Week 1, Term 4 2022 - 4th October 2022

From our Principal - Mr Wes Rose

Welcome back

Welcome back to school.  I trust that the school holidays provided much needed rest and relaxation, ready for term 4. 

Only being a nine-week term and filled with many events, it is sure to be a busy time. 

Please take note of the following important dates;

16/10                     P&F Bike-a-thon; 8am at the Bluewater Trail
27/10                    Prep 2023 Parent Information evening; 5:30pm-6:30pm (School Hall)
18/11                     St Mary’s Swimming carnival; Memorial Pool
19/11                     St Mary’s Parish Fair; 6pm-10pm
24/11                     Orientation day (Prep to Year 7, 2023)
28/11                     Year 6 Graduation Dinner
30/11                     End of Year Mass; 9am (School Hall)
1/12                       Christmas Concert; 6pm in basketball court
                               Report cards published on Parent Lounge
2/12                       Last day of school
7/12                       School Office closes
16/1/23                School Office re-opens
23/1/23                Term 1 commences

School Maintenance
Over the holidays, we had several maintenance jobs completed, including;

• Internal and external painting of the Library
• Repair several leaking downpipes in F and B Block
• Air conditioner servicing in the Early Years. All Aircon filters cleaned throughout the school
• Emergency lighting service.
• Pressure cleaning of basketball court and concrete surfaces.

NAPLAN Results
2022 NAPLAN results were sent home with Year 3 and 5 students on the last day of Term 3.  A preliminary scan of the data shows that our students have performed well, particularly in Year 3 who on average, have scored very highly across the 5 domains.  Unfortunately, we have no comparison data for our Yr 5 students as the 2020 NAPLAN tests were cancelled.  Students who are yet to receive their marks will have their results sent home with them this week.

Art Extravaganza
The art show in the last week of term 3 was a wonderful cultural celebration, showcasing the many and varied talents of the St Mary’s school community.  The student work that was created under Ms Lenz’s tutelage was simply outstanding.  The winners of each year level art prize were;

Prep: Emily Z
Year 1: Imogen T
Year 2: Saylah H
Year 3: Jai N
Year 4: Griffin R
Year 5: Isabella M
Year 6: Stella C

I also thank Maria, Kylie Ferriday (parent), Bridgette Hanly (parent) for exhibiting their artwork.  The music on the night by Rob, Talia and Noah Cookson sounded amazing, thank you! 

Events like this are a celebration of the holistic educational offering here at St Mary’s, and are only made possible by the creative and organisational efforts of many people.  From catering to framing, set up and serving, many and varied talents come together to see this wonderful event realised.  On behalf of the school community, I thank all involved for their efforts, they are very much appreciated.

P&F Bike-a-Thon
St Mary’s P&F is proud to host a Bike-a-Thon fundraising event!  Last year’s event was a huge success and it would be great to see as many families and friends of St Mary’s in attendance.

Date: Sunday 16^th Oct from 8:30am – 10:30am
Venue: Blue water Quay (Playground/Park near Bluewater Lagoon)
Cost: $7.50 per person (entry fee covers sausage on bread.  Booking via this link.)
Prizes for best dressed boy/girl, best dressed family, best decorated bike.
Theme: Life’s a Beach!

A message to children/families arriving before 8:15am
We have noticed that many of our students arrive to school before 8:15am and are spread out across various areas of the school.  I remind students and parents that before 8:15am, there are no teachers on supervision duty.  Therefore, students are to either sit with their parents, or if unaccompanied, sit in the tuckshop area.  There is to be no play before 8:15am.  Once the 8:15am play bell rings, students can play handball/skip/walk the track/visit the library.

Early Departure and Late Arrival at School
For the safety of all students, it is important that the following procedures are followed when students are collected early or arrive late for school;

• If your child needs to leave school during the day for any reason, they must be collected from the school office and signed out. Advanced notice to the school office will assist in having students ready at the collection time.
• Please do not go directly to your child’s class, as the class teacher is unable to amend the attendance roll.
• When returning to school following an appointment, students must report to the office so that the class roll can be marked accordingly.
• Students who arrive late to school in the morning (after 8:30am) must report to the school office before going to their classroom. This will prevent SMS messages being sent to parents when children are present at school.

Families Leaving
As our total enrolment drives many aspects of our school (staffing, budget, class sizes and structure) it is important that we try to be as accurate as possible in predicting the school enrolment for 2023. If you know that you will be leaving at the end of the year, please notify the office as soon as possible. Your assistance with this matter is greatly appreciated.

Quote of the Week

From our APC-Mrs Belinda Battaia

Watch this space!

In week 3 of this term, STEM Club will begin at St Mary’s.  At first break on Thursday’s, students are invited to the Makerspace where they will work in small groups on an allocated weekly stem challenge.  We hope to see some future innovators at these sessions!

Belinda Battaia
Assistant Principal: Curriculum

October - Month of the Rosary

Today we commenced praying a decade of the Rosary. We will pray the Rosary each day in October. St Mary's honours the Blessed mother of Jesus and our school booklist requires that each student have their own set of Rosary beads throughout Prep to Year 6.

If your child does not have rosary beads, please purchase a set through our school office for $12 or source them from home, St Vincent de Paul or South Mackay Newsagency.

Terri Leotta
Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Socktober

Each October we support Catholic Mission’s Socktober. Socktober aims to engage students’ heads, hearts, and hands in key issues of mission and social justice through education, fundraising and prayer. Many kids around the world play soccer with a ball made of rags and wear socks and shoes we would determine to beyond repair. We all are called to be missionaries in the church, and to do something practical with mission. So, here is the chance to get on board with Socktober, have some fun and be helping people at the same time.

Our Mini-Vinnies group have organised an activity each week for Socktober, which will culminate with our yearly “Silly Socks Day” on October 31. Our first activity is a competition to find out who can ‘wear’ the most socks in 1 minute. It costs $1 to play. All money needs to be handed to class teachers by Thursday October 6 to participate. Great prizes are on offer for our winners.

If you have any old/mismatched socks at home please send them into the office as soon as possible.

Terri Leotta
Assistant Principal: Religious Education

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P & F Bike-a-Thon

Green Card Draw Winners

Each term, St Mary’s celebrates positive student behaviour with a green card draw. Students earn green cards for doing good deeds, and forms part of our whole-school positive behaviour approach. Every card gives them a ticket in the draw to win a special voucher. Last term winners received a $20 Ma’s Pizza voucher.

Congratulations to the following winners;

Prep - Sienna
Yr1 - Harry
Yr2 - Oaklan
Yr3 - Isabella
Yr4 - Thomas
Yr5 - Mia
Yr6 - Bodene
Overall class winners - Year 2B

Student of the Week

Week 10, Term 3 Student Award Winners

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