, arts and crafts, cooking, culture and history. In preparation for our Fair Education Grant report, we have recently asked families to tell us what they think about the program. We have been overwhelmed with the positive feedback received.  

"Our family loved the idea of Focus family week. Not only being able to have interaction on a different level with our son's teacher it also allowed us to meet his classmates as well. We loved that our son got to learn all about how other families live and their differing dynamics. He loved telling us about all the family's stories and who was coming in next. I think it really allowed the children to be able to experience a new level of learning that didn't feel regimented and textbook-like. Overall, such a positive experience and so glad we as a family got to be a part of it!"

Our involvement in the Focus Family Week was so special and meaningful for us as grandparents. The experience enabled us to share some of our passions with the class...music and clay building ...and we felt so honoured to have been able to share these things. The benefits for us were two-way as we could see that the children were engaged, asked thoughtful questions, displayed enjoyment, and participated spontaneously. The biggest joy was to see our granddaughter beam with pride and to also see how she became more confident “in the limelight” as the morning progressed. We feel the Focus Family experience gives all the children and the families a chance of being exposed to the interests, passions, ideas and ways of living of others. We wish we could have come to every family's sharing experience!!! 

Little Investigators
Later this term, we will be having two mornings for Preschool children to come in and join in with some of our current Kinders in their Investigations. Parents of all local children, not only those enrolled for 2023, are welcome to stay and learn about our morning routine. Thursday September 8 and Wednesday September 14 have been set aside as the dates. These mornings DO NOT replace our normal Kinder Orientations planned for November and they are not a compulsory part of transitioning to St Marys. Everyone is invited.

Pupil Free Day 
A reminder that Monday August 22 is a Pupil Free Day at St Mary’s, St Bernards and Carroll College. These extra days were allocated by the Director for schools to catch up staff PL, analysing student data and planning. With so much illness in recent months, most teachers have had an excessive workload and missed their regular planning time. If any parent is unable to find a carer for their child on that day, please send me an email and I will arrange supervision. In many schools, staff are currently unable to provide the extras that we know students (and staff) love. We are so lucky here at St Mary’s to have a staff that continually goes above and beyond. Wednesdays Book Week Parade and Book Swap showed just how dedicated the staff are. Thank you parents for sending in so many books. It was a fabulous idea and one that the whole school community supported. I even grabbed some old Enid Blyton's books to give to Mrs Hampson for Christmas!

Enrolments 2023
We are almost at the time where we decide on the best class structure for 2023. To do that well we need to have definite numbers in each grade. If you know of any parents considering enrolling their children at our beautiful school next year or in future years, please encourage them to contact Cathy Smith or Annette Hazell at the office as soon as possible. We welcome any potential parents to come in and get a feel of our school. It has been very difficult in the last few years, not being able to have parents on site, but we are always trying our best to share.

Please keep an eye on and share our Facebook Page... photos and videos don't lie! As you can see, our children and staff are very happy and everyone is learning.  

Class and Whole School Masses
Finally, we are able to take our students back to parish masses. Whilst parents are still not able to be at school, they are able to attend the Church and parish events. Next Monday is the Feast of the Assumption and as it is a Holy Day of Obligation, the whole school will be attending Mass. Teachers will inform parents when their child’s class mass is on.  

Fair Education
Next Monday, Mrs Gen Schofield and I will be attending the Fair Education Conference in Newcastle. We will be sharing the success of our Early Years’ Learning project and learning about the other schools’ projects on engaging parents and community. We look forward to coming back with new ideas to continually improve what we do here at St Mary’s to make your child's experience at school the best it can be. 

God’s blessings on your families.

Noeleen O'Neill
Principal

Learning at St Mary’s
I’ve been very fortunate to witness such wonderful student learning at St Mary’s during the term. Staff have been busily preparing and implementing ‘Daily Review’ each day with such amazing and positive results. Daily Review is a process that supports students to take information from short to long term memory. Students need to practice surface level skills on a daily basis so that they can be recalled from memory quickly and used for more complex learning. 

After such positive feedback from Jordan O’Sullivan (Instructional Coach Shaping Minds) and Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond AM, PhD, CF from Edith Cowan University, WA, staff at St Mary's are continuing to build their knowledge and expertise with the opportunity to observe a colleague/s and give purposeful professional feedback. Additionally all staff will have the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise to a colleague. I thank them for their continued excellence in delivering such high quality teaching and learning at our school.

I have asked some of the 3-6 students how they feel about Daily Review and would like to share some of their responses with you.

Daily Review in Maths is really fun. You go over it so it stays in your long term memory. Yr 4

What I like about Daily Review is there are lots of hard answers. It has helped my learning as I have to use working out strategies. I like doing the big problems. Benji R Yr 3

I really enjoy using Daily Review in Maths, as the repetitive tasks help me to remember key Maths concepts like place value of larger numbers. Alec P Yr 6

Daily Review in English is important because we repeat things to go into our long term memory. Yr 4

I enjoy working on whiteboards and working with a partner to discuss the learning in English Daily Review. Lincon S Yr 6

During Maths Daily Review slides we are required to complete similar topics each day. This helps me to remember important things I have learnt in the past. Chloe C Yr 6

I like Daily Review because you get to write fast. It has helped my learning because it has helped me practice my maths. Chael S Yr 3

I enjoy Daily Review because it helps me memorise certain sounds and learn new complex words such as annihilate, phenomenal, radiant, tranquil and plenty more. Grace R Yr 5

Maths Daily Review has helped my learning because it makes my mind think “Ohh, that’s cool to think of”. My favourite part is when we get to do fun and cool maths activities. Liam G Yr 3

I find it easier because if you make a mistake you rub it out quicker. It is more fun because you do not need to get out of your seat to show the teacher. Year 4

My favourite aspects of Daily Review is adding and subtraction. I think it has helped my learning because we get extra learning. Dion P Yr 3

 

 
Book Week
Wow, what a fabulous day. The school was full of Gangster Granny, Sesame Street, Minion, Mary Poppins, Star Wars, Rainbow Fish, Gruffalo and Cat in the Hat characters, plus many many more. Thank you to all the parents and carers for going the extra mile and having the children of St Mary’s look so wonderful for this special day. The book character parade was such a spectacular event and a fantastic way to showcase all the costumes on display. Thank you to the St Mary’s staff who channelled their inner childhoods and looked awesome in a variety of costumes. 

Our first book swap was a roaring success thanks to the many kind donations from our parent community. We thought initially students would be able to take 1 or 2 books, but with such a large selection of quality literature, students could take many more. Thank you again. And finally to our book quiz. Wow, we read a broad range of quality literature at St Mary's and the students' knowledge of their classroom books was outstanding. It was such a fun way to finish our day.

Viewing school newsletter on a mobile device
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Have a wonderful and safe weekend.

Justin Bateman
Assistant Principal (Acting)

Class Masses
It has been wonderful this term to resume our attendance at Class Masses. Students have loved being able to visit with Father Eden and ask him many questions to help compliment their learning in Religious Education and find out more about his role as a Parish Priest. Last week Year 2 and Year 1/2 attended Mass and this week it was Year 1’s turn. We thank Father Eden for engaging with their children and making time to come and spend with us in the classroom.

Whole School Mass
On Monday we will attend Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. This special feast day commemorates when Mary was taken up to heaven, body and soul. 

               

Prayer for the Assumption of Mary

Father in heaven,
all creation rightly gives you praise,
for all life and all holiness come from you.
In the plan of your wisdom
she who bore the Christ in her womb
was raised body and soul
in glory to be with him in heaven.
May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness
and join in her hymn of endless love and praise.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Save the Date
First Eucharist Commitment Masses: This weekend on Saturday 13th at 5:00pm and Sunday 14th at 10:00am. 

A reminder that regular attendance at weekend Masses is an important commitment and a special way you can support your child in their sacramental preparations. 

Eucharist Retreat Day: Tuesday 6th September in the St Mary’s Hall. 

First Eucharist Mass:  Will be celebrated on Sunday 18th September at 10:00am in the church.

First Eucharist
There will be 14 students receiving the sacrament of First Eucharist later in the term. The students are busily preparing for this sacrament in their classroom learning and are looking forward to this important step in their faith journey. We keep these students closely in our thoughts and prayers over the coming weeks. The sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated on Sunday 18th September at 10am. All families and parishioners are warmly invited to attend this special Mass.

Wishing you blessings for your weekend.

Mrs Jess Afflick
Religious Education Coordinator

There is always lots of fun, laughter and learning happening together in our class family.

We begin our day with Christian Meditation which is a chance to sit quietly and allow God into our hearts and minds. We will often finish with a song or prayer. This week we enjoyed our meditation in the beautiful sunshine at the front of the school.

We then move into investigations where the children have an opportunity to explore and extend their thinking through collaborative and sometimes challenging tasks. This term our dramatic play area is a doctor’s surgery, complete with waiting room and reception. We have had many injuries attended to, and along the way have learned how to tie a collar and cuff sling, use a stethoscope and measure out medicines. The waiting room is always full!

Our construction team has been busy making photo frames and decorative crosses, and our Science area is a hit with hands-on activities using a push/pull force with magnets.

Religious Education
We are finding out more about our Sacred Heart Church and why/how we can celebrate together as a church family. 

Last week, we attended a Mass led by Fr Eden who explained what was happening throughout the Mass and led us in prayers. Afterwards, Fr Eden showed us some of the vestments he wears and explained what the colours and symbols represented. The children had many questions for Fr Eden and he answered them all very patiently and with gentle guidance.

English
Our English sessions always begin with our Mat time and a daily review of known concepts. We are working hard every day to improve our spelling, vocabulary and phonics skills. This week, our focus has been to extend our sentences using interesting adjectives, while including tricky words. The children busily write on their whiteboards and enjoy sharing their learning with others.

In writing, we are exploring persuasive texts and working out the difference between a fact and an opinion - trickier than you think! 

I am so proud of the determination and hard work shown by all the children - their love of learning new words and reading stories absolutely shines through!

Mathematics
Each mathematics session begins with a daily review where we revisit known concepts and practise our number recall.  We have loved our lessons on measuring and comparing the mass of objects. In learning groups, the children used a weight unit of blocks to estimate and weigh various objects. There were rich conversations about estimations and much collaboration when counting the number of blocks. Some groups quickly worked out it was quicker to join the blocks together and then counted by 2’s, 5’s and even 10’s. Now that’s clever!

Dance
In Dance, we are excited to be preparing for our Peter Pan whole school Musical happening next term. Hayley is putting us through our paces and the children are picking up the dance steps so quickly! After our rehearsal, we can unwind with a few fun games such as lava land and corners. 

History
In History, we are finding out about the olden days through investigating artefacts, people and landscapes from earlier times. We walked around our local area to see what we could discover. Then we looked at photographs of Moruya people and landscapes from the early 1930’s onwards and wrote about what we could learn about the past from these photos. The children were so interested in finding out about our local area and stories from years ago. Mrs Connaughton shared her memories of playing in the park as a little girl and climbing the fig trees that were later removed. We found out that opposite our school there used to be a picture theatre. We will soon be visiting our local Moruya Museum to see what else we can learn about the past.

Art
As part of our History unit, we looked at an olden day playground and compared this with a modern one. In art, we designed and made our own paper sculpture playgrounds, including old and new features -  slides, roundabouts, swings and even monkey bars.

Mrs Fran Devonald
Year 1/2 Teacher

St Mary's Superstar Staff

Mrs Hampson - 4 Maroon

We love Mrs Hampson as our teacher because she gives us feedback, pushes us to do our best, brightens our day, helps us to achieve our goals, keeps us safe, helps us read, knows us really well and is the best teacher in the whole world.

I love teaching at St Mary's because I used to go here when I was young and love the close knit community. I enjoy working and collaborating with such amazing and talented educators who always support and encourage each other.
I love coming to work each day to share in the outstanding learning environment where all students are kind, respectful and always trying their best.

The smiles on their faces says it all and makes St Mary’s a unique place to work.

Mr Harpley - 3 Blue

We love Mr Harpley as our teacher because he looks after us, reads us books,
gives us homework, teaches us the best art, helps us with our work, explains things so we understand, gives us weekly riddles and is the best at speed tables.

I love teaching at St Mary's because the children are very respectful and friendly. They have a great sense of humour. I also love working with so many great teachers.

St Mary's has always been a very welcoming
place since the first day I arrived in 2005.