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Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
This Friday we have Butterfly music return for another series of music workshops for all our students finishing with a whole school concert from 2:30 to 3:30. I had many positive comments from parents who made it last year. Last year we had Andrew Chinn, this year we have Drew Lane working with our students. We hope you can join us.
Last Friday we have several Principals visit our school to learn about some of the excellent work we are doing in our school. The Principals came to learn about our School Reports, Our Little Learners Love Literacy Program in Grades Prep to Year 2, the Poetry Slam and our work around Indigenous Prospectives. Schools are particularly interested in our work on school reports and making them a more effective learning tool for our students. You may not be aware that our school reports have been mentioned in a number of research articles, I was invited to speak about them at an Australian Council of Education Research Conference and even last week I was speaking to one of the leading persons on parent engagement in the world in a link up to America, about them. Our work on the Little Learners Love Literacy program has been filmed by Education Services Australia as a model for all schools in Australia and our some of our work on Indigenous Perspectives, for example our Indigenous uniform design, is leading other schools. Our community should be very proud of the work that is taking place in our school which is looked upon as a model for other schools across Australia and the world.
Indigenous Perspective: Please join us as Helen Christensen from the Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools speaks to our Parents and Guardians about Indigenous Perspective. Helen is working with staff after school and kindly offered to do a session for parents as well. Helen will talk about anything from what does the word Koorie mean to how many language groups there are across Australia and much more. It will be an informal presentation with a chance to ask questions. This is a real opportunity to learn about our Indigenous Culture. Wednesday the 16th of August 2:30 in our staffroom.
Staffing News.
We have two new staff with us this week.
Nicole Eckhardt joins us as our new Enhancement Teacher two days per week. She started last week with induction and learning about the students. This week she begins working with our students. Welcome Nicole.
We also welcome Charlotte Jezard who joins us as a Learning Support Officer. (LSO) Welcome Charlotte.
Laura Banks, our Year 6 teacher will be leaving us on August 25 to take up a position art a school closer to her new home. Laura is a very valued member of our staff so it will be sad to see her go, but we do understand why she made the decision. We wish her all the best in her new school.
This week we also say goodbye to Stephanie King-Shipp for a while as she heads off on maternity leave. We wish her all the best for the arrival of her new baby and hope she rests well. Kirra Bundy will be replacing Stephanie until the end of the year.
Well done to all the students who took part in the Australian Maths Competition. It is an extremely challenging test and even the students who do well get several problems wrong. We will be notified soon about how our students went. Other competitions our students are involved with at the moment include the National History Challenge, Wakkakiri Dance Competition and the STEM Aviation project.
On Sunday we had our Year 5 family Mass. Thanks to all who were able to attend and thanks to Stephanie King-Shipp, Kieran Condon and Charlotte Lipstick for their work preparing the students.
God bless
Anthony
St Mary’s Faith News
School and Parish Connections
Gospel – Matthew 17:1-9
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”
And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
This week at St Mary’s this week
Friday 11th August - Drew Lane Concert
On Friday Drew Lane will be visiting the school and conducting workshops with each year level.
The children will then put on a concert.
The concert will held in the Hall at 2:30.
All parents are welcome to the concert and we hope to see as many of you there as possible.
Drew Lane is a songwriter, talented musician and classroom teacher. He has written many original musicals for primary schools and adults, including “Under One Roof” based on the music of Andrew Chinn. Drew has published three albums through Butterfly Music, showcasing his broad range of songs for many occasions throughout the school and church year. He is currently a performing arts teacher at St Peter’s School in East Bentleigh, VIC.
Way of the West Program
This is the second week of the “Way of the West’ Program.
Thank you for all your generous donations last week.
There is a box in each classroom for families to drop off their donations.
Every Friday the Charism team will collect the donations and deliver them to Fr Greg.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Week 2: 7th - 13th August
This week we will be collecting tinned food items and long life items
- Fish like sardines or salmon
- Vegetables such as tomatoes, corn, peas
- Lentils, chickpeas, beans (not baked)
- Tomato paste
- Small jars of honey
- Long life milk
Some important dates to Remember for Term 3
Event |
Date |
Time |
Where |
Year 6 Family Mass |
Saturday 12th August |
6:00 pm |
Church |
Feast of the Assumption |
Tuesday 15th August |
9:15 am |
Church |
Confirmation - 6D |
Tuesday 22nd Augusst |
6:00 pm |
Church |
Confirmation - 6B |
Wednesday 23rd August |
6:00 pm |
Church |
Children’s Liturgy |
Sunday 27th August |
10:30 am |
Church |
Father’s Day Mass |
Friday 1st Spetember |
9:15 am |
Church |
Seniors Mass |
Friday 1st September |
11:30 am |
Church |
Children’s Liturgy |
Sunday 24th August |
10:30 am |
Church |
Sacramental Program 2023 - Confirmation
All dates and times for the Sacrament Masses are outlined in the table below. Year 6 students will be making their Eucharist and Confirmation as a class this year.
Sacrament |
Term |
Date |
Where |
Notes |
Confirmation - 6D |
3 |
Tuesday 22nd August - 6:00pm |
Church |
No booking required |
Confirmation - 6B |
3 |
Wednesday 23rd August - 6:00pm |
Church |
No booking required |
SAVE THE DATE!!
Week 8
BOOK FAIR
Tuesday (29 August) to Friday (1 Sept)
Before (8.30am – 9 am) &
After school (3.15 - 4 pm)
(Note: Friday: morning only!)
DRESS-UP PARADE FRIDAY 25th AUGUST
Time: 9am in the hall
(Note: this is Friday week 7)
Are you stashing away old mobile
phones in your bottom drawer?
You're not alone!
Only 1 in 3 of us have recycled a mobile device and it's estimated Australians are collectively holding on to more than 4.9 million old phones, with an average of two unused mobiles in every household.
So let's change that! By simply sending in an old mobile phone (any make, any model, working or not) for recycling (and postage is free!)
Did you know over 95% of the materials in a mobile phone can be recovered for reuse?
It means that fewer raw materials need to be extracted and processed to make new products.
Drop off your old phones in the box in the office to be recycled.
Only until the 6th October 2023.
School Disco - Tickets now on sale!
Our School Disco is less than 2 weeks away - there are only a few more days to grab your tickets!
This event is one of our favourites and is a great opportunity for the kids to come together, have some fun and dance the night away.
The Disco is on Friday 18th August will be held in 2 x sessions.
- Session one is for the Preps, Grade 1 & 2’s and will run from 6.00pm to 7.15pm.
- Session two is for Grade 3, 4, 5 & 6’s and will run from 7.30pm to 9.00pm.
The cost is $10 per child and tickets can be purchased via CDF Pay. Please note this is a student only event and only St Mary’s children are able to attend.
2023 Father’s Day Stall
The Father’s Day Stall will be held on Friday 25th August. If you have not yet had a chance to purchase a voucher you can do so until Sunday 20th August through CDF Pay.
Vouchers will be distributed to students in the classroom prior to heading to the stall. All items on the stall are valued at $5 and you can purchase multiple vouchers for the special men in your child’s life.
How do I purchase Father’s Day stall vouchers?
You can buy vouchers through your CDF Pay account.
- Access the CDF Pay button through the schoolzine (SZAPP) app
- Go to parent login (or select ‘new parent account’ to register if you haven’t already done so)
- Select your child’s name, then select Father’s Day Voucher
- If you are purchasing for each sibling, please select a voucher under each of their names before checking out (you can buy multiple vouchers per child)
- Finally review your cart and check out!
It was wonderful to welcome many families to the Information Morning last weekend, where they heard from College Principal, Dr Janine Biggin, parents and students. They enjoyed a tour of the College’s remarkable facilities with student leaders.
We are really looking forward to next week’s Science Fair which gives our students the opportunity to share their science creations and projects with family and friends.
On Saturday 19 August we are holding the Liverpool Football Club International Academy ‘Come and Try’ session at Notre Dame Campus. There are limited places available, if you would like your child to attend, registration is via the link on the flyer attached.
Year 7 2025 Applications closing soon
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 at the College or joining us in Year 7 2024, it is a requirement for an application to be submitted for students entering Year 7 in 2025.
A Prospectus Pack containing an application form can be obtained by:
- 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.
Yours sincerely
Jenny Hendricks