St Mary's Newsletter

In Sunday’s gospel, Jesus teaches us how to tell the difference between good and evil, between what comes from God and what doesn’t. We can tell if something is good or bad for us (discern) by looking at the fruits, and then we can choose what to do next. For example, a good movie or book is one that inspires us to act better, feel closer to God, or reminds us something beautiful about life.

The Ash Wednesday Mass will begin at 9.00am in the church on Wednesday, 6 March and will be led by the Year Five students.  All are welcome to attend.  Ash Wednesday signals the start of Lent.  Lent is a time of fasting, prayer and works of mercy for others.  In the Early Church, people preparing for baptism spent 40 days fasting and praying as an act of repentance.  It grew into a time for the whole church to repent and renew their baptismal promises.  Jesus himself spent 40 days praying in the desert.  Lent finishes on Easter Sunday.

Keeping our children safe is a shared responsibility between parents, schools, the wider community and all levels of government.  The Federal Government has developed a number of resources to empower parents and schools in this area.  Attached to this newsletter is a letter from the Prime Minister, Mr Scott Morrison and the Minister for Education, Mr Dan Tehan that outlines some of the resources available to families.

Constable Care visited St Mary’s over the last two days.

Kindy to Year Three watched the show “Getting to School” which focussed on pedestrian, bike and road safety.  Meanwhile, Year Four to Year Six watched the show “Frenemies” which focussed on bullying and empathy.

Conduct Statement 2: You give priority to students’ safety and wellbeing in all your 

behaviour and decision making. 

For STAFF this includes but is not limited to: 

Complete risk management paperwork before excursions 

Current and up to date medical resources 

Backpacks in priority position for medical conditions, tag on bags 

Up to date with training (anaphylaxis, asthma, etc) 

Equipment checks 

Creating a safe and accepting classroom environment where all are included and valued 

SEQTA updated regularly regarding parent contact and student information regarding anything that influences the wellbeing of the student 

Open communication with parents 

Having visitors and volunteers in their line of sight 

Knowledge of procedures re bushfire evacuation, fire evacuation, lock down etc. 

Display evacuation plan in classroom 

For PARENTS this includes but is not limited to: 

Parents signing in to the office when coming into school 

Ensuring that the school has up to date medical records and current medication for their child 

Knowledge of the school’s behaviour management policy 

Communicating with school about the needs of their child 

Awareness of evacuation plans and procedures 

For STUDENTS this includes but is not limited to: 

Being aware of procedures such as lock down, evacuation, etc 

Acknowledging the effect that their choices have on others and respecting the right of others to have a voice 

For VISITORS/VOLUNTEERS this includes but is not limited to: 

Signing in at the office 

Having a current Working with Children check 

Respecting the rights of others 

The Healthy Food and Drink Choices Policy includes:  

Class Rewards  

Teachers will use a non-food item based reward system in the classroom to support the healthy ethos of the school and reinforce the health lessons taught in the classroom.   

Class Cooking 

Teachers who plan for cooking learning experiences should follow the Traffic Light system in choosing healthy recipes for the children to make.  

On Monday, I attended the CEWA Leaders Forum, this was a wonderful opportunity to engage with other system leaders.  The key topic of the day was the release of the CECWA Strategic Directions document (2019-2021).  

The four key priorities in the Strategic Directions are:

1.       Inspiring Christ-centred Leaders

2.      Catholic Schools of Excellence

3.      Catholic Pastoral Communities

4.      Accessible, Affordable and Sustainable System of Schools

I will share further information about the Strategic Directions as the year unfolds.

The 2019 Faction Swimming Carnival will take place on Thursday, 7 March at 9.30am at Merredin Pool. The P&F are holding a sausage sizzle on the day and parents are welcome to purchase one if they wish.  Order forms for the sausage sizzle were sent to families via the Skoolbag App.  Please send the correct monies to the office in a clearly labelled envelope by Wednesday, 6 March 2019.

We have our first assembly next Friday, 8 March which will be led by the Year Six students and be held in the Undercover Area.  All are welcome to attend.

Please remember that Monday, 4 March is the Labour Day long weekend and school will resume on Tuesday, 5 March.

The Executive Director of CEWA, Dr Debra Sayce has appointed Mrs Pauline Riethmuller as short-term principal of St Joseph’s Southern Cross from 17 June until 9 August 2019.  This is a great honour for Pauline and recognises her contribution to leadership not only at St Mary’s but also within the eastern wheatbelt.  Congratulations Pauline!

Congratulations also to Kane and Amanda Swarts on the safe arrival of baby Mabel.  I'm sure that Elsie and Norah are over the moon to be blessed with a new little sister.

God Bless and have a lovely long-weekend with your families. 

Ms Adriana Coniglio

Principal

Mrs Hannah Herbert 

Religious Education Coordinator 

In Religion this term, we have been learning about various communities and how they exist to fulfill people’s needs. We have talked about the communities that we belong to, including the leaders, members and rules of each of them. Last week, we began to look at the communities that Jesus was part of and the communities that he led. We spent some time exploring how Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles, by reading a Bible story and watching a YouTube video about it. Did you know that before Jesus chose the Apostles, he prayed to God for a whole night?!

This term our topic for Science is ‘Earth and Space Sciences.’

We have lots of interesting activities planned for the classes. 

Kindergarten -  will look at how things change from

observing the weather to melting ice blocks.  The students will

investigate what things change and why. 

Pre-Primary – are observing the weather, seasons and how changes

affect plants and animals.    

Year One – will investigate changes in our landscape and why they occur.  Becoming familiar with what the landforms are called.  Learning about the Scratch Junior app and what it can do. 

Year Two – are learning about what ‘farm to fork’ means and the process our food goes through.  Where does our water come from?  Becoming familiar with the Water Corporation website.  Building on our knowledge of the Scratch Junior and Show Me apps.  

Year Three – investigating ‘day and night’ and why it occurs.  Looking at shadows

and how they occur.  Studying the NASA website and what it offers and designing

a planet and space ship.  Building on knowledge of the Scratch app and presenting

using Sway. 

Year Four – observing rocks and soils and their differences.  Learning about weathering

and erosion and why it occurs.  Building on knowledge of Hopscotch and Book Creator app. 

Year Five – learning about the ‘solar system’ and planets and their differences.  Becoming

familiar with the NASA website.  Using a number of apps, for example Show Me and Popplet and to record and investigate findings. 

Year Six -  investigating ‘natural and extreme weather events,’ and why they occur.

Using a number of digital technological websites and apps to record and present their data.

It has been a great start to the year in Pre-Primary. The children are settling in to their new classroom and transitioning well into full time school. We have been having lots of fun re-telling the nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle through play and innovating the story using story maps. The Pre-Primaries have been doing lots of counting, recognising numbers and singing number songs which they have really enjoyed. We have also been discussing and participating in activities about our emotions, recognising and sharing things we are good at or make us special and talking about or families. 

What is a Digital System? 

Digital systems are made up of hardware, software and peripheral

devices.  For example, laptops, keyboards, iPad and printers. 

What is the difference between hardware and software? 

Hardware includes the physical part of the computer, for example, a keyboard. 

Software includes programs that make the computer work, for example,

Scratch junior.  

What is a peripheral device? 

Digital devices that can be connected to a digital system.  For example, a printer.