Dear Parents and Carers,

Term 2 has been another busy and successful term for St Mary’s. I would like to thank everyone for their contribution to our wonderful school over the term.  It has been a huge return to extra curricular activities further abroad including; Mortimer Shield Rugby League & League Tag, WR Cross Country, ANZAC Day March, Kinder to Year 2 excursion to see 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', Todd Woodbridge Cup, Years 3 & 4 excursion to see 'The Midnight Gang' and our Year 5/6 girls will round off the term when they compete at the Mortimer Shield finals tomorrow in Wagga.

This week we have our parent teacher interviews which have an increased level of importance due to the reports not having a comment space this year. Dialogue is an important feature of reporting and the Semester Report in this format encourages parent engagement and conversation about student learning. We want the report to be the entry point for parent-teacher interviews and three-way conversations where we can engage in genuine conversation about your child’s strengths, challenges, effort and areas for growth.

We know that reports are a great opportunity to discuss progress with your child or to celebrate an improvement or to use the report as a way of talking about the importance of education. 'The Conversation' released a great article a few years ago about ‘How to talk to your child about their school report’ and reminds parents that a ‘C’ means that your child is achieving ‘At Standard’, the link is below.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-talk-to-your-child-about-their-school-report-99640

Staffing

As you are aware St Mary’s had a team of internal staff members increase their load to cover for Mrs Cuthbertson’s maternity leave.  A huge thank you and a job well done must go to Mrs Speedy, Mrs Tulloch, Mrs Daniher and Mrs Reichstein.  For Term 3 we welcome Mrs Madden who will fulfil the 5/6 Hope teacher role, in a full time capacity, for the remainder of the year.  Mrs Speedy will go back to 1 day a week on 3/4 Peace, Mrs Tulloch back to 3 days a week in the Learning Support Teacher role, Mrs Daniher will go to 3 days a week maintaining the librarian and Religious Coordinator roles and Mrs Reichstein will remain as a casual for the school.  We also welcome back Mrs Maier for Term 3, she will support Mrs Tulloch in the Learning Support area.

St Mary’s has been without a maintenance person for a few weeks now, however this will change this week. It is with great delight that I announce that Ralph Nicholson was the successful candidate for the position and he will begin at the school tomorrow. Ralph has had experience working in schools and we look forward to working with Ralph well into the future.

Surveys

The 'Tell Them From Me' survey is now closed. Thank you to all that participated in this. We look forward to reviewing your feedback. Our 'Assembly Survey' is also closed and the results will be shared with the School Board early next term and then shared with the rest of the school community shortly after.

Building

St Mary’s has been patiently waiting for the final stage of our new building to be finalised. This area includes the front office, sickbay, exec offices (Principal, Assistant Principal & Religious Education Coordinator), staff shared study, staff amenities and staffroom. With only a few things to be completed we are hopeful for a move early next term.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and restful break over the next 2 weeks and look forward to a busy and rewarding term 3.

God Bless

Mr Nielsen

Living the Gospel – Jesus calms the storm

The experience of the disciples as their boat was tossed about the sea by the powerful storm may sound like a familiar situation.  At times in life we may feel that we have lost control of our situation and we are being blown from one 'disaster' to the next.  At such times, we may find ourselves asking the question that the disciples asked of Jesus, 'Master, do you not care?'  Jesus’ reply to the disciples suggests that had they been calm and trusted in the slow work of God then they would have made it through the storm unharmed.

Faithful God, you command the forces of your creation and calm the savage sea. Father, walk beside us through every storm until we come to rest in you. We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Reports were sent home on Friday the 18th of June.

Bookings were opened via text this morning the 21st of June at 9am for Parent/Teacher interviews on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3.30pm depending on teacher availability.  You can still book using the link below.

These interviews are a three way conference format meaning your child is most welcome to attend.

If you need help booking please call the school office.  If you cannot attend at any of the times available please contact your child's teacher via SeeSaw to arrange a suitable time.

Instructions on how to book were in last weeks newsletter.  If you did not receive the bookings message via the SZAPP please contact the office as you may have the SZAPP setup incorrectly.  In the SZAPP under the "Manage" tab push notifications should be on and parent/guardians selected NOT other.  Other is for grandparents and other subscribers who are not parents.  Once in you can choose all of your children at once which makes it easier to choose available time slots.

Happy Birthday to

 Max Cuthberston, Zahli Cattle, James Dean, Luca Northfield and Charlie Hague

who celebrate their birthdays this week and during the holidays.

We hope you enjoy your special day.

   

St Mary’s Parish Sacramental Program, 2021

The Sacrament of First Holy Communion for Year 3/4 students will be held this year and the following are important dates for your diary:

We are welcoming new enrolments for the 2022 school year.  We appreciate that this is a significant decision for parents and know that new families will need time to consider all available options.

Please enrol online at our website with the link below or call at the school office for a paper form.  https://smwms.nsw.edu.au/enrolment

If you require further information please ring and make an appointment.

   

REGISTRATIONS 

CLOSING FRIDAY 25TH OF JUNE

This year the UNSW ICAS assessments are online and will be held in August.

Participation in these assessments is at parents discretion.  There is no obiligation for your children to sit these assessments as they are not used in the schools reporting.

The ICAS assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment.  Your child will be presented with high-quality, expert-developed questions, allowing them to apply their learning without the need for prior study or revision.  Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online result report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.

All registrations and payment for 2021 are to be done online

To register and pay for your child please click on the following link and note that the special code for St Mary's is KQQ310.

Cost for EACH assessment is $17.05, except Writing which is $21.45

The sitting windows for the ICAS tests are listed below, however the school will finalise the actual date of the tests in the coming weeks:

Writing & Digital Technologies - during the week Monday 9 August to Friday 13 August

English - during the week Monday 16 August to Friday 20 August

Science & Spelling Bee - during the week Monday 23 August to Friday 27 August

Mathematics - during the week Monday 30 August to Friday 3 September

Assembly

Our award winners this week.

During assembly the violin group - Amelia-Rose Blampied, Hannah McDonell, Harper McDonell, Lexi Patton and Ashley Thomas - taught by Miss Parker, gave a wonderful performance.

The following events are in the calendar in the next week.

To see the school's full calender check out the SZApp or our website.