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Dear Parent, Guardians and Community,
Saint Mary Mackillop – Feast Day August 8
This Sunday August 8th, we celebrate the feast of Saint Mary Mackillop. Saint Mary Mackillop was Australia’s first Saint. Mary was a person who cared for those who had no-one to care for her, children who had no schools to go to and the homeless. More than ever, Mary wanted to do something for the poor children who could not afford to pay money, needed to go to school. In 1866, Father Julian Tenison and Saint Mary began the first St Joseph School in an old stable. On 19th March 1866 (St Josephs Day) Mary started to wear a simple black dress and began the congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph. As a sister she dedicated her life in doing God’s work. This week the students will learn more about Saint Mary Mackillop and the qualities she had and and what this means for us today.
A prayer for Mary Mackillop
God of all blessings, you revealed in Mary Mackillop a sensitivity to the rights and dignity of every person, regardless of race or creed. May we learn from her to overcome the obstacles of prejudice and fear. Help us to value the goodness of each person and all the blessings of unity in diversity. We ask this through the depth and unity of you, our bountiful God, who hold all things in being.
Amen
Congratulations to our Year Six students who celebrated their Confirmation last week. We were very fortunate to be able to celebrate the Sacrament with Lock down restrictions easing on the Wednesday. There were many calls and emails going back and forth to make sure we could hold the event. Our students do a wonderful job and made the school and their parents proud. Thank you to Paul Burke, Kerri Gunn, Michelle Ebinger, Charlotte Lipnicki, Father Greg and Monique who helped this to become a very successful celebration.
School Review: Our School review was very successful, even though it was online and our internet connection was not great. Everyone who met with Michael came away feeling that they had been heard and were able to contribute. Michael's comments to me was that we have a highly effective school, with a enthusiastic staff, students and parents. We now wait for his report and feedback meeting. From there we start to develop our School Improvement Plan for the next four years.
A shout out to our P and F who have tried to organise countless events this year only to be denied due to Covid Lock down. I think we are all missing that sense of community that these events bring and I know they still have hope of getting us all together. So thanks you to our hard working P and F.
MacLean Reserve Update. I finally was able to get some information about what is happening with MacLean Reserve. The good news is that it is going ahead and they hope to have it finished by the end of the year or early next year. I know we have all been waiting for this. We will lose use of MacLean Reserve for about 3 to 4 months and there is a plan to allow us to use Robertson Reserve at recess and lunchtimes with temporary toilets positioned there.
Thank you. I wish to acknowledge Doreen Mitchell in this newsletter. Doreen has volunteered for over ten years running the school second hand uniform shop. The school and community is very thankful for this. Doreen has let us now she feels it is now time to let someone(s) else take over. I could not let this pass without thanking Doreen and acknowledging what she has done for the school. Thank you Doreen.
Reminder 1. We ask that families do not bring in hot food like "Hot Wings, McDonald's etc" for their children to eat at school. We ask that this food be left for home.
Reminder 2. We ask that if you wish to pick your children up early please notify the school office beforehand. It can be a busy time in the office and having to stop work to call classrooms is creating a bit of a headache for office staff. If we know beforehand it makes it much easier. Also, the school needs to know if students are to be going away on holiday. An email to myself and the teacher is required.
Community Connectedness. We are looking for ways to connect our community, I think we are all feeling the disconnect during covid. If any parents have any ideas, please let us know. It does not have to be anything too complicated, it could be as simple as a parent forming a walking group or a coffee club. All ideas welcome.
Sign Procedures at Office. As we let everyone know last week, we have a new Sign in System at the front office. We are using the SINE Pro system. You can set up the app your phone which remembers your details (It is the same one that is used at the Royal Children's Hospital.) I tried this morning and I was able to sign in a few seconds.
God bless and stay safe
Anthony
Confirmation
Congratulations to the Year 6 children who made their Confirmation last week. Each of the three liturgies were a testimony to the wonderful efforts and learning by the children. We pray that the Holy Spirit gives them the increased ability to practice their Catholic faith in every aspect of their lives and to witness Christ in every situation.
Presentation of Confirmation Candidate Liturgy
7th Annual Way of the West - has begun this week!
Food and Living Essentials Collection for Refugee and Asylum Seeker Families
What can we donate to help:
Upcoming Events
TERM 3 |
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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).
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Friday 6th August 9.15am
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Feast Feast of Mary MacKillop Liturgy - via Google Meets
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Week 2 Monday 9th August - Sunday 15th August |
Tinned Food: Fish like sardines or salmon, vegetables such as tomatoes, corn, peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans (not baked), tomato paste, small jars of honey and long life milk
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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. |
Communicating with Children Using Maths Language
Talking about mathematics with your child – whatever his or her age – helps strengthen his or her mathematical reasoning and understanding. Some ways to keep the talk engaged and focused while you support your child include:
Revoice - Repeat what you heard your child say, then ask for clarification (e.g., “So you are saying it’s an odd number?”).
Repeat/Restate – Ask your child to restate your reasoning (e.g., “Can you repeat what I said in your own words?”).
Reason – Ask your child to apply his or her own reasoning to someone else’s reasoning (e.g., “Do you agree or disagree? Tell me why.”).
Adding On – Prompt your child to participate further (e.g., “What more would you add to that?”).
Think Time – Wait several seconds (try five) to give your child time to think (e.g., “Take some time to think.”). You may be surprised by how hard it is to stay silent in that time!
Try some of these strategies while playing this game- Strike!
Change of Library Day
Due to the Mini Aths Day on Friday, the following library classes have been moved to Thursday 5th August (tomorrow), for this week only. Please remind your children to bring in their library books.
Grade 2S 9.30 - 10am
Grade 3E 10.30 - 11am
Grade 2C 12.40 - 1.10pm
Grade 3S 1.10 - 1.40pm
Dress Up Day
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the P&F will be via Zoom, on Monday 9th August at 7pm. If you would like to become involved, please email president@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au Being part of the P&F is a great way to meet new people across all year levels of the school and a wonderful opportunity to give back to our school. If you have been thinking you would like to learn more or get involved, it is never too late.
Lunch Order Update
The P&F have been exploring alternative lunch-order options and have narrowed our search down to a potential supplier. We anticipate trialing a new supplier in the coming weeks, and we will invite parent feedback at the end of the trial period to determine if we continue with this supplier. Details will be announced once the school has signed-off on the suppliers’ options.
Secondhand Uniforms
The second-hand uniform coordinator, Doreen Mitchell, has retired after 10 years of service to the school. We would like to extend our heart-felt gratitude to Doreen for the extraordinary effort she has put into coordinating the second-hand uniform stall. The P&F are now looking for a replacement to fill this roll. If you are interested, please email volunteers@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au for more information. Note, Doreen will be available for training and hand-over.
Chocolate Drive
Thanks for everyone that has already returned their money; for each box paid in full by August, your family will receive an entry into the golden raffle to win a $150 voucher to Santorini's. Thanks to Craig and the team at Santorini's for their support. If you think you can sell additional boxes, these can be collected from the School Office at any time. If you cannot sell a full box, please return the unsold box and contents, with payment for the sold contents to the office please.
To make things easier for families, Chocolate Drive money can be returned via the CDFpay app.
Father’s Day Stall
Due to the fantastic feedback from parents and children on this year’s Mother’s Day Stall, the P&F will hold a Father’s Day Stall on Friday 27th August.
To reduce money handling on the day we will have vouchers available to purchase on CDF Pay. Vouchers will be available for $5. Vouchers will NOT be available from the school office, after the cut-off day, nor on the day, so please ensure that you are organised beforehand. This is to ensure that there is sufficient stock available for all children who have purchased a voucher. Thanks for your understanding.
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!
Vouchers must be purchased by no later than Sunday 22nd August.
Father’s Day Breakfast
We are seeking help as an event coordinator and some volunteers for our Father’s Day Breakfast held on Friday 3rd September. If you are keen to get involved please contact volunteers@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Book Week
We are seeking help for the book week stall 30th August – 3rd September. If you are keen to get involved please contact volunteers@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au Volunteers will help with the setup, selling of books and packing up afterwards.
Disco
We mentioned last term that we were postponing the School Disco to Term 3, we have a new date Friday 20th August! We are working with the school and updates on government restrictions and will let you know if we need to postpone again.
If your child/ren are no longer able to attend and you would like a refund please contact Louise Dorinko special_events@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au as we have a number of children that are on the waitlist and we would love to offer them a ticket.
Social Events
Thanks to the amazing feedback from parents to our quick survey, the P&F has decided to cancel the Ball for 2021 due to the ongoing uncertainty caused by Covid. The general feedback indicated that parents were looking for community connection, so the P&F are planning a few fun social events instead. To replace the Ball, we are planning a parent-only Cocktail Party on Friday 8th October. Please keep your eyes out when details are released because this event will sell-out quicky.
Victoria Crowe
P&F Vice-President (vicepresident@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
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)