Week 1, Term 1 2021 - 27th January 2021

Principal's Reflection

Welcome back to the 2021 school year. It has been wonderful to see our students return, refreshed and excited, for the new school year.  With all the disruptions we encountered in 2020, we look forward in hopeful anticipation to a more settled year.

I extend a special welcome to the 29 new families that have joined the St Mary’s community.  If parents have any questions, please do not hesitate to come and see me.

We are very blessed to have an outstanding school.  Two very important declarations at St Mary’s are our School Mission and Vision statements, which articulate ‘Who we are’, ‘What we value’ and ‘What we stand for’.  They are important statements for all members of the school community to know and appreciate and for your reference, are included below;

As you can see, there is a real focus on the holistic development each child, based on the knowledge and inspiration of Jesus Christ.  The goal of educating ‘from and for a faith perspective’ is articulated, where the eventual goal is for students to grow as confident and well-rounded people who in adulthood, can ‘make a living, and have a life’.  It is optimistic, visionary, perhaps even a bit idealistic, but considering that we are dealing with the lives of our children, it has to be.

Everyone involved with the school; staff, parents and students, has a part to play.  At the commencement of the school year, I invite all of us to work together to make real these statements in our school.

All the very best

Wes Rose
Principal

From our Principal - Mr Wes Rose

Welcome New Staff
This year, we welcome the following staff to St Mary’s.

• Mrs Denise Rokic, an experienced teacher who is teaching Year 5R this year (Mon-Thu). Denise has taught at Emmanuel and St John’s Walkerston.
• Miss Sonia Munro, who commences her career teaching Year 3M this year. Sonia is a past pupil of St Mary’s and did her internship with us last year. 
• Miss Molly Rossetto, who is teaching classroom Music (P-6) Monday and Wednesdays. This will commence in Week 2.
• Mrs Emily Dalglish commences Digital Technologies lessons (P-6) Monday and Wednesdays. This will commence in Week 2. Emily is also continuing in her role as Learning Support Teacher and will be working fulltime this year.
• Ms Wendy Parker, who begins her new role as our School Counsellor. Wendy will work Mon-Wed each week.
• Our IT tech-support person, Jerry Fitzgibbon, will work Mon-Tue each week, providing more tech support for staff and students.

COVID-Safe Reminders
Every member of the school community has a role to play to minimize the spread of infection.  Please see the following requirements that are still in place at St Mary’s school:

• Unwell students are not to attend the school site and the school will require parents/carers to collect the student from school.
• The increase in school cleaning has been maintained, with high-touch surfaces in the school being cleaned daily.
• Parents and visitors are reminded to only attend school when well, maintain social distancing and use hand sanitiser.
• School assemblies and similar whole-school activities can continue as normal. Adults are required to physically distance when in attendance.

Leadership Badge Ceremony
Our Year 6 school leaders will be presented with their badges at our first school assembly, this Friday 29^th January.  All families are most welcome to attend the ceremony, which will start at 8:30am in our school hall.

Uniform Guidelines
A reminder to all families of our uniform guidelines.  Some important areas to note include;

• Students are to wear plain black footwear (formal shoes or joggers).

Please note that appropriate footwear can be purchased from many retailers in Mackay, including Athletes Foot and Intersport.

• No coloured nail polish or acrylic nails.
• Boys hair styles. Be neat in appearance and not falling into eyes or past the collar. Hair may not be dyed or worn in a style that is extreme or inappropriate for school (e.g. no tracks, rat’s tails, mo-hawks, top knots, hair no shorter than gauge 2 or undercuts that have a large variance between length).
• Boys: No earrings or body piercings.
• Girls hair styles. Be neat in appearance and not falling into eyes. Girls with shoulder or longer length hair must have it tied back. Hair may not be dyed or worn in a style that is extreme or inappropriate for school. Hair accessories should be minimal and must be in colours of navy, blue or white.
  
  Our students demonstrate pride in St Mary’s school by the way they wear their uniform correctly.  From next week, an infringement letter may be sent home to notify parents of any areas that need to be addressed.   If you have any queries about this, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Building Works Update
Our Early Years Precinct (Prep-Year 1) is nearing completion and is looking fabulous.  Works should be completed in the coming weeks and parents will be kept up to date with key information.  In the next few weeks, we will require parent assistance to move our Prep-Year 1 classrooms when needed.  If you are able to assist, please see future newsletters and our Facebook page for more firm details.

Recent School Purchases/Work Completed
- Over the holidays, we received 30 new Chromebook laptops and laptop trolley.  These devices will be used by the year 5/6 students for a variety of tasks and subjects.

- We have planted several trees in the oval area which in due course will provide natural shade for our students.

- Another order of classroom furniture is arriving in the next few days, which is for our Prep, Year 1, 4, 5, 6 classrooms.  This furniture purchase was a P&F initiative, and I thank the committee for their financial support of this project.

- Our basketball court had some work completed to prevent birds from roosting underneath, and will hopefully keep this area much cleaner for our students.

Parent-Teacher Interviews
A good working relationship between home and school is an essential part of a positive schooling experience.  St Mary’s fosters this home-school relationship early in the school year with the parent-teacher interview. These interviews are a time for teachers and parents to discuss a child’s needs, goals and other pertinent information. These interviews are scheduled for Week 3 (8^th-11^th Feb). 

All parents are asked to schedule an interview time with their child’s teacher.  Bookings open 4pm Tuesday 2^nd February via Parent Lounge.

Afternoon Pick Up Procedures
All students in Prep are to be collected from their prep classroom by a parent or guardian.

• For all other students, the car park works effectively when everybody follows the procedures. 
• Please allow others to come out of car parks. Drive slowly through the car park, especially when merging in front of the parking bays. 
• Cars should drive from MacDonald St into Morley St. and turn right into the school car park.  Everyone must turn right into the car park in the afternoon and turn left when exiting. (In the afternoon those that turn left into the car park are pushing in and this upsets others!) If everyone is considerate it will be safe and fair for all users.
• I encourage parents who are not Prep parents to actively use our pick-up protocol.  We have three staff members supervising this area.
• Parents are asked to drive on if their child is not ready.  This avoids any unnecessary delays.
• Please ensure your name is displayed on the front dash board as this will speed up the process. 
• At no stage should you encourage children to wait outside of the school or church where they are not directly supervised.  We have had some unpleasant situations in the past when children have been told to wait outside the school by parents. It is simply not worth the risk! 
• Please note that the school office closes at 3:30pm, so arrangements must be made for your child to be collected before this time.

Please support us to ensure the safety of your children.

For those families using the drive through for the first time, please contact the office for your laminated name card.

From our APC - Mrs Belinda Battaia

Parent Information Night and Parent Interviews

Over the past few years we have trialed a number of different formats for our parent information evenings.  

This year, our leadership team will present a general overview of school procedures in our school hall.  This session will take place on Wednesday 3rd February at 5:30pm and is open to all interested parents.  

Year level specific information will be delivered to parents from class teachers within the first two weeks of term.  This information may come via email or print depending on the individual teacher’s preference (NB There will be no parent information evenings).

We encourage parents to note any specific queries they have that may stem from this class specific information, to discuss further at parent interviews in week three. 

If you have any queries regarding this new format please contact the school office. 

Mrs Belinda Battaia
APCE/Teacher

Reminders from the Office

Telephone Numbers
A reminder to to parents that when receiving a call from St Mary’s school, the number will display as a Rockhampton number - 4994 8270.

However, if you wish to contact the school office, please continue to call on the usual number - 4951 1743.  Please check that this is the number stored in your telephone to call us!

Office Hours
Monday to Friday
8am to 3:30pm

Students who arrive late to school, are to sign in at the School Office. If you collect your child early before 3pm you must also notify the school office before leaving school, so the school roll can be updated.

Student Absences
Student absences from school can now be advised through our St Mary's Schoolzine App by clicking on the 'Absentee' tile and completing your student's details. Parents can also use our designated phone number 4994 8271 or email SMM_Absences@rok.catholic.edu.au  to inform the school if your student is to be absent.

Details on how to downloand the St Mary's App can be found below. 

Once downloaded, please complete your registration, using our school passcode 4142. 

If you have any queries or difficulties downloading the app please contact the school office.

2021 Term Dates

Reminder! School Photo Day Tomorrow

St Mary's Schoolzine App

It's been great to see many of our parents using our new Schoolzine App. We  encourage more families to download this free app which will enable you to;

• advise student absences
• view the newsletter
• access Parent Lounge
• receive notifications
• plus other features.

Once downloaded, please complete your registration, using our school passcode 4142. More instructions on how to install the SZApp are shown in the flyer below.

If you have any queries or difficulties downloading the app please contact the school office.

Sport News - Mrs Caroline Kerrisk

2021 Capricornia Swimming Trials

Information is available for students interested in attending the 2021 Capricornia Swimming Trial for 10-12 years.  Regional selections will be based on times recorded at a QSA sanctioned long course meet in a 50m pool during the current season. Please email caroline_kerrisk@rok.catholic.edu.au for nomination procedures or time standards (Due 12 February 2021)

Alternatively, there is a local trial being held on the 2^nd February 2021  for students NOT affiliated to a club. Nominations for this trial are due Friday the 29^th January. Please email caroline_kerrisk@rok.catholic.edu.au  ASAP if you require nomination forms for this trial.

Mrs Caroline Kerrisk
HPE Teacher

A Message from our School Counsellor

Welcome back to the new school year! I am excited to take on the position of School Counsellor here at St Mary’s and look forward to visiting classes in the upcoming weeks to speak to students about their personal wellbeing and discuss the services that are offered.

My role as counsellor is to provide short-term counselling to support students to achieve academic success, social and emotional wellbeing and psychological health. Our goal as a school community is to support student wellbeing by focusing on Catholic values, creating a safe environment which fosters connection, belonging and help-seeking to allow for optimum student development. I will empower the students of St Mary’s to overcome barriers such as mental health issues, self-regulation and family stressors that may potentially impact their educational achievement.

I am available at St Mary’s on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. It is a legal requirement that students have signed consent from parents before they can access our service and referral forms are available from the office. Please contact me if you have any questions about the health and wellbeing of your child or children.

Focus on the positives of the first week back by asking students to share the best part of their day over dinner. May 2021 be a great year for the St Mary’s community!

Wendy Parker
Phone: 49 511 743
Email: wendy_parker@rok.catholic.edu.au

From our APRE - Mrs Terri Leotta

2021 Sacramental Program

Bishop Michael has confirmed dates for the sacrament of Confirmation in 2021. The sacrament is being offered to those who have already completed their Reconciliation in 2019 and for those students who will participate in Reconciliation during Lent in 2021.

At this stage Covid restrictions limit attendees to only the child, parents and a sponsor. The Confirmation Ceremony will be held on Wednesday 28^th of July at 5pm at St Mary’s church.  You will be notified as Covid restrictions change and as workshops times for preparation for the sacrament are finalised.

Mrs Terri Leotta
APRE/Teacher

Tuckshop News

Our St Mary's Tuckshop is open Tuesday to Friday each week with a wonderful variety of healthy & delicious foods available.

Orders can be placed on Quickcliq which is easily accessible using our St Mary's App (see below).

Second Hand Uniforms For Sale

We have an abundance of pre-loved uniforms in stock in the School Office.

We are asking for a gold coin donation for uniforms, with the exception of jumpers which are $5.

Please note we do not have unlimited stock and not all sizes and uniform types are available-first in best dressed. 

All proceeds will go to Caritas.

2021 Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection

Community News

⚽️City Brothers FC Sign on⚽️

City Brothers FC Fields, Juliet Street. 

Sunday 31st January, 10:00am - 12:00pm

All existing and new players encouraged to come along. 

Club uniform will be available on the day.

Or register online now - https://registration.playfootball.com.au/common/pages/reg/WelcomeRegPlus.aspx?entityid=30730&save=0

Email all enquiries to - info@citybrothersfc.com.au