Kingston Show
Child Safety Information – all on website
As is stated on our Vision and Mission, our schools ‘…are committed to the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children and young people.’ Our procedures and policies are now in line with the 11 Child Safe Standards and can be found on the St Mary's website under the tab – Child Safety.
Junior Room Happenings
Colour Run
First of all we want to say a huge thank you to our wonderful parents who organised the Colour Fun Run for us last Friday. You all did an amazing job.
Last Friday we had the school Colour Fun Run, and boy was it fun! It was a sunny warm day to get wet and colourful.
Action Rhymes
We have been learning about action rhymes this week. Action rhymes are short rhymes, either sung or spoken, that include body movements and tell a story. We have learnt Doctor Knickerbocker, Miss Mary Mack and My name is Joe.
Here is an action rhyme we wrote together to the rythm of Miss Mary Mack:
Miss Bonnie boo, boo, boo
All dressed in blue, blue, blue
She loved to fly, fly, fly
Into the sky, sky, sky
She wore a shoe, shoe, shoe
Not one but two, two, two
She kicked the ball, ball, ball
Into the zoo, zoo, zoo
The terrible tiger, tiger, tiger
Got a fright, fright, fright
In the dark, dark, dark
With no light, light, light
Senior Room News
The members of the Senior Room have been very busy these last few weeks. Here's some of the exciting things they have been up to:
Maeve & Alexis - Colour Run: This year's Colour Fun Run was held on the 17th of November, 2023 at St Mary's Clarkes Hill. We did the run with St Brendan's. The day was so much fun and everyone was very excited to slime Inez. We ran through the paddock and went under and over hay bales. The teachers sprayed us with colour and at the end of the day we were all colourful. Thanks to Bryden and Amelia for organizing the day. We had an awesome day!!!!
Evie - Sock Day: On the 10th November we had a Sock Day. We had three activities that were a Soccer Ball Shootout, Designer Sock Colouring-in and Design a Sock Teddy. The day was a huge success!
We are very proud of everyone's commitment to the activities. There was a lot of fun and we are very proud of our amazing Leadership Team and the extraordinary kind, lovely people that we are surrounded by. We raised money for the Mission to help them with their work.
Chloe - Zooper Dooper Icy Poles: From now until the end of the year, the Leadership Team will be selling Zooper Doopers every Thursday. They will cost 50 cents each and the money is going towards the Missions. So help us make a difference in our community and have a cool summer!
Pat & Sull - Obstacle Course:
These past few weeks we have been doing obstacle courses and our course required skipping ropes, hula hoops and many more pieces of equipment. People got to choose where they could do their course. We were divided into groups of 2 and 3 and designed our course with our group members.
It has been great to welcome Leah and Emilia into our classroom. They have settled in well and it has been great to see the efforts that everyone is making to help them feel welcome.
Tara - Kingston Show: The Kingston show holds an Art Competition every year. The past few weeks the senior room has been planning their art entries. There's a list of Activities that you can participate in for a shot to win first place.
The Art categories are:
- Diorama using recycled items
- Photo of where i live
- Painting a canvas
There are four age groups for each category.
Principal's News
Colour Run
Thanks to St. Mary’s P and F for organising the Colour Run last Friday and to all of the families from both schools for supporting it. Amelia and Bryden did a power of work to get to it all organised and everyone had a fabulous time. Besides raising money, it was a wonderful event to get people together and build relationships. Well done everyone!
End of an Era Event
A reminder that we are celebrating ‘An End Of An Era’ at St. Brendan’s on Saturday. All are welcome! A huge thank you to everyone that has put in hours of work to get this event organised. Hopefully the weather will be warm and sunny and everything goes off without a hitch.
Dates until the end of the year
Please remember to refer to the school calendar for all of the upcoming events. They are listed at the start of this newsletter and most of the time you will be reminded through a See Saw message or text.
The main ones to look for are Graduation, Going up / Orientation Days, Masses, excursions and last days for the children – 14th December for St. Brendan’s and 15th December for St. Mary’s, with assembly at 12.30pm.
Graduations
The Year 6 Graduations will take place in a few weeks. It is an opportunity for everyone to come together to farewell our Year 6 children and give thanks for the year that has been. I would like to see all of our families at these events.
St. Brendan’s Graduation is on Tuesday, the 5th December at 6.30pm in the Church. Supper will follow at the school. This year the Graduation and End of Year Mass will be separated with the Mass taking place on the last day of school for the children – Thursday, the 14th of December at 10am. Bishop Shane McKinlay will say Mass this day
St. Mary’s will have both the Graduation and End of Year Mass together on Thursday, the 7th December, starting at 6pm. This will be followed by a meal at the Robin Hood Hotel at 7pm for all families.
Conclusion of the Little Feet, Big Footprint Program
Next Monday, the Year 6 children will join with St. Michael’s Daylesford, St. Brigid’s Ballan, St. Pat’s Gordon and St. Augustine’s Creswick to conclude our LFBF program. Many of our children have built relationships with a number of other Year 6 children, some of which they may go onto Secondary school with. The children have enjoyed the program and look forward to catching up with old and new friends.
This program will continue next year.
Going Up Day - Tuesday, the 28th November
On Tuesday, the 28th November, we will have our going up day from 9:00am–1:00pm. For most of our Year 6 children, it will mean a day at their new secondary school. It is up to parents to organise transport for this day. For St. Mary’s, the F-5 will have school as normal, experiencing what 2024 might be like. This will include the new Foundation children for 2024 – Genevieve and Skyla.
The Years 2–5 from St. Brendan’s will go to St. Alipius from 9:00am–1:00pm and can then return to St. Brendan’s if that is what parents would like. Could the parents organise their own transport for this day? If pick up from St. Alipius is problematic, please let me know.
Any children not involved in any of these transitions are welcome at school.
Lunch Orders
Lunch orders will be available for the next 2 Wednesdays, up until the 29th of November and then will stop for the remainder of the year, due to various events on the following Wednesdays.
Reports
Reports will be sent home on Monday, the 11th of December. They will be available through PAM and we will send home a hard copy as well.
The year is fast approaching and things are busy. Please ask if you have questions and clarify things if you are unclear about what is happening.
Go as gently as possible and take care,
Inez
Upcoming Dates
November 24: Loreto College Musical Excursion, 10:30am-1:00pm
November 25: St Brendan's End of An Era Celebration, 2pm onwards
November 27: Little Feet, Big Footprints Concluding Session at the All Abilities Playground, Ballarat, 10:00am-2:00pm
November 28: Secondary School Transition Day for Year 6 students; Going Up Day
December 5: St Brendan's Graduation, 6:30pm
December 6: No Combined School Day - St Mary's students to attend at Clarkes Hill (St Brendan's have an excursion to Melbourne)
December 7: St Mary's End of Year Mass & Graduation, 6:00pm
December 8: Year 6 Excursion, details to come
December 13: End of Year Excursion, details to come
December 15: Last day of school for students, end of Term 4.
30 January 2024: Students start Term 1, 2024!
Happy Birthday!
Happy belated birthday to Kaezia who turned 8 on November 2nd. We all hope you had a wonderful day and celebrated in style!
Melbourne Renegades School Holiday Camps (Ages 7-10)
The Renegades School Holiday Programs are back again this January! As we move into the second half of the season, this is a chance for girls and boys to get their cricket fix this holiday period.
Venue: TBC - Ballarat
Date: Wednesday, 11th January 2024
Time: 9.00am - 3.00pm
The program is designed for Junior Graders, aged 7-10 years old. The one-day camp will feature fun, fully supervised cricket activities, games, giveaways and more!
Places are strictly limited at each camp. Please note that we do not operate waiting lists for these events - it is first in, best dressed until the camp is sold out!
For other locations throughout Victoria: https://www.melbournerenegades.com.au/holidayprograms
Participants will need to bring their own food & drinks to the camp. Note that no nut products are permitted to be brought to the camp. There will be a fully supervised lunch break on the day.
***Parents/guardians do not have to stay for the entire day. Any Renegades player appearances are subject to availability***
Junior Joy
We have been investigating what JOY means to each of us and what fills us with joy.
Adelaide: Joy means being really happy about something. Spending time with people in my family brings me joy.
Quinn: Joy means being happy. Spending time with my Mum is when I feel joy.
Paige: I feel joy when I am with my family because I am really really happy when I am with them.
Kaezia: Seeing my Dad and spending time with my family brings me joy. Going to school with friends brings me joy too. Joy is being very very very happy.
Jeremiah: Staying with my family at home. Joy is happy.
Patrick: Joy means that you are really really happy. Playing with my friends and riding my motorbike fill me with joy.
Vanessa: Playing with Smudge makes me feel joy. Joy is when you are very happy.
In Maths we have also been working on our Addition and Subtraction strategies.
Patrick: I like to use repeated addition which is multiplication when I can.
Kaezia: I have been working on my doubles and near doubles facts.
Vanessa: Doubles.
During Literacy class we have been working with short and long vowel phonemes.
Adelaide: My name starts with a short vowel phoneme /a/ as in ant.
Quinn: My name has the short vowel phoneme /i/ as in tin.
Paige: My name has the long vowel phoneme /ai/ as in snail.
Jeremiah: My name has 2 short vowels in in it.
We are busily preparing for Grandparents and Special Persons day. We are looking forward to having our visitors here next Monday, showing them our school and what we have been learning as well as spending time with them.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthday to Quinn Slater who turned 8 years old on Saturday, 21st October. Congratulations Quinn, we all hope you had a wonderful day!
Beleza School Uniforms
Please see below for updated information from Beleza School Uniforms. The Office has copies of the Uniform pricelist available for families.
Child Safety Information – all on website
As is stated on our Vision and Mission, our schools ‘…are committed to the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children and young people.’ Our procedures and policies are now in line with the 11 Child Safe Standards and can be found on the St Mary's website under the tab – Child Safety.
Senior Room News
The Senior students have been very busy during the last fortnight. Here's what the students have been up to:
Chloe and Pat: Last week the Year 6 students went to St Michael's, Daylesford, for the Term 4 Little Feet, Big Footprints session. The St Mary’s Year 6s presented their Coat Drive project and it went well. Over the weeks, the Dunnstown Year 6s and us gathered together to make our presentations; we took turns in saying what we did to raise coats and what we raised.
Six different schools created multiple presentations about something their school did for a cause they chose. The presentation included information on what their cause was and why they were doing it, why they chose to do their chosen cause and how it went. We were impressed when we heard one group had raised $300 and most raised over $100.
William: In Math we have been learning counting and number patterns. To find the rule you work out the difference between each number.
Leo: In reading we learnt about ellipses. An ellipsis is three dots that can be at the start or end of a sentence. These dots represent information that you are leaving out. An ellipses looks like this …
For example: …holding his breath while submerged in a murky water trough, and riding a cranky ram like a rodeo cowboy.
Sull: In Religion we have been learning about a reading from the book of Matthew. 'For I was hungry and you gave me food…’ can also mean: hungry for shelter, for kindness, for friends and for company.
Alexis, Evie and Maeve: St Mary's has been invited to participate in the Kingston Show’s Children's Events. We are excited about this!
There are awards for the winners of the creative events. Could all children ask their parents if they can be there on the day for the group activities? Our fabulous, amazing, extremely beautiful Years 5 and 6s are competing in the contest which includes questions about farm equipment, identifying farm animals, a team based problem solving class; and last but not least, a timed obstacle course or a series of team challenges. Please let Sue know if you are able to go. We will also need a parent to be there on the day with us if possible.
The activities that we are competing in are: 3D articles of natural and/or recycled materials; arrangement of flowers in a jam jar; Christmas cards; Painted Rocks; Photography - the theme is "Where I Live"; Painting (any subject); and Drawing (any subject). The children will get a chance to pick two categories each to compete in. We will make some of these at school and we can make as many as we like at home as well.
The ribbon prize will be awarded to first, second and third places and some points will be awarded to the school: 5 points for first place, 4 points for second and three points for third, as well as 1 point for every entry your students submit. The school with the most points in the show will be awarded $100.
We would like to say a big thanks to the teachers for all the opportunities that St Mary's students are given to participate in these kinds of events.
Principal's News
As we move further into the term, the newsletter will contain some articles that are pertinent to only one school or the other, however, I am going to continue to do one newsletter with news for both schools included.
St Brendan's Celebrations & Memorabilia
If anyone has anything that could be of interest for the ‘End of an Era’ celebrations at St. Brendan’s and you are willing to lend it for the day, we would be very appreciative. We have lots of photos, but not a lot of anything else. I had heard that there were tea towels that were produced a while ago. Does anyone have anything else? I promise we will look after it and return it to you.
The event is on Friday, November the 25th starting at 2pm. Please see the invitation for more details. All are welcome!!
Grandparents' Day
Next Monday is Grandparents' Day at both schools from 9.30m–11am. The children and staff love this day. The best part is seeing the smile on the children’s faces when they see their grandparents arrive at school. Please have the RSVPs in by Wednesday along with any dietary requirements. We are getting very excited about the day.
A reminder that if a child does not have a grandparent that can attend, another special person is very welcome to come along and join us.
Junior Stayback and Sleepover
The day is almost here – the Junior Stayback and Sleepover. Please refer to your child’s notes that are on PAM and have been sent home about drop off and pick up times for each year level along with what they will need for the night. A huge thanks to those who are staying overnight – Majella, Clare, Louise and Lyndal. Sadly, I will not be there this year as I am in Horsham at a Principals' gathering. I am sure that everyone will have a fantastic time and I look forward to hearing all about it on Monday.
A reminder that we are all at St. Brendan’s on Friday as a CSD.
New Families at St. Mary’s
Last week we welcomed the Farrell family to St. Mary’s. Alexis started in Year 4 on Thursday. Mark and Nadia (Mum and Dad) have moved from Bacchus Marsh and are now living in Pootilla. They have already started meeting some of our current families and Alexis has already settled well and met the St. Brendan’s students on Friday.
This Thursday Leah and Emilia are beginning to transition to St. Mary’s. They will be full-time in 2024. Welcome to both girls along with their mothers - Lisa (Leah’s Mum) and Tracy (Emilia’s Mum). They are very excited to be part of St. Mary’s and look forward to learning and making new friends.
Congratulations
A huge congratulations to Bec Slater who graduated from the Police Academy last Thursday. It is an amazing achievement which is the result of a lot of hard work, sacrifices, time away from family and long hours. Bec received wonderful support from family and friends as she was studying and working. How proud does this family look!!
Change of time table for St Mary's next year
The year is moving along very quickly and we are beginning to plan for 2024. Next year at St. Mary’s our timetable will change slightly. School will begin at 8.50am and finish at 3.20pm. There will be a staff member on duty from 8.40am, however children can still arrive from 8.30am onwards. Staff will also be on duty after school until 3.30pm. As mentioned in previous newsletters, the new Award for staff working in schools will be in full affect next year and this means some adjustments need to be implemented so that we are making sure all terms and conditions are adhered to. Please come and talk to me if you need any questions answered or clarification about any of this.
Monday 6th November
A reminder that Monday, the 6th of November is a pupil-free day for children of both schools. Staff are doing reporting and assessing on that day. Tuesday is the Melbourne Cup and is a holiday for everyone.
Important dates
All important dates for the rest of the year are on the school calendar. Please check it regularly through the Schoolzine app or on the school website. There is a lot coming up and we do not want anyone to miss out on anything that is happening.
Transitioning to St. Alipius
Our St. Brendan’s children have begun transition to St. Alipius in the past few weeks. The teachers from both schools have organised a number of visits for the children so that the start of 2024 goes smoothly for the children and their families. Thank you to St. Alipius for being so welcoming and supportive of the St. Brendan’s children.
Annual General Meetings
We have had our Annual General Meetings for each school. Thank you to those that were able to attend. It is a time to reflect on the year that has been and plan forward for the next year.
Uniforms
It is lovely to see the children in their summer uniforms. A reminder to check the policy for each school about what the requirements are. If there are concerns around any of this, please see your child’s teacher or myself.
Take care everyone.
Inez
Upcoming Dates
October 27; November 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; December 6: Combined Schools' Days at St Brendan's.
October 26: Junior Stayback & Year 2 Sleepover commencing at 5:00pm
October 30: Grandparents' Day
November 6: Pupil-free day
November 7: Melbourne Cup Holiday, pupil-free day
November 11: Remembrance Day
November 17: Colour Run at St Mary's
November 25: St Brendan's End of An Era Celebration, 2pm onwards
November 27: Little Feet, Big Footprints Concluding Session
November 28: Secondary School Transition Day for Year 6 students; Going Up Day
December 5: St Brendan's Graduation, 6:30pm
December 7: St Mary's End of Year Mass & Graduation, 6:00pm
December 8: Year 6 Excursion, details to come
December 13: End of Year Excursion, details to come
December 15: Last day of school for students, end of Term 4.
Child Safety Information – all on website
As is stated on our Vision and Mission, our schools ‘…are committed to the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children and young people.’ Our procedures and policies are now in line with the 11 Child Safe Standards and can be found on the St Mary's website under the tab – Child Safety.
Senior Room News
The seniors have arrived back for Term Four a bit taller and ready for a great term ahead.
We have started reading one of the Book Week books called "Runt" which has been written by Craig Silvey. Everyone is enjoying listening to this story about a young girl and her dog, Runt. They live in a country town which is in the midst of a drought.
In Maths, we are re-visiting place value and using place value skills to solve subtraction problems.
We wish Sull, Pat and Maeve good luck today as they play golf in the Primary Schools' Golf Tournament at Mount Xavier Golf Course.
We have all taken home the Colour Run information and we are enjoying class challenges and looking forward to this event which will be held on Friday, November 17. This week the seniors won the challenge which means we go first on the colour run day, yay!!
This term is extra special for us as we continue our combined school days and enjoy being with our friends at St Brendan's as much as we can.
From the members of the Senior Room
Damascus College - Open Sessions
ATTENTION GRADE 5 2023 STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
If you are interested in learning more about Damascus College and have a child in Grade 5, then don’t miss the opportunity to attend the upcoming Open Night and Open Morning events at Damascus College.
Open Night – 3 sessions
Tuesday 17 October, 4.30pm, 5.30pm, 6.30pm
The Open Night is a great way for prospective parents, guardians and students to learn more about Damascus College. Families with children of all ages are welcome to attend.
Attendees will participate in an information session and guided campus tour, where students and staff will be situated around campus with displays and demonstrations showcasing Damascus facilities and offerings.
Open Morning
Thursday 19 October, 9am – 10.30am
Open Morning provides an opportunity for prospective families to take a guided tour of the College led by current students and is an opportunity to experience Damascus during school hours. Open Mornings commence at 9am and conclude at 10.30am.
REGISTER YOUR ATTENDANCE BY USING THE LINK BELOW: