Filter Content
This week we have been further investigating our Term 2 School-wide unit of "The Sacramental Church". In 3/4 we have been introduced to the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, making connections between the key purpose and symbols of each, or connections based on some student's own experiences. All students have been curious and have developed deep questions- we will have to ask Fr Daniel to help us!
Why do people celebrate them? -Tia
How did the Seven Sacraments get made? -Louis
How do they help you? -Charlotte
Is it possible to complete all 7? -Whole class
Is there an order you are supposed to celebrate them in? Can you do them out of order, like Communion before Reconciliation? -Georgia P
If we get baptised, and as Jesus said we are brothers and sisters, do we really become brothers and sisters? -Kaitlyn
What happens if you do sins and you don't go and do Reconciliation? -Samantha
What age do you have to be before you get the wine? Luke
What would happen if God was calling you to be a Nun or Priest and you didn't? -Vince
In the Anointing of the Sick, what happens if the person experiencing it has a devastating disease like COVID or the flu or other contagious diseases? - Harvey, Caleb and Phoenix
What happens if a Priest dies? Are they able to complete the Anointing of the Sick on themselves? -Sam
How old do you have to be to have the Anointing of the Sick? What if you are really young and really sick? -Mia
Can you have the Anointing of the Sick if you want to, even if you're not Catholic? -Caleb
Dear Parents,
We have had a positive and productive start to Term 2 and we are all so proud of our students who completed their NAPLAN today. The teachers did a wonderful job of ensuring the children were well prepared for what NAPLAN would look and feel like for each individual child, providing them with the support they needed to engage with it in a positive and relaxed way. The thoughtfulness of the staff provided some excitement for the children as they waited each day to see what ‘treat’ they received as a reward for a job well done. Whether it was a cake – because NAPLAN is a ‘piece of cake’, some smarties because all of the children are ‘smarties’, or whatever other creative way they celebrated, the result left the children excited and proud of their achievements. While we know that NAPLAN is merely a snapshot of what each child is capable of doing, the experience of dealing with structured testing and challenging themselves with several consecutive days of testing are significant achievements in themselves. Walking past each classroom throughout each day and seeing all of the students committing themselves to the task at hand was most impressive and made me feel so proud of all of our students.
It has come to my attention that some of our students are sharing with their parents that they have ‘been in Mrs Broeren’s office’, or ‘Today I went to the Principal’s office’, with the response from parents that their child must have done, or been involved in, something significant to have spent time in my office. Please rest assured that this is not necessarily the case at all. It is my commitment to all students, staff and parents that my office is an open door for anyone who would like to speak with me. Your child may have chosen to come and discuss a concern they have, be informing me of a struggle of their own or that they have noticed another child having, they may be feeling sad, upset, angry or a range of other emotions that they feel I can support them with. My office is a safe space for all who need it and my commitment and priority every day is to be available for each of you and your children. Many children make the choice to come and have a chat. At times some of your children want to share with me that they are feeling a certain way and need support to regulate their emotions.
There are times when teachers ask me to have a chat with a child, or a group of children, to help them to develop skills and strategies to support their friendships and decisions. It is much more productive for either Julian, our Deputy Principal, or myself to have these discussions as we are in a position to give your children the time and commitment needed as it can often be a lengthy process. With the best of intentions, skills and support, teachers have so many children with whom they work that time is often not on their side when it comes to getting to the bottom of a child’s concerns. That’s where we are able to step in and support the teachers to support your children. Therefore, I assure you that there are a vast number of reasons and purposes for your child to have ‘visited the Principal’s office’ on any given day. If your child spends time with Julian or myself and we believe it would be helpful for you to know about our discussions, we will, of course, be in touch with you. If your child has been in my office and you have not heard about it from me, please do not be concerned. At St Mary’s we firmly believe in the saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’. Together we are that village for each of your children. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact me. Your child is always encouraged to share any conversations with you that they have with us. It is so important that we work together to enable us to provide the best possible support and learning environment for your children.
Keep warm and well.
Kind regards
Lisa Broeren
Mother's Day Prayer Gathering
It was wonderful to see so many mother's and grandmother's at our Prayer Gathering last Friday. We hope you enjoyed the morning as much as we did.
Mothers Day Raffle & Stall
Our Mother’s Day Stall and Raffle raised $1,978 for our School. We would like to thank all those who contributed in any way to make this so successful, especially the children who bought the presents for their Mums or special person. Our next event will be our Father’s Day Stall and Raffle so if you have anything you would like to donate we would be grateful.
Many thanks, St. Mary’s Craft Group
Our Mother's Day Raffle Winners
1st Holly Orton, 2nd Amanda Rixon (Tom Collier), 3rd Julie Whittaker (Emi Whittaker), 4th Lindsay Dunne, 5th Harrison Dwyer, 6th Zarlee Graham, Alexander McLaren, 8th Bambi Orton, 9th Indee Ryan, 10th Hannah Christou,
11th Sienna Zimora-Moore, 12th Alexander McLaren
Congratulations to our winners and thank you to our families for supporting the raffle.
A very big thank you to our Craft ladies who do an amazing job making and selling items for the Stall. Without them we wouldn't be able to offer this, so we are very grateful.
Colour Explosion School Fun Run!
Unfortunately we had to make the decision to postpone the Fun Run today, due to the weather. We will let you know as soon as we have another day that is suitable and with some much better weather!
Our Sausage Sizzle still went ahead. Thank you to the great turn out of parents who assited with the BBQ today.
Sport
Some photos of our students competing at the recent 1500 metre and Cross Country.
Lowanna Collage - Primary School Sport Carnival 7th May
Enrolments
If you have a child due to start school next year, please contact the office for an Enrolment Application, so we can reserve a place for your child in Foundation 2022.
Uniform Shop
Good news, we are now able to open our Uniform Shop on Friday afternoons from 3.00pm to 3.30pm for families who wish to come in and have their child try on uniforms.
To place orders online please click the link below. If you find an item you have purchased does not fit, we are happy to exchange it!
Parents, please note our Uniform Shop is run by our P&F and staffed by parent volunteers, all of whom are working mums, so please be aware that online orders are not going to be filled the same day. We will do out best to get them home to families as quickly as possible, but we have to work around our volunteers availability. Thank you for understanding.
Volunteers - Working With Children's Check (WWCC)
It is a requirement that every parent or family member who volunteers at our school must hold a valid Working with Children's Check Card. The card is free for volunteers. It is a simple online process to apply.
When visitors come into our school everybody needs to sign in at the office, you will be asked to supply your WWCC as part of this sign in process.
To apply please click the following link. Once your card is approved, a copy needs to be held at the office.
Playgroup
Every Monday (during school terms) 9.00am in the Hall. Please bring a piece of fruit to share. Everyone is welcome. We love to see new faces.
Parish Newsletter
Parent Zone - Anglicare (Newsletter)
https://www.anglicarevic.org.au/about-us/newsletters/gippsland-parentzone-term-2-2021/
Noah's Ark
Kids Help Line Ph; 1800 55 1800
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood - Help
We know our school’s families are a generous bunch, and here’s the chance to prove it. Our friends at the Traralgon Blood Donor Centre need new donors to step up and donate blood or plasma this month to have enough blood for patients. Can you help? It’s easier than you might think, and you can even book in with a friend and grab a free cuppa after dropping the kids off at school! To book your life-giving donation search ‘give blood’ or call 13 14 95.
May
- Friday 14th - Fun Run and National Walk Safely to School Day
- Monday 17th - P&F meeting 6.30pm (new members welcome)
- Tuesday 18th - Responsible Pets, year F/1
- Thursday 20th - Dairy Farm Excursion, year F/1
- Thursday 20th - Lightning Premiership, year 5/6
- 21st to 28th - Catholic Education Week
- Tuesday 25th - Lightning Premiership, year 5/6
- Thursday 27th - Recycling Excursion, year 1/2
- Monday 31st - Recycling Excursion, year 1/2
June
- Thursday 10th - St Mary's Day
- Friday 11th - School Closure (Assessment Writing)
- Monday 14th - Queens Birthday Public Holiday
- 21st to 23rd - Year 5/6 Camp to Mill Valley Ranch
- Wednesday 23rd - School Advisory Board meeting & AGM. All welcome to attend.
- Friday 25th - Last Day Term 2, 1.00pm finish
July
- Monday 12th - First Day Term 3
- Monday 19th - School Closure, Staff Professional Development
August
- 5th to 6th - Year 3/4 Camp to Mill Valley Ranch
- Monday 16th - School Closure, Staff Professional Development
- Tuesday 17th - District Athletics
- Tuesday 31st - Division Athletics
September
- Friday 10th - Italian Day
- Wednesday 15th - Pilgrimage Mass
- Friday 17th - Last day Term 3
October
- Monday 4th - First Day Term 4
- Tuesday 12th - Regional Athletics
- Thursday 14th - School Advisory Board Meeting
- Friday 15th - Swimming Program, F to 2
- Friday 22nd - Swimming Program, F to 2
- Friday 29th - Swimming Program, F to 2
November
- Monday 1st - School Closure, Staff First Aid Training
- Tuesday 2nd - School Closure, Melbourne Cup Day
- Friday 5th - Swimming Program, F to 2
- Friday 12th - Swimming Program, F to 2
- Friday 19th - Swimming Program, F to 2
- Wednesday 24th - School Advisory Board Meeting
- Friday 26th Swimming Program, F to 2
- Monday 29th - OWELS (Open Water Experience) Inverloch, year 5/6
December
- Friday 10th - Whole School Swimming Carnival
- Tuesday 14th - Year 6 Graduation
- Wednesday 15th - Student's last day