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Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
This newsletter I start by acknowledging some brilliant student achievements as we have had a lot of success over the past couple of weeks.
Firstly
Australian Maths Competition. Well done to all involved. It is a very hard competition. We have 48 students complete the test. We had 5 Distinctions 17 credits 23 Proficiency and 4 Participation Awards.
Congratulations to the following
James Davies Best in School / Distinction (Year 2 doing the middle Primary division)
Luis De Losa (Year 2 doing the Middle Primary division)
Olivia Petersen Distinction
Christian Nicholas Distinction (Year 2 doing the Middle Primary division)
Liam Wilson Distinction
National History Challenge Good Luck to Arthur Dunlop who this weekend faces a judging panel for his essay on the French Revolution in the state finals. If he is successful he will go on to compete in the National Finals. Arthur was meant to be flying to France this Wednesday, but has delayed his flights so he can go to the State finals. A huge efforts. Good luck Arthur.
Tech Girls Competition: Congratulations to Emily, Emmaline and Ada who won the National United Nations Award, and were the only finalists in Victoria for their app ‘Help Save Our Community.’ There were 122 teams in the competition. The Techgirls National competition is a 12-week STEM entrepreneurship program in Term 2 of schools. Girls work in teams with a coach and mentor to gain awareness of STEM careers, develop their business and technology skills, to grow their confidence with technology, and to enable them to make informed choices about careers in STEM. This year St Mary's were committed to the Stem Aviation Project, so we couldn't fit it in, so a couple of parents took it on and supported the girls. Well done to all involved. Coincidently the STEM AVIATION competition takes place after the holidays. We are entering three competitions, the fastest plane, heaviest payload and best individual design.
Wakakirri
What an amazing job the students and staff have done across the last three terms to devise, create and perform a climate change piece on camera for the Wakakirri Festival 2023.
Many new skills were learnt during this co-curricular program, be it from the technical crew creating props, set and learning how to use filming equipment; the performers learnt how to perform on set including quick changes, hair and make-up; to the choreographers and creative team considering camera angles and plot development through the use of a camera and video editing.
A great opportunity for students to explore the creative arts, one we look forward to revisiting in the future!
Indigenous Uniform Update. Thank you for all those who have put their order in. Our students are very excited about the Indigenous design. It certainly was not our intention to cause any angst in this situation. We have been communicating since October 2022 that this change was occurring and we thought this was ample enough warning that the change was going to take place. Remember, all things we do are done with positive intent. We will extend the time line to the end of 2024 for the uniform to change, but I am also aware through experience that most people change straight away as the students do not want to be in a different uniform from the other students.
I have had a couple of questions around what happens to the old uniforms with concerns about the old uniforms ending up in landfill. Yes, this concerns us too and we have been investigating this with the help of one of our parents, Karen Vella. We have found two organisations we can work with. Unused uniforms can be sent overseas through a local charity. We know we had low stock numbers when we started this process (that was the first question we asked, how many do we currently have in stock, because if we had a large stock there was no point in going ahead,) Used uniforms have been a bit harder to find a home. The Smith Family used to collect old uniforms etc for one of their businesses that funded their charity work where clothes were converted to rags or the inside linings of cars. they have since moved out of this business and a private business now does similar work. https://upparel.com.au/The business does appear ethically sound. Once the new uniforms start arriving we will have a collection point so we can send them off. We do have to pay for this so we will have to close off collection at some stage. Early next year we will have a event to celebrate the introduction of the uniform piece, which is quite significant in regards to our work around Indigenous Perspective. We plan to have a smoking ceremony and possibly other Indigenous Perspective activities on the day. We will let you know details when we get closer to the day.
Class Structure: We are still working on where our numbers are at and what our class structures will look like in 2024, however in will still be a while for all that is settled as previously written. I am always happy to answer any question about how multi-age classes work, most of my experience as a classroom teacher was in multi-age classes so I have lived experience of what it means. I can assure you it is not as 'scary' as some think or not 'what' some people think and that students do not have 'poorer' results. Teaching is always about catering to the individual student, it is not about producing a factory model. Teachers always cater to wide range of ability levels, this is not anything new and radical. Most schools in Australia have multi-age classes it is just a way to organise students or schools just really see the benefits of multi age classes.
Connie Karangelis: We thank Connie for her work in Year 4 this last two terms. Connie is going to be around so will not be saying goodbye to us. She is certainly in our future plans too. She has done a wonderful job and the students will miss seeing her daily.
Laura Graham also returns in Term four full time as our Deputy and Learning and Teaching Leader. Michelle Ristovski returns to Year 4 and her Well Being role while also retaining her Deputy Principal title as Laura will return to a part time role in 2024. We also thank Melissa Cowan for her work as Well Being Leader while Michelle was Learning and Teaching Leader.
Phew!!
It has been a big term
Enjoy the holidays, see you all on Monday October 2.
Anthony
Parent Education
A study by the government-funded Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) found that children who have certain skills before starting school – including being able to count to 20, write their name and match letters to sounds – have a head start on their peers and achieve higher results in year 3 NAPLAN tests.
AERO analysis shows that children starting primary school who have acquired eight core skills are more likely to experience future literacy and numeracy success throughout the primary years. The skills are:
- Recognise numbers one to 10
- Read complex words
- Count to 20
- Remember things easily
- Attach sounds to letters
- Use one-to-one correspondence
- Write his/her own name in English
- Aware of writing directions in English
St Mary’s Faith News
School and Parish Connections
Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Some important dates to Remember for Term 4
Event |
Date |
Time |
Where |
Seniors Mass |
Friday 6th October |
11:30 am |
Church |
Year One and Two Family Mass |
Sunday 29th October |
10:30 am |
Church |
Remembrance Day |
Friday 10th October |
10:45 am |
School Playground |
Advent Liturgy 1 |
Friday 24th November |
3:00 pm |
School Hall |
Prep family Mass |
Sunday 26th November |
10:30 am |
Church |
Seniors Mass |
Friday 1st December |
11:30 am |
Church |
Advent Liturgy 2 |
Friday 1st December |
3:00 pm |
School Hall |
Feast of the Immaculate Conception |
Friday 8th December |
9:15 am |
Church |
Advent Liturgy 3 |
Friday 8th December |
3:00 pm |
School Hall |
End of Year Mass |
Thursday 14th December |
11:30 am |
Church |
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I am excited to inform you that on Friday, October 13th, we will be celebrating Italian Day at St Mary’s.
Students are encouraged to embrace the spirit of Italy by dressing in Italian colors (green, white & red), Italian themed sports clothing and/or costumes. This is an opportunity for them to get creative and showcase their enthusiasm for Italian culture.
Throughout the day, students will have the chance to participate in various Italian-themed games, crafts, songs and dances allowing them to immerse themselves in the rich culture of Italy.
There will be a special production titled "Vacanze Romane" held in the school hall. This engaging performance will add an extra layer of excitement to our Italian Day celebrations. I am looking forward to seeing the student singing along with the songs we have been practicing throughout the year.
As part of the celebration, students will be treated to delicious nut free gelati. We kindly request that you inform us of any dietary requirements or concerns you may have by Friday October 6th. Your child's safety and enjoyment are our top priorities, and we want to ensure that all students can fully participate in the day's festivities.
We look forward to a fun-filled day celebrating Italian culture with the students. If you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Grazie Mille!
Melissa Edmunds
Italian Teacher
Icy-poles – calling for volunteers
Forms have been sent home seeking volunteers for icy-pole duty in Term 4. Could you please return these forms as soon as possible, ideally before the end of this week.
We are also looking for one or more persons to help out with general icy-pole tasks. This includes checking the freezer, stock levels and condition of the kitchen throughout the week. Please could you send an email to cg@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au if you are able to help out. Icy-poles are a much loved part of Term 4 at St Mary's and any help you can give is very much appreciated by all the children!
Colour Explosion Jogathon
The much-loved annual St Mary’s jogathon is back bigger and brighter this year as the Colour Explosion Jogathon, being held on Friday 3 November on Robertson Reserve.
Run by the Parents and Friends Coordinating Group, this is a day when the entire school participates in a fun run to raise money for the school.
We encourage parents to come along and cheer the students on, so please save the date – the timetable for the day will be published closer to the event.
More information will be shared with students and parents in Week 1 of Term 4, after school holidays.
SAVE THE DATE- St Mary’s Parents Cocktail Party..
It’s time for the parents to have some FUN….lock SATURDAY 2nd December in now and more details to come.
If you are keen to help out or have any ideas how we can make this event extra fun.
Please email cg@smwilliamstown.
Thanks
P&F Coordination Group
Parents, we are in need of two volunteers to run the secondhand uniforms. Sales are held every second Wednesday morning. Please contact the school office for more information. We would really appreciate your help
Welcome back to MSJ - Alumnae Reunion