Dear Parents and Carers,

The last fortnight has been very special for the students and staff at St Mary’s. Many families joined us for our Opening School Year Mass, family picnic, Year 6 Leadership Induction Ceremony and Kindergarten welcome. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day so special for all of the students and our school community. 

Our Year 6 students have already made their mark as being a very special group of students to go through St Mary’s. Their leadership and commitment to the Buddy Program and supporting our youngest students is commendable. 

Congratulations to our Year 6 students who hold formal leadership positions for 2023.

School Leaders
Cooper H and Betty D B

House Leaders
Eyre Leaders - Axel S and Evie G
Cassidy Leaders - Harper L and Asher B
Howard Leaders - Indiana T and Noah D

Congratulations
Earlier this week, our Religious Educator Coordinator Mrs Jess Afflick had a new baby boy. According to her eldest children, Ollie and Quinn, both mum and bub are doing well. Congratulations to Jess, Jeff and family on such wonderful news. We look forward to their first school visit.  

Assemblies
Each fortnight on a Friday at 11:45 am, we hold a short school assembly in the COLA to present Stellar Student Awards to the children. These are quick assemblies so that learning time is maximised. The names of the award winners are placed in the newsletter and photos are posted on Facebook. If parents are around, you are of course most welcome to join us. 

Our Special School Assemblies are held twice a term and on special occasions in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). Parents, grandparents and community members are invited to attend and help celebrate the students' learning and talents. Each assembly has a focus grade. Please keep an eye out for upcoming assemblies on the parent Compass calendar. You are most welcome to come earlier and share lunch with your children and their friends. We often host family picnics to coincide with our special assemblies. 

COMPASS parent calendar
Most parents are now using the COMPASS calendar with ease. Please keep an eye out for upcoming events. If you are having any difficulties accessing it, please inform your child's teacher and/or ask at the front office. 

Morning Drop Off/Afternoon Pick Up procedures
When dropping off your children in the morning, please park in a designated parking area. Please do not use the school's driveway in Queen Street to quickly drop off your children, as this is an unsafe practice. Cars stopped in this driveway are impeding buses moving out safely.

Just a reminder that we have two pick up areas in the afternoon. Students can be picked up at the end of the oval near the Church car park and at the front of the school near the St Mary’s statue. You are more than welcome to come into the school grounds and wait. Please let your child know which area you will be picking them up from. Teachers are rostered to walk the groups of students down to these two areas. If parents are late, students will be taken back to the office to be collected. Thank you for your support.  

Volunteering at school
Thank you to our parents who are volunteering their time at school, whether it be in the canteen, in the classroom or in other school activities. If you don't already have one, please remember to apply for a volunteer Working with Children Check (WWCC) online and bring in a copy for the front office. A Volunteer WWCC does not cost anything. 

Lunch and Canteen
Our First Break (Lunch) is from 11 am to 11:45 am. Our students go to play first before returning to their teachers and classes to sit down and have lunch at 11:30 am. 

After discussion with Mrs Hayley Van Weerdenberg, other staff and parents, we have decided to make a change to the timing of purchasing over the counter snacks. Parents were finding that their children were not eating their proper lunch orders because they had already filled up with snacks. From now on, over the counter snacks can only be purchased during the second break from 1:30-2pm.  

Student Management and Support
The students at St Mary's have a reputation for being polite, friendly and very well behaved. Occasionally, as is the case with all children, some students do make wrong choices and this affects others. We have a Student Management and Support Plan that is well understood by our students. When something goes wrong, we keep things simple by referring back to our four school values and ask the student the following questions:

Were you being kind?

Were you being safe?

Were you being respectful?

Were you doing your best?

Rarely does a child not know or accept they have not done their best. 

We are here to support your child to make the right choices, accept consequences and learn from all situations. Occasionally a student may require some time away from their class and teacher to discuss and reflect on their behaviour. Parents are informed if the situation is of a serious nature or if a pattern of misbehaviour is occurring. Thank you for your support with this. When teachers and parents trust each others’ decisions and work together, the students know what is expected of them and benefit greatly. 

We all want the same thing; For each child to grow up to be the best person they can be. 

Little Investigators Playgroup
Our first Little Investigators Playgroup for 2023 was held on Tuesday morning and was very successful. Children aged 0-5 and their parents from the Moruya community came together for a morning of early year’s learning and fun. If you know of any parents who might be interested in attending our free Playgroup, please tell them to come to the PAC next week. Little Investigators is open to all, not only our St Mary’s families. 

A Prayer for Families

Loving God, 
We thank you for the gifts of families.
We ask your blessing on all families today and always.
Be with us in our daily life together. 
Be our guide in times of challenge. 
Be our strength in times of difficulty. 
Be our joy in times of delight.
Help our families to grow stronger in your love. 
And show us how to love one another as you have loved us.
May we welcome Jesus as the unseen guest in our home.
May we be his voice and hands, respecting and caring for those we meet. 
May we look to the example of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as we strive to be the best family we can be. 

Amen    

Mary, Mother of the Church Pray for us. 

Noeleen O’Neill
Principal

Dear Parents, Carers, Boys and Girls,

Literacy Intervention Programs in 2023

At St Mary’s, we are deeply committed to ensuring our students learn to read -and read well! Reading is not only an essential skill for children to find success in school but to thrive in society as they grow up in our world. Did you know that at St Mary’s, we run two reading intervention programs – MiniLit and MacqLit.

The MiniLit program is a practical, systematic, explicit and effective model for teaching reading skills for Year 1 & Year 2 students who need some additional support. Students are assessed to determine their ideal starting point in the program and are grouped accordingly. Students are explicitly taught the relationship between sounds and letters and how this knowledge is critical to reading. Students are also given the opportunity to practise their reading skills using a variety of activities and resources.

MacqLit is specifically targeted for students in Year 3 and above. The primary focus for the MacqLit program is the need for older readers to develop strong word recognition strategies. It provides students with a comprehensive sequence of lessons that includes all the key components necessary for effective reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. 

NAPLAN NEWS

NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy – important skills that each child needs to succeed in school and life. The NAPLAN tests are designed to help us make sure students are on track with their literacy and numeracy development. 

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 1, and occur between the 15 March - 27 March.

NAPLAN tests skills in literacy and numeracy that are developed over time through the school curriculum and every day in the classroom. Teachers will ensure that students are familiar with the test format and will provide appropriate support and guidance. Excessive preparation is not useful and can lead to unnecessary anxiety. NAPLAN tests should be treated as just another routine event on the school calendar. The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure them that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to urge them to simply do their best on the day.

For more information...

If you have any questions about NAPLAN Online, please contact your child’s teacher.

God bless and take care,

Sue Heffernan
Assistant Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. This week, we prepared for Lent with the tradition of Shrove Tuesday. ‘Pancake Day’ is always highly-anticipated at St Mary’s, and enjoyed by all. 

This week, all students in Years 1-6 attended the Ash Wednesday Mass. We thank Fr. Anthony for leading us into the season of Lent with this special celebration.

CARITAS Australia - Project Compassion
Each year Project Compassion brings together thousands of Australians in schools, parishes and the community to stand in solidarity with the world’s most vulnerable communities to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. The theme this year is For All Future Generations. This theme reminds us that how we act today has an impact on future generations. This message invites us to step-up for those with greater needs than our own. By putting compassion into action, we can make a difference for all future generations. 

Please support this wonderful cause which runs until Easter Sunday. You may send coins in with your child for their class mission box, or use the QR Code below to go straight to the St Mary’s fundraising page. Thank you for your support!

A prayer for Lenten grace

Loving God,
During the sacred season of Lent, bring me closer to you.
Prepare a place in my home and heart for silence and solitude, so that I
may rediscover the grace of a prayerful life.
Help me to fast from those things that threaten the wellbeing of
body and soul and remind me of the grace of simplicity.
Enlarge my heart so that I give to those in need and, in doing so, rediscover
the grace of gratitude and generosity.
May this season be a grace-filled time to rekindle my love
and faith in you.
Amen.

Gen Schofield
Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)

Life in Year 1
The Year 1 students have hit the ground running in what is shaping up to be an outstanding year of learning! We have spent the first four weeks of school learning about each other, appreciating each other's differences and strengths. The children have been introduced to our class focus text; Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen, which emphasises the importance of belonging to a very special group of individuals, where everyone is valued and appreciated. The students have been unpacking our school values; I am safe, I am doing my best, I am respectful and I am kind. As a class family we have been considering what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to be a good learner at St Mary’s. 

Religion
Each day in Year 1 starts with Christian Meditation, a time to calm our bodies and be in God’s presence. This is then followed by class prayer where the children share specific intentions, giving thanks to God. In our Religion lessons we have been sharing our thoughts on where and how we see God in our everyday lives. The students have been describing their thoughts and feelings about God moments in their lives. 

I see God in the morning sunrise. Phoebe

I see God in a flowing river. Quinn

I imagine God to be like the tall mountains and green paddocks. Mallee

I hear God when people speak with kindness.  Evie

English
Daily story time in Year 1 is very special, as our class friend, Mumma Duke the white rabbit comes out to play! She enjoys quality literature just as much as the children and takes great joy in posing literal and inferred comprehension questions at the end of the shared reading text. Mumma Duke brings joy and excitement to shared text reading on a daily basis. As part of our daily InitiaLit lessons that children are partaking in a variety of oral, reading and written activities, using and manipulating their sound and letter knowledge. This week we are looking at a variety of digraphs, two letters making one phoneme.  

Maths
The students in Year 1 demonstrate a strong interest in Mathematics and love working with numbers, displaying their ability to represent numerical amounts in a variety of ways. In Mathematics the children participate in a series of activities, using hands-on materials but also partaking in explicit direct instruction lessons using white boards to demonstrate their understanding. 

Visual Arts
Over the past few weeks the children have been working on a self portrait artwork. As a class we read the text We’re all Wonders, a picture book version of the famous novel Wonder, about a boy named Augie Pullman who just wished the world viewed everybody as equals regardless of the way they look. The children discussed and learnt that in Year 1 we are all Wonders! 

Investigations
A highlight of everybody’s day! A time when the students can build, design, wonder, explore and challenge their thinking by asking questions and posing hypotheses. In Science this term we are learning about plants, animals and living things. Therefore at the Science investigation zone we have had labelled scientific drawings, watercolour paintings of plants and an investigation into what seed belongs to what plant. The Tinkering zone has been a popular choice as the children are deconstructing a drill and looking at all the different internal parts. The children even learnt that there is an internal section of the drill that is completely magnetic! Each day in Year 1 there are 3 Focus Students, who during investigations are given specific tasks to complete which are linked to the Stage 1 learning outcomes. 

The Year 1 children have had an outstanding start to 2023 and I look forward to working with them and their families throughout the year! Stay tuned as exciting things are coming to the Year 1 classroom in Term 2, as we will welcome our parent community into the classroom for Family Focus Week!

Mrs Jessie White
1 Blue Teacher

Welcome to Sport 2023! We have started the year off with a bang already, with both our school and Southern Region Swimming carnivals being held in the last week. It is promising to be another BIG year for our sporting students and the various pathways and individual sports. We are also looking forward to having many gala days and skills clinics throughout the year.

St Mary’s Swimming Carnival
Last Tuesday was our school swimming carnival. The clouds cleared after a few hours and we were lucky to have beautiful conditions for a great day of swimming. The students were all very eager to join in as many races over the day and participation levels were well up on previous years. The cheering and displays of sportsmanship were so pleasing and everyone had a wonderful day. A special thank you to our parent community and the Carroll College Sports Coaching students for their help with timekeeping and assistance throughout the day. A highlight for me was witnessing the very close relay events and the team spirit on display for each of our house colours. Congratulations to our house leaders on their successful leadership of each team.

Age Champions and overall house winners will be presented at an assembly in the coming week and I look forward to sharing these results with you in the next newsletter.

Southern Region Swimming Carnival
From our carnival, we had 29 students who travelled to Narooma on Tuesday to represent St Mary’s at the Southern Region Swimming Carnival. Again, our small but mighty swim team proved just how amazing they are by jumping in the pool and just doing their very best which makes me so proud of each and every one of them and their determination and team spirit. Such an amazing achievement for these students to reach this level of competition.

St Mary’s Swim Team

Thank you to our parents who stepped into timekeeping roles and helped with the set up and pack up at Narooma, your help and assistance always makes the day run smoothly and I appreciate your help.

A special mention to Mrs Jessie White, Mrs Shellie Butler, Mr James Campbell and Mr Dom Ziino for taking on their various roles during the day so capably and assisting with the overall organisation of the day.

If you have not yet paid the $5 Southern Region Competitor Levy, we ask that you make a payment at the school office or via QKR as soon as possible. Thank you for your assistance with this.

We congratulate the following students on their selection to represent the Southern Region at the Arcdiocesan Swimming Carnival in Queanbeyan on Tuesday March 7. 

We congratulate the following students on their exceptional swimming performance on Tuesday, being named the Southern Region Age Champions in no less than 4 age groups. What an AMAZING achievement!

Running Club
Beginning next week, Mr Paul Hill (PE/H) will be leading a running club each Tuesday and Thursday at the beginning of first break. Any interested students from Years 3-6 are welcome to join in. Students may choose to bring a change of T-shirt and shorts/runners on these days to quickly change into at bell time. During these breaks, students will be led to practise some long distance/sprinting skills as well as increasing their fitness levels prior to Cross Country and the beginning of community sport season. 

Important Dates

Canberra Goulburn Sport Trials
As in previous years, Students in Year 5 and 6 can now trial for individual and team sports to represent the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese. It is a requirement that all students attending trials have a high level of skill and competency. The following sports are coming up:

• Canberra Goulburn Netball – Girls and Boys  – Trialist Nominations CLOSE 6th March

A Canberra Goulburn team will be selected to play at the MacKillop trials to be held in Canberra on the 5th of May

• Canberra Goulburn Rugby League (U11’s & U12’s) – Nominations CLOSE 6th March

To be held at Lyneham on the 14th of March. Canberra Goulburn teams will be selected to play at the MacKillop trials in Canberra on the 5th of May

For further information regarding these events, please contact Megan Grant at: megan.grant@cg.catholic.edu.au or alternatively, you can log into the CSNSW website to register. 

Upcoming Dates

• St Mary’s Cross Country: Friday 24 March at Gundary Oval (weather permitting).

Tennis
We wish Darcy F all the very best on Friday as he travels to Wollongong to compete at the MacKillop Tennis Trials. We look forward to hearing of your results on your return.

I am looking forward to the sporting year ahead. If at any time, you have a sports question or query, please be in contact via the office or my email as above.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Megan Grant
Sports Coordinator

Thank you from the Community Council
This year we farewell two of our Community Council Members, Judy Toman and Fiona Hall. Both long term members who’ve held various executive positions, Judy and Fiona have contributed countless hours to the School Community through support of fundraising events, providing donations, and generously giving their time and efforts. Please join me in thanking them for their huge contribution.

Mardi Gras BBQ – Volunteers needed
The Community Council will be running a fundraising BBQ at the upcoming Moruya Mardi Gras, on Saturday 11 March. The BBQ will be run during the day, located near Riverside Park toward the end of the street parade route. The Community Council will need volunteers to help set up, cook, serve and pack away – should you have some time to spare please call or email the office to register your interest. We hope to see you there for a sausage and a cool drink!