Newsletter - 27th March 2024

Upcoming Events

28th March:  Last Day of Term 1; End of Term Assembly 1:30pm; P & F Raffle to be drawn

29th March:  Good Friday

31st March:  Easter Sunday

15th April:  Term 1 starts; School Closure Day - Staff Professional Development Auslan

16th April:  Students return to commence Term 2; Playgroup recommences for Term 2

22nd April:  Healthy Harold - Life Ed Visit

25th April:  ANZAC Day Public Holiday

29th April & 20th May:  Years 3-6 Golf Clinic, 2:25pm-3:10pm

Principal's Message

I hope this message finds you all relaxed and recovered from a big weekend.  What a weekend it was!  A huge thank you to Amelia and Bryden for organising the first ever Clarkes Hill Community Fair. What a success it was! We certainly had many people visit the school who had never been here before which was fantastic to see.  Thank you also to the many other families who contributed to making the fair a huge success. From one P&F event to another…. This Thursday we will be drawing the Easter raffle at our assembly at 1.30pm. If you haven’t already returned your tickets, please get them in before Thursday.

Thank you to the students who have returned their Project Compassion Box to school.  Combining the funds raised from the sushi day, guess the number of lollies in the jar and the boxes, we have raised $224.70 so far.  If you haven’t returned your Project Compassion box please do so before Thursday.

As we approach the much-anticipated Term One holidays, I would like to take a moment to wish you all a very Happy Easter and joyful holidays! I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for welcoming me into the St Mary’s Community and for your ongoing support. I also want to thank our dedicated staff members, Claire, Jenny, Kelly, Louise, Majella, Sue and Tina who continuously go above and beyond to provide our students with an enriching and quality education. We are fortunate to have such extraordinary individuals shaping the lives of your children. 

Once again, I wish you a very Happy Easter and joyful holiday. Stay safe, take care, and I look forward to seeing you all again in Term 2. 

Clare

Auslan

Next term we will commence Auslan with our students. In the past we have had Jess Sartori teaching Italian as our second language, now we will have Auslan.  Every Monday morning from 9:15-9:50am we will have Chantelle Stacey working in the classrooms as our Language Assistant alongside the teachers.  The teachers will then incorporate Auslan into their daily routine for 15 minutes per day.

The first day of Term 2, Monday 15th April, will be a school closure day as the staff will be attending the Auslan Teachers as Co-Learners Conference in Ballarat.

School TV Website

School TV is proving to be very popular in our Diocese with over 10,000 views since the start of this term. It is a fantastic resource which I hope everyone has taken the time to access. The most popular videos being

• Friendship Belonging
• Youth Anxiety
• Managing Screen Time
• School Transition

Here is the link to the SchoolTV website:

NAPLAN

Well done to Quinn, Pat, Kaezia, Leo and Alexis for completing their NAPLAN assessments last week. Four assessments in two days was a fabulous effort.  We know these assessments provide only one snapshot of selected aspects of what students know and can do.

Harold - Life Ed (Health & Wellbeing)

Next term we have Life Education Victoria visiting on Monday 22nd April. If their mascot Harold is available he will be here too.  Parents are invited to access the Online Information video prior to our visit.  

Playgroup

A big thanks to Melinda Prendergast who has been running the Playgroup here at St Mary's on Tuesday mornings.  There has been a growing attendance of mums, toddlers, babies, grandparents and carers during the last term.  It's lovely having them all here and playing with our students during the morning break.  We look forward to seeing everyone back on the first Tuesday of Term 2. 

Fr Sajan

We would like to thank Fr Sajan for all of his support during his time in our parish and wish him all the best for his move to Warracknabeal.  We will welcome Fr Justin Driscoll to our school at some time in the new term.

Raffle Winners

Here are the lucky winners from the Raffle at the Fair on Saturday:

Major Prizes:

Olive Lawson - desk 

Gage family - bedside tables

Laiken Britt - load of wood 

Polly Smithard - bicycle

Minor Prizes (donated by stall holders):

Kaezia                      Liss H                         Jess Sartori

Clare Montano     Glenda                       Lyndal

Jayde Moran          Raylene                    Mark Dangladesh

Tara Johnson         Jenny Curran         Nicky Carlson

Inez                            Taylor                      Danny Crilly

Guess the Number of Lollies in the Jar:  297 - Addy Montano

School TV - Cultural Diversity

Cultural diversity encompasses the variety of cultures, beliefs, and traditions present globally, contributing to a rich tapestry of human experiences and perspectives. By valuing every child's cultural background, we enable them to excel in all facets of life. Nurturing an environment of curiosity, open-mindedness, and respect for all cultures, will to only promote unity but a deeper appreciation of the nuances that distinguish us.

Inclusion is about more than just words; it's about fostering a sense of belonging and acceptance for every child, regardless of their cultural background. When children and adolescents feel seen and valued for who they are, they can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Valuing and understanding cultural diversity, helps our communities benefit from a wealth of perspectives and experiences, enhancing our collective capacity for empathy and innovation.

As parents and adult carers, instilling an appreciation for cultural diversity is vital to equip young people with the tools they need to navigate an increasingly interconnected world. Through leading by example and showing that kindness and understanding knows no boundaries, we can encourage them to embrace multiculturalism. This will not only prepare young people for personal success, but also for contributing to a world that views diversity as a strength. Through collective efforts, we can help pave the way for a more accepting and vibrant future.

In this edition of SchoolTV, learn how best to embrace and celebrate cultural diversity with your children. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school wellbeing team for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your Edition:

Foundation Reflections

Geneveive and Skyler, our Foundation students, have given their reflections on their short time here at St Mary's.

Genevieve:  It is fun at school because there is a great teacher and Principal Clare too.  I like to play outside at break time and sometimes we even do our learning there.  My favourite thing to do in the classroom is maths because I like to work with numbers.  I can now read some words and I am learning to read books with bigger words.  I am learning to write letters and numbers every day.  The best day of school this term was the excursion to the Melbourne Flower and Garden Show.  I have made new friends since I started at school.

Skyler:  Learning in the classroom can be fun, I like doing my Monday writing and learning to read words.  I got to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly, frog and chicken and did you know that they all start as an egg?  I am getting better at my handwriting.  The teachers have been keeping us busy with Swim & Gym on Friday and excursions to the Sunflower Farm and the Melbourne Flower and Garden Show.  We get to go outside and play at break times and we play lots of games together on the playground.  The best day of school has been any day that we have been to Swim & Gym.  I have made lots of new friends at school.

South Room News

It's been another busy time in the South Room since our last newsletter.

Kamden:  On Saturday, the fair was held here at school so more people would know about us and hopefully more people will join our school.  We were there too and it was very big! One of the stalls was the Newlyn FNC snag sizzle.  I love their snags.

It was a very good event. Even some people we know came and had some lunch. There was a big steam engine and it needed fire to move. It was larger than most other tractors. 

We set up on Friday and then we brought the goat and dad took the tractor, then we went back for our sheep but the donkeys didn’t get there so we got two little bottle fed lambs and put it in the donkey's pen. I had too much sugar so I was so dizzy and fell over a lot. There was tug of war, I played and won it for my team. 

I was so proud of everyone but especially Amelia (my mum)  and Bryden for all their hard work and effort. It was a good day for everyone in the district. Gary came down from Newlyn to sell the best chips, cheese and gravy that I know of.  Addy Montano won the lolly jar.

Alexis: On Saturday the fair was on at St. Mary's but unfortunately I didn't get to go because I was at an end of season athletic event in Bacchus Marsh. 

The end of the athletics event is called Championship Day. You get to choose 5 events to compete in. I did shot put, triple jump, high jump, 100  metre sprint and 70 metre dash. If you get first, second or third you get a medal. In the end I  achieved three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. I got a gold in shot put, triple jump and high jump, a silver in 100 metres and a bronze in 70 metres. I was four milliseconds behind a girl in 70 metres but it was a good effort in the end. I was pretty proud of myself. 

For school sports day I want to get into the Vic team to compete with Australia. If you go to a small school or you are home-schooled, there is a chance you can get a scholarship and a $1000 to put towards your travel, room and uniform. One of my goals this year is to get a medal at the nationals. We still are not 100% sure that we are in Sydney but I will be so excited for the Vic team.

Big thanks to all the people who helped set up on Thursday and Friday for the fair. We hope you loved it as well and enjoy your Easter holidays.

On Monday, the South Room counted all the Project Compassion money that we made from the fair, as well as the books for the school. In total we made $224.70 for Project Compassion and $248 from the books, that is $472.70! Good job to Emilia, Vanessa, Quinn, Maeve and Pat who brought in their family Project Compassion boxes as well. If you still have a box you can bring it in a plastic zip lock bag with the total written on it.     

Vanessa:  On Saturday March 23,  I went to a wedding and got my  hair curled by my sister. It was so pretty and cute. The wedding was going to be too long so we went to the beach instead. There  were many  dogs at the dog beach. The dogs are loud at the beach. I went to make sandcastles. It was so much fun.  We  had to go into the water. It was cold at first. It was so cold I got some sand. It was flat, scratchy and itchy. I  had so much fun at the beach.

My mum  got  the wrong key so we were locked  out of the house so we rang my sister and said we were locked out of the house. So we ate dinner outside. It  was so fun to eat outside.  It was fun till we went inside again. I went to my room where I  got my toys and played  on the  bed. It was so fun to play with my toys.  

Emilia:  On Saturday, my Mum, my Nana and myself were at the fair for the St. Mary's school. We looked at some things that we liked and I got a treasure box. I also got my face painted, it was a cheetah. It looked very special.  We had some sausages for lunch.  There were so many people that came to visit the fair. It was really fun. We had to go home because my mum has to go home to rest because she is so tired.

On Monday, in the South Room we counted the money for the Project Compassion. My family's money was $73 and we used our math time to count the money that we had.

Evie:  On Saturday , St Mary’s  had a fair.  It was a huge success and everyone was so proud of the effort that went into a little school fair that turned into a big community day. Even Jake Guthrie showed up with his backpackers on the back of his car.  It was an amazing turnout of everyone. 

We would like to say thank you to the Newlyn Netball Football Club for the BBQ, Newlyn Primary School for the delicious goods, all the stallholders, Gary from the truck wagon and the pony rides and many more. 

We all had an amazing day and I would like to say thank you to Amelia Singline, Bryden Gage, Bec Slater, Melinda Prendergast and Miley Singline, Stella Slater, Tara Carlson, Abby Carlson and everyone else who helped  out.  We are very grateful to all of you . We all loved the fair.  We hope we can see you all next year.  I hope everyone has an amazing holiday.  Thank you to everyone for supporting us. 

Patrick:  On the weekend, the community of Clarkes Hill had the school fair because we wanted to let people know where our school is. It had different stalls on the tennis court. There was a candy stall, a gin stall and a second hand stall.  There were some food stalls as well and two coffee stalls. The fair also had pony rides, a petting zoo, hot rods including a corvette, two Holdens and a Chevrolet.

I had an egg and bacon roll and two sausages from the Newlyn Football Netball club stall.  My favorite part was the hot rods because they looked cool. I had the best time ever.

Kaezia:  On Saturday, my Dad and I went to the St. Mary’s Clarkes Hill 2024 Fair which was put on to show people how good our school is.  I went on a pony ride and made a best friend keychain.  I also got a book, a crochet bee and a blue scrunchie. I did a potato sack race and sadly did not win but it was ok. I had a lot of fun. My favorite thing was the pony ride, it was so exciting as I had never ridden a pony before. The reason I went to the fair was to have fun and enjoy myself.  

Will:  On Saturday we had the fair. There were lots of my friends there. I spent lots of time at my house with Kamden, Pat, Billy Quick and Billy Britt. When we went down to the fair my grandad’s hot rods were there and I got to say hello. We went in the mud next to the dam behind the school and the mud was up to my shorts. We found a water pipe and we washed it off there and we went back to school. 

Birthday Celebrations

Happy birthday to Genevieve who celebrated her birthday on Monday.  Genevieve turned 6.  We hope you enjoyed your first birthday at St Mary's!

Emilia also celebrated her birthday this week, on Tuesday.  Emilia is now 12 years old.  Congratulations Emilia, we hope your day was filled with lots of fun!

While we are all on holidays, Jeremiah will celebrate his 7th Birthday on the 3rd of April.  We hope you have a great day Jeremiah and look forward to hearing all about it when we return to school.

Child Safety Information – all on website

Child Safe Standard 6:  Suitable Staff and Volunteers

People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.  This includes reviewing practices for the ongoing supervision and people management of staff and volunteers to ensure there is focus on child safety and wellbeing.

Child Safe Standard 7:  Complaints

The DOBCEL School Complaints Handling Policy has been contextualised to ensure that it is accessible, child-focused, culturally safe, and easily understood by the school community.  This document outlines the process for making a complaint about the school or any person within the school; the roles and responsibilities of leaders, staff and volunteers in complaint handling; and the process for dealing with the different types of complaints, breaches of relevant policies or the code of conduct, and obligations to act and report.

Child Safe Standard 8:  Child Safety Knowledge, Skills and Awareness

Schools need to ensure that at least annually members of the School Advisory Council receive appropriate guidance and training regarding implementing of policies and procedures related to Child Safe Standards and Child Safety wellbeing risks in the school community.  School staff engaged in child-connected work  receiving training and information on child safety that include guidance on Child Safe related policies and procedures, including responding to complaints and concerns relating to child abuse.