Filter Content
Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
This week at St Mary's we have had our swimming trials. On Tuesday we had our swimming trials at the Williamstown outdoor pool at the beach. A big thank you to our parent volunteers and staff. The students did really well and announcements about those students who will represent the school at district level will be soon.
RAT Tests: Unfortunately we have not received our latest Rapid Antigen Testing (RATS) kits for students. This obviously makes it difficult to administer the twice weekly tests. As soon as they arrive we will be sending them home. We have made an urgent request to the department.
Maclean Reserve; Maclean Reserve continues to progress. Council updated to say they expect the works to continue to the end of March. Most of the equipment will be installed in the next few days. The rest of the time will be setting up the irrigation and establishing the grass.
Shade Sails: Our shade sails have now been approved by council. We expect them to go up in the next few weeks. The new shade sails will be outside the school entry point (outside the electronic doors) and will give us much better space to be teaching outside.
First Communion: This Sunday we have our Year 5 students celebrating their first communion. It has been a long wait for these students and we wish them all the best for the day. it is an important milestone for all the students. Thanks you to the staff and families who have prepared their children for this.
Parents and Friends; Last night we held our Annual General Meeting for the Parents and Friends. With the new school governance model we have a slight change in the name to Parents and Friends Association. (PFA) In the new Charter it uses some lovely phrasing that captures the idea of the PFA, along the lines of, "When a family joins the school they automatically become a member of the PFA," meaning you become part of our community. Great schools are built around great community!! A big thank you to the members of our community who able to take on roles with the PFA. By each doing a little, the job becomes so much easier.
Building: Just to update everyone on the Building and the holes along Cecil St and Parker st. Last week I received an engineer's report on what they believe to the cause of the problem. My sense is that it will now lead to further negotiations between the builders and water authorities, so we could still have the holes there for several months. There is no expectations that the holes will lead to structural problems for the school.
Install a new oven in the school canteen. Just putting a call out to any of our parents who can help us install a new oven in our kitchen. This is where the school canteen orders will be prepared. We will be removing our old gas oven and replacing it with a gas hotplate/electric oven. If you able to assist with this can you please let the office know.
School Camp Next week. Next week we have our Year 5 and 6 students attending school camp at Mt Evelyn, from Wednesday to Friday. We are working within strict covid guidelines, however we have been able to move forward on this. As a result we will have many staff out attending the camp. We thank all the staff who do this as part of their commitment to the students. I hope to visit the camp on one of the days.
God Bless and Stay Safe,
Anthony
Faith News - School and Parish Connections
School Prayer
Creator God,
We at St Mary’s school pray that we contine to live by the Gospel in our work and play.
Help us to care and respect for each other as Jesus teaches us.
Bless everyone in our school, parish and beyond as we go forth and work together as followers of Christ to reach out to those in need.
Jesus be in our thoughts. (use thumb to make a cross on your forehead)
Jesus be in our words. (use thumb to make a cross on your lips)
Jesus be in our hearts. (use thumb to make a cross on your heart)
Amen
Important dates to Remember for this Term
Event |
Date |
Time |
Where |
Year 5 First Eucharist |
19th |
6:00 |
Church |
Year 5 Eucharist |
20th Feb |
8:30 & 10 :30 |
Church |
Ash Wednesday Mass |
2nd March |
9:15 |
Church |
Feast of St Joseph |
18th March |
9:15 |
Church |
Year 3 Reconciliation Family information night |
TBA |
TBA |
School Hall |
Year 3 Family Mass |
20th March |
10:30 |
Church |
Year 3 Reconciliation |
22nd March |
TBA |
Church |
Year 3 Reconciliation |
23rd March |
TBA |
Church |
Year 3 Reconciliation |
24th March |
TBA |
Church |
Sacramental Dates for 2022
Year 5 Eucharist:
Saturday 19th February at 6:00 pm
Sunday 20th February at 8:30 and 10:30 am
The Mass time that you booked for your child in 2021 will stay the same. If this time is no longer suitable for you and your family please contact Fr Greg to discuss your options. Fr Greg can be contacted at greg.trythall@cam.org.au
Please be aware that the Saturday evening and Sunday 10:30 Masses are already fully booked.
Again we are going to have cap the number of people per family to 5 including the candidate. We apologise for this, but we are trying to keep the community safe.
Reconciliation - Year 3
Tuesday 22nd March,
Wednesday 23rd March,
Thursday 24th March,
Friday 25th March,
Times have yet to be confirmed. Further information will be sent out shortly, so please keep checking the newsletter for updates. There will also be a parent session. Details for this will sent out in due course.
Eucharist - Year 4
Saturday 21st May, 6pm
Sunday 22nd May, 8.30am & 10.30am
Confirmation - Year 6
Tuesday 26th July, 6pm
Wednesday 27th July, 6pm
Thursday 28th July, 6pm
Class Representatives Term 1
Class Representatives were presented with their certificates and badges at assembly last week.
ST MARY’S ICT AGREEMENT
The St Mary’s ICT Agreement was sent home to families last week. Please discuss this with your child and return the signed agreement this week.
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 the following interactive webinars are being offered online by the Australian Government’s e-safety Commissioner to help parents and carers.
The first P&F Meeting, Annual General Meeting was held last night and we have a number of parents that will be stepping down from roles and committee positions. I would like to acknowledge the hard work, dedication and passion that all of these people have brought to the role and continue to support the school and our school community.
Many thanks to Siobhain Loftus who has worked on all our graphics and communications. With her leadership and passion we have been able to improve and streamline a lot of our material. Tanya Dias will be stepping down as Communications Coordinator. She continues to support the efforts of the P&F through other activities but we will miss her coordination skills. A special thank you to Katherine McQuinn who was new to the P&F but took on a new coordinator role for volunteers. Her coordination and leadership has been invaluable. Thank you to Bianca (volunteer coordinator) and Claire (communications coordinator) for nominating in these roles.
A huge thank you to Victoria Crowe, Vice-President, who has been very dedicated to getting things through during a difficult year. Her support has been invaluable to the committee. Victoria will be staying on in caretaker role until the role of Vice-President is filled. I will also be stepping down as President but will continue to support the P&F as Fair Coordinator. I want to thank our school community for all your support for the school through P&F activities, I am humbled by the capacity within our community to give and support our children and the school. As I step down I am proud of all the work that the group of volunteers have been able to deliver, particularly over two challenging years, leaving the P&F in an excellent financial position and well-coordinated and know that the next few years in the P&F will be exciting. The role of President will remain open until the next scheduled meeting, but as previously mentioned Victoria will remain in care-taker mode.
All positions were up for nomination. Thank you to everyone that will be stepping into the following roles for 2022.
- President – Vacant (president@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
- Vice-President – Victoria Crowe (Caretaker) (vicepresident@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
- Treasurer – David Velardo (treasurer@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
- Secretary – Jacinda Davies (secretary@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
- Volunteer Coordinator – Bianca (volunteers@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
- Communications Coordinator – Claire (pf-comms@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au)
Thanks to all the new families that joined us last night and if you were not able to make it please come along to the next P&F Meeting in March.
Tabled at the meeting was the Parents and Friends Association (PFA) Charter, if you would like a copy please contact secretary@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Over the next few weeks we will be confirming the activities, events and fundraising for 2022. Keep an eye out for that and if you are keen to get involved please email volunteer@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Funding
The following items were confirmed for funding in 2022 - interschool sport uniforms, new oven and installation (50% of costs) and some capacity for funding in Term 3.
Jogathon
We have two new coordinators for the Jogathon in 2022. Many thanks to Lisa Kirby who has been running the Jogathon for 4 years, including delivering Jogathon through COVID! She hands over to Claire and Amanda as joint coordinators, thank you Claire Beckton and Amanda Osuchowski .
An update on the 17th Annual Jogathon for St Mary’s Primary School will come out within the next 2 weeks, keep an eye out for your updates and sponsorship booklet.
The Jogathon is a fun activity for children to do along with their classmates and a way to engage them into physical fitness. To help the children think about their own physical health and wellbeing, we will start each jog with a special warm up.
Usually held on the path around ‘The Green’ beside the school, we are awaiting confirmation from the Council if it will be ready by 25th March. Based on the fabulous efforts from previous years we have provided an estimate of what we could expect “on average” the children to do. Bonus laps tend to raise the final lap counts when we can get our teachers and parents running with the students!
A timetable for the day will be published at a later date.
The Parents and Friends Association receives all proceeds and donations from the 2022 Jogathon. If you have any questions regarding the jogathon, please email mailto:special_events@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Shrove Tuesday – 1 March 2022
To celebrate Shrove Tuesday the Parents and Friends Committee will be offering pancakes to all students on Tuesday 1 March.
Kids will enjoy a pancake prepared by our parent helpers in the morning. Each student is asked to donate a gold coin, with all donations going to charity. We are seeking your support as helpers, see note below and seeking donations for:
- Plain/Original pancake mixture bottles (Green’s Brand only)
- Greens Maple Flavoured Syrup
- Lemons
Drop off point is the school office before or after school.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact volunteers@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Second Hand Uniform Pop Up Shop -
Every Second Wednesday
Have the kids had a big growth spurt over summer? Remember that you can order any items from our Second Hand Uniform Shop at any time by emailing uniformspf@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Alternatively, sales will be held on the following dates between 8.30am and 9.30am in the school hall
- 16th February
- 2nd March
- 16th March
- 30th March
P&F Annual President Report 2021
The school community has demonstrated an amazing amount of resilience and flexibility during 2021 as the P&F pivoted to supporting the school, children and community during another disruptive year. We have been able to keep our focus and attention on ways that keep our community engaged whilst internally looking at our processes. We have had amazing support from those who have been ablet to get involved in the school community and support the P&F activities. In 2021 we were well supported by our School Staff Liaison officer, Charlotte Lipnicki whose enthusiasm and energy was greatly appreciated. We thank Charlotte for her contributions.
We kicked off 2021 to help the school purchase supplies and equipment which have been really useful and made a difference to the children. These new items included a BBQ, an Audio Visual System and St. Mary’s branded marquees. Discussions have been held about future ways to support the school and children and these objectives will be discussed at the start of 2022.
There was a change in the management of the school accounts, with the Treasurer having access to CDF disabled on directive from MACS with all banking transactions handled via the school bursar. This also coincided with a heavier documentation requirement with all parent and supplier transactions and invoices to be loaded via ICON. Given this, the P&F also took the opportunity to return to the school the management of school hats, school bags, beanies, library bags and art smocks. These will no longer be managed by the P&F nor go through the P&F accounts. A stocktake of items was counted in November and payment requested of the school into the P&F account for these items.
School lunches saw change in 2021. Our usual school lunch provider changed business owners and was unable to continue to offer the services. The P&F outsourced this service to a professional provided which was trialled during November and December of term 4. A review (via a parent survey) conducted at year’s end to gauge the appetite for this provider into 2022 saw a strong response from the school to seek out a new provider, this provider commenced in Term 1 2022.
The start of term 1 ran as planned, with the Shrove Tuesday event running at school, albeit delayed. As we progressed into the term we had fantastic engagement and support for our Easter Raffle draw and prize collection raising a total of $3,775. Also in Term 1, we held our major event of the Jogathon this year with the fundraising going through the digital platform via CDF. We were able to raise a total of $10,750 with Tree Haus Williamstown providing major sponsorship to promote well being and mental health. Kelly Sports and Hot Wings provided small sponsorships to the class that was first to return all their donations. It was great to see the community come together.
During Term 2 we celebrated the special women in our lives with two events: our Mother’s Day stall championed by Tanya and Victoria who did an amazing job that went above and beyond and our Mother’s Day Breakfast (held over two days to accommodate Grade 5/6 camp) organised by Andrew McKellar. The breakfast was an opportunity to acknowledge the role women play in our community and children’s lives.
Unfortunately, we were unable to proceed with our School Disco where we had 220 students snap up all available tickets. For those leaving the school, a refund was provided with credits sitting on CDF pay for future use for those who will continue with St. Mary’s in 2022. Similarly, we were unable to proceed with the School Ball. Entertainment booked for these events remain as a credit and will be carried over to a future date.
Sadly, Term 3 resulted in the children learning remotely and many of the events that were planned to be held did not go ahead. We were able to run the Father’s Day Breakfast remotely with breakfast packs and dad jokes, thanks to all the children that contributed, and a google meet for each class to share jokes, slideshows and songs prepared by the children. Despite the lockdown we continued with the Chocolate drive and had a fantastic response raising over $4,000.
Given the limited amount of time and focus on school ceremonies, the P&F took a conscious decision in Term 4 to limit the fund raising to one event being the Christmas Cards. It was decided as a committee that the Christmas Raffle best be held over until 2022. The Christmas Cards arrived in the first week of December and were of very good quality with the ordering and dispatching of cards making it enjoyable for all. In partnership with Crazy Camel, we were able to raise over $1,600.
Icy poles and second hand uniform sales also contributed financially, $2,163 and $1,782 respectively. Many thanks to Doreen for working on ways to make second-hand uniforms available during restricted access to the school buildings. After more than 10 years with the 2nd hand uniforms, Doreen decided to step down which provided opportunities for the management and sales to move online. We were able to identify two champions, Meaghan and Sherrine and the process was in place from October 2021.
With 2022 being a fair year, the P&F account is in a healthy position which is going to help facilitate and position the school community to meet the upfront costs of the fair. Congratulations to all the P&F who despite the remoteness of the year, have managed the finances well to be in a position to have confidence going into a Fair year.
Overall, 2021 was another significant challenge. We had new people join the committee, volunteer or attend a few meetings and it was great to see new and familiar faces., We have focussed on documenting our processes so that others can join and not feel the burden of the unknown. We would like to thank the hard work and dedication of all P&F Committee members, those that help coordinate activities and those that support the running of those activities. The work we undertake is voluntary and is usually something that fits in with many other calls on our time. We thank you for being able to prioritise the school community and support the efforts of the P&F Committee.
We look forward to 2022 being a bumper year, our school fair is a large scale event hosted in November, we are working with the school to support Student Agency aspirations and look forward to being able to run many of the activities and events that had to be cancelled the past 2 years.
Thank you
Jemima Bowen Victoria Crowe
President Vice President