Newsletter 31st May 2023
In the spirit of Reconciliation, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land in which we sit, the Wadawurrung people, who have cared for this country for thousands of years. We would like to pay our respects to the Aboriginal Elders past, present and future for they hold the traditions, memories and wisdom of Mother Earth on which we place our feet upon today.
Upcoming Dates
5th June: SEED Day Year 5 students @ Loreto
8th June: School Photos - full winter uniform please
12th June: Kings birthday public holiday
21st June: Healthy Harold and Life education van @ St Brendan's
23rd June: Last day term 2
11th July: Students commence Term 3 classes
10th July: Term 3 starts; Pupil-free day; Staff Professional Development Day
Principal's News
Welcome to Week 6 everyone. This term continues to move along very quickly with only 3 and a half weeks left. Winter starts this week and we are fast approaching the middle of the year. My Dad always made a point of mentioning the winter solstice day which is on June the 22nd – the day with the shortest amount of daylight. I didn’t know that there was an actual time as well. This year it is 12.27
On Friday the 9th of June at 2.30pm, we will have a cuppa and catch up at St. Mary’s for those parents from both schools that can make it and take the opportunity to meet our new Mums – Maree and Katie.
Stay warm and go gently everyone as we manage winter, busy times and many sicknesses.
Inez
Sicknesses
I am sure that we are all aware, that COVID is spreading quickly again and there are also a variety of different viruses lurking around that are making many children and adults very unwell. I ask that if you child is feeling sick, please keep them home until they are well again. This way we can try to keep everyone in our schools as sickness free as possible.
Disco
There is a lot of excitement building for the disco on Friday night. The Parents and Friends from both schools have combined to organise a disco for the children at the Dean Hall on Friday the 2nd June. The invitations have gone out and the children are very excited.
As this is an out of school event and off site, so it will be parents’ responsibility to look after their own children on the night and all children must have a parent with them for the time they are attending the disco. This event is for families of St. Brendan’s and St Mary’s only. Thanks to all that have had a part in organising this event.
School photos
Next Thursday, the 8th of June, the school photos will be taken. Each child has taken a form home and they need to be returned on Thursday. Each child needs to wear their complete winter uniform, including the school jumper, not track suit top.
Working with children check
As part of our Child Safe policies and procedures, it is a requirement that all adults that come into our schools require a Working with Children Check. The volunteer’s check is free and can be applied for online or through a post office.
We have a register at school that records all of our parents that have a check. If you have one already, please bring it to the office and we will record it. If you do not currently have a check, please apply for one and then let the office ladies know when you have it. These are needed for coming into the school to help out, excursions and basically being with the school children at any time and are required by law. We ask that these be made available by the beginning of term 3. Please see me if you have any concerns around this.
Sacramental program
This week an email will go to all families that have indicated that they wish to have their children as part of the sacramental program this year. Children in Year 2 and above can receive the sacrament of Reconciliation and children in Year 3 and above can be part of the program for Eucharist and Confirmation. The program is transitioning this year to a Parish based program that is family and school supported.
The preparation for Reconciliation. Will take place on Monday the 19th of June from 3.45 – 5pm at St. Brendan’s school. A parent must be present with their child. Louise and Inez will run this session and there will be some follow up activities needing to be completed at home. The actual ceremony will be on Thursday the 22nd of June at the Bungaree Church at 5pm.
The program for Eucharist and Confirmation will commence early in third term with more details to follow.
Long weekend
A reminder that Monday the 12th Of June is a public holiday and there will be no school for anyone that day.
Welcome
Last week we welcomed Jeremiah to St. Mary’s. He has begun school in the Foundation class and has settled very quickly into the daily routine of school life. Katie, his Mum is around most days, so pleas say hello to her and make her feel welcome.
Junior Room
National eSmart Week
Last week was National eSmart Week. National eSmart Week is a week where schools come together to promote the smart, safe and responsible use of digital technology. Technology is great because we can learn so much but we need to have a good balance. We need to have fun outside too. We need to limit our time on the devices.
Buddy’s Rules
- Always ask an adult before we go onto the internet.
- Never talk to strangers or never tell people we don’t know anything about ourselves. Always make sure we ask a safe adult to help us out if we’re not sure.
- Always tell somebody if something upsets us. If someone asks questions we don’t understand, always tell someone.
PHONICS
Last week our phoneme was the f/ph/ff sound. After brainstorming for words that contained this phoneme we wrote a sentence containing the words fish, coffee and dolphin.
Lucy - I didn’t see a dolphin having a coffee and dipping the fish in the coffee.
Aiden - I was fishing and I caught a fish when I was drinking coffee out of my dolphin cup.
Clare - While I was sitting on Cable Beach drinking a cup of hot coffee, I saw a gigantic fish jump out of the blue water and a dolphin was chasing it.
SORRY DAY
On National Sorry Day, the 26th May, we gathered together at St Mary’s to commemorate the Stolen Generations, their families and communities, celebrating their strength and survival and sharing in the process of healing and reconciliation. The story of the Stolen Generations is a significant and important aspect of Australia's history. It was first celebrated in 1998. In the Junior Room we listened to the story “Sorry Day” by Coral Vass and Dub Leffler. Here is the link to the book if you would like to read it.
Here is a link to a Family Gaming database that has appropriate and approved video games
There is an Online safety booklet that can be downloaded at or if you’re interested in a hard copy please let Clare know.
Commonsense Media is a website that rates movies, tv shows, books, games and podcasts. It can help you learn about what your children are watching or playing online.
Senior Room
The senior students have been focussing on persuasive writing this term. Learning about the many elements and features used to create persuasive texts, letters, advertisements and how to debate.
Recently the year 3’s and 4’s have been looking at different ads and using a checklist to evaluate its effectiveness. One key feature we have focussed on is slogans and how often we are exposed to them! I was impressed with how many they could reel off - OH WHAT A FEELING IT WAS. After reading the picture story book ‘The King Of Space’ they learned about a brand new product called Choco-goo, they were tasked with creating a catchy slogan and a poster to help advertise the new product to the world. I have shared a couple of the posters that will peak your interest - the student can expect some orders of Choco-goo in the coming weeks.
In R.E this week, we participated in a ‘Bibliodrama’. This is where we look at a story from the bible and act it out as all of the different characters, answering questions and discussing how those characters might feel. The focus this time was the Parable Of The Sower and the students offered up some really insightful thoughts. Following our discussion they found the most important part of the story was about needing good soil in order to grow and thrive - attached are posters created by the 6’s, explaining some of the things their soil needs to help them.
Senior students enjoyed a second golf clinic run by Tony Collier on Combined Schools Day last week. They worked on 'long shots' as well as their short game. Students from both schools will be selected to participate in a golf day later this year!
Great to see students enjoying themselves and learning new skills. There are some great little golfers!
Golf Clinic
SZapp Version 4.0.0
There is a new version of SZapp available for Android and IOS Devices. Please ensure that you have updated to this version to assure you receive communications from the school.
You will now need a code to login to the school app. A communication was sent out last fortnight with the code. If you did not recieve it please contact the office.
If you are using an Android Device, you will need to uninstall the old app and install the new version.
IOS Devices (iPhones) will be able to update without requiring a re-install.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we are confident that the improvements in the new version will make it worth it.
An online guide on how to install and register/login to SZapp is available on the Schoolzine Website here:
Click here to view the Installation Instructions
If you experience any difficulties with completing this process, please reach out to Schoolzine using support@schoolzine.com. To assist with your query, they ask that you provide a description of the issue you are facing, the email address you are using when facing this issue and a screenshot of the issue.
Child Safe – all on website
As is stated on our Vision and Mission, our schools ‘…are committed to the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children and young people.’ Our procedures and policies are now in line with the 11 child safe standards and can be found on our schools’ websites under the tab – child safe.