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Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
Firstly can I send out a quick shout out to everyone, parents, staff and students about how quickly and positively our community has gone into lock down and remote learning again. It really is about making the best out of a difficult situation. I know our teachers are working incredibly hard and long hours to teach through the remote learning. The pre-production and post-production of each day is huge. Hopefully we will be back together soon.
School Review: Day one of the school review took place remotely last Friday. Day one was the compliance check and everything went very well with only one point in Infrastructure to do some work around. The areas checked on day one are
- School Governance Standards
- Enrolment Standards
- Curriculum and Student Learning Standards
- Student Welfare Standards
- Staff Employment Standards
- School Infrastructure Standards
- Meeting Commonwealth Accountability Requirements.
All of these are checked against Government legislation.
Staffing News: We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Ebony Puopolo, our new psychologist. Ebony began work this week and will work Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the school. Ebony is available to work with students and families at the school. Ebony will also complete many of the educational assessments that can only be performed by a psychologist. Ebony will also be running social skills groups for the students and advise and work with staff to meet the needs of the students. We welcome Ebony to our community.
Michael Grose Update. One thing that we have had to look at is the Michael Grose Parenting Expert Night. In our current Covid World, we have to look at things differently and after speaking to Michael he is more than happy to work online. This of course means more people can be part of the event and that it can be shared more widely. We are happy for you to share this event with friends and family, online it does not matter where anyone is. Tickets are $20, which is a small investment, considering how much we spend on our children on a weekly basis. So for the price of a large pizza, you can get some great parenting advice from a world expert which will last longer than the joys of a pizza. The event will now take place on August 17th, 7pm to 8:30 pm, giving us two more weeks to get organised. Tickets through CDF Pay (For people outside of the school they just sign as a guest account) If the change of date has caused a problem with people who had purchased for August 3rd, please contact the school so we can refund the ticket
A Zoom link will be sent to people who purchase a ticket close to the event.
https://smwilliamstown.cdfpay.
This is a great opportunity and I hope every family in the school gets involved. Please share to family and friends. Links for tickets are also on our Facebook Event page.
God Bless and Stay Safe
Anthony
Lord, no one is a stranger to you and no one is ever far from your loving care. In your kindness watch over refugees and asylum seekers, those separated from their loved ones, those who are lost, and those who have been exiled from their homes. Bring them safely to the place where they long to be, and help us always to show your kindness to strangers and those in need.
Amen
Way of the West
The St Mary’s school and parish community are joining forces to respond to the needs of asylum seekers in our community. During the month of August, our Way of the West campaign is urging us all to respond to this need by donating various goods outlined on the flyer attached.
These goods are donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) in Footscray and dispersed to families in need from there.
If you are able to help this year then below are possible suggestions for you to start stocking up on:
Week 1: Monday 2nd August - Sunday 8th August
Dried Food: healthy breakfast cereals, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, healthy snack food for lunch boxes & tea (both black & green and instant coffee).
Week 2: Monday 9th August - Sunday 15th August
Tinned Food: Fish like sardines, tuna or salmon. Vegetables such as tomatoes, corn, peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans (not baked), tomato paste, small jars of honey & long life milk.
Week 3: Monday 16th August - Sunday 22nd August
Toiletries: Shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, sanitary products & shaving items.
Week 4: Sunday Monday 23rd August - Sunday 29th August
Other Household Goods: Dishwashing detergent, washing powder, household cleaning goods nappies (especially larger sizes) & gift cards (Kmart, Big W, Target).
Every class in the school will have a dedicated box for donations. Therefore, items can be sent in with your child to place in their classroom box. Alternatively, you may drop items off at the school front office or to the church on the weekend before or after Mass.
Items will then be taken to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Footscray to be distributed to families in need. Thank you for your amazing support in the past and we look forward to your continuing support this year!
7th Annual
Way of the West
Food and Living Essentials Collection
for Refugee and Asylum Seeker Families
What can we donate to help?
Here are some much needed items you can donate
Upcoming Events
TERM 3 |
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Wednesday 21st July, 6.30pm |
Year 6 Confirmation Evening will be now held as a Zoom meeting at 6.30pm. Please use the below link to attend: Join Zoom Meeting https://divinity.zoom.us/j/86032950547?pwd=OEZJRWxrWldidlNYTHpHdE51NjY3Zz09 |
Year 6 Confirmation Liturgies Wednesday 28th July, 6pm Thursday 29th July, 6pm Friday 30th July 6pm |
To attend a liturgy, everyone will need to register their details at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/stmarys At this point in time, 3 people are permitted to attend per family due to restrictions in the church. |
Saturday 4th September, 6pm
Sunday 5th September 8.30 & 10.30am
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Year 5 First Eucharist
Bookings will be transferred from the original date and time to the new date and times
*** numbers for this event will be announced closer to the date****
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TERM 4 |
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Saturday 16th October, 6pm
Sunday 17th October 8.30 & 10.30am
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Year 4 First Eucharist
Bookings will be transferred from the original date and time to the new date and times
If these new dates create any problems, then please feel free to contact Father Greg directly. |
An Invitation to serve your Parish! Come and be an Altar Server
All students in Grades 3-5 are invited to join the St Mary’s altar server’s team. New and old faces are invited to attend one training session, which will be held in the Church under the direction of Michael McConville. This will be held on Sunday August 15th at 4pm – 5pm. Do not hesitate to ring Fr Greg on 0400524363 for any further clarification. Please complete the reply slip and return ASAP.
REPLY SLIP FOR ST MARYS’ ALTAR SERVING
Name of Child …………………………………………….
Name of Parents ………………………………..
Contact email or mobile of at least one parent…………………………………………..
Click on your child’s year level to see what is happening in Specialist lessons this term.
Classroom Helper Training -Prep to Year 2
The Classroom Helper Training session will now take place online. If you were unable to attend the training session at school last term and would like to help in the classroom when we return to school please join our online training session on Thursday 22nd July at 4pm.
Classroom teachers have sent the information and link to parent email accounts. If you are unable to attend the session, it will be recorded and can be sent to you to view at your own time. It is expected that parents complete a Classroom Helper training session before helping in the classroom as there is important information in regards to Child Safe practices.
Thank you for your support.
Michelle Ristovski
Acting Deputy Principal
Teaching and Learning Leader
Please find the link to an informative video on Talking to children about natural disasters, traumatic events, or worries about the future – This Emerging Minds video introduces ways for parents and carers to manage media coverage of traumatic events, and talk to their children about their worries and fears. These suggestions are particularly useful to consider when discussing the current pandemic with your children
eSafety's parent guide to popular apps
Learn how to help young people safely use popular apps including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
This webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 8-13.
It will cover:
- an explanation of the popular apps used by young people
- case studies, research, and targeted advice
- ways you can support the young people in your life to have safe, enjoyable online experiences.
Dates (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
Monday 16 August 12.30 to 1.30 pm
Tuesday 31 August 7.30 to 8.30 pm