St Mary's War Memorial School West Wyalong eNewsletter

The staff and school community extend their sympathy to the families of David Kingwill, Julie Nicholson and Nell Cooper who all passed away earlier this month.

Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

As we move into this new school year we focus on HOPE.

Given the devastating bushfires and the drought we ask God to keep us hopeful and send much needed rain to our parched country. We give thanks for the men and women who courageously fought the fires and will continue to do so. Keep them safe and the lives of those populating the areas on fire. We continue to keep in our prayers the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the tragic fires.

PRAYER OF HOPE 2020

A New Year's Prayer Lord,

You make all things new.

You bring hope alive in our hearts And cause our Spirits to be born again.

Thank you for this new year For all the potential it holds.

Come and kindle in us A mighty flame so that in our time, many will see the wonders of God and live forever to praise Your glorious name.

Amen

In addition to the Ambrose, Hague, Maslin, Miles, Northfield, Pritchard, Robertson, Smith, Weir and Williams families in Kinder - we welcome three new families to our school community. Rachel and Ben Murrells with Marcus in Year 1 and Stella in Kinder, Diana and Kevin Carne with Charlotte in Year 2 and Brodie and Luke Greenwood with Riley in Year 1.

Two school families welcomed new babies during the holidays:

Congrulations to Woody and Kate Maslin on the birth of Sidney a handsome baby brother for Archie and Maisie.
Congratulations to Angus and Mel Westaway on the birth of Mia, a gorgeous baby sister for Toby and Ky.

On the last day of term 2019 our students took great delight in lining the street outside the bus shelter to farewell John Kelly who has been safely transporting students for over 40 years. We would like to thank John for his wonderful service and wish him a happy retirement.

Congratulations to our new House Captains

McAuley - Claudia Murdoch

Tenison-Woods - Chelsea Nielsen

MacKillop - Seaton Crouch

We welcome our new Kinder students for 2020

Back (L-R): Harriet Bell, Lily Robertson, Rose Player, Tennessee Williams, Pippa Cuthbertson, George Weir, Shanna Ambrose, Jonty Walker, Ricky Smith, Harry Cumming

Front (L-R): Cooper Miles, Kirby Logg, Rose Hague, Archie Maslin, Luca Northfield, Emily McCoullough, Stella Murrells, Audrey Pritchard.

Library Timetable 2020

TUESDAY: 3/4 Mercy, 3/4 Peace, 3/4 Trust

THURSDAY: Kinder, 1/2 Joy, 5/6 Hope, 5/6 Faith

Sport Days 2020

MONDAY: Both classes of Year 5/6

WEDNESDAY: Year 1/2 Joy and all classes of Year 3/4

FRIDAY: Kinder

The 2020 pupil free days are:

TERM 2: Monday 27 April

TERM 3: Monday 20 July

Happy Birthday to

Toby Nielsen, Ted Glasgow and Lily Reid

who celebrate their birthdays next week.

We hope you enjoy your special day.

School Swimming Carnival Notes - Year 2 to 6 - Please complete the online form before Tuesday as the students need to be grouped into races. A link to the form is here and also in a article later in newsletter.
Medical Form (yellow) - All Years - Please complete and return the form to the school office. A new form is required every year.

FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR CHILDREN

Please do not drop off or pick your children at the front door of the school or at the school bus stop during the morning or afternoon bus times.

It is very dangerous to stop in the path of the buses or cross in front of the school buses.

Please do not drop your children using the lane near the cricket oval. This oval is being used exclusively by our builders and it is out of bounds to cars or pedestrians. There is a lot of heavy vehicle traffic and we do not want any parents or children in this area.

There is parking in the church carpark and on Church Street for dropping off children.

Please advise other carers of your children about this important information.

Our school counsellor, Mrs Emma McRae, will be visiting our school in Term 1 as follows:

Wednesday 5 February
Wednesday 19 February
Wednesday 4 March
Wednesday 18 March
Wednesday 1 April

If you would like to make a confidential appointment for your child please contact the school office.

Our swimming carnival will run on Friday 7th February. The carnival starts at 5pm with novelties for Kinder, Year 1 and then the carnival starts at 5.30pm On that day we allow children to wear their team colours to school.

We are taking nominations now for our twilight swimming carnvial on Friday 7th February. Please note the 200IM will be run on Thursday the 6th of February during school hours.

KINDER AND YEAR 1 STUDENTS AND YEAR 2 STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SWIM

Kinder and Year 1 students we will see you on the night for novelty games - there is no need to fill in the nomination form. However we will need volunteers to help with the games, please click on this link to send an email to the office to volunteer.

Year 2 students who are still 7 in 2020 can only swim 25 metre races, if they do not want to swim 25m races they do not need to nominate, we will see you on the night for novelty games.

YEAR 2 TO 6 STUDENTS

All other students should have this form completed please, it needs to be returned by Monday 3 February 2020.

We are looking for volunteers on the night and you can nominate to help on the form but we also require volunteers on Thursday at 11.30am to help with timekeeping for the medley event. Please call the school if you can help on Thursday.

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE YOUR CHILD FOR THE SWIMMING CARNIVAL

All students K-6 require the following items for school, clearly labeled:

art smock, box tissues

Students in Years 1-6 require the following:

Scissors, glue sticks, erasers, pencil sharpeners, black lead pencils (HB), plastic ruler (narrow), coloured pencils and/or textas

Students in Years 5 & 6 only—biros – blue and red

Students in Kinder, Years 1 & 2 require a Library Bag.

Kindergarten students are provided with all stationery requirements by the school

Back packs are available from the school office at a cost of $45.

School Banking encourages kids to save a little money each week (any amount) into their Youthsaver account, helping them learn about the value of money and develop a good saving habit. Three out of four parents of School Bankers agree it’s helped teach their child an important life skill and given them a head start in life with understanding money.

Please open an Youthsaver account for your child at the Commonwealth Bank and get a yellow deposit book.

Books should be brought to the school office on a Monday morning.

An information brochure from the Commonwealth Bank will be sent home for parents of Kinder children. If your child is in another class and you would like a brochure please contact the office.

MEET AND GREET FOR NEW FAMILIES

The P&F would like to invite the families of new students to a quiet social get together before the swimming carnival at Holland Park Pool on Friday the 5th February at 4.30pm.

A formal letter to new parents will be issued next week.

Other parents in Kinder and Year 1/2 are welcome to attend as well to meet the new parents.

Please RSVP by Thursday to Lisa Sturgess on 0428385836.

Canteen Price Update

The P&F are currently reviewing the canteen price list and may have to increase cost of some of the menu items. We know you will all understand that prices of wholesale foods rise from time to time. Parents will be advised of any price changes in the next couple of weeks.

Canteen Roster

Monday 3 February	Wednesday 5 February	Friday 7 February
Christina Harper & Amanda Gaynor Baking: Christina Harper	Susie Crawford Baking: Susie Crawford	Anna McCoullough & Lauren Mc Baking: Anna McCoullough
Monday 10 February	Wednesday12 February	Friday 7 February
Gina Morton Baking: Gina Morton	Kate Braunberger Baking: Kate Braunberger	Sarah Cumming & Linda Thomas Baking: Sarah Cumming

Sample lunch bag for 2020

Next year when you send in your child's lunch order please ensure the class name is included as shown below. If you have more than one child you can put the money in one bag and just indicate on the other bags which bag the money is in.