Throughout Term Two, years 1 and 2 learnt about Yallourn and artefacts for our Inquiry unit.  On Friday the 14th of June, we spent the morning on an excursion to consolidate our learning.  Our first stop was the Old Brown Coal Mine Museum in Yallourn North where we split into groups for guided tours, learning about the town of Yallourn and Yallourn North, the coal mine and the Yallourn Power Station.  We then drove past the Power Station and stopped at the lookout to see the big hole where Yallourn once was.  Our last stop was Powerworks in Morwell where we found the bust of John Monash who, we learnt, played a big part in developing the S.E.C.

Here are some of our students favourite parts of our excursion:

Joshua: My favourite part of the excursion was when they showed us the fountain that came from the middle of the town in Yallourn and they turned it on.

Lysandra: I liked learning about how Yallourn got demolished.

Penelope:My favourite part of the excursion was when we got to see the “gaol” and when the teachers got locked in!

Molly: I liked when we learnt about the little shack that Andy Anderson used to live in.

Mav: My favourite part was when we got to pat the fox’s fur.

Van: I liked seeing the John Monash statue.

Daws: My favourite was when we saw the fox scarves.

Lottie: I liked learning about the old Yallourn school because it was interesting that the school was in a tent.

Ryley: My favourite was the dredger.

Abi: I liked learning about how they had a bucket in the ‘gaol’ and not a toilet!

Logan: I liked when I got to see the wooden statue that was outside.

Charlie: My favourite part was when David told us about Andy Anderson and how he lived behind Yallourn near the creek.

Zac: I liked it when we went to the lookout.

Isla: I liked it when we tried on the fox scarves.

Kenz: I liked when we learned about the John Monash statue.

Aurora: My favourite part was when we went in the ‘gaol’.

Ayla: My favourite part was when we got to touch the fox scarf because it was so soft. 

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to school for Term 3. It is lovely to see and hear the school buzzing with the excitement of children again. I hope you have all had a lovely holiday break. The children seem very happy to be back into the swing of school life again.

Just a reminder that, if your child is absent from school, the school needs to be notified at the beginning of the school day. Our PAM facility is the best way to let us know that your child will not be attending school. You simply mark that they will be absent and give the reason why.

This is a legal requirement and ensures that your child is accounted for. If you prefer, you are able to call Sandi in the office after 8.30am to let her know that your child will be away and what the reason is for the absence. This must be logged as part of our child safety compliance. If you do not log your child’s absence through PAM or call Sandi, you will receive a text message alerting you that your child is not at school. You are required to respond to the text by calling the school to notify us of your child’s absence and the reason your child is not at school.

If your child is away and we have not heard from you, we will call you to find out why your child is not at school. If we cannot reach you by phone, we are required to call all of your emergency contacts until we receive confirmation that your child is away and why.

These processes are a legal requirement and enables you to know that, if you drop your child at school, they are here, and for us to know that if a child is absent, you have informed us to ensure your child has been accounted for.

I am sure you understand how time consuming these follow up processes are and appreciate that you let us know through PAM or by calling Sandi when your child is going to be absent from school.

A reminder too that we have our Parent/Student/Teacher learning meetings next Tuesday and Wednesday night. Could you please ensure that you have booked a time to see your child’s class teacher. This is an important way for us to work together to support the learning needs of your child.

On Friday the 26^th of July we are celebrating the Feast Day of St Anne and St Joachim, the parents of Jesus’ mother Mary. We celebrate this day by inviting our Grandparents to come to school to join with their grandchildren to celebrate the importance of grandparents in our lives. We begin with a Prayer Gathering in the church at 9.00am, followed by a visit to the classrooms to join their grandchildren in a craft activity. Finally we finish our morning with a shared morning tea in the staffroom. We look forward to sharing this special morning with our wonderful grandparents.

Keep well and warm.

Kind regards
Lisa

Firstly, we would like to say a very big thank you to Jack and Natalie Radford for their very kind donation of Buddy, our wellbeing/emotional support dog. This is such a great opportunity for the school that we are very thankful for and know it will have a positive impact on our school, staff and students for many years to come. Natalie & Jack also very kindly donated a starter pack for Buddy with a bed, food, toys and things they thought would be useful in transitioning Buddy to his new home with Mrs Nelson and the school, so we thank them so very much for their generosity and support in making this happen.

As mentioned above we have been very fortunate to welcome Buddy to our school community. Buddy is a 13 week old Cavoodle and has had a very exhausting first week at school getting to meet and interact with our staff on Monday and the students over the past 2 days.

Buddy will be going through extensive training, through a Dogs Connect Program where he, Kim and the staff will learn how to use Buddy to best support the school in a wellbeing position. This will ensure that he and the students can be safe and get the most out of their journey at St Mary's. We will keep you updated on his development as he grows and matures into his role.

While Buddy has a lot of learning to do, his first steps are to get settled and learn to relax in his new environment. Once Buddy is settled, we will invite parents and our wider school community to meet him. For now we need to give him the space to settle in and not be overwhelmed.

Buddy_Dog_Profile.pdf

DC_3_Expectations_Poster_A3.pdf

We thank you for your ongoing support. Kim Nelson

July

• Tuesday 23rd - Parent Teacher Meetings (book on PAM)
• Wednesday 24th - Parent Teacher Meetings (book on PAM)
• Thursday 25th - Assembly 2.30pm
• Friday 26th - Grandparent's Day Prayer Gathering 9.00am and morning tea

August

• Friday 2nd - 5/6 Excursion NGV Melbourne
• Monday 5th - 100 Days of Foundation Celebrations
• Thursday 8th - Prayer Gathering, Feast of St Mary Mackillop & Assembly 2.30pm
• Thursday 15th - Mass for Feast of Assumption 9.00am
• Friday 16th - District Basketball (year 5/6)
• Thursday 22nd - Assembly 2.30pm
• Friday 23rd - Book Week Dress Up Day
• Thursday 29th - Division Basketball (year 5/6)

September 

• Monday 2nd - Father's Day Breakfast & Prayer Gathering
• Thursday 5th - Assembly 2.30pm
• Monday 9th to Thursday 12th - F to 2 Swimming Program
• Monday 16th to Thursday 19th - F to 2 Swimming Program
• Tuesday 17th - Division Athletics
• Thursday 19th - Assembly 2.30pm & Students last day for term 3
• Friday 20th - School Closure for Staff Professional Development

October

• Monday 7th - Students first day Term 4
• Thursday 10th - First Communion parent meeting 6pm
• Sat 12th/Sun 13th - First Communion Committment Mass
• Thursday 17th - Assembly 2.30pm
• Friday 25th - National Teacher Appreciation Day
• Thursday 31st - Assembly 2.30pm

November

• Monday 4th - School Closure for Staff time in lieu
• Tuesday 5th - School Closure for Melbourne Cup
• Wednesday 6th - School Closure for Staff Professional Development
• Thursday 14th - Assembly 2.30pm
• Sat 15th/Sun17th - Sacrament of Holy Communion
• Thursday 28th - Assembly 2.30pm

December 

• Tuesday 10th - St Mary's Christmas Carols and Picnic 5pm
• Thursday 12th - End of Year Mass & Year 6 Graduation Dinner 
• Monday 16th to Tuesday 17th - Year 3/4 Camp Waratah Bay 
• Tuesday 17th - Students Last Day