Newsletter W3 T2

Dear Parents and Carers

Happy Mother’s Day to all of our wonderful and dedicated mums, grandmas and assorted ‘stand in’ mums, I hope you had a wonderful day off and that your children took the opportunity to pay back a little of what they receive from these special people in their lives. I hope the special gifts that the children made for you at school arrived safe and sound. It was a little bit like Santa’s workshop at St Mary’s last week with lots of generous hands pitching in to make sure that every mum received a handmade gift.

Some of the many helping hands preparing Mother’s day gifts.

On Friday we celebrated Mother’s Day at St Mary’s with a beautiful liturgy to celebrate our mums and the special place they have in our lives. Year One did a wonderful job presenting ‘My Mum’ by Anthony Browne and reverently leading the school in prayer. Our mums then got to enjoy a delicious morning tea, whilst their children shopped for gifts at the P and F Mother’s day stall. A big thanks to our P and F for organising the stall and for our fantastic student sales representatives.

Last week we had many reasons to celebrate in our school. Firstly our Cross Country Team travelled to Willandra Cross Country Track for the Diocesan Cross Country Championships. We sent a team of 24 students and parent helpers up to Willandra, the team winning the Small School Championship for the first time in many years. Mr Kinch took the team and was thrilled with the team spirit which all of our competitors showed to each other and the competing schools. Congratulations to all of our team and a particular congratulations to Eden and Audrey Sakora who managed to place 4th and 5th in their events to move through to the next level of competition.

This week our Year 3 and 5 students will be sitting NAPLAN, starting tomorrow with a Writing paper for Year 3 and an online Writing task for Year 5. These classes will complete a NAPLAN task each day, finishing with Mathematics on Friday. Please make sure your child is feeling calm and eats a good breakfast before sitting NAPLAN. With the tasks online this year, we are hoping the results will be reported back to parents more quickly than previously. A big thanks to Mrs Gabrielle Peters who has organised NAPLAN at a school level and will ensure all teachers and students are supported in each of the tasks.

I have been asked to stand in as Acting Principal at St Michael’s in Nowra for the past two days and I thank Mr Gary Norris for supporting staff in my absence. Gary was a previous Principal at St Mary’s and many other Catholic Schools with a wealth of experience, he is a happy presence among the students and staff.

Included in this newsletter is an invitation to all of our Yr 4,5,6 parents to attend a ‘Your Choicez’ seminar at St John the Evangelist High School on Wednesday 22nd May. The presentation is based around educating parents to support their children through developing positive attitudes to relationships and sexuality. I have personally attended this seminar several times at St John’s and would highly recommend it. In this age of the internet and social media it is so important that parents know the importance of developing open, trusting and honest communication with their children as soon as possible, so that you can face the challenges together.

It has been a wonderful transition as our students move into their winter uniforms this term. Just a reminder that all students should be wearing their winter uniforms by this week. Please ensure your children wear the correct shoes - all black polishable laceup shoes (Black sole)  and label all clothing clearly so that jumpers and jackets are not lost. Correct uniform supports every child in feeling pride in our school and fosters a sense of belonging to our school community.

Have a great week.

Yours in partnership,

Mrs Laurinda Nelson

Principal

Class Merit Awards Week, presented at Assembly on Friday afternoons

Kinder – Bowie M, Alexander B

Year 1 – Louis R, Max C.

Year 2 – Lucas A, Anika D

Year 3 – Meka C, Finn B

Year 4  - Xavier B, Frankie H

Year 5 – Alexander L, Sienna D

Year 6 – Sam A, Marli C

Shining Star

Max B, Jemima C, Timothy O, Zuri G, Lucy K, Tex L, Kristian P, Imogen H, Louis R

St Mary’s Pennant - Annelise K (Year 6)

Super Star Awards for Week,

We care for Ourselves

Milla G, Sia K, Tex L, Hamish K, Summer G (Year 4), Molly K, Kristian P, Arlo D, Max C, Luen R, Summer G (Year 1), Liam R, Eli D, Jackson L.

We Care For Others

Zuri G, Jemima C, Jacob M, Andie M, Anika D, Toby Kinch, Tex L, Lille P, Keiley P, Jack C,  Ila H, Imogen H, Delphi SH, Louis R

We Care For Our Learning

Alexander L, Olivia R, Rosie H, Austin G, Chiara G, Matt R, Finn B, Keiley P,  Imogen H, Coen R, Arabella B

We Care For Our School

Ellyana S, Toby K, Meka C, Abby L, Ross K, Kristian P

AFL Skills Day (Year 1 co-constructed recount)
Yesterday, we went to Milton Public School for an AFL day.
First, we were sorted into groups with two year 6 coaches. Students from Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 participated. We practised our AFL skills by playing different games.
After that we had lunch with the children from Milton Public in their eating area. We had a play in their playground as well. It was fun because we saw old friends and also made some new friends.
At the end of the day we participated in another skill session, we played different games. Matthew and Lachlan our coaches taught us lots of new skills.
Finally it was time to walk back to St Mary’s. We felt very tired but it was an awesome day!
(Written by Year 1)

Students in Spliced had a speciall treat with the ladies from Milhouse Artists, Milton came to share there water colour skills with them.

Come along to the annual St Mary's book fair which will run on the following dates and times only. Method of payment- EFTPOS 

Monday 20th May 2.20pm - 3.20pm, Tuesday 21st May 2.20pm - 3.20pm and Friday 8.30pm - 9.00pm & 2.20pm - 3.20pm

WE ARE TAKING IT IN OUR STRIDE
ON FRIDAY 17 MAY 2019
Well it’s that time of year again when our school seriously starts talking about walking! Now in its 20th year, National Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an
annual event when all Primary School children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a Community Event seeking to promote Road
Safety, Health, Public Transport and the Environment. Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by:
★ Walking with them the whole way to school
★ If they get the bus, walk past your usual stop and get on at the next stop
★ If you have to drive, park the car a few blocks away from the school andwalk the rest of the way. Regular exercise like walking with your child not only helps them (and you!) beat chronic problems like obesity, heartdisease, behavioural and mental health issues and diabetes. It also gives you a great opportunity to teach your child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic.
Several staff will be at Mick Ryan Park, Milton (near the big fig tree) at 8:30 am on Friday 17th May, ready to walk to school.
We welcome parents and guardians to meet us there and join us in our healthy walk to school. There will be stickers for students who walk/ride to school, and a
cuppa for their parents!.
Come along and join us or drop your child off to staff at 8.30 am at Mick Ryan Park. We hope to see you there!
Kind regards
Gabrielle Peters
(Physical Education Coordinator)

Dear Parents,

There is a new PDHPE syllabus being implemented next year and a writing team has been developed to write programs for the teachers within the Diocese. We would love your feedback on what you think is important to teach in the primary years today. This feedback will inform the programs written to make sure relevant lessons are being developed. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. We highly value your input in improving student learning. Please click the link to complete PDHPE Parent Survey

https://forms.gle/GxqSb59jf8BvrBns5 "

Woolworths Earn & Learn 2019 Wednesday 1st May until Tuesday 25th June

Your Choicez Parent Presentation

Please join us for 'Your Choicez' Parent Presentation on Wednesday 22 May 2019 at 6.00pm.

The mission and the purpose of this is to educate, inspire and empower young people to have happy, healthy and respectful relationships. We provide relevant and engaging seminars for students, parents and teachers around the topics of sex, dating and relationships, creating an atmosphere of empathy in the school and home for young people. We do this in a way that opens conversations, provides answers and changes culture.