Dear Parents, Guardians and Community, 

School Athletics Day. Yesterday we had a wonderful day at the Moonee Valley Athletics Track with our 3-6 students. It was a great day and the students had a fantastic time. A huge thank you to all the parent volunteers, staff and students from Mount St Joseph's who helped the smooth running of the day. With some bus delays we were unable to get a few events finished which we will do in the near future. Our Junior classes will have their athletics day a bit closer to home later this year. Finally, my biggest thanks goes to Jordan Lovett and Karoline Cooke for all their efforts as they put many many hours into this day.

Congratulations to our first group of First Communion candidates from class 4RM. It was standing room only for a wonderful Sacrament led by Father Greg. Thank you to the families and staff who all contributed to this wonderful occasion. We look forward to 4H's celebration next Sunday.

Update Psychologist: As you may be aware, our previous Psychologist is no longer with us. Despite extensive advertising we have been unable to replace her. We are still able to get some of our assessments completed through Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools (MACS) and families can choose to have assessments completed by private psychologists. We are looking at an alternative model to provide services to students as recruiting a psychologist has been an ongoing challenge. Realistically this will more likely occur in 2024. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused. I think anyone who is recruiting at the moment knows the difficulty across all industries.

Williamstown Literary Festival. Poetry Slam.  Friday June 16 11:30. St Mary's School Hall. Not long now, until our amazing Year 6 students take part in the Williamstown Literary Festival with their Poetry work led by Slam Poet, Emilie Zoey Baker. http://www.emiliezoeybaker.com/ This year, it is in our hall which is much easier for us to be involved. It is a competition, which means there are prizes and special guest judges!! Last year, we were the biggest event at the Festival and the festival committee were blown away by the talents of the students.  Mark it in your diaries and please join us on the day.

God bless

Anthony

Term 2 - 24th April - 23rd June (1.30pm finish)

Term 3 - 11th July (10th July school closure day)- 15th September (1.30pm finish)

Term 4 - 2nd October - Friday 15th December (1.30pm) (Previously it was Tuesday the 19th.)

St Mary’s Faith News

School and Parish Connections

Gospel – John 20:19-23

It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.

After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.”

Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Congratulations to Year 4RM

Congratulations to the children in 4RM who received the Eucharist for the first time on Sunday.

All candidates presented themselves confidently to Fr Greg and were very respectful during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The children reading the prayers of the faithful read beautifully.

After Mass Fr Greg was full of applause for the children, so too were the music ministry. The parishioners were very impressed as well.

It was also wonderful to see so many families come together in celebration.

What if my child is sick on the day of their Eucharist?

We are very aware that there are many viruses and bugs affecting the children at the moment.

If your child is sick leading up to, or on the day of their First Eucharist, please contact your child’s teacher.

We ask that you do not worry, this will impact on your child. Once you have contacted your child’s teacher we will contact Fr Greg. As a school we will also be keeping a record.

Fr Greg will then make alternative plans - what this looks like we are not sure - it may be a small group or individual communions at Parish Masses that suit each family and Fr Greg.

Please keep in contact.

Thank you

Making the sign of the Cross

It has come to my attention that there are a number children who are not making the sign of the cross correctly. Some children are using their left hand instead of their right hand or are not crossing themselves properly.

As a school we will be making this a focus, ensuring that all students from Catholic families are making the sign of the cross correctly.

We are aware that there are families attending St Mary’s who follow the Greek Orthodox faith and that they make the sign of the cross differently. This will of course be taken into consideration.

I am linking a video that we are using successfully in the Prep classroom. This video is targeted at the younger children.

Desperately needed -Altar Servers

Year 3 and 4 Meeting

On Friday, I will be holding a meeting with all year 3 and 4 students to talk about the opportunity to be an Altar server at St Mary’s. Our current Altar servers will be attending to talk to the children about the role and answer any questions children may have. Please take the time to talk to your son or daughter about this opportunity.

The children will be trained in the role.

All new Altar servers will be partnered with an experienced Altar server until they are confident in the role.

Any student in Years 3, 4, 5 or 6 who would like to train as an Altar server, please contact with Fr Greg at greg.trythall@cam.org.au or Mrs Lipnicki at clipnicki@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au.

Training will be organised by Fr Greg. Fr Greg will also put together a roster which he will share with families

Some important Dates to Remember for Term 2

Important information for year Three Families

Bookings will be open for Reconciliation dates and times in the next coming weeks. We need to wait patiently for the Parish children to be offered the opportunity to sign up for their instruction.

We are hoping to open bookings for the week beginning 29th May, so please keep checking your emails and reading the newsletter.

You will receive an email inviting you to book a date and time. Once you have made your booking can you please add it to your diary.

Sacramental Program 2023

All dates and times for the Sacrament Masses are outlined in the table below. Year 4 and Year 6 students will be making their Eucharist and Confirmation as a class this year. Early in Term 2 we will open the ‘booking online’ for parents in Year 3 to make a time for their child to make their Reconciliation.

Information Sessions for the Sacramental Program

Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia

The ‘Way of the West’ Group have sought our help with this new program to help refugees on permanent visas to assimilate in Australia. We are seeking the help of Parishioners to join this endeavour. The Program is called CRISP! This stands for COMMUNITY REFUGEE INTEGRATION AND SETTLEMENT PILOT.

There is further information in the Parish bulletin.

Alternatively if you want more information you can email sandyandpeter@gmail.com . They have been at the forefront of this potential program.

Last week saw students from both campuses work together to perform The Addams Family musical production. It was an entertaining, vibrant performance and we congratulate everyone that made the show such a success. The hard work of the students and supporting staff all contributed to a fantastic show that was enjoyed by around 500 people at the Thursday evening session. We also had about 850 students from our feeder primary schools attend matinee sessions last Wednesday and Thursday and it was wonderful to see and hear them cheering and clapping throughout the show. 

Our next major College experience event is the annual Information Morning at each campus, as always, registrations are essential for these events and can be made via the Tours & Events tab on the right-hand side of the College website homepage, www.ecmelb.catholic.edu.au or by following this link:

Information Morning and Tour registration.  Times for each campus are below:

Saturday 5 August 2023

Notre Dame Campus -  9:00am

Commencing at 9am with the Principal’s Address, followed by campus tours and finishing at 10am

St Paul’s Campus -  10:30am

Commencing at 10:30am with the Principal’s Address, followed by campus tours and finishing at 11:30am

Year 7 2025 Applications

A friendly reminder that if you have a child in Grade 5, applications for Year 7 2025 close on Friday 18 August 2023.  Even if your older child is already attending or joining us in 2024, it is a requirement for an application to be submitted for 2025.  A Prospectus Pack containing an application form can be obtained by:

• Attending Information Morning on Saturday 5 August
• Following this link to the College website: Request a Prospectus here
• Sending an email to: enrolments@ecmelb.catholic.edu.au
• Calling our College Registrar, Ms Donna Grech on 8325 5119
• Coming into either Campus Office between 8am and 4:15pm on weekdays.

I hope to see you at a College event soon.

Best wishes,

Jenny Hendricks

Community Engagement Officer

St Mary's School is a Child Safe School and as such complies with all aspects and legal obligations that relate to the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (VIC)