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Dear Parents, Guardian and Community,
Welcome to week 6, we have gone past the half way mark of this term. We hope your families are travelling okay in this current environment. A reminder that we have a psychologist, Ebony Puopolo, employed at the school. Please contact the school if you wish to speak to Ebony. Ebony works on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
We had a fantastic session with Michael Grose last night. It was certainly different from when we first planned it two years ago. Michael is a fantastic presenter and gave us some great tips about parenting, especially in these different times. Through the session Michael spoke to us about anxiety, resilience and coping strategies. I know the parents who were able to make it really appreciated the session and took away some things they can use.
Remote Learning: Do feel free to offer suggestions for the school. Most of the changes we have made are from direct Feedback from Parents. We cannot meet every request, but we do consider it to see if it is possible.
Once again, thanks for the efforts you are making with your children. I have received some lovely emails thanking the school and acknowledging the work the teachers do. I know the teachers and other staff are working extremely hard and are looking forward to schools getting back to normal.
God Bless and stay safe
Anthony
Loving God, we give thanks
for the extended family of local communities assisting with the needs of both frail and elderly confined to their homes. May every gift of love, every encouraging word, bring hope into lonely lives and a blessing to the giver.
Amen
7th Annual Way of the West - continues this week!
Many thanks to all who have been able to donate so far to the Asylum Seeker Resource Center. Donations can be left on Father Greg’s porch at the presbytery.
What can we donate this week to help
These donations 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!
Upcoming Events
TERM 3 |
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Way of the West Week 3 - Monday 16th August - Sunday 22nd August |
Toiletries Shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, sanitary products and shaving items |
Way of the West Week 4 - Monday 23rd August - Sunday 29th August
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Other Household Items Dishwashing detergent, washing powder, household cleaning products, nappies (especially larger sizes) & gift Cards (Kmart, Big W, Target) |
Father’s Day Mass Friday 3rd September 9.15am |
Details for the Mass will be released closer to the date. |
Year 5 First Eucharist Saturday 4th September 6pm Sunday 5th September 8.30 & 10.30am
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Due to the recent State Government announcements the dates and numbers are unknown at this point. Fr Greg will make an announcement on this in the upcoming week. Please contact him directly if you have any questions or concerns. |
Year 1 Family Mass Sunday 12th September 10.30am |
Details for the Mass will be released closer to the date. |
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. |
TOP TIPS FOR LOCKDOWN LEARNING
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LEAD DON’T TELL: Teaching is as much about leading students to the answers as telling them how to do things. Ask questions while you work with your child and lead them to finding the right answers for themselves. Engaging a child in the process itself is important for retention. This is helpful if you were taught maths differently when you were at school, as is often the case!
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MISTAKES ARE OK: Mistakes create new opportunities for deeper understanding. They are vital in fact. Be positive when your child makes a mistake, ask them how or why they arrived at the incorrect result, ask them to trace their working back to find where they went wrong. Self-correction is so important in the learning process and it cannot be practised without making mistakes!
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REINFORCE SUCCESS: Build their problem-solving confidence whenever the opportunity arises. Focus on praising effort and persistence, rather than a natural talent or simply being clever. Acknowledge success in a way that resonates most with your child; perhaps they’d like to collect stars towards a prize, unlock privileges, or see their name in lights (or a chart in the kitchen!). Use these to encourage your child when they feel ‘stuck’ or frustrated – remind them of specific difficult problems they solved through effort and persistence.
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GO DEEPER: You don’t need to be a maths whizz yourself to support your child as they grow in confidence and ability – you just need to coach them into deeper understanding by asking questions and challenging them appropriately. If they find certain areas of maths easy you can help them to extend their knowledge by asking them “What is another way you could reach that answer?”, and “Explain to me how you did that part?”. Even if the work they’re doing goes beyond your own mathematical understanding, asking questions is a great way to provide support (and maybe learn something new yourself!).
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TAILOR TO THEM: How does your child learn and engage? There is no one-size-fits-all and every child is unique, even siblings. For example, children who learn aurally will do best with time to listen and discuss concepts. Those who learn visually or through practical means will prefer diagrams or tangible objects such as Lego, toy cars, coins or buttons. Others may go through pages and pages of scribbles and workings. Do they like to get into deep stretches of concentration or are they better in short bursts of activity? If you give your child the opportunity to learn in the most comfortable, efficient way for them as individuals they will enjoy learning that much more.
Family Maths Game of the Week: Countdown
BOOK WEEK 2021
St Mary’s will still be celebrating Book Week next week!
On Friday 27th August come to your morning meet dressed as your favourite book character or a character from the Book Week theme - ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds’
When we are back at school we plan to have a dress up day too. So keep your costume for when we are back at school too!
Four critical tools for kids' anxiety management
Leading parenting expert Michael Grose offers advice on helping your child manage anxiety. Parents are well positioned to provide kids with the tools and skills to regulate their anxiousness. This article details four critical skills to teach kids to help them self-manage feelings of anxiousness.
St Mary’s Lego Station and the Rainbow Retreat
St Mary’s School is gratefully asking for donations of any unwanted lego you might have at home. We have set up “Leah the Lego Lorry” and are looking to increase supplies at school for students to use their creative skills during recess and lunchtimes. We are also seeking any Matchbox cars you no longer need to top up the ones available in the Rainbow Retreat.
Donations are being accepted at the school office.
In continuation of supporting families with guiding students in the online world, please find the following resources to support your family through navigating the world of technology safely with your family.
A reminder that there are the following interactive webinars are being offered online by the Australian Government’s e-safety Commissioner to help parents and carers.
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
REGISTER NOW
Dates (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
Tuesday 31 August 7.30 to 8.30 pm
LIFELAB PARENT SESSION
Tuesday 24th August 7pm-8pm
Father’s Day Stall
The Father’s Day Stall will be held on Friday 27th August. If you have not yet had a chance to purchase a voucher, your last chance to do so is until the end of this week through CDF Pay. Voucher sales will close Sunday 22nd August.
All items on the stall are valued at $5 and you can purchase multiple vouchers for the special men in your child’s life.
Please note we will go ahead with this event even though we will be in lockdown. We will be transforming the stall to online, where your children can choose their gifts for the special men in their lives. Gifts will be available to pick-up from the school the following week in time for Father’s Day.
If you have any questions, please email Katherine volunteers@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Chocolate Drive
Thanks for everyone that has already returned their money. 37% of boxes have now been paid in full. Ffor 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. Hurry, you only have until the end of August to be in the draw.
To make things easier for families, Chocolate Drive money can be returned via the CDFpay app.
Lunch Order Update
The latest lockdown has postponed our trial with the new supplier. When we return, the new supplier will meet with relevant staff at the school and give them instructions about the ordering process. The main message to parents is that the ordering system will no longer be part of CDFpay and orders will need to be finalized the night before. Further details will be made available once we are back at school.
Disco
We mentioned last week that we were postponing the School Disco to Friday 20th August! Obviously with current restrictions, this must be postponed again. We are working with the school and once government restrictions have eased, we will let you know of the new date.
Victoria Crowe
P&F Vice-President (vicepresident@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
REMINDER: Applications for Year 7, 2023 close this coming Friday – 20 August 2021. Applications can only be submitted via email or Australia Post mail at this time due to reception at both campuses being closed as a result of current government restrictions. They can be emailed to the College Registrar, Ms Donna Grech at enrolments@ecmelb.catholic.