Newsletter - 19th June 2024
Acknowledgement of Country
We respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wadawurrung people.
It is a privilege to be standing on Wadawurrung country.
We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
We acknowledge the contributions of Indigenous Peoples from the past, present and future who contribute to this country in which we live.
May Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians continue to work together to educate, unite and live in peace on this land we call home, Australia.
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Upcoming Events
19th June: Inform and Empower Parent Session at Ballan, 7pm
28th June: Last Day of Term 2 - early finish 1:30pm
15th July: Term 3 commences
22nd July: Hot Lunches commence
23rd July: Young Mary Production at St Patrick's Gordon
Prayer
We thank you Lord, for Term Two as the community of St Mary’s.
Thank you for the caring staff, the amazing students and the parents and families. Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives.
Thank you for your goodness and for your countless blessings over us.
Thank you for your great love and care.
Thank you for life and laughter, for health and happiness, for relationships and memories.
Thank You for what we have now, for what we had yesterday, and for what You will continue to give tomorrow.
Let us never take that for granted, but to always be grateful for every good and perfect gift that comes from You. During the holidays keep us safe in our activities; give us good rest and good fun. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new term. May we have hearts full of thanksgiving not only today but every day of our lives.
We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son.
Amen.
Messages from the Principal
Inform and Empower Parent Session
Don’t forget tonight is the Inform and Empower parent session on Raising Kids in a Digital World. I am so excited for those of you that have replied as attending. It’s not too late to register and I look forward to hearing your feedback from those that attend.
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Reports and Parent Teacher Child Conversations
Next Monday reports will be sent home. Then on Wednesday, the Parent Teacher Child conversations will be held for the students in the Senior Room from 1.30-4.50pm. Please go into PAM and nominate a time that suits you. If you are unable to make these times please contact Claire or Majella at the office to arrange an alternative. It is an expectation that every child has a Parent Teacher Child conversation to celebrate their learning for the semester and discuss any issues or concerns.
Congratulations Majella
As you would now be aware, Majella has resigned from her position as Finance and Business Administrator. Majella’s last day with us will be Friday, 28th June. We thank Majella for her 7 years service and wish her well in her future endeavours.
Congratulations Vanessa
Vanessa received the Sacrament of Eucharist on Saturday night at St Patrick’s Cathedral. This significant milestone in her spiritual journey is a proud moment for her and her family. Please join me in congratulating Vanessa on this special occasion.
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ReLATE Professional Development for Staff
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On Friday 7th June, all staff participated in a professional development day around staff wellbeing, regulation spaces and the ReLATE circle, run by The MacKillop Institute. Within ReLATE, wellbeing is understood as an essential pre-condition for quality teaching and learning. Safe, predictable and supportive learning environments are created and maintained in classrooms where students and staff are not just known, but understood.
We have implemented the ReLATE Circle into our daily schedule, calling it the “Check-In Circle.” This is a chance for the students and staff to let others know how they are feeling about school. The questions asked in the Check In Circle are:
- How are you feeling about school/work today?
- What is the one thing you want to achieve today?
- If you need support, who will you ask?
NAIDOC Week
Sunday, 7th July 2024, marks the commencement of NAIDOC Week. This week celebrates and recognises the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, whilst sharing these histories and oldest, continuous living cultures with all Australians. The 2024 theme is “Keep the fire burning! Blak, loud and proud.” The theme celebrates not only the survival but the relentless spirit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We will celebrate NAIDOC at school next week and will let you know of the activities we have planned and you are always welcome to attend.
SeeSaw
SeeSaw is a tool used to communicate with parents and provide a window into the classroom. It is a great way for us to foster strong school-home partnerships. When your child posts their work, I encourage you to write a comment for them. If you are having trouble accessing SeeSaw or need your login resent, please let the classroom teachers know. We are noticing that many posts are not being seen by parents and we would love to turn this around.
Louise - Long Service Leave
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As you are probably aware, Louise is taking long service leave for the last two weeks of this term and the first week of term three. We are very fortunate to have Sarah Matthews take the Junior class for these three weeks. The Juniors weren’t sure when Louise would be back, “Will it be when I’m in Grade One?” asked Skyler. So, on Friday the Juniors made a paper chain that has 15 links in it. They are counting down the days until Louise comes back and will tear one link off each day.
Lunch Orders
Next term we'll be having lunch orders from the Bungaree Store delivered fortnightly on a Monday at 11.20am. We thank Lisa for allowing this to happen. An order form with the dates on it and when orders are due will be sent home next week.
Athletics Carnival Results
Last week I received the official results from the Wathaurong Athletics Carnival which saw 12 schools competing on May 9th. Congratulations to everyone who participated on the day and a special mention to the following students who were placed in various events.
Pat Prendergast (9yo boys): 3rd place Javelin 10.86m, 3rd place Long Jump 2.66m, 3rd place Triple Jump 4.89m
Kamden Singline (10yo boys): 3rd place Shot Put 5.80m
Alexis Farrell (11yr girls): 1st place Shot Put 10.10m (new record), 1st place Discus 22.73m (new record), 1st place Javelin 14.89m, 1st place Long Jump 3.24m, 1st place Triple Jump 7.48m (new record), 2nd place 100m Sprint 15.86sec, 2nd place 200m Sprint 34.80sec, 1st place High Jump 1.15m (equal record)
Evie Singline (12+yr girls): 1st place Shot Put 12+ yrs 5.80m, 2nd place 100m Sprint 16.14sec
Maeve Slater (12+yr girls): 1st place Discus 14.55m, 2nd place Javelin 11.80m, 3rd place Triple Jump 6.17m
Open Girls 4x100m Relay - St Mary’s 3rd place
It is great to know Sullivan Toose still holds the record for the 11yo 100m sprint with a time of 14.36sec and the 12+yo 800m distance with a time of 3.00min. Mallory Toose also holds the 12yo 200m sprint record with a time of 31.59sec.
We are looking forward to seeing some of our students represent the district later this year.
Primary School Golf Tournament
Congratulations to Kamden, Patrick, Alexis and Maeve who have been selected to play in the Primary School Golf Tournament at Mt Xavier Golf Club on Friday, 18th October 2024.
Year 6 Shirts
Emilia, Evie, Leah and Maeve were very happy to have their Grade 6 shirts given to them last week and they have been wearing them with pride ever since. A huge thanks to the Parents and Friends for making these shirts available to the Year 6 students and a special thank you to Bryden for the work put into getting the design and student's names onto the shirts.
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Holidays
I wish every family a very happy, restful and safe holiday. Some families may be travelling while others are taking some quiet time at home. Whatever your plans are, enjoy and take the time to reset and do some of those things that you like to do with family and friends.
May God bless you all and keep you safe,
Clare Scanlon,
Principal
News from the South!
Kamden - I’ve been working on learning my division facts. If I know my times tables I know the related division facts. They are fact families. So if 5x3 =15, then 15 divided by 5 is 3.
Patrick - I’ve been practising my 3 , 4 and 6 times tables. I know my 6s but I’m working on answering them quickly. I still need to learn some of my 3s and 4s.
Maeve - I worked really hard to get 100% in my post test for addition and subtraction. The main thing I had to work on was adding and subtracting fractions with related denominators. I achieved my goal and got 100%. Now I am working on learning my 7 and 8 times tables.
Quinn - In free writing I’ve been writing a story about a missing person. I am focusing on using paragraphs and remembering to use capital letters, full stops and interesting words.
Will - My heart feels warm and I feel relieved when the teachers told me that I was getting better at concentrating in class. I feel really good about my learning because I actually know what the teacher is saying and what they want me to do.
Alexis - This week we have started doing a check in circle every morning. We take it in turns to say good morning to someone, ask them how they are feeling today, ask them what they would like to achieve for the day and who can support them. I like doing it because it’s a time to check in with each other and also ourselves.
Kaezia - We’ve been doing some free writing this week. My story is about a thief. I’m enjoying writing about it and I’m focusing on my spelling and using commas and full stops.
Emilia - In maths I have been learning number groups. I have been using the Ipad to make groups.
North Room News
Every Monday the students talk about what they did on the weekend. They then have the opportunity to draw a picture and write about something they did. Here’s what they wrote on Monday:
Adelaide:
On Sunday my mum, dad and I cleaned my room. It took a long time to finish it. When we finished it, I was exhausted. It looked fantastic after cleaning it. On Saturday, my brother had footy so I had to go. I saw the Prendergast's there.
Genevieve:
On Sunday we went to the supermarket. We bought salt and vinegar chips.
Skyler:
On Sunday my tooth fell out. It was fantastic. I got $6.
Ellie:
On Saturday I went to Sephora. I got bubble and glow recipe and a skincare headband. On Sunday it was my mum’s birthday! She had a spa at the spa place.
Happy Birthday
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We have celebrated three birthdays in the South Room this week: Congratulations to Maeve Slater who turned 12 on Sunday. We hope you had a lovely day Maeve!
Pat Prendergast celebrated his birthday at school on Monday. Pat turned 9! Happy birthday Pat, hope you enjoyed your special day.
Happy birthday to Sue who is celebrating her birthday today. Have a lovely day, Sue!
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)
The Bungaree and Gordon parishes are inviting expressions of interest for any adults who would like to explore the process of becoming Catholic through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) to contact the Parish Office 0492 903 409 or email gordon@ballarat.catholic.org.
Adults expressing interest may already be baptised in another Christian tradition (Anglican, Lutheran, Uniting...) or not baptised at all. All inquiries welcome to Fr Justin.
Choral Scholarships - 2025 Applications Now Open!
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St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat is inviting applications from Years 3 – 6 students in Catholic schools with musical interest and aptitude, to apply for a Cathedral Choral Scholarship for 2025.
The Choral Scholarships are modelled on similar approaches operating in the Melbourne, Sydney and Perth Cathedrals. Children who are successful will join the Cathedral’s Cantato Domino Choir, which is currently made up of 20 adults and children.
The Choir covers a broad and exciting range of repertoire, including traditional styles of sacred music and contemporary church hymns, along with providing opportunities for musical, vocal and personal development in a safe, fun environment.
Successful applicants are required to participate in weekly rehearsals and sing at two Masses per month during term time.
The Cathedral Choral Scholarships provide an annual contribution of $1,000 towards the children’s education and/or musical tuition.
Auditions will be held late in Term 3, 2024.
For more information and/or to request an application form, please contact the Cantate Domino Choir Director, Mr Vincent Sully at vincenzo101923@gmail.com or 0407 310 115.