Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to Week 1. Term 4 already. Wow this year is really flying by!! There is lots happening so please read the newsletter carefully.

As you are aware, due to the impending weather, we have had to postpone the Community Council fete. It was scheduled for this Friday but it has been rescheduled for Friday the 22^nd of November. We look forward to this fabulous community event and thank the many people who have volunteered their time. You can still donate to our stalls which are featured at the end of this newsletter. These donations can be dropped to the school hall during school hours.

Late last term, Mrs Emma Speedy organised some new sandpit toys for the students to play with during recess and lunch. These additions to the playground will prove quite popular and we thank Mrs Speedy for identifying this need.

Today St Mary’s launched its new positive behaviour approach with ‘Gotcha’ cards. These will be given to students that have been identified by teachers exhibiting positive playground behaviours before school, at recess and lunch. They will then place their names on the card and place them in the barrel outside the Learning Support building. Each Friday at assembly we will draw out a primary student card and an infant student card. The winners will receive a canteen voucher.  

During the holidays two of our teachers Nickey Harland and Lauren Manchur gave up their time to attend Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn’s HITP (High Impact Teaching Practice) Intensive in Canberra. The program, grounded in the Science of Learning, delved into how to effectively implement High Impact Teaching Practices in classrooms. Nickey Harland, who is considered an excellent practitioner, was asked to be a lead teacher at the intensive. She demonstrated these practices and provided observation and feedback to other participants. Dr Lorraine Hammond, who has been employed by Catholic Education as an expert in the area, provided Nickey with tips and feedback that will only benefit educational outcomes at St Mary’s. Thank you to Nickey and Lauren for their dedication to St Mary’s and their commitment to providing their students with quality teaching and learning. Below is a snippet of the impact Catalyst and High Impact Teaching Practices have had on our system.    

At the end of Term 3 we farewelled the Patton (John Year 2, Ella Year 3) and the Greenwood (River Year 2, Riley Year 5) families we thank you for your contributions to St Mary’s and wish you well in the future.

Remember my door is always open.

Principal

Damian Collins