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Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
Thank you to everyone for their efforts this term. It is a community that works together that will make us a stronger community.
Congratulations to all who made their First Reconciliation. The Sacrament went very smoothly and the children represented the School excellently. Well done to all involved.
Jogathon.What a great day. This was our first big whole school event in a long time and you could tell by the looks on everyone's faces how happy everyone was coming back together as a community. Thanks to Lisa, Justina, Ben and countless other parents marking cards, handing out fruit and icy-poles, attending to fallen children.... everyone just chips in to make the day a success!
Easter Raffle: Congratulations to all our winners!! Thanks to all who donated to our Easter Raffle and brought tickets etc Once again, a huge success. This year we raised over $3500. Thank you to Ness for all her storage and wrapping. Next Year we hope to do an Easter Hat Parade as well.
CyberSafety: We have had many families approach us around the topic of Cybersafety. I think our children have got used to spending more time on technology during lock down, and many parents are now trying to reign that in. We hope to do some more work in that area soon in the school. In the meantime, we would recommend these good websites for families to use to learn more about providing a safe environment for their children online.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids
https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/play-media-technology
Bike Locks. Thank you to Aus Lock and Safe Company Laverton North. http://www.auslock.com.au/ We were lucky winners of 20 bike locks as part of their promotions of Ride to School day. We will be giving these out as prizes to the students
We wish everyone a Safe and Holy Easter.
School Recommences: Monday April 19th.
God Bless,
Anthony
Lord God,
We tremble to think
That it was one of Jesus’ own friends who betrayed
him.
One who sat by him, who broke bread with him.
Give us strength, we pray,
To walk faithfully with Jesus,
Even when the road we walk is rocky
Even when the message of the cross seems like
foolishness
And even when we feel betrayed.
You, Lord, are always faithful.
We stumble, we become lost,
But you are steady and sure.
Give us the grace to endure our troubles,
And reveal to us the glory of your kingdom,
Through your son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Holy Week
Holy Week marks the final week of the season of Lent and it recounts the final days of Christ's life, as well as his death, burial, and resurrection. In the early developments of this tradition, Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and concludes with the celebration of Jesus Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Project Compassion
Over the 5 Weeks of Lent, many children and teachers at St Mary’s have decided to donate ‘spare’ money that they have to Caritas Australia. As an international aid and development agency of the Australian Catholic Church, Caritas Australia works with the most vulnerable communities around the world to eradicate poverty and injustice.
It is pleasing to announce that we have raised $657 to donate to this exceptional charity. As Hamish in 3E remarked; “This is enough money to buy a tank that will provide fresh water to a village in Tanzania”.
Well done everyone!
Upcoming Events
Term 2 |
|
Friday 23rd April 10.45am |
ANZAC Day Ceremony |
Tuesday 27th April 4pm |
Year 5 First Eucharist bookings open: Please log into https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/ and use the code: dv7b3 |
Saturday 1st May 6pm |
Year 5 Family Mass |
Friday 7th May 9.15am |
Mother’s Day Mass |
Thursday 20th May 6.30pm |
Year 4 & 5 Eucharist Parent Night |
Saturday 29th May, 6pm S Sunday 30th May, 8.30am & 10.30am |
Year 5 First Eucharist |
Saturday 5th June 6pm |
Year 4 Family Mass |
Saturday 19th June, 6pm Sunday 20th June, 8.30am & 10.30am |
Year 4 First Eucharist |
Sacrament Dates for Term 3
Confirmation (Year 6)
Tuesday 27th July, 6pm
Wednesday 28th July, 6pm
Thursday 29th July, 6pm
Sustainability End of Term Report
Olive and Nathan have been keeping track of the number of bins they put out for collection each week. They have been feeding back their observations and concerns. These will be addressed in Term 2.
The great news is that the students at St Mary’s have made a huge effort in reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. On average we are putting out 3 bins a week. This is costing the school $36.00 a week. This is a massive improvement on previous years and something we should be proud of.
I am so proud of the Sustainability Team. They are so enthusiastic and have been so pro active this term. I am hoping that some of their big ideas become a regular practice at the school - not something that needs to be put in the Newsletter on a regular basis!
Next term we will continue:
- To monitor the amount of waste going to landfill - the bin monitors will weigh each classes rubbish and a trophy made by Clemmie Bolle in Year 5 will be presented to the class with the least amount of rubbish.
- We will continue with Nude Food Wednesday -The class with the highest percentage of nude food will recieve the ‘Golden Lunchbox’ . This will be recorded and presented every week!!! - we will not be referencing it in every newsletter - we hope that families will get on board and pack Nude food lunches as much as possible.
Looking Ahead to Term 2
- Nude Food Wednesday will continue.
- Monitoring the amount of waste to landfill will contine.
- Establishment of the Garden Club.
- Allocation of garden beds to each year level with a particular focus on what is to be grown. The idea is that the school will be providing vegetables to the Williamstown wheels on meals or a local soup kitchen. The needs of these organisations will direct the choice of produce to be grown.
- Sustainability team to work on a project.
Please remember that all the ideas mentioned here are being put forward by the sustainability team - students, your children! They are speaking on behalf of their peers and are seeking your support in this matter! These are your children and they have something to say!Please listen!
It was great to see the Jogathon running in 2021, and congratulations to all the kids, parents, grandparents and other family and friends for their support on the day. We would not be able to run this event without the efforts of our volunteers but a special thank you to Lisa Kirby and Karoline Cooke for all the work that they have put in this event.
Wishing all the children lots of luck for the Easter Raffle draw this afternoon, hope that you get some special treats ahead of the holidays. Thank you to our families for your kind donations and supporting the raffle through purchasing tickets, we have raised over $3600, which is a huge effort.
P&F will be supporting the purchase of new equipment for the school, including four large marquees that can be used for sport, activities and events, new outdoor portable AV equipment and new BBQ. Funding these for the school would not be possible without the volunteers and our community support. It is great to continue to enhance our school and the environment for our kids. THANK YOU!
Pancake Day
Reminder that Pancake Day has been moved to Tuesday 20th April, the first Tuesday back in Term 2. We do require some electric frypans to be dropped off to school on the Monday 19th April, if you have one available, please email Jemima (president@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au) if you can donate one for the day. It will be a gold coin donation, with all funds raised going to support Project Compassion.
Jogathon
Congratulations to all the children who participated in our Jogathon event last Friday. The weather gods were definitely on our side and all involved had lots of fun. Special thanks to Karoline Cooke our PE Teacher and Justine Brogna from TreeHaus Williamstown for warming the kids up and teaching us all about physical health. The dances were definitely a hit and something the kids went home to talk about. Our P&F events could not take place without the many parents who volunteer their time for the kids so a special thank you to Ben Zammit and Lisa Kirby for co-ordinating the day and to Meagan Burke, Julie Carey, Carey Dewerson, Tanya Dias, Jenny Dzomba, Michelle Knezevic, Steven Lusi, Sherrine McInerney, Katherine McQuinn, Anna Randell, Natalie Reynolds, Christine Walter and Lora Winter for assisting on the day. A special thank you also to Woolworths Williamstown for the generous donation of all that fresh fruit.
We are now asking parents to help the children collect their Jogathon sponsorship. Children will bring home their Jogathon Pledge Forms with the Teacher’s verification indicating the number of laps your child was able to do. Please use our CDFpay system for all Jogathon donations. All money raised from our Jogathon goes directly to the St Mary's Primary School Parents and Friends Committee raising much-needed funds for several capital works projects we are undertaking in the near future.
It’s competition time! The class who is first in returning all their sponsorship money will be treated to a special hot lunch donated by TreeHaus Williamstown as well as a fun activity with Kelly Sports. The class that raises the most Jogathon donations will also participate in the Kelly Sports activity. The winners of these awesome prizes will be announced in Term 2 so please get your donations in via CDFpay no later than Friday 14th May. Check out the leader board progress, who is in front???
Easter Raffle
50 prizes will be up for grabs at the assembly on Wednesday afternoon, a further 14 class prizes. We have raised over $3600. Our thanks to Ness Meike who has been organising the Easter Raffle for 7 years and has put together all the wonderful prizes. The kids look forward to the special treat at the end of term – Good Luck everyone!
Mother’s Day Stall
Based upon feedback and requests over several years we have been able to put together a Mother’s Day Stall in 2021, Friday 30 April. To reduce money handling on the day we will have vouchers available to purchase on CDF Pay, vouchers will be available for $5. Please be assured that no child will miss out and that we will be working closely with the school to ensure all kids can buy a special gift. More details will be available at the start of Term 2. Thank you Tanya Dias for organising this new activity.
How do I purchase my Mothers Day Stall Voucher?
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 Mothers Day Voucher.
- If you are purchasing for each sibling, please select a voucher under each of their names before checking out
- Finally review your cart and check out!
Maclean Reserve
Many thanks to all those that sent back their forms for Maclean Reserve, it is much appreciated and a roster will be circulated ahead of Term 2.
P&F Pantry
Calling all home cooks! We are seeking some new helpers with the P&F Pantry which is a meal service organised by parents to help families in our school community that may need an extra hand in times of need (illness, death, unemployment, financial hardship). The commitment is helping to prepare a meal for a family of five that can be frozen and stored. If you can help please contact volunteers@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Meals will be available from Term 2 please speak with the office or your teacher if you think we can help your family.
Jemima Bowen
P&F President (president@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
Enrolment forms for guitar lessons are now available from the office for any parents who wish to enrol their child(ren) in Grades 2-6 into lessons for Term 2. Parents are asked to complete and email the completed form to michelleguitarmusic@hotmail.